[JPRT 112-40, Volume II]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress } { S. Prt.
2d Session } JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT { 112-40
_______________________________________________________________________
COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
PRACTICES FOR 2009
VOLUME II
EUROPE AND EURASIA,
NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
----------
R E P O R T
SUBMITTED TO THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
US SENATE
AND THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 116(d) AND 502B(b) OF THE FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961, AS AMENDED
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
OCTOBER 2012
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S.
Senate and Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives
respectively
COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 2009
VOLUME II: EUROPE AND EURASIA, NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
112th Congress } { S. Prt.
2d Session } JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT { 112-40
_______________________________________________________________________
COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
PRACTICES FOR 2009
VOLUME II
EUROPE AND EURASIA,
NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
__________
R E P O R T
SUBMITTED TO THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
US SENATE
AND THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 116(d) AND 502B(b) OF THE FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961, AS AMENDED
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
OCTOBER 2012
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S.
Senate and Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives
respectively
-----
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Washington, DC 20402-0001
One Hundred Tenth Congress, Second Session
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California, Chairman
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
Samoa DAN BURTON, Indiana
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey ELTON GALLEGLY, California
BRAD SHERMAN, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
BILL DELAHUNT, Massachusetts EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York RON PAUL, Texas
DIANE E. WATSON, California JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri MIKE PENCE, Indiana
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey JOE WILSON, South Carolina
GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
MICHAEL E. MCMAHON, New York J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee CONNIE MACK, Florida
GENE GREEN, Texas JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
LYNN WOOLSEY, California MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas TED POE, Texas
BARBARA LEE, California BOB INGLIS, South Carolina
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada GUS BILIRAKIS, Florida
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
MIKE ROSS, Arkansas
BRAD MILLER, North Carolina
DAVID SCOTT, Georgia
JIM COSTA, California
KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota
GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona
RON KLEIN, Florida
Richard J. Kessler, Staff Director
Yleem D.S. Poblete, Republican Staff Director
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana
RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin BOB CORKER, Tennessee
BARBARA BOXER, California JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JIM DeMINT, South Carolina
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
JIM WEBB, Virginia ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
EDWARD E. KAUFMAN, Delaware
KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York
David McKean, Staff Director
Kenneth A. Myers, Jr., Republican Staff Director
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Letter of Transmittal............................................ vii
Preface.......................................................... ix
Overview and Acknowledgments..................................... xi
Introduction..................................................... xv
Volume I
Africa........................................................... 1
Angola....................................................... 1
Benin........................................................ 17
Botswana..................................................... 28
Burkina Faso................................................. 39
Burundi...................................................... 50
Cameroon..................................................... 67
Cape Verde................................................... 88
Central African Republic..................................... 93
Chad......................................................... 117
Comoros...................................................... 133
Congo, Democratic Republic of the............................ 139
Congo, Republic of the....................................... 183
Cote d'Ivoire................................................ 193
Djibouti..................................................... 210
Equatorial Guinea............................................ 219
Eritrea...................................................... 234
Ethiopia..................................................... 248
Gabon........................................................ 276
Gambia, The.................................................. 285
Ghana........................................................ 297
Guinea....................................................... 312
Guinea-Bissau................................................ 329
Kenya........................................................ 338
Lesotho...................................................... 361
Liberia...................................................... 373
Madagascar................................................... 384
Malawi....................................................... 399
Mali......................................................... 411
Mauritania................................................... 422
Mauritius.................................................... 436
Mozambique................................................... 444
Namibia...................................................... 457
Niger........................................................ 470
Nigeria...................................................... 490
Rwanda....................................................... 519
Sao Tome and Principe........................................ 538
Senegal...................................................... 543
Seychelles................................................... 558
Sierra Leone................................................. 565
Somalia...................................................... 581
South Africa................................................. 605
Sudan........................................................ 626
Swaziland.................................................... 648
Tanzania..................................................... 663
Togo......................................................... 684
Uganda....................................................... 694
Zambia....................................................... 718
Zimbabwe..................................................... 733
East Asia and the Pacific........................................ 773
Australia.................................................... 773
Brunei Darussalam............................................ 784
Burma........................................................ 792
Cambodia..................................................... 814
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)................. 837
Taiwan....................................................... 905
Fiji......................................................... 915
Indonesia.................................................... 929
Japan........................................................ 951
Kiribati..................................................... 963
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of....................... 968
Korea, Republic of........................................... 980
Laos......................................................... 992
Malaysia..................................................... 1004
Marshall Islands............................................. 1031
Micronesia, Federated States of.............................. 1036
Mongolia..................................................... 1042
Nauru........................................................ 1053
New Zealand.................................................. 1057
Palau........................................................ 1065
Papua New Guinea............................................. 1070
Philippines.................................................. 1079
Samoa........................................................ 1099
Singapore.................................................... 1106
Solomon Islands.............................................. 1121
Thailand..................................................... 1128
Timor-Leste.................................................. 1159
Tonga........................................................ 1168
Tuvalu....................................................... 1175
Vanuatu...................................................... 1180
Vietnam...................................................... 1187
Volume II
Europe and Eurasia............................................... 1213
Albania...................................................... 1213
Andorra...................................................... 1225
Armenia...................................................... 1229
Austria...................................................... 1265
Azerbaijan................................................... 1275
Belarus...................................................... 1300
Belgium...................................................... 1327
Bosnia and Herzegovina....................................... 1337
Bulgaria..................................................... 1353
Croatia...................................................... 1368
Cyprus....................................................... 1386
Czech Republic............................................... 1415
Denmark...................................................... 1429
Estonia...................................................... 1437
Finland...................................................... 1443
France....................................................... 1453
Georgia...................................................... 1464
Germany...................................................... 1515
Greece....................................................... 1529
Hungary...................................................... 1553
Iceland...................................................... 1569
Ireland...................................................... 1577
Italy........................................................ 1584
Kosovo....................................................... 1597
Latvia....................................................... 1622
Liechtenstein................................................ 1634
Lithuania.................................................... 1640
Luxembourg................................................... 1652
Macedonia.................................................... 1657
Malta........................................................ 1673
Moldova...................................................... 1681
Monaco....................................................... 1711
Montenegro................................................... 1715
Netherlands.................................................. 1736
Norway....................................................... 1747
Poland....................................................... 1755
Portugal..................................................... 1773
Romania...................................................... 1781
Russia....................................................... 1805
San Marino................................................... 1865
Serbia....................................................... 1868
Slovakia..................................................... 1894
Slovenia..................................................... 1911
Spain........................................................ 1919
Sweden....................................................... 1932
Switzerland.................................................. 1943
Turkey....................................................... 1954
Ukraine...................................................... 1984
United Kingdom............................................... 2014
Near East and North Africa....................................... 2029
Algeria...................................................... 2029
Bahrain...................................................... 2047
Egypt........................................................ 2059
Iran......................................................... 2080
Iraq......................................................... 2113
Israel and the Occupied Territories.......................... 2146
Jordan....................................................... 2196
Kuwait....................................................... 2217
Lebanon...................................................... 2230
Libya........................................................ 2248
Morocco and Western Sahara................................... 2262
Oman......................................................... 2286
Qatar........................................................ 2294
Saudi Arabia................................................. 2308
Syria........................................................ 2331
Tunisia...................................................... 2360
United Arab Emirates......................................... 2381
Yemen........................................................ 2393
Volume III
South and Central Asia........................................... 2417
Afghanistan.................................................. 2417
Bangladesh................................................... 2444
Bhutan....................................................... 2467
India........................................................ 2477
Kazakhstan................................................... 2508
Kyrgyz Republic.............................................. 2529
Maldives..................................................... 2546
Nepal........................................................ 2556
Pakistan..................................................... 2573
Sri Lanka.................................................... 2604
Tajikistan................................................... 2621
Turkmenistan................................................. 2637
Uzbekistan................................................... 2651
Western Hemisphere............................................... 2675
Antigua and Barbuda.......................................... 2675
Argentina.................................................... 2680
Bahamas, The................................................. 2694
Barbados..................................................... 2704
Belize....................................................... 2710
Bolivia...................................................... 2718
Brazil....................................................... 2731
Canada....................................................... 2753
Chile........................................................ 2765
Colombia..................................................... 2776
Costa Rica................................................... 2800
Cuba......................................................... 2812
Dominica..................................................... 2828
Dominican Republic........................................... 2834
Ecuador...................................................... 2851
El Salvador.................................................. 2868
Grenada...................................................... 2881
Guatemala.................................................... 2886
Guyana....................................................... 2907
Haiti........................................................ 2917
Honduras..................................................... 2929
Jamaica...................................................... 2951
Mexico....................................................... 2963
Nicaragua.................................................... 2983
Panama....................................................... 3002
Paraguay..................................................... 3015
Peru......................................................... 3028
Saint Kitts and Nevis........................................ 3043
Saint Lucia.................................................. 3048
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines............................. 3054
Suriname..................................................... 3060
Trinidad and Tobago.......................................... 3070
Uruguay...................................................... 3078
Venezuela.................................................... 3086
Appendixes
Appendix A: Notes on Preparation of Report................... 3107
Appendix B: Reporting on Worker Rights....................... 3115
Appendix C: Selected International Human Rights Conventions.. 3117
Appendix D: Description of International Human Rights
Conventions in Appendix C.................................. 3133
Appendix E: FY 2009 Foreign Assistance Actuals............... 3135
Appendix F: United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee
Country Resolution Votes 2009.............................. 3157
Appendix G: United Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights..................................................... 3169
?
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
Department of State,
Washington, DC, April 10, 2010.
Hon. John F. Kerry,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations.
Dear Mr. Chairman: On behalf of the Secretary of State, I
am transmitting to you the Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 2009, prepared in compliance with sections
116(d)(1) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
amended, and section 505(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended.
We hope this report is helpful. Please let us know if we
can provide any further information.
Sincerely,
David J. Kramer,
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor.
Enclosure.
(vii)
PREFACE
----------
The idea of human rights begins with a fundamental
commitment to the dignity that is the birthright of every man,
woman and child. Progress in advancing human rights begins with
the facts. And for the last 34 years, the United States has
produced the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,
providing the most comprehensive record available of the
condition of human rights around the world.
These reports are an essential tool-for activists who
courageously struggle to protect rights in communities around
the world; for journalists and scholars who document rights
violations and who report on the work of those who champion the
vulnerable; and for governments, including our own, as they
work to craft strategies to encourage protection of the human
rights of more individuals in more places.
The principle that each person possesses equal moral value
is a simple, self-evident truth; but securing a world in which
all can exercise the rights that are naturally theirs is an
immense practical challenge. To craft effective human rights
policy, we need good assessments of the situation on the ground
in the places we want to make a difference. We need a
sophisticated, strategic understanding of how democratic
governance and economic development can each contribute to
creating an environment in which human rights are secured. We
need to recognize that rights-protecting democracy and rights-
respecting development reinforce each other. And we need the
right tools and the right partners to implement our policies.
Human rights are timeless, but our efforts to protect them
must be grounded in the here-and-now. We find ourselves in a
moment when an increasing number of governments are imposing
new and crippling restrictions on the nongovernmental
organizations working to protect rights and enhance
accountability. New technologies have proven useful both to
oppressors and to those who struggle to expose the failures and
cowardice of those oppressors. And global challenges of our
time-like food security and climate change; pandemic disease;
economic crises; and violent extremism-impact the enjoyment of
human rights today, and shape the global political context in
which we must advance human rights over the long term.
Human rights are universal, but their experience is local.
This is why we are committed to hold everyone to the same
standard, including ourselves. And this is why we remember that
human rights begin, as Eleanor Roosevelt said, ``in small
places close to home.'' When we work to secure human rights, we
are working to protect the experiences that make life
meaningful, to preserve each person's ability to fulfill his or
her God-given potential. The potential within every person to
learn, discover and embrace the world around them; the
potential to join freely with others to shape their communities
and their societies so that every person can find fulfillment
and self-sufficiency; the potential to share life's beauties
and tragedies, laughter and tears with the people they love.
The reports released today are a record of where we are.
They provide a fact-base that will inform the United States's
diplomatic, economic and strategic policies toward other
countries in the coming year. These reports are not intended to
prescribe such policies, but they provide essential data points
for everyone in the U.S. Government working on them. I view the
these reports not as ends in themselves, but as an important
tool in the development of practical and effective human rights
strategy by the United States Government. That is a process to
which I am deeply committed.
The timeless principles enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights are a North Star guiding us toward
the world we want to inhabit: a just world where, as President
Obama has put it, peace rests on the ``inherent rights and
dignity of every individual.'' With the facts in hand, and the
goals clear in our hearts and heads, we recommit ourselves to
continue the hard work of making human rights a human reality.
Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Secretary of State.
OVERVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
----------
Why the Reports Are Prepared
This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department
of State in compliance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended. The law
provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate by February 25 ``a full and
complete report regarding the status of internationally
recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A)
in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B)
in all other foreign countries which are members of the United
Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human
rights report under this Act.'' We have also included reports
on several countries that do not fall into the categories
established by these statutes and thus are not covered by the
congressional requirement.
In the early 1970s the United States formalized its
responsibility to speak out on behalf of international human
rights standards. In 1976 Congress enacted legislation creating
a Coordinator of Human Rights in the Department of State, a
position later upgraded to Assistant Secretary. Legislation
also requires that U.S. foreign and trade policy take into
account countries' human rights and worker rights performance
and that country reports be submitted to the Congress on an
annual basis.
How the Reports Are Prepared
The Department of State prepared this report using
information from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, foreign
government officials, nongovernmental and international
organizations, and published reports. The initial drafts of the
individual country reports were prepared by U.S. diplomatic
missions abroad, drawing on information they gathered
throughout the year from a variety of sources, including
government officials, jurists, the armed forces, journalists,
human rights monitors, academics, and labor activists. This
information gathering can be hazardous, and U.S. Foreign
Service personnel regularly go to great lengths, under trying
and sometimes dangerous conditions, to investigate reports of
human rights abuse, monitor elections, and come to the aid of
individuals at risk, such as political dissidents and human
rights defenders whose rights are threatened by their
governments.
Once the initial drafts of the individual country reports
were completed, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor, in cooperation with other Department of State offices,
worked to corroborate, analyze, and edit the reports, drawing
on their own sources of information. These sources included
reports provided by U.S. and other human rights groups, foreign
government officials, representatives from the United Nations
and other international and regional organizations and
institutions, experts from academia, and the media. Bureau
officers also consulted experts on worker rights, refugee
issues, military and police topics, women's issues, and legal
matters. The guiding principle was to ensure that all
information was assessed objectively, thoroughly, and fairly.
The reports in this volume will be used as a resource for
shaping policy, conducting diplomacy, and making assistance,
training, and other resource allocations. They also will serve
as a basis for the U.S. Government's cooperation with private
groups to promote the observance of internationally recognized
human rights.
The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cover
internationally recognized civil, political and worker rights,
as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
These rights include freedom from torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, from prolonged
detention without charges, from disappearance or clandestine
detention, and from other flagrant violations of the right to
life, liberty and the security of the person.
Universal human rights seek to incorporate respect for
human dignity into the processes of government and law. All
persons have the right to nationality, the inalienable right to
change their government by peaceful means and to enjoy basic
freedoms, such as freedom of expression, association, assembly,
movement, and religion, without discrimination on the basis of
race, religion, national origin, or sex. The right to join a
free trade union is a necessary condition of a free society and
economy. Thus the reports assess key internationally recognized
worker rights, including the right of association, the right to
organize and bargain collectively, the prohibition of forced or
compulsory labor, the status of child labor practices, the
minimum age for employment of children, and acceptable work
conditions.
Within the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the
editorial staff of the Country Reports Team consists of: Editor
in Chief Stephen Eisenbraun; Office Directors: Carlos Garcia,
Douglas Kramer, and Kay Mayfield; Senior Editors: Jonathan
Bemis, Douglas B. Dearborn, Daniel Dolan, Jerome L. Hoganson,
Patricia Meeks Schnell, Julie Turner, and Rachel Waldstein;
Editors: Naim Ahmed, Joseph Barghout, Kate Berglund, Sarah
Beringer, Marissa Brescia, Sarah Buckley-Moore, Liliana Caparo
Ariza, Laura Carey, Elise Carlson-Rainer, Delaram Cavey, Sharon
Cooke, Susan Corke, Stuart Crampton, Kathleen Crowley, Frank
Crump, Tu Dang, Mollie Davis, Huseyin Dogan, Will Dokurno, Mort
Dworken, Amy Feagles, Joan Garner, Solange Garvey, Jeffrey
Glassman, Blake Greene, Edward Grulich, Patrick Harvey, Victor
Huser, Jill Hutchings, Stan Ifshin, David T. Jones, Simone
Joseph, Mancharee Junk, Douglas Kramer, Sarah Labowitz, Jessica
Lieberman, Gregory Maggio, Stacey May, John McKane, David
Mikosz, Mia Mitchell, Stephen Moody, Sarah Morgan, Perlita
Muiruri, Sandra Murphy, Daniel L. Nadel, Catherine Newling,
Anand Prakash, Drue Preissman, Gabriela Ramirez, Lea Rivera,
Peter Sawchyn, Wendy Silverman, Catherine Snyder, Erin Spitzer,
Rachel Spring, Michael Suttles, Leslie Taylor, James Todd,
Kathy Unlu, David Wagner, Nicole Wilett, Karen Yoo;
Contributing Editor: Lynne Davidson; Editorial Assistants: Cory
Andrews, Carol Finerty, Ronya D. Foy, Lauren Gandillot, Yelipza
Gutierrez, Wen Hsu, Raymond Lu, Stephanie Martone, James
McDonald, Matthew Miller, Amanda Pourciau, Sabrina Ragaller,and
Helaena White; and Technical Assistant Eunice Johnson.
INTRODUCTION TO THE
2009 COUNTRY REPORTS
----------
2009 was a year of contrasts. It was a year in which
ethnic, racial, and religious tensions led to violent conflicts
and serious human rights violations and fueled or exacerbated
more than 30 wars or internal armed conflicts. At the same
time, it was a year in which the United States and other
governments devoted greater attention to finding ways to
acknowledge and combat these underlying tensions through
showing leadership in advancing respect for universal human
rights, promoting tolerance, combating violent extremism, and
pursuing peaceful solutions to long-standing conflicts in the
Middle East and elsewhere. As President Obama said in his June
speech at Cairo University, we should be defined not by our
differences but rather by our common humanity, and we should
find ways to work in partnership with other nations so that all
people achieve justice and prosperity.
2009 also was a year in which more people gained greater
access than ever before to more information about human rights
through the Internet, cell phones, and other forms of
connective technologies. Yet at the same time it was a year in
which governments spent more time, money, and attention finding
regulatory and technical means to curtail freedom of expression
on the Internet and the flow of critical information and to
infringe on the personal privacy rights of those who used these
rapidly evolving technologies.
Today, all governments grapple with the difficult questions
of what are appropriate policies and practices in response to
legitimate national security concerns and how to strike the
balance between respecting human rights and fundamental
freedoms and ensuring the safety of their citizens. That said,
during the past year, many governments applied overly broad
interpretations of terrorism and emergency powers as a basis
for limiting the rights of detainees and curtailing other basic
human rights and humanitarian law protections. They did so even
as the international community continued to make tangible
progress in isolating and weakening the leadership in violent
extremist and terrorist groups such as al-Qa'ida.
This report explores these and other trends and
developments and provides a specific, detailed picture of human
rights conditions in 194 countries around the world. The U.S.
Government has compiled these reports for the past 34 years
pursuant to a requirement placed on the U.S. executive by law
in part to help the U.S. Congress inform its work in assessing
requests for U.S. foreign military and economic assistance, as
well as to set trade policies and U.S. participation in the
multilateral development banks and other financial
institutions. The reason for publishing this report is to
develop a full, factual record that can help U.S. policymakers
to make intelligent and well-informed policy decisions. It has
also been increasingly used by policymakers abroad and has
become a core reference document for governments,
intergovernmental organizations, and concerned citizens
throughout the world.
Many have questioned the reason the U.S. Government
compiles this report, rather than the United Nations or some
other intergovernmental body. One answer is that we believe it
is imperative for countries, including our own, to ensure that
respect for human rights is an integral component of foreign
policy. These reports provide an overview of the human rights
situation around the world as a means to raise awareness about
human rights conditions, in particular as these conditions
impact the well-being of women, children, racial minorities,
trafficking victims, members of indigenous groups and ethnic
communities, persons with disabilities, sexual minorities, and
members of other vulnerable groups. Also, we provide these
reports as a form of comprehensive review and analysis. While
some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) do extensive and
excellent reporting on some countries, none cover the world as
we do. And while we have encouraged more detailed and
comprehensive reporting from the UN and other intergovernmental
bodies, thus far these organizations have not met this need.
Because of this unmet need, the U.S. Congress has mandated this
report. Even as we continue this reporting exercise, we
encourage the UN to take up this type of thorough and
comprehensive reporting, and we stand ready to work with them
to meet the challenge. We will continue to press for enhanced
UN reporting, for example through the UN Human Rights Council
as part of its review of its own operations in 2011.
Some critics, in the United States and elsewhere, also have
challenged our practice of reviewing every other country's
human rights record but not our own. In fact, the U.S.
Government reports on and assesses our own human rights record
in many other fora pursuant to our treaty obligations (e.g., we
file reports on our implementation of the two Optional
Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the
International Covenant on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination, and the Convention Against Torture). We are
reviewing our reporting, consistent with President Obama and
Secretary Clinton's pledge that we will apply a single
universal human rights standard to all, including ourselves.
Later this year, the U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report, for
the first time, will rank the United States as it does foreign
governments by applying the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking in persons set forth in the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 as amended. And in
the fall the U.S. Government will appear before the United
Nations Human Rights Council for the first Universal Periodic
Review of our domestic human rights situation.
These country reports are written to provide an accurate,
factual record of human rights conditions around the world, not
to examine U.S. policy responses or options or to assess
diplomatic alternatives. Yet in a broader sense these reports
are a part of the Obama Administration's overall approach to
human rights and an essential component of that effort. As
outlined above, the administration's approach, as articulated
by President Obama and Secretary Clinton, is guided by broad
principles, the first of which is a commitment to universal
human rights. In preparing this report, we have endeavored to
hold all governments accountable to uphold universal human
rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to
their human rights treaty obligations. As Secretary Clinton
stated in December, all governments, including our own, must
``adhere to obligations under international law: among them not
to torture, arbitrarily detain and persecute dissenters, or
engage in political killings. Our government and the
international community must consider the pretentions of those
who deny or abdicate their responsibilities and hold violators
to account.'' The first step in that process is to tell the
truth and to identify specific instances where such violations
are occurring and where governments are failing to take
responsibility for holding violators accountable.
A second element of our approach is a principled and
pragmatic engagement with other countries on these issues. This
means that we will pursue steps that are most likely to make
human rights a human reality. This principled pragmatism starts
with an honest assessment of human rights conditions and
whether violations are the result of deliberate government
repression, governmental unwillingness or inability to confront
the problems, or a combination of all three. As Secretary
Clinton has said, ``With China, Russia, and others, we are
engaging on issues of mutual interest while also engaging
societal actors in the same countries who are working to
advance human rights and democracy. The assumption that we must
either pursue human rights or our `national interests' is
wrong. The assumption that only coercion and isolation are
effective tools for advancing democratic change is also
wrong.'' These reports provide an essential, factual predicate
upon which we can shape current and future polices.
A third element is our belief that although foreign
governments and global civil society cannot impose change from
outside, we can and should encourage and provide support to
members of local civil society and other peaceful change agents
within each country. As part of such efforts, these reports can
and often do amplify these voices, by making reference to their
findings, publicly reinforcing their concerns, and by widely
disseminating this information to opinion makers, both
internationally and within affected countries.
A fourth element of our approach is to keep a wide focus
where rights are at stake and to adopt a broad approach to
democracy and human rights. As Secretary Clinton stated,
``Democracy means not only elections to choose leaders, but
also active citizens and a free press and an independent
judiciary and transparent and responsive institutions that are
accountable to all citizens and protect their rights equally
and fairly.'' President Obama has also highlighted the crucial
linkages between development, democracy, and human rights,
noting the centrality of issues such as corruption to the
realization of basic rights. Consistent with that approach,
these reports cover a wide range of topics and trends,
providing a detailed and comprehensive picture of human rights
and democracy in each country.
The fifth and final element of our approach has been to
pursue progress on these issues through multilateral processes
and institutions. As President Obama has acknowledged, we live
in an increasingly interdependent and multipolar world, and to
achieve our international goals, we need to collaborate with
other governments and international actors. That is the reason
we have joined the UN Human Rights Council, have actively
supported human rights initiatives in the General Assembly, and
have more thoroughly engaged in regional bodies like the
Organization of American States and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe in promoting democracy and
human rights.
In preparing these reports, we relied on information
collected by officials in U.S. embassies around the world and
on information from other governments and multilateral
organizations. We also solicited and relied on useful
information from nongovernmental human rights groups, both
those operating internationally and those that work at a
national level. We also collected information from academics,
lawyers, trade unions, religious leaders, and the media. While
we benefited from these many inputs, the U.S. Government alone
bears responsibility for the content of these reports. The
preparation of these reports involves a major commitment of
time and energy by hundreds of people, and includes a lengthy
process of fact-checking and editing to ensure high standards
of accuracy and objectivity.
The Year in Review
In 2009, governments across the globe continued to commit
serious violations of human rights. As we survey the world,
there still are an alarming number of reports of torture,
extrajudicial killings, and other violations of universal human
rights. Often these violations relating to the integrity of the
person are in countries where conflicts are occurring. These
violent attacks are a central concern wherever they take place.
In a significant number of countries, governments have
imposed new and often draconian restrictions on NGOs. Since
2008, no fewer than 25 governments have imposed new
restrictions on the ability of these organizations to register,
to operate freely, or to receive foreign funding, adversely
impacting freedom of association. In many countries, human
rights defenders are singled out for particularly harsh
treatment, and in the most egregious cases, they are imprisoned
or even attacked or killed in reaction to their advocacy.
These restrictions and repressive measures are part of a
larger pattern of governmental efforts to control dissenting or
critical voices. This pattern also extends to the media and to
new forms of electronic communications through the Internet and
other new technologies. Restrictions on freedom of expression,
including on members of the media, are increasing and becoming
more severe. In many cases, such restrictions are applied
subtly by autocrats aiming to avoid attention from human rights
groups and donor countries, such as through the threat of
criminal penalties and administrative or economic obstacles,
rather than through violence or imprisonment; the end result is
still a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
A third trend we observed is the continuing and escalating
discrimination and persecution of members of vulnerable
groups--often racial, religious, or ethnic minorities, but also
women, members of indigenous communities, children, persons
with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups that lack the
political power in their societies to defend their own
interests.
These key trends are discussed in the subsequent sections,
illustrated by thumbnail sketches of selected countries
(ordered alphabetically) that were chosen for notable
developments--positive, negative, or mixed--chronicled during
calendar year 2009. For more comprehensive, detailed
information, the individual country reports themselves should
be consulted.
Specific Human Rights Trends
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN COUNTRIES IN CONFLICT
In many countries where conflicts were raging during the
year, noncombatant civilians faced human rights abuses and
violations of international humanitarian law. In many of these
conflict zones, insurgents, terrorist organizations,
paramilitary forces, and government security forces used
murder, rape, and inhumane tactics to assert control over
territory, silence opponents, and coerce the cooperation of
civilian communities in conflict zones. Throughout the world,
thousands of men, women, and children died or were mistreated
not only in conflicts, but also in campaigns to intimidate
civilian populations.
The security situation in Afghanistan deteriorated
significantly because of increased insurgent attacks, with
civilians bearing the brunt of the violence. Armed conflict
spread to almost one-third of the country, hindering the
government's ability to govern effectively, extend its
influence, and provide services, especially in rural areas. As
a result of the insurgency, 1,448 Afghan military personnel,
1,954 government employees, and 2,412 civilians were killed.
Approximately five million of the 15 million registered voters
participated in the August elections that were marked by
serious allegations of widespread fraud, insufficient
conditions for participation by women, and a concerted effort
by the Taliban to disrupt the voting. Nevertheless, more
polling stations opened than in previous elections, the media
and public debated political alternatives, and the election
followed the constitutional process.
The government in Burma continued its egregious human
rights violations and abuses during the year, including
increased military attacks in ethnic minority regions, such as
in the Karen and Shan state. In August, government soldiers
attacked the Kokang cease-fire group, the Myanmar National
Democratic Alliance Army, which the government claimed was
launched in order to shut down narcotics and arms factories.
Tens of thousands of civilians reportedly fled across the
border to China as a result of the fighting. Government
soldiers destroyed several villages in Shan territory, and some
media estimates suggested the army razed up to 500 homes in
Kokang territory. The regime continued to rule by decree and
was not bound by any constitutional provisions guaranteeing any
fundamental freedoms. The regime continued to commit other
serious abuses, including extrajudicial killings, custodial
deaths, disappearances, rape, torture, forcible relocation of
persons, the use of forced labor, and conscription of child
soldiers. The government detained civic activists indefinitely
and without charges.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), conflict in
mineral-rich parts of the east, including counterinsurgency
operations by government security forces, resulted in the
killing of more than 1,000 civilians; the displacement of
hundreds of thousands whose government did not adequately
protect or assist them; the rapes of tens of thousands of
women, children, and men; the burning of hundreds of homes; the
unlawful recruitment or use of thousands of children as
soldiers by the DRC military and various armed groups; and
abductions of numerous persons for forced labor and sexual
exploitation, both domestically and internationally.
Despite substantial improvements in the general security
situation in Iraq, human rights abuses continued. There were
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary
or unlawful killings in connection with the ongoing conflict,
and insurgent and terrorist bombings, executions, and killings
continued to affect all regions and sectors of society. Due to
the continuing conflict, violence against the media was common,
and media workers reported that they engaged in self-
censorship. Although the government publicly called for
tolerance and acceptance for all religious minorities and took
steps to increase security at places of worship, frequent
attacks by insurgent and extremist groups on places of worship
and religious leaders, as well as sectarian violence, hampered
the ability of individuals to practice their religion freely.
In response to a sharp increase in the number and frequency
of rocket attacks from Gaza against civilians in Israel shortly
prior to and following the expiration of Hamas's agreed period
of ``calm'' on December 19, 2008, the Israeli Defense Forces
launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27, which consisted
initially of airstrikes targeted against Hamas security
installations, personnel, and other facilities in the Gaza
Strip, and later ground operations. Hostilities between Israeli
forces and Hamas fighters continued through January 18, and the
Israeli withdrawal of troops was completed on January 21. Human
rights organizations estimated that close to 1,400 Palestinians
died, including more than 1,000 civilians, and that more than
5,000 were wounded. According to Israeli government figures,
Palestinian deaths totaled 1,166, including 295 noncombatant
deaths. There were 13 Israelis killed, including three
civilians. In the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces relaxed
restrictions at several checkpoints during the year that had
constituted significant barriers to the movement of
Palestinians, yet remaining barriers limited Palestinian access
to places of worship, employment, agricultural lands, schools,
hospitals, and the conduct of journalism and NGO activities. In
Gaza, which remained under the control of Hamas, there were
reports of corruption, abuse of prisoners, and failure to
provide fair trials to those accused. Hamas also strictly
restricted the freedom of expression, religion, and movement of
Gaza residents, and promoted gender discrimination against
women. Killings by Hamas-controlled security forces remained a
problem. There were reports of torture by Gaza Hamas Executive
Force and victims were not only security detainees but also
included persons associated with the Fatah political party and
those held on suspicion of ``collaboration'' with Israel. Hamas
authorities in Gaza often interfered arbitrarily with personal
privacy, family, and home.
National police, army, and other security forces in Nigeria
committed extrajudicial killings and used lethal and excessive
force to apprehend criminals and suspects. Violence in the form
of killings, kidnappings, and forced disappearances; mass rape;
and displacement of civilians attributed to both government and
nongovernment actors continued in the Niger Delta, despite the
formation of the Joint Task Force in 2003 that sought to
restore stability to the region. Reports of incidents
attributed to militant groups in the Niger Delta decreased upon
the president's offer of amnesty, although violence remained
pervasive in the south. Between July 26 and July 29, police and
militant members of Boko Haram, an extremist Islamic group,
clashed violently in four northern states, resulting in the
displacement of approximately 4,000 people and more than 700
deaths, although this figure is not definitive because quick
burials in mass graves precluded an accurate count. Sect leader
Muhammad Yusuf; Yusuf's father-in-law, Baba Mohammed; and
suspected Boko Haram founder Buji Fai reportedly were killed
while in custody of the security forces.
Although Pakistan's civilian authorities took some positive
steps, significant human rights challenges remain. Major
problems included extrajudicial killings, torture, and
disappearances. Militant attacks in the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA) and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP)
killed 825 civilians; security operations to repel the
militants from Malakand Division and parts of the FATA
displaced almost three million persons at the peak of the
crisis (although by year's end, approximately 1.66 million had
returned to their home areas). The Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan, the New York Times, and several local publications
reported that security forces allegedly committed 300 to 400
extrajudicial killings during counterinsurgency operations in
NWFP and Swat. There were widespread accusations that
insurgents conducted terror- and revenge killings to intimidate
local populations and law enforcement officials. Sectarian
violence killed approximately 1,125 persons, and more than 76
suicide bombings killed 1,037 persons.
The situation in the North Caucasus region of Russia
worsened as the government fought insurgents, Islamist
militants, and criminal forces. Local government and insurgent
forces in the region reportedly engaged in killings, torture,
abuse, violence, politically motivated abductions, and other
brutal or humiliating treatment. In Chechnya, Ingushetia, and
Dagestan, the number of extrajudicial killings increased
markedly, as did the number of attacks on law enforcement
personnel (in actions involving insurgents, 342 members of law
enforcement were killed and 680 were injured.) Some authorities
in the North Caucasus acted with impunity and appeared to act
independently of the federal government, in some cases,
allegedly targeting families of suspected insurgents for
reprisal and engaging in kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial
punishment.
Before the 33-year conflict in Sri Lanka came to an end in
May, government security forces, progovernment paramilitary
groups, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) used
excessive force and committed abuses against civilians. Several
hundred thousand ethnic Tamil civilians were not allowed
freedom of movement by the LTTE from LTTE-controlled areas
Artillery shelling and mortar fire by both sides occurred close
to and among civilian encampments, resulting in thousands of
civilian deaths during the last months of the conflict. From
January to May, the LTTE dramatically increased its forced
recruitment of child soldiers. Although the number of children
recruited and killed in fighting is unknown, the government
reported 527 ex-LTTE child soldiers in custody several months
after the end of the war. The confinement in camps of nearly
300,000 persons displaced by the end of the conflict called
into question the government's postconflict commitment to human
rights, although the government began to make significant
progress on the treatment of internally displaced persons and
other human rights improvements toward the end of 2009, in the
run up to the January 2010 presidential election.
Conflict and human rights abuses in the Darfur region of
Sudan continued despite the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement between
the government and a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/
Army. Government-sponsored forces bombed villages, killed
civilians, and supported Chadian rebel groups. Women and
children continued to experience gender-based violence. Since
the conflict in Darfur began in 2003, nearly 2.7 million
civilians have been internally displaced, approximately 253,000
have sought refuge in eastern Chad, and more than 300,000 have
died. Tensions also persisted between the north and south over
the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Interethnic conflict
and violence perpetrated by the Lord's Resistance Army in
southern Sudan resulted in the deaths of approximately 2,500
and the displacement of 359,000 persons during the year.
RESTRICTIONS ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, ASSEMBLY, AND ASSOCIATION
(INCLUDING NGOS)
Many governments continued to exert control over
information that came into and was produced within their
countries. This was accomplished by hindering the ability to
organize in public, online, or through use of new technologies;
by restricting the dissemination of information on the
Internet, radio, or television or through print media; and
constructing legal barriers that made it difficult for NGOs to
establish themselves. According to the National Endowment for
Democracy, 26 laws in 25 countries have been introduced or
adopted since January 2008 that impede civil society.
In Belarus, the government's human rights record remained
very poor. Civil liberties, including freedoms of expression,
assembly, association, and religion, continued to be
restricted. The government limited distribution of independent
print and broadcast media outlets. Authorities used
unreasonable force and intimidation to discourage participation
in demonstrations and to disperse peaceful protesters. NGOs,
opposition activists, and political parties were subjected to
persistent harassment, fines, and prosecution, and several
leading NGOs were again denied registration, forcing them to
operate under threat of criminal prosecution. Following a few
positive steps taken by authorities in 2008, the absence of
reform during 2009 was disappointing.
The government of China increased its efforts to monitor
Internet use, control content, restrict information, block
access to foreign and domestic Web sites, encourage self-
censorship, and punish those who violated regulations. The
government employed thousands of persons at the national,
provincial, and local levels to monitor electronic
communications. In January the government began an ``anti-
vulgarity'' campaign that resulted that same month in the
closure of 1,250 Web sites and the deletion of more than 3.2
million items of information. The government at times blocked
access to selected sites operated by major foreign news
outlets, health organizations, foreign governments, educational
institutions, and social networking sites, as well as search
engines, that allow rapid communication or organization of
users. During the year, particularly around sensitive events
such as the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown,
authorities maintained tight control over Internet news and
information. The government also automatically censored e-mail
and Web chats based on an ever-changing list of sensitive key
words. Despite official monitoring and censorship, dissidents
and political activists continued to use the Internet to
advocate and call attention to political causes such as
prisoner advocacy, political reform, ethnic discrimination,
corruption, and foreign policy concerns.
Independent media in Colombia were active and expressed a
wide variety of views without restriction, and all privately
owned radio and television stations broadcast freely. However,
members of illegal armed groups intimidated, threatened,
kidnapped, or killed journalists, which, according to national
and international NGOs, caused many to practice self-censorship
and others, 171 to be specific, received protection from the
government. The official Administrative Department of Security
monitored journalists, trade unionists, the political
opposition, and human rights organizations and activists--
physically, as well as their phone and email communications and
personal and financial data. According to some NGOs, the
government allegedly detained arbitrarily hundreds of persons,
particularly social leaders, labor activists, and human rights
defenders (HRDs), although a key NGO reported that such
detentions in 2009 were half the 2008 level. HRDs were also
persecuted and accused of supporting terrorism in an effort to
discredit their work. Prominent NGOs reported that eight human
rights activists and 39 trade unionists were killed during the
year. However, the government also worked to protect thousands
of union members, human rights activists, and other such
groups.
Authorities in Cuba interfered with privacy and engaged in
pervasive monitoring of private communications. There was no
ability to change the government. There were also severe
limitations on freedom of expression and no authorized press
apart from official media; denial of peaceful assembly and
association; restrictions on freedom of religion; and refusal
to recognize domestic human rights groups or independent
journalists or to permit them to function legally. The law
allows for punishment of any unauthorized assembly of more than
three persons, including those for private religious services
in private homes. The law also provides for imprisonment for
vaguely defined crimes such as ``dangerousness'' and ``peaceful
sedition.'' The government did not grant permission to any
antigovernment demonstrators or approve any public meeting by a
human rights group. Authorities held numerous opposition
leaders pursuant to sentences ranging up to 25 years for
peaceful political activities and detained activists for short
periods to prevent them from attending meetings,
demonstrations, or ceremonies. Although unauthorized, the
organization Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) generally was
allowed to assemble and walk to church each Sunday demanding
freedom for their imprisoned family members. However, the
organization reported that its activities beyond the
traditional weekly marches to church were disrupted on several
occasions during the year. In addition, a prominent blogger and
her colleague were detained and beaten while en route to a
peaceful protest. Human rights activists also reported frequent
government monitoring and disruption of cell phone and landline
services prior to planned events or key anniversaries related
to human rights. Authorities have never approved the
establishment of a human rights group; however, a number of
professional associations operated as NGOs without legal
recognition.
The government's poor human rights record degenerated
during the year, particularly after the disputed June
presidential elections. Freedom of expression and association
and lack of due process continued to be problems within Iran,
and the government severely limited individuals' right to
change their government peacefully through free and fair
elections. Following the June 13 announcement of President
Ahmadi-Nejad's reelection, hundreds of thousands of citizens
took to the streets to protest. Police and the paramilitary
Basij violently suppressed demonstrations. The official death
count was 37, although opposition groups report the number may
have reached 70. By August, authorities had detained at least
4,000 individuals, and arrests continued throughout the year. A
massive show trial involving many of the more prominent
detainees was undertaken in September. On June 20, according to
eyewitnesses, Basij militia killed Neda Agha-Soltan in Tehran.
The video of her death appeared on YouTube and became a symbol
of the opposition movement. Ahead of the June presidential
election, on the actual day of election, and during the
December 27 Ashura protests, when authorities detained 1,000
individuals and at least eight persons were killed in street
clashes, the government blocked access to Facebook, Twitter,
and other social networking sites. After the June election,
there was a major drop in bandwidth, which experts posited the
government caused to prevent activists involved in the protests
from accessing the Internet and uploading large video files.
The government continued to restrict freedom of religion
severely, particularly against Baha'is and, increasingly,
Christians.
The government of North Korea continued to subject citizens
to rigid controls over many aspects of their lives,
specifically denying citizens freedoms of expression, assembly,
and association. Reports by defectors and NGOs of extrajudicial
killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of
political prisoners, continued to paint a grim picture of life
there. The government sought to control virtually all
information: there were no independent media, Internet access
was limited to high-ranking officials and other elites, and
academic freedom was repressed. Domestic media censorship
continued to be strictly enforced and no deviation from the
official government line was tolerated. Similarly, the
government prohibited all but the political elite from
listening to foreign media broadcasts, and violators were
subject to severe punishment. There was no genuine freedom of
religion. Reports continued that religious believers, their
families, and even their descendents were imprisoned, tortured,
or simply relegated to a lower status. Indoctrination was
carried out systematically through the mass media, schools, and
worker and neighborhood associations and continued to involve
mass marches, rallies, and staged performances, sometimes
including hundreds of thousands of persons.
Government actions weakened freedom of expression and media
independence within Russia by directing the editorial policies
of government-owned media outlets, pressuring major independent
outlets to abstain from critical coverage, and harassing and
intimidating some journalists into practicing self-censorship.
During the year, unknown persons killed a number of human
rights activists and eight journalists, including prominent
journalist and human rights activist Natalia Estemirova, who
spent more than 10 years documenting cases of killings,
torture, and disappearances that she linked to the Chechen
authorities. President Medvedev stated it was ``obvious'' that
the killings were connected to Estemirova's work and ordered an
immediate investigation to find the perpetrators, but there
have been no arrests or prosecutions in this case. The
government increasingly attempted to restrict media freedom to
cover sensitive issues such as the conduct of federal forces in
Chechnya, human rights abuses, and criticism of some government
leaders. Likewise, many observers noted a selective pattern of
officials encouraging government-friendly rallies while
attempting to prevent politically sensitive demonstrations. The
government also attempted to restrict the activities of some
NGOs, making it difficult for some to continue operations. Upon
hearing criticism of the 2006 NGO law at a meeting with the
Presidential Council on Human Rights, President Medvedev called
existing regulations a ``burden'' and announced that some
regulations would be eased. None of the amendments to the law
applied to foreign NGOs.
Government officials in Venezuela, including the president,
used government-controlled media outlets to accuse private
media owners and reporters of fomenting antigovernment
destabilization campaigns and coup attempts. Senior federal and
state government leaders also actively harassed privately owned
and opposition-oriented television stations, media outlets, and
journalists throughout the year, using administrative
sanctions, fines, and threats of closure to prevent or respond
to any perceived criticism of the government. The government's
harassment of Globovision, the largest private television
network, included raiding the home of the company's president
and publicly calling for the company's closure. At year's end,
32 radio stations and two television stations had been closed,
and 29 other radio stations remained under threat of closure.
One domestic media watchdog reported that 191 journalists
either were attacked or had their individual rights violated
during the year. NGOs expressed concern over official political
discrimination against, and the firing of, state employees
whose views differed from those of the government. Private
groups also alleged that the government was pursuing 45 persons
as ``political objectives'' using various legal and
administrative means. The Organization of American States's
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recently noted ``a
troubling trend of punishments, intimidation, and attacks on
individuals in reprisal for expressing their dissent with
official policy.''
The human rights record of the government of Vietnam
remained problematic. The government increased its suppression
of dissent, arresting and convicting several political
activists. Several editors and reporters from prominent
newspapers were fired for reporting on official corruption and
outside blogging on political topics. Bloggers were detained
and arrested under vague national security provisions for
criticizing the government and were prohibited from posting
material the government saw as sensitive or critical. The
government also monitored e-mail and regulated or suppressed
Internet content, such as Facebook and other Web sites operated
by overseas Vietnamese political groups. The government
utilized or tolerated the use of force to resolve disputes with
a Buddhist order in Lam Dong and Catholic groups with
unresolved property claims. Workers were not free to organize
independent unions, and independent labor activists faced
arrest and harassment.
The government of Uzbekistan tightly controlled the media
and did not permit the publication of views critical of the
government. Government security officials regularly gave
publishers articles and letters to publish under fictitious
bylines, as well as explicit instructions about the types of
stories permitted for publication. In July, a court convicted
independent journalist Dilmurod Sayid to 12 and one-half years
in prison on charges of extortion and bribery soon after he
published articles regarding the corruption of local government
officials. The government requires all NGOs and religious
organizations to register in order to operate, and the
activities of international human rights NGOs are severely
restricted because the government suspects them of
participating in an international ``information war'' against
the country. Any religious service conducted by an unregistered
religious organization is illegal, and police frequently broke
up the meetings of unregistered groups, generally held in
private homes. Reportedly, in some regions, universities and
schools closed to send students to work in cotton fields;
students who refused were expelled or threatened with
expulsion.
DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT OF VULNERABLE GROUPS
Members of vulnerable groups--racial, ethnic and religious
minorities; the disabled; women and children; migrant workers;
and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals--often
were marginalized and targets of societal and/or government-
sanctioned abuse.
China continued to exert tight control over activities and
peoples that the government perceived as a threat to the
Chinese Communist Party. For example, public interest lawyers
who took on cases deemed sensitive by the government
increasingly were harassed or disbarred, and their law firms
often were closed. The government also increased repression of
Tibetans and Uighurs. The government tightened controls on
Uighurs expressing peaceful dissent and on independent Muslim
religious leaders, often citing counterterrorism as the reason
for taking action. Following the July riots that broke out in
Urumqi, the provincial capital of XUAR, officials cracked down
on religious extremism, ``splittism,'' and terrorism in an
attempt to maintain public order. In the aftermath of the
violence, Uighurs were sentenced to long prison terms and in
some cases were executed, without due process, on charges of
separatism. At year's end, Urumqi remained under a heavy police
presence and most Internet and international phone
communication remained cut off. In the Tibetan areas of China,
the government's human rights record remained poor as
authorities committed extrajudicial killings, torture,
arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial detentions. Authorities
sentenced Tibetans for alleged support of Tibetan independence,
regardless of whether their activities involved violence. The
preservation and development of Tibet's unique religious,
cultural, and linguistic heritage also remained a concern.
The government of Egypt failed to respect the freedom of
association and restricted freedom of expression, and its
respect for freedom of religion remained very poor. Sectarian
attacks on Coptic Christians mounted during the year. The
government failed to redress laws and government practices that
discriminate against Christians. The government sponsored
``reconciliation sessions'' following sectarian attacks, which
generally prevented the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes
against Copts and precluded their recourse to the judicial
system for restitution. This practice contributed to a climate
of impunity and may have encouraged further assaults. Members
of non-Muslim religious minorities that the government
officially recognized generally worshipped without harassment;
however, Christians and members of the Baha'i faith, which the
government does not recognize, faced personal and collective
discrimination in many areas. In a step forward, the government
promulgated procedures for members of unrecognized religions,
including the Baha'i faith, to obtain national identification
documents and reportedly issued 17 such documents and 70 birth
certificates to Baha'i during the year.
As a growing number of people cross borders to find work,
migrant workers have become particularly vulnerable to
exploitation and discrimination. In Malaysia, foreign workers
were subject to exploitative conditions and generally did not
have access to the system of labor adjudication. However, the
government investigated complaints of abuses, attempted to
inform workers of their rights, encouraged workers to come
forward with their complaints, and warned employers to end
abuses. The law did not effectively prevent employers from
holding employees' passports, and it was common practice for
employers to do so. Some domestic workers alleged that their
employers subjected them to inhuman living conditions, withheld
their salaries, confiscated their travel documents, and
physically assaulted them.
Violence against women, violations of the rights of
children, and discrimination on the basis of gender, religion,
sect, and ethnicity were common in many countries in the Middle
East region. In Saudi Arabia, for example, Muslim religious
practices that conflict with the government's interpretation of
Sunni Islam are discriminated against and public religious
expression by non-Muslims is prohibited. Human rights activists
reported more progress in women's rights than in other areas,
and the government made efforts to integrate women into
mainstream society, for example, through the founding of the
Kingdom's first coeducational university in September. However,
discrimination against women was a significant problem,
demonstrated by the lack of women's autonomy, freedom of
movement, and economic independence; discriminatory practices
surrounding divorce and child custody; the absence of a law
criminalizing violence against women; and difficulties
preventing women from escaping abusive environments. There are
no laws specifically prohibiting domestic violence. Under the
country's interpretation of Shari'a (Islamic law), rape is a
punishable criminal offense with a wide range of penalties from
flogging to execution. Statistics on incidents of rape were not
available, but press reports and observers indicated rape
against women and boys was a serious problem.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in
Uganda faced arbitrary legal restrictions. It is illegal to
engage in homosexual acts, based on a 1950 legal provision from
the colonial era criminalizing ``carnal acts against the order
of nature'' and prescribing a penalty of life imprisonment. No
persons have been charged under the law. The September
introduction in parliament of a bill providing the death
penalty for ``aggravated homosexuality'' and for homosexual
``serial offenders'' resulted in increased harassment and
intimidation of LGBT persons during the year; the proposed
legislation also provides for a fine and three years'
imprisonment for persons who fail to report acts of homosexual
conduct to authorities within 24 hours. Public resentment of
homosexual conduct sparked significant public debate during the
year, and the government took a strong position against such
conduct despite a December 2008 ruling by the High Court that
constitutional rights apply to all persons, regardless of
sexual orientation. The local NGO Sexual Minorities Uganda
protested alleged police harassment of several members for
their vocal stand against sexual discrimination.
Traditional and new forms of anti-Semitism continued to
arise, and a spike in such activity followed the Gaza conflict
in the winter of 2008-2009. Often despite official efforts to
combat the problem, societal anti-Semitism persisted across
Europe, South America, and beyond and manifested itself in
classic forms (including physical attacks on Jewish
individuals, synagogue bombings, cemetery desecrations; the
theft of the ``Arbeit Macht Frei'' sign from the Auschwitz
Death Camp; and accusations of blood libel, dual loyalty, and
undue influence of Jews on government policy and media.) New
forms of anti-Semitism took the form of criticism of Zionism or
Israeli policy that crossed the line into demonizing all Jews,
and, in some cases, translated into violence against Jewish
individuals in general. Instead of combating anti-Semitism,
some governments fueled it, most notably Iran's President
Ahmadi-Nejad. Anti-Semitic propaganda, including Holocaust
denial, was circulated widely by satellite television, radio,
and the Internet. A television show in Egypt that was widely
aired throughout the region did not deny the Holocaust, but
instead glorified it, praising the slaughter and humiliation of
Jews and calling for future Holocausts.
In several countries with generally strong records of
respecting human rights, there were nevertheless some notable
examples of members of vulnerable groups facing discrimination
and harassment. Discrimination against Muslims in Europe has
been an increasing concern. A recent case that received
international attention was the passage on November 29 in
Switzerland of a constitutional amendment banning the
construction of minarets. A provision in the Swiss constitution
enables direct citizen involvement. The amendment passed with
57.5 percent of the vote despite opposition from both
parliament and the Federal Council and public statements by
many of the country's leaders describing such a ban as
contradicting basic values in the country's constitution and
violating its international obligations. Proponents of the
initiative to ban minarets contended the construction of
minarets symbolized a religious and political claim to power.
In the wake of the economic downturn, there have been a
number of killings and incidents of violence against Roma,
including in Italy, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech
Republic. Roma are the largest and most vulnerable minority in
Europe; they suffer racial profiling, violence, and
discrimination. There were also reports of mistreatment of
Romani suspects by police officers during arrest and while in
custody. Roma faced high levels of poverty, unemployment, and
illiteracy, as well as widespread discrimination in education,
employment, and housing.
EUROPE AND EURASIA
----------
ALBANIA
The Republic of Albania is a parliamentary democracy with a
population of approximately 3.6 million. The constitution vests
legislative authority in the unicameral People's Assembly (parliament),
which elects both the prime minister and the president. The prime
minister heads the government, while the presidency has limited
executive power. On June 28, the country held parliamentary elections,
which the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) described
as marking progress over past elections, but not fully realizing
international standards. While ODIHR found that the elections met most
of the country's democratic commitments, observers noted problems,
including misuse of government resources by both sides for campaign
purposes, shortcomings in training and preparations for vote counting,
and evidence of proxy voting, media bias, and pressure on public sector
employees to participate in campaign events. The opposition Socialist
Party (SP) boycotted parliament after September, calling for an
investigation into alleged electoral fraud. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
There were reports that police severely beat and mistreated
suspects during interrogation and detention. Police corruption and
impunity persisted. Government corruption remained a serious and
unresolved problem. Discrimination against women, children, homosexual
persons, and minorities were problems. Trafficking in persons also
remained a problem.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. The killings of two political figures--Socialist
Party member of parliament Fatmir Xhindi and a Christian Democrat
leader, Alex Keka--were under investigation and remained unresolved at
year's end.
Investigations continued into allegations that, during the 1999
Kosovo conflict, traffickers kidnapped civilians from Kosovo and
brought them to the country, where some were killed and their organs
sold. In April the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo announced that it
had begun a preliminary investigation into the allegations. In August
Council of Europe special rapporteur Dick Marty led a mission to Serbia
and Albania to further investigate. Marty's report to the Council of
Europe remained pending at year's end.
During the year there were continuing reports of societal killings,
including both generational ``blood feud'' and revenge killings. Such
killings sometimes involved criminal gangs. According to the Interior
Ministry, there was one blood feud-related killing during the year,
which was a decrease from previous years. According to NGOs
approximately 120 families were effectively imprisoned in their homes
from fear of blood feud reprisals; half of these families were located
in Shkoder. The Court of Serious Crimes tried blood feud cases. The law
punishes premeditated murder, when committed for revenge or a blood
feud, with 20 years' or life imprisonment.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
At year's end, the trial was ongoing of Arben Sefgjini, who
previously served as the head of the National Intelligence Service
(SHISH), and three of his former SHISH colleagues, Budion Mece, Avni
Kolladashi, and Ilir Kumbaro, for the 1995 kidnapping and torture of
Remzi Hoxha and two other citizens. Hoxha's fate remained unknown.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions; however,
police and prison guards sometimes beat and abused suspects and
detainees.
On January 21, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture (CPT) released a report on the June 2008 visit by a CPT
delegation to a number of the country's prisons and detention centers.
The CPT reported credible allegations of physical mistreatment; abuse
mostly occurred during police questioning, including severe beatings
incorporating blows to the feet and to the palms and backs of the hands
with objects such as a baton. The most serious allegations received by
the delegation involved the police stations in Korca, Pogradec, and
Elbasan. However, in contrast with CPT visits in 2005 and 2006, the
majority of persons interviewed by the delegation stated they had been
treated correctly while in police custody.
The Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) and the Albanian Human Rights
Group (AHRG) reported that police sometimes used excessive force or
inhuman treatment. In 2008 the AHC reported that it received 91
complaints of mistreatment by police. The majority of these complaints
concerned unjustified stops by police, detention past legal deadlines,
failure to make citizens aware of their rights when detained, and poor
conditions of detention centers. According to the AHRG, police more
often mistreated suspects at the time of arrest or initial detention.
Roma, Balkan Egyptians, and persons engaging in homosexual conduct were
particularly vulnerable to police abuse.
As in past years, the police sometimes used threats and violence to
extract confessions.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The Ministry of Justice
operated all detention facilities; however, the Ministry of Interior
oversaw police detention facilities, which housed detainees for up to
48 hours after their arrest. After 48 hours, arrestees were placed
under Ministry of Justice supervision.
In its January 21 report on conditions of detention in the country,
the CPT delegation noted that, with the exception of provision of food,
hardly any progress had been made at the time of its June 2008 visit to
improve physical conditions of detention in police detention
facilities. In particular it found that detention conditions at the
Police Directorate General in Tirana were ``totally unacceptable.'' It
found all cells to be very small, in a poor state of repair and
hygiene, and to have little or no access to natural light and fresh
air. There were also reports of prison overcrowding. To alleviate
overcrowding, the government opened five new prisons during the year
and in April passed a probation law that allows those convicted of
minor crimes to be released on a probationary basis. Nearly 80 former
inmates participated in this program. In its January 21 report, the CPT
delegation noted that some cells in the unit for female prisoners at
Prison No. 313 in Tirana were severely overcrowded, with up to four
prisoners held in a cell measuring seven square meters (75 square
feet). This was the only facility in the country for female pretrial
detainees. In November, the government signed a memorandum with a local
NGO to increase the size of the facility.
The government allowed local and international human rights groups,
the media, and others to monitor prison conditions. The law provides
for an ombudsman to implement the National Mechanism for Torture
Prevention. The ombudsman received complaints of abuses by the
government and has the authority to monitor judicial proceedings and
inspect detention and prison facilities; the ombudsman can initiate
cases in which a victim is unwilling or unable to come forward.
Although the ombudsman lacked the power to enforce decisions, he acted
as a monitor for human rights violations. The most common cases
included citizen complaints of police and military abuse of power, lack
of enforcement of court judgments in civil cases, wrongful dismissal,
and land disputes.
As a result of the June 2008 finding by the ombudsman that inmates
at Burrel prison suffered substantial psychological and physical abuse,
the Ministry of Justice conducted more training for prison staff and
alleviated overcrowding. During the year the ombudsman did not receive
any complaints regarding Burrel prison.
During the year the ombudsman found that minors were being held
together with adults at the Korca prison and Durres predetention
facilities. Specifically, he found that 14- to 18-year-olds were being
together. The ombudsman recommended that this practice cease;
implementation was in process at year's end.
During the year, 186 prison guards and officials had disciplinary
proceedings initiated against them for misconduct.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were some
reports that police occasionally arbitrarily arrested and detained
persons.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Local police units
report to the Ministry of Interior and were the main force responsible
for internal security.
Notwithstanding police officer recruitment reforms and other
standardization by the Ministry of Interior, the overall performance of
law enforcement remained weak. Unprofessional behavior and corruption,
compounded by low salaries, remained major impediments to the
development of an effective civilian police force.
During the year the ombudsman processed and completed 151 of 169
complaints against the police mainly on arrest and detention issues;
the ombudsman resolved 63 in favor of the complaining citizen.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution requires that authorities inform detained persons
immediately of the charges against them and of their rights. Police
must immediately inform the prosecutor of an arrest. The prosecutor may
release the suspect or petition the court within 48 hours to hold the
individual further. The court must decide within 48 hours whether to
place a suspect in detention, require bail, prohibit travel, or require
the defendant to report regularly to the police. In practice
prosecutors requested and courts routinely ordered detention.
Courts must provide indigent defendants with free legal counsel.
Police often failed to inform defendants of this right. The AHC and
several NGOs offered free legal advice and advocacy services to
indigent persons.
The law requires completion of most pretrial investigations within
three months; however, a prosecutor may extend this period to two years
or longer. The law provides that the maximum pretrial detention should
not exceed three years; there were no reports during the year that this
limit was violated. However, lengthy pretrial detentions often occurred
due to delayed investigations, defense mistakes, or the failure of
defense counsel to appear.
Limited material resources, lack of space, poor court calendar
management, and insufficient staff prevented the court system from
adjudicating cases in a timely fashion.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, political pressure, intimidation,
widespread corruption, and limited resources sometimes prevented the
judiciary from functioning independently and efficiently.
The judicial system is composed of district courts, the serious
crimes court, military courts, and appellate courts. There is a High
Court that hears appeals from the appellate courts, and a
Constitutional Court that reviews cases involving constitutional
interpretation and conflicts between branches of government and cases
of individuals alleging denial of due process.
The High Council of Justice has authority to appoint, discipline,
and dismiss district and appeals court judges. The council consists of
the president, the justice minister, the head of the High Court, nine
judges selected by the National Judicial Conference, and three members
selected by the parliament. Judges may appeal their dismissal to the
High Court.
On February 16, the Constitutional Court suspended and referred to
the Council of Europe's Venice Commission for further review the
controversial ``lustration'' law, which allows the dismissal from
office of a wide range of officials who participated in ``political
processes'' while serving in higher-level positions under the Communist
government. Adjudication of these cases was to be addressed by an
extrajudicial commission appointed by the government-controlled
parliament. The law appeared aimed at achieving the government's
partisan political ends. In October the Venice Commission ruled that
the lustration law, as written, does not comply with the country's
constitution.
In 2008 the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment
against the country for violation of Article 6 (right to a fair trial)
of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial
with defendants presumed innocent until convicted. The court system
does not provide for jury trials. Prosecutors and defense lawyers
present cases to a judge or panel of judges, and defendants have the
right to access all evidence that prosecutors present to the judges.
Defendants have the right to appeal. The law mandates an alternative
sentencing system for juveniles.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees; however, former political prisoners
under the Communist government complained that they had either not
received the compensation due them under the law or that payments were
coming too slowly.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is a functional
civil law system where citizens have access to redress; however, it was
susceptible to corruption, inefficiency, and political tampering. The
Bailiff's Office is responsible for enforcing civil judgments. The law
allows private bailiffs to enforce judgments, facilitating both private
and public entities to help enforce rulings. However, the law was not
enforced during the year.
Property Restitution.--The laws governing restitution or
compensation for private and religious property confiscated during the
Communist era are complex, and a large number of cases involving
conflicting claims by new owners and the state, on one side, and former
owners on the other remained unresolved. In September 2008 the European
Parliament released a briefing paper on property restitution in the
country which noted that the first round of judgments of the European
Court of Human Rights had found ``serious deficiencies'' in the
administrative and judicial system of the country with respect to
property restitution and compensation of former owners. Other problems
identified in the paper included the government's slowness in setting
up restitution administrative structures in the Property Restitution
and Compensation Agency at both the central and regional department
level and the domination of the restitution process by informal and
corrupt transactions.
During the year the government provided 1.2 billion lek ($12
million) in compensation to former owners of private property. As in
previous years, the government did not provide restitution or
compensation to religious organizations for religious properties and
objects that the former Communist government confiscated or damaged.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press. While the government generally
respected these rights, there were reports that the government and
businesses exerted covert pressure on the media. While the media were
active and largely unrestrained, there were serious problems with the
misuse of the media for political purposes. These problems worsened
during and after the election campaign, with most media outlets showing
clear bias towards the two largest political parties and public media
outlets showing a distinct bias toward the ruling Democratic Party.
Individuals could generally criticize the government publicly or
privately without reprisal, although there were some exceptions.
The public Albanian Radio and Television operated a national
television channel and a national radio station and, by law, receives
50 percent of its budget from the government. The station remained
under strict government control in its editorial line. At times
political pressure and lack of funding constrained the independent
print media. There were cases of direct and indirect government
pressure on the media, including direct threats against journalists.
Journalists reported that they practiced extensive self-censorship.
The investigative role of the media continued to increase. A
popular investigative satirical show, Fiks Fare, led to dismissals and
criminal cases against corrupt public officials, including a minister
accused of sexual misconduct.
On January 6, a court suspended the Ministry of Interior-ordered
eviction in December 2008 of Tema, a newspaper that had been critical
of the ruling party, purportedly on ``national security'' grounds. The
court ordered that the newspaper be allowed to continue publishing
until the legal process was completed. However, in defiance of that
ruling, the government continued to deny newspaper staff members access
to the printing press or newspaper offices as of year's end.
In the spring, the Council of Ministers modified its 2006 decision
to break its 20-year lease of space to Top Channel, a private
television station that was sometimes critical of the government, and
order the station to vacate the state-owned office building in which it
was located. The council agreed to allow Top Channel to move to another
state-owned property. On September 14, the Ministry of Economy notified
Top Channel that it had to vacate premises at the so-called
``Ekspozita,'' where some of its activities were conducted, due to
privatization procedures, thus terminating Top Channel's lease
contract. The ministry stated that it had alerted the station during
the previous two years to the privatization, a claim the station
rejected as untrue. The station alleged that these actions were
reprisals for its editorial line. On September 15, a ministry
spokesperson stated that the lease had ceased to exist after the
privatization of the building. Several court hearings after the station
filed a lawsuit contesting the government's decision were postponed
during the year. The case was ongoing at year's end.
The law punishes libel with a prison sentence of up to two years
and a fine. During the year there were no libel suits against
reporters. However, two media outlets, Vision Plus and Shekulli, filed
libel suits against the prime minister in December for prejudicial
public statements made against them in parliament. Court hearings were
ongoing at year's end.
Politicization of the media remained a concern that worsened during
the election campaign. For the first time, political parties sent tapes
of campaign footage for the stations' use to replace the stations' own
coverage of campaign events. Publishers and newspaper owners continued
to direct news stories to serve their political and economic interests
and sometimes blocked stories that ran counter to those interests.
There was minimal transparency in the financing of the media.
Various forms of media intimidation continued. Journalists
continued to complain that publishers and editors censored their work,
either directly or indirectly in response to political and commercial
pressures. Many journalists complained that their lack of employment
contracts frequently hindered their ability to report objectively.
On November 2, an outspoken government critic, journalist Mero
Baze, owner of the Tema newspaper and host of a talk show on Vision
Plus, was assaulted outside a nightclub in Tirana. Witnesses stated
that he was assaulted by Rezart Taci, a prominent businessman and close
government associate, and his bodyguards for Baze's reporting on
alleged corruption in the privatization of ARMO, the country's state-
owned oil refinery, which the government had earlier sold to Taci. At
year's end, police were investigating the incident and the accused
businessman and two of his bodyguards were free on bail awaiting trial.
Political parties, trade unions, and other groups published
newspapers or magazines independent of government influence. An
estimated 200 publications were available, including daily and weekly
newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and pamphlets.
According to official data, the country had 64 private television
stations and 44 private radio stations, but the actual number was
reportedly higher. While stations generally operated free of direct
government influence, most owners believed that the content of their
broadcasts could influence government action toward their other
businesses.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Access to the Internet increased exponentially during the year, but
remained limited, particularly outside major urban areas. According to
International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 15 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet; however, there were other reports that usage could be as high
as 30 percent.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
The law provides for the election of university rectors by faculty
members and students. General elections took place in January 2008 at
all public universities. There were claims that the election process
was manipulated in the ballot counting process. There were also reports
of pressure exerted on some students during the elections.
Corruption in the education system was extensive. University
officials reportedly required payments for students to gain admission.
For a fee, professors were reputedly willing to write papers or
complete assignments for students, who routinely skipped classes.
Officials sometimes required bribes or sexual favors from students for
them to matriculate or pass examinations.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
The law requires organizers of gatherings in public places to
notify police three days in advance; there were no reports that police
arbitrarily denied such gatherings. On the eve of the June elections,
however, the government used police to obstruct the opposition's
preparations for its final campaign rally. The dispute was resolved
only through international intercession.
The law prohibits the formation of any political party or
organization that is nontransparent or secretive; there were no reports
that the government used this provision against any group during the
year.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
The predominant religious communities--Sunni Muslim, Bektashi
Muslim, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic--enjoyed a greater degree of
official recognition (for example, national holidays) and social status
than some other religious groups. The government does not require
registration or licensing of religious groups.
The constitution calls for separate bilateral agreements to
regulate relations between the government and religious communities. In
October 2008 the government signed agreements with the Muslim,
Orthodox, and Bektashi communities. The Catholic Church has had such an
agreement with the government since 2002. VUSH, a Protestant umbrella
organization, has asked to conclude a bilateral agreement. Among the
advantages of having an agreement are official recognition of the
community, prioritized property restitution, and tax exemptions.
Government financial support and state-subsidized clergy salaries are
to be implemented, based on a law on the financing of religious
communities passed on June 5.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reportedly fewer
than 100 Jews living in the country; there were no known functioning
synagogues or community centers, and no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Internal migrants must transfer their civil registration to their
new community of residence to receive government services and must
prove they are legally domiciled through property ownership, a property
rental agreement, or utility bills. Many persons could not provide this
proof and thus lacked access to essential services. Other citizens
lacked formal registration in the communities in which they resided,
particularly Roma and Balkan Egyptians.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. Under the law requests for asylum must be made within 10 days
of arrival on the country's soil, and the government must make the
decision regarding granting asylum within 51 days of the initial
request. The government actively cooperated with the UNHCR and the
Refugee and Migrants Services Albania, which provided assistance to
refugees.
The government provided temporary protection to refugees and
individuals who may not qualify as refugees and provided it to 99
persons during the year.
In cooperation with international organizations, the government,
through the EU's Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development,
and Stabilization program, prescreened undocumented migrants at all
border crossing points. Under the program, an NGO and government team
assisted border police in identifying undocumented migrants who were
potential victims of trafficking, asylum seekers, or economic migrants.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--On June 28, the country
held parliamentary elections. The official report of the OSCE Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) election
observation mission stated that the election met most OSCE commitments,
but nevertheless ``did not fully realize the country's potential to
adhere to the highest standards for democratic elections.'' While the
elections took place in a highly polarized environment and media
coverage was decidedly skewed in favor of the two largest parties, the
Democratic Party (DP) and the SP, 34 parties campaigned freely
throughout the country. ODIHR observers assessed voting positively in
92 per cent of voting centers visited but noted a number of procedural
violations, such as proxy voting. Press coverage was heavily biased in
favor of the government and the major opposition party, at the expense
of smaller parties. There were numerous allegations, of which several
were corroborated, of pressure to attend DP campaign events or to
desist from opposition activities, often accompanied by threats of job
loss. The government repeatedly used official events, including
inaugurations of infrastructure projects, for campaign purposes.
According to ODIHR, the government consistently misused state
resources--vehicles, personnel, telecommunications, and duplicating
equipment--to assist campaigning. The head of the SP also used official
events in his capacity as mayor of Tirana to campaign for the SP,
although less frequently.
According to the new electoral code, only identification cards or
passports could be used as identification for voting. The distribution
of identification cards to allow citizens without passports to vote
started in January and was largely completed in time for elections. A
concerted effort by the international community led to an agreement to
accelerate delivery and lower the cost of the cards. There were no
major disputes over identification cards on election day. Of over 1.4
million applications for identification cards, all but 3,321 were
processed before election day. Approximately 257,000 citizens without a
passport did not apply.
Due to administrative shortcomings, ODIHR observers assessed the
vote count as bad or very bad in 22 of the 66 ballot-counting centers.
Nevertheless, the ODIHR mission found no evidence of irregular counting
or manipulation of results and no major irregularities at the centers.
However, the opposition contested these apparently contradictory
conclusions, and a small political party aired video footage seemingly
showing vote counting irregularities in at least one polling station.
Opposition demands for recounts were denied by the Central Election
Committee on a party-line vote. The bipartisan Electoral College also
generally denied recount requests. The postelection appeals process was
conducted in a professional manner and appeared to be expedited,
according to the ODIHR mission. The final declaration on the seat
allocation and electoral results passed the CEC by a unanimous vote of
both major parties.
After the elections, the main opposition party, the SP, boycotted
parliament and called for investigations into alleged electoral fraud
and demanded the opening of the ballot boxes from the June 28
elections. The ruling DP declared that opening the ballot boxes would
be illegal, arguing that the opposition had exhausted all legal appeal
remedies provided for in the electoral code. The boycott was ongoing at
year's end.
Political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference.
Overall, women were poorly represented at the national and local
levels of government, despite commitments by the major political
parties to increase their representation. After the June 28 elections,
there were 23 women in the 140-seat parliament, an increase from nine
in the previous parliament. These included the speaker and one woman on
the Council of Ministers.
The law mandates that women fill 30 percent of appointed and
elected positions, and the electoral code provides that 30 percent of
candidates should be women. However, not all parties followed the
electoral code, and many placed women's names in low spots on the
ballot, virtually assuring that they would not win a seat in parliament
under the country's regional proportional parliamentary system in which
votes are allocated to candidates in order of their appearance on the
ballot.
Several members of the Greek minority served in the parliament and
in the executive branch in ministerial and subministerial positions,
including as the minister of labor.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, despite several arrests of high-level local and central
government officials, government corruption remained a major obstacle
to meaningful reform. World Bank governance indices for 2008 indicated
that corruption was a serious problem. The government prosecuted
corrupt officials and managed complaints regarding corrupt police
through the ombudsman.
During the year the government's anticorruption task force against
organized crime continued to coordinate anticorruption activities. The
task force, headed by the prime minister, included several ministers
and heads of independent state-owned agencies, such as the public
electricity company and representatives of the police and intelligence
organizations.
The law prohibits government ministers and their close family
members from owning a company directly tied to their official
responsibilities. Since its inception in 2003, the High Inspectorate
for the Declaration and Audit of Assets (HIDAA) received assets
declarations from 9,413 officials. During the year there were 424 new
officials who declared their assets for the first time. HIDAA
administers conflict of interest regulations and during the year fined
27 individuals for delaying their submissions and fined three for
conflict of interest.
During the year the Ministry of Interior reported that the state
police investigated 1,610 cases related to corruption and financial
crimes. Authorities arrested 2,049 persons. The government confiscated
approximately 700 million lek ($7 million) in assets, of which 550
million lek ($5.5 million) was from money laundering; the remainder was
in contraband goods and illegal products. According to the Ministry of
Interior, police dismantled 24 organized criminal groups in 38 police
operations. However, organized crime remained a serious problem.
The Joint Investigative Unit to Fight Economic Crime and Corruption
(JIU) investigated and prosecuted public corruption and other financial
crimes, although its ability to investigate and prosecute corrupt
judges, members of parliament, and other high officials was hampered by
broad immunity from criminal prosecution granted by the constitution.
The JIU was composed of the prosecutor general, the ministers of
interior and finance, and the director of SHISH. The JIU used a team
structure to concentrate capacity and foster communication necessary
for effective investigations and prosecutions. The JIU received direct
referrals from citizens.
During the year the JIU prosecuted two former mayors of a commune
near Tirana for a property fraud scheme. They were convicted of
corruption, money laundering, and other charges along with three other
officials and two citizens. The trial court imposed sentences ranging
from three to six years in prison; however, the Court of Appeals
subsequently reduced some of the charges and most of the sentences,
cutting the longest sentence to three years.
In a highly charged case involving restitution of property in the
Kashar Commune, seven persons were convicted of corruption, money
laundering, and other charges. This small commune, between Tirana and
Durres, contains valuable land adjacent to the main highway. The seven
agreed to a summary trial to reduce their sentences. The court imposed
prison sentences ranging from three to six years on five former
officials, including two former chairmen of the commune, and fines
ranging from one million to six million lek ($10,000 to $60,000). Two
commune citizens were convicted of money laundering and falsification
of documents, with one of them receiving the heaviest sentence of the
group--six years and eight months in prison.
In a Ministry of Defense procurement fraud case, three of four
defendants were convicted, including Shkelzen Madani, the resource
management director. Madani, convicted of passive corruption and
falsification of documents, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in
prison, a 1.8 million lek ($18,000) fine, and was prohibited from
holding public office for one year. Madani, a close associate of former
minister of defense Fatmir Mediu, and others received an estimated
2,000 euros ($2,860) in bribes for each ammunition import and export
license that the Ministry of Defense issued to civilian entities. Two
other defendants were convicted and sentenced to less than two years'
imprisonment.
In September the prosecution dismissed charges against former
foreign minister Lulzim Basha, who was indicted for abuse of office in
connection with the country's largest public works project, on
technical grounds relating to his immunity as the new minister of
interior.
During the year the Supreme Court ruled that former minister of
defense Fatmir Mediu was immune from prosecution in connection with the
investigation of the 2008 explosion at a demilitarization warehouse in
Gerdec that resulted in the deaths of 26 persons. Mediu's immunity,
which had been revoked in 2008, was reinstated upon his reelection to
parliament on June 28. As a result, the case was dismissed. As of
year's end, there had been no request from the prosecutor general to
lift Mediu's immunity.
Citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media, have the right
to obtain information about the activities of government bodies and
persons who exercise official state functions; however, citizens often
faced serious problems in obtaining information from public and
government institutions.
The law requires public officials to release all information and
official documents with the exception of classified documents and state
secrets. Most government ministries and agencies posted public
information directly on their Web sites. However, businesses and
citizens complained of a lack of transparency and the failure to
publish regulations or legislation that should be basic public
information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
generally cooperated and responded to their views. A group of human
rights NGOs collaborated to produce a human rights report on the
country that was published in December.
The government cooperated with international organizations, such as
the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration, and did not
restrict their access.
The human rights ombudsman has the authority to monitor judicial
proceedings and inspect detention and prison facilities; the ombudsman
can initiate cases in which a victim is unwilling or unable to come
forward. Although the ombudsman lacked the power to enforce decisions,
he acted as a monitor for human rights violations. The most common
cases included citizen complaints of police and military abuse of
power, lack of enforcement of court judgments in civil cases, wrongful
dismissal, and land disputes.
In many cases, the government took concrete steps to correct
problems in response to the findings of the ombudsman. Cooperation
improved between the Ministry of Interior and the ombudsman, and the
government implemented some suggestions made by the ombudsman.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity,
disability, language, or social status; however, the government did not
effectively enforce these prohibitions, and discrimination against
women, Balkan Egyptians, Roma, and homosexual persons persisted.
Women.--The criminal code penalizes rape, including spousal rape;
however, victims rarely reported spousal abuse, and officials did not
prosecute spousal rape in practice. The concept of spousal rape was not
well established, and authorities and the public often did not consider
it a crime. The law imposes penalties for rape and assault depending on
the age of the victim. For rape of an adult, the prison term is three
to 10 years; for rape of an adolescent between the ages of 14 and 18,
the term is five to 15 years and, for rape of a child under age 14, the
sentence is seven to 15 years.
Domestic violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained
a serious problem. During the year police reported 1,063 cases of
domestic violence and the government pressed charges in 747 cases. The
department of equal opportunities at the Ministry of Labor, Social
Affairs, and Equal Opportunity covers women's issues, including
domestic violence.
The government did not fund specific programs to combat domestic
violence or assist victims, although nonprofit organizations provided
assistance. NGOs reported that an estimated eight domestic violence
hotlines operated. The hotlines, serving mainly the northern part of
the country, each received approximately 25 calls per month from women
reporting some form of violence. NGOs operated four shelters for
battered women in Tirana, Vlora, Elbasan, and Gjirokaster. NGOs noted
an increase in reports of domestic violence, primarily due to increased
awareness of services.
In many communities, particularly those in the northeast, women
were subjected to societal discrimination as a result of traditional
social norms that considered women to be subordinate to men.
The law prohibits prostitution; however, it remained a problem.
The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, officials rarely
enforced the law.
In March the prime minister fired the minister of culture, youth,
tourism, and sports, Ylli Pango, one hour after a popular television
program broadcast a video taken by a hidden camera showing Pango
requesting sexual favors from a young woman in exchange for a job in
his ministry. An investigation of Pango terminated in December due to
lack of evidence other than the video, which was deemed entrapment by
prosecutors.
Reproductive rights are respected by the government. Citizens have
access to contraception. Under the law, health care is provided to all
citizens; however, the quality of and access to care, including
obstetric and postpartum care, was not satisfactory, especially in the
remote rural areas.
The law provides equal rights for men and women under family law,
property law, and in the judicial system. Neither the law nor practice
excluded women from any occupation; however, they were not well
represented at the highest levels of their fields. The law mandates
equal pay for equal work; however, the government and employers did not
fully implement this provision.
Children.--In general, parents must register their children in the
same community where they registered. However, according to the
Children's Rights Center of Albania (CRCA), children born to internal
migrants frequently had no birth certificates or other legal
documentation and, as a result, were unable to attend school.
The law provides for nine years of free education and authorizes
private schools. School attendance is mandatory through the ninth grade
or until age 16, whichever comes first; however, in practice many
children left school earlier than the law allowed to work with their
families, particularly in rural areas. Parents had to purchase
supplies, books, uniforms, and space heaters for some classrooms, which
was prohibitively expensive for many families, particularly Roma and
other minorities. Many families also cited these costs as a reason for
not sending girls to school.
According to 2007-08 Ministry of Education figures, public school
secondary school enrollment (ages 15 to 18 years) for both boys and
girls was 96.7 percent, primary school attendance (ages six to 14
years) was 99.1 percent, and the school dropout rate was 0.9 percent.
In December the ministry announced a new program designed to decrease
the dropout rate further by providing textbooks on a reimbursement
basis for qualifying families and transportation to and from school.
As in previous years, child abuse, including sexual abuse, occurred
occasionally, although victims rarely reported it. Trafficking of girls
for commercial sexual exploitation was a problem. Children were also
trafficked to Greece and Kosovo and within the country for begging and
other forms of child labor in both formal and informal sectors.
Child marriage remained a problem in many Roma families and
typically occurred when children were 13 or 14 years old.
Displaced and street children remained a problem, particularly
Romani children, who made up 90 percent of street children. Street
children begged or did petty work; some migrated to neighboring
countries, particularly during the summer. These children were at
highest risk of internal trafficking and some became trafficking
victims.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes and provides penalties for traffickers; however,
individuals and organized crime syndicates trafficked persons,
particularly women and children, from and within the country.
The country was a source country for men, women, and children
trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor,
including forced begging and agricultural work. Victims were trafficked
primarily to Greece, but also to Italy, Macedonia, Kosovo, Spain,
France, the United Kingdom, and other West European countries as well
as within the country.
Trafficking in persons is punishable by law, with criminal
penalties ranging from five to 15 years in prison for sex trafficking
offenses and from four to 15 years for labor trafficking. Fines from
50,000 to four million lek ($500 to $40,000) accompany prison sentences
in criminal cases. Civil remedies are also available.
During the year the government increased its investigations and
prosecutions for trafficking in persons offenses. By year's end, police
referred 14 new trafficking cases to the General Prosecutor's Office, a
decline from the previous year, when authorities investigated 20
persons on trafficking charges. The Prosecution Office for Serious
Crimes has 24 cases under proceedings; seven of these were registered
during the year. Authorities referred five cases to the Serious Crimes
Court; the court prosecuted 31 persons, convicting 11 of trafficking.
The court sentenced seven offenders to between 15 and 16 1/2 years in
prison; it fined six offenders seven million lek ($70,000).
In separate cases during the year, the Supreme Court reversed the
convictions of three traffickers on several grounds, including the
prohibition on the alleged victims--the convicted traffickers' wives--
testifying against them in court.
The government continued its slow implementation of the national
action plan to provide services to victims of trafficking. The
government provided limited services to trafficking victims, operating
a shelter near Tirana; however, it did not provide financial assistance
to the four nongovernment shelters.
The National Strategy on the Fight against Trafficking in Human
Beings was the primary vehicle through which the government addressed
trafficking. Through the strategy, the government offered training to
270 personnel and sponsored dozens of public awareness campaigns during
the year to prevent trafficking.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with disabilities; however, employers,
schools, health care providers, and providers of other state services
sometimes discriminated against persons with disabilities. The law
mandates that new public buildings be accessible to persons with
disabilities, but the government only sporadically enforced the law.
Widespread poverty, unregulated working conditions, and poor medical
care posed significant problems for many persons with disabilities.
During the year the ombudsman continued to inspect mental health
institutions and found that physical conditions in facilities in Vlora
and Shkoder were improved. However, the ombudsman also found these same
facilities were understaffed and poorly supplied and that hygienic and
sanitary conditions were unacceptable. The ombudsman, who conducted
inspections in 2008 and 2009 in Elbasan, Shkoder, and Vlore,
recommended a major legal, organizational, and budgetary review of the
country's mental health care system. A special report on the status of
mental health treatment was sent to parliament in June 2008; however,
no action had been taken. The admission and release of patients at
mental health institutions was a problem due to lack of sufficient
financial resources to provide adequate psychiatric evaluations.
The electoral code provides for wheelchair-accessible voting booths
and special accommodations for blind persons to vote. According to
ODIHR, more than 2,000 voters with disabilities who lacked a valid
passport could not apply for a new identification card because
application centers were difficult or impossible to access. Homebound
voters also were not able to apply, as there were no mobile application
workstations. After a slow start, ballots for the blind were available
for the June 28 elections but were missing in some voting centers.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were reports of societal
discrimination. As visible minorities, members of the Romani and Balkan
Egyptian communities suffered significant societal abuse and
discrimination.
The law permits official minority status for national groups and
separately for ethnolinguistic groups. The government defined Greeks,
Macedonians, and Montenegrins as national groups; Greeks constituted
the largest of these. The law defined Aromanians (Vlachs) and Roma as
ethnolinguistic minority groups.
In October the Council of Ministers approved the National Action
Plan for the Roma and Egyptian Involvement Decade for the 2010-15
period. The total budget for implementing the five-year plan was
expected to be nearly 2.5 billion lek ($25 million).
The ethnic Greek minority pursued grievances with the government
regarding electoral zones, Greek-language education, property rights,
and government documents. Minority leaders cited the government's
unwillingness to recognize ethnic Greek towns outside Communist-era
``minority zones''; to utilize Greek in official documents and on
public signs in ethnic Greek areas; to ascertain the size of the ethnic
Greek population; or to include a higher number of ethnic Greeks in
public administration.
In April, Vasil Bollano, the ethnic Greek mayor of Himara was found
guilty of abuse of office. He was sentenced to six months in prison,
fined an estimated $5,000, and prohibited from holding public office
for three years. The case was under appeal at year's end. The case
originated in 2008, when Bollano was charged with destruction of
government property after he ordered the removal of several new road
signs in the Himara district because they were written in Albanian and
English but not Greek.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws
criminalizing sexual orientation, and the law does not differentiate
between types of sexual relationships. There were few lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations in the country, although
their numbers and activities were starting to grow. The groups operated
without interference from police or other state actors, largely because
they generally were discrete. There were repeated reports that
individuals were beaten, fired from their employment, or subjected to
discrimination due to their sexual orientation. Often these cases went
unreported.
In June a man allegedly murdered his brother due to his sexual
orientation. The murderer pled guilty and was sentenced to eight years
in prison. In August four men were arrested in Durres for prostitution
and engaging in public sexual activity. The men claimed police
discriminated against them, since police officers often did not arrest
female prostitutes and their clients when apprehended. Without an
antidiscrimination law, societal discrimination based on sexual
orientation was a constant. There were several informal reports of
harassment, denial of service, and employment discrimination due to
sexual orientation. For example, homosexual customers were sometimes
denied service in bars and restaurants. There were reports of LGBT
persons being harassed on the streets. They often did not report
criminal or civil offenses committed against them from fear of economic
and physical reprisals. LGBT persons are not a protected class under
the law. NGOs claimed that police routinely harassed homosexual
persons.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Workers have the right to form
independent unions and they exercised this right in practice; however,
the law prohibits members of the military and senior government
officials from joining unions and requires that a trade union have at
least 20 members to be registered. Approximately 15 percent of the
workforce belonged to unions.
The law provides the right to strike for all workers except civil
servants, and workers exercised this right in practice. Civil servants
do not have the right to strike; this applies to the uniformed
military, police, indispensable medical and hospital personnel, persons
providing air traffic control and prison services, and both essential
and nonessential workers in water and electrical utilities. The law
prohibits strikes that courts judge to be political.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Citizens in all
fields of civilian employment have the constitutional right to organize
and bargain collectively, and the law establishes procedures for the
protection of workers' rights through collective bargaining agreements.
However, labor unions operated from a weak position. In practice unions
representing public sector employees negotiated directly with the
government. Effective collective bargaining remained difficult, and
agreements were hard to enforce.
During the year the parliament adopted a law requiring workers'
representative bodies in enterprises with 20 or more employees to
inform workers of all issues affecting them and their companies.
The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination, and there were
some reports of such occurrences. According to the Independent Trade
Union of Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers, employers in the
textile, garment, leather, and footwear sectors regarded trade unions
as enemies. Reportedly, they threatened international relocation if
workers unionized. In October the parliament passed a law that would
sequester properties belonging to the country's trade unions. The
International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General
Workers' Unions filed a lawsuit against this law.
The law established economic zones and industrial parks, and the
government subsequently approved six industrial parks for development.
As of January, these parks were in development.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, women and
children were trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law criminalizes exploitation of children for labor or forced services;
however, the government did not enforce the law effectively. According
to a CRCA estimate released during the year, more than 50,000 children
under 18 years of age worked either full or part time. The CRCA
reported that the majority of child laborers worked as street or shop
vendors, beggars, farmers or shepherds, drug runners, vehicle washers,
textile factory workers, miners, or shoeshine boys. Research suggested
that begging, whether forced or not, started at a young age--as early
as four or five years--and was related to poverty and discrimination.
Police generally ignored these practices. In January 2008 the criminal
code was amended to include the exploitation of children for begging as
a separate criminal offense.
The law sets the minimum age of employment at 14 years and
regulates the amount and type of labor that children under the age of
18 may perform. Children between the ages of 14 and 16 may work legally
in part-time jobs during summer vacation; children between the ages of
16 and 18 can work throughout the year in certain specified jobs. The
law provides that the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Equal
Opportunity is responsible for enforcing minimum age requirements
through the courts; however, there were no reports that enforcement
took place. Labor inspectors generally only investigated the formal
labor sector, whereas most child labor occurred in the informal sector.
The majority that they inspected were shoe and textile factories.
In March 2008 a massive explosion killed several illegally employed
children at a munitions dump in the town of Gerdec. The explosion
killed 26 persons and injured hundreds of others, some seriously.
The government, together with several NGOs and international
donors, had some specific programs aimed at preventing illegal child
labor.
During the year the Child Labor Unit at the Ministry of Labor
continued implementing the second phase of its child labor monitoring
initiative in the regions of Elbasan and Shkoder. As a result of those
efforts, 315 children were withdrawn from various forms of employment
and returned to school. In addition, the Ministry of Tourism
established a code of conduct for preventing child sex tourism that was
signed by 24 tourist agencies and hotels.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage since
May was 18,000 lek ($180) per month. However, it was not sufficient to
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. According
to INSTAT, the average wage for government workers was 42,000 lek
($420) per month. The Albanian Institute of Statistics also reported
that average monthly wages in the public sector had increased 16
percent from 2008.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunity has
the responsibility for enforcing minimum wage compliance.
The law establishes a 40-hour workweek; however, individual or
collective agreements typically set the actual workweek. Many persons
worked six days a week. The law requires payment of overtime and rest
periods; however, employers did not always observe these provisions in
practice. The government had no standards for a minimum number of rest
periods per week, no limits on the maximum number of hours worked per
week, and no regulations regarding premium pay for overtime; it did not
prohibit excessive compulsory overtime.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunity is
responsible for enforcing government occupational health and safety
standards and regulations; however, enforcement was lacking overall.
Workplace conditions were frequently very poor and in some cases
dangerous. During the year the media reported a number of job-related
deaths, particularly in the construction and mining industries. The
chromium mines of Bulqiza continued to be among the most dangerous
workplaces in the country, with at least 16 deaths reported from April
2007 to the end of the 2008. During the year miners at Bulqiza
conducted a hunger strike to protest the poor working conditions; the
miners suspended the strike to give the government time to draft
proposals to improve work conditions and to pass a special miners'
status bill. The government had not made a proposal by year's end.
The law does not provide workers the right to remove themselves
from hazardous situations without jeopardy to their employment.
__________
ANDORRA
The Principality of Andorra is a constitutional parliamentary
democracy with a population of approximately 84,500. Two princes--the
president of France and the Spanish bishop of La Seu d'Urgell--serve
with joint authority as heads of state, and a delegate represents each
in the country. In April the country held free and fair multiparty
elections for the 28 seats in the General Council of the Valleys, which
selects the head of government. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
The ombudsman reported prolonged pretrial detention and violence
against women and children. The law does not protect the right of
workers to form and join unions or unions' right to bargain
collectively and to strike.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards. The government
permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and
such visits occurred during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the national police, the country's
only security force. The government has effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption, and there were no reports
of impunity involving police during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants are
required for arrest. Police may legally detain persons for 48 hours
without charging them with a crime. The law allows detainees to have
access to an attorney no later than 25 hours after arrest, and the
government observes these legal provisions in practice. Persons charged
with a crime can either choose their own lawyer or accept one
designated by authorities. A system of bail exists.
Cases of foreigners, who represented 75 percent of those arrested
and awaiting trial, accounted for most of the lengthy detention cases,
primarily because in most such cases two or even three countries might
be involved. Pretrial detainees accounted for approximately 30 percent
of the prison population. The ombudsman criticized the lengthy pretrial
periods.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are public,
and defendants can request a jury. Defendants have the right to be
present and consult with an attorney in a timely manner. If a defendant
facing serious criminal charges cannot afford an attorney, the
government must appoint a public attorney. Defendants and attorneys
have access to government-held evidence in their cases. Defendants can
confront or question witnesses against them and present witnesses and
evidence on their behalf. The law extends the rights to all citizens
with no exception. Defendants have the right to appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary is
independent and impartial in civil matters, and plaintiffs can bring
lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights
violation. No administrative remedies are available for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 70 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for the freedoms of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice. Under the constitution, the Roman Catholic Church and the
state have a special relationship; one of the two constitutionally
designated princes of the country is the bishop in the Spanish town of
La Seu d'Urgell. The government pays the salaries of Catholic priests
and religion teachers, who teach the Roman Catholic religion in the
public schools as an optional course outside regular school hours.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts against the approximately 100-person Jewish community.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in assisting refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless
persons, and other persons of concern.
The constitution and law prohibit forced exile, and the government
did not employ it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. The law does not provide for the
granting of asylum or refugee status. However, the government has from
time to time cooperated with the UNHCR and other organizations in
assisting refugees ``for humanitarian reasons.'' In practice, the
country provided some protection against the expulsion or return of
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--General Council elections
in April were considered free and fair. Individuals and parties could
freely declare their candidacy and stand for election.
There were nine women in the 28-seat General Council and two women
in the six-seat cabinet. One of the five judges of the Supreme Court of
Justice is a woman.
Citizens are ethnically and linguistically homogeneous but
represent only 36 percent of the total population. Only citizens have
the right to vote and to hold official positions; consequently, there
were no members of minorities in government. The population largely
consists of immigrants from Spain, Portugal, and France.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. The
chief of police is responsible for combating corruption. There were no
reports of government corruption during the year. Public officials are
not subject to financial disclosure laws.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government has permitted access in practice for citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views. The ombudsman enjoyed
the government's cooperation and operated without government
interference.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuse, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law declare all persons equal before the law
and prohibit discrimination on grounds of birth, race, gender, origin,
opinions, or any other personal or social condition; however, the law
reserves a few rights and privileges exclusively to citizens.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape; rape is
punishable by up to 15 years' imprisonment. Authorities enforced the
law effectively.
There is no specific law prohibiting domestic violence, although
other laws may be applicable in such cases. Victims of domestic
violence could request help from the Andorran International Women's
Association (AIWA) and the Andorran Women's Association (AWA), but
victims rarely filed a complaint with the police due to fear of
reprisal. The two associations reported that some women complained
about the treatment they received from police when they filed a
complaint. The government did not have any shelter, but it operated a
hotline and provided medical and psychological services to victims of
domestic violence. The government and AIWA placed abused women and
their children in the private apartments of persons who agreed to
provide shelter to them. Caritas, a religious NGO, worked closely with
the government and AIWA on social issues.
According to the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family, there
were 162 reports of physical abuse against women until the end of
November, a 40-percent increase from 2008. Authorities prosecuted
approximately 50 persons for violence against women.
Prostitution is illegal and was not a problem.
The law does not prohibit sexual harassment. According to an local
women's rights organization, only two women formally reported sexual
harassment cases to the police.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely the number
of children they wish to have. There was easy access to contraception,
skilled attendance during childbirth, and women were treated for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men.
The law prohibits discrimination against women privately or
professionally; however, the AWA reported that there were some cases of
women dismissed from employment due to pregnancy. Observers estimated
that women earned 35 percent less than men for comparable work; this
gap appeared to be decreasing slowly. The government is making efforts
to combat pay discrimination in general, and it applied pay equality
within the government. There are no limitations on women's
participation in the labor market, and the government has encouraged
them to participate in politics.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis); birth in the country's territory does not confer
citizenship. Legal immigrants may obtain citizenship after 20 years of
residence in the country. Children of residents may obtain citizenship
after age 18 if they have resided virtually all of their life in the
country. Dual nationality is not permitted.
Violence against children persisted. According to data from
November, 159 minors were treated for various forms of abuse.
The country's general law against rape also covers statutory rape.
Child pornography is illegal and carries a prison sentence of up to
four years. The age of majority, 18 years, is also the age of consent.
The penalty for statutory rape is the same as for rape in general: 15
years' imprisonment.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for labor exploitation, and there were no reports that persons were
trafficked to, from, or within the country. Trafficking for purposes of
labor exploitation is punishable by up to five years' imprisonment and
by fines of up to 180,000 euros (approximately $257,400). There is no
law that specifically penalizes human trafficking for sexual
exploitation, but such cases could be prosecuted as trafficking for
labor exploitation. The government agencies responsible for dealing
with trafficking are the Department of the Interior and the Department
of Social Welfare.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or in the provision of other state services, and the
government enforced it effectively. Nevertheless, societal
discrimination against persons with disabilities existed on a small
scale in the form of social and cultural barriers. Persons with
disabilities also faced disadvantages in the labor market. The law
mandates access to public buildings for persons with disabilities, and
the government generally enforced this provision. In December 2008 the
government approved a decree that ordered ordinary schools to adapt
infrastructure to the needs of children with disabilities. More than
100 children with disabilities are currently attending modified
schools. An association for persons with disabilities operates in the
principality.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--No lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender organizations exist in the principality, and no gay marches
occurred during the year. On the basis of constitutional guarantees of
the right to freedom of ideas, religion, and ideology, the government
acts against any discrimination that may occur in the country.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
However, the government bars immigrants with HIV/AIDS.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution recognizes that
workers have the right to form trade unions to defend their economic
and social interests. In January the government approved a labor
relations law to protect the right of unions to operate. National and
international unions, however, criticized the law because it does not
provide the right to strike. No strikes occurred during the year.
Alternate dispute mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration exist.
In practice the government lacked mechanisms to protect worker
rights. Workers were reluctant to admit to union membership, fearing
retaliation by their employers, and unions did not make their
membership numbers public. However, on May 1 (Labor Day), the
government permitted workers to conduct a peaceful demonstration
calling on the government to approve a law allowing the right to
strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does
not specifically provide for collective bargaining. Collective
bargaining did not occur.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Slavery or forced
and compulsory labor is punishable by a maximum of 12 years'
imprisonment. There were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits children under the age of 16 from working, except in
limited circumstances when school is not in session. The labor
inspection office in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Public Health, and
Labor effectively enforced child labor regulations.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of
7.60 euros (approximately $10.90) per hour and 915.20 euros
(approximately $1,309) per month did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family due to the high cost of living. The
government sets the national minimum wage administratively and adjusts
it twice a year. Wages increased at a slower rate than housing and
lodging costs. The labor inspection office enforced the minimum wage
effectively.
The law limits the standard workweek to five eight-hour days.
Workers may work up to two overtime hours per day or 15 hours per week,
50 hours per month, and 426 hours per year. The law provides for
premium pay of time plus 25 percent the first four hours and time plus
50 percent the following four hours. There is a required rest period of
12 hours between working shifts.
The labor inspection service sets occupational health and safety
standards and had the authority to levy sanctions and fines against
companies violating them. Although the law authorizes employees to
refuse certain tasks if their employers do not provide the necessary
level of protection, it does not provide workers the right to remove
themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardizing their
continued employment. During the year the labor inspection service
received more than 200 complaints against companies for violating labor
regulations. For the first time in years, accidents at work diminished;
from January through November there were 4,043.
__________
ARMENIA
Armenia is a constitutional republic with a population of
approximately 3.2 million. The constitution provides for an elected
president and a unicameral legislature (the National Assembly). The
country has a multiparty political system. The significantly flawed
February 2008 presidential election and violent break-up of ensuing
protests that resulted in 10 deaths continued to fuel a political
crisis that remained largely unresolved during the year and resulted in
numerous human rights abuses. In April 2008 Serzh Sargsian of the
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) was sworn in as president, replacing
Robert Kocharian. In the National Assembly, the RPA continued to
dominate the ruling coalition, which decreased from four parties to
three on April 27, when the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutiun) resigned from the coalition citing differences over
the conduct of foreign policy. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces, although some
members of the security forces continued to commit human rights abuses
with impunity while under the direction of civilian leadership.
Authorities restricted the right of citizens to freely change their
government in mayoral elections in Yerevan. During the year authorities
subjected citizens, particularly those considered by the government to
be political opponents, to arbitrary arrest, detention, and
imprisonment for their political activities; lengthy pretrial detention
also continued to be a problem. Authorities continued to use harassment
and intrusive application of bureaucratic measures to intimidate and
retaliate against political opponents. Authorities used force to
disperse political demonstrations and constrain citizens seeking to
publicize them. Police beat pretrial detainees and failed to provide
due process in some cases. The National Security Service (NSS) and
police acted with impunity in committing alleged human rights abuses.
In spite of renovations and new construction, prison conditions
remained cramped and unhealthy. Authorities denied citizens the right
to a fair trial. News outlets, especially in the broadcast media,
practiced a high degree of self-censorship, and authorities continued
to restrict media pluralism, including through a moratorium on renewal
of broadcasting licenses. There were multiple attacks against
journalists, and the government rarely identified or prosecuted
perpetrators. Authorities restricted freedom of assembly, rejecting
numerous applications filed by political opponents to hold
demonstrations at requested venues, and often prevented spontaneous
assembly by citizens. Corruption remained widespread, and authorities
did not make determined efforts to combat it. Authorities and laws
restricted religious freedom. Violence against women and spousal abuse,
trafficking in persons, and discrimination against persons with
disabilities and homosexual individuals was also reported.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
a military officer was arrested for causing the September 2 death of a
conscript soldier.
During the year authorities opened two sets of criminal proceedings
against eight police officers for criminal offenses allegedly committed
during the March 2008 clashes between security forces, looters, and
protesters disputing the February 2008 presidential election results.
The clashes resulted in the deaths of eight civilians and two police
officers.
According to official information, on August 28-29, authorities
opened criminal proceedings against four police officers who were
accused of improperly using teargas against demonstrators in the March
2008 events. The four officers allegedly fired teargas grenades at
demonstrators from dangerously close distances, resulting in the deaths
of three civilians and the injury of three others.
On January 23, Samvel Nikoyan, head of the ad hoc parliamentary
commission investigating the March 2008 postelection violence, called
on the government to open criminal proceedings against the four police
officers for mishandling riot equipment that resulted in three deaths.
On June 24, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
issued a resolution expressing concern about the lack of concrete
results of the prosecutor general's investigation into the deaths and
called for the investigation to be satisfactorily concluded without
delay. Relatives of some of the persons killed in the clashes
criticized the official investigation and the leniency of charges
against the officers. At year's end the criminal proceedings were still
in the investigation stage, and no police officer had been prosecuted
for mishandling equipment.
On September 16-17, approximately 16 months after its
establishment, the ad hoc parliamentary commission released its
findings on the March 2008 postelection events and 10 resulting deaths.
The report stated that the commission was unable to shed more light
onto the circumstances of the deaths and urged law enforcement
authorities to do more to identify, track down, and prosecute
individuals responsible for the deaths. Relatives of the civilian
victims protested the commission's findings and demonstrated before the
parliament for a full, objective accounting of the deaths.
The report blamed authorities, the opposition, and the media alike
for escalating the election-related tensions that preceded the clashes.
The report criticized electronic media for biased coverage in the
period prior to the election, which added to the public's distrust of
authorities. But the report assigned most of the blame for the violent
unrest on the opposition, accusing presidential candidate and former
president Levon Ter-Petrossian of poisoning the preelection period by
sowing ``hostility and intolerance'' and planting ``doubts about the
legitimacy of the elections'' before the campaign began. It also stated
that the postelection protests by Ter-Petrossian supporters
destabilized the country and disrupted public order. The report failed
to shed light onto the circumstances of the deaths of the 10 citizens
killed in the clashes. The opposition reacted harshly to the report's
findings, accusing authorities of using it to cover up their
responsibility for the violence and fatalities that occurred.
On December 21, while commending the commission for certain
recommendations and analysis, the PACE Monitoring Committee lamented
what it described as the commission's apparent aim ``to avoid too
overtly discrediting the official version of events or too harshly
criticizing the authorities on their handling of them,'' noting such
self-censorship undermined the credibility of the inquiry. PACE also
characterized the report for its ``one-sided, bordering on biased
description of events'' leading to the March 1-2 violence and
``practically total lack of discussion and analysis of developments''
that followed the violence, ``such as the arrest and prosecution of a
large number of opposition supporters.'' PACE also deemed
unsatisfactory ``the lack of any concrete results from the inquiry into
the 10 fatalities'' that occurred during the March 1-2 events.
The government reported that, during the first 11 months of the
year, there were 42 deaths registered in the army. Official statistics
varied on the number of soldiers who died in noncombat conditions due
to alleged abuse and mistreatment, with the Ministry of Defense
reporting seven and the military prosecutor reporting two deaths in
this manner during the first 11 months of the year. The two sources
also reported different statistics on the number of suicides and
``induced suicides,'' with the Ministry of Defense reporting 11
suicides (two of which were ``induced'') and the military prosecutor
reporting six (with two ``induced''). It was unclear whether violence
or hazing played a role in any of the remaining causes of death, such
as ``negligence'' or ``violations of breach of procedures of soldiers'
relations.''
On September 2, Aram Mkrtchian, an 18-year-old conscript, died in a
hospital from beatings by his battalion commander, Captain Andok
Galstian, at a military post in the Vayots Dzor region. According to
reports, Galstian severely beat Mkrtchian several times during the
morning hours of August 28. The conscript was subsequently taken in
grave condition to the military unit's first aid center and was
hospitalized only several hours after losing consciousness. The media
quoted Mkrtchian's cousin as stating that, after being beaten,
Mkrtchian was left without aid for approximately four hours and that
experts told the cousin that it would have been possible to save his
life if he had been transported to the hospital in time. Forensics
showed that Mkrtchian had multiple wounds over his entire body. Andok
Galstian was arrested on charges of abuse of power causing grave
consequences due to carelessness, punishable by three to eight years in
prison. The deputy commander of the military unit, Major Mamikon
Vardanian, was charged with insulting a soldier in the same criminal
case, which continued at year's end.
In June 2008 families of soldiers who died during military service
between 2005 and 2008 issued a statement accusing authorities of
systematically conducting false investigations into the deaths of
soldiers and destroying or tampering with evidence in order to disguise
homicides as accidents, suicides, or the results of sniper attacks.
In June 2008 a trial began regarding the 2007 death of Tigran
Ohanjanian, a soldier serving in the Karjaghbuir military unit in
Vardenis. His death was officially attributed to accidental
electrocution, and two fellow soldiers, Rustam Asatrian and Karen
Tovmasian, were charged with negligence. The family believed, however,
that Ohanjanian was killed. According to an August 26 report by the
online Hetq news agency, an expert examination showed that the voltage
in the military unit was not strong enough to kill. The trial continued
at year's end and according to Ohanjanian's family was marred with
numerous procedural violations aimed at concealing the true cause of
their son's death and those responsible for it.
On February 23, Captain Viktor Aslanyan was convicted and sentenced
to seven years' imprisonment for inducing the 2007 suicide of Hovhannes
Meltonian, who served under Aslanyan's command in the Koghb military
unit in the Tavush region.
On April 7, Avetis Avetisyan was convicted in connection with the
May 2008 death of Narek Galstian, who was reportedly found dead in a
gasoline tank operated by his military unit. Avetisyan was convicted of
official forgery and breach of guarding or patrolling regulations and
sentenced to a fine and one year of imprisonment. On August 9, an
appeals court ruled that Avetisyan qualified for a general amnesty
declared on June 19 and ordered his release. The concerns of the
Galstian family, who maintained their son was murdered, remained
unaddressed.
On September 1, Henrikh Grigoryan was convicted and sentenced to 15
years' imprisonment for the 2007 murder of Gegham Sergoyan, a soldier
under his command. Grigoryan was also convicted of abuse of authority.
Ethnic Armenian separatists, with Armenia's support, continued to
control most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and seven
surrounding Azerbaijani territories. Land mines placed along the border
with Azerbaijan and along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict continued to cause bodily harm. During the first 11 months of
the year, government sources reported that three military personnel
were killed and two injured by landmine explosions. There was one
report of a civilian incurring injuries caused by land mines.
According to official information, during the first 11 months of
the year shootings along the militarized line of contact separating the
sides as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resulted in 26
casualties on the Armenian side, including the death of six military
personnel and the wounding of 18 military personnel and two civilians.
On the evening of February 3, Colonel Gevorg Mherian, a deputy
chief of the national police, was shot and killed outside the entrance
to his home in central Yerevan. A former presidential anticorruption
adviser promoted into his new job by President Sargsian in July 2008,
Mherian at the time of his death was reportedly still actively involved
in high-level anticorruption efforts. On February 5, President Sargsian
convened a meeting regarding the killing with the chief of police, the
head of the National Security Service, the prosecutor general, and
other law enforcement officials. He called Mherian's death an assault
on the country's law enforcement system and alluded to Mherian's recent
anticorruption activities as a possible factor in the crime. At year's
end the killer had not been identified and the investigation continued.
There were no developments reported in the cases of the 2007
killing of Albert Ghazarian, the chief prosecutor of the Lori region,
or the 2007 attack on Gyumri mayor Vartan Ghukasian and his entourage
that resulted in the deaths of three bodyguards and a driver.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the law prohibits such practices, they were
regularly employed by members of the security forces. Witnesses
continued to report that police beat citizens during arrest and
interrogation while in detention. Human rights nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) reported similar allegations; however, most cases
of police mistreatment continued to go unreported because of fear of
retribution. Human rights groups continued to report that many
individuals transferred to prisons from police detention facilities
alleged torture, abuse, or intimidation while in police custody and
that the main purpose of the torture and physical abuse was to extort
confessions.
During 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued
judgments in which it found three violations by the country of the
prohibition on cruel or degrading treatment under the European
Convention on Human Rights.
There were no updates in investigating the alleged torture of
former deputy prosecutor Gagik Jhangirian and his brother Vardan during
their February 2008 arrest and detention (see section 1, Political
Prisoners and Detainees).
Throughout the year numerous witnesses called to testify against
opposition figures arrested in connection with the March 2008
presidential elections and ensuing violence reported to observers, the
media, and courts that they had been tortured or intimidated by law
enforcement bodies into providing false testimony against these
figures.
On May 6, Yasha Melkonian, a witness in the criminal case against
then-member of parliament (MP) and opposition supporter Sasun
Mikaelian, recanted at a court hearing his pretrial testimony against
Mikaelian, stating that he had provided the written testimony under
physical duress by investigators. Melkonian also stated that, before he
was taken to the Prosecutor's Office, he was beaten by masked men at
the Hrazdan police station and that the beating was overseen by Sergey
Markosian, the head of Hrazdan police investigation department. On May
8, the Special Investigative Service (SIS) launched a criminal case
into Melkonian's allegations; however, according to the Prosecutor
Ggeneral's Office, Melkonian subsequently recanted his allegations, and
the SIS case was dismissed.
According to media reports, on May 19, Henrik Hartenian retracted
his pretrial testimony in 2008 against Miasnik Malkhasian, a member of
parliament and one of the seven well-known opposition leaders arrested
after the March 2008 violence and charged with attempting to stage a
coup and organizing mass riots accompanied by murder. Hartenian told a
Yerevan court that he had provided the false testimony after he was
beaten and detained by police. Hartenian reportedly stated that an
investigator threatened his life if he did not provide the false
testimony that police wanted. Hartenian also claimed that police in his
home town of Ashtarak had recently harassed him and his family to
ensure he did not retract his testimony.
According to media reports, on May 19, Gagik Avdalian, another
witness in the case against Miasnik Malkhasian, told a Yerevan court
that he falsely incriminated Malkhasian after being severely beaten by
masked men while in police custody in March 2008. Moments before he was
due to testify, Avdalian claimed he was forcibly taken to the
Inspectorate General of Criminal Investigations at the national police;
Avdalian claimed that the head of the unit there, Colonel Hovannes
Tamamian, promised to free his brother, who was imprisoned for a
criminal offense, if he maintained his initial testimony against
Malkhasian.
Similar allegations of torture and degrading treatment by the
authorities in order to coerce testimony against opposition figures, as
well as subsequent harassment to ensure that they did not retract their
initial testimony, were made by Mushegh Antonian, Rafael Balbabian,
Aristakes Vardanian, and others.
On May 29 the Prosecutor General's Office distributed a press
release stating that five criminal cases had been opened in connection
with allegations that law enforcement officers and others intimidated
witnesses during the criminal trials of three then-members of
parliament--Hakob Hakobian, Myasnik Malkhasian, and Sasun Mikaelian--
plus Grigor Voskerchian, Alexander Arzumanian, and Suren Sirunian. Four
of the five cases were opened as a result of the allegations of
mistreatment made by the witnesses, which included that of Yasha
Melkonian (mentioned above). The fifth case was opened after some
witnesses in cases against opposition figures reportedly approached law
enforcement agencies and courts for protection after unidentified
individuals allegedly pressured them to retract their initial testimony
against opposition supporters. The opposition denied the claims
directed against them. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, it
dismissed the case of witness Gevorg Muradyan after determining there
had been no wrongdoing by investigators. In the case of the witness
Edik Khachatryan, the Prosecutor General's Office said Khachatryan
recanted his allegations of abuse. The Prosecutor General's Office
dropped the allegations of intimidation and abuse by witness Arsen
Mkrtchian because of a lack of proof, and by Yasha Melkonian because he
reportedly recanted the allegations. The Prosecutor General's Office
did not provide information on other cases of witnesses who alleged
that they had been coerced or threatened into providing false testimony
against opposition members.
On November 20, the SIS announced that it had charged the former
police chief of Gyurmi with abuse of power ``accompanied by the use of
violence'' for allegedly beating and illegally keeping a citizen in
custody in July who had come to him with a complaint. The former police
chief, Shirak Shahnazarian, was removed from his office in early
November for unspecified reasons.
In April 2008 Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's
commissioner for human rights, published a report that expressed
concern over police mistreatment of persons during detention, which
appeared to be widespread and aimed at extracting confessions.
On September 8, the Group of Public Observers--also known as the
Civil Society Monitoring Board (CSMB)--released its annual report for
2008 on conditions inside the country's prisons. According to the
report, while prisoner mistreatment reportedly has declined since 2001,
violence including torture continued to be applied as punishment for
noncompliance and escape attempts. The report singled out a particular
trend of violence, largely unreported, that appeared to occur in
connection with deployments of the Rapid Response Division (RRD) of the
Justice Ministry's Penitentiary Department to penitentiaries.
According to a CSMB report issued in December 2008, six of its
members visited the Nubarashen prison and the Hospital for Convicts
following reports of abuse of incarcerated opposition figures. During
the visit, they learned that the RRD had carried out a search at the
prison during which violent incidents towards inmates occurred in
various cells, including degrading treatment, slapping, and insults.
During a search of opposition figure Grigor Voskerchian's cell,
Voskerchian was reportedly slapped and kicked when members of the RRD
discovered his opposition political affiliation.
According to the report, the main violence during the RRD's visit
to Nubarashen prison occurred in cell 36 in building 3, where 13
convicts were being held. According to various sources, there was a
clash during the search that resulted in injury to Zorik Arzumanian,
the RRD's leader. Subsequently, RRD members allegedly assaulted all of
the convicts in the cell for an extended period. The convicts sustained
broken noses, lacerations, and bruises on their faces, heads, backs,
legs, and arms. The CSMB concluded that the RRD members had gravely
violated the principle of proportionate use of force and had abused
their official position. In view of the length and scale of the
operation, the CSMB considered the violence tantamount to torture.
The CSMB filed an urgent report with the Ministry of Justice
concerning the RRD visit to Nubarashen prison, which the ministry
referred to the prosecutors for further investigation. The Ministry of
Justice also opened an internal investigation into the matter. On
January 9, based on its internal investigation, the Ministry of Justice
reprimanded RRD Captain Artur Yeghiazarian for conduct unbecoming an
officer for assaulting Grigor Voskerchian. According to the Ministry of
Justice, on June 18 Artur Tonoyan, an inmate in cell 36 when the
alleged RRD violence occurred, was convicted to five years in prison
for using violence against a representative of authorities.
In June the Helsinki Citizens Assembly of Vanadzor NGO (HCAV)
released a report on incidents of police torture and violence inflicted
on citizens in the Lori region from late 2008 through May. No criminal
investigations were opened into any of the nine cases presented by HCAV
of alleged illegal police actions, which included illegal deprivation
of freedom, humiliating treatment, torture, psychological pressure, and
threats.
According to the HCAV report, on January 10 Suren Ayvazian and
Harutyun Galstian, two minors, were taken to the Bazoum police
department of Vanadzor without a stated reason. At the police station,
police allegedly subjected Ayvazian to humiliating treatment, slapped
him multiple times, and threatened to place him on an electric stove
unless he provided false testimony about Galstian. Ayvazian stated that
he witnessed police officers beating Galstian and another young man in
a different room. Following the HCAV report, an internal investigation
was opened which concluded that the reported events had not occurred;
police also stated that the boys had denied the allegations.
According to the same HCAV report, on February 9, Vanadzor resident
Artur Vardumian was taken to a police station under suspicion of
criminal activity and was reportedly beaten by several officers. His
injuries were recorded in the Vanadzor prison registry after his
transfer from the police station. The official response to the inquiry
from HCAV was that Vardumian had inflicted the numerous injuries upon
himself while hitting his head on a table and wall during his
detention.
On April 11, the office of the ombudsman reported a case of abuse
that allegedly occurred on April 10 at the police station of the
Arabkir community of Yerevan involving five detained individuals. The
abuse included beatings, withholding of medical aid, illegal
deprivation of liberty, humiliating treatment, and denial of food and
sleep. The ombudsman's application to the SIS to conduct an inquiry
into this case was not acted on by year's end.
On April 16, the SIS terminated the investigation into the
suspicious 2007 death in police custody of the restaurant owner Levon
Gulian, citing lack of evidence that a crime had been committed. On
December 2, a first instance court rejected the appeal of the family
against the termination of the case, and the family took the case to
the appeals court, where it was pending at year's end. The SIS, which
took over the initial investigation from the Prosecutor General's
Office in 2007, had previously closed the criminal case in March 2008,
claiming that Gulian, an alleged witness to a homicide, fell to his
death from a second-story police station window while trying to escape.
Gulian's family and human rights activists stated at the time that the
investigation was neither credible nor transparent and that Gulian had
died as a result of police abuse. On May 12, the Paris-based
International Federation of Human Rights released a joint statement
with the human rights NGO Armenian Civil Society Institute that
expressed deep concern about the yet-unsolved death of Gulian.
There were no developments in the allegations of torture and abuse
reported by Karen Dodoyan and Ashot Ghukasian, witnesses in the 2007
murder case of former Lori prosecutor Albert Ghazarian. There were also
no further developments in the 2007 cases of alleged abuse of a
detainee at Nubarashen prison nor of Artavazd Simonian.
Customs within the military, the impunity of military commanders,
corruption, and substandard living conditions in the armed forces
continued to contribute to mistreatment and injuries in the armed force
that were unrelated to military operations. Although no reliable
statistics were available on military hazing, soldiers reported to
human rights NGOs that the practice continued. The families of soldiers
claimed that corrupt officials controlled military units. Human rights
monitors and the ombudsman reported that soldiers were conscripted into
army service despite having serious disqualifying health conditions.
According to the military prosecutor, during the first 11 months of the
year, 38 military personnel were convicted of hazing and related
violations and 45 more cases were under trial.
On May 27, the ombudsman released an ad hoc report on human rights
violations in the military in 2008. The report singled out misconduct
and hazing of conscripts by their commanding officers and fellow
soldiers and a lack of accountability for such actions. The report also
highlighted the failure to register hazing offenses committed in the
armed forces. According to the report, only 15 to 20 percent of hazing
incidents were officially registered. The report cited 171 cases of
beatings and hazing over the first nine months of 2008, 38 of which
were related to beatings of conscripts by commissioned officers. The
report also discussed the arbitrary application of humiliating and
degrading treatment to servicemen in the course of disciplinary actions
and noted the continued recruitment of persons with preexisting health
conditions that make them unfit for military service.
On June 16, the Ministry of Defense announced that it had
established a special task force to develop recommendations for
improving disciplinary regulations that would bring the country into
conformity with international standards. At year's end no
recommendations had been made.
In May 2008 Ashot Voskanian was drafted into the army despite a
serious preexisting medical condition affecting his legs. According to
reports, almost immediately after Voskanian began service, he required
crutches and later underwent several surgeries due to the worsening
condition of his legs. Voskanian's parents made numerous, unsuccessful
attempts to exempt him from service. After numerous media reports and
interventions by human rights activists, the minister of defense met
with Voskanian on July 7, following which he was hospitalized once
again, his future service depending on the final outcome of the
treatment. According to official information Voskanian underwent a
medical examination on October 8 and was found fit for noncombat
service and returned to service.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to a September 8
report by the CSMB, the country made progress during the year to reform
penitentiaries and detention centers and bring them into compliance
with international human rights standards. Despite this progress, which
came about mainly through the renovation of older facilities or the
construction of newer ones, the group stated in its report that
improvements in prison facilities and treatment of detainees were still
needed.
According to the report, shortcomings included continued
overcrowding of cells, inadequate conditions for personal hygiene,
insufficient heating, insufficient medical staff, exercise time that
was lower than legally prescribed, and food quality that remained poor.
The report singled out continuing violence against inmates by the RRD
and found the decision-making process for early release of convicts to
be subjective and controversial.
On March 25, several human rights NGOs released a statement
expressing concerns about the activities of the commission on early
release. In particular the NGOs expressed their concern about the
absence of strict criteria for the commission's decision making, the
lack of an appeal mechanism, and the fact that most members of the
commission were representatives of law enforcement structures.
According to observers, most instances of abuse of prisoners and
detainees by law enforcement authorities continued to occur in police
stations, rather than in police detention facilities, which are subject
to human rights monitoring.
Corruption in prisons continued to be a problem, exacerbated by low
salaries for prison administration employees, as well as poor and
sometimes dangerous working conditions. In certain facilities prisoners
bribed officials to obtain single occupancy cells and additional
comforts. There were also unverified reports that authorities charged
unofficial fees to family members and friends seeking to deliver meals
to inmates.
The NGO Helsinki Committee reported an account of a former prisoner
at Nubarashen prison who claimed that the prison was ruled by a
clandestine organized criminal system, with rampant corruption
affecting the prisoners and involving the administration; secrecy,
blackmail, gambling, torture, psychological pressure, intimidation, and
inducing inmates to commit suicide were prevalent practices. The
account alleged that bribes had to be paid for legally prescribed
privileges, such as visits, telephone calls, and receipt of packages.
The government generally permitted local NGOs and international
rights groups, including the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), to monitor conditions in prisons. The ICRC was permitted to
visit both prisons and pretrial detention centers and did so in
accordance with its standard modalities. Authorities generally
permitted CSMB personnel to visit prisons without giving advance
notice.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, in practice authorities continued to
arrest and detain criminal suspects without warrants. Authorities
continued to arbitrarily detain individuals due to their opposition
political affiliations or political activities.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police are
responsible for internal security, while the NSS is responsible for
national security, intelligence activities, and border control; the
heads of both organizations are appointed by the president. The police
and the NSS continued to lack training, resources, and established
procedures to implement reforms or to prevent incidents of abuse.
Prisoners reported that law enforcement bodies did little to
investigate allegations of abuse. As a result, impunity remained a
serious problem.
Corruption remained a significant problem in the police and
security forces. In spite of efforts to further reduce bribe-taking by
traffic police, citizens continued to report being solicited to pay
bribes to the police, although less than in previous years. There was
no dedicated mechanism for investigating police abuse. By law citizens
may sue police in court. According to official information, during the
year the police conducted 32 internal investigations into citizens'
complaints of police misconduct and brutality against detained or
arrested persons, witnesses, or citizens. Twenty-eight of the cases
were considered as not substantiated by proof; in two cases six police
officers received a strict reprimand; and the remaining two cases were
suspended until the SIS could review the case materials.
During the year the SIS conducted 77 investigations into alleged
crimes by police officers, with 16 of these related to official abuse
of authority; 11 to exceeding of authority; 10 to bribe taking; 11 to
inflicting bodily harm of various degrees; five to fraud; four to
hooliganism; three to divulging the data of inquiry or investigation;
two each to theft, illegal weapons possession, and improper safekeeping
of weapons; and one each to murder, illegal entrepreneurship, tax
evasion, negligence in keeping a weapon, illegal turnover of narcotics
for the purpose of sale, illegal turnover of narcotics without the
purpose of sale, giving a bribe, official forgery, official negligence,
forcing testimony, and improper handling of weapons. By the end of the
year, 33 of the 77 cases against 40 persons had been sent to court, 16
of the 77 cases were dropped, six were suspended, three combined with
other ongoing criminal cases, four were sent to a different body, and
15 were ongoing.
During the year the SIS investigated 24 cases against employees of
various prisons, including 13 for distribution of illicit narcotics,
three for inflicting bodily harm on civilians, two for exceeding
official authority, two for abuse of official authority, and one each
for providing improper medical aid, taking a bribe, official negligence
and assisting a prison escape. Ten of these cases resulted in
convictions.
In 2007 the Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case for
exceeding official authority against the deputy director of Vardashen
prison, Gagik Hovhannisian, and two members of the prison
administration, Arsen Grigorian and Levon Hovakimian, for abuse of
power and using violence against an inmate. On January 12,
Hovhannissian was convicted and sentenced to two years' imprisonment;
Grigorian and Hovakimian were convicted and given two-year suspended
sentences.
By law detainees may file complaints prior to trial to address
alleged abuses committed by authorities during criminal investigations;
however, detainees must obtain permission from police or the
Prosecutor's Office to obtain a forensic medical examination needed to
substantiate a report of physical abuse. Human rights NGOs continued to
report that authorities rarely granted such permission or granted it
days later, when signs of abuse were no longer visible.
The SIS was located in the building of the Prosecutor General's
Office and headed by the former head of the prosecutor's investigative
department and continued to function as the de facto investigative body
of the Prosecutor General's Office, reversing the effects and purpose
of earlier reforms to improve checks and balances in the judicial
system.
In March 2008 the national police, in cooperation with the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), began a
pilot project on community policing designed to facilitate cooperation
between police and the public. The project, which was located in
Yerevan's Arabkir District, continued during the year. In November 2008
the OSCE office in the country and the police signed a memorandum on
cooperation and assistance in the areas of democratic policing,
community policing, police education in accordance with international
standards, and development of skills in maintaining public order.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Prosecutors
and police investigators must obtain a warrant from a judge to detain
an arrested suspect in excess of 72 hours. Judges rarely denied police
requests for detention warrants. At times police arrested individuals
and held them for up to 72 hours on the pretext that they were material
witnesses to a crime (not suspects); observers contended that the
police would avoid labeling them as suspects so that their subsequent
rights as suspects/defendants would not be triggered.
The law provides for a bail system; however, in practice most
courts denied requests for bail, ordering instead either continued
detention or release of defendants on their own recognizance pending
trial. In the latter case, defendants were sometimes required to
surrender their passports and to sign statements promising not to leave
the country or, in some cases, city limits.
The law requires police to inform detainees of their right to
remain silent, to make a telephone call, and to be represented by an
attorney from the moment of arrest, including by public defenders
provided in the case of indigent detainees. In practice police did not
always abide by the law. They often questioned and pressured detainees
to confess prior to indictment and in the absence of counsel. Police
sometimes restricted the access of family members and lawyers to
detainees. The practice of detaining individuals as ``material
witnesses'' before being designated as suspects resulted in the
questioning of individuals without the benefit of a defense attorney.
Local and international human rights groups reported procedural and
other violations during the arrest and detention of persons during the
year.
On January 27, PACE issued a resolution in which it regretted that
only limited progress had been made by authorities with regard to the
release of persons deprived of their liberty in connection with the
events of March 2008. Many of these individuals were detained on
seemingly artificial or politically motivated charges. At the time,
authorities justified the arrests as necessary to prevent attempts to
initiate mass disorders and usurp power by extraconstitutional means.
While the majority of these detainees were released without charge
after several hours' detention, dozens of opposition supporters were
detained for up to 16 months, through the end of June, either after
being convicted of crimes or pending the conclusion of their trials.
PACE noted that a significant number of prosecutions and convictions of
opposition supporters were based solely on police testimony, without
substantial corroborating evidence.
On June 5, police detained and arrested Arshaluis Hakobian, a
member of the local NGO Helsinki Association, for allegedly assaulting
a police officer while being delivered a summons to appear in
connection with the official complaint of electoral fraud that he filed
as an accredited election observer during the May 31 Yerevan mayoral
election. On October 16, November 20, and December 21, the judge
postponed the court hearings on the case in response to the
prosecution's requests for more time to conduct an investigation into
the actions of the police officers who detained and arrested Hakobian.
Hakobian stated that the police pressured him to sign the summons for
him to appear in connection with his electoral fraud complaint and beat
him on the way to and at the police station. Court hearings had yet to
resume at year's end (see section 5).
On July 5, police arrested the youth opposition activist Tigran
Arakelian and charged him with ``hooliganism.'' Arakelian's arrest
followed reported July 1 clashes between plainclothes police officers
and youth activists from the opposition Armenian National Congress
(ANC) in downtown Yerevan, where the latter were distributing leaflets
announcing the holding of an ANC rally on July 2. Arakelian was held in
pretrial detention until October 8, when authorities released him due
to his worsening medical condition, which Arakelian alleged was the
result of head injuries inflicted by police. On December 15, the
criminal case against Arakelian and two other youth activists also
charged in connection with the July 1 incident was dropped due to a
lack of evidence (see section 2.b.).
Lengthy pretrial or preventive detention remained a problem. In
practice authorities generally respected the provision of the law
stipulating that pretrial detention could not extend beyond 12 months.
However, the law does not set any limits for detention of defendants
once their case is sent to the court. Although the law requires a well-
reasoned decision to justify grounds for an extension of custody,
judges routinely prolonged custody on seemingly unclear grounds.
According to official information, during the year the average prison
population comprised 3,728 inmates, of which pretrial detainees totaled
422 persons, and 305 were detainees whose trials were in progress.
In July 2008 the ombudsman published his observations on the
government's practice of placing persons under detention and on
extending the pretrial detention of persons arrested in connection with
the March 1 events. The ombudsman found that authorities presented
insufficient accounts of alleged crimes to the court, that judges did
not--as required by law--substantiate their conclusions that a detainee
posed a flight risk, and that judges failed to consider alternatives to
detention, such as release on bond.
The government declared a general amnesty on June 19 that resulted
in the early release of 329 people, including 30 of the approximately
44 opposition supporters still in prison as of the date of the amnesty.
Most individuals were released in June and July, after the amnesty,
with the most prominent opposition supporters released after the
conclusion of their trials. Individuals were ineligible for the amnesty
while they were still under investigation, if the articles they were
charged with could result in a sentencing not covered by the amnesty,
had been charged or convicted of certain crimes, or sentenced to prison
terms exceeding five years. Five of the persons who qualified for the
amnesty included progovernment loyalists convicted of vote fraud during
Yerevan's May 31 mayoral election, and one was a member of the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) who admitted shooting to death a
fellow RPA member prior to the election but whose crime was downgraded
to causing death by negligence and illegal weapon possession
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, courts remained regularly subject to
political pressure from the executive branch, and judicial corruption
was a serious problem.
Following the abolishment of ``specialized courts'' in January, the
court system was organized into basic trial courts, an administrative
court, civil and criminal appellate courts, the Court of Cassation, and
the Constitutional Court.
The review courts are considered final courts for examination of a
case's merits. The Court of Cassation has discretionary review
authority as a highest judicial body over nonconstitutional matters.
The 2008 judicial code assigned new roles to the Court of Cassation,
including the provision of uniform application of law, its correct
interpretation, and support in the development of legislation. The
Constitutional Court rules on the constitutionality of legislation,
provides its opinion on the constitutionality of signed international
agreements prior to their ratification by the National Assembly, and
rules on election-related questions.
Citizens have the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court, with
283 persons lodging appeals during the year.
The Council of Justice recommends candidates for judgeships, who
are then appointed by the president, who continued to retain a highly
influential role over judicial branch personnel. The council also
nominates candidates for the chairmen of courts on all three levels and
their chambers and subjects judges to disciplinary proceedings for
misconduct. The president and the National Assembly each appoint two
scholars to the council, and the General Assembly of Judges elects the
remaining nine members by secret ballot.
In 2007 the Constitutional Court ruled that sending back criminal
cases for additional investigation by pretrial bodies was
unconstitutional and voided the relevant provisions of the criminal
procedure code. As a result, trials must end either by acquittal or
guilty verdicts, effectively ending the practice of holding defendants
indefinitely for ``additional investigation'' when underlying cases are
weak. Despite the ruling, the National Assembly subsequently enacted a
law in late 2007 allowing a trial judge to suspend a trial and apply to
the Prosecutor General's Office for reconfirmation of the indictment
protocol to include new aggravated charges. This statutory authority
effectively undermined the presumption of innocence and potentially
favored the prosecution in such trials.
During 2008 the ECHR issued judgments in which it found four
violations by the country of the right to a fair trial as provided
under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Trial Procedures.--The law generally requires that trials be public
but permits exceptions, including when a trial's secrecy is in the
interest of ``morals,'' national security, or for the ``protection of
the private lives of the participants.'' Juries are not used. A single
judge issues verdicts in courts of first instance (except for cases on
crimes punishable by life imprisonment), and panels of judges preside
in the higher courts. Defendants generally have the right, and are
generally required, to be present at their trials. They have the right
to counsel of their own choosing, and the government is required to
provide them with defense counsel--public defender--upon request;
however, this obligation was frequently not honored in regions outside
of Yerevan, where there often were not enough defense lawyers.
Reportedly, defendants would at times refuse their public defenders
because of the perception that the public defenders colluded with
prosecutors.
Under the law, defendants may confront witnesses and present
evidence, and they and their attorneys may examine the government's
case in advance of the trial. In practice, however, defendants and
their attorneys had very little ability to challenge government
witnesses, particularly police officers. Under the law, police officers
are prohibited from testifying at trial in their capacity as a police
officer, unless they are testifying as a witness or victim in the case.
Thus, official police reports detailing the evidence found at a crime
scene or the confession of a defendant were routinely received as
evidence without any in-court testimony from police. Defense lawyers
had almost no capacity to challenge the findings of these official
reports, which were generally considered by courts to be unimpeachable.
Defendants, prosecutors, and the injured party have the right to
appeal court rulings. Judges generally granted defendants' requests for
additional time to prepare cases. The law provides for the presumption
of innocence; in practice, however, this right was frequently violated.
According to court statistics, the courts rendered only seven
acquittals out of a total of 2,407 verdicts handed down during the
year, for an acquittal rate of approximately 0.3 percent.
There continued to be reports of prosecutors and police using
confessions that were obtained through methods that some NGOs
characterized as torture and inhuman treatment. Defense lawyers may
present evidence of torture to overturn improperly obtained
confessions; however, defendants, their attorneys, and NGOs often
stated that judges and prosecutors refused to admit such evidence into
court proceedings, even when the perpetrator could be identified.
Courts at all levels did not give proper consideration to claims by
defendants or witnesses that they had undergone torture in the course
of the investigation. Judges often did not respond to such claims, gave
them little credence, or rejected the claims outright and issued guilty
verdicts in cases where witnesses had alleged torture.
On December 10, the UN Development Program, in close collaboration
with the Office of the Ombudsman, published the results of its research
on the implementation by courts of the UN Convention against Torture.
The research concluded that often, when there were objective
indications that a party to the trial had been subjected to torture,
the courts did not raise the issue for discussion. In rare instances,
when it was officially recognized that evidence had been obtained as a
result of an act of torture, evidence was still admitted.
On January 19, a Yerevan court sentenced an 18-year-old soldier,
Karen Hayrapetian, to one year in prison for perjury in retracting the
incriminating testimony he gave in June 2008 against the opposition MP
Myasnik Malkhasian and his driver Arman Shahinian. Malkhasian and
Shahinian were arrested following the postelection violence in March
2008. Based on Hayapetian's original testimony, Shahinian was sentenced
to 18 months in prison for allegedly assaulting a police officer during
the clashes. The verdict was primarily based on a pretrial deposition
by Hayrapetian, which he subsequently claimed police had tricked him
into signing shortly before being drafted into the army in June 2008.
The court trying Shahinian ignored Hayrapetian's claims and found
Shahinian guilty based on the deposition. In October 2008 authorities
began prosecuting Hayrapetian for perjury; Hayrapetian responded by
disputing authorities' use of his false testimony, arguing he could not
have witnessed the postelection violence because he was not in Yerevan
the day the alleged assault took place, a claim backed by 20 of the
residents of his village.
According to local legal and human rights observers, the courts did
not ensure equal rights for the defense and the prosecution. They cited
as evidence the courts' continued refusals of defense motions, illicit
editing of proceedings records in the criminal court, hindering the
activities of journalists who were covering the trials, and general
favor toward the prosecution. Diplomatic observers witnessed numerous
cases in which convictions were rendered on the basis of highly
questionable police evidence and testimony that was persuasively
disavowed by the reputed witnesses in open court. According to local
judicial observers, it was common for witnesses in criminal cases to
disavow their prior statements to the police, either because witnesses
feared retribution from the defendant or because their initial
statements were made under police pressure. As this was common in
criminal cases, the courts routinely relied on a witness's initial
statement to find an accused person to be guilty.
During the year many advocates complained that trials for criminal
cases were a formality, with verdicts decided by judges before the
trials started. Defense attorneys claimed that this put them in a
difficult situation in which they were present at the trial but not
able to defend their client. In protest, some defense attorneys left
courtrooms to illustrate that the trial could go on without them. At
year's end there were criminal cases pending against attorneys Artur
Grigorian, Diana Grigorian, Ara Zakarian, and Mushegh Shushanian for
showing disrespect towards the court by leaving during the proceedings.
These four advocates were active in the defense of individuals detained
in connection with the disputed March 2008 election and its aftermath.
According to reports, a court official offered to close the cases,
which were launched on September 3, without a formal acquittal, but the
attorneys refused the offer.
In response to such cases, the ombudsman in June responded to a
request from the Chamber of Advocates (defense bar) by applying to the
Constitutional Court to declare unconstitutional the statute on
disrespectful treatment of a court, as it applies only to witnesses,
victims, and defense attorneys but not to prosecutors. Some local
judicial observers interpreted the investigation into the defense
attorneys' actions as a punitive measure to control zealous defense
advocates and make an example of them. In November 2008, in reaction to
the prosecutions, approximately 20 lawyers came out publicly in defense
of their colleagues and refused to provide civil or criminal legal
services to judges, prosecutors, investigators, or members of their
families. At year's end the criminal proceedings against the four
defense attorneys were still underway, and the Constitutional Court had
yet to rule on the constitutionality of the statute.
In practice the vast majority of criminal cases that were sent to
trial resulted in convictions. Observers reported this was because many
judges felt it was their job to work with the prosecutors and return
guilty verdicts. Furthermore, many judges feared they would face
retribution should they return an acquittal on a sensitive case that
was important to authorities. Notwithstanding that many weak cases
resulted in convictions, the high conviction rate could also be
attributed to police investigators weeding out weak cases and not
sending them to court.
On December 25, the ombudsman issued a public ad hoc report,
``Ensuring Right to a Fair Trial in the Republic of Armenia,'' that
assessed the country's administration of justice. The report concluded
that violations of the right to a fair trial were systematic and
stemmed from the fact that courts continue to be influenced by, and
side with, the prosecution of cases by the state. The ombudsman noted
that the violations of the right to a fair trial distorted the role of
the courts as an impartial arbiter, keeping public confidence in
administration of justice very low.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Of the hundreds of persons
detained around the time of the March 2008 political events and
violence, approximately 150 were held for a significant period and more
than 100 were charged with a crime. Most or all of these arrests
appeared politically influenced to varying degrees. Some were charged
under broadly defined criminal charges of ``usurpation of state
authority'' or ``mass disorders.'' Others were charged with selectively
enforced weapons possession charges or with resisting arrest.
Authorities continued to deny the presence of political prisoners in
the country and maintained that the political opposition planned the
postelection violence in an attempt to seize power
extraconstitutionally.
At year's end approximately 13 individuals jailed in connection
with the 2008 presidential election and postelection unrest remained
incarcerated, either in pretrial detention or postconviction
incarceration. Most of these prisoners were supporters or members of
the political opposition that disputed the outcome of the February 2008
presidential election and/or participated in postelection
demonstrations. The opposition ANC claimed that in addition to these
individuals, a fourteenth person was also arrested and convicted for
politically motivated reasons stemming from his participation in
postelection protests.
According to the political opposition, as of year's end, there were
15 persons in custody whom the opposition deemed ``political
prisoners,'' including 14 persons detained in connection with the
February 2008 presidential election or postelection unrest, and the
remaining person serving a sentence handed down in a previous year.
On January 27, PACE issued a resolution criticizing authorities for
limited progress in responding to its demands in 2008 concerning the
release of opposition supporters who had been detained in connection
with the events of March 2008. PACE criticized the arrest and continued
detention of these supporters on ``seemingly artificial and politically
motivated charges'' and urged authorities to release all persons who
did not personally commit any violent acts or serious offences. In the
resolution PACE also noted that ``a significant number of prosecution
cases and convictions were based solely on police testimony, without
substantial corroborating evidence. In the majority of these trials,
the sole witnesses or alleged victims were police officers, whose
testimony was often inconsistent. In some instances the same police
officers were involved as witnesses in several different cases against
different opposition supporters.'' PACE's resolution also noted that
authorities had not ``availed themselves of the possibility to use all
other legal means available to them, such as amnesty, pardons, or the
dropping of charges'' to release persons detained in connection with
the events in March 2008 who did not commit acts of violence.
On June 24, PACE issued another resolution that welcomed amendments
made to two articles of the criminal code and their impact on the then-
ongoing court cases of persons detained in connection with the March
2008 events; however, PACE criticized authorities for not applying the
amendments to ``the cases of persons charged, or convicted, solely on
the basis of police testimony, without substantial corroborating
evidence.'' PACE also noted President Sargsian's June 16 proposal of a
general amnesty, adopted on June 19 by the National Assembly, which
provided for the early release of persons detained in connection with
the March 2008 events who either were not charged with violent crimes
or were not sentenced to prison terms exceeding five years.
The June 19 general amnesty resulted in the early release of an
estimated 30 of the approximately 44 opposition supporters still in
prison. Most were released in June and July, with the most prominent
opposition supporters released after the conclusion of their trials. At
year's end approximately 13 opposition supporters remained in detention
or prison, technically ineligible for the amnesty either because they
were still under investigation, charged under articles that could
result in a sentencing not covered by the amnesty, or had been charged
or convicted of certain crimes, or sentenced to prison terms exceeding
five years. Opposition supporters constituted a small fraction of the
329 prisoners released under the amnesty.
On March 23, Gagik Jhangirian, a dismissed deputy prosecutor
general who had publicly stated his support for opposition candidate
Levon Ter-Petrossian during the February 2008 presidential election,
was sentenced to three years in prison for resisting police. He was
subsequently released on June 23, qualifying for early release under
the general amnesty of June 19. Jhangirian appealed his conviction on
the grounds that it had been unlawful and unsubstantiated by evidence,
but an appeals court on May 20 upheld the original ruling. Jhangirian
had been relieved of his duties shortly after the disputed presidential
election by then-president Kocharian, and he and his brother were
stopped in their vehicle and arrested. Jhangirian was convicted of
resisting police even though a senior police officer admitted in court
in February that Jhangirian did not offer any resistance during his
arrest.
On April 1, after the National Assembly enacted amendments to the
criminal code on March 18, prosecutors dropped the charge of attempting
to usurp state power, i.e., staging a coup, against seven of the most
prominent opposition supporters. Prosecutors left in place lesser
charges of inciting mass disorder; the original charge of organizing
mass disturbances had carried an aggravating factor of being
``accompanied by murder,'' which was removed with the amendments. By
dropping this aggravating factor in the case of the seven opposition
supporters, authorities effectively rescinded their original claim that
the seven were responsible for the deaths of 10 individuals killed as a
result of the March 2008 clashes, a claim for which no evidence had
been produced. The seven opposition supporters included Alexander
Arzumanian, a former foreign minister who served as Ter-Petrossian's
campaign manager in the February 2008 presidential election, MP Hakob
Hakobian, and opposition members Grigor Voskerchian, Suren Sirunian,
and Shant Harutiunian--all of whom were originally charged with
inciting mass disorder leading to deaths and usurpation of state
authority extraconstitutionally. In addition to these charges, the
charges against the remaining two defendants, MPs Myasnik Malkhasian
and Sasun Mikaelian, included being an accomplice to violent resistance
against representatives of the state (for Malkhasian) and possession of
illegal weapons and ammunition (for Mikaelian).
On May 13, approximately 13 months after his arrest in April 2008,
Shant Harutiunian was freed after the court determined that he was not
of sound mind during the postelection clashes. The court dropped both
of the prosecution's charges against Harutiunian, organizing mass
disturbances accompanied with murder and attempting to usurp state
power extraconstitutionally. The ruling came after a court-ordered
medical and psychological evaluation. Harutiunian complained to media
after his release that authorities invented his alleged mental
condition as a pretext to keep him from appearing in open court, which
he contended would have embarrassed authorities.
On June 22, four of the seven--Alexander Arzumanian, Suren
Sirunian, Hakob Hakobian, and Myasnik Malkhasian--were freed at the
conclusion of their trials and after receiving convictions that
qualified them for early release under terms of the amnesty. All
received five-year sentences but Sirunian, who was given a four-year
sentence. Sasun Mikaelian, the other member of parliament on trial, was
sentenced to eight years in prison for illegal weapons possession and
causing mass disorder, thus making him ineligible for amnesty. Grigor
Voskerchian, the remaining prominent opposition supporter from the
``trial of the seven,'' was released on July 10 after being convicted
and sentenced to two years in prison, thus qualifying for amnesty. The
majority of the seven had served 16 months in jail.
On December 11, a Yerevan court convicted and sentenced to three
years Arshak Banuchian, an opposition supporter and the former deputy
director of the Matenadaran ancient manuscripts museum, for
embezzlement and tax evasion. Banuchian rejected the verdict, denied
the alleged crimes, and denounced the case against him as politically
motivated retaliation for his support of the opposition ANC. Banuchian
qualified, however, for the general amnesty declared on June 19.
Banuchian had originally been arrested after the March 2008
postelection unrest, charged like other opposition supporters with
inciting and participating in mass disorders.
According to official information, as of December 30, 94 cases
against 117 persons had gone to court in connection with the March 2008
events. Courts had rendered verdicts in cases against 116 persons. Of
the 116 persons tried, 38 persons received suspended sentences, five
were fined, 65 were given prison sentences from six months to nine
years, six were acquitted, one case was dropped due to an amicable
settlement with the defendant, and one case was dropped after a court
found the defendant not of sound mind while committing the alleged
crime. According to official information, of 116 persons convicted, 28
were granted pardons. On June 19, when the amnesty was announced, there
were 28 persons connected with the March 2008 events who were still in
prison at the time, of which 19 were released. According to the
opposition ANC, as of June 19, 24 opposition supporters remained in
detention or prison as a result of March 2008-related charges or
convictions, with 16 of these being subsequently released as a result
of the amnesty. In addition, the ANC declared that as of June 19, 20 of
their supporters remained in detention or prison as a result of charges
or convictions stemming from the 2008 presidential campaign or election
itself, with 14 of these being subsequently released as a result of the
amnesty.
At year's end charges remained in place against Nikol Pashinian,
editor in chief of a leading opposition daily, and MP Khachatur
Sukiasian, a prominent businessman. Both remained accused of organizing
mass disorders during the March 2008 postelection unrest, with
Pashinian additionally charged with resisting ``representatives of
state authorities'' for an alleged altercation with police in 2007
while publicizing an upcoming presidential campaign rally by Levon Ter-
Petrossian.
In March 2008 police arrested on tax evasion charges Anush
Ghavalian, a waitress at a restaurant owned by businessman and MP
Khachatur Sukiasian, a prominent backer of Levon Ter-Petrossian's 2008
presidential bid. Ghavalian and her supporters claimed her arrest was
intended to pressure her to provide evidence against the director of
the restaurant, Gevorg Safarian, who was detained in 2007 in a
crackdown against the Sukiasian family businesses immediately after
Sukiasian publicly backed Ter-Petrossian's presidential bid.
On April 7, Safarian was convicted for evasion of taxes and
obligatory payments, and Ghavalian for complicity in a criminal act.
They received three-year and four-year suspended sentences,
respectively, and were released as a result of the June 19 amnesty.
During their trial their first defense attorneys were subjected to a
criminal investigation for their conduct; the three lawyers, Ara
Zakarian, Artur Grigorian, and Diana Grigorian, resigned in protest
from the trial after they discovered that an important court document
had allegedly been forged by the judge presiding over the case. The
attorneys unsuccessfully sought to have the actions of the judge
investigated. The judge denied all defense motions to verify the
accuracy of the document, and the attorneys walked out of the courtroom
in protest. The three attorneys were subsequently charged in late July
with ``disrespectful treatment of the institution of a court,'' an
offense that could carry a one-month jail sentence and result in the
loss of their licenses to practice law. Police investigated the conduct
of the attorneys, but there was no investigation into the conduct of
the judge. Formal court proceedings against the three lawyers began on
September 3 and continued at year's end. After the walk-out by the
three attorneys, Safarian and Ghavalian went to trial with substitute
attorneys.
During the year authorities attempted to confiscate and sell one of
the companies of opposition supporter and MP Khachatur Sukiasian. In
late 2008 authorities seized the assets of his Bjni mineral water
company to collect a 4.5 billion dram ($14 million) fine, ostensibly
for tax fraud and misappropriation of state-owned water resources;
local observers viewed the exorbitant fine as punishment of Sukiasian
for supporting Ter-Petrossian's 2008 presidential bid. Authorities put
the company's assets up for auction in December 2008 but failed to find
a buyer. They then put the assets up for auction again on February 5
and found a buyer, progovernment MP and businessman Ruben Hayrapetian.
On March 19, the Administrative Court reversed the auction of Bjni,
ruling that the company had to pass through bankruptcy proceedings
before its assets could be auctioned. The company was finally sold, on
December 24, again to Ruben Hayrapetian, for 4.3 billion drams
(approximately $11.4 million). Throughout the year Sukiasian's
representatives insisted that the original penalties had no merit and
constituted heavy-handed retaliation against Sukiasian for his support
of Ter-Petrossian in 2008.
After 17 months as a fugitive, Sukiasian surrendered to authorities
on September 1 and was immediately taken into custody. On September 4,
Sukiasian was released from custody pending the investigation into his
criminal charges, which he considered politically motivated. Along with
the members of parliament, Sukiasian had originally been charged with
organizing mass disorder accompanied with murder and attempting to
seize power extraconstitutionally in March 2008; in April, however, his
charges were reduced to organizing mass disorder without any
aggravating factor. On September 7, he relinquished his seat in the
National Assembly in protest of the chamber's stripping his
parliamentary immunity as well as the immunity of the three other
members who supported Ter-Petrossian's presidential bid. At year's end
the SIS investigation into Sukiasian's alleged crime continued, and
Sukiasian remained at liberty.
On August 4, Arman Babajanian, editor of the opposition newspaper
Yerevan Zhamanak, was released from prison where he was serving a
sentence for ? 2006 conviction on charges of forgery and evasion of
military service. At the time local observers interpreted the sentence
as overly harsh punishment for the crimes and an example of selective
prosecution of government critics.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens had access to
courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human
rights violation. However, the courts were widely perceived as corrupt,
and potential litigants in civil cases often evaluated the advisability
of bringing suit on the basis of whether they or their opponents had
greater resources with which to influence judges. Citizens also had
access to the Ombudsman's Office as well as to the Constitutional
Court, in the latter case to challenge the constitutionality of
legislation.
There was no progress during the year in the cases of Yerevan
residents whose property was razed on eminent domain grounds, despite
the Constitutional Court's ruling in 2006 that the 2002 government
decision authorizing such demolitions violated the constitution. In
June the ECHR delivered a verdict in the Minasian and Semerjian v.
Armenia case, ruling that the state had violated the property rights of
both citizens when expropriating their property. However, the court did
not rule on the compensation, instead giving the parties three months
from the date of the judgment, September 23, to reach agreement on the
amount of the compensation. At year's end an agreement on the
compensation had not been reached.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits unauthorized searches and
provides for the right to privacy and confidentiality of
communications. However, the government violated these rights in
practice.
By law judges may authorize authorities to wiretap a telephone or
intercept correspondence only after being presented with compelling
evidence; during the year judges arbitrarily granted permission, and
searches without warrants and other appropriate procedures took place
as well.
According to the political opposition and local human rights
observers, police in 2008 conducted wide-scale searches in the homes of
opposition supporters, election proxies, and campaign staff both before
and after the February 2008 presidential election. These searches were
reportedly carried out with procedural violations, intimidation, and
threats.
There was no progress in the July 2008 complaint filed by Artak
Zeynalian, member of the opposition Republic Party, who alleged police
employees had called the cell phones of Ter-Petrossian supporters,
various opposition party leaders, and media representatives to verify
their phone numbers. Zeynalian had filed the complaint with the police
to identify and punish those responsible for the calls; he also filed a
subsequent complaint to the courts. Zeynalian submitted the case to the
ECHR on July 7.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and freedom of the press; however, the government did
not always respect these rights in practice. There continued to be
incidents of violence, intimidation, and self-censorship against and in
the press throughout the year. The media, in particular television,
continued to lack diversity of opinion and objective reporting.
September 2008 amendments to the Law on Television and Radio imposed a
de facto two-year moratorium on the issuance of new television and
radio broadcasting licenses, hindering prospects for greater media
pluralism.
Individuals could generally criticize the government publicly and
privately without fear of retaliation; however, media outlets feared
reprisal for reporting that was critical of the government. These
reprisals included the threat of losing a broadcast license or of a
selective tax investigation, as well as loss of revenue when
advertisers learn that an outlet is in disfavor with the government.
This fear of retribution led to a high degree of self-censorship.
Most newspapers were privately owned, with the exception of
government-sponsored Hayastani Hanrapetutiun and its Russian-language
version, Respublika Armenii. The print media generally expressed a wide
variety of views without restriction but remained influenced by
economic or political interest groups or individuals.
Greater plurality of opinion existed in online publications,
although the readership of online media remained limited, especially
outside Yerevan.
Newspaper circulation remained very limited, as was the audience
for the country's 20 radio stations, of which three were public
stations and two broadcast from abroad. According to official
information, 82 television stations, of which three were public and
four broadcast from abroad, operated during the year. All but the three
public television stations were privately owned, and half of all of the
television stations operating in the country were small broadcasters
based in outlying regions. Only the state-owned Public Television (H1)
had nationwide coverage, although several stations were able to
broadcast to most of the country, and some stations were able to extend
beyond Yerevan. Most stations were owned by progovernment politicians
or well-connected businessmen, factors that continued to prompt
journalists working for these stations to practice self-censorship.
Major broadcast media outlets generally expressed progovernment views
and avoided editorial comment or reporting critical of the government.
Unlike the February 2008 presidential elections, when state-
controlled and progovernment media showed a distinct bias in favor of
the official candidate and eventual winner, then-prime minister Serzh
Sargsian, media outlets were more neutral in their coverage of the
campaign for Yerevan's city council and mayoral elections on May 31.
According to the monitoring of media coverage of the election campaign
conducted by the Yerevan Press Club (YPC), 96 percent of all references
to the political parties/bloc contesting the election were neutral
during the election campaign. Nevertheless, the YPC stated in its media
monitoring report that certain television channels gave clear
preference to one or another candidate and party.
After the August 31 joint announcement by the foreign ministries of
Armenia, Turkey, and Switzerland on two protocols to establish and
develop relations between Turkey and Armenia, local electronic and
print media extensively covered the public debate on the protocols,
permitting the expression of wide-ranging viewpoints that were both in
favor and in opposition to the documents.
During the year journalists continued to be targets of violent
attacks. In his July 2 report, Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE representative
on freedom of the media, criticized the attacks on journalists in
Armenia and called on authorities to conduct swift investigations into
and hold accountable those responsible for the attacks. According to
Haraszti and other media observers, the government's failure to
prosecute alleged attackers fostered an atmosphere of impunity and
served to provoke further attacks against journalists. On May 25,
during a celebration marking the fifth anniversary of the establishment
of his institution, the ombudsman Armen Harutiunian stated that
journalists were the least protected ``layer'' in Armenia and that
there was no tolerance or respect for freedom of speech.
On March 13, security guards at the Yerevan State Linguistic
University (Brusov) severely beat photojournalist Gagik Shamshian after
he entered the state university without authorization. Shamshian was
subsequently hospitalized with severe injuries to the groin and
internal bleeding. Brusov's provost issued a statement in which he
expressed regret for the journalist's injuries but nevertheless
maintained that Shamshian had provoked the incident. The ombudsman
decried the beating, citing a ``climate of intolerance in Armenian
society'' that encouraged impunity with respect to attacks against
journalists. On March 14, police launched a criminal investigation into
the incident. According to official information, Shamshian entered the
university without authorization, refused to obey the demands of a
university guard, and did not identify himself as a journalist. In
spite of Shamshian's claims that he had presented credentials, the
investigative body found that university security guards did not
attempt to hinder his journalistic activities; they found one of the
guards guilty, however, of attacking Shamshian but suspended the case
in light of the guard's eligibility for the June 19 general amnesty.
On April 17, a court of first instance found Shamshian guilty of
contempt of court for an incident that reportedly occurred during one
of the March 2008-related trials held in August 2008 and fined him
350,000 drams (approximately $950). On May 14, a separate court
convicted Gohar Vizirian, a reporter for the opposition Chorrord
Ishkhanutyun newspaper, for contempt of court during the same August
2008 trial and fined her the same amount. According to media reports,
the verdicts were based solely on the testimony of marshals of the
court present at the trial. Under the terms of a general amnesty
adopted by the National Assembly on June 19, the fines against both
reporters were dismissed.
Violent attacks occurred in the period prior to Yerevan's May 31
municipal election. In a statement issued on April 9, several media
outlets condemned the attack by police officers against the A1Plus
journalist David Jalalian while he was covering an opposition gathering
in downtown Yerevan on April 8. The independent A1Plus online news
agency reported that Robert Melkonian, the head of the police patrol
service, personally initiated the attack, which other police officers
subsequently joined. Jalalian's photographs published following the
attack showed that he suffered injuries to his abdominal area, and he
was hospitalized after the attack. On April 14, the investigative Hetq
online news agency reported that, according to the police, Jalalian had
provided testimony that he was not beaten but was pushed by police and
fell on his back. The news report also claimed that two police officers
visited Jalalian at his home and threatened him after the attack.
On April 30, Argishti Kivirian, an attorney and the editor of two
online media outlets, survived an apparent murder attempt when three
unknown assailants attacked him with wooden batons and tried to shoot
him in the entryway of his apartment building as he returned home from
work in the early morning. Kivirian was hospitalized in grave condition
with severe injuries and cuts on his head and body and was placed in
intensive care. The bullet casings visible in photographs reportedly
taken immediately after the attack by the photojournalist Gagik
Shamshian disappeared following the arrival of police at the scene. The
police initially launched a criminal case on charges of ``infliction of
light damage to health'' but after a public outcry upgraded the charges
to ``attempted murder by a group of people.'' On July 8, the National
Security Service that carried out the investigation arrested two of the
attackers, Gurgen Kilikian and Vladik Merabian, charging them with
attempted murder. At year's end they remained in custody pending the
investigation, and authorities were reportedly searching for additional
suspects.
In the early hours of May 7, Nver Mnatsakanian, a news anchor and
talk show host for the private Shant TV television station, was
attacked and beaten by unknown assailants on his way home from work. He
suffered injuries to his head, foot, and hand and required treatment in
a hospital. Mnatsakanian claimed that the attack was linked with his
professional activity but did not attribute the attack to anyone in
particular. Some media reports speculated that an influential
businessman and MP ordered the attack in retaliation for an
unflattering interview Mnatsakanian conducted with him prior to the
attack. On August 21, police chief Major General Alik Sargsian
announced that two young men had turned themselves in and been charged
in connection with the case. According to Sargsian, the two men claimed
that they had mistakenly attacked Mnatsakanian for another intended
target, a claim that Mnatsakanian publicly dismissed as ``ridiculous.''
According to official information, the subsequent investigation showed
that the two individuals had no involvement in the attack, and they
were released. Accordingly, on September 7, police suspended the case
since the perpetrators remained unknown and at large.
Instances of violence against journalists and obstruction of their
activities occurred during Yerevan's May 31 municipal elections. On
election day, violence and abuse directed at journalists often occurred
in the presence of police and election officials, who did not intervene
to either prevent or stop it. Reporter Armine Avetian from the pro-
opposition 168 Zham newspaper was assaulted by unidentified individuals
in a voting precinct in Yerevan's Malatia-Sebastia District in the
presence of election officials and police. Her colleague, Lilit
Tadevosian from the Tert.am online news agency, was also accosted.
Nelly Grigorian, a reporter for the independent Aravot daily, was also
assaulted in a voting precinct in Malatia-Sebastia and had her camera
confiscated as she tried to photograph a violent altercation initiated
by local persons against the female proxy of the opposition Armenian
National Congress bloc contesting the election.
In a voting precinct located in the Kentron District of Yerevan, MP
Levon Sargsian of the ruling Republican Party and his bodyguards
allegedly assaulted Gohar Vezirian from the opposition Chorrord
Ishkhanutyun daily newspaper and Tatev Mesropian from the opposition
Hayk newspaper and reportedly also confiscated the audio recorder of
Marine Kharatian, a reporter for the opposition 168 Zham newspaper.
According to official information, on May 1 a criminal case of
hooliganism was launched in response to the media report that
Sargsian's guards attacked Vezirian; according to law enforcement
authorities, the guards claimed that Vezirian had made ``hooligan''
statements towards them. The disposition of this case remained unknown
at year's end, and no official information on the alleged attack by the
bodyguards was provided. Also, at year's end no criminal charges had
been leveled against the guards, and there were no known investigations
launched into the other cited attacks on reporters (see section 3).
On June 23, Karen Harutyunian was convicted to five years in prison
for his role in the violent November 2008 attack on the investigative
journalist Edik Baghdasarian. Known for his reports exposing
corruption, Baghdasarian suffered serious head injuries during the
attack and was hospitalized for several days. Police failed to
apprehend the two other perpetrators of the attack and suspended the
case on October 19. Baghdasarian suspected that Vardan Ayvazian, a
member of parliament and former minister of nature protection, was
behind the attack, since Baghdasarian had published numerous articles
alleging illegal activities by Ayvazian when he was minister of nature
protection.
There was no progress in the investigation of the January and March
2008 attacks against the Gyumri-based Asparez Journalists Club (AJC).
The AJC received threatening telephone calls, and their office was
targeted with arson in January 2008 by unknown individuals. In March
2008 a fire bomb destroyed the AJC president's car. Nobody was injured
in the attack.
There was no progress during the year in resolving numerous cases
of intimidation and violence against journalists and damage of their
property during the February 2008 presidential election. Likewise, no
progress was made in the numerous cases of widespread harassment and
intimidation of reporters during the February/March 2008 postelection
protests. No one was prosecuted in connection with these incidents,
except in one case of a voting precinct chairperson who was fined for
restricting the rights of observers and one journalist at the polling
place.
On July 1, Nikol Pashinian, the editor in chief of the pro-
opposition Haykakan Zhamanak daily and a leading opposition figure who
went into hiding shortly after a state of emergency was imposed in
March 2008, surrendered to authorities. Similar to other leading
opposition supporters, Pashinian had been originally charged with
attempting to usurp power and inciting mass disorders accompanied by
murder, only later to see the coup charges dropped. He was also charged
for resisting representatives of state authority stemming from a 2007
clash in Yerevan between police and a small opposition crowd that was
publicizing the first campaign rally for opposition candidate Levon
Ter-Petrossian in Yerevan. After his voluntary surrender, Pashinian
appealed to authorities to remain at liberty while his case was
pending; authorities rejected the appeal, and he was remanded into two
months of pretrial detention. On August 27, authorities renewed the
pretrial detention, and Pashinian remained in detention until year's
end. In an October 2 letter to President Sargsian, the World Press
Freedom Committee registered its concern about Pashinian's treatment,
questioning why he was being punished for exercising his right to free
expression during a peaceful political rally. During this rally, which
was preceded in the morning by the use of force by hundreds of security
forces to disperse approximately 2,000 peaceful protesters from Freedom
(Opera) Square, Pashinian alternately urged protesters to remain
peaceful and to collect debris to protect themselves against an attack
by security forces. The court case against Pashinian began on October
20, at which Pashinian denounced the trial against him as ``the
continuation of political repressions'' he said authorities initiated
against the opposition in late 2007 for their support of Ter-
Petrossian. On December 22, state prosecutors demanded that Pashinian
be sentenced to eight years for his crimes, a sentence that would
disqualify Pashinian from a general amnesty that was declared on June
19. Pashinian's trial continued at year's end.
According to the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, in mid-July the
Yerkir Media television station, affiliated with the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun political party (which was part
of the ruling coalition for the last decade, through the end of April
when it left the coalition over foreign policy differences), refused to
broadcast the documentary ``Armenia Minus A1Plus'' and organize a talk
show around the movie. The documentary was the work of director Tigran
Khzmalian, a prominent opposition supporter. According to local
observers, the move was an act of self-censorship taken by Yerkir to
avoid problems with authorities.
During the year the GALA television station based in Gyumri
continued to operate and broadcast in spite of continuing legal
disputes with authorities that began in late 2007 when GALA aired a
speech by former president Levon Ter-Petrossian before he announced his
candidacy for the 2008 presidential election. The showing of the speech
prompted an aggressive tax audit that resulted in GALA having to pay 26
million drams ($85,000) in back taxes, fines, and late fees in March
2008. On March 13, GALA applied to the ECHR to dispute the penalties
leveled against them.
The independent A1Plus television news company remained without a
broadcasting license or frequency at year's end for the seventh year in
a row, but it continued to operate as an online news agency. A1Plus had
applied for a broadcast license 12 times since 2002, when it was
removed from the air after not being granted a new license; authorities
rejected the company's applications without official explanation. In
June 2008 the ECHR ruled that the country had violated article 10
(freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights by
failing to give a written explanation for refusing a broadcast license
to A1Plus. The ECHR's decision stated that ``a procedure which did not
require a licensing body to justify its decisions did not provide
adequate protection against arbitrary interference by a public
authority with the fundamental right to freedom of expression.'' The
ECHR awarded, and the government paid, 30,000 euros (approximately
$42,900) to A1Plus' parent company, Meltex, Ltd. In December 2008
A1Plus applied to the Cassation Court to revise its former decisions to
comply with the ECHR judgments. In February the Cassation Court refused
to reopen the A1Plus case, following which the company subsequently
applied to the Constitutional Court. The application was admitted, and
the trial was scheduled to begin on December 15; on the day it was set
to start, however, the trial was postponed until early 2010.
On February 29, the Armenia-based NGO Committee to Protect Freedom
of Speech issued a report stating that, while the increasing frequency
of attacks on mass media coincided with the aggravated political
situation in the country, 2008 was nevertheless unprecedented, both in
terms of the number of violations of the rights of journalists and
media outlets as well as the imposition of censorship on mass media.
The media NGO registered 18 cases of violent attacks on journalists in
2008.
On April 28, the National Assembly enacted changes to the law
regulating the media, some of which responded to longstanding concerns
over executive branch interference in the media. According to the
Yerevan-based Internews media organization, however, the changes failed
to ensure the independence of regulatory bodies long sought by
independent domestic media and were made with little public discussion.
A July 2 report by the OSCE representative on freedom of media
nevertheless acknowledged positive changes regarding the criteria to
grant a broadcasting license, sponsorship of television and radio
programs, and preventive measures before suspending broadcasters.
However, the report expressed lingering concerns that presidential
selection of some candidates to national media regulatory bodies would
constrain freedom of expression and noted that financing of public
broadcasting and regulatory bodies would depend on the political will
of the parliamentary majority. The report concluded that the changes in
the law were incompatible with the notion of the ``independent public
broadcaster'' and ``independent regulator.''
On December 9, the National Assembly elected four new members to
the National Commission on TV and Radio (NCTR), which is responsible
for regulating television and radio broadcasting and granting or
revoking broadcasting licenses. Opposition parliamentarian Stepan
Safarian complained after the vote that ``not all candidates clearly
meet the requirements laid out by the law'' and that virtually no
prominent media experts or civil society representatives took part in
the selection process.
In September 2008, with essentially no prior notification or public
discussion, the National Assembly amended the Law on Television and
Radio to impose a moratorium on the issuance of new television
broadcasting licenses until July 2010. The amendment was passed in an
unannounced, evening extraordinary session. The moratorium was enacted
shortly before a call for bids on several television frequencies that
were due to become available based on expiring licenses. The amendment
also gave existing stations the right to extend their licenses to
January 2011. Authorities insisted at the time that the moratorium was
necessitated by their plans for converting the country's broadcasting
format from analog to digital by 2015. Through the end of the year, the
government did not conduct any new tenders for television or radio
broadcast licenses. Authorities had initially stated that there were no
frequencies available for new licenses. However, on June 30, Ishkhan
Zakarian, the head of the Control Chamber of Armenia, denied that there
were no more television frequencies available for broadcasting,
refuting earlier government claims.
On September 2, various regional television stations and media
watchdogs wrote to the ombudsman expressing their concern about the
unclear situation created after the moratorium was imposed,
particularly the fact that the government had yet to issue the concept
paper or launch public discussions on the introduction of digital
broadcasting that it had stated it would do by June. Much of the
concern was based on fear that regional television stations would be
unable to prepare technically or financially for the new broadcasting
requirements if the stations were not provided sufficient time to
prepare prior to the tenders. Stations were also concerned that
digitalization could force them off the air if they were unable to
swiftly make conversions once tenders were announced. On September 18,
the ombudsman wrote to Nerses Yeritsian, the minister of economy,
asking for clarifications about these problems. Subsequently, on
October 22, the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Education,
Culture, Youth, and Sport held hearings on the issue of the country's
conversion to digital broadcasting. Minister Yeritsian presented the
draft of the concept at the hearing, which the government adopted on
November 12. Local observers expressed concerns about the concept,
saying that it did not answer any of the concerns voiced by television
companies and did not show that the government was ready to cope with
the technical challenges of conversion or prepared to address the
financial challenges that conversion would present to media companies
and the general population. Media watchdogs observed that the draft
concept did not contain clear measures to prevent antimonopolistic
activities.
On August 20, Hovik Abrahamian, the speaker of the National
Assembly, established new procedures for accrediting journalists
covering the chamber's activities. According to some journalists, the
new procedures were excessively restrictive and hindered their
reporting on the National Assembly.
During the year authorities did not bring charges against any media
outlet or state body for violating the law during coverage of the 2008
presidential campaign. In March 2008 the Constitutional Court ruled
that the Central Electoral Commission neglected to exert ``effective
control over preelection promotion'' and that the NCTR displayed a
``formalistic approach'' to complying with the law with respect to the
biased and distorted media coverage of the opposition during the
campaign. The court found that no sanctions or remedies were warranted
because the candidates were able to present their platforms to voters
by other means of preelection promotion.
On August 4, Arman Babajanian, the editor of the opposition
newspaper Yerevan Zhamanak, was released from prison where he was
serving a sentence for ? 2006 conviction on charges of forgery and
evasion of military service. At the time, local observers interpreted
the charges against Babajanian as overly harsh punishment and an
example of selective prosecution against critics of the government.
During the year Babajanian was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which
remained untreated. Following significant public and international
pressure, and after his health had abruptly worsened and he was losing
his sight due to the illness, Babajanian was released. At the time of
his release, Babajanian had served almost his entire sentence, despite
previous attempts to gain his early release on grounds of good
behavior. Local observers considered the government's denial of
requests for early parole politically motivated.
Internet Freedom.--During the year there were no reported cases of
the government deliberately blocking independent and pro-opposition
news Web sites, as it had done during the March 2008 state of
emergency. Some individuals and groups reported suspected government
interception of e-mail or Internet chat conversations, although they
were unable to provide evidence to substantiate their suspicions.
Internet cafes were widely available in the cities, although local
Internet service provider connections were often extremely slow, thus
limiting their effectiveness. Some Internet cafes also operated outside
urban areas. According to International Telecommunication Union
statistics for 2008, approximately 6 percent of the country's
inhabitants used the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were a few anecdotal
reports during the year of schoolteachers and university students being
dismissed due to their political views. According to religious minority
groups, teachers belonging to a minority faith were dismissed from work
for their religious views. There were also reports that individuals
applying for public school teacher positions were routinely denied if
their affiliation with a minority religious group was known.
On February 25, the media reported that the administration of the
Yerevan State Engineering University cancelled a prearranged concert of
the Hima Band, a musical group of the pro-opposition Hima youth
movement that conducted numerous protest actions to dispute of the
outcome of the 2008 presidential election.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however,
authorities restricted this right in practice, particularly the
assembly of individuals considered by the government to be political
opponents.
Prior to the enactment of a state of emergency in early March 2008,
the Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies, and Demonstrations
stipulated that groups may peacefully assemble without obtaining a
permit as long as they provided prior notification to the relevant
authorities. In response to postelection protests disputing the result
of the February 2008 presidential election, then-president Robert
Kocharian issued a state of emergency decree in March 2008 for the city
of Yerevan, which prohibited any type of public gathering. The
prohibition was rigorously enforced by police. During the state of
emergency, the National Assembly changed the Law on Conducting
Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies, and Demonstrations to impose measures
that significantly limited persons' rights to peaceful assembly.
Although further amendments to the law in June 2008 relaxed the strict
provisions that gave authorities broad discretionary powers to prohibit
political rallies and protests, in practice authorities continued to
restrict freedom of assembly through an arbitrary interpretation of the
law and, on many occasions, denied opposition applications to hold
rallies at requested venues. Authorities also restricted spontaneous,
smaller-sized gatherings that did not require prior notification.
According to the local NGO Helsinki Committee of Armenia human
rights, there were numerous instances of restricting freedom of
assembly during the first six months of the year. Many of these
involved authorities denying requests to hold rallies or demonstrations
and marches in venues initially requested by organizers. Many of these
requests were submitted by the political opposition.
The Helsinki Committee of Armenia also reported that during the
year it was difficult for organizers of rallies to inform the public
about upcoming demonstrations, since television stations generally
refused to accept even paid announcements of demonstrations. As a
result, demonstration organizers usually tried to inform the public
through independent or opposition media and through hand-to-hand
dissemination of flyers and leaflets.
On February 19, police prevented a youth organization called
Special Regiment from holding a protest demonstration to mark the
anniversary of the disputed 2008 presidential election. Representatives
of other opposition youth groups participated in the protest, which
organizers planned to hold outside the Central Electoral Commission
(CEC). According to media reports, police did not allow the
demonstrators to approach the CEC building and dispersed the
demonstration, with police officers reportedly confiscating
demonstrators' placards.
On March 1, the ANC and Heritage party held a rally on the grounds
of the Matenadaran manuscript museum to commemorate the one-year
anniversary of the violence following 2008 presidential election.
Municipal authorities initially prohibited the rally and a march
through downtown Yerevan that was planned after it, posting their
decisions on the city's Web site and suggesting organizers hold the
rally at an alternative venue. Organizers disputed the prohibition,
claiming that authorities had not responded to their notification to
hold the rally and march within the 72-hour timeline provided by the
law, which stipulates that, in the absence of a response in this time
period, rallies may proceed as planned. On February 17, the Council of
Europe expressed concern over the rally's prohibition and called on
authorities to fully respect the principle of freedom of assembly and
not place undue restrictions on peaceful opposition rallies. Following
negotiations between ANC officials and police on March 1, police
permitted the rally and march, and both proceeded peacefully. However,
there were a number of credible reports of police efforts to prevent
protesters from the regions from traveling to the capital. Diplomatic
observers noted a number of police checkpoints along major highways,
and there were reports of pressure on bus and taxi drivers not to
transport anyone to Yerevan on March 1.
Police regularly used force to break up the daily gatherings of
supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian in downtown
Yerevan. On April 10, police detained Vahagn Gevorgian, an 18-year-old
activist from the youth movement HIMA (NOW) and son of the acting
editor in chief of the pro-opposition Haykakan Zhamanak daily
newspaper, Hayk Gevorgian. Vahagn Gevorgian had been participating in
the regular evening ``political promenades'' on Northern Avenue, a
major pedestrian thoroughfare adjacent to Freedom Square, as well as
the site of protests in February 2008. After his arrest Gevorgian was
charged with insulting and assaulting one of the police officers
involved in breaking up the promenades. Gevorgian denied the charges
and claimed that video footage taken by opposition activists during the
promenade disproved police claims. The court refused to examine the
footage, however, and instead based its verdict on police testimony. On
September 12, Gevorgian was found guilty and sentenced to one year in
prison and a fine of 80,000 drams (approximately $210); Gevorgian
avoided jail, however, under the terms of the June 19 general amnesty
adopted by the National Assembly.
On April 21, the ombudsman issued a statement disputing the
police's explanation for prohibiting the evening ``political
promenades'' in downtown Yerevan. In 2008 police had periodically used
force to disperse the assembled crowds and temporarily detained dozens
of protesters, a practice that continued during the year. The ombudsman
rejected the police rationale that the ``promenades'' were disrupting
local commerce, stating that complaints from businesses were
insufficient grounds for prohibiting gatherings. The ombudsman told the
media that the police actions, some of which involved brief detentions
of opposition activists, contravened the law on rallies and
demonstrations. Police began disrupting the ``promenades'' on April 8,
dispatching scores of officers and sometimes using force. In some
instances diplomatic observers witnessed police officers pushing
activists hundreds of yards away from the avenue. The police actions
also resulted in citizens' access to the pedestrian area being
restricted or cut off during evening hours.
On May 1, the eve of the start of the official campaign for
Yerevan's municipal elections, the ANC held its second rally of the
year, which authorities sanctioned but subjected to a heavy security
presence. Authorities refused organizers' request to hold a postrally
march through downtown Yerevan. In spite of the prohibition, police
permitted the march. Both the rally and march proceeded peacefully.
There were a number of credible reports of police efforts to prevent
protesters from traveling to the capital, and the opposition complained
of police roadblocks on major highways. According to media reports on
May 2, roads leading into Yerevan the day before had been blocked, and
public transportation temporarily halted until after the rally. Police
denied that the roadblocks had been posted to restrict travel to
Yerevan, claiming that they were conducting routine searches for
illegal weapons. The roadblocks were instituted after police had
announced a month-long special campaign against illegal weapons, which
correlated almost exactly with the month-long period of the campaign
for Yerevan's municipal elections. Some local observers viewed the
weapons search as a pretext for suppressing the opposition's election
campaign.
On May 10 and 11, a group of unidentified persons assaulted several
ANC members in the Avan District of Yerevan as they were distributing
materials related to the Yerevan municipal elections. The three ANC
members, Ofelia Margarian, Astghik Aghekian, and Amalia Poghosian, were
subsequently hospitalized after sustaining bodily injuries. On May 11
police launched a criminal case into the attack, which they
subsequently ended on August 26 after failing to identify the
perpetrators.
On June 1, the day after the disputed Yerevan municipal elections,
the ANC held a rally that authorities sanctioned. There were credible
reports of police roadblocks ahead of the rally on major highways
leading into Yerevan. Diplomatic observers confirmed the roadblocks and
police actively stopping buses, minibuses, and private vehicles. A
media report cited one police officer as denying that transport to
Yerevan was only restricted ahead of opposition protests, citing the
special operation to search for weapons and drugs. There were no
reports of police roadblocks on days when no opposition rallies were
planned.
On July 1, plainclothes police officers clashed with ANC youth
activists on Abovian Street in downtown Yerevan when the latter were
distributing leaflets announcing the holding of an ANC rally on July 2.
Several youths were injured and required hospitalization. The youth
claimed they were punched, kicked, and pistol-whipped by police. Police
claimed that the officers themselves came under attack during the
incident, when they tried to stop an alleged brawl involving 40-50
youths. Police stated that three officers were injured during the
incident.
One youth, Tigran Arakelian, was arrested on July 5 and
subsequently charged on July 8 with hooliganism and resisting officials
in connection with the July 1 incident. In early September Arakelian
began a hunger strike while in a prison hospital to demand his release.
He was transferred to the hospital on July 15 after complaining of
serious health problems, which he alleged were a result of head
injuries inflicted by police. On September 7, Arakelian claimed his
continued detention in spite of his deteriorating health was proof that
he was being persecuted for his political views. On August 31,
Arakelian's pretrial detention was extended after his initial two-month
pretrial detention was about to expire. On September 28, police brought
additional charges of assaulting a public official against Arakelian,
which increased his possible prison sentence, if convicted, from five
years to 10 years. On October 8, authorities released Arakelian from
detention, citing that most of the investigation into his case had been
completed and that Arakelian would not obstruct the inquiry if freed.
The Prosecutor General's Office also cited Arakelian's need for medical
treatment as a reason for his release. On July 11 and July 13,
respectively, two other youths, Sahak Muradian and Herbert Gevorgian,
were also similarly charged in connection with the July 1 incident. On
December 15, the criminal case against all three youth activists was
dropped due to a lack of evidence. According to official information,
the three police officers involved in the July 1 incident were not
charged for the physical injuries they caused to the youths because
their actions were determined to be within the scope of the law.
At times during the year the government continued to restrict
citizens' rights to hold closed-door meetings, a practice started after
the postelection events in 2008. In December 2008 a group of local NGOs
issued a statement stating that civil society groups had repeatedly
been denied the right to conduct meetings or events on social or
political problems. According to the NGOs, some hotels had stated that
they were instructed by authorities not to rent halls for any event
that might be considered political and to check with designated
officials on a case-by-case basis. These claims were corroborated by
employees of several hotels. The alleged restriction on closed-door
meetings continued during the year. On March 9, the Open Society
Institute Assistance Foundation--Armenia (OSIAFA) stated that on March
6, a local hotel suddenly reversed its written decision to rent OSIAFA
space for a planned human rights conference. The conference eventually
took place at a local university and included representatives of the
government, civil society, and international organizations. On another
occasion a local hotel twice rejected meeting space requests by OSIAFA
for the holding of a roundtable discussion it planned to discuss a
European Commission report. Three hotels also rejected OSIAFA's request
for meeting space for a planned one-day conference on the theme of
strategic litigation.
There were other numerous instances in which authorities restricted
freedom of assembly.
According to official information, on August 20-25, the Prosecutor
General's Office charged four police officers with ``exceeding official
authority'' for their alleged assaults on citizens in March 2008, when
security forces forcibly dispersed demonstrators from Freedom Square.
Many of the demonstrators fled the square and regrouped in other
downtown areas, with police in some instances chasing and pursuing
demonstrators long distances as they fled. Two of the four officers
were charged for applying force and hitting citizens with rubber clubs
at Republic Square, approximately four blocks away from Freedom Square.
On December 25, a Yerevan court convicted the two officers of ``using
disproportionate force'' and sentenced them to two years' imprisonment.
The court also ruled that the policemen qualified for the general
amnesty declared on June 19 and would not be imprisoned but prohibited
them from working for law enforcement or other state bodies for a year.
The two other officers were charged after video records presented
during the ad hoc parliamentary commission's inquiry into the events
showed them assaulting citizens at the open-air market on Mashtots
Avenue, also approximately four long blocks from Freedom Square. The
Prosecutor General's Office began a search for the citizens assaulted
by the police officers to ascertain whether the assaults occurred.
Although the citizens assaulted in either case were never found, on
December 17 a Yerevan court convicted the two officers of ``using
disproportionate force'' and sentenced them to three years'
imprisonment. The court ruled, however, that the policemen qualified
for the general amnesty declared on June 19 and would not be imprisoned
but prohibited them from working for law enforcement or other state
bodies for a year.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected it in practice.
However, registration requirements for all political parties,
associations, and secular and religious organizations remained
cumbersome. The law stipulates that citizens have the right to form
associations, including political parties and trade unions, except for
persons serving in the armed services and law enforcement agencies.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion; however, the law places some restrictions on the religious
freedom of adherents of minority religious groups. The government
generally did not enforce existing legal restrictions on religious
freedom. The Armenian Apostolic Church is considered the national
church and enjoys some privileges not available to other faiths. The
law does not mandate registration of NGOs, including religious
organizations. However, only registered organizations have legal status
and may publish more than 1,000 copies of newspapers or magazines, rent
meeting places, broadcast programs on television or radio, or
officially sponsor visas for foreign visitors, although there is no
prohibition on individual members doing so. There were no reports of
the government refusing registration to religious groups.
The law prohibits but does not define ``soul-hunting,'' a nonlegal
term perceived locally to describe both proselytizing and forced
conversion. The prohibition applies to all groups, including the
Armenian Apostolic Church. Although the law prohibits foreign funding
of foreign-based denominations, the authorities did not enforce the
ban. Most registered religious groups reported no significant legal
impediments to their activities during the reporting period.
Although the law provides for alternative service for conscientious
objectors, the military services themselves administer the alternative
service, and members of Jehovah's Witnesses continued to refuse the
alternative program for that reason. According to lawyers for Jehovah's
Witnesses, as of year's end, 76 of the group's members were serving
prison sentences for evading alternative service.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to observers, the
general population expressed negative attitudes about minority
religious groups. According to local experts, however, these attitudes
did not affect personal and neighborly relationships, but rather
constituted a general perception of minority religious groups as
undermining the social fabric of the state. Minority religious groups
at times continued to be targets of hostile sermons by Armenian
Apostolic Church clerics, and members of minority religious groups
experienced societal discrimination and intolerance, including in the
workplace. Television outlets disparagingly labeled denominations other
than the Armenian church as ``sects'' in their broadcasting and aired
negative programs about them.
The size of the country's Jewish population was estimated at
between 500 and 1,000 persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic
violence or vandalism during the year.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--While the law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, there were some restrictions in practice. The authorities
cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and
other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance
to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
During the year there were numerous credible reports that citizens
residing outside of Yerevan were restricted from travelling to attend
opposition rallies held in the capital.
In order to leave the country on a temporary or permanent basis,
citizens must obtain an exit visa. Exit visas for temporary travel out
of the country may be routinely purchased within one day of application
for approximately 1,000 drams (approximately $3) for each year of
validity. In October 2008 the government abolished the practice for
emigrants to deregister themselves from the civil registry, which had
widely been viewed as an onerous process that was subject to extensive
corruption.
The law does not prohibit forced exile, but there were no reports
that the government used it.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--During the country's war with
Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, authorities evacuated approximately
65,000 households from the border region, but most IDPs later returned
to their homes or settled elsewhere. Of the remaining IDPs, almost two-
thirds could not return to their villages, which were surrounded by
Azerbaijani territory. Other IDPs chose not to return due to
socioeconomic hardships or fear of land mines. A 2005 mapping study
conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council, together with the Migration
Agency under the Ministry of Territorial Administration, found that
8,399 IDPs resided in the country. There were no further studies to
estimate current numbers of IDPs. In September 2008 the authorities
approved a program to assist in the resettlement of 626 families that
were displaced during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; however, there was
no funding provided to implement the program, according to government
officials.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
A new Law on Refugees and Asylum entered into force on January 24.
It incorporates the basic principles of refugee protection established
by the 1951 convention, as well as all specific developments that took
place in this field after the ratification of the convention. It
harmonizes most aspects of admission and treatment of asylum seekers
and refugees in conformity with international standards, ensuring
respect for the right to asylum and addressing national security
concerns.
In practice authorities provided protection against the expulsion
or return of refugees to a country where their lives or freedom would
be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality,
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Authorities also provided temporary protection during the year.
According to the Migration Service, a total of 66 persons applied for
asylum during the year. During the year the government granted
temporary asylum to 33 persons and refugee status to one person.
There was an established procedure for granting asylum that
included amnesty for the illegal entry of an asylum seeker and access
to the territory for individuals seeking asylum. However, some delays
and difficulties with refugee processing at airports and land borders
arose due to frequent rotations of inexperienced border officials and
little training on asylum procedures.
Due to a lack of institutional capacity, the authorities often
struggled to integrate asylum seekers into society once they were
granted permanent residency status. Temporary housing for refugees and
asylum seekers was often inadequate in supply and in poor condition.
Refugees faced the same social and economic hardships that confronted
the general population.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Although the law provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, that right was restricted in practice due to
repeated, significant flaws in the conduct of elections.
Elections and Political Participation.--In accordance with changes
made to the constitution in 2005, on May 31 the country conducted its
first election of the Yerevan City Council (65 members) and the first,
albeit indirect, election of the mayor of Yerevan (since independence
in 1991, the president of the republic had appointed the mayors of the
capital). According to the electoral code, the candidate heading the
election list of the political party that wins at least 40 percent of
the seats in the new city council automatically becomes mayor. Six
parties and one bloc contested the proportional representation-based
election on May 31, including the ruling Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA), the ruling coalition partner Prosperous Armenia (PA), the ruling
coalition partner Rule of Law (OY), the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnakstutiun, the ANC bloc, the People's Party, and the
Socialistic Labor Party of Armenia.
The conduct of the election was significantly flawed. Problems
included favorable treatment of the ruling coalition parties and
candidates; unbalanced election commissions in favor of ruling parties;
instances of ballot stuffing; reports of vote buying; attempts to bribe
observers; busing into Yerevan of non-Yerevan residents to vote; voter
intimidation; violence against and intimidation of reporters,
observers, and opposition proxies; restriction of individual civil and
political rights; management of the work at polling stations by
unauthorized individuals or candidates' proxies; cases of open and
multiple voting; and suspiciously high turnout figures in some polling
stations.
Prior to the election, President Sargsian on March 4 invoked his
then-existing executive branch powers and replaced the incumbent mayor
of Yerevan with Gagik Beglarian, an RPA party official and then-prefect
of Yerevan's Kentron District. By selecting Beglarian to top the
party's election list a few days earlier, the RPA effectively appeared
to give its candidate for mayor the advantage of incumbency. Local
political observers interpreted the president's preelection campaign
appointment of Beglarian as a ploy to give Beglarian an advantage in
the election, in light of well-established practices whereby incumbents
use administrative resources at their disposal to support their
campaigns.
In its preliminary June 2 statement on the election, the local NGO
It's Your Choice (IYC), the largest election observation organization
in the country, noted that ``administrative resources were largely used
during the campaign.'' The IYC found that ``the campaign of the
incumbent mayor of Yerevan Beglarian was accompanied by widespread,
active, and quick asphalting, garbage removal, and street lighting in
all the communities of Yerevan. By doing this during the official
campaign the candidates offered services to the voters.'' Prior to the
start of the election campaign, the PA party provided free medical
services to some in the general population. In an interview to the pro-
opposition 168 Zham newspaper, PA's mayoral candidate, Minister of
Health Care Harutyun Kushkian, downplayed the allegations, stating that
such services have become a tradition and are conducted periodically,
regardless of elections.
Violence marred the election campaign, both before its official
start on May 2 and after, with confrontations between progovernment and
pro-opposition forces, as well as armed clashes between progovernment
forces themselves.
Some local observers viewed the attacks against journalists
Argishti Kivirian on April 30 and Nver Mnatsakanian on May 6 as
connected with the Yerevan election, since Kivirian had published
articles with pro-opposition views and Mnatsakanian had conducted what
some viewers called an unflattering interview with an influential
businessman active in the election campaign (see section 2.a.).
On May 10 and 11, unidentified men assaulted female opposition
supporters as they were distributing campaign materials in the Avan
District of Yerevan, whose elected head at the time was an RPA party
candidate who was elected deputy mayor after the election. A criminal
case was launched into the assault but subsequently suspended due to a
lack of evidence.
Based on its monitoring of media coverage of the election campaign,
the YPC reported on June 1 that 96 percent of all references to the
parties and bloc contesting the election were neutral during this
period. The YPC noted that ``in this regard, the elections to (the)
Yerevan Council of Elders were quite different from the presidential
elections of 2008.'' Nevertheless, the YPC noted that certain
television channels showed clear preferences toward certain candidates
and parties and that the paid broadcast time for the election campaign
was fully used only by progovernmental parties, which the YPC indicated
was reflective of excessive tariffs for political advertising that
precluded a level playing field.
On April 21, the ANC filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court
arguing that individuals should not be included on voter lists during
local elections if they could not demonstrate at least one year of
residential registration in their claimed locality. On May 8, the
Constitutional Court essentially agreed with the ANC's argument. The
ruling resulted in the invalidation of a clause invoked by the CEC on
February 28 that, based on the CEC's interpretation of the election
code, allowed the inclusion of individuals on voter lists without one
year of residential registration at their claimed locality. The ANC had
filed the appeal based on allegations that ruling parties had attempted
to register non-Yerevan residents for the May municipal election.
Since 2007 approximately 70 citizens who used to live in homes
appropriated by government in 2002 to make space for the construction
of upscale apartments and office buildings on Northern Avenue in
downtown Yerevan have claimed that they have been unable to vote in
elections because of problems encountered in registering at temporary
addresses. Although the law allows these citizens to reregister in
their temporary locality and be included in voters lists, many of them
claimed that they were unable to do so due to resistance by landlords
who leased them apartments or by relatives who hosted them, since
neither group wanted them officially registered at their addresses for
fear of their own property rights being infringed.
Despite multiple changes to the electoral code in recent years,
there were important shortcomings in election administration that
diminished the integrity of the electoral process. Among other
deficiencies, progovernmental appointees--as in previous national and
local elections--held the key leadership positions in an overwhelming
majority of Yerevan's 439 local election commissions (voting precincts)
that administered voting during the municipal election, threatening the
independence and impartiality of the election and vote count process.
In the beginning of May, the opposition Heritage party, which did
not participate in the election but had the right, by virtue of its
representation in the National Assembly, to a seat on all election
commissions, declared that its member on the territorial election
commission (TEC) overseeing 28 local election commissions (voting
precincts) in the Malatia-Sebastia District and five in the adjoining
district of Shengavit had cooperated with progovernmental parties
without the Heritage party's authorization. This development led
Heritage officials to complain that its TEC member had been either
pressured or bought off to allow the progovernmental parties to take
over the seats belonging to Heritage in the TEC's 33 local election
commissions.
During the election and vote count, widespread voting
irregularities were observed and reported in Yerevan's Malatia-Sebastia
District, a district perennially marred by pervasive cases, both
observed and reported, of election fraud. Voting irregularities were
also observed and reported in other Yerevan districts.
Some local NGOs that observed the election assessed its conduct as
flawed. The IYC, which deployed observers to all of Yerevan's 439
voting precincts, noted in a preliminary June 2 statement that the
election failed to restore the confidence of voters in election
processes. Among other violations, the IYC reported observing instances
of open voting; intimidation and limitation of the rights of proxies,
monitors, and mass media representatives; and the presence of
unauthorized persons in voting precincts. According to other local
observers, unauthorized individuals and proxies representing
progovernmental parties appeared to be managing the electoral process
in many of the voting precincts.
The report issued by the local affiliate of the Transparency
International (TI) anticorruption NGO cited numerous cases of voting
irregularities. According to TI, in the TEC with jurisdiction over
Malatia-Sebastia and a part of the Shengavit districts, their observers
faced intimidation and pressure to leave in 16 of the TEC's 33 local
voting precincts and attempts to be bribed in four of the voting
precincts. TI's observers also noted the presence of unauthorized
individuals in 12 precincts, cases of ballot stuffing in 13 precincts,
and open, multiple, directed, or substitutive voting in 17 precincts.
During election day and the vote count, some online media outlets
reported numerous alleged violations. Cases of campaigning on election
day, which is prohibited by law, were reported by local observers,
media, and the opposition. Among other cases, the investigative online
news agency Hetq reported open voting and campaigning for the ruling
RPA.
There were reports of election day violence. The ombudsman
criticized reported assaults of journalists as ``a phenomenon that has
become regular during every election.'' The ombudsman also stated that
``assaults against Armine Avetian from the pro-opposition 168 Zham
newspaper and election observer from Transparency International Sona
Ayvazian that took place on May 31 in the Malatia-Sebastia voting
station were conducted in the presence of the head of the electoral
commission and police officers.'' On the whole, observers and
individuals who witnessed voting irregularities noted that police were
passive in preventing violations and violence in and around polling
stations.
At a voting precinct in the Kentron District of Yerevan, RPA MP
Levon Sargsian and his bodyguards reportedly assaulted Gohar Vezirian
from the pro-opposition Chorrord Ishkhanutyun newspaper and Tatev
Mesropian from the opposition Hayk newspaper. The bodyguards also
reportedly confiscated the voice recorder of the journalist Marine
Kharatian from the opposition 168 Zham newspaper. According to official
information, on June 1 a criminal case of hooliganism was launched in
response to the media report that Sargsian's guards attacked Vezirian;
according to law enforcement authorities, the guards claimed that
Vezirian had made ``hooligan'' statements towards them. The disposition
of this case remained unknown at year's end, and no official
information on the alleged attack by the bodyguards was provided. At
year's end no criminal charges had been leveled against the guards, and
there were no known investigations launched into the other cited
attacks on reporters (see section 2).
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, three cases were
launched during the year in regard to the election-related violence. Of
those cases, one was dropped and two were suspended.
While the IYC reported an improvement in the accuracy of the voters
list maintained by the Passport and Visa Department , many domestic
observers expressed concern about the thousands of registered voters
who no longer physically resided in Armenia and did not cast votes in
elections. There were reports that the names of these physically
absent, registered voters were fraudulently used for substitute voting.
Voting by military personnel during the election also proved
controversial. According to a CEC decision, conscripts were barred from
casting votes in the election. In spite of the decision, the ANC
publicized some lists of names of conscripts that it alleged the
Ministry of Defense had produced in order to organize the voting of
conscripts in the election. The authorities rejected the allegations.
The only international organization accredited to observe the
election, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council
of Europe, deployed 12 observers to monitor the vote. While the
congress gave a generally positive assessment of the election at a
press conference held on June 1, the head of its delegation stated that
``our satisfaction in seeing the citizens electing their City Council
has been tempered by deficiencies in the conduct of the vote.''
According to the CEC, recount requests were filed regarding the
results of 11 polling stations. Some recounts showed significant
discrepancies and mistakes, and the results of six polling stations
were invalidated. Additionally, eight criminal cases were opened into
alleged or reported vote fraud, with five individuals charged and
convicted to varying prison terms. All of these individuals were
subsequently released, however, as the result of amnesty adopted by the
National Assembly on June 19.
Election commissions reportedly refused to register election-
related complaints in many instances and, in some cases, rejected
requests without sufficient cause. The ANC claimed to have filed 18
election-related appeals to the Administrative Court responsible for
adjudicating such complaints; of the 18, the ANC won only one appeal.
The court ruled against the majority of the appeals and allegedly did
not accept some. Local observers interpreted the rulings as politically
motivated.
On June 6, the CEC officially reported the final results of the
election, with 35 seats on the new city council going to the ruling
RPA, 17 to its ruling coalition partner Prosperous Armenia, and 13
going to the ANC led by former president Levon Ter-Petrossian. Two CEC
members representing the opposition Heritage and Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaktsutiun (ARF) parties refused to sign the CEC's final
election protocol. On June 8, the RPA's Gagik Beglarian was officially
reinstalled as Yerevan's mayor.
On June 1, the ANC said it would boycott the city council after
what Ter-Petrossian called ``the ugliest election in Armenia's
history.'' The opposition Heritage party, which did not contest the
election, largely shared ANC's assessment and described the election as
``disgraceful.'' The ARF also described the election as flawed and
refused to recognize the legitimacy of the official results, noting
that such elections risked becoming ``a mere procedure for reproducing
the authorities.''
Dominated by government loyalists, the CEC assessed the election as
largely free and fair, claiming that it had investigated and found most
of the opposition allegations of vote fraud to be unsubstantiated. The
Prosecutor General's Office also claimed to have investigated and found
as unsubstantiated some of the charges of vote fraud leveled by the
opposition. While many of the progovernment officials who commented on
the election acknowledged deficiencies in its conduct, none said they
were significant enough to affect the final outcome of the election.
On December 27, four youth activists were accosted and beaten by
more than 20 assailants in downtown Yerevan while distributing
election-related materials on behalf of Nikol Pashinian, an opposition
candidate in the National Assembly by-election scheduled for January
2010. Assailants reportedly used metal objects during the beating, and
several of the youth activists incurred serious injuries that required
hospitalization. Opposition officials alleged that supporters of
another by-election candidate, Ara Simonian of the progovernment
National Unity party, and the ruling Republican Party carried out the
attack. Simonian denied the allegations. The police launched a criminal
case of battery on December 29 that was underway at year's end.
There were 12 women in the 131-seat National Assembly, including
one of two deputy speakers, as well as two women appointed to the
government cabinet and one female governor. The new Yerevan City
Council included six women; however, none of the 12 communities of
Yerevan were headed by women.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively or
evenly, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with
impunity. The authorities did not take any substantive measures to curb
systematic corruption, although junior and mid-level officials were
periodically prosecuted during the year for petty corruption, usually
accepting bribes for services.
The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that
corruption was a serious problem. The World Bank managing director, in
an October visit, publicly expressed concerns over the need to address
corruption in government institutions.
Beginning in January, all public officials and their family
members, as well as citizens with annual incomes exceeding eight
million drams (approximately $21,000), were subject to financial
disclosure laws, according to which they had to file their asset
declarations no later than April 15; however, to what extent officials
and individuals with high incomes complied with the law remained
unclear. According to local observers, the authorities lacked the will
and technical capacity to verify the accuracy of the declarations,
which were not fully accessible to the public, or to take action
against persons who concealed their incomes.
Government programs to curb corruption continued to produce little
tangible results. The activities of the governmental Anticorruption
Strategy Monitoring Commission and Anticorruption Council continued to
be viewed with skepticism. On October 6, the government approved the
2009-12 anticorruption strategy following two years of wide-ranging
discussions in Yerevan and the regions and the posting of the strategy
on the government's Web site. Local observers remained skeptical,
however, that the newly adopted strategy contained adequate measures to
genuinely strengthen anticorruption institutions and that indicators
for monitoring implementation of the strategy were sufficient.
Civic groups working to address corruption stated that authorities
continued to ignore media reports implicating government officials in
corrupt practices. According to Transparency International's 2009
Global Corruption Barometer carried out between October 2008 and
February, 43 percent of the individuals it surveyed in the country
reported giving bribes during 2008. Respondents identified the police
as the institution that demanded most bribes.
During the year authorities confiscated a company owned by MP and
opposition supporter Khachatur Sukiasian. In 2008 authorities had
seized the assets of his Bjni mineral water company to collect a 4.5
billion dram ($12 million) fine, ostensibly for tax fraud and
misappropriation of state-owned water resources; local observers viewed
the action as retaliation for Sukiasian's support of Levon Ter-
Petrossian's 2008 presidential bid. The company was ultimately sold on
December 24 to a progovernment businessman (see section 1).
In a February 26 interview, Vahram Nercissiants, a top economic
adviser to President Sargsian, stated that the holding of top
governmental offices by affluent businessmen is unconstitutional.
Nercissiants stated that although the constitution prohibits
businessmen from holding public office, many state officials
circumvented the law by registering their companies under the names of
relatives while continuing to manage them personally. The adviser also
noted that when affluent businessmen hold public office, their
loyalties often shifted from serving the government to serving their
private interests and that the country's business environment was
adversely affected when such individuals used government office to set
unequal business conditions and unfairly push competitors out of the
market.
On March 13, an adviser to the minister for emergency situations
was arrested for alleged fraud and bribery. The SIS stated that the
official, Sanatruk Sahakian, was suspected of receiving a large bribe
from the family of a young man seeking to enroll at the country's
police academy. According to the SIS, Sahakian had convinced the family
that he could arrange the young man's enrollment in exchange for the
bribe. On November 9, Sahakian was convicted and sentenced to four
years' imprisonment for fraud and attempted official forgery. The
sentence was subsequently reduced by one-third to two years and eight
months as a result of the June 19 general amnesty.
On April 16, President Sargsian urged the police to put an end to a
spate of high-profile shootouts and illegal possession of weapons and
ammunition that appeared connected to Yerevan's approaching municipal
elections on May 31. Expressing serious concern at the shootings, the
president stated he would toughen the response of law enforcement
agencies in such instances, cautioning that authorities would take
strict measures even if a relative of an official was involved.
In a number of high-profile cases of alleged or reported violence
during the year that involved relatives or members of the ruling party,
no investigation or criminal proceedings were conducted, prompting
local observers to question whether these individuals used their
political connections to the ruling party and authorities to avoid
legal prosecution.
According to media reports, on June 30, Ishkhan Zakarian, chairman
of the Control Chamber, an official auditing body that monitor's
government budgetary activity, reported irregularities in the prices of
public land sold to private individuals in the Armavir region. Zakarian
stated that the Control Chamber discovered instances of land sales
considerably below actual market value. Zakarian indentified one
initial sale of 10 acres that went for 35,000 drams (approximately $94)
per acre; this land was then sold two days later for 3,900,000 drams
(approximately $10,500). Zakarian also reported the sale of land in
Parakar village at below-market prices for the construction of casinos
and furniture shops. The Control Chamber also stated that it had
discovered irregularities in expenditures allegedly allotted to town
planning in Armavir that amounted to 86 million drams (approximately
$232,000).
On October 7, Zakarian presented to the National Assembly the
Control Chamber's 2008 report, in which the chamber registered
financial violations and wasteful spending by government agencies
during the year that totaled almost 8 billion drams (approximately $21
million), of which approximately 6 billion drams ($16 million) could be
recovered. At year's end official sources did not provide information
as to the progress of these cases involving wasteful spending.
During the year the Control Chamber published similar findings on
gross violations and financial abuse in numerous state bodies; as in
previous years, however, these cases were rarely prosecuted. According
to the local affiliate of Transparency International, the government
ministers and regional governors implicated by these reports simply
returned some of the money to the budget and continued to work without
any legal action being taken against them.
According to official statistics, authorities investigated 451
corruption cases during year. In the first nine months of the year,
courts convicted 146 persons, including 63 officials. The majority of
officials investigated or convicted worked in the police or the
Ministry of Justice, and most of the officials were section heads or
other low-level officials.
According to a May 25 media report, the local NGO Achilles Society
for the Defense of Drivers' Rights identified corruption as permeating
all departments of the traffic police. According to the NGO, bribes
solicited by the traffic police ranged from 5,000 to 50,000 drams
(approximately $13 to $130).
While the law provides for public access to government information,
in practice many government bodies and officials were reluctant to
provide such access. During the year the government still had not
adopted the regulations required by, and supplementary to, the 2003
Freedom of Information Law, on the aspects of collection and provision
of information. Officials cited the absence of these regulations when
refusing to provide information. NGOs were more successful in gaining
access to information through the courts.
On July 6, in response to a claim lodged by the local NGO Freedom
of Information Center, the Administrative Court for the first time
imposed an administrative penalty of 50,000 drams (approximately $130)
on a regional official for failing to provide information to the NGO in
accordance with the law.
According to the account of a former prisoner reported by the NGO
Helsinki Committee, Nubarashen prison was ruled by a clandestine
organized criminal system, with rampant corruption involving prison
administration; blackmail, and gambling.
In April 2008 the Freedom of Information Center published the
results of a survey on journalists' access to information, which cited
access to official information as a serious problem. The survey claimed
the main obstacle in obtaining official information was the mentality
of officials, who viewed the information at their disposal as their
private property. Other obstacles included the absence of formal
procedures for storing and providing information as well as the low
level of awareness of their rights among journalists.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restrictions, freely
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases.
During the year independent local human rights organizations and
local affiliates of international organizations operated in the
country. The authorities generally did not deny requests to meet with
domestic NGO monitors and followed some NGO recommendations,
particularly those related to social welfare, education, and local
matters. Authorities were usually unresponsive, however, to NGO
allegations of mistreatment and abuse committed by law enforcement
bodies. Authorities' general response in such instances was that they
had investigated the allegations but could not corroborate them.
Since January a supervisory public council comprised of public
figures reportedly served as a police watchdog. According to the
September 2008 announcement of the council, the body's purpose was to
help improve the transparency of police conduct and prevent human
rights abuses. There were few reports during the year on the council's
operations or its impact on the police. According to official
information, the council dealt with such problems as the carrying of
weapons, traffic regulations, loud honking by cars, fireworks
regulations, and aggressive content in television shows.
On August 15, police charged Mariam Sukhudian, a youth
environmental activist, with false reporting of a crime after she
publicly reported instances of sexual and other abuse at a state-run
boarding school for children with special needs in 2008. The activist
and local human rights monitors criticized the charges as trumped-up
retaliation for Sukhudian's bringing the abuses to light and called for
an impartial investigation into the conditions at all state-run special
needs schools. On October 21, police informed Sukhudian that the
charges against her had been downgraded to slander, punishable by fine.
At year's end the investigation of the criminal charges against
Sukhudian continued.
On June 5, police detained and arrested Arshaluis Hakobian, a
member of the local NGO Helsinki Association, for allegedly assaulting
a police officer while being delivered a summons to appear in
connection with the official complaint of electoral fraud that Hakobian
filed during the May 31 municipal elections. According to reports,
during the elections Hakobian, an accredited election observer, was
evicted along with a colleague from a polling station in Yerevan's
fraud-rife district of Malatia-Sebastia, barred from reentry, and
threatened with physical harm. He subsequently filed the complaint with
the SIS. Police claimed Hakobian assaulted them as they were delivering
a summons for him to appear before the SIS investigating the complaint.
According to Hakobian, the police officers who visited his house on
June 5 were aggravated by his refusal to sign the summons, which
Hakobian claimed was illegitimate. Hakobian stated police pressured him
to sign the summons, beat him on the way to and at the police station,
and denied him access to a lawyer during the initial hours of his
detention.
On June 11, CSMB members visited Hakobian in prison and reported
numerous injuries on his body (legs, hands, back, and head). The police
reportedly registered Hakobian's injuries in a medical folder upon his
arrival at the prison. The government claimed to have investigated the
claims of mistreatment and denied it occurred. On June 15, the Geneva-
based Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders issued a
statement of concern over the ``arbitrary arrest'' of Hakobian and
condemned police mistreatment against him, which the organization
charged was punishment for Hakobian's human rights activities.
After being charged on June 5 with assaulting a public official,
Hakobian was remanded into custody for a two-month pretrial detention
period. On August 5, authorities extended his pretrial detention for
one month. On September 15, his case got underway. On October 16, the
authorities released Hakobian from detention following a motion by the
prosecutor requesting the court to postpone further judicial
proceedings by one month; the prosecutor justified his motion by
stating that the prosecution needed additional time to ``change or
complement'' the original charges. The court granted the request and
ordered Hakobian's immediate release from detention on the condition
that Hakobian not leave the country while the case continued. On
November 20 and December 21, the judge postponed the proceedings into
the case in response to the prosecution's requests for more time to
conduct an investigation into the actions of the police officers who
detained and arrested Hakobian. On November 28, the SIS launched an
investigation into the alleged abuse by the police officers that was
subsequently dismissed on December 29 due to lack of evidence, and the
proceedings against Hakobian had yet to be resumed by year's end.
On May 21, police dismissed charges against Tigran Urikhanian for
criminally assaulting Mikael Danielian, the head of the local Helsinki
Association NGO, in May 2008. Urikhanian, a marginal progovernment
figure, and two accomplices reportedly carried out the assault. Despite
numerous witnesses to the attack, police chose not to recognize
Danielian as a victim and characterized the incident as hooliganism.
Throughout the investigation, however, police could not corroborate the
hooliganism charges with supporting facts. While police assessed
Urikhanian's actions as exceeding ``legitimate self defense,'' they
concluded that they did not constitute a crime since Danielian's
injuries were not grave. Police did not press charges against the other
two assailants, claiming that they had ``repented'' for their actions.
Police also chose not to include in their case materials the testimony
of Artur Sakunts, director of the human rights NGO Helsinki Citizens
Assembly Vanadzor, who witnessed the attack. According to Danielian,
throughout the investigation, the police investigator threatened him
with possible arrest on charges of hooliganism if he did not reconcile
with the offenders. Danielian appealed the decision to dismiss the
criminal case in both the court of first instance and the court of
appeals; on both occasions, the courts ruled against his appeals.
There were no developments in the investigation of the assaults
against youth activists Arsen Kharatian in May 2008 and Narek
Hovakimian in June 2008.
The government generally cooperated with international NGOs,
permitting them to visit the country and issue reports.
A human rights defender (ombudsman) operated in the country, with a
mandate to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms from abuse by
the national, regional, and local governments and their officials.
During the year the ombudsman issued regular and ad hoc reports on
various human rights problems in the country. The government was
generally not responsive to these reports and did not answer questions
raised in the ombudsman's April 2008 ad hoc report on the March 2008
postelection violence. During the first half of the year, the
Ombudsman's Office received complaints from 2,602 citizens; the office
resolved 42 of these complaints, with 94 persons reportedly receiving
redress for their grievances.
On September 16-17, approximately 16 months after its
establishment, an ad hoc parliamentary commission released its findings
on the March 2008 postelection events and 10 resulting deaths. The
report stated the commission was unable to shed more light onto the
circumstances of the deaths and urged law enforcement authorities to do
more to identify, track down, and prosecute individuals responsible for
the deaths. Relatives of the civilian victims protested the
commission's findings and demonstrated before the parliament for a
full, objective accounting of the deaths.
Before the release of the report, President Sargsian on June 6
disbanded the bipartisan fact-finding group of experts he established
in October 2008 to assist the ad hoc parliamentary commission in its
inquiry. According to local observers, the disbanding of the fact-
finding group was connected to the leaking of sensitive reports that
assigned culpability to authorities for some of the 10 deaths. PACE
regretted the disbanding of the fact-finding group due to ``the
insurmountable tensions between its members and the politicizing of its
work by members of both sides''; declared that an independent,
impartial, and credible investigation into the March 2008 events was
still necessary; and stated that the final report by the ad hoc
parliamentary commission would ``determine whether the criteria of
impartiality and credibility have been met and whether further
investigations are necessary.''
On December 21, the PACE Monitoring Committee criticized the
commission's self-censorship for not sufficiently challenging the
official version of events. It also deplored the report's one-sided
description of events and lack of discussion on the postelection arrest
and prosecution of a large number of opposition supporters.
The very low profile on human rights problems of the Standing
Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Issues of the
National Assembly led the local human rights community to view the
committee with deep skepticism.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status; however, the government
did not effectively enforce these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape is a criminal offense and carries a maximum penalty of
15 years' imprisonment. There are no explicit laws criminalizing
marital rape. During the year authorities launched 23 criminal cases
against 26 persons on cases of rape and attempted rape; however, social
stigma continued to contribute to the underreporting of those crimes.
Authorities convicted 10 of these 26 individuals for rape or attempted
rape; the investigations into the remaining cases were continuing at
year's end. According to official information, none of these reported
cases constituted marital rape.
There is no law against domestic violence. Few cases of spousal
abuse or other violence against women were reported during the year,
although such violence was presumed to be widespread. In a 2007 survey
commissioned by the Women's Rights Center, 66 percent of the
respondents acknowledged that family members subjected them to
psychological abuse, and 39 percent considered themselves victims of
either moderate or severe physical abuse. Most cases of domestic
violence were not reported to police because victims were afraid of
physical harm, were apprehensive that police would return them to their
husbands, or were embarrassed to make family problems public.
There is one NGO-operated shelter in the country, which offers
refuge and assistance, including psychological and legal counseling, to
victims of domestic violence. The NGO also operates a hotline that
offers assistance to victims of domestic violence.
Police reported investigating 241 cases of domestic violence during
the year, including 132 cases of battery and 100 cases of infliction of
willful damage to health. The remaining cases included a murder attempt
or threat thereof, hooliganism, and insults. The Prosecutor General's
Office reported registering two instances of murder and two instances
of attempted murder by spouses.
While prostitution constitutes an administrative offense punishable
by a fine, operating a brothel and engaging in other forms of pimping
are crimes punishable by one to 10 years' imprisonment. According to
media reports, fewer than 5,000 women were involved in prostitution in
the country, of whom approximately 1,500 were in Yerevan. Local
observers claim that police and other security forces tolerated
prostitution.
The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although
it addresses lewd acts and indecent behavior. While there was no public
data on the extent of the problem, local observers believed sexual
harassment directed against women in the workplace to be widespread.
According to law, couples and individuals have the right to decide
freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. In practice, however,
especially in more traditional families, such decisions were often made
by the male spouse and his parents. Access to and information about
contraception was low, especially in rural areas. Skilled attendance
during childbirth was more accessible in large towns and population
centers. Women were diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted
infections, including HIV, equally with men.
There were reports that women, especially those in rural or remote
areas, faced insufficient access to adequate general and reproductive
health-care services. Observers noted that various efforts made to
improve reproductive health care had not been effective.
International and local observers recommended during the year that
the government continue to take measures to improve women's access to
health care in general, and to reproductive health-care services in
particular. During the year observers called on authorities to increase
efforts to improve the availability of sexual and reproductive health
services (including family planning), to mobilize resources for that
purpose, and to monitor the actual access to those services by women.
Further recommendations were made that the government widely promote
family planning and reproductive health education to girls and boys
with special attention to the prevention of pregnancies of underage
girls, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS.
Men and women enjoy equal legal status, although gender and age
discrimination were continuing problems in the public and private
sectors. Women generally did not enjoy the same professional
opportunities or wages as men and often were relegated to more menial
or low-paying jobs. Women remained underrepresented in leadership
positions in all branches of the government, national as well as
regional and local.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents. Observers
indicated that parents, particularly the poorest and most socially
disadvantaged, were unable to register their children at birth, thereby
potentially depriving them of essential social services and increasing
their children's vulnerability. During the year, however, international
donors worked with the authorities to address the situation with some
success.
Severe disparities remained in both primary and secondary education
in the country because of gender, regional location, and income.
Numbers of dropouts after basic education remained substantial,
especially among poor students.
Free basic health care was available to boys and girls through age
18 but often was of poor quality, and officials often required overt or
concealed payment for services.
Statutory rape, defined in the law as sexual acts with a person
less than 16 years of age, is punishable with a fine and imprisonment
up to two years. Child pornography is punishable with a maximum
imprisonment of six years.
At year's end a court case continued against the former deputy head
of Special School No. 18, a facility for children with antisocial
behavior, who allegedly forced two students to beg and sexually
assaulted another student.
In November 2008 Armenian Public Television broadcast reports
containing allegations of sexual and other abuse of students at Special
School No. 11, a school for children with special needs, by the
school's administration and staff. The alleged abuse came to light when
a group of youth activists served as volunteers in the school. In their
work and interaction with children, the volunteers observed and heard
about multiple problems and abuses at that school, including poor food
quality, poor sanitary conditions, exploitation of children by the
school's director and staff for their household chores, severe
punishments and beatings, and several instances of sexual abuse by a
teacher. On August 15, the authorities opened criminal proceedings for
false crime reporting, which police downgraded to slander charges on
October 21, against the leader of the youth group who publicized the
abuses, Mariam Sukhudian. On August 26, the Prosecutor General's Office
stated its investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse proved
them invalid. At year's end the investigation of the criminal charges
against Sukhudian continued.
In February and March the human rights NGO Armenian Helsinki
Committee monitored 12 special-education schools and four boarding
institutions to assess the provision of care and protection of children
enrolled in the establishments. The study, published in the Ditord
(Observer) human rights journal, revealed frequent physical and
psychological violence against children at the institutions. Many
children indicated they had been slapped or beaten, shut in a
classroom, or prevented from going home, among other forms of
punishment. According to the study, some teachers admitted resorting to
violence. The study also noted that most of the institutions lacked
proper central heating and adequate sanitary and hygiene conditions.
The committee also studied children's rights in the 12 general
education schools in the Syunik region during the February and March
period. The study found various forms of physical or psychological
violence regularly used as a means of punishing children. Violence
often took the form of beating, slapping, pulling ears, and humiliating
treatment. There was also unequal treatment of students at schools,
depending on teachers' relations with students, whether students
pursued private classes with a teacher, and whether students had
influential parents. The Helsinki Committee conducted a similar study
in 2007 and 2008 in 39 general education schools throughout seven
regions of Armenia, collecting data. The results of the two studies
were substantively the same.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reported cases of persons trafficked
into, from and within the country.
The country is primarily a source for women and girls trafficked to
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey for the purpose of commercial
sexual exploitation. NGOs reported that women were also trafficked to
Turkey for the purpose of forced labor. Men and women were trafficked
to Russia for the purpose of forced labor. During the year there were
court cases involving internal trafficking of minors for sexual
exploitation and forced begging and trafficking of Russian women to the
country for labor exploitation. According to official data, at least 60
persons were identified as victims of trafficking.
Individual or small organized groups of traffickers using developed
networks in source and destination countries typically recruited
victims among the most socially vulnerable in the population,
especially persons in the rural areas, through promises of high-paying
jobs in the destination countries. In the case of trafficking for
sexual exploitation, traffickers typically, but not always, targeted
women already engaged in prostitution. The majority but not all of
these victims were aware that they would end up in the sex industry in
other countries; however, they were unaware of the traffickers' intent
or the exploitative circumstances they would face abroad. Once in the
destination country, traffickers deprived victims of their travel
documents, confined them in hotel rooms, and told them they must
``repay'' their expenses. Traffickers reportedly encouraged victims to
become recruiters, promising them future proceeds earned by new victims
or by promising them money they had already earned but been deprived of
by their traffickers.
Amendments to the criminal code in November increased the criminal
punishments envisaged by one of the two existing statutes pertaining to
trafficking (increasing the punishments in one to match punishments in
the other). As a result, both antitrafficking statutes envisage
punishments for convicted traffickers from five to 15 years, depending
on the aggravating circumstances. Changes to both statutes also
stipulated confiscation of the trafficker's assets as a form of
punishment, and exempted trafficking victims from criminal prosecution
for crimes they were forced to commit as a result of their
victimization, provided the victims supported the investigation of
these crimes.
According to government figures, law enforcement agencies
investigated 15 trafficking cases during the year, and the courts
convicted 11 persons under the trafficking statute, compared with four
persons in 2008.
On April 20, for the first time ever, a Yerevan court convicted
four women of trafficking as an organized criminal group; their
sentences ranged between one and 13 years in prison, the longest prison
sentence ever handed down for trafficking in the country.
On December 18, a Yerevan court convicted another trafficker to 13
years in prison for exploiting women as prostitutes in the UAE.
In contrast with previous years, during the year courts delivered
longer prison sentences to convicted traffickers, with none of the
sentences being suspended. On April 2, a Yerevan court sentenced a male
trafficker to seven years in prison for forcing five children into
begging.
During the year the trial of two Russian traffickers who exploited
victims as exotic dancers in local nightclubs continued. In cooperation
with Russian law enforcement, police identified 11 more victims in this
case (all of whom were already in Russia), bringing the total number of
victims of the alleged traffickers to 24. The written testimonies of
the newly discovered victims were used in court proceedings. The trial
continued at year's end.
The Ministerial Council to Combat Trafficking in Persons, chaired
by the deputy prime minister, was responsible for implementing,
coordinating, and monitoring the government's antitrafficking efforts.
In 2007, following extensive discussions with foreign governments and
NGOs involved in antitrafficking programs, the government approved a
2007-09 national action plan to combat trafficking in persons. The
police, the National Security Service, and the Prosecutor General's
Office were responsible for investigating and prosecuting trafficking
cases. Authorities actively cooperated with several trafficking
destination countries and regularly shared information with them.
No reports of official complicity in trafficking came to light
during the year. At year's end, however, authorities had not yet
prosecuted any officials in connection with the 2006 escape from the
country of Anush Zakhariants, a convicted Uzbek trafficker of ethnic
Armenian origin. The National Security Service located Zakhariants in
Uzbekistan during the year. On December 14, the Prosecutor General's
Office officially requested Uzbekistan to extradite Zakhariants to the
country; at year's end the extradition request remained pending.
Upon their return to the country, trafficking victims feared social
stigma and discrimination and were generally but not always reluctant
to help locate and prosecute their traffickers. Government officials
did not require victims to assist in pursuing traffickers but worked
with those who were willing to do so. NGOs reported that judges'
overall treatment of victims continued to improve.
Several NGOs assisted trafficking victims, many of whom were
referred to them by authorities. Two hotlines were also available for
trafficking victims. Antitrafficking NGOs operated without financial
assistance from the government and depended on foreign government
funding. In 2008 the government had approved national budget funds to
be allocated for antitrafficking, including the cofunding of operating
a trafficking victims' shelter. During the year the government
primarily supported public awareness activities. Cofunding of the
shelter fell through, however, due to technical problems between the
government and NGOs that operated the shelter. The public awareness
activities included the organization of a youth campaign against
trafficking and the publication of 100,000 brochures containing legal
advice for Armenian citizens who travel, reside, and/or work abroad.
The country's 2010 national budget adopted at year's end, like the
2009 budget, included multiple allocations devoted to its
antitrafficking efforts. In comparison with the 2009 budget, the 2010
budget allocated more money, specifically toward victims' assistance.
In November 2008 the government approved the national referral
mechanism (NRM) for use by public officials to help refer trafficking
victims for assistance. According to local observers, however, the NRM
appeared to place disproportionate focus on helping law enforcement
agencies locate and punish traffickers rather than providing assistance
to victims. The level of assistance to the victim prescribed in the NRM
depended on victims' level of cooperation with law enforcement
agencies. On September 3, the government decided to include trafficking
victims as a special category of socially vulnerable groups eligible
for free medical aid.
Throughout the year NGOs, international organizations, and the
government conducted trafficking prevention activities, mainly through
educational and media programs to raise public awareness of the
problem.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and the provision of other state services; however,
discrimination remained a problem. The law and a special government
decree provide for accessibility to buildings for persons with
disabilities, but in practice very few buildings and other facilities
were accessible to these persons.
In its monitoring of mental health facilities in the Syunik and
Shirak regions during the year, the human rights NGO Helsinki Citizens
Assembly of Vanadzor (HCAV) reported encountering numerous problems in
these facilities. The deficiencies included, among other things, poor
hygienic conditions, poor alimentation, inappropriate buildings, use of
outdated and ineffective medication, lack of professionally trained
staff, instances of physical violence, and use of patient labor in
health facilities. The HCAV also noted that there appeared to be
systematic problems in the entire operation of mental health
facilities, including an absence of a state policy on mental health,
the lack of appropriate legislation for the proper implementation of
the law, the lack of standards and norms of conduct for staff, and
insufficient funding of facilities.
In July 2008 the online news agency Armenianow.com published a HCAV
survey of patients at the Vanadzor Neurological and Psychiatric Clinic.
Patients there reported beatings, torture, and abusive narcotic
sedation by clinic personnel and medical staff. Patients also
complained of deprivation of privileges and insufficient food.
Hospitals, residential care, and other facilities for persons with
serious disabilities remained substandard. According to official data,
more than 90 percent of persons with disabilities who were able to work
were unemployed.
The government, through the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs,
is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities
but failed to do so effectively.
According to the local NGO Unison, which monitored the May 31
Yerevan municipal elections, persons with physical disabilities did not
have access to the polls during the vote, and very few persons with
disabilities participated in the vote.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--General societal attitudes
towards homosexuality remained highly unfavorable. The country's
endorsement of the UN December 2008 statement against discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity caused a public
outcry and increased the number of negative articles in the media about
homosexuals. Society continued largely to view homosexuality as an
affliction.
Persons who were openly gay were exempted from military service,
purportedly because of concern that they would be abused by fellow
servicemen. However, the legal pretext for the exemption was predicated
on a medical finding of gays possessing a mental disorder, which was
stamped in their documents and could affect their future. During the
year there was at least one reported case of a young man, whose
homosexuality was revealed during military service, being diagnosed and
hospitalized with ``homosexuality disease.''
According to local human rights activists, lesbians, gays,
bisexuals, and transgender persons experienced some of the most
humiliating discrimination in prisons, where they were forced to do
some of the most degrading jobs and separated from the rest of the
prison population.
Societal discrimination based on sexual orientation continued to be
a problem with respect to employment, family relations, and access to
education and health care for sexual minorities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports
during the year of societal violence or discrimination against persons
with HIV/AIDS.
Many employers reportedly discriminated against potential employees
by age, most commonly requiring job applicants to be between the ages
of 18 and 30. While this discrimination appeared to be widespread,
authorities did not take any action to mitigate it. After the age of
40, workers, particularly women, continued to have little chance of
finding jobs appropriate to their education or skills.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers, except for
those serving in the armed forces and law enforcement agencies, to form
and to join independent unions of their choice without previous
authorization or excessive requirements. In practice, however, most
workers were unable to exercise this right. Labor organizations
remained weak because of employer resistance, high unemployment, and
poor economic conditions. The Confederation of Labor Unions (CLU)
estimated that as of February approximately 240,000 workers, or an
estimated 20 percent of the workforce, were members of 24 trade unions.
There were additional labor unions that did not belong to the CLU.
Labor unions were generally inactive, with the exception of those
connected with the mining industry. However, some mining enterprises,
including some financed by foreign capital, discouraged employees from
joining labor unions with the implied threat of loss of employment.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
government interference. The law also provides for the right to strike
except for members of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies,
but workers rarely went on strike due to the fear of losing their jobs.
While the law prohibits retaliation against strikers, it occurred
periodically.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Although the
law provides for collective bargaining, in practice it was practically
nonexistent.
There were no reports of antiunion discrimination.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced and compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women and girls were trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation and labor, and that men were trafficked for labor
exploitation in the construction sector. A small number of boys and
girls were trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation and
forced begging (see section 6).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
laws and policies protect children from exploitation in the workplace.
The minimum age for employment is 16, but children may work from age 14
with permission of a parent or a guardian. Children less than the age
of 18 are prohibited from working overtime, in harmful and dangerous
conditions, at night, or on holidays; nevertheless, the authorities
responsible for compliance with child labor law unevenly enforced the
law.
According to local observers, many children, especially in rural
regions, were involved in family businesses--mainly agriculture--as a
result of the severe socioeconomic plights of their families. Observers
also reported seeing children in Yerevan selling flowers and drawings
and working in local markets after school hours. Children also worked
in trade, construction, and car services, operated vehicles, and
gathered waste metal and bottles. According to an October 2008 study by
the UN Children's Fund on child labor, less than 5 percent of children
between seven and 18 had paying jobs, not counting those involved in
family farms or businesses. The survey also found that almost one-third
of working children were below the legal working age, that almost all
children worked without legal contracts, and that some children were
employed in heavy manual work as laborers and loaders.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The government sets the minimum
wage by decree. The monthly minimum wage of 30,000 drams (approximately
$80) as fixed by the state budget did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family.
During the year there were reports of numerous labor rights
violations committed by a construction company. The firm had been
awarded a government contract to construct housing in the city of
Gyumri as part of a government rehabilitation project to rebuild the
housing stock destroyed by the 1988 earthquake. Some of the reported
violations included extremely low wages, working hours up to 65 hours
per week, unpaid worker salaries, and work without contracts. In spite
of numerous media reports on the violations, reportedly neither the
State Labor Inspectorate nor any other state body investigated the
reported conditions. In the absence of any labor unions, some of the
workers reportedly took their cases to court but dropped the cases
after reaching agreements with the company to recover only a fraction
of the compensation owed them. According to some local observers, some
of the workers were reluctant to speak out for their rights because of
fear that they would lose their jobs.
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek, 28 days of mandatory
annual leave, and compensation for overtime worked. In practice,
however, the authorities did not effectively enforce these standards.
Many private sector employees were unable to obtain paid leave and were
required to work more than eight hours a day without compensation.
According to representatives of some employment agencies, many
employers also hired an employee for a ``probationary'' period of 10-30
days, during which the employee was not paid. Often these employees
were subsequently dismissed and unable to claim payment for the time
they worked because their initial employment was undocumented. Evidence
also suggested that some private sector employers underreported the
size of their staff to avoid paying taxes.
Occupational and health standards are established by government
decrees. The authorities responsible for enforcing these standards did
not always do so effectively, however, due to a lack of capacity,
skills, and will. During the year the State Labor Inspectorate
reportedly made little progress toward implementing an inspection
regime or enforcing the labor code, and its work was reportedly
undermined by corruption.
Workers had the right to remove themselves from work situations
that endangered their health and safety, but they were unlikely to do
so because such an action could place their employment at risk. Work
safety and health conditions remained substandard in numerous sectors,
and there were two fatal workplace incidents during the year.
On May 14, four persons were killed and approximately 20 injured in
two powerful explosions at the Nairit chemical plant in Yerevan.
According to reports, before the explosions Nairit had periodically
faced emergency situations that were not properly addressed; the
plant's obsolete Soviet-era equipment and poor safety standards also
were believed to contribute to the explosions. On the same day, the
authorities opened an investigation to determine the precise cause of
the explosions. On October 10, three employees of the chemical plant
were charged with a second breach of safety rules that resulted in one
person's death, and the case went to court on November 9. On December
14, at the request of the defense, a Yerevan court suspended the case
against the three workers, exonerating them of the charges as provided
by the June 19 general amnesty.
On June 17, four Chinese workers employed by the Chinese company
HPCC-3 died in an accident at the construction site of a thermal power
plant in the city of Hrazdan near Yerevan. The Emergency Rescue Service
reported that the workers fell to their deaths after the platform that
was holding them collapsed. The same day police launched a criminal
investigation into the accident based on the alleged violation of
workplace safety standards at a construction site. The case was dropped
on August 8 after the investigation concluded that three of the
deceased workers themselves had violated safety standards, and the
fourth victim, who was their supervisor and responsible for his
subordinates' safety, also perished in the accident.
__________
AUSTRIA
Austria is a parliamentary democracy with constitutional power
shared between a popularly elected president and a bicameral parliament
(Federal Assembly). The country's eight million citizens choose their
government representatives in periodic, free, and fair multiparty
elections. In September 2008 voters elected members of the national
parliament. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.
During the year there were some reports of excessive use of force
by police and societal discrimination against Muslims and members of
unrecognized religious groups, particularly those considered ``sects.''
There were reports of anti-Semitic incidents, including two physical
attacks, taunting, graffiti and defacement, threatening letters,
Internet postings, property damage, and vilifying letters and telephone
calls. Violence against women, child abuse, and trafficking in women
and children for prostitution and labor also remained problems. There
were incidents of neo-Nazi and right-wing extremism and xenophobia
directed toward members of minority groups.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
on August 5, police shot and killed a 14-year-old burglar in a
supermarket. A surviving 16-year-old accomplice claimed that police
shot at the youths while they were fleeing. An investigation was
continuing at year's end. The Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office decided
to accuse one of the police officers of manslaughter. The Justice
Ministry's approval of the decision was pending at the end of the year.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, there were
reports that police beat and abused persons.
On February 11, an American citizen working in Vienna was injured
when police briefly arrested him after confusing him with a drug
dealer. The police rejected accusations of excessive use of force and
stated that physical force was used only when the subject resisted
arrest. At year's end, the Prosecutor's Office was determining whether
to file charges against the officers involved.
In an August 2008 report, the UN Committee for Elimination of
Racial Discrimination expressed concern over ``reports of police
brutality toward persons of African descent or from the Roma
minority.''
In August the media reported two individual incidents of suspected
police mistreatment. In one case in Vienna, two police officers
reportedly beat a 45-year-old Serb sociologist. The two officers were
suspended from duty the following day and were awaiting trial at year's
end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons and detention
center conditions did not always meet international standards.
Overcrowding remained a problem in some institutions. The Human Rights
Advisory Council, an independent governmental body whose members are
appointed by the minister of the interior, repeatedly described
conditions facing aliens prior to deportation as ``questionable from a
human rights point of view'' and, at times, ``not in conformity with
human rights standards.'' There were no indications that authorities
made changes in response to these criticisms.
Some human rights observers criticized the incarceration of
nonviolent offenders, including persons awaiting deportation, for long
periods in single cells or inadequate facilities designed for temporary
detention.
There were allegations that a lack of adequate medical care
continued to be a problem.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) monitored prisons on a regular
basis. On February 15-25, a delegation from the Council of Europe's
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) visited the country to
review measures taken by authorities in response to previous CPT
recommendations. The delegation paid particular attention to the
treatment of persons in police detention and to the detention
conditions under which foreign nationals were held. It examined
problems related to prisons, including the situation of juvenile
prisoners, and visited a civil psychiatric hospital and a social
welfare institution. At year's end, the CPT had not released its report
on the delegation's findings.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and information available during the year
suggested that the government generally observed these prohibitions;
however, the strict application of slander laws tended to discourage
reports of police abuse.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the police and army, and the
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during
the year.
Some police violence appeared to be racially motivated. In a report
released on April 9, Amnesty International noted that immigrants and
ethnic minorities living in the country were more likely to be
suspected of crimes than ``whites'' and that police and the judicial
system regularly denied their right to equal treatment. The report
noted that authorities do not effectively investigate and punish
racially motivated police misconduct. Amnesty International expressed
concern that the criminal justice system as a whole, and police in
particular, were failing to provide the same level of service to
foreign nationals and members of ethnic minorities as they routinely
provide to citizens from the country's majority ethnic group.
Police were also accused of not taking seriously personal safety
concerns of members of minority communities. After the killing of a
Chechen asylee on January 13 and the killing of a religious leader at a
Sikh temple on May 24, information emerged suggesting that, in both
cases, police had ignored warnings or specific requests for personal
protection.
NGOs and other groups continued to criticize the police for
targeting minorities. Racial sensitivity training for police and other
officials continued with NGO assistance. The Human Rights Advisory
Council monitored police respect for human rights and made
recommendations to the interior minister.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--In criminal
cases the law allows investigative or pretrial detention for up to 48
hours, during which a judge may decide to grant a prosecution request
for extended detention. The law specifies the grounds for investigative
detention and conditions for bail. The judge is required to evaluate
such detention periodically. Maximum duration for investigative
detention is two years. There is a bail system. Police and judicial
authorities respected these laws and procedures in practice.
Some legal experts called for a review of an article in the
criminal code designed to target collusion of suspected terrorists, but
which, they asserted, authorities have used improperly to detain
persons on charges not connected with terrorism. The provision has been
used to accuse animal rights activists who had damaged fur stores.
Detainees have the right to access a lawyer. Although indigent
criminal suspects have the right to an attorney, the criminal procedure
code requires an attorney be appointed only after a court has decided
to remand such suspects into custody, i.e., 96 hours after their
apprehension. During the year there were no reports to indicate whether
the government respected these rights in practice.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. A system of
judicial review provides multiple opportunities for appeal. Persons
charged with criminal offenses are considered innocent until proven
guilty. Trials must be public and conducted orally. Juries are used
only in trials of major offenses. Defendants have the right to be
present during trials. They can confront or question witnesses against
them and present witnesses and evidence on their behalf. Defendants can
consult attorneys no later than 96 hours after apprehension. Legal
counsel is provided pro bono for persons in need in cases where
attorneys are mandatory. Attorneys are not mandatory in cases of minor
offenses. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held
evidence relevant to their cases.
In 2008 the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) found three
violations by the country of the right to a fair trial and seven
violations involving length of proceedings, as provided under Article 6
of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including an appellate
system. These institutions are accessible to plaintiffs seeking damages
for human rights violations. Administrative remedies as well as
judicial remedies were available for redressing alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
In one judgment in 2008 the ECHR found the government in violation
of the right to respect for private and family life as provided under
Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and the press, and the government generally respected
these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary,
and a functioning democratic political system combined to ensure
freedom of speech and the press. The independent media were active and
expressed a wide variety of views with a few restrictions. Individuals
generally could criticize the government publicly or privately without
reprisal.
The law prohibits public denial, belittlement, approval, or
justification of the Nazi genocide or other Nazi crimes against
humanity in a print publication, a broadcast, or other media. It also
prohibits incitement, insult, or contempt against a group because of
its members' race, nationality, or ethnicity if the statement violates
human dignity. The government strictly enforced these laws.
Strict libel laws discouraged reporting of governmental abuse.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups engaged in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Approximately 65 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet, according to 2008 statistics from the International
Telecommunication Union.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right; however,
religious minority groups widely regarded as sects complained about
second-class status.
Religious organizations exist in three legal categories: officially
recognized religious societies and religious confessional communities,
and associations, sometimes referred to as sects. Some unrecognized
religious groups and experts on law and religion, citing past findings
by the ECHR, complained that the law obstructs legitimate claims for
recognition and relegates such groups to second-class status, because
it requires a 20-year period of existence (at least 10 of which must be
as a group organized as a confessional community) and membership
equaling at least 0.2 percent of the country's population
(approximately 16,000 persons). Following a decades-long legal battle,
the government officially recognized Jehovah's Witnesses as a religious
society on May 7. On September 1, the Education Ministry rejected the
application of the Alevi association, ``Aleviten,'' a religious group
that combines elements of religions in Anatolia with Sunni and Shia
Islam, for recognition as either a religious society or a religious
community on the grounds that the state already recognized one Islamic
group, the Islamic Belief Community.
One of the two parties in the governing coalition, the conservative
Austrian People's Party (OVP), denied party membership to members of
some unrecognized religious groups that it defined as ``cults'' (e.g.,
Scientologists). The OVP believed these groups' view of mankind
differed fundamentally from its own. The opinions of these groups, the
OVP said, were incompatible with OVP ethical principles, or in the
OVP's view were opposed to basic rights granted by ``progressively
minded'' constitutional states and an open society.
The Federal Office of Sect Issues functioned as a counseling center
for those who had questions about sects and cults. While the office is
legally independent of the government, the minister for education
supervised its director. Some members of the public and experts on law
and religion believed the Office of Sect Issues and similar government
offices fostered societal discrimination against unrecognized religious
groups.
The City of Vienna and the Lower Austrian state government funded a
counseling center run by a controversial NGO, the Society against Sect
and Cult Dangers (GSK), which actively worked against alleged sects and
cults. The GSK distributed information to schools and the general
public and offered counseling to persons who believed sects and cults
had negatively affected their lives.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was some societal
discrimination against members of unrecognized religious groups,
particularly those considered to be cults or sects. The majority of
these groups had fewer than 100 members. The Church of Scientology and
the Unification Church were among the larger unrecognized groups.
Muslims complained about incidents of societal discrimination and
verbal harassment, including occasional incidents of discrimination
against Muslim women wearing head scarves in public.
There was some debate in the state of Vorarlberg on the question of
erecting minarets. There was also significant public opposition to the
expansion of a Turkish Muslim center in Vienna.
During the year in state election campaigns in Salzburg and Upper
Austria as well as in the run up to the 2010 Vienna municipal election,
the right-wing Freedom Party (FPO) conducted political campaigns with
an anti-Muslim tone. FPO campaign posters featured slogans declaring
``the West in Christian hands'' and promising to protect the country
from ``Islamization.''
The Jewish community numbered approximately 7,700. The NGO Forum
against Anti-Semitism reported 46 anti-Semitic incidents in 2008,
including one physical attack, as well as name-calling, graffiti and
defacement, threatening letters, anti-Semitic Internet postings,
property damage, and vilifying letters and telephone calls. The Vienna
Jewish community's offices and other Jewish community institutions in
the country, such as schools and museums, continued to receive extra
police protection.
On February 12, unknown perpetrators wrote anti-Semitic and anti-
Muslim graffiti on the walls of the former concentration camp at
Mauthausen.
At a commemoration event on May 9 at the former Nazi satellite
concentration camp at Ebensee in Upper Austria, five teenagers fired
rubber bullets at participants and displayed the Nazi salute. They were
charged with violating the law banning neo-Nazi activity. At the end of
the year, the teenagers had not been brought to trial.
The law prohibits public denial, belittlement, approval, or
justification of the Nazi genocide or other Nazi crimes against
humanity in a print publication, broadcast, or other media. The
government strictly enforced these laws.
On August 23, a far-right FPO politician in Vorarlberg province
called the director of a Jewish museum in the province an ``exile Jew
from America.'' Critics noted that the remark displayed anti-Semitic
sentiments, particularly since the museum director was not from the
United States but Germany.
On December 12, a Palestinian asylum seeker attacked a rabbi in
Vienna during a Hanukkah celebration and bit off part of the rabbi's
finger. The asylum seeker was arrested.
On December 26, an unknown perpetrator painted pro-Nazi graffiti
and a swastika on a cemetery wall in Peggau, near Graz.
In August there was a public debate over the Carinthian public
prosecutor's decision to drop charges against the state's governor,
who, in defiance of a court order requiring bilingual signs for the
Slovenian minority, had illegally removed town signs in the province.
The Justice Ministry backed the legal argument by the public prosecutor
despite widespread criticism of the decision as being politically
motivated.
In December the weekly newspaper Falter reported investigators
concluded arson caused a June 2008 fire in an asylum house that killed
one African and injured 19 other asylum seekers. Previously Carinthian
police reported that the victims caused the fire with cigarettes, but
Falter reported investigators found gasoline placed to ignite the fire.
School curricula fostered discussion of the Holocaust and the
tenets of different religions and advocated religious tolerance. The
Education Ministry offered special teacher-training seminars on
Holocaust education.
An ombudsman for equality had responsibility for combating
workplace discrimination of various kinds, including against religion.
In 2008, 47 cases of discrimination based on religion were brought
before the Equal Rights Commissioner.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not use it
in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
Rejected asylum seekers have recourse to a federal asylum court.
When they allege a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights,
they can appeal to the Constitutional Court. During its first year of
operation, the asylum court adjudicated two-thirds of the 10,200 new
appeal cases it received and one-third of the 23,600 old appeal cases
it inherited. In 2007, the last year for which data is available, more
than 11,000 asylum seekers waited for longer than three years for a
final decision; of these, some 200 asylum seekers waited for a final
decision for longer than 10 years.
There was a higher approval rate for some nationalities,
particularly for refugees originating from the Russian Federation (many
from the Chechen Republic), Afghanistan, and Iraq. On August 11, the
UNHCR criticized the drop in the approval rate for refugees granted
asylum: in the first nine months of 2008, the approval rate dropped to
35.5 percent from 41.2 percent in 2007, while the approval rate for
refugees from the Chechen Republic decreased from 83.5 percent to 49.5
percent. Critics charge that the decline reflected a desire to accept
fewer applicants rather than an improvement in the situations in the
applicants' countries. While a large portion of asylum seekers returned
to the country of ``first application'' under the Dublin Directive,
some asylum seekers decided to return to their home country through the
voluntary return program.
The country subscribed to a ``safe country of transit'' policy,
which required asylum seekers who transited a country determined to be
``safe'' to return to that country to seek refugee status. Member
states of the EU and other signatories to the 1951 convention were
considered safe countries of transit.
In practice, the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
In September human rights groups in the country called for an
overhaul of the detention system after a young Indian asylum seeker in
predeportation center died of a heart attack in his cell four weeks
into a hunger strike.
On October 21, parliament passed asylum legislation which will
introduce new measures to counter the abuse of the asylum process, by
limiting follow-up applications and improving the assessment of claims
of family relations and age.
On December 22, an asylum seeker from the former Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia, now a citizen and resident of Vienna, won a case in the
ECHR for treatment by prison officials in 1994 while he was detained
and held in custody. The ECHR awarded the plaintiff 10,000 euros
($14,300) and found that the government violated the prohibition
against inhuman and degrading treatment.
Asylum seekers and refugees received a subsistence allowance and
housing. While they were legally restricted from seeking regular
employment, they were eligible for seasonal employment. Children of
asylum seekers and refugees between the ages of 6 and 15 were eligible
for education.
The government did not provide temporary protection during the year
to any individuals who did not qualify as refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The country held national
parliamentary elections in September 2008; there were no reports of
serious abuse or irregularities.
On June 7, the country held elections to the European Parliament;
there were no reports of serious abuse or irregularities.
Political parties could operate without restriction or outside
interference.
The parliament consists of the National Council, which is popularly
elected, and the Federal Council, which is named by the federal states.
There were 51 women in the 183-seat National Council and 16 women in
the 62-member Federal Council. There were five women in the 14-member
Council of Ministers (cabinet).
There appeared to be relatively little representation of ethnic
minorities at the national level. Following the September 2008
elections, a Muslim woman entered the Federal Assembly for the Green
Party.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
In February 2008 the former head of the Federal Crime Investigation
Office, Herwig Haidinger, publicly accused senior interior ministry
officials of corrupt practices. Haidinger was suspended from duty in
November 2008, and he subsequently filed two charges in court, one
against his suspension from duty, the other against the OVP (the party
heading the Interior Ministry). Following these charges, the public
prosecutor brought countercharges of perjury and slander against
Haidinger. On September 30, the Vienna public prosecutor dropped all
charges against Haidinger. Haidinger was disciplined and fined half a
month's salary for having violated the Interior Ministry's internal
code on media contacts. The court ordered the OVP to compensate
Haidinger 2,000 euros (approximately $2,860) for a statement by one of
their members of parliament, who called Haidinger ``a reliable liar.''
During the year parliament created a special committee to
investigate allegations that the state prosecutor had ``forgotten'' to
investigate charges of political nepotism against former interior
minister Ernst Strasser. The parliamentary probe proved inconclusive
and was terminated in December without producing substantiated charges.
The failed expansion of the Vienna airport terminal due to cost
overruns triggered a controversy over political influence in the
appointment of managers and consultants handling the project. The
construction of terminals for Vienna International Airport
(``Skylink'') stopped in April due to escalating costs;
``embezzlement'' and related statutory offenses were alleged against
the board of Airport Vienna in connection with contracts for
construction companies and consultants. The prosecutor's office, the
Financial Market Authority, and the federal auditor's office were
investigating the allegations at year's end.
In a report on corruption released in December 2008, the Council of
Europe found that, while the country had adopted new anticorruption
initiatives, it was still at an early stage in the fight against
corruption. The report noted that the country's police and
prosecutorial bodies are perceived overall as lacking independence,
training opportunities, and coordination mechanisms, and are at times
understaffed. The report also noted that the country needed to improve
its administration with regard to transparency and other preventive
anticorruption measures. In January the new anticorruption prosecutor's
office began implementing the anticorruption law that went into effect
in 2008.
There are financial disclosure laws for public officials. The
courts are responsible for corruption cases. Parliamentary committees
oversee ethics rules for elected officials.
The law provides for full public access to government information,
and the government generally respected this provision in practice.
Authorities may only deny access if it would violate substantial data
protection rights or would involve national security information.
Petitioners could challenge denials before the Administrative Court.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views, but some
groups were dissatisfied with the information supplied by authorities
in response to specific complaints. A human rights ombudsman's office
consisting of three independent commissioners examines complaints
against the government.
An Amnesty International report on racism in the police and justice
system stated that, while 898 complaints related to racial
discrimination were brought before the Public Prosecutor's Office, only
20 cases were brought to court.
The case of 96-year-old Milivoj Asner, a former police chief in
eastern Croatia indicted by Croatian authorities in 2005 for crimes
against humanity during World War II, continued to develop during the
year. A German expert appointed by an Austrian court reported in April
that Asner was not competent to stand trial. Meanwhile, Serbian
authorities opened investigations against Asner.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for protection against discrimination based on
race, gender, disability, language, or social status, and the
government generally enforced these protections.
Women.--Under the law, rape, including spousal rape, is punishable
by up to 15 years' imprisonment. The government generally enforced the
law.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a problem. The
Office of Women's Affairs and Civil Service estimated that 10 percent
of adult women have suffered from violence in a relationship. However,
fewer than 10 percent of abused women filed complaints. By law police
may expel abusive family members from family homes for up to three
months. In 2008 the courts issued injunctions prohibiting abusive
family members from returning home in 6,566 cases.
The government funded privately operated intervention centers and
help lines for victims of domestic abuse. The centers provided for
victims' safety, assessed the threat posed by perpetrators, helped
victims develop plans to stop the abuse, and provided legal counseling
and other social services. In the view of most observers, these centers
were generally effective in providing shelter for victims of abuse.
Prostitution is legal; however, trafficking, including for the
purposes of prostitution, is illegal and was a problem. Laws regulating
prostitution require prostitutes to register, undergo periodic health
examinations, and pay taxes.
The law prohibits sexual harassment, and the government generally
enforced the law. Of the 3,157 cases of discrimination brought to the
ombudsman for equal treatment of gender in 2008, 464 involved sexual
harassment. The labor court can order employers to compensate victims
of sexual harassment on the basis of the Federal Equality Commission's
finding on the case; the law provides that a victim is entitled to a
minimum of 700 euros (approximately $1,000) in financial compensation.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and are
free to do so without any discrimination, coercion, and violence. Women
have access to contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth,
including obstetric and postpartum care, and are diagnosed and treated
for sexually transmitted infections equally with men.
The Office of Women's Affairs and Civil Service takes the lead in
promoting the legal rights of women. Women enjoy the same legal rights
as men, and the Federal Equality Commission and the ombudsman for equal
treatment of gender oversee laws requiring equal treatment of men and
women. However, women's average earnings were approximately 83 percent
of those of men doing equal work. In addition, women were
disproportionately represented among those unemployed for extended
periods and were more likely than men to hold temporary positions and
part-time jobs.
Although labor laws provide for equal treatment of women in the
civil service, women remained underrepresented. The law requires the
government to hire women of equivalent qualifications ahead of men in
all civil service areas, including the police force, in which fewer
than 40 percent of the employees are women. The judiciary system and
academia were two areas which did not meet the target. There are no
penalties, however, for agencies failing to attain the 40 percent
target.
The current women's affairs minister, Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek,
together with trade unions, embarked on a major awareness-raising
campaign during the year to address this problem. She pointed to an
international study (Global Gender Gap Report 2009) published in
October showing the gender gap in the country had worsened.
Female employees in the private sector may invoke equality laws
prohibiting discrimination against women. On the basis of the Federal
Equality Commission's findings, labor courts may award compensation of
up to four months' salary to women who experienced discrimination in
promotion due to their gender. The courts may also order compensation
for women who were denied a post despite having equal qualifications.
Children.--By law children derive citizenship from their parents
(jus sanguinis).
Child abuse remained a problem, and the government continued its
efforts to monitor abuse and prosecute offenders. The Ministry for
Economics, Family, and Youth estimated that 90 percent of child abuse
was committed by close family members or family friends. Officials
noted a growing readiness to report abuse cases. According to
authorities, approximately 20,000 incidents of abuse are reported
annually. Trafficking of children remained a problem.
There were occasional reports during the year of underage marriage,
primarily in the Muslim and Romani communities; however, such cases
were undocumented. Some male immigrants married underage girls in their
home countries and returned to the country with them.
The law provides up to 10 years' imprisonment for an adult
convicted of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 14. If
the victim becomes pregnant, the sentence may be extended to 15 years.
In 2007 the Ministry of the Interior reported 1,470 cases of child
abuse, most involving intercourse with a minor.
In March a court sentenced 74-year-old Josef Fritzl to life
imprisonment after a jury found him guilty of murder through
negligence, kidnapping, rape, incest, and ``grave sexual abuse.''
Fritzl had imprisoned his daughter for more than 20 years and fathered
several children with her during that time.
The law provides for criminal punishment for possessing, trading,
or private viewing of child pornography. Exchanging pornographic videos
of children is illegal.
In March police participated in a multinational operation that
uncovered an international child pornography ring. The police
identified and charged 189 men in the country with owning or trading
pornographic material through a Croatian-based Web site.
In September police moved against a separate international child
pornography ring. Police accused 31 individuals of illegally owning or
trading child pornography through a Brazilian-based Web site.
In the fall, Operation Typhon, a two-year Austrian and European
police and EUROPOL operation against an Internet pedophile ring, led to
the arrest of 23 men. The courts sentenced most of the suspects to
between three and six months in prison for placing or downloading
pornographic material on the Internet.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, persons were trafficked to, through, from, and
within the country. Women were trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation and domestic labor, and children were trafficked for
begging, stealing, and commercial sexual exploitation.
Austria was a transit and destination country for women trafficked
from Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, the Balkans, and to a lesser extent the
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Belarus, and Africa. Victims were
trafficked through the country to Spain, Italy, France, and other EU
countries. There were reports that Romani children were trafficked to
the country from Bulgaria and Romania, although the number has
decreased substantially since 2006 as a result of government
cooperation with Romania and Bulgaria in setting up crisis centers for
trafficked children. Women were trafficked into the country primarily
for sexual exploitation. Small numbers of women were reportedly
trafficked from Asia and Latin America for domestic labor.
Vienna had the largest number of trafficking cases, although
trafficking was a problem in urban centers such as Graz, Linz,
Salzburg, and Innsbruck. The NGO Lateinamerikanische Frauen in
Oesterreich-Interventionsstelle fuer Betroffene des Frauenhandels
(LEFOE-IBF) reported assisting 203 trafficking victims in 2008, up from
170 in 2007.
Traffickers included citizens who were generally connected with
licensed brothels and foreign nationals who were involved primarily
with unlicensed brothels. Authorities estimated that organized crime
groups from Eastern Europe, including Russia, controlled much of the
trafficking. Police were also aware of cooperation between domestic and
foreign citizens to traffic foreign prostitutes through the country.
Most trafficked women were brought to the country with promises of
unskilled jobs such as nannies, cleaners, or waitresses. Upon arrival
they were often coerced into prostitution. According to police, some
women also knowingly entered the country to work as prostitutes but
were forced into dependency akin to slavery. Most victims were in the
country illegally and feared being turned over to authorities and
deported. Traffickers usually retained victims' official documents,
including passports, to maintain control over them. Victims reported
being subjected to threats and physical violence. Fear of retribution,
both in Austria and in the victims' countries of origin, was a major
deterrent to victims' cooperation with authorities.
The law permits the prosecution of traffickers for prostitution by
means of deception, coercion, or the use of force, and for trafficking
for the purposes of slavery. Laws forbidding the exploitation of labor
and the exploitation of aliens are also used against traffickers.
Trafficking is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Trafficking for
slavery is punishable by imprisonment for 10 to 20 years. In 2008 there
were 18 proceedings, two convictions, and six pending proceedings under
this provision, as a result of which the court handed down one
partially suspended prison sentence of 12 to 24 months.
The Federal Bureau for Criminal Affairs, a division of the Ministry
of the Interior, is responsible for combating trafficking. Contact with
authorities in countries of origin facilitated prosecution of suspected
traffickers. During the year there were no reports that the government
extradited any persons wanted for trafficking crimes in other
countries.
Temporary residence permits were generally issued on humanitarian
grounds to trafficking victims. Victims had the possibility of
continued residence if they met the criteria for residence permits.
LEFOE-IBF provided secure housing and other support for trafficking
victims. The International Organization for Migration also sought to
put victims in contact with NGOs in their countries of origin upon
their return. With financial assistance from the Ministry of the
Interior, LEFOE-IBF continued to operate a center in Vienna that
provided psychological, legal, and health-related assistance, emergency
housing, and German language courses to trafficked women or men. The
federal and local governments funded NGOs that provided assistance in
other cities.
The government worked with international organizations to carry out
prevention programs throughout the region. The government funded
research on trafficking, and NGOs produced antitrafficking brochures
and organized law enforcement workshops and international conferences
funded with the help of private donors.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law protects persons with physical
and mental disabilities from discrimination in housing, education,
employment, and access to health care and other government services.
The government's performance in enforcing these provisions was mixed.
There were no reports of societal discrimination against persons with
disabilities.
Federal law mandates access to public buildings for persons with
physical disabilities; however, many public buildings lacked such
access due to insufficient enforcement of the law and low penalties for
noncompliance.
The law provides for involuntary sterilization of adults with
mental disabilities in cases where a pregnancy would be considered
life-threatening. However, authorities have not performed any
involuntary sterilizations in recent years. The law prohibits the
sterilization of minors.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Consumer Protection
handles problems for persons with disabilities. The government funded a
wide range of programs for persons with disabilities, including
provision of transportation and assistance for integrating
schoolchildren with disabilities into regular classes and for
integrating employees with disabilities into the workplace.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--In 2007 the Ministry of the
Interior recorded 240 neo-Nazi, right-wing extremist, and xenophobic
incidents directed against members of minority groups. The government
continued to express concern over the activities of extreme right-wing
skinhead and neo-Nazi groups, many with links to organizations in other
countries.
The domestic NGO Zivilcourage und Anti-Rassismus Arbeit recorded
704 cases of alleged racial discrimination in 2008.
Human rights groups reported that Roma faced discrimination in
employment and housing. However, the situation of the Romani community,
estimated at more than 6,200 indigenous and between 15,000 and 20,000
nonindigenous individuals, significantly improved in recent years
according to the head of the Austrian Romani Cultural Association.
Government programs, including financing for tutors, have helped
school-aged Romani children move out of ``special needs'' and into
mainstream classes. The government also initiated programs in recent
years to document the Romani Holocaust and to compensate its victims.
NGOs reported that Africans living in the country experienced
verbal harassment in public. In some cases black Africans were
stigmatized as being involved in the drug trade and other illegal
activities.
The law recognizes Croats, Czechs, Hungarians, Roma, Slovaks, and
Slovenes as national minorities. It requires any community where at
least 25 percent of the population belongs to one of these groups to
provide bilingual town signs, education, media, and access to federal
funds earmarked for such minorities. The law affected 148 communities.
Full recognition of the Slovene minority remained a problem. The
governor of the state of Carinthia refused to implement rulings by
higher courts that would give more rights to the Slovene minority.
The government continued training programs to combat racism and
educate the police in cultural sensitivity. The Ministry of the
Interior renewed an agreement with the Anti-Defamation League to teach
police officers cultural sensitivity, religious tolerance, and the
acceptance of minorities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was some societal
prejudice against gays and lesbians; however, there were no reports of
violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation. Lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender persons' organizations, such as the Homosexual
Initiatives (HOSI) in Vienna and Linz and the Lambda Rights Committee,
were present and generally operated freely. Vienna hosted an annual gay
pride march in July and provided police protection.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to
form and join independent unions without prior authorization or
excessive requirements, and workers exercised this right in practice.
No workers were prohibited from joining unions.
An estimated 36 percent of the workforce was organized into nine
national unions belonging to the Austrian Trade Union Federation (OGB).
The law does not explicitly provide a right to strike; however, the
right is recognized in practice. The law prohibits retaliation against
strikers, and the government effectively enforced the law.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the
government protected this right in practice. Collective bargaining is
protected in law and was freely practiced. Approximately 80 percent of
the labor force worked under a collective bargaining agreement. The OGB
was exclusively responsible for collective bargaining.
There were no reports of antiunion discrimination or other forms of
employer interference in union functions.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women were trafficked to the country for sexual
exploitation and domestic labor and that children were trafficked to
the country for begging and possibly sexual exploitation.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace and to prohibit forced or compulsory labor, and the
government generally enforced these laws and policies effectively.
There were reports of trafficking of children for begging and
possibly sexual exploitation. In 2008 the Crisis Center for
Unaccompanied Minors in Vienna assisted 90 children, primarily from
Bulgaria and Romania, who were trafficked into the country for begging
and possibly sexual exploitation.
The minimum legal working age is 15 years. Children under the age
of 15 are not allowed to work under any circumstances. Children over 15
years of age are subject to the same regulations on hours, rest
periods, overtime wages, and occupational health and safety
restrictions as adults.
The Labor Inspectorate of the Federal Ministry of Labor, Social
Affairs, and Consumer Protection is responsible for enforcing child
labor laws and policies, and the Inspectorate enforced the laws
effectively.
There were no incidents of illegal child labor reported in the
country during the year.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no legislated national
minimum wage. Instead, nationwide collective bargaining agreements set
minimum wages by job classification for each industry. The accepted
unofficial annual minimum wage is 12,000 to 14,000 euros (approximately
$17,200 to $20,000), which provided a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 workers earned wages
below this level.
The country participated in an International Labor Organization
(ILO) pilot project measuring ``decent work standards'' in ILO member
states. The ILO's profile for the country, released in October,
positively noted progress in employment rates for women and an improved
framework for reconciling work, family, and personal life but found the
country lagging in reducing the persistently large wage gap between men
and women.
The law allows companies to increase standard working hours from 40
to 50 hours per week. In special cases and including overtime, work
hours can be raised to up to 60 hours per week for a maximum of 24
weeks annually, broken into segments of a maximum of eight weeks each
and at least two weeks' break between each segment. The law also
requires compulsory time off on weekends and official holidays. An
employee must have at least 11 hours off between workdays. Authorities
effectively enforced these provisions. Foreign workers from both the
formal and informal sectors make up approximately 13 percent of the
country's workforce. Wage and hour standards are equitably enforced
across all groups.
The law limits overtime to five hours per week and to 60 hours per
year; however, authorities did not enforce these laws and regulations
effectively, and some employers exceeded legal limits on compulsory
overtime. Collective bargaining agreements can specify higher limits.
The Labor Inspectorate regularly enforced mandatory occupational
health and safety standards. Workers could file complaints anonymously
with the Labor Inspectorate, which could bring suit against the
employer on behalf of the employee. However, workers rarely exercised
this option and normally relied instead on the nongovernmental worker's
advocacy group, the Chamber of Labor, which filed suits on their
behalf.
The law gives workers the right to remove themselves from a job
without incurring any prejudice to their careers if they fear serious,
immediate danger to life and health, and the government effectively
enforced this law.
__________
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan is a republic with a population of approximately nine
million and a presidential form of government. Legislative authority is
vested in the Milli Majlis (National Assembly). In practice the
president dominated the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
of government. Ilham Aliyev, the son of former president Heydar Aliyev,
was reelected president for a second term in October 2008 in a process
that did not fully meet international standards for a democratic
election. Election shortcomings included serious restrictions on
political participation and the media, pressure and restrictions on
observers, and flawed vote counting and tabulation processes. The two-
term limit for the presidency was removed in a March referendum, the
conduct of which was seriously flawed. Although there were more than 50
political parties, the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party continued to
dominate the political system. Ethnic Armenian separatists, with
Armenia's support, continued to control most of the Nagorno-Karabakh
region of the country and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories.
The government did not exercise any control over developments in those
territories. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of the security forces. Members of the security forces at
national and local levels committed numerous human rights abuses.
The right of citizens to peacefully change their government was
restricted in the October 2008 presidential election, March referendum,
and December municipal elections. Torture and beating of persons in
police and military custody resulted in at least four deaths and law
enforcement officials acted with impunity. Prison conditions were
generally harsh and life threatening. Arbitrary arrest and detention,
particularly of individuals considered by the government to be
political opponents, and lengthy pretrial detention continued. The
government continued to imprison persons for politically motivated
reasons. Pervasive corruption, including in the judiciary and law
enforcement, continued. Restrictions on freedom of assembly continued,
particularly in terms of political organizing, peaceful protests, and
religious activity. Restrictions and pressure on the media and
restrictions on political participation worsened. The government
imposed restrictions on the activities of some unregistered Muslim and
Christian groups and local officials abused some members and
congregations. Cases of violence against women were also reported.
Trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation and forced labor
remained a problem.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any arbitrary or unlawful killings; however,
human rights monitors reported that at least four prisoners died in
police or military custody due to alleged abuse and mistreatment.
On January 14, Vagif Suleymanov died in police custody in the
Bilasuvar region. Credible sources indicated he was beaten to death.
On May 19, Togrul Mammadzade, age 70, died in the Ministry of
Justice's medical treatment facility. While the ministry reported the
death as a suicide, credible sources believed he was beaten to death.
On June 11, Rustam Aliyev died in police custody in the Lankaran
District after being detained a week earlier. Credible sources
indicated that the police allegation that he hanged himself in his jail
cell was physically impossible and that medical evidence indicated
Aliyev was beaten to death.
On August 2, Aga Turabov was beaten by police officers of the
Narimanov District Police Department in Baku. Turabov died on the spot
of heart failure.
There were no new developments in the cases of Rashad Haziyev,
Mahammad Rahimov, or Zaur Mammadov, all of whom were found dead in or
outside of police stations in 2008.
The government reported six deaths of military conscripts during
the year, which it attributed to incidents along the line of contact.
Ethnic Armenian separatists, with Armenia's support, continued to
control most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and seven
surrounding Azerbaijani territories. During the year shootings along
the militarized line of contact separating the sides as a result of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict again resulted in numerous casualties on both
sides. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported two civilian casualties
along the line of contact for the year.
According to the national agency for mine actions, landmines killed
two persons, of whom one was a civilian, and injured 17, 15 of whom
were civilians. A domestic nongovernmental organization (NGO), the
Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines, reported that landmines killed
two persons and injured six others during the year. The two dead were
military personnel, while the six injured were civilians.
b. Disappearance.--During the year there were no reports of
politically motivated disappearances. However, there were reports of
disappearances in connection with the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. The
government reported 4,133 persons missing as the result of conflict
during the year.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continued to
actively process cases of persons missing in connection with the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and worked with the government to develop a
consolidated list of missing persons. According to the ICRC, during the
year the number of persons confirmed missing from both sides of the
conflict increased from 4,478 to 4,558. The ICRC reported that it
opened investigations into 105 new missing-persons cases during the
year. As a result of a framework agreement signed with the government
in 2008, the ICRC collected ante mortem data from 2,000 families during
the year. The information, which was gathered from families on both
sides of the line of contact as well as in Armenia, was meant to assist
state commissions in the identification of human remains.
The ICRC continued to pay special attention to prisoners of war and
civilian internees (POWs/CIs) and conducted visits throughout the year
to ensure their protection under international humanitarian law. The
ICRC often provided clothing, toiletries, and other assistance during
these visits. The ICRC regularly facilitated the exchange of Red Cross
messages between POWs/CIs and their families to reestablish contact
and, on several occasions, paid transportation costs for families of
missing persons to the ICRC office in Baku. Upon the request of and
with full cooperation by the government, the ICRC facilitated the
transfer of one set of human remains between Armenia and Azerbaijan
during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and criminal code prohibit such practices
and provide for penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment; however,
there were credible reports that security forces beat detainees to
extract confessions and military personnel physically abused
subordinates. A May review by the UN Committee Against Torture found
that the definition of torture in Azerbaijani legislation does not
include references to the purposes of torture, as outlined in the
Convention against Torture. A domestic human rights monitor reported
that the number of persons tortured in custody by security forces
increased from 81 in 2008 to 131 during the year; of the 131 tortured,
at least four subsequently died. Impunity remained a problem. According
to a report submitted to the UN Committee against Torture by the Human
Rights Center of Azerbaijan (HRCA) and the International Federation of
Human Rights (FIDH), problems also included a de facto ban on
independent forensic examinations and delays in access to a lawyer.
In October 2008 two sergeants from the Internal Affairs Ministry,
Vugar Agayev and Eldaniz Rahimov, were arrested for beating
subordinates. The unit's commander and deputy commander were dismissed.
In May Agayev and Rahimov were sentenced to five years' imprisonment
each under article 331.3 of the criminal code, which punishes military
superiors' abuse of subordinates.
On September 11, Ministry of Internal Affairs officers reportedly
placed Mahammad Gurbanov involuntarily into a psychiatric facility in
the exclave of Nakhchivan. Local human rights defenders stated Gurbanov
was not mentally ill but was detained for refusing to pay a bribe to
customs officials at the Sadarak border crossing and then writing
public complaints about the corruption. Gurbanov was released on
October 10.
A local NGO reported numerous police beatings of persons based on
sexual orientation.
During the year there was no accountability for the 2008 beating of
Mirza Zahidov.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, authorities punished
247 officers for human rights abuses and criminally prosecuted four
police officers for these violations during the year.
According to the report by HRCA and FIDH, since the criminalization
of torture in 2000, no official had been convicted of torture nor have
authorities held accountable any persons responsible for torture in
three rulings by the European Court of Human Rights between 2007-09.
For example, at year's end the government had yet to fully implement
the 2007 verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding
the case of Sardar Jalaloglu, who was abused in police custody in 2003.
While the Supreme Court overturned Jalaloglu's conviction in 2007, and
he received the 10,000 euros (approximately $14,300) awarded by the
ECHR in compensation in 2008, the persons who mistreated Jalaloglu had
not been brought to justice as required in the judgment.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
harsh and life threatening despite continuing prison infrastructure
improvements.
Overcrowding, inadequate nutrition, lack of heating and
ventilation, and poor medical care combined to make the spread of
infectious diseases a serious problem. Despite recent improvements to
prison infrastructure, prisons, which were generally Soviet-era
facilities, did not meet international standards. In maximum-security
facilities, authorities limited physical exercise for prisoners as well
as visits by attorneys and family members. There were few opportunities
for prisoners to work or receive training. Some pretrial detainees were
reportedly held in ``separation cells,'' which were often located in
basements to conceal evidence of physical abuse. Food and sleep
reportedly were denied in these cells to elicit confessions.
Local and international monitors continued to report poor
conditions at maximum security Qobustan prison. In a November 26
report, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)
stated that during a December 2008 visit to Qobustan Prison, a prison
officer attempted to threaten a prisoner for speaking to the CPT
delegation, and it was apparent that authorities had warned certain
other prisoners not to complain to the delegation. Nevertheless, the
delegation received several credible reports from prisoners of
intentional physical abuse and excessive use of force by prison
officers. The alleged abuse included punches, kicks and blows with
truncheons, and sexual abuse. According to local human rights
defenders, prison officials made death threats to prisoners, stripped
them of their clothes, soaked them with cold water, malnourished them,
denied them contact with friends and family, denied them medical
treatment, handcuffed them in punishment cells for weeks at a time, and
routinely beat them. Hamid Suleymanov, investigation department chief
of the Penitentiary Services, stated in 2007 that he found no proof of
these violations. Prisoners responded to his assertion with hunger
strikes; 15 inmates did so in January 2008. They viewed hunger strikes
as their only option to raise awareness of the situation in Qobustan.
The Justice Ministry reported that during the year a new temporary
detention facility for those under investigation was built in Baku. The
facility met all international standards.
Harsh prison conditions resulted in numerous deaths; the Justice
Ministry reported that 105 persons died in detention during the year, a
decrease of 19 percent from 2008. The Ministry attributed most deaths
to a variety of diseases but reported a substantial decrease in deaths
due to tuberculosis (TB), though more still died of TB than any other
single disease. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported one death in
its facilities, due to suicide. Authorities dismissed one officer and
disciplined two others for negligence in connection with these deaths.
On August 17, Novruzali Mammadov, a prominent scholar of the ethnic
minority Talysh group and former editor in chief of the Talysh Sedo
newspaper, died in the Ministry of Justice medical treatment facility.
The ministry reported that he died of a stroke, but family members and
local human rights defenders believed he had not received appropriate
medical care. Mammadov's widow sued the Ministry of Justice, and the
case was ongoing at year's end. Mammadov had been convicted of high
treason in a closed trial; some local NGOs believed his arrest was
related to his ethnicity and cultural activities.
During the year there was no investigation into the 2008 death of
Arif Aslanov while in Ministry of Justice custody.
TB remained the primary cause of death in prisons; the Ministry of
Justice reported that it treated 889 prisoners and detainees for TB.
The ICRC positively assessed the government's pilot program,
established in April 2007, which treated 96 prisoners for multidrug-
resistant TB (MDR-TB) and placed 779 in category II therapy during the
year. According to the ICRC, the prison hospitals' MDR-TB wards were
state of the art, well ventilated, and had indirect ultraviolet lights.
The ICRC reported that the government's active and passive efforts were
effective in screening inmates for TB. The ICRC reported that 18
inmates died from the disease during the year, down from 52 in 2008.
The government reported that the other major causes of death among
prisoners and detainees were myocardial infarction, hepatic cirrhosis,
and strokes.
A joint government-human rights community prison-monitoring group
reconstituted in 2006 was only able to gain access to prisons with
prior notification to the Penitentiary Service. During the year the
group visited numerous detention facilities, advocated for better
medical conditions in prisons, arranged for more telephones to be
installed in prison facilities, donated 319 books to prison facilities,
and provided legal assistance to 47 prisoners. The Ministries of
Internal Affairs and Justice cooperated with many of these efforts, but
the group highlighted additional problems that remained, including
inadequate medical facilities and staff at prisons, insufficient food
and recreational activities for inmates, and incomplete access to
detention centers for monitoring group members.
Men and women were held together in pretrial detention facilities;
however, all women were housed in a separate prison facility after
being sentenced. Minors were also supposed to be held in a separate
facility; however, international monitors noted some children were held
with adults.
The government permitted some prison visits by international and
local humanitarian and human rights groups, including the ICRC, the
CPT, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
and the Azerbaijan Committee against Torture. As of July 1, however,
the Azerbaijan Committee against Torture was no longer permitted to
visit Ministry of Justice facilities without prior notification.
Ministry of Internal Affairs-run pretrial detention centers still
allowed the committee immediate access. The ICRC had unobstructed
access to the POWs/CIs who were held in connection with the conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh. However, the Penitentiary Service since June
denied foreign embassies access to prisons outside of consular visits.
The missions of some international organizations were still permitted
to visit prisons for monitoring purposes.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the law prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, the government generally did not
observe these prohibitions in practice, and impunity remained a
problem.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the Ministry of National Security are responsible
for internal security and report directly to the president. The
Ministry of Internal Affairs oversees local police forces and maintains
internal civil defense troops. The Ministry of National Security has a
separate internal security force.
Law enforcement corruption was a problem. Police often levied
spurious, informal fines for traffic and other minor violations and
extracted protection money from local residents. In recent years
traffic police officers received substantial pay raises to counter
corruption; nevertheless, the low wages of other law enforcement
officials continued to contribute to police corruption. High inflation
also put pressure on wages. During the year the ministry reported that
it punished 10 police officers for corruption. The Ministry of Justice
reported that five employees of the Penitentiary Service were accused
of crimes related to corruption during the year. There were reports
that police officials required additional money on top of fines by the
court in order to return prisoners' clothing and release them.
While security forces were generally able to act with impunity, the
government reported that it took action against 247 police officers for
human rights violations during the year. The government reported that
it criminally prosecuted four officers, dismissed 13 officers from the
Ministry of Internal Affairs police forces, removed 26 officers from
their positions, and administratively disciplined 208 others.
On January 14, the Ministry of National Security (MNS) arrested
Major Elsevar Nabiyev of the Ganja police, under the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, after seizing 16 kilograms of narcotics from his
possession. The MNS accused Major Nabiyev of leading a narcotics
dealing organization. No update was available at year's end.
In October 2008 several police officers from a unit to combat drug
trafficking in Baku were arrested on distribution charges. One kilogram
of heroin was seized during the search of their offices. The officers
remained in custody at year's end.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law states
that persons who are detained, arrested, or accused of a crime should
be advised immediately of their rights and reason for arrest and
accorded due process; however, the government did not respect these
provisions in practice. Arbitrary arrest, often on spurious charges of
resisting the police, remained a problem throughout the year.
The law allows police to detain and question individuals for 24
hours without a warrant; in practice police detained individuals for
several days, sometimes weeks, without a warrant. In other instances
judges issued ex post facto warrants.
Judges, acting at the instruction of the Prosecutor General's
Office or of other executive branch officials, sentenced detainees to
jail within hours of their arrest without providing them access to
lawyers.
The law provides for access to a lawyer from the time of detention;
in practice access to lawyers was poor, particularly outside of Baku.
Although entitled to it by law, indigent detainees did not have such
access. Authorities often restricted family member visits and withheld
information about detainees; days frequently passed before families
could obtain any information about detained relatives. There was no
formal, functioning bail system; however, individuals were sometimes
permitted to vouch for detainees, enabling their conditional release
during pretrial investigation. Politically sensitive suspects were at
times held incommunicado for several hours or sometimes days while in
police custody.
During the year there were numerous instances of violations of
arrest and detention procedures, many of which involved individuals
engaged in peaceful demonstrations. For example, on April 28, police
arrested four members of the Dalga proreform youth movement outside
Martyrs' Alley, a public park. The four persons were held for several
hours at a police station and then released without being charged.
From May 8 to 10, police arrested nearly 100 young persons in
connection with protests critical of the authorities' response to the
April 30 shooting at the State Oil Academy, when a gunman forced his
way into the institute and killed 13 persons. Police preemptively
arrested several youths connected with planning the May 10 protests and
held them until after May 10 on spurious charges of resisting arrest.
In addition, on May 10, police arrested dozens of youths during several
demonstrations and held them for several hours without access to
lawyers or informing them of the basis for their detention. Police
released them all late in the afternoon without any formal charges,
after recording their names and addresses. Several youths reported that
police visited their families during the following weeks to ask about
their activities.
On September 16, authorities arrested six youth activists wearing
T-shirts stating ``I am also a hooligan,'' to protest the arrest of
fellow youth activists Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, who were on trial
at the time, charged with hooliganism (see sections 1.e. and 2.a.). The
six were arrested outside the Sabail courthouse and held for more than
three hours as the court held the second hearing in the case; they were
released only after the hearing was completed. No charges were filed
against them.
Lengthy pretrial detention of up to 18 months was a serious
problem. The prosecutor general routinely extended the permitted,
initial three-month pretrial detention period in successive increments
of several months until the government completed an investigation.
Amnesty.--On March 17, the government adopted the proposal of first
lady and Milli Majlis deputy Mehriban Aliyeva and announced an amnesty
for certain categories of prisoners. A total of 9,000 prisoners were
pardoned, 1,700 of whom were freed from jail, while the rest were
serving conditional sentences or had paid fines. The persons freed
included an alleged political prisoner, journalist Mirza Sakit (Sakit
Zahidov), who had served 33 months of a 36-month sentence.
On December 25, President Aliyev issued a pardon of 89 prisoners.
These pardons were based on appeals to the pardon committee. Among
those pardoned was journalist Mushfig Huseynov, who was convicted on
charges considered to be politically motivated by many local observers.
Huseynov suffered from late-stage TB, and his health had severely
deteriorated over the previous months.
Despite indications in 2008 that they would be released, several
prominent journalists remained in prison at year's end.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an
independent judiciary, in practice judges did not function
independently of the executive branch. The judiciary remained corrupt
and inefficient. Verdicts were largely unrelated to the evidence
presented during the trial.
The executive branch continued to exert a strong influence over the
judiciary. The ostensibly independent Judicial Legal Council, which
administers the examination for candidates for judges, was controlled
by the Ministry of Justice. The judicial selection process included
lengthy coursework, written and oral examinations, and a final
interview. International observers believed that the oral component of
the examinations allowed for corruption in the selection process. The
examination process resulted in the selection of 80 lower court judges,
none of whom were sworn in at year's end. Supreme Court, Appellate
Court, and Constitutional Court judges are nominated by the president
and must be approved by the Milli Majlis.
Credible reports indicated that judges and prosecutors still took
instruction from the presidential administration and the Justice
Ministry, particularly in cases of interest to international observers.
While judges' salaries steadily increased for several years prior to
2008, there continued to be credible allegations that judges routinely
accepted bribes. During the year the Ministry of Justice reported that
disciplinary proceedings were initiated against 10 judges; however, the
Judicial Legal Council reported that it disciplined 22 judges and
removed two court chairmen from their positions during the year.
On February 9, the president issued a decree creating the 2009-13
State Program on Development of the Justice System. The program's
objectives included improving legislation and the quality of
professional staff training.
Following the Legal Education Society's (LES) 2008 publication of a
book reporting on disciplinary actions against judges, Judge Gazanfar
Karimov--one of the judges named in the book--sued LES head Intigam
Aliyev and his coeditor for ``insult to honor and dignity.'' LES
reported in the book that disciplinary decisions against judges often
were not implemented and reprinted the text of the decision censuring
Karimov from the Judicial Legal Council's Web site as an example.
During the year the district and appellate courts ruled in favor of the
judge and ordered Aliyev to pay a fine, print a retraction and apology,
and to collect all copies of the book. Aliyev's appeal was pending
before the Supreme Court at year's end. Observers believed that
authorities targeted Aliyev and this project for having exposed the
executive branch's control over the judicial system.
Courts of general jurisdiction may hear criminal, civil, and
juvenile cases. District courts try the majority of cases. The Court of
Grave Crimes acts as the court of first instance in cases in which the
accused committed a crime deliberately and in which the punishment
would be a prison sentence of more than seven years. Cases are heard by
a three-judge panel. The Military Court of Grave Crimes functions
similarly for serious crimes committed by members of the military. The
Supreme Court may not act as the court of first instance. Either one
judge or a three-judge panel presides over first-hearing trials at the
district court or the Court of Grave Crimes, while a panel of three or
more judges hears cases at the Court of Appeals. At the Supreme Court,
cases are initially heard by a panel of three judges. Their ruling can
be further appealed to the Plenum, which is the highest level of the
court and consists of a panel of nine judges. All citizens have the
right to appeal constitutional matters to the Constitutional Court.
The constitution prohibits any one person from being tried and/or
sentenced twice for the same crime. On April 22, however, Sayyara
Heydarova was given a three-year conditional sentence for the same
incident for which she was originally jailed in 2005. Heydarova had
been arrested in 2005 while attempting to stop illegal tree cutting in
the yard of her apartment complex. She was accused of beating four men
during the incident and sent to prison. Local human rights defenders
believed she was arrested for organizing her neighbors to petition
against the building activity in this yard. In 2007 she went on a
hunger strike to protest her imprisonment and was released after
another female prisoner on a hunger strike died. Heydarova appealed the
second conviction; her appeal was pending at year's end.
After the country joined the Council of Europe in 2001, citizens
gained the right to appeal court decisions on human rights cases to the
ECHR within six months of the first Supreme Court ruling on a case. As
in previous years, citizens exercised this right frequently during the
year. The ECHR did not consider any of the 12 judgments it had
delivered against the government to be fully implemented at year's end.
On October 8, the ECHR delivered judgments on two cases brought
against the government. The court ruled in favor of the Nature Defense
Community, an NGO, and its former chairman, Sabir Israfilov, who
claimed that the Ministry of Justice had illegally dissolved the
organization. The court awarded monetary compensation to Israfilov. The
court also ruled in favor of Rahib Maksimov, convicted of a bomb attack
on the Baku metro in 1994. The court ruled that the government had
mishandled Maksimov's appeal proceedings, and that the appeal would
have to be reopened.
The Judicial Legal Council continued to coordinate efforts with
international organizations to train judges.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for public trials except in
cases involving state, commercial, or professional secrets or matters
involving confidential, personal, or family matters. During the year
international monitors noted numerous violations of this law in
practice, however.
While the law provides for the presumption of innocence in criminal
cases, the right to review evidence, the right of defendants to
confront witnesses and present evidence at trial, the right to a court-
approved attorney for indigent defendants, and the right of appeal for
defendants and prosecutors, these provisions were generally not
respected in practice.
International monitors found numerous instances where the judge did
not inform the accused of their rights or the charges brought against
them. Even in cases where the presumption of innocence was not
explicitly breached, the practice of having the accused appear in
handcuffs inside locked metal cages implicitly did so. In addition,
judges often failed to read the verdict publicly, leaving the accused
without knowledge of the reasoning behind the judgment.
Jury trials were not used. Foreign and domestic observers usually
were allowed to attend trials; however, the Court of Grave Crimes and
Court of Grave Military Offenses severely limited access to OSCE trial
monitors in 2006 and 2007. Small courtrooms with inadequate seating
prevented public attendance at some hearings. Information regarding
trial times and locations was generally available, although there were
some exceptions, particularly the Court of Grave Crimes.
Although the constitution prescribes equal status for prosecutors
and defense attorneys, in practice prosecutors' privileges and rights
outweighed those of the defense. Judges reserved the right to remove
defense lawyers in civil cases for ``good cause.'' In criminal
proceedings, judges may remove defense lawyers because of a conflict of
interest or if a defendant requests a change of counsel. In addition,
judges often showed preference to prosecutors when assessing motions,
oral statements, and evidence submitted by defense counsel.
The law limits representation in criminal cases to members of a
government-controlled collegium of lawyers (bar association). Since
there were only 768 collegium members, of which only an estimated 415
were practicing, in a country of nine million, access to licensed legal
representation was restricted, particularly outside of Baku. After a
two-year hiatus, the collegium held a bar examination in May, with the
oral portion in July. According to international monitors, the written
portion of the collegium's entrance examination was poorly designed
even in comparison with previous years' exams, with many questions that
were ambiguous or irrelevant to the knowledge needed to be an attorney.
Thus only 15 percent of applicants passed this first stage. The oral
portion was inconsistent and unprofessional, with no standard set of
questions or approved answers. In addition, the chairman of the
collegium refused to swear in several lawyers who passed all stages of
the examination. The purported reason for this refusal was that the
lawyers were already employed, although there is no legal basis for
this restriction, and many collegium members had full-time jobs. The
collegium reserved the right to remove lawyers from criminal cases and
sometimes did so for reasons that observers believed were questionable.
As a result, criminal defendants were not fairly or adequately
represented, their rights were not protected, and there was a lack of
due process of law.
The constitution prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence;
however, despite some defendants' claims that testimony was obtained
through torture or abuse, no cases based on claims of abuse were
dismissed, and there was no independent forensic investigator to
determine the occurrence of abuse. Judges often simply ignored claims
of police mistreatment. Investigations often focused on obtaining
confessions rather than gathering physical evidence against suspects.
Serious crimes brought before the courts most often ended in
conviction, as judges generally required only a minimal level of proof
and collaborated closely with prosecutors. In the rare instances in
which judges determined that the evidence presented was not sufficient
to convict a defendant, they could return cases to the prosecutor for
additional investigations, effectively giving the prosecutors
subsequent chances for convictions.
Aside from the Court of Grave Crimes and the Military Court of
Grave Crimes, courts often failed to provide translators. Each court is
entitled to contract translators during hearings, and such expenses
must be covered by the Ministry of Justice.
There were no verbatim transcripts of judicial proceedings;
testimony, oral arguments, and judicial decisions were not recorded.
Instead the court officer generally took notes that tended to be sparse
and decided what if anything should be included in the notes.
The case of youth activists Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade included
a number of procedural shortcomings. Although they sought protection
from the police after being assaulted in a restaurant in July, the two
were detained and accused of hooliganism while their assailants were
released. The accused did not receive timely medical treatment for
injuries when originally arrested, nor did they have prompt access to
their lawyers. Government officials violated the defendants'
presumption of innocence in public statements proclaiming their guilt.
After a hearing that was closed to the public, the two men were held
for two months in pretrial detention and prevented from seeing family
members. During the eventual trial in the fall, the judge excluded some
physical evidence and witness testimony provided by the defense,
despite their clear relevance to the case. International and local
observers were prohibited from attending the initial hearings in the
case, although they were allowed to monitor the subsequent trial (see
section 2.a.).
In 2007 the Court of Grave Crimes convicted Ali Insanov, former
minister of health, and 10 other defendants of public corruption and
other charges. The court sentenced Insanov to 11 years in prison.
According to OSCE trial monitors, there was ``an overwhelming
appearance'' that Insanov and his codefendants ``did not have a fair
trial and that the judges were not impartial.''
In 2007 the Court of Grave Crimes convicted Farhad Aliyev, former
minister of economic development, his brother Rafiq, and 17 other
defendants on a range of charges related to corruption. The Aliyev
brothers received prison sentences of 10 and nine years, respectively.
All of the defendants were originally arrested in 2005 on coup plotting
charges and subsequently charged with corruption. During the trial
monitors noted numerous due process violations. Both Insanov and the
Aliyev brothers remained incarcerated enduring the year. The Aliyev
brothers' separate appeals to the ECHR were pending at year's end.
In a separate case during 2008, the ECHR issued a judgment that
found a violation by the country of the right to a fair trial and two
violations regarding length of proceedings under article 6 of the
European Convention on Human Rights.
The country has a military court system with civilian judges. The
military court retains original jurisdiction over any case in which
crimes related to war or military service are adjudicated.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Local NGOs maintained that the
government continued to hold political prisoners, although estimates of
the number varied. At year's end NGO activists maintained that the
government held between 23 and 45 political prisoners.
Elchin Amiraslanov, Safa Poladov, and Arif Kazimov--who had been
listed in the Council of Europe's experts report on political
prisoners--remained incarcerated during the year.
Some estimates of the number of political prisoners included
persons arrested in 2005 on charges of plotting a coup and subsequently
convicted of corruption.
There were no reliable estimates of the number of political
detainees. Most political detainees received sentences of between 10
and 15 days in jail, which were often described as ``administrative
detention'' sentences.
The government generally permitted unrestricted access to alleged
political prisoners by international humanitarian organizations such as
the ICRC.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law does not provide
for an independent and impartial jury in civil matters. District courts
have jurisdiction over civil matters in their first hearing; appeals
are addressed by the Court of Appeals and then by the Supreme Court.
Citizens have the right to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, human rights violations. As with criminal trials, all
citizens have the right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights
within six months of the first Supreme Court ruling on their case.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary invasions of privacy and
monitoring of correspondence and other private communications; the
government did not respect these legal prohibitions in practice.
The constitution allows for searches of residences only with a
court order or in cases specifically provided by law; however,
authorities often conducted searches without warrants. It was widely
believed that the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of
Internal Affairs monitored telephone and Internet communications,
particularly those of foreigners, prominent political and business
figures, and persons engaged in international communication. In one
such incident, the Ministry of National Security identified and
questioned many of the 43 persons who voted via text message for the
Armenian entry into the annual Eurovision song contest. After an
investigation, the European Broadcasting Union, which ran the contest,
decided not to sanction the country's public television channel but
changed its rules so that in the future the television company that
broadcasts the program will be responsible for the actions of the
telephone companies with which it works.
Police continued to intimidate and harass family members of
suspected criminals.
During the year domestic human rights monitors reported concerns
about the lack of due process and respect for the rule of law in a
number of cases related to property rights. Domestic monitors reported
that the number of property rights complaints they received skyrocketed
during the year, compared to previous years. For example, the Baku
Executive Authority announced to residents of a historic building on
the seaside boulevard that they had to vacate their homes immediately,
as the building would be demolished. Human rights defenders reported
that no compensation was given to these residents and that water,
electricity, and gas were shut off in the building in order to force
them to leave. Residents filed a lawsuit, which was pending at the end
of the year, but the building was torn down.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press and specifically prohibits press censorship;
however, the government often did not respect these rights in practice.
During the year the government took actions that further limited media
independence.
During the year the UN Universal Periodic Review of Azerbaijan's
commitments to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
noted its concern over the extensive limitations to the right to
freedom of expression. During 2008 the ECHR issued a judgment that
found a violation by the country of the freedom of expression as
provided under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Although opposition parties continued to publish newspapers, and
human rights activists were mostly able to conduct their work without
fear of reprisal, the government penalized persons who criticized
government officials or practices in some cases.
A March referendum made a number of changes to the constitution,
including several that limit freedom of the media. These included a
prohibition on videotaping or photographing of anyone without their
permission. The government also amended the law on mass media to make
it easier for the government to close a publication.
A State Media Support Fund established to assist newspapers in 2008
announced the first cash grants for 55 media outlets on September 1.
While the fund provided grants to both opposition and progovernment
newspapers, most commentators characterized the program as an attempt
to constrain further an already tame press with financial subsidies.
A number of journalists who criticized government officials in the
course of their work were subjected to harassment, threats, and acts of
physical violence that appeared to be connected to their criticism of
the government or public officials. Reporters without Borders reported
that independent and opposition journalists were under constant
pressure because of their work.
According to prominent journalists, companies and institutions were
fearful of placing their advertising in opposition media due to direct
or indirect recommendations from government representatives, so paid
advertising was all but absent from newspapers.
A number of opposition and independent media outlets operated
during the year. The print media expressed a wide variety of views on
government policies, although objective, professional reporting was
rare. However, broadcast media almost exclusively adhered to a
progovernment line in their news coverage.
Most print outlets in the country were organs of the ruling party,
opposition parties, or were thought to be connected to prominent
government officials. There were eight national television stations and
14 regional outlets. There were 11 national radio broadcasters. The
government prohibited Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, and the BBC from broadcasting on national FM frequencies and
national television effective January 1. Without these international
broadcasters, the public no longer had access to unbiased news on any
widely available broadcast media. There also were several national
state-owned newspapers and numerous newspapers funded by city or
district-level officials. Newspaper circulation rates, both government
and opposition, were low, not surpassing 5,000 in most cases. Many
newspapers were circulated only in the capital.
Some private television stations operated, but independent media
monitoring found their programs to be biased in favor of the ruling
party. ANS Television, the audience leader, was generally regarded as a
source of relatively balanced news coverage prior to its temporary
closure by the National Television and Radio Council (NTRC) in 2006.
However, most media monitors believed ANS had since adopted a more
cautious, self-censored approach to news coverage, often airing the
same news and news angles as government-sponsored media.
Electronic media were generally more susceptible to pressure due to
their reliance on government-provided broadcast licenses. Such outlets
were less critical of the government than opposition and independent
print outlets. ``Free Waves,'' a 20-month monitoring study of
television broadcasting supported by the European Commission, indicated
that the country's television networks were largely devoted to
promoting President Aliyev, his government, and the ruling party.
State-run AzTV, for example, devoted 98 percent of its political
coverage to the government, the Aliyev family, and the ruling Yeni
Azerbaijan Party (YAP), with just 2 percent left for opposing views.
There were no restrictions on systems to receive satellite
broadcasts by foreign stations, but the NTRC continued to impose a
general requirement that local, private television and radio stations
not rebroadcast entire news programs of foreign origin.
Although the government released some journalists, several remained
imprisoned or were jailed during the year on criminal convictions for
libel and other charges supposedly unrelated to their work.
International and local commentators believed that the government
targeted the journalists due to their criticism of government figures
and policies.
On December 25, opposition newspaper Bizim Yol correspondent
Mushfig Huseynov was pardoned by President Aliyev and released from
prison. Huseynov had been sentenced in January 2008 to six years in
prison for accepting a bribe. He suffered from TB. Some domestic
observers considered Huseynov's arrest to be politically motivated,
while others believed him to be guilty but to have been selectively
prosecuted.
During the year the government--after several months' delay--
submitted all documentation on the case of imprisoned journalist
Eynulla Fatullayev to the ECHR. After a search of Fatullayev's cell on
December 29, the Penitentiary Service claimed it found 0.22 grams of
heroin in his possession. On December 30, authorities charged
Fatullayev with drug possession and on December 31, in a hearing that
reportedly lasted 15 minutes, a judge sentenced Fatullayev to two
months of detention in isolation, pending further investigation of the
case. The OSCE representative on media freedom called the charge
``highly improbable,'' and local human rights defenders believed the
case was brought in order to keep Fatullayev imprisoned after an ECHR
ruling, where the case was pending at year's end.
In 2007 the Baku Court of Grave Crimes had sentenced the already
jailed editor in chief of Realny Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan to
eight and one-half years in prison on charges of supporting terrorism,
inciting ethnic hatred, and tax evasion. The charges were based on an
article that Fatullayev wrote criticizing the government's policy
towards Iran and listing specific locations in the country as potential
targets for an Iranian attack. The sentence incorporated Fatullayev's
previous libel conviction for an article he allegedly wrote purporting
that government forces may have played a role in the 1992 events in
Khojali. International and domestic observers considered his
imprisonment politically motivated.
Ganimat Zahid, editor in chief of Azadliq newspaper, remained in
prison at year's end. On September 17, a court denied Zahidov's appeal
for early release for good behavior, stating that he had refused to
participate in a prison volleyball game and therefore was
uncooperative. In 2007 police had arrested Zahid on charges of
hooliganism and inflicting minor bodily harm. International and
domestic observers considered his imprisonment to be politically
motivated.
On April 9, authorities released prominent political satirist Mirza
Zahidov (also known as Mirza Sakit or Sakit Zahidov) from prison in
connection with a large amnesty (see section 1.d.). His release was
delayed for three weeks, reportedly for administrative reasons. In 2006
the Baku Court of Grave Crimes convicted Zahidov of drug possession and
sentenced him to three years in prison. International and domestic
observers considered his imprisonment politically motivated.
Spurious lawsuits were also used to intimidate journalists. For
example, Mahal Ismayiloglu, a former reporter for a government
newspaper who switched to writing for an opposition newspaper in 2008,
was subsequently prosecuted for an alleged fight with his neighbor's
maid. In August Ismayiloglu was convicted of attacking the maid and
given a two-year conditional sentence. The case was awaiting a hearing
at the Supreme Court at year's end. Ismayiloglu had a heart attack
during the year but was prevented from leaving the country for needed
surgery due to the pending court case. Local human rights defenders
believed government officials were retaliating against Ismayiloglu for
``switching sides'' to an opposition newspaper.
Harassment, intimidation, and violence against individual
journalists continued during the year; the government did not hold
perpetrators accountable. A media-monitoring NGO reported that during
the year there were 51 incidents involving verbal or physical assaults
on journalists, compared with 49 cases in 2008. Law enforcement
agencies began investigations into 15 of these cases; however, only one
case was brought to trial, largely due to the fact that it happened on
live television.
During the year numerous journalists reported physical attacks in
connection with their professional activity.
On April 26, Yasamal District police beat three employees of ANS
Television as they were filming the controversial destruction of a
mosque. Employees received minor injuries and their equipment was
destroyed. Police eventually compensated the channel for the equipment,
but did not return the video of the incident.
Early in the morning of September 13, unknown assailants beat the
editor in chief of Ayan newspaper, Javid Alasgaroglu, and threw him
into a trash dump. Alasgaroglu sustained serious injuries and was
immediately hospitalized. The victim's family attributed the incident
to Alasgaroglu's professional activity. The newspaper had published
several critical articles about government officials.
Emin Huseynov, a reporter who was chair of the Institute for
Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), was hospitalized after being
beaten by police in June 2008 while covering the breaking up of a
public meeting by police. He later filed suit against the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, charging that no legal action had been taken against
his attackers. Huseynov lost 50 percent of his hearing as a result of
his injuries. During the year the court of first instance and the court
of appeal rejected Huseynov's lawsuit, and the case was pending before
the Supreme Court at year's end.
There was no evidence that authorities held any police officers
accountable for physical assaults on journalists in recent years.
Serious concerns remained about the lack of accountability for the
2005 killing of Elmar Huseynov. There were no developments reported in
the investigation of his killing, but one human rights defender was
called to the Ministry of National Security in March regarding the
case. Media and human rights activists continued to call on the
government to further investigate this case.
Amendments in 2008 to the election code allowed lobbying groups who
registered in the March national referendum to have free television and
radio airtime, as well as print space in government newspapers.
Opposition parties and human rights advocates, however, complained that
the free airtime was moved from State Television to Public Television,
which had lower viewership, and that the timing of the broadcasts made
it difficult for working people to watch. International and local media
monitors concluded that news coverage of the referendum was
overwhelmingly biased to favor the government's position.
Although pro-opposition journalists openly criticized government
officials, a combination of intimidation and a desire not to alienate
potential advertisers led most independent journalists and editors to
practice some degree of self-censorship.
Libel remained a criminal offense, and the number of libel
prosecutions increased during the year. The law allows for large fines
and up to three years' imprisonment for persons convicted of libel.
Administration officials stated publicly in April that this provision
would be removed from the criminal code, and subsequently courts
overturned the conviction of two journalists for libel. However, the
government's statements notwithstanding, libel remains a criminal
offense.
During the year three journalists from NOTA newspaper were
convicted under this criminal provision. On July 22, editor-in-chief
Sardar Alibeyli and advisor Faramaz Novruzoglu were sentenced to three
months' imprisonment in a case brought by a public union chairman. In
the same case correspondent Ramiz Tagiyev was given a six-month
conditional sentence. On October 8, the Appellate Court upheld the
lower court's decision and Alibeyli and Novruzoglu were imprisoned.
Separately, on October 9, the Appellate Court also rejected Alibeyli's
appeal of a case brought by several Internal Affairs representatives
and sentenced Alibeyli to four months' imprisonment, to be served
concurrently with his earlier sentence.
In previous years the government used defamation suits and the
threat of exorbitantly high fines for libel to intimidate and harass
the media. Fine payments due from previous defamation suits threatened
the financial viability of the print media and journalists. Government
reliance on measures that hampered printing and distribution of
independent newspapers and magazines remained largely unchanged.
Most newspapers and magazines were printed in government publishing
houses or on private printing presses owned by individuals who had
connections with government officials. The majority of independent and
opposition newspapers remained in precarious financial situations; they
continued to have problems paying wages, taxes, and periodic court
fines. Most relied on political parties or influential sponsors for
financing, as the advertising-based business model was weak.
The government prohibited some state libraries from subscribing to
opposition newspapers. The government also continued to prohibit state
businesses from buying advertising in opposition newspapers and
pressured private business to do the same. Political commentators said
that this problem reduced the wages opposition and independent outlets
could pay to their journalists, allowing progovernment outlets to hire
away quality staff. In addition, international media monitoring reports
indicated that intimidation by officials of the Ministry of Taxes
further limited the independence of the media.
Nakhchivan- and Baku-based journalists reported that authorities in
the enclave of Nakhchivan continued to block distribution of opposition
newspapers.
Internet Freedom.--The government generally did not restrict access
to the Internet, but it required Internet service providers to be
licensed and have formal agreements with the Ministry of Communications
and Information Technologies. Penetration was low, particularly outside
the capital city. According to International Telecommunication Union
statistics for 2008, approximately 17 percent of the country's
inhabitants used the Internet.
There was no evidence to confirm the widely held belief that the
government monitored Internet traffic of foreign businesses and
opposition leaders. During the year authorities temporarily blocked
access to a Web site supporting jailed youth activists Emin Milli and
Adnan Hajizade. Authorities also blocked public access to two Web sites
of an independent NGO, the Election Monitoring Center, although the
sites were accessible from abroad.
Domestic observers reported that, on several occasions during the
year, the government temporarily blocked public Internet access to a
Web site popular for lampooning the president. There were reportedly
greater restrictions on the Internet in Nakhchivan, where residents
claimed they were unable to view opposition Web sites. Access to the
Internet was limited to urban centers due to lack of infrastructure.
On July 8, two men attacked youth activists and bloggers Emin Milli
(Abdullayev) and Adnan Hajizade, who were dining with friends at a
restaurant in Baku. Milli suffered wounds to his leg, and Hajizade's
nose was broken during the assault. After Milli and Hajizade filed a
complaint with the police about the attack, the police arrested them
for purportedly starting the fight while releasing their assailants
(see section 1.e.). Observers noted that the two assailants were
significantly larger than Milli and Hajizade and believed that the
authorities had arranged a provocation at the restaurant in order to
prosecute Milli and Hajizade for their peaceful expression of support
for reform via the Internet and alleged antigovernment activity.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government on occasion
restricted academic freedom.
Some domestic observers raised concerns about the government's
selection of participants for state-sponsored study abroad programs.
Credible reports indicated that students who had been accepted into
U.S. graduate schools and approved for scholarships by the government
were denied them after the arrest of youth activists Emin Milli and
Adnan Hajizade (see section 1.e.). Hajizade had attended high school in
the United States and later graduated from the University of Richmond.
The government maintained that its selection process was transparent
and political affiliation was not a factor.
Opposition party members continued to report difficulties in
finding jobs teaching at schools and universities. Most known
opposition party members teaching in state educational institutions had
been fired in previous years.
During the 2008 presidential election campaign, students at several
universities reported pressure from deans to avoid cooperation with an
independent NGO monitoring the election. Some students reported being
directed by the deans of their faculties to change voter registration
from their home districts so that they would have to vote at the
university. Others reported that universities required students to
attend propresidential rallies, providing transportation and
threatening students with expulsion if they did not attend. In another
case students were threatened with expulsion from their dormitory if
they participated in election monitoring.
There were no reports of government restrictions on cultural
events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the
government severely restricted this right in practice. Although the law
stipulates that groups may peacefully assemble only with prior
notification of relevant government bodies, the government continued to
interpret this provision as a requirement for advance permission from
the Baku mayor's office.
In June 2008 new amendments to the law on freedom of assembly
entered into force. A review of the amended law by international
organizations noted that it met most international standards, and
numerous international observers called on the government to implement
it fully. However, in practice the government continued to require all
rallies to be preapproved and held at designated locations far removed
from the city center, a stipulation most political parties and NGOs
found unacceptable. In contrast, the ruling YAP held a large rally in a
central square in October 2008 to celebrate the reelection of the
president. Opposition parties had been denied permission to hold a
rally in the same square. The government denied opposition and some
other NGO requests to hold political rallies on multiple occasions and
broke up several unsanctioned pickets and demonstrations, often
detaining participants for several hours.
On January 2, approximately 150-200 persons attempted to protest
Israel's actions in Gaza outside the Israeli Embassy in Baku. Police
temporarily detained approximately 150 of them; of these, police
charged and held 25 for several days. Journalists reported that force
was used to break up the protest.
On January 21, the opposition Musavat youth group attempted to hold
a protest outside the National Television and Radio Council regarding
the closure of Voice of America, Radio Liberty, and the BBC (see
section 2.a.). Despite the group's advance, notification to the Baku
mayor's office as required in the law, police arrested and temporarily
detained seven members of the group during the demonstration.
On June 22, approximately 50 well-known civil society activists
attempted to protest near the Milli Majlis regarding planned changes to
the NGO law. Dozens of police, both uniformed and plainclothed, moved
the protesters several blocks away from the building, where they could
not be seen. Police allowed them to hold their demonstration at this
location.
On October 6, approximately 20 youths held a protest in front of
the Baku State University over the three-fold increase in fares for the
Baku metro. On October 13, a larger group of young persons attempted to
hold a similar protest in the same location. This group shouted
slogans, and eight of them were promptly arrested and detained for
several hours. They were released that evening after paying a fine.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, although in practice the government's restriction of this
right worsened during the year. A number of provisions allow the
government to regulate the activities of political parties, religious
groups, businesses, and NGOs, including a requirement that all
organizations register either with the Justice Ministry or the State
Committee on Work with Religious Associations (SCWRA). Although the law
requires the government to act on registration applications within 30
days of receipt, vague, cumbersome, and nontransparent registration
procedures continued to result in long delays that effectively limited
citizens' right to associate.
On June 30, the Milli Majlis amended the law on NGOs to add new
restrictions on freedom of association. While officials removed the
most troublesome provisions of the first draft of the amended law, the
new amendments contained some restrictions, including requiring
deputies of NGO branches to be Azerbaijani citizens and requiring
foreign NGOs to sign an agreement with the government before opening an
office. On December 25, President Aliyev issued a decree making further
changes to the law on NGOs. International and local NGOs were concerned
by a new provision in this decree that requires NGOs to register all
grants they receive with the Ministry of Justice. The government had
not announced procedures for this registration process at year's end.
During the year the ministry registered 162 noncommercial legal
entities. The ministry did not provide information on the total number
of NGO applications received or rejected during the year. Several NGOs
reported problems obtaining registration with the Ministry of Justice.
For example, several members of the former NGO Election Monitoring
Center, which the ministry deregistered in 2008, attempted to register
as a new organization, the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies
Center. The organization was denied registration on what observers
believed to be unsubstantial grounds, and it was pursuing a lawsuit
against the ministry at year's end. Another NGO, the Society of
Democratic Reforms, reported that it unsuccessfully had attempted to
register for 10 years.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion; however, burdensome registration requirements and
selective harassment of religious groups marred application of the law.
Amendments to the law passed in May added new restrictions on the
ability of religions to function.
Although the law expressly prohibits the government from
interfering in the religious activities of any individual or group,
there are exceptions, including cases where the activity of a religious
group threatens public order and stability. Most religious groups met
without government interference; however, local authorities monitored
religious services, and officials harassed and detained members of
Islamic and ``nontraditional'' religious groups.
There appeared to be a distinction between how the government
treated groups it perceived as ``traditional'' and ``nontraditional.''
``Traditional'' religious groups included Islamic communities
registered with the government, Jewish groups, the Orthodox Church, and
the Catholic Church. Groups perceived as ``nontraditional'' included
unregistered Islamic groups, Jehovah's Witnesses, and several
Protestant communities. In general the ``traditional'' groups reported
no religious freedom problems, while ``nontraditional'' communities
frequently complained they were the victims of selective harassment or
that the government arbitrarily created obstacles to their
registration.
A number of legal provisions enabled the government to regulate
religious groups, particularly a requirement that religious
organizations, including individual congregations of a religious group,
be registered. Muslim religious groups must receive a letter of
approval from the Caucasus Muslim Board (CMB) before they can be
registered by the SCRWA. The SCWRA and its chairman have broad powers
over registration and could both control the publication, import, and
distribution of religious literature and suspend the activities of
groups violating the law. The SCWRA could also appeal to the court for
the suspension of activities of a religious group.
Registered Muslim organizations are subordinate to the CMB, a
Soviet-era entity that appointed Muslim clerics to mosques,
administered Islamic educational institutions, periodically monitored
sermons, and organized annual hajj pilgrimages. Some local Muslim
believers criticized the CMB's and the SCWRA's ability to register and
regulate their communities. In the course of the year, authorities
prohibited activities or closed a number of mosques not registered with
the SCWRA. For example, in August Baku city authorities suspended
construction of the Fatimei-Zahra mosque, explaining that the mosque
community was not registered. In September authorities suspended
activities of the unregistered Juma mosque in Ganja city. The Shahidlar
mosque of Baku, constructed and run by the Turkish religious wagf
(religious endowment), was closed earlier in the year and remained
closed at year's end. On October 17, the government closed another
Turkish wagf-run mosque in Mehdiabab, northwest of Baku. Since April,
when local Baku government authorities destroyed the Prophet Muhammad
Mosque over a property dispute, there were no known developments
relating to the community or the property.
At the beginning of the year there were a total of 529 registered
religious communities in the country, of which 497 were Islamic and 32
were non-Islamic. However, the amended Law on Religious Freedom adopted
in May required all religious communities, both traditional and
nontraditional, to reregister with the SCWRA. Previous registration
status with the SCRWA was no longer valid, and all religious
communities had until January 2010 to complete reregistration. By
year's end, the total number of religious communities that applied for
reregistration reached 660, of which 150 were registered.
Prior to the May amendments, several groups reported that the SCWRA
sometimes failed to rule on registration applications in a timely
manner, and some groups complained that the SCWRA or local officials
made the application process difficult or impossible for
nontraditional, including some evangelical Protestant, communities.
Unregistered organizations were vulnerable to being declared illegal
and closed or subjected to selective harassment by authorities.
A variety of unregistered religious groups continued to function,
including Muslim groups, members of Jehovah's Witnesses, and some
evangelical Christians. The SCWRA estimated that there were 160
unregistered groups. However, some unregistered groups--particularly
nontraditional religious organizations--were subject to periodic and
selective police harassment in the form of disruption of religious
services and intimidation. Local law enforcement officials occasionally
monitored religious services and reportedly singled out some observant
Christians and Muslims for searches on the grounds of security. Law
enforcement and national security bodies observed the activities of
certain mosques.
Some Muslim representatives criticized the government for adopting
a heavy-handed stance in reaction to the August 2008 bombing of the Abu
Bakr mosque. After the bombing, authorities closed the heavily attended
mosque, and attempts to obtain court permission to reopen it had not
succeeded by year's end. There was a spike in the number of reported
detentions and forced beard-shavings carried out by police in Baku
after the bombing.
A number of practicing Muslims asserted that the government often
failed to distinguish between practicing Muslims and extremists. They
charged that the government often adopted a heavy-handed approach to
practicing Muslims and, in the process, failed to grant them genuine
religious freedom. This approach reportedly included forcibly shaving
beards and fingerprinting Muslims, banning prayers outside mosques, and
pressuring certain television stations not to run religious
programming. A number of Muslims criticized the CMB for trying to
monopolize Islamic religious practices in the country. As amended in
May, the Law on Religious Freedom forbids clerics who graduated from
foreign educational institutions from leading Islamic religious
ceremonies. This limited the pool of clerics in the country to those
who graduated from Baku Islamic University.
On November 29, police detained and beat Lydia Suleymanova, an 81-
year-old member of Jehovah's Witnesses in Zagatala, as she left a
religious meeting. A police officer detained her at a bus stop and
brought her to a public cafe, where he confiscated her bag containing
her religious books and beat her. Other police officers then took her
to the police station, where she was forced to sign a confession she
could not read. She filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office, but
the official medical examiner refused to see her, despite her having
pictures showing her injuries.
Officials dropped the criminal case against Baptist pastor Hamid
Shabanov in March. In June 2008 police in Zagatala arrested him for
allegedly possessing an illegal weapon. Local Baptists claimed the
authorities planted the weapon in Shabanov's residence. International
and domestic court monitors reported procedural violations in
Shabanov's trial.
The law expressly prohibits religious proselytizing by foreigners,
and officials strictly enforced the prohibition. In September law
enforcement authorities deported Javid Shangarov from the northern town
of Yalama. Shangarov, who belonged to the Baptist church, held a
Russian passport. The government was concerned about Islamic missionary
groups (predominantly Iranian Shi'a and Salafi Sunni) operating in the
country and continued to restrict their activities.
The law permits the production and dissemination of religious
literature with the approval of the SCWRA; however, authorities
appeared to selectively restrict the importation and distribution of
religious materials. Obtaining permission to import religious
literature remained burdensome, and Islamic and Christian groups
complained about the lengthy approval process. During the year there
were multiple episodes in which police confiscated allegedly radical
Islamic literature in several areas of the country. However, the SCWRA
also facilitated the importation of some literature, and the process
appeared to be improving, albeit in an arbitrary manner.
The law does not restrict the right of women to wear the Muslim
headscarf in educational or state facilities. In practice women were
not allowed to wear headscarves in photos for passports and other
official identity documents. The government did not restrain university
administrators or employers from selectively pressuring some women not
to wear headscarves.
At year's end, the government had not developed an alternative
service option for persons who conscientiously objected to serving in
the military. The lack of such an option remained a problem for several
members of Jehovah's Witnesses, who conscientiously objected to serving
in the military and faced prosecution for refusing to serve.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were some reports of
societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation,
belief, or practice. There was popular prejudice against Muslims who
converted to other faiths and hostility toward groups that
proselytized, particularly evangelical Christian and other missionary
groups.
The government actively tried to promote religious tolerance. The
SCWRA convened leaders of various religious communities on several
occasions. During the year the SCWRA organized several seminars,
conferences, and regional meetings on religious freedom and tolerance.
There were no credible reports of anti-Semitic acts against the
country's Jewish community.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, the government limited freedom of movement at
times, particularly for internally displaced persons (IDPs). The
government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing
protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern. In 2007
responsibility for all refugee matters, including refugee status
determination, was moved from the deputy prime minister to the newly
created State Migration Service. International NGOs continued to report
that this new department remained inefficient and did not operate as
transparently as the previous one.
The law requires men of draft age to register with military
officials before traveling abroad. Some travel restrictions were placed
on military personnel with access to national security information.
Citizens charged with or convicted of criminal offenses and given
suspended sentences were not permitted to travel abroad. Officials
regularly extracted bribes from individuals who applied for passports.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
While official government policy allows citizens of ethnic Armenian
descent to travel, low-level officials reportedly often requested
bribes or harassed ethnic Armenians who applied for passports. Some
Armenians of mixed descent reported to a local NGO that they had
problems with officials in the passport and registration department
when applying for identification cards. Applicants with Azerbaijani
surnames who applied encountered no problems except for having to pay
bribes.
Since his 2004 conviction for participating in postelection
demonstrations in 2003, the government prevented the former imam of the
Juma Mosque in Baku, Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, from traveling outside the
country.
Since 2006 the government has prevented the foreign travel of
Popular Front Party chairman Ali Kerimli by refusing to renew his
passport, citing an outstanding civil complaint against him from 1994.
The government had renewed Kerimli's passport on several occasions in
the intervening years without objection. Kerimli filed an appeal on the
decision, which was rejected at all levels of the court system. Kerimli
submitted his case to the European Court of Human Rights in January and
was awaiting a judgment at year's end.
Internally Displaced Persons.--At year's end the government
reported that there were 586,013 registered IDPs in the country. The
vast majority fled their homes between 1988 and 1993 as a result of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
IDPs were required to register their place of residence with
authorities and could live only in approved areas. This so-called
``propiska'' system, a carryover from the Soviet era, was imposed
mainly on persons who were forced from their homes after ethnic
Armenian separatists took control of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent
territories in the western part of Azerbaijan. The government asserted
that registration was needed to keep track of IDPs to provide them with
assistance.
The government reported that during the year 60 international and
40 domestic humanitarian organizations implemented projects independent
of the government related to refugees and IDPs, spending a total of
approximately 24 million manat ($30 million). The government stated
that it supplemented this spending with money from the national oil
fund to improve living conditions for IDPs and refugees. During the
year the government completed the construction of three new settlements
for refugees and IDPs, in which 747 families lived. In addition, the
government built six apartment buildings in Baku with a total of 369
units, as well as building 26 additional houses in the Murovdagh
settlement.
The State IDP and Refugee Committee's estimated expenditures were
307.8 million manat (approximately $375.4 million). IDPs received
monthly food subsidies of approximately 13.50 manat (approximately
$16.50) from the government and heating fuel subsidies in the winter.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to some
refugees through the refugee status determination department. While the
department progressed in many ways, improvement was offset by a series
of court rulings on refugee status determinations that rejected all
appeals of negative asylum decisions.
In practice the government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. During the year the UNHCR recognized 2,338 persons as refugees
or asylum seekers. Information on government approval of refugee status
was not available at year's end. The government did not provide any
notable assistance to government- or UNHCR-recognized refugees or
asylum seekers.
More than 58 percent of the 2,338 refugees registered and
recognized by the UNHCR in the country were Chechens from Russia. The
government does not recognize Chechens as refugees as established under
the 1967 protocol, and it did not accept asylum applications from them.
As a result, the UNHCR continued to carry out all protection and
assistance functions for Chechens in the country.
Despite UNHCR recognition of many Chechens and Afghans as refugees,
the laws on residence, registration, and the status of refugees and
IDPs did not apply to Chechens and Afghans. They were required to
register with police and were not entitled to residence permits.
Chechens were permitted to enter the country visa-free under a
bilateral passport system with Russia. However, most Chechens could not
afford the associated costs to acquire passports. The UNHCR reported
good cooperation with the government on extradition requests. Russia
requested extradition of two Chechens during the year. After reviewing
the cases, the UNHCR dropped its objection to the extradition of one
individual, and the government denied the extradition request for the
other individual.
According to the UNHCR, 82 Chechens sought and were granted
temporary protection during the year, a 40 percent decrease from the
previous year. All refugee children registered with the UNHCR were
allowed to attend public schools. However, because Chechens and Afghans
did not have legal resident status in the country, they were not
permitted access to public medical services. The UNHCR provided basic
medical assistance through the support of foreign donors.
During the year 100 Afghans arrived and registered with the UNHCR,
a decrease from previous years. Afghans complained of police visits to
their homes, with the implied threat of deportation. There were no
reports of forced return of Afghans. Afghan community leaders reported
that the UNHCR denied protection to 50 persons during the year. In
addition, they reported that UNHCR benefits were not enough to support
their families, but without legal status in the country it was
impossible to find work.
The government has no legal mechanism to provide temporary
protection to individuals who do not qualify as refugees. However, the
government accepted the UNHCR identification card issued to Chechens
and Afghans.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the
country or from one's parents. The law provides for the right to apply
for stateless status. However, in practice many persons could not
obtain the documentation required for the application and therefore
remained formally unrecognized. The law on citizenship was amended in
2008 to make it harder for foreigners and stateless people to obtain
citizenship.
According to UNHCR statistics, the government reported there were
2,078 stateless persons in the country at the end of the year. The vast
majority of these persons were ethnic Azeris from Georgia or Iran. NGOs
estimated there were many other undocumented stateless persons, with
estimates ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands, among them
Meskhetian Turks, whose status was not formally recognized and who did
not possess stateless certificates.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully. The government continued to restrict this
right in practice by interfering in elections. The law also provides
for an independent legislature; however, the Milli Majlis's
independence was minimal, and it exercised little legislative
initiative independent of the executive branch.
Elections and Political Participation.--On December 23, municipal
elections were held throughout the country. Media monitors concluded
that all television stations largely ignored the pre-election period.
Political parties were required to have candidates registered in at
least one-half of all municipalities in order to qualify for free
airtime during this period, a requirement that only the ruling YAP met
and subsequently refused to use. Opposition parties and local election
monitoring NGOs reported interference in the candidate registration
process.
Official results showed a turnout of 31.86 percent, which was low
for the country, and indicated the general apathy of voters to these
elections. A delegation of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities, which monitored the election, noted shortcomings
in areas including ``counting of the voters in the polling stations,
the role and the origin of local election observers, the readability of
ballot papers, and the regularity of the vote count.'' After reviewing
hundreds of post-election complaints, the Central Election Commission
canceled the results in 33 of the 4,813 polling stations in the country
and announced plans to repeat these elections in 2010.
On March 18, authorities held a national referendum on 41 proposed
changes to 29 articles of the constitution. The changes included, among
other items, the removal of term limits on the presidency and a
provision that postpones elections in times of war. Little time was
given to the Milli Majlis or the public to discuss the changes sought
by the administration. The Council of Europe's Venice Commission, in a
review of the amendments, concluded ``the overall logic and coherence
of the reform is not always evident and the procedure chosen may give
rise to some criticism.'' The commission also stated that ``explicit
constitutional limitations on the successive terms of a president are
particularly important in countries where democratic structures and
their cultural presuppositions have not yet been consolidated.''
The prereferendum environment was marred by serious limitations on
freedom of speech and assembly. The Central Election Commission (CEC)
registered nine lobbying groups for the referendum, in accordance with
the election code. Two of these were opposition groups. However,
opposition groups reported widespread harassment, including arrests and
detention, while collecting signatures for registration and during the
campaign period. The authorities also harassed citizens who signed
these petitions. The opposition group For Karabakh and the Republic
applied to local officials several times for permits to hold meetings
in central Baku, but these requests were denied each time. Voters
lacked the information necessary to make an informed choice on the
large number of referendum items. In addition, a local NGO reported
that its volunteer election monitors were harassed by the local
authorities to prevent them from collaborating with the NGO.
Balloting procedures on referendum day were flawed and widely
considered worse than the 2008 presidential election. While the OSCE
was not invited to observe the referendum, the CEC registered 40,000
observers, of whom 132 were foreign. Independent local observers noted
serious problems with voting procedures, including cases of multiple
voting and ballot stuffing at over one-quarter of polling stations.
Voter turnout was estimated by observers at 43 percent, rather than the
official tally of more than 71 percent. This lower figure exceeded the
25 percent threshold needed under the law for referendum to be valid.
Observers also noted significant shortcomings in the counting and
tabulation process.
The country held a presidential election in October 2008. The final
report of the OSCE election observation mission stated that the country
had made considerable progress toward meeting its OSCE commitments and
other international standards, especially regarding some technical
aspects of election administration, but found that the election process
did not meet all of these commitments. While the OSCE mission reported
that the election was carried out in a peaceful manner, it also noted a
lack of robust competition and the absence of vibrant political
discourse facilitated by the media. The OSCE observation report
concluded that the election ``did not reflect some of the principles
necessary for a meaningful and pluralistic democratic election.''
In May 2008 the Milli Majlis adopted amendments to the election
code that partially addressed concerns raised previously by the Council
of Europe and the OSCE. Further amendments were made on February 17
that did not address these continued concerns. However, the structure
of election commissions at all levels--a longstanding problem--was not
made more balanced by the amendments, and concerns remained over the
candidate registration process, rules on media coverage, and complaint
and appeals procedures.
The period prior to the October 2008 elections was marred by
continued restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly for
the main opposition parties. The main opposition parties boycotted the
election, citing these restrictions and problems with the election
code, especially provisions limiting their ability to campaign
effectively. The government's failure to improve respect for freedom of
assembly, its continued control of the media, and the lack of a clear
distinction between the government and the ruling party in campaign
activities prevented a competitive campaign and reduced citizens'
opportunity to make an informed choice in the election.
The OSCE's final observation report for the 2005 parliamentary
elections concluded that they did not meet a number of the country's
OSCE and Council of Europe commitments for democratic elections. The
OSCE concluded that the 2006 rerun elections in 10 out of 125
constituencies showed some improvement while noting continuing
problems.
The ruling YAP continued to dominate the political system. Domestic
observers reported that membership in the ruling party conferred
advantages such as being given preference for public positions.
Opposition party members in the exclave of Nakhchivan reported
instances of pressure by local officials to join the ruling party.
During the year opposition parties played a less active role in
politics than in previous years. Members of the opposition were more
likely to experience official harassment and arbitrary arrest and
detention than other citizens. For example, in October local
authorities prevented leaders of the Musavat Party from holding a
meeting with party members in Barda and from entering the towns of
Yevlakh and Mingachevir. Regional branch opposition party members
reported that local authorities often took actions to prevent routine
party activities, such as pressuring restaurant owners not to allow
opposition parties to use their facilities for meetings and events.
Party members often had to conceal the purpose of their gatherings and
hold them in remote locations. Opposition party members reported that
police often dispersed small gatherings at tea houses and detained
participants for questioning. Since 2006 opposition parties have had
serious difficulties renting office space, with some parties operating
out of their leaders' apartments reportedly because landlords were
afraid to rent office space to them due to official pressure.
There were 14 women in the 125-seat Milli Majlis. Several women
held senior government positions, including deputy speaker of the Milli
Majlis, and several deputy ministers. There were no legal restrictions
on the participation of women in politics, although traditional social
norms limited women's political roles, and they were underrepresented
in elective offices.
Ethnic minorities, such as the Lezghins, Talysh, and Avars,
continued to serve in the Milli Majlis and in government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law penalizes corruption by prohibiting bribery; however, there
was widespread corruption with impunity throughout all facets of
society, including the civil service, government ministries, and the
highest levels of government. The World Bank's worldwide governance
indicators reflected that corruption was a severe problem. Criminal
cases related to petty corruption were opened during the year,
specifically on bribery charges. However, these cases had little or no
impact on the prevalence of bribery and petty and grand corruption in
the country. During the year the Presidential Administration removed
from office the appointed head of the Executive Committee of the Nizami
District of Baku, Mehbali Aliyev, reportedly due to corruption. No
criminal charges had been filed against Aliyev by year's end.
Key provisions of the government's 2007 national strategy for
increasing transparency and combating corruption still had not been
implemented at year's end. The strategy established a framework for
increasing the accountability of government, cooperating with civil
society, and systematically monitoring and reporting on the
implementation of anticorruption measures. One of the national
strategy's main elements, the law on financial disclosure, requires
officials to report their annual income, sources of income, property,
and financial liabilities. It also prohibits nepotism and limited gifts
and direct or indirect financial benefits to public officials or third
parties.
The law provides for public access to government information by
individuals and organizations; however, the government often did not
provide access. Although government ministries have separate procedures
on how to request information, they routinely denied requests, claiming
not to possess the information. Individuals have the right to appeal
the denials in court; however, the courts generally upheld the
decisions of the ministries.
Over the past several years, the government took some steps to
improve transparency in extractive sector industries. It endorsed the
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2004 in which
governments committed to adhere to the 12 agreed EITI Principles to
manage natural resources for the benefit of all members of society by
creating a cooperative relationship between government, companies, and
civil society to disclose payments and revenues received from
extractive industries.
Following an EITI-accredited validator's examination and approval
of the country's key EITI documents, the EITI Board granted Azerbaijan
status as the first EITI-compliant country on February 16. The State
Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), which is responsible for implementation
of the EITI principles, also increased access to information about oil
and gas revenues. However, some observers complained that the fund was
not designed, governed, or managed to ensure expenditures were geared
towards poverty alleviation or the delivery of public services.
Moreover, observers noted that the country's oil and gas revenues in
full were not managed by SOFAZ or subject to EITI transparency
practices. While all of the 26 oil and gas companies in the country
participated in the EITI process, only a handful of companies agreed to
disaggregated revenue reporting. In addition, the country's EITI
compliant status was based on the government's agreement to create a
work plan on cooperation with NGOs. At year's end the government had
not created this work plan, but had promised to take steps to do so.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Although the
government maintained ties with some human rights NGOs and responded to
their inquiries, on occasion the government criticized and intimidated
other human rights NGOs and activists. The Ministry of Justice
continued routinely to deny or fail to register some human rights NGOs.
The major local human rights NGOs were the Association for the
Protection of Women's Rights, the Bureau of Human Rights and Respect
for the Law, the Azerbaijan Foundation of Democracy Development and
Human Rights Protection, Azerbaijani Committee against Torture (ACAT),
the Institute for Peace and Democracy, the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly,
IRFS, and the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan. Most of the leading
NGOs affiliated themselves with one of two independent, umbrella
organizations, the Human Rights Federation and the Monitoring Group of
Human Rights Organizations.
The government met with a variety of domestic NGO monitors. The
Ministry of Justice participated in a joint political prisoner review
committee with several representatives of the human rights community.
In previous years the Ministry of Internal Affairs allowed one NGO,
ACAT, to have immediate access to police and pretrial detention
facilities; however, as of July 1, the Ministry of Justice only
permitted the group access with several days' advance notice.
During the year some NGOs reported increased pressure against their
activities. For example, the Minister of Internal Affairs sued Leyla
Yunus, leader of the Institute of Peace and Democracy, for an interview
she gave to an online newspaper in which she criticized the police. The
minister subsequently dropped the case. In addition, several election
observers affiliated with EMDS were harassed by local authorities in
connection with their observation activities (see section 3).
During the year the Milli Majlis amended the law on NGOs (see
section 2.b.).
Several NGOs reported that the government and police at times
refused to protect them from so-called provocateurs who threatened,
harassed, and attacked NGO activists and vandalized their property. For
example, on December 15, a group of Nakhchivan State University leaders
and students reportedly beat two representatives of the Nakhchivan
Democracy and NGO Development Resource Center who were investigating
corruption at the university. The group from the university also
reportedly threatened a journalist with the IRFS who arrived at the
scene of the assault. The NGO representatives called the police before
the attack, as they feared an attack was imminent and needed
protection. However, the police did not arrive until after the
assailants had left the scene. Local authorities reportedly responded
by denying that the events occurred and scheduling a tax inspection of
the Resource Center for January 2010.
During the year Akifa Aliyeva of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly
fled the country after reporting repeated harassment by local
authorities in connection with her work defending the rights of a
Ukrainian prisoner in Ganja.
The registration process for NGOs remained cumbersome and included
requirements to register grants from foreign entities. NGO grants from
foreign entities are subject to a social security tax of 22 percent on
employee salaries, although grants from a few countries with bilateral
agreements with the government were subject to only a 2 percent tax.
NGO activists reported that these provisions inhibited their
organizations' activities.
The NGO Council continued its grants program begun in 2008, giving
approximately 1.8 million manat (approximately $2.2 million) to 250
NGOs during the year. While many of these NGOs were considered to be
progovernment, some NGOs that were critical of the government also
received grants. One NGO sued the council for revoking a grant awarded
to the organization. The NGO stated the grant was revoked after the NGO
submitted an official complaint about the council's grant review
process, which the NGO alleged was corrupt. The case continued at
year's end.
The government generally permitted visits by UN representatives and
other international organizations, such as the ICRC. International
NGOs, such as Reporters without Borders, generally operated without
government hindrance.
Citizens may appeal violations committed by the state or by
individuals to the ombudswoman for human rights. The ombudswoman may
refuse to accept cases of abuse that are more than one year old,
anonymous complaints, and cases already being handled by the judiciary.
The ombudswoman received 8,000 appeals, of which 83.7 percent were
complaints during the year; 51 percent of these complaints were
accepted for investigation, and of those investigated, 44.7 percent
were successfully resolved. The incumbent ombudswoman's term expired in
July, but she continued to fulfill the duties of the office because her
successor had yet to be named.
The Office of the Ombudsman took the lead in implementing the
government's 2006 human rights national action plan (NAP). During the
year the ombudswoman reported that the NAP working group, which
included five subcommittees, continued to work on areas identified as
priorities in the action plan. All state agencies involved in the NAP
submit their annual reports to the ombudsman, who reviews and compiles
the reports into one larger report on the progress of implementation of
NAP, shortcomings, challenges and the ways of improvement of the
situation. As of year's end, implementation of the plan was uneven.
During the year the ombudswoman traveled around the country to hear
human rights complaints, cooperated with foreign diplomats and domestic
NGOs working on human rights, and submitted an annual report to the
Milli Majlis. During the year she criticized significant violations in
the high-profile case of the youth activists and bloggers Emin Milli
and Adnan Hajizade. However, local human rights NGOs and activists
criticized the ombudswoman's work as ineffective and generally regarded
her as not independent of the government.
The Milli Majlis and the Ministry of Justice also had human rights
offices that heard complaints, conducted investigations, and made
recommendations to relevant government bodies. Officials of the Human
Rights Office within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regularly met with
the diplomatic community to discuss issues of concern. The Milli
Majlis's human rights body did not operate fully independently of
government influence.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, but the government did not always respect
these prohibitions in practice or effectively enforce them.
Women.--Rape is illegal and carries a maximum 15-year prison
sentence. The government reported 35 rapes during the year. Most rape
victims reportedly knew their assailants but did not report incidents
because of fear and shame.
There are no laws on spousal abuse or specific laws on spousal
rape, although these crimes could be prosecuted under other sections of
the criminal code if a spouse complained. Violence against women,
including domestic violence, continued to be a problem. In rural areas
women had no effective recourse against assaults by their husbands or
others.
There were no government-sponsored programs for victims of rape or
domestic violence. In Baku a women's crisis center operated by the
Institute for Peace and Democracy provided free medical, psychological,
and legal assistance to women. The center also worked on a number of
projects funded by international donors to combat gender-based violence
and trafficking in persons in the Caucasus region. Representatives of
the institute regularly appeared on popular television talk shows to
discuss women's issues.
Prostitution is an administrative offense rather than a crime and
is punishable by a fine of up to 40 manat (approximately $48), down
from 88 manat (approximately $102) after amendments made to the code in
December. Pimps and brothel owners may be sentenced to prison for up to
six years. Prostitution was a serious problem, particularly in Baku.
The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, the government only
rarely enforced the prohibition. No organization was specifically
dedicated to receiving these complaints.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. Information was accessible so
families and individuals could make reproductive decisions free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Contraception was widely
available, but demographic surveys showed low levels of use. Skilled
attendance during childbirth was accessible. Women and men were treated
equally and diagnosed for transmitted infections, including HIV.
However, patriarchal norms, based on cultural, historical, and
socioeconomic factors, in some cases limited women's reproductive
rights.
Women nominally enjoy the same legal rights as men; however,
societal discrimination was a problem. Traditional social norms and
lagging economic development in the country's regions continued to
restrict women's roles in the economy, and there were reports that
women had difficulty exercising their legal rights due to gender
discrimination. Women were underrepresented in high-level jobs,
including top business positions. A local NGO reported that women's
salaries are on average 70 percent of men's salaries.
Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country or
from one's parents.
The law requires the government to protect the rights of children
with regard to education and health care. In practice government
programs provided a low standard of education and health care for
children. While education was compulsory, free, and universal until the
age of 17, large families in impoverished rural areas sometimes placed
a higher priority on the education of male children and kept girls to
work in the home. Some poor families forced their children to work or
beg rather than attend school.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not provide any information on
the number of cases of rape or sexual abuse of children reported during
the year. There were reports that children were trafficked for sexual
exploitation and begging. During the year four of the identified
victims of sex trafficking were under the age of 18.
Child marriage was not considered a significant problem, although
evidence suggested it was growing, primarily in rural central and
southern regions among poor families.
Statutory rape is prohibited by law and defined as ``the sexual
relations or other actions of sexual nature, committed by a person who
has reached 18, with the person who has not reached 16,'' and is
punishable by up to three years' imprisonment. Child pornography is
prohibited by law, and its production, distribution, or advertisement
is punished by three to five years' imprisonment. If the pornography is
created by the parents of the child or by teachers or other educators,
the punishment increases to four to seven years' imprisonment.
A large number of refugee and IDP children lived in substandard
conditions. In some cases these children were unable to attend school.
Trafficking in Persons.--The criminal code prohibits all forms of
trafficking in persons; however, there were reports that persons were
trafficked to, from, through, and within the country.
The country was primarily a source and transit point for women,
men, and children trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Central Asian, Russian, and local women and girls were trafficked from
or through the country to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Iran,
India, and Pakistan for exploitation in the sex industry. Men and boys
were trafficked to Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and the UAE for forced
labor. Although there were no official reports of internal trafficking,
domestic monitors reported a growing trend of internal trafficking of
women for sexual exploitation, of men for forced labor in the
construction industry, and of children for begging. During the year the
government reported it identified 91 trafficking victims, four of whom
were minors. Traffickers generally targeted women.
Traffickers were either foreigners or ethnic Azerbaijanis who acted
in loose concert with international networks. They approached victims
directly and indirectly through friends and relatives, usually offering
to arrange employment abroad. Traffickers also used deceptive newspaper
advertisements offering work abroad. Traffickers reportedly used forged
documents to move victims. Traffickers also used fraudulent marriage
proposals from men posing as Iranian businessmen to lure women into
prostitution in neighboring Iran.
During the year 76 persons were prosecuted to completion under the
law against trafficking in persons, of which 58 were convicted. Most
trafficking-related crimes prosecuted during the year carried maximum
penalties of between three and 12 years' imprisonment, except for rape
and sexual violence, which both carried maximum 15-year prison
sentences. There also are specific criminal penalties for enslaving,
raping, and forcing children into prostitution.
The deputy minister of internal affairs, a known human rights
violator, was the national coordinator for government antitrafficking
activities. This constituted an obstacle to maintaining a victim-
centered approach to the government's antitrafficking efforts,
monitoring the efforts of relevant government bodies, and dealing with
the NGO community. Government bodies involved in antitrafficking
included the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Justice,
National Security, Labor and Social Protection, and Health; the
prosecutor general; the state border guard; the State Customs Service;
and the State Committee on Family, Women's and Children's Issues. The
Ministry of Internal Affairs has a separate countertrafficking
department. The government operated a national hotline for victims of
trafficking. During the year the government did not receive any
requests to assist with extradition or international investigations of
trafficking cases.
There was no evidence of direct and witting official complicity in
trafficking, but a culture of corruption in some government agencies
created opportunities for evasion of some administrative barriers to
trafficking.
The law protects trafficking victims by relieving them from civil,
administrative, and criminal responsibility for offenses committed
under coercion, intimidation, or other trafficking conditions. However,
in practice victims were subjected to verbal abuse and stigmatization
by judges. Victims were often treated as criminals and penalized solely
for unlawful acts they committed as a direct result of being
trafficked. The law allows the use of pseudonyms to protect the
identity of victims and provides for their assistance and shelter. The
government did not systematically screen vulnerable population groups
to identify trafficking victims.
There was no standardized mechanism to return trafficked women to
their countries of origin. According to the International Organization
for Migration (IOM), some citizens and foreign nationals who were
either victims of trafficking or engaged in prostitution were deported
to the country primarily from Turkey. A few trafficking victims
deported from Dubai received assistance from the country's NGOs.
However, the government had no program to assist them.
In August the government enacted and implemented the National
Referral Mechanism, which created a national and interagency system for
organizing victim assistance. The government referred victims to a
government-funded shelter, which provided victims with access to legal,
medical, and psychological services. The government also referred
victims to an assistance center under the Ministry of Labor and to NGOs
for training and job placement. In August 2008 the IOM started a
project with the countertrafficking department of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs to strengthen management capacity of the shelter and
hotline services by training their staff and formulating operational
guidelines. The government, while fully funding the hotline, did not
operate it directly but did actively advertise it.
In February the government began implementing a second phase of its
national antitrafficking action plan. As part of this plan, the
government in September enacted and distributed regulations
(indicators) for identifying trafficking victims. This list of
indicators is meant to help law enforcement easily identify trafficking
victims to ensure they receive proper assistance. The discovery of a
large number of labor trafficking victims from Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Serbia in October exposed several weaknesses in the government's
implementation of these indicators and the National Referral Mechanism.
Several NGOs, such as the Institute for Peace and Democracy's
Women's Crisis Center and Clean World, and government bodies, such as
the State Committee for Women's and Children's Issues, worked on
antitrafficking activities. The Ministry of Internal Affairs claimed to
have conducted 70 trafficking awareness programs in various parts of
the country.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and the provision of other state services, but
discrimination in employment was a problem. It was commonly believed
that children with disabilities were ill and needed to be separated
from other children and institutionalized. Several international and
local NGOs developed educational campaigns to change social perceptions
and reintegrate disabled children.
There are no laws mandating access to public or other buildings for
persons with disabilities, and most buildings were not accessible.
Care in facilities for the mentally ill and persons with
disabilities varied; some provided adequate care while others lacked
qualified caregivers, equipment, and supplies to maintain sanitary
conditions and provide a proper diet.
The Ministries of Health and Labor and Social Welfare were
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Some of the approximately
20,000 citizens of Armenian descent living in the country historically
complained of discrimination in employment, schooling, housing, the
provision of social services, and other areas. Citizens who were ethnic
Armenians often concealed their ethnicity by legally changing the
ethnic designation in their passports. There were no reports of
violence or discrimination against Armenians during the year.
Some groups reported sporadic incidents of discrimination,
restrictions on the ability to teach in their native languages, and
harassment by local authorities. These groups included Talysh in the
south, Caucasian Lezghins in the north, displaced Meskhetian Turks, and
displaced Kurds from the Lachin region controlled by Armenia-supported
Nagorno-Karabakh separatists.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws
criminalizing sexual orientation. There were numerous incidents of
police brutality against individuals based on sexual orientation.
During the year there were no investigations into or punishments of
those responsible for these acts, although this was largely due to
victims' unwillingness to file claims due to fear of social stigma. In
2007, after an official complaint was made through the ombudsman's
office, two police officers were removed from their positions.
During the year police raided gay bars on four occasions and
arrested almost 50 persons. Police reportedly held the individuals and
threatened to expose their sexuality publicly unless they paid a bribe.
The human rights Ombudsman's Office intervened to resolve the
incidents.
One NGO worked on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
issues in the country. This NGO worked to prevent the spread of HIV/
AIDS, and provided legal advice, psychological assistance, and outreach
activities. The NGO reported no official harassment of its work. There
were no attempts to organize gay pride marches during the year;
however, there was a small gathering on May 17 to commemorate
International Anti-Homophobia Day.
There were no reported deaths during the year due to violence based
on sexual orientation. However, domestic violence due to sexual
orientation remained a large problem.
The government did not officially condone discrimination based on
sexual orientation; however, there was societal prejudice against LGBT
persons. While being fired from a job for sexual orientation remained
illegal, LGBT individuals reported that employers found other reasons
to fire them. Discrimination in access to healthcare was also a
problem. In 2008 two transgender individuals died from injuries
received from a car accident because physicians at Baku Hospital Number
1 refused to treat them.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discriminations against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, including the right to form labor unions, but there were
some restrictions on this right in practice. The overwhelming majority
of labor unions remained tightly linked to the government, with the
exception of the journalists' unions.
Uniformed military and police are prohibited from participating in
unions, although civilians working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs
and the Ministry of Defense were allowed to do so. The law also
prohibits managerial staff from joining a union, but managers in
government industries often had union dues automatically deducted from
their paychecks.
The Azerbaijani Trade Union Confederation (ATUC) had approximately
1.6 million members representing 28 labor federations in various
industrial sectors. Although the ATUC was registered as an independent
organization, some workers considered it closely aligned with the
government.
The law allows trade unions to conduct their activities without
government interference; however, in practice most unions were not
independent. The law provides most workers with the right to strike.
Categories of workers prohibited from striking include high-ranking
executive and legislative officials; law enforcement officers; court
employees; fire fighters; and health, electric power, water supply,
telephone, railway, and air traffic control workers. Striking workers
who disrupted public transportation could be sentenced up to three
years' imprisonment. The law prohibits retribution against strikers,
such as dismissal or replacement. Both local and international NGOs
claimed that workers in most industries were largely unaware of their
rights and afraid of retribution if they initiated complaints. This was
especially true for persons working in the public sector.
While the labor law applied to all workers and enterprises in the
country, the government could negotiate bilateral agreements with
multinational enterprises that effectively exempted such enterprises
from national labor laws. For example, production sharing agreements
(PSAs) between the government and multinational energy enterprises
signed in 1994 and subsequently did not provide for employee
participation in a trade union. Some labor organizations and local NGOs
reported that some of these companies discouraged employees from
forming unions, and most employees of multinational enterprises
operating under PSAs were not union members, although there were
exceptions. Workers employed by British Petroleum were unionized, but
the situation was worse in other multinational corporations, especially
companies run by Chinese subcontractors. The ATUC reported that during
the year there was some progress in starting new unions and that
multinational corporations in the country had begun to welcome these
initiatives.
The law prohibits trade unions from carrying out political
activities and from associating with political parties or receiving
finances from political parties.
Many of the state-owned enterprises that dominated the formal
economy withheld union dues from workers' pay but did not deliver the
dues to the unions. A quarter of the dues collected for the oil
workers' union were officially for ``administrative costs'' associated
with running the union. However, the complete lack of transparency made
it impossible to tell exactly how dues were spent. Unions and their
members had no recourse to investigate withheld funds.
Membership in the Union of Oil and Gas Industry Workers remained
mandatory for the State Oil Company's 65,000 workers, whose union dues
(2 percent of each worker's salary) were automatically deducted from
their paychecks.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining agreements to set wages and work
conditions in state enterprises. In reality unions could not
effectively negotiate such wage levels because government-appointed
boards ran major state-owned firms and set wages for all government
employees. Collective bargaining agreements were often treated as
formalities and not commonly used.
There were no reports of government antiunion discrimination. Labor
disputes were primarily handled by local courts, which, while not
exhibiting antiunion discrimination, were widely considered corrupt.
There were reports of antiunion discrimination by foreign companies
operating in Baku. A representative from the Oil Workers' Rights
Defense Council noted that in the Caspian Shipyard, owned by a company
from Singapore, workers who had fought to establish a union not only
failed but were subsequently fined 140 manat ($175) by the company for
their attempts. Labor NGOs reported that multinational energy companies
and their subcontractors often discouraged union membership by their
employees. For many multinational companies, the absence of union
membership rights in the PSAs facilitated this behavior.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, except in circumstances of war
or in the execution of a court's decision under the supervision of a
government agency. Some observers reported that there were infrequent
occurrences of forced or compulsory labor, including trafficking in
women, men, and children for sexual exploitation, forced labor, and
begging. Men and boys were trafficked to Russia for forced labor (see
section 6).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in the
workplace and from work that is dangerous to their health, and there
were few complaints of abuses of child labor laws. However, there were
reports that child labor was used in cotton production. Children were
also reportedly trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and
begging (see section 6).
The minimum age for employment depended on the type of work. In
most instances the law permits children to work from age 15; 14-year-
old children may work in family businesses or, with parental consent,
at after-school jobs during the day that pose no hazard to their
health. Children under 16 may not work more than 24 hours per week;
children between 16 and 18 may not work more than 36 hours per week.
The law prohibits employing children under 18 in difficult and
hazardous work conditions. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is
responsible for enforcing child labor laws. However, the unit
responsible is considered ineffective.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The administratively set minimum
monthly wage is 75 manat (approximately $91) per month. Local NGOs
reported that this wage was not enough to provide a decent standard of
living. The Ministry of Taxes, the Ministry of Labor, and the State
Social Protection Fund share responsibility for enforcing the minimum
wage. However, in practice the minimum wage was not effectively
enforced. Due to intervention by labor unions and inspectors,
approximately 950,000 manat ($1,100,000) were paid to workers who filed
reports about unpaid salaries from the middle of 2008 until the middle
of the year.
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek; the maximum daily work
shift is 12 hours. Workers in hazardous occupations may not work more
than 36 hours per week. The law requires lunch and rest periods, which
are determined by labor contracts and collective agreements. It was not
known whether local companies provided the legally required premium
compensation for overtime, although international companies generally
did. There was no prohibition on excessive compulsory overtime.
However, most individuals worked in the informal economy, where the
government did not enforce contracts or labor laws.
The law sets health and safety standards; however, government
inspections of working conditions were weak and ineffective, and
standards were widely ignored. The ATUC monitored compliance with labor
and trade regulations, including safety and health conditions. The ATUC
received 236,220 complaints in 2008. Conversely, the Ministry of Labor
reported receiving only one complaint.
Workers did not have the right to remove themselves from situations
that endangered their health or safety without jeopardizing their
employment. According to information provided by the office of the
International Labor Organization (ILO) in the country, 33 fatal
accidents and 122 injuries occurred in the first six months of the
year, with 18 deaths and 38 injuries in the construction sector alone.
According to the Oil Workers Rights Defense Council, an NGO dedicated
to protecting worker rights in the oil sector, seven oil sector workers
died in workplace accidents during the same period. The International
Trade Union Confederation reported that the government's bilateral
agreements with multinational corporations, the contents of which were
confidential, contributed to labor rights violations. In 2007 the Oil
and Gas Workers' Union of Azerbaijan reached a new contract with the
State Oil Company that included greater social protections and health
and safety commitments. Only 20 percent of the contract's points were
met at year's end, although the contract's clauses were stipulated to
be completed by 2010. Workplace accidents were also a problem in other
sectors of the economy.
The law provides equal rights to foreign and domestic workers.
However, on one hand local human rights groups including the Oil
Workers Rights Defense Council maintained that disparities existed,
particularly in foreign oil companies, where local workers were more
likely to receive lower pay and work without contracts or health care.
On the other hand the Oil Rights Defense Council reported resolving
labor issues with large international companies was far easier than
with local companies because the multinational companies had more
experience and more transparency in their labor relations. A
representative from the ILO noted that many persons working in
governmental regulatory bodies also had business interests, causing
conflicts of interest.
__________
BELARUS
Belarus is a republic with a population of 9.5 million. The country
has a directly elected president, who is chief of state, and a
bicameral parliament, the National Assembly, consisting of the Chamber
of Representatives (lower house) and the Council of the Republic (upper
house). A prime minister appointed by the president is the nominal head
of government. In practice, however, power is concentrated in the
presidency. Since his election in 1994 as president, Alyaksandr
Lukashenka has consolidated his power over all institutions and
undermined the rule of law through authoritarian means, manipulated
elections, and arbitrary decrees. Subsequent presidential elections
have not been free or fair, and the September 2008 parliamentary
election failed to meet international standards. While civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces, their members continued to commit numerous human rights abuses.
The government's human rights record remained very poor as
government authorities continued to commit frequent serious abuses. The
right of citizens to change their government was severely restricted.
The government failed to account for past politically motivated
disappearances. Prison conditions remained extremely poor, and reports
of abuse of prisoners and detainees continued. Arbitrary arrests,
detentions, and imprisonment of citizens for political reasons,
criticizing officials, or for participating in demonstrations also
continued. The judiciary lacked independence, trial outcomes usually
were predetermined, and many trials were conducted behind closed doors.
The government further restricted civil liberties, including freedoms
of press, speech, assembly, association, and religion and continued to
enforce politically motivated military conscriptions of opposition
youth leaders. The government seized published materials from civil
society activists and limited the distribution of a number of
independent media outlets. State security services used unreasonable
force to disperse peaceful protesters. Corruption continued to be a
problem. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and political parties
were subjected to harassment, fines, and prosecution. Religious leaders
were fined or deported for performing services, and churches continued
to face persecution from authorities. Trafficking in persons remained a
significant problem, although some progress was made to combat it.
There was discrimination against Roma, ethnic, and sexual minorities,
and against use of the Belarusian language. Authorities harassed
independent unions and dismissed their members, severely limiting the
ability of the workers to form and join independent trade unions and to
organize and bargain collectively.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports during the year that the government or its agents committed any
arbitrary or unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances during the year.
On at least three occasions during the year, activists reported
that plainclothes security forces personnel abducted members of civil
society and the political opposition from the street in Minsk, drove
them outside the city, and dumped them in forests miles away. In
December 2008 plainclothes security forces abducted Artur Finkevich,
leader of the Young Belarus opposition group from the street, beat him,
and left him in a forest near Rakau, approximately 25 miles west of
Minsk. On November 27, opposition activist Uladzimir Lemesh was pushed
into a vehicle, handcuffed, and dropped off in a forest 10 miles
outside of Minsk. On December 5, security forces abducted opposition
youth leader Zmitser Dashkevich near his home in Minsk, drove him to a
forest approximately 40 miles north of Minsk, and forced him out of the
car. The following day, security forces in Minsk abducted Yauhen
Afnahel, a coordinator for the civic movement European Belarus, and
dumped him outside the city.
In 2006 authorities suspended the investigation into the 2000
disappearance and presumed killing of journalist Zmitser Zavadski.
There was evidence of government involvement in these cases, but
authorities continued to deny any involvement in the disappearances.
The prosecutor general continued to extend its 10-year-long
investigation into the 1999 disappearance of former interior minister
and opposition leader Yury Zakharanka. There were no developments in
the continuing investigations in the 1999 disappearances of opposition
activist Viktar Hanchar and businessman Anatol Krasouski.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, the Belarusian
Committee for State Security (KGB), riot police, and other security
forces continued to routinely beat detainees and demonstrators. Police
beat individuals during arrests and in detention for organizing or
participating in demonstrations or other opposition activities.
On February 14, riot police forcefully broke up a peaceful march
involving approximately 100 youth members of the political opposition
in central Minsk and beat Malady Front leader Zmitser Dashkevich and
members Mikalai Dzemidzenka and Paval Kuryanovich. On February 16,
police violently dispersed a Solidarity Day gathering in Minsk and beat
a number of opposition activists who subsequently required medical
treatment for injuries including cuts and bruises. In a separate
incident the same day, riot police forcefully dispersed opposition
activists praying at the site of a former Bernardine monastery.
On July 16, police broke up several Solidarity Day rallies across
the country. In Minsk police detained and beat approximately 10
European Belarus civil campaign activists inside a police bus. Young
Belarus leader Artur Finkevich and youth activist Andrei Kim reported
that they were abused at a police station.
On September 9, members of the opposition held a protest in Minsk
against Russian-Belarusian military exercises then under way; police
used force to disrupt the protest. For example, European Belarus civil
campaign activist Zmitser Barodzka stated that law enforcement officers
had injured his nose. The following day police detained 17 opposition
activists for four hours at a police station, during which time the
officers allegedly harassed, humiliated, and physically assaulted them.
Police also denied the detainees access to medical assistance.
In September 2008 the International Federation of Human Rights
(FIDH), in cooperation with the domestic human rights NGO Vyasna,
released a joint report, Conditions of Detention in Belarus, based on
interviews with more than 30 persons. The report noted ``substantial
evidence'' of the use of torture and mistreatment of suspects during
criminal and administrative investigations.
Hazing of new army recruits with beatings and other forms of
physical and psychological abuse continued; however, the situation
improved somewhat with the government increasing prosecutions. For
example, on December 11, a Minsk military court convicted eight former
conscripts to penalties ranging from two years of house arrest up to
eight years in prison for abusing 10 fellow soldiers in a military unit
between August 2008 and April. One of the soldiers was beaten to death
on April 7.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions remained austere and posed threats to life and
health. There were shortages of food, medicine, warm clothing, and
bedding. Ventilation in cells and overall sanitation was poor. As a
result, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and other communicable diseases were
prevalent.
On September 9, the United Nations Development Program reported
that none of the country's prisons fully complied with the World Health
Organization's tuberculosis infection control guidelines and expressed
concern over sexual and other types of harassment and violence in
prisons.
The report by FIDH and Vyasna concluded that prison conditions in
the country were ``extremely unsatisfactory and amount to inhumane
treatment.'' Those interviewed in preparation of the report included
former prisoners and detainees, relatives of prisoners, defense
attorneys, NGO members, and a former judge. Despite numerous requests
to the Ministries of Interior and Justice, government officials refused
to meet with FIDH representatives or approve requests to visit
detention facilities.
According to a 2008 Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) report,
authorities continued to isolate prisoners--particularly inmates with
HIV/AIDS and foreign citizens--and restricted or impeded a variety of
rights, including the right to appeal their sentences, express their
political and civil beliefs, vote, and obtain information from their
families. Prison administrators arbitrarily persecuted inmates and
applied severe penalties for minor violations of the ``internal
regime.''
Former prisoners reported that medical check-ups were rare,
conducted by underqualified medical personnel, and that examination
results were often fabricated. Authorities failed to provide conditions
necessary for maintaining proper personal hygiene. Prisoners often
complained of malnutrition and low quality uniforms and bedding. Some
former political prisoners reported that they were subjected to
psychological abuse and often had to share a cell with violent
criminals. They also reported that authorities neither explained nor
protected their legal rights.
Overcrowding in prisons, detention centers, and work release
prisons (``khimiya'') was a serious problem. Persons sentenced to
khimiya, a form of internal exile, lived in prison barracks and were
forced to work under strict conditions.
The law permits family and friends to bring detainees food and
hygiene products and to mail parcels to prisoners, but in many cases
authorities did not respect the law.
According to the government, there were 37,578 persons in
confinement as of May, including approximately 1,200 juveniles. Of all
prisoners, 46 percent were serving sentences for economic crimes
including embezzlement, fraud, tax evasion, theft, money laundering,
and illegal business activities. Prisoners who complained about abuse
of their rights often faced humiliation, death threats, or other forms
of punishment. Some said they were blackmailed. Sources claimed that
applications for parole frequently depended on bribing prison
personnel. While standard bribes were generally between BYR 430,000 and
BYR 646,000 ($200 and $300), high-profile prisoners were often asked to
pay larger amounts.
During the year there were no reports of independent monitoring of
prison conditions by domestic or international human rights groups,
independent media, or the International Committee of the Red Cross.
However, on occasion authorities granted foreign diplomats access to
political prisoners and other jailed persons in the presence of prison
officials. For example, on May 29, the head of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) office in Minsk visited
Mikalai Autukhovich at pretrial detention facilities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law limits arbitrary
detention; however, the government did not respect these limits in
practice. Authorities continued to arrest individuals for political
reasons and to use administrative measures to detain political
activists before, during, and after protests.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Interior has authority over the police, but the KGB and presidential
security services also exercised police functions. The president has
the right to subordinate all security bodies to his personal command.
Petty corruption among police was widespread. In 2008 authorities
convicted 103 police officers of various crimes and held more than
5,000 administratively liable or subject to disciplinary action. From
January to May the number of corruption-related offenses increased by
15.5 percent, while bribery cases reportedly rose from 470 to 501.
Impunity remained a serious problem. While individuals have the right
to report police abuse to the prosecutor, the government often did not
investigate abuses by the security forces or hold perpetrators
accountable.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police
routinely detained and arrested individuals without a warrant. Under
the law police must request permission from a prosecutor to detain
persons for longer than three hours. In practice, however, these
procedures usually were a formality. Detained persons suspected of a
crime may be held for up to 10 days without formal charge and for up to
18 months after charges are filed. Under the law, prosecutors and
investigators have the authority to extend detention without consulting
a judge. Detainees have the right to petition the legality of their
detention; however, in practice appeals by suspects seeking court
review of their detentions were frequently suppressed or ignored.
Police often detained individuals for several hours, ostensibly to
confirm their identity. This tactic was frequently used to detain
members of the opposition and demonstrators, to prevent the
distribution of leaflets and newspapers, or as a pretext to break up
civil society meetings.
During the year authorities arbitrarily detained or arrested scores
of individuals, including opposition figures and members of the
independent media, for reasons that were widely considered to be
politically motivated.
On February 8, riot police in Vaukavysk arrested two former
political prisoners and entrepreneurs, Mikalai Autukhovich and Yury
Lyavonau, and their associate, Uladzimir Asipenka, in armed raids. On
February 18, authorities charged the three with deliberate destruction
of property, arson, and illegal arms possession. On June 23,
Autukhovich was additionally charged with terrorism. Investigators
extended their probe every three months to hold the activists in
custody pending trial, which remained unannounced at year's end.
Between April and July, police also detained four other persons for 10
days and questioned in relation to the Autukhovich case. In early
September police placed Mikhail Kazlou in a pretrial holding facility
over his purported failure to report on Autukhovich's plans for
terrorist attack. Police released Lyavonau without charge on August 8
and formally closed his case on September 24.
Antinuclear protesters were often banned from holding information
campaigns. On April 26, opposition youth Yauhen Skrabets was sentenced
to one day in jail for distributing materials on April 25. Police also
arrested Hanna Bunko and Yauhen Rudy for distributing materials but
subsequently released them without charge.
On May 5, authorities detained for five hours and subsequently
expelled three leaders of the Perspektiva small business association
from the city of Brest. The leaders were scheduled to lead a protest
against a beer sales ban at kiosks.
Opposition youth were often targeted for rallying and posting
political banners. On April 17, police in Brest held five European
Belarus campaigners in jail overnight and fined each of them BYR 70,000
($25) for organizing a Solidarity Day rally. On June 30, police
detained European Belarus campaigners Maksim Vinyarski and Uladzimir
Kumets overnight; both were subsequently fined BYR 350,000 ($125) on
July 1 and released. Their associate Maksim Sergiyets was fined BYR
875,000 ($305) on similar charges on June 24 and BYR 700,000 ($250) on
September 14 for participating in the September 9 protest. Vinyarski
was again held in custody overnight on September 21 and released on
September 22 with a BYR 1,050,000 ($375) fine.
Authorities continued to pursue cases against 14 opposition youth
leaders who were sentenced or fined for participating in a January 2008
entrepreneur demonstration in Minsk. In April 2008 a court sentenced
Artsyom Dubski, Alyaksei Bondar, Mikhail Kryvau, Mikhail Pashkevich,
Alyaksandr Straltsou, Alyaksandr Charnyshou, and Tatsyana Tsishkevich
to two years of ``restricted freedom,'' and Andrei Kim to 18 months in
prison. Anton Koipish and Uladzimir Siargeyeu each received fines of
BYR 3,500,000 ($1,600). In May 2008 activists Paval Vinahradau and
Mikhail Subach were also sentenced to two years of ``restricted
freedom'' on the same charges, and a minor named Maksim Dashuk,
received an 18-month sentence of partial house arrest. In October 2008
police arrested Alyaksandr Barazenka upon his return to Belarus and in
December a court sentenced him to one year of partial house arrest. On
February 13, police arrested Artsyom Dubski upon his arrival to Belarus
for violating his previous house arrest sentence. On April 15,
authorities released Dubski pending trial, and on July 7, a court
sentenced him to one year of imprisonment. On June 15, a Minsk court
tried a minor named Maksim Dashuk for breaching his original 18-month
partial house arrest; Dashuk's 18-month sentence was ultimately
extended by approximately one month. On June 15, the court also
adjusted the sentences of Alyaksandr Straltsou and Alyaksandr
Charnyshou, required them to pay 15 percent of their salaries to the
government, and banned them from traveling abroad. Tatsyana
Tsishkevich, Alyaksei Bondar, and Mikhail Kryvau remained abroad and
would face charges if they returned to the country. Authorities
amnestied Alyaksandr Straltsou, Alyaksandr Barazenka, Mikhail Subach,
Mikhail Pashkevich, and Paval Vinahradau during the year and released
Andrei Kim from prison in August 2008 following a presidential pardon.
In July 2008 authorities detained more than 15 opposition and human
rights activists in connection with a July 4 bombing in central Minsk
that injured 50 persons. They were released without charge after 10
days. Vyasna criticized the arrests and accused the KGB of using the
incident as a pretext to detain and question activists and intimidate
their family members. Interior Ministry officials would not confirm the
total number of persons detained or released. Investigations into the
bombing continued at year's end, and during the year police continued
to summon local residents for mandatory fingerprinting.
Amnesty.--On May 5, Lukashenka signed a new amnesty law. According
to the Interior Ministry, the amnesty was expected to apply to
approximately 30,000 convicts, of whom 4,500 could be released. As of
November 7, 2,216 convicts were released from prisons. More than 9,300
persons had their jail terms reduced by one year, and another 1,000 had
their convictions commuted.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the government did not respect judicial
independence in practice. Corruption, inefficiency, and political
interference were prevalent in the judiciary.
There was evidence that prosecutors and courts convicted
individuals on false and politically motivated charges and that
executive and local authorities dictated the outcomes of trials.
The criminal justice system has three tiers: district courts,
regional courts, and the Supreme Court. A Constitutional Court is
empowered to adjudicate constitutional issues and to examine the
legality of laws; however, in practice it was subservient to the
executive branch.
The president appoints six of the 12 members of the Constitutional
Court, including the chairman, as well as the chairmen of the Supreme
Court and the Supreme Economic Court. He also has the authority to
appoint and dismiss all district and military judges. Judges depended
on executive branch officials for personal housing.
Prosecutors are organized into offices at the district, regional,
and national levels. They answer to and serve at the pleasure of the
prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president. Prosecutors are
not independent and do not have authority to bring charges against the
president or members of his executive staff.
A 2006 report by the UN special rapporteur on Belarus described the
authority of prosecutors as ``excessive and imbalanced'' because they
can extend detention without the permission of judges. The report also
noted an imbalance of power between the prosecution and the defense.
Defense lawyers were unable to examine investigation files, be present
during investigations, or examine evidence against defendants until a
prosecutor formally brought the case to court. Lawyers found it
difficult to call some evidence into question because technical
expertise was under the control of the prosecutor's office. According
to many defense attorneys, these imbalances of power had intensified at
the beginning of the year, especially in relation to politically
motivated criminal and administrative cases. There were very few cases
in which criminal defendants were found innocent.
By presidential decree bar associations are independent; however,
they remained subordinate to the Ministry of Justice in practice.
Lawyers must be licensed by the ministry, are required to work in
regional bar associations, and must renew their licenses every five
years. The law prohibits attorneys from private practice, although
private legal companies are allowed to provide legal assistance and
advice to private companies and represent their clients in economic
courts. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports during the year
that authorities revoked lawyers' licenses for defending NGOs or
opposition political parties.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the presumption of
innocence; however, in practice defendants frequently had to prove
their innocence. The law also provides for public trials; however,
trials were occasionally closed and frequently held in judges' offices.
Judges adjudicate all trials; there is no system of trial by jury.
However, in the case of grave crimes, a judge adjudicates the trial
with the assistance of two civilian advisors.
Defendants have the right to attend proceedings, confront
witnesses, and present evidence on their own behalf; however, in
practice these rights were not always respected.
During the year numerous opposition politicians and NGO leaders
were tried and convicted without the right to be present at their
trials. On January 26, European Belarus activist Marta Maiseyenka was
fined in absentia BYR 175,000 ($65) for displaying an opposition flag.
On March 14, a court in Homyel notified Belarusian Christian Democrats
Yauhen Yakavenka and Zmitser Kudasau that they had been fined BYR
700,000 ($250) and BYR 1,050,000 ($370), respectively, in absentia for
participating in an unsanctioned demonstration on February 21.
On March 17, a court tried and convicted three members of the
Hrodna-based Union of Poles, Andrzej Paczobut, Ihar Bantsar, and
Mechyslau Yaskevich, for holding an unauthorized demonstration on
January 17. Bantsar and Yaskevich were tried and convicted in absentia,
while Paczobut was present for the proceedings. Each was sentenced to
fines of BYR 525,000 ($185). A court rejected their appeal on March 27.
The law provides for access to legal counsel for detainees and
requires that courts appoint lawyers for those who cannot afford one;
however, at times these rights were not respected, and some detainees
were denied access to a lawyer as well as to a Belarusian interpreter
in case they requested hearings in the Belarusian language. Most judges
and prosecutors were not fluent in Belarusian. The law provides for the
right to choose legal representation freely; however, a presidential
decree prohibits members of NGOs from representing individuals other
than members of their organizations in court.
Courts often allowed information obtained from forced
interrogations to be used against defendants.
Defendants have the right to appeal court decisions, and most
defendants appealed their criminal convictions. In an appeal,
defendants and witnesses seldom appeared before the court and the court
usually reviewed the protocol and other documents from a lower court
trial. In the vast majority of cases, upper courts upheld the verdicts
found in the lower court.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--On February 13, police arrested
Artsyom Dubski upon his arrival in the country for violating his
previous house arrest sentence. Dubski was initially charged for
participating in a peaceful demonstration of entrepreneurs in Minsk in
January 2008. On April 15, authorities released Dubski pending trial,
and on July 7 a court sentenced him to one year's imprisonment. On
November 27, authorities rejected Dubski's request for parole, and he
remained in prison at year's end.
On February 8, riot police in Vaukavysk arrested two former
political prisoners and entrepreneurs, Mikalai Autukhovich and Yury
Lyavonau, and their associate, Uladzimir Asipenka, in armed raids. On
February 18, the three were charged with alleged deliberate destruction
of property, arson, and illegal arms possession. On June 23,
Autukhovich was additionally charged with terrorism. Investigators
extended their probe every three months to hold the activists in
custody pending trial. Authorities released former political prisoner
Lyavonau on August 8 and dropped all the criminal charges against him
on September 24. At year's end Autukhovich and Asipenka remained in
pretrial holding facilities.
Authorities continued to harass former political prisoners and
detainees with short-term detentions and jail sentences. For example,
on March 20, police arrested Artur Finkevich for alleged use of
obscenities. He remained in custody until court hearings on March 23
and was fined BYR 525,000 ($180). Finkevich had previously served more
than two years in prison for writing political graffiti.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides that
individuals can file lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a
human rights violation; however, the civil judiciary was not
independent and was rarely impartial in such matters.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the
government did not respect these prohibitions in practice. Under the
law, persons who obstruct members of law enforcement in the performance
of their duties, including actions that in principle may be illegal,
could be penalized or charged with an administrative offense. Such
obstruction includes any effort to prevent KGB officers from entering
the premises of a company, establishment, or organization, and refusing
to allow KGB audits or to deny or restrict KGB access to information
systems and databases.
The law requires a warrant for searches; however, the KGB and riot
police entered homes, conducted unauthorized searches, and read mail
without warrants. The KGB has authority to enter any building at any
time, as long as it applies for a warrant within 24 hours after the
entry. There were credible reports that government agents covertly
entered homes of opposition activists and offices of opposition groups
and monitored the actions of individuals.
There were numerous instances in which authorities searched
residences and offices for clearly political reasons. For example, on
February 5, police raided the residence of European Belarus activist
Paval Yukhnevich and seized computer equipment, a video camera, and
printed materials on the pretext of investigating a robbery. Yukhnevich
and his associates Yauheni Afnahel, Uladzimir Ihnatovich, Marta
Krylova, and Alyaksandra Lyndava were arrested and questioned about
their activities for two hours.
On the eve of an opposition youth rally on February 14, police
raided the apartment of Malady Front member Kasya Halitskaya without a
warrant and confiscated European Union flags, signs, and political
flyers. On February 14, police also searched the residence of Malady
Front member Mikalai Dzemidzenka in Minsk and seized his personal
computer.
On August 5, police searched the apartment of Belarusian Christian
Democracy member Yury Zhylko in Zhodzina. The officers failed to find
drugs that they were purportedly looking for and confiscated Christian,
human rights, and other literature.
On September 6, the KGB and police confiscated a draft of
Belarusian Christian Democracy cochair Paval Seviarynets' book A Heart
of Light from his colleague's apartment.
The law prohibits authorities from intercepting telephone and other
communications without a court order. In practice authorities monitored
residences, telephones, and computers. Nearly all opposition political
figures reported that authorities monitored their conversations and
activities.
The law allows the KGB, the Internal Affairs Ministry, and certain
border guard detachments to use wiretaps, but they must first obtain a
prosecutor's permission. However, the lack of prosecutorial
independence rendered these due process protections meaningless.
Ministry of Communications contracts for telephone service
prohibited subscribers from using such services for purposes contrary
to state interests and public order. The ministry has the authority to
terminate telephone service of those who breach the law.
There were multiple cases of youth members of political opposition
groups forcibly conscripted into the military. There were also reports
of discrimination and harassment against them while undertaking
military service.
In January authorities forcibly conscripted Franak Vyachorka,
former leader of the Belarusian Popular Front's youth wing. Police
arrested Vyachorka on a Minsk street and forcibly delivered him to the
8th Radar Brigade in Baranavichy. He took a military oath there on
February 7 and was later transferred to a radar unit in Mazyr. In mid-
December Vyachorka was sent back from a hospital to the military unit
despite medical grounds for an early discharge from the army.
Vyachorka's medical record was revised to omit his previous diagnosis.
In early December, Malady Front activist Ivan Shyla was granted an
early discharge from the army for health reasons. In June 2008 the then
17-year-old Shyla was expelled from a secondary school in Salihorsk one
day before his final graduation examination. The official grounds for
Shyla's expulsion were that he had frequently violated the school's
regulations by participating in unsanctioned demonstrations and other
opposition activities.
There were numerous reports that the government coerced young
persons, university students, and military conscripts to join the pro-
Lukashenka state-funded NGO Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRYU).
In addition, the government employed and encouraged a widespread system
of BRYU informants organized into civilian patrol squads, whose
supposed purpose was to encourage students to become law-abiding
citizens. During the year such squads continued to actively recruit
youths and students for various projects around the country.
High school students feared that they would not be allowed to
enroll in universities without BRYU membership, and university students
reported that proof of BRYU membership was often required to register
for popular courses or to receive a dormitory room. Universities also
offered patrol members discounts on tuition. In January 2008 Minister
of Education Alyaksandr Radzkou stated that membership in the BRYU
would be considered in new mandatory recommendations for students who
wished to train for professions in foreign affairs, state
administration, and journalism.
During the year authorities continued to harass family members of
NGO leaders and civil society activists. For example, Zmitser
Dashkevich's parents were harassed on a number of occasions, including
through a defamatory television program about their son's abduction.
Authorities harassed and threatened members of the Belarusian Christian
Democratic party and their families, and threatened them with expulsion
and job dismissal in an effort to force them to recant their
membership. For example, authorities warned Alena Chuzhak that her
family could be evicted from their home because of her political
activities.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the government did not
respect these rights in practice and enforced numerous laws to control
and censor the media.
Individuals could not criticize the government publicly without
fear of reprisal. Authorities videotaped political meetings, conducted
frequent identity checks, and used other forms of intimidation. Wearing
masks, displaying unregistered flags, symbols, and placards bearing
messages deemed threatening to the government or public order are also
prohibited.
The law also limits free speech by criminalizing actions such as
giving information to a foreigner about the political, economic,
social, military, or international situation of the country that
authorities deem to be false or derogatory.
On February 8, a new media law entered into force that allows
authorities to further restrict press freedoms. The law subjects online
news sources to the same regulations as print and broadcast media,
requires reregistration of existing media before February 8, 2010,
mandates accreditation of journalists, and limits support from foreign
organizations to 30 percent. The new law was widely criticized by
domestic and international NGOs and press advocates such as the
Committee to Protect Journalists, Index on Censorship, Article IX,
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, the Belarusian
Association of Journalists (BAJ), and Civic Belarus.
There were independent newspapers and magazines and Internet news
Web sites. However, they operated under repressive media laws and most
faced discriminatory publishing and distribution policies.
State-owned media dominated the information field and maintained
the highest circulation and viewership. The state-owned postal system,
Belposhta, and the state-owned kiosk system, Belsayuzdruk, continued to
refuse to deliver and sell 11 independent newspapers. In 2007 Belposhta
removed three popular Russian newspapers (Kommersant, Moskovskiy
Komsomolets, and Nezavisimaya Gazeta) from its subscription list.
However, other Russian newspapers, including Izvestiya, were
distributed. Media analysts asserted that the newspapers were removed
because of reporting critical of Lukashenka's policies.
Since November 2008 authorities allowed independent newspapers
Narodnaya Volya and Nasha Niva and one regional newspaper to be
distributed through state distribution systems after two- to three-year
government bans. Narodnaya Volya also reached agreement with
authorities for the newspaper to be printed at a state-owned press in
Minsk. The newspaper previously was printed in Smolensk, Russia, due to
government harassment. However, while both papers were publicly
available, they were still subject to restrictions. In September the
state-owned Belsayuzdruk printing company denied a request from the
Narodnaya Volya to increase its circulation from twice a week to three
times a week, claiming that it was ``not possible to distribute
additional copies due to the massive output of other periodicals'' on
that specific day of the week.
On October 12, the Information Ministry denied registration to the
regional independent newspaper Mahileuski Chas on the grounds that its
chief editor ``had no higher education diploma.'' The paper's
registration was denied on three separate occasions during the year.
On November 2, the Information Ministry refused to register the
regional publication Mar'ynahorskaya Gazeta over its failure to secure
a legal address, after local authorities pressured its landlord to
terminate the newspaper's lease.
On November 10, the ministry denied registration to the regional
independent newspaper Prefekt Plus, noting that the paper was located
in residential premises, which violated the media law.
During the year the ministry twice rejected a registration
application from regional newspaper Salihorsk-plus, claiming that the
application did not comply with the media law regulations.
Local authorities frequently warned independent editors and
journalists to avoid reporting on certain topics and not to criticize
the government. Authorities also warned businesses not to advertise in
newspapers that criticized the government.
On October 1, private radio station Avtoradio discontinued
broadcasting an international, political, cultural news and music show,
produced jointly with the European Radio for Belarus, after an
Information Ministry warning that the station would be shut down.
On November 18, the Information Ministry released a statement that
it had issued warnings to four national independent newspapers,
including the Nasha Niva and the Narodnaya Volya, and noted that these
newspapers could be closed for disseminating illegal information and
other violations of the media law. Authorities sent a second warning to
Narodnaya Volya on December 24 for allegedly publishing false
information about media subscription rates in Minsk.
Journalists reporting for international media focused on the
country, such as the Warsaw-based independent satellite channel Belsat
and Polish radio station Radio Racyja, continued to receive warnings
from the prosecutor's office for working without accreditation. After
enactment of the new media law, authorities sent warnings to at least
20 independent journalists.
International media continued to operate in the country but not
without interference and harassment. Euronews and Russian channels
First Channel, NTV, and RTR were generally available, although only
through paid cable services in many parts of the country. Their news
programs were at times blocked or replaced with local programming.
Broadcasts from other countries, including Poland and Lithuania, could
be received in parts of the country, usually along the border.
On April 1, the government suspended broadcasting of five popular
Russian channels, including TV Center International and Ren TV. These
channels frequently broadcast critical and satirical pieces on
Lukashenka. A representative of the Information Ministry claimed that
there were no political grounds behind the ban and asserted that cable
providers had made a decision to remove the broadcasts based on
economic calculations. The Russian channels also ostensibly failed to
obtain permits under the media law for broadcasts in Belarus.
On December 8, the Foreign Affairs Ministry rejected a third
registration application from Belsat. On November 30, the ministry
issued accreditation to 12 journalists and technical personnel of the
European Radio for Belarus after the Council of Ministers registered
the station's local bureau for a period of one year on November 11.
The government continued to harass, assault, and arrest
journalists.
A court in Homyel fined independent journalists Zmitser Karmazin
and Aleh Razhkou BYR 700,000 ($250) each for participating in the
International Mother Language Day rally on February 21. On July 8 in
Homyel, police detained Razhkou for three hours and questioned about
him over his coverage of an entrepreneur rally that day. Police
searched his belongings and copied the photographs taken at the event.
On April 16, law enforcement officers detained and beat independent
correspondent Uladzimir Grydzin while he was photographing a police
precinct on fire in Minsk. On April 21, independent journalist Ales
Lyubianchuk was fined BYR 770,000 ($275) for allegedly resisting police
during his detention on April 16.
On August 14, authorities deported two Russian journalists from the
television station NTV for filming a documentary about the 1999-2000
high-profile disappearances. KGB officers questioned the journalists
and seized their electronic equipment and printed materials.
Security officers continuously hampered independent journalists
from covering Solidarity Day and other protests in Minsk. On July 16,
police detained photojournalist Vadzim Zamirouski for three hours. On
September 9 and 16, officers surrounded each journalist present and
violently blocked them from filming the police crackdown on the
demonstrations. Journalists who were covering the event reported that
police damaged a camera of a Polish TVP correspondent. Police also
detained independent journalists for long periods allegedly to check
their identification. At an October 16 demonstration, riot police
seized cameras and damaged journalists' equipment. The BAJ condemned
interference with the independent journalists' operations and called
for fair and open investigations into the incidents.
On October 22, Deputy Interior Minister Yauheni Poludzen stated
that the government would take measures to ensure that police did not
obstruct journalists. According to Poludzen, ministry press officers
would attend future mass public events, and media representatives would
have to refer to them for any questions about the event. On November
27, Interior Minister Anatol Kulyashou echoed his deputy's remarks,
noting that the ministry would like to pursue ``businesslike and open
relations'' with media.
The government censored the media. Many publications were forced to
exercise self-censorship. Authorities warned, fined, or jailed members
of the media who publicly criticized the government.
The government tightly controlled the content of domestic broadcast
media. In April 2007 the president stated that control of radio and
television stations remained a high priority for the government and
that private stations would not be allowed to operate in the country.
He also stated that state publishing houses would never sign contracts
with independent media publications that violated media laws. On April
9, the president reiterated his earlier remarks and dismissed concerns
about ``the closure of the Russian channels.''
Only the state-run radio and the state-run television networks ONT,
the First National Channel, STV, and LAD were allowed to broadcast
nationwide. The government continued to use its virtual monopoly on
television and radio broadcasting to disseminate its version of events
and minimize all opposing viewpoints. State television coordinated its
propaganda documentaries with the country's security services.
Local independent television stations operated in some areas and
reported local news; however, most were under government pressure to
forego reporting on national issues or risk being censored. Such
stations were frequently pressured into sharing materials and
cooperating with authorities to intimidate local opposition and human
rights groups that met with foreign diplomats.
Many independent outlets practiced self-censorship. On February 16,
a local television channel in Brest denied a request from opposition
and trade union members to show their program about economic and social
difficulties in Belarus.
Under the law, the government may close a publication after two
warnings in one year for violating a range of restrictions on speech
and the press. In addition, regulations give authorities arbitrary
power to prohibit or censor reporting. The Information Ministry can
suspend periodicals or newspapers for three months without a court
ruling. The law also prohibits the media from disseminating information
on behalf of unregistered political parties, trade unions, and NGOs.
Under the law, libel is a criminal offense. Slandering and
insulting the president and public officials carry large fines and
prison sentences of up to four years. The libel law makes no
distinction between private and public persons concerning defamation of
character. A public figure who was criticized for poor performance
while in office may sue both the journalist and the media outlet that
disseminated the critical report.
The government took numerous other actions during the year to limit
the independent press, including limiting access to newsprint and
printing presses. Several independent newspapers, including Vitsyebski
Kuryer and Tavarysch, printed materials in Russia because domestic
printing presses (mostly state-owned) refused to print them. Other
independent newspapers, such as Salidarnasc and BDG, disseminated
Internet-only versions due to printing and distribution restrictions.
On February 25, a court in Brest declared in a closed-door hearing
that the popular independent history magazine ARCHE published
``extremist'' materials. KGB officers confiscated copies of the
magazine from an independent journalist in October 2008 and claimed
that the publication, and particularly articles critical of the 2008
parliamentary elections, ``discredited state activities, incited social
and political tension,'' and ``posed a threat to Belarus' security.''
Following numerous appeals, the KGB dropped the charges on June 23.
After authorities ordered the Hrodna-based independent newspaper
Gazeta Slonimskaya to vacate its rented premises by June 2008, its
editor, Viktar Uladashchuk, stated that he could not lease a new office
because rental agencies feared government reprisals. At year's end its
journalists continued to work from their homes.
During the year there were numerous examples of the government
confiscating independent and opposition newspapers and seizing leaflets
and other materials deemed to have been printed illegally.
On June 23, traffic police in Schuchyn detained Union of Poles
Deputy Chairperson Mechyslau Yaskevich, along with organization members
and journalists Andrzej Paczobut, Ihar Bantsar, and Andrzej Pisalnik.
Police seized 100 copies of the unregistered newspaper Glos znad Niemna
na uchodzstwie and the Union of Poles' magazine Magazyn Polski na
uchodzstwie from them ``for further examination'' by the local ideology
department. Issues of the magazine featured a satirical portrait of
Lukashenka on the front page.
On July 17, police officers banned eight opposition activists from
distributing the independent weekly Novy Chas at the heavy machinery
factory BelAZ in Zhodzina and confiscated 500 copies of the newspaper.
Police also detained two of the activists, Raman Bahdanau and
Alyaksandr Serhiyenka, for several hours.
On November 11 and 13, police detained and questioned for more than
three hours democratic activist Barys Khamayda in Vitsyebsk in an
apparent bid to prevent him from distributing independent publications.
Officers examined his printed materials and released him without
charge.
Internet Freedom.--The government partially restricted access to
the Internet, and monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms. Many
individuals and groups were generally able to engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
The authorities freely monitored Internet traffic. Internet cafe
owners were required to maintain records of their customers and submit
them to government security services. By law Beltelekam and other
organizations authorized by the government had the exclusive right to
maintain Internet domains.
In December the Council of Ministers drafted a bill that would
provide for registration of all Internet media outlets and
identification of all Internet users and would allow authorities to
block access to ``extremist'' and other objectionable Web sites. The
bill, which was not subject to public discussion, would also make
Internet service providers accountable for information released by
customers. On December 30, Lukashenka stated that the government should
``establish order'' on the Internet to ``rigidly regulate and hold
responsible'' Internet users.
On March 27, the head of the Belarusian Orthodox Church,
Metropolitan Filaret, called upon the government to effectively
regulate the Internet and control access to its ``dangerous
resources.'' In addition, he stated that the government could apply
``practices used in other countries, in particular, China.''
Approximately 30 percent of the population had access to the
Internet, and Internet use was highest in urban areas. Access was
restricted by relatively high costs and lack of high-speed services. On
occasion state providers blocked independent and opposition Web sites
during major political events.
On June 8, authorities blocked the Web site of human rights group
Charter97 after it posted a satirical show about Lukashenka and other
materials criticizing the government.
On February 8, a new media law entered into force. Under the law,
the government may legally block any unregistered Web sites, regardless
of their origin.
In response to the government's interference and Internet
restrictions, many opposition groups and independent newspapers
switched to Internet domains operated outside the country. The few
remaining independent media sites with domestic ``.by'' domains
practiced heavy self-censorship.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted
academic freedom and cultural events. Educational institutions were
required to teach an official state ideology that combined reverence
for the achievements of the former Soviet Union and the country under
the leadership of Lukashenka. Use of the word ``academic'' was
restricted; NGOs were prohibited from including the word ``academy'' in
their titles.
On October 22, Deputy Education Minister Tatsiana Kavalyova stated
that ideology remained ``the backbone'' of education in the country and
gave ``special flavor to the educational environment.'' She also noted
that every educational institution maintained an ideology department.
During the year authorities dismissed teachers on political
grounds. For example, the Brest state university pressured Aleh
Halenka, a senior professor with 30 years of experience and a member of
the Free Trade Union, to voluntarily resign on August 31. University
authorities subsequently pressured 10 other professors to disavow their
membership in the union.
On March 25, the private School of Languages dismissed an English
teacher, Marjana Gruzdzilovich. She had reportedly told a student who
had made disparaging remarks about opposition demonstrations and
activists that she participated in a number of protests as well.
Following a significant outcry in the independent media, Gruzdzilovich
was reinstated on March 31.
Government-mandated textbooks contained a heavily propagandized
version of history and other subjects. All schools, including private
institutions, are considered political bodies that must follow state
orders and cannot be headed by opposition members. The education
minister has the right to appoint and dismiss the heads of private
educational institutions.
The government tasked BRYU, the pro-Lukashenka, state-funded youth
organization, with ensuring ideological purity among students.
University students reportedly were pressured to join the BRYU to
receive benefits and rooms in dormitories. Local authorities also
pressured BRYU members to campaign on behalf of government candidates.
In addition, authorities at times pressured students to act as
informants for the country's security services.
According to an education ministry directive, educational
institutions may expel students who engage in antigovernment or
unsanctioned political activity and are to maintain the proper
ideological education of students. During the year at least three
students were expelled for politically motivated reasons, compared with
at least 10 students in 2008, 20 students in 2007, and more than 100 in
2006. Some school officials continued to cite poor academic performance
or absence from classes as reasons for the expulsions.
In May Malady Front activist and first-year finance student Pyotr
Ruzau was expelled from his university in Baranavichy after being
convicted of painting political graffiti. On June 1, following
extensive media coverage, the university reinstated Ruzau.
On July 13, the Belarus State University expelled Belarusian
Popular Front youth group member Paval Chuduk, a second-year
theological student. Chuduk had been accused of participating in
political activities after his trip to Sweden to observe the European
Parliament elections.
Following her return from Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
in Brussels on November 16-17, the Belarusian State University expelled
Malady Front activist Tatsyana Shaputska. Although the foreign minister
claimed that she was expelled for poor attendance, Shaputska was
reportedly told that the reason for her expulsion was that she failed
to gain permission for the trip from the law faculty dean.
The government continued to ban teachers and democratic activists
from promoting the wider use of the Belarusian language. On September
1, a school in Minsk fired Belarusian-speaking astronomy and physics
teacher Tatsiana Ulanava, a member of the Belarusian Conservative
Christian Party.
The government also harassed activists attempting to promote
Belarusian language and culture. In Homyel on February 23, a court
sentenced Kastus Zhukouski to seven days in jail and three other
activists to fines of up to BYR 1,750,000 ($625) for participating in
an unauthorized International Mother Language Day on February 21. On
March 4, civil society activist Andrus Papou was fined BYR 525,000
($185) on the same charges. On September 15, the Right Alliance youth
group was denied permission to hold a protest in a remote park in Minsk
to promote education in the Belarusian language. On October 14, police
in Baranavichy arrested two youth activists for collecting signatures
in support of the Belarusian language and held them overnight in jail.
They were released the following day with fines of BYR 350,000 each
($125). On October 20, police detained Malady Front members Zmitser
Dashkevich, Nasta Palazhanka, and Mikita Krasnou in Minsk for the
purpose of an identification check. In Karelichi on October 23, police
briefly detained Malady Front activist Andrus Liaukovich and questioned
him about the organization's Belarusian language campaign.
The government also restricted cultural events. During the year the
government continued to force opposition theater groups into venues
such as bars and private apartments and to suppress unofficial
commemorations of historical events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of peaceful assembly;
however, the government severely restricted this right in practice.
Only registered political parties, trade unions, or NGOs may request
permission to hold a demonstration of more than 1,000 persons, and
denials were common. Security forces frequently forcibly dispersed
participants, often causing injuries (see section 1.c.)
The law criminalizes participation in the activities of
unregistered NGOs, training of persons to demonstrate, financing of
public demonstrations, or solicitation of foreign assistance ``to the
detriment'' of the country. Violations are punishable by up to three
years in prison.
Organizers must apply at least 15 days in advance for permission to
conduct a public demonstration, rally, or meeting. Government officials
are required to respond no later than five days prior to the scheduled
event. However, authorities generally refused permits to opposition
groups or granted permits for demonstrations away from city centers.
On January 14, authorities denied antinuclear campaigners
permission to hold a series of protests in the cities of Smarhon,
Maladziechna, and Vileyka. Additionally, on April 19, Astravets town
authorities did not permit the campaigners to arrange a public meeting
on April 24 to discuss the government's plans to construct a nuclear
power plant in the region.
Democratic activists asked to hold the annual March 25 Freedom Day
demonstration and April 26 Chernobyl commemoration demonstrations in
central Minsk. Authorities denied the activists permission to hold the
demonstration in downtown Minsk and instead gave permission to
demonstrate in a secluded park on the outskirts of the city.
Officials in Brest denied opposition political groups authorization
to organize May 1 Labor Day marches. Authorities in Minsk refused
requests from the European Belarus group to hold May 1 posters and
collect signatures in support of Belarus' integration into the European
Union.
On September 3, authorities denied opposition political groups
permission to organize a monthly Solidarity Day picket line to mark the
10th anniversary of the high-profile disappearances. They had intended
to assemble at the alleged site of the disappearances on September 16.
Authorities used intimidation and threats to discourage persons
from participating in demonstrations, openly videotaped participants,
and issued heavy fines or jail sentences on participants of
unsanctioned demonstrations. Police and other security officials beat
and detained demonstrators before, during, and after unsanctioned
peaceful demonstrations.
On March 25, approximately 1,000 democratic activists peacefully
demonstrated to mark the 91st anniversary of the country's declaration
of independence. The Interior Ministry accused the demonstrators of
violating traffic and ``provoking'' clashes with police officers in
central Minsk. Police in full riot gear blocked a group of opposition
youth from marching toward downtown Minsk.
In May riot police forcefully dispersed a series of daily
demonstrations in downtown Minsk. More than 50 opposition youth
protested the politically motivated arrests of Vaukavysk activists, and
a number of the activists were assaulted on May 1. On May 7, during a
protest to mark the 10th anniversary of Zakharanka's disappearance,
police detained, questioned, and fingerprinted approximately 30
activists; some detainees reported that police beat them in police
vehicles and at the police station. At a May 14 Malady Front
``sovereignty rally,'' police forcefully dispersed peaceful protesters
from the central square.
On May 16, Hrodna-based United Civic Party leader Yury Istomin
reported that he was assaulted after a rally in Vaukavysk. Police
identified but neither detained nor interrogated the alleged
perpetrators.
On September 16, riot police dispersed an opposition Solidarity Day
rally in downtown Minsk marking the 10th anniversary of high-profile
disappearances. Police officers shoved approximately 35 activists into
police buses. They also impeded journalists taking pictures of the
dispersal. All detainees were subsequently released without charges;
however, many reported being assaulted, harassed, threatened with
physical abuse, and forced to give fingerprints.
On October 16, police again forcefully dispersed approximately 30
opposition activists at a Solidarity Day demonstration. United Civic
Party Chair Anatol Lyabedzka reported that police beat him while he was
being transported to the police precinct. Security forces blocked
independent journalists and cameramen from covering the demonstration.
Police also used preemptive arrests and detentions to prevent
protests. For example, a few hours before a planned prodemocracy
demonstration on March 25, security forces abducted Malady Front
members Nasta Palazhanka and Dzyanis Karnou and drove them
approximately five miles outside of Minsk, where they were released.
During the drive, police beat Karnou in the face and back.
In some instances the government encouraged and coordinated with
progovernment groups to disrupt opposition demonstrations.
On February 3, three opposition youth in Homyel, including
Belarusian Christian Democrat Kastus Zhukouski, were fined a total of
BYR 9,100,000 ($3,250) for staging an unsanctioned protest against
politically motivated dismissals that same day. Police detained the
activists, searched them, and reportedly harassed them at a precinct.
On February 13, Malady Front members Zmitser Dashkevich and Mikalai
Dzemidzenka were fined BYR 1,400,000 ($500) and BYR 1,225,000 ($435),
respectively, for holding a political picket the previous day.
Dzemidzenka and two associates were fined BYR 1,575,000 ($550) again on
March 3 for rallying the previous day.
On March 27, a Vitsyebsk court convicted three Conservative
Christian Party members of violating rules on mass demonstrations
during a March 25 rally and fined them approximately BYR 700,000
($250).
On April 23, a judge sentenced Malady Front member Mikhas Iljin to
10 days in jail for an anticommunist protest in the vicinity of the
Lenin monument in Brest on April 22.
Police arrested Homyel For Freedom movement coordinator Uladzimir
Katsora on June 25 and held him in custody for three days. Four other
opposition activists were also convicted and fined for holding a
Solidarity Day protest on May 7.
On dozens of occasions during the year, authorities fined
opposition activists and members of NGOs for participating in
unauthorized protests. For example, on June 22, two opposition youth in
Vitsyebsk were fined BYR 700,000 ($250) for allegedly ignoring police
orders to disperse during the April 26 Chernobyl March demonstration.
On October 13, a court convicted seven Homyel opposition activists
for planning to stage a Solidarity Day demonstration on September 16
and fined them approximately BYR 7,700,000 ($2,740). The court also
fined other activists on October 15 and October 19 for the same
charges.
On December 3, a court in Minsk sentenced Young Belarus activists
Paval Prakapovich and Yahor Babrou to 15 days in jail and Andrei
Kuzminsky to seven days in jail. Their associate Nasta Mashchava was
fined BYR 1,050,000 ($360) on December 4. Police detained the four on
December 2 for holding an unsanctioned picket against the regime's
policies. Mashchava was charged with illegally taking pictures of the
picket without press accreditation.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association; however, the government severely restricted it in
practice.
The government enforced laws and registration regulations to
restrict the operation of independent associations that might be
critical of the government. All NGOs, political parties, and trade
unions must register with the Ministry of Justice. A government
commission reviews and approves all registration applications; in
practice its decisions have been based largely on political and
ideological compatibility with the government's authoritarian
philosophy.
Registration procedures required applicants to provide the number
and names of founders, along with a legal address in a nonresidential
building. Individuals listed as members are vulnerable to retribution.
The government's refusal to rent office space to unregistered
organizations and the expense of renting private space forced most
organizations to violate the nonresidential address requirement. This
allowed authorities to deregister existing organizations and deny their
reregistration.
During the year the government denied registration to numerous NGOs
and political parties on a variety of pretexts, including by citing
``technical'' problems with applications. Authorities frequently
harassed and intimidated organization founders to abandon their
membership in groups seeking registration to deny the group the number
of petitioners necessary for registration. During the year the
government denied registration to more than a dozen NGOs and three
political parties. Many of these groups had previously sought and been
denied registration on multiple occasions. The government continued
deregistering groups during the year, including a few regional NGOs.
On March 11, the Supreme Court turned down the second appeal to
challenge the Justice Ministry's refusal to register an association
called Haryzantal. The ministry claimed that it had conducted a
forensic examination, which determined that one of the founding
member's signatures was invalid, and thus the organization lacked the
10 signatures required for registration.
On May 29, the Supreme Court upheld the ministry's March denial of
registration of the Hrodna-based regional chapter of the Belarusian
Popular Front and the Adradzhenne NGO. The ministry claimed that
registration applications contained numerous ``technical'' mistakes and
that the groups failed to secure ``a legal address.''
On July 22, the Supreme Court upheld the Ministry of Justice's
April denial of registration of the Belarusian Christian Democracy
party, citing technical flaws in the party's registration documents.
The government had refused two previous registration attempts in 2007
and 2008. The party again attempted to register in early December, and
the Justice Ministry once again denied registration on the grounds that
the party had allegedly provided false information about its founders.
On August 12, the Supreme Court rejected a registration denial
appeal by prominent human rights NGO Vyasna. This was the third denial
since the government stripped Vyasna's registration in 2003. The
Justice Ministry stated that the NGO failed to document the precise
meaning behind its name and asserted that many of its founders had
administrative or criminal records that made them inappropriate
advocates for human rights work.
On October 20, the ministry declined a registration request from
the Belarusian Party of Working People, claiming the party did not meet
the minimum required number of founders. The list of founders also
allegedly contained fraudulent information.
On December 29, the Brest Regional Court turned down an appeal
filed by the Brestskaya Vyasna human rights NGO to challenge its fifth
registration denial of the year.
During the year the Ministry of Justice again reported that it
continued to issue written warnings to NGOs, political parties, and
trade unions. Harassment in the form of inspections by security
officials and confiscation of political literature, usually without
warrants continued.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion;
however, the government restricted this right in practice. While the
constitution affirms the equality of religions and denominations, it
also contains restrictive language, stipulating that cooperation
between the state and religious organizations ``is regulated with
regard for their influence on the formation of spiritual, cultural, and
country traditions of the Belarusian people.'' In 2008 Lukashenka
described the Belarusian Orthodox Church as the ``main ideologist of
our country,'' asserting that ``we have never separated ourselves from
the church.''
The government continued to use restrictive provisions of the
religion law to hinder or prevent activities of groups other than the
Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC). In particular, the law restricts the
ability of religious organizations to provide religious education,
requires governmental approval to import and distribute literature, and
prohibits foreigners from leading religious organizations. A concordat
and other arrangements with the government provide the BOC with
privileges not enjoyed by other religious groups. The BOC is a branch
of the Russian Orthodox Church and the only officially recognized
Orthodox denomination in the country.
All religious matters are regulated by the Office of the
Plenipotentiary Representative for Religious and Nationalities Affairs
of the Council of Ministers (OPRRNA). Under the law, religious
organizations must register either with OPRRNA or with local and
regional governments. Only groups with 20 or more members may be
registered as religious communities.
During the year OPRRNA refused to register some nontraditional
religious groups, making their meetings illegal. At year's end OPRRNA
reported that 25 religious denominations with 3,106 religious
communities and 158 religious organizations were officially registered.
The Office of Religious Affairs continued to deny registration to
what it considered nontraditional faiths, mainly Protestant groups such
as the New Life Church and the Belarusian Evangelical Church. Most
Christian communities continued to campaign for amendments to the
religion law, which restricts their activities and allows criminal
prosecution of individuals for their religious beliefs.
In early December the Minsk city prosecutor's office announced that
it had resumed a criminal investigation against Yauhen Volkau, who was
suspected of acting on behalf of an unregistered organization, a
violation of the law. Authorities then announced they had closed the
case on December 30. Volkau was suspected of representing the Reverend
Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, which is banned in Belarus for
``destructive'' activities. The Unification Church was denied formal
registration in Belarus in 1996 and 2001.
Under the law, residential property can be used for religious
services only if it has been officially converted from residential use,
which had the effect of forcing religious organizations to reregister
properties where they wished to worship. Authorities continued to
reject reregistration requests from many Protestant churches and other
nontraditional faiths. As a result, the groups often were forced to
meet illegally or in the homes of individual members.
In April a Minsk-based Greek Catholic community unsuccessfully
appealed to Lukashenka for a permission to construct a church.
In August the Navapolatsk local government turned down a request by
the local Evangelical Faith Grace Church to purchase a plot of land to
build a church.
The government continued to limit the ability of groups to own or
use property for religious purposes. A property that is not registered
makes religious activity there illegal.
During the year the government continued its efforts to harass and
evict the New Life Church from its property on the outskirts of Minsk.
On March 5, the appellate panel of the Supreme Economic Court upheld a
January 13 decision to revoke the church's ownership of its property.
On March 16, Minsk city government offered a one-acre plot at a
different location that was four times smaller and insisted that the
church sell its property below market value. The OPRRNA and Minsk city
authorities claimed that the property was needed to construct a day-
care center or a school. Senior Pastor Viachaslau Hancharenka announced
on May 8 that the church community unanimously rejected the city
administration's offer.
On October 1, authorities fined Hancharenka BYR 420,000 ($150) for
failing to allow fire-safety officers to inspect the church building on
September 9. On October 7, the Minsk City Economic Court upheld the
eviction of the New Life Church in a lawsuit filed by the local housing
authorities. On December 8, an appellate court rejected the church's
subsequent appeal. Since November 2007 the church maintained a policy
of banning any officials from entering their premises in response to
the government's continued attempts to appropriate their property.
The law allows persons to gather in private homes to pray but
requires them to obtain permission from local authorities to hold
rituals, rites, or ceremonies in homes. Police interfered with
religious meetings in residences several times during the year and
sometimes arrested and fined participants.
Baptists, Pentecostals, and other Protestants were warned or fined
for illegally conducting religious services based on charges of
disturbing public order or illegally gathering without prior
permission.
According to various press reports in December, Mahilyou regional
authorities urged the residents to inform ideology officers about
unregistered religious organizations and their illegal activities,
including services, literature distribution, and missionary work. In
November a Protestant activist in Asipovichy, Mahilyou region, was
fined for holding a Thanksgiving Day celebration at a private home.
Police and ideology officers interfered in the celebration.
On October 28, authorities warned 10 members of the unregistered
God's Embassy Church in Harbavichy that they could be held liable for
holding a worship service at a private residence on October 25. Local
ideology and police officers raided the house and confiscated religious
literature.
On July 14, the New Generation Full Gospel Church in Baravanichy
was fined BYR 350,000 ($125) for holding an ``illegal'' Sunday morning
prayer service on June 21. Also in Baranavichy on July 7, a court fined
two members of a local Council of Baptist Churches BYR 700,000 ($250)
each for praying in a private home.
Authorities claimed that the New Testament Church had violated the
religion law by allowing Barys Hrysenka, a visiting member of a
Ukrainian Messianic Jewish organization, to speak at the church on May
21. Hrysenka was also fined BYR 105,000 ($35) for participating as a
foreigner in religious activities without permission.
The law allows citizens to speak freely about their religious
beliefs; however, authorities continued to prevent, interfere with, or
punish persons who proselytized for any religious group other than the
BOC.
The government did not permit foreign missionaries to engage in
religious activities outside of their host institutions. The law
requires one-year, multiple-entry ``spiritual activities'' visas for
foreign missionaries. Observers expressed concern that lack of
standardized government guidance on implementing visa laws affected the
ability of missionaries to live and work in the country.
In February 2008 the Council of Ministers introduced a directive
that outlines the grounds for denying entry to foreign and stateless
clergy invited by local religious organizations. The grounds include
presenting false data in travel papers, lack of Belarusian or Russian
language skills, a prior administrative offense conviction, and any
previous denial of entry into the country. Foreign religious figures
must also submit an increased number of documents that makes the
process cumbersome.
The law also prohibits the establishment of offices by foreign
organizations whose activities incite ``national, religious, and racial
enmity'' or could ``have negative effects on the physical and mental
health of the people.''
Foreign citizens officially in the country for nonreligious work
can be reprimanded or expelled if they participate in religious
activities. There were at least two such expulsions during the year.
The law does not provide for the return of property seized during
the Nazi occupation or the Soviet period and restricts the return of
property used for cultural or educational purposes. During the year,
however, the government restituted six previously seized properties to
the BOC and one such property to the Jewish community.
At year's end authorities still had not followed through on a
commitment to find a new location for state archives stored in a former
Roman Catholic monastery complex--the Bernadine Monastery--in central
Minsk.
On July 15, the OPRRNA stated that the government could not return
the former Roman Catholic monastery complex because it had nowhere to
move the state archives.
Conscientious objectors to military service were harassed and
prosecuted by authorities. On November 6, a court in Homyel fined
Zmitser Smyk, a member of the local Jehovah's Witness Church, BYR 3.5
million ($1,285) for evading the military draft. Smyk had attempted to
secure a civilian service alternative to mandatory military service,
under a provision of the constitution not enforced in practice. The
prosecutor claimed that Smyk had no grounds to be exempted from
military service due to his religious beliefs.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Jewish groups estimated that
between 30,000 and 50,000 persons identify themselves as Jewish. Most
Jews in the country were not religiously active.
During the year anti-Semitic incidents continued, and authorities
sporadically investigated reports of such acts. Religious sites were
vandalized, and some religious sites were destroyed to make way for
commercial development. The government did not promote antibias and
tolerance education.
In May local and international Jewish leaders appealed to the
president to preserve a 19th-century wooden synagogue in Lyuban after
local authorities demolished a similar synagogue in April, allegedly
due to its poor condition and ``lack of historical or cultural value.''
Heritage preservation activists also protested the destruction and
urged the government to erect a memorial sign at the site.
On June 2, 13 Jewish gravestones were reportedly vandalized at a
cemetery in Barysau. Police opened a criminal investigation but failed
to identify and penalize the perpetrators.
In October, Vaukavysk town authorities began laying water and
sewage pipes on the site of a Jewish cemetery. During contruction,
workers unearthed human remains, and then quickly reburied them. Local
authorities denied that any human remains had been disturbed. In a
similar case in Mazyr, local authorities also denied that excavations
were conducted at a site of a cemetery in May-August or that human
remains were uncovered.
Jewish community and civil society activists continued to express
concern over the concept of a ``greater Slavic union'' that was popular
among nationalist organizations, including the neo-Nazi group Russian
National Union (RNU), which remained active despite its official
dissolution in 2000. In Navapolatsk the city prosecutor's office denied
two appeals to investigate incidents of vandalism and painting
swastikas on buildings during the year. Neo-Nazis were widely believed
to be behind these and numerous other attacks across the country. The
deputy chief of the Internal Affairs Ministry's Juvenile Delinquency
Prevention Department, Andrei Saladounikau, acknowledged in 2008 there
were a few neo-Nazi groups in the country. He maintained that the KGB
monitored the groups and that they were ``poorly organized and not
popular among young people.''
On April 22, anti-Semitic graffiti and swastikas were painted on
walls of a synagogue in Vitsyebsk.
On May 9, vandals set fire to wreaths and flowers laid at the
memorial to Holocaust victims in Brest. The memorial had been
vandalized many times since it was unveiled in 1992. No vandals were
convicted for the attacks. On that same day, RNU activists harassed
local opposition youth members in Navapolatsk. Police made no attempt
to interfere.
In July vandals painted anti-Semitic graffiti and a swastika on a
building in eastern Minsk. Another anti-Semitic slogan appeared on a
residential building in central Minsk. On July 25, vandals painted a
swastika and anti-Semitic slogans on a memorial to Jews murdered by the
Nazis in Slutsk in 1943. This was the third vandal attack on the
memorial erected in 2007.
In July a Jewish community in Pinsk repeatedly voiced concern about
the destruction of the Karalin historic Jewish neighborhood in the city
center. Karalin was a sacred place where Hasidic Judaism originated.
Despite numerous appeals to the Culture Ministry, authorities
demolished the majority of the buildings in Karalin for construction of
facilities for the local university.
On September 8, a KGB deputy chairperson refused to open criminal
cases to investigate numerous incidents of Nazi and anti-Semitic
graffiti in Minsk, saying they were ``acts of hooliganism.''
In December 2008 a district court banned as ``extremist'' and
``anti-Semitic'' 13 religious books and other materials published and
distributed by the Minsk-based Christian Initiative Company. In a
related development the Prosecutor General's Office revoked the
company's publishing and retail licenses and seized 50,000 booklets,
which authorities said incited hatred between Orthodox Christians and
Jews.
On June 18, the KGB press office announced that it had limited
access to eight local and three foreign Web sites allegedly promoting
radical religious extremism. However, anti-Semitic and Russian
ultranationalist newspapers and literature, DVDs, and videotapes
imported from Russia continued to be sold in the country.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement, including the right to emigrate. However, the government at
times restricted the right of its citizens to foreign travel. The
government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection
and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and persons of concern.
In January 2008 a presidential decree replaced exit stamps with a
computerized, government database to verify the validity of passports
and to track citizens who travel abroad. According to the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, the database contains the names of at least 100,000
persons who are prohibited from foreign travel, including those who
possess state secrets, are facing criminal prosecution or civil suits,
or have outstanding financial commitments. Opposition politicians and
civil society activists criticized the database, saying it restricted
freedom of travel. Some persons were informed by letter that their
names were in the database; others were informed at border crossings.
In some cases opposition activists were either turned away at the
border or detained for lengthy searches. For example, on April 16,
border guards blocked Artur Finkevich from leaving Belarus to attend a
meeting with a foreign embassy in Vilnius.
On October 13, border guards detained and thoroughly searched
United Civic Party leader Anatol Lyabedzka at the Polish border. The
following day border guards again searched Lyabedzka and former
political prisoner Alyaksandr Kazulin at the Lithuanian border. Guards
also detained and searched Lyabedzka October 7 and again on November
11.
On October 4, police spent two and one-half hours searching
Belarusian Popular Front Chairperson Ales Yanukevich at Minsk airport,
causing him to miss his flight to London. On December 10, customs
officers at Minsk airport thoroughly searched the luggage of Anatol
Lyabedzka and the Belarusian Popular Front leader Ales Yanukevich upon
their return from Germany. Customs officers reportedly made copies of
all printed material found in the luggage and confiscated some of the
documents.
Under a presidential decree, any student who wishes to study abroad
must obtain permission from the minister of education. The decree,
ostensibly intended to counter trafficking in persons, also requires
the Ministry of Interior to track citizens working abroad and travel
agencies to report individuals who do not return from abroad as
scheduled.
The law also requires persons who travel to areas within 15 miles
of the border to obtain an entrance pass.
The law does not allow forced exile, but sources assert that
security forces threatened opposition leaders with bodily harm or
prosecution if they did not leave the country. The law allows internal
exile, or khimiya, for persons convicted of crimes.
Many university students who had been expelled or were under threat
of expulsion for their political activities opted for self-imposed
exile. Since 2006 more than 500 students left the country to continue
their studies at foreign universities.
Internal passports served as primary identity documents and were
required for permanent housing, work, and hotel registration. Police
continued to harass individuals who lived at a location other than the
legal place of residence indicated in their internal passport.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
In practice the government provided some protection against
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. Since the beginning of asylum procedure in
1997 through October 1, 812 persons, including 205 children, received
refugee status. Of those, 357 remained in Belarus. During the year 153
persons filed asylum applications. From 1997 to October 1, a total of
1,584 asylum seekers were filed. Refugees originated mainly from
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, India, and
Pakistan.
While all foreigners have the right to apply for asylum,
authorities continued to occasionally refuse asylum applications from
citizens of Russia. At times, immigration authorities and courts
asserted that, under the terms of Belarus-Russia treaties on the union
between the countries and on the equal rights of citizens in each
country, Russian and Belarusian citizens have equal rights and the
former can legally settle and obtain residence permit in Belarus based
on their Russian citizenship. Nevertheless, immigration authorities did
accept eight applications from Russian citizens during the first nine
months of the year.
Asylum seekers have freedom of movement within the country but must
reside in the region where they filed their applications for refugee
status and in a place known to the authorities. According to sources,
authorities often required asylum seekers to settle in rural areas.
Change of residence is possible only with notification to authorities.
Registered asylum seekers are issued certificates that serve as
identification documents and protect them from expulsion. In accordance
with the law, they must also register with local authorities to obtain
internal passports.
Stateless Persons.--According to a June 20 press report citing
government statistics, there were approximately 8,000 stateless persons
in the country.
Arbitrary detention of and violence against stateless persons
generally were not problems. However, stateless persons faced
discrimination in employment because authorities often required them to
settle in rural areas and prohibited them from seeking jobs outside of
the regions where they lived. In practice stateless persons could not
change their region of residence.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides the right for citizens to change their government
peacefully; however, the government denied citizens this right in
practice.
Since his election in 1994 to a five-year term as the country's
first president, Lukashenka steadily consolidated power in the
executive branch to dominate all branches of government. Flawed
referenda in 1996 and 2004 amended the constitution to broaden his
powers, extend his term in office, and remove presidential term limits.
In March 2006 Lukashenka gained a third term through a fraudulent
election.
The September 2008 parliamentary election fell significantly short
of international standards for democratic elections, according to the
final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights observation mission. Despite the president's stated intent to
conduct a free and fair election, authorities impeded constitutionally
guaranteed rights of expression, association, and assembly. All of the
110 candidates declared winners were supporters of Lukashenka's
policies.
Elections and Political Participation.--Prior to the 2008 election,
Lukashenka stated his intention to hold transparent elections and said
that election campaign laws were in fact being violated to accommodate
Western demands for transparency and adherence to democratic standards.
For example, election officials stated that they registered candidates
despite errors on registration forms. In August Lukashenka reiterated
his claim that he had ordered the results of the 2006 presidential
election to be falsified from 93 percent to ``some 80 percent.'' In
response to his comments, opposition leaders petitioned the Prosecutor
General's Office to begin an investigation into alleged fraud in the
2006 election. On November 9, the office announced that it had no
evidence of any violations of the electoral code and would therefore
not begin an investigation.
Throughout the 2008 campaign, opposition candidates reported
inequities such as government restrictions on access to broadcast media
and venues for campaign rallies. There were instances where state-owned
printing houses refused to produce opposition leaflets. Supporters of
opposition candidates also reported harassment by authorities,
including seizure of campaign materials.
Despite a nominal increase in opposition representation,
authorities continued to exclude opposition representatives from
election commissions at all levels. The Central Election Commission had
four opposition members in advisory, nonvoting roles. Opposition
activists also made up less than 1 percent of commissioners in precinct
election commissions.
Political parties continued to receive warnings for minor offenses
under a law that allows authorities to suspend parties for six months
after one violation and close them after two warnings. The law also
prohibits political parties from receiving support from abroad and
requires all political groups and coalitions to register with the
Ministry of Justice.
In Mahilyou authorities registered a local office of the Belarusian
Social Democratic Party Hramada on October 28. The Babruysk Hramada
branch remained unregistered after a landlord terminated a lease
agreement for the party's ``legal address.''
Police continued to detain members of the Communist Party for
distribution of their independent newspaper Tavarysch. On July 8 and 9,
police detained party representatives for three hours in Kalinkavichy
and Homyel and confiscated copies of their publication.
On September 30, police detained Anatol Lyabedzka, opposition
Communist Party leader Syarhei Kalyakin, and at least four colleagues
for distributing copies of the United Democratic Forces' anticrisis
platform. Police confiscated their materials and released them after a
three-hour detention.
Authorities continued to harass the unrecognized Union of Poles,
its chairman Anzhelika Borys, and her associates (see section 6).
In January 2008 the Ministry of Justice filed a liquidation suit
against the Belarusian Party of Communists; however, the party denied
that there was a suit and registered 18 candidates for the 2008
legislative elections.
During the year there were multiple cases of youth members of
political opposition groups forcibly conscripted into the military.
There were also reports of discrimination and harassment against them
while undertaking military service (see section 1.f.).
There were 35 women in the 110-member Chamber of Representatives
and 19 women in the 64-member Council of the Republic. A woman chaired
one of Chamber of Representative's 20 committees and there was one
woman in the 40-member Council of Ministers.
No high level members of government or the National Assembly openly
identified themselves as members of a minority, although several were
ethnic Poles or members of other ethnic groups.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, reports indicate officials continued to engage in corrupt
practices. The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected
that corruption was a serious problem in the country. Prosecutor
General Ryhor Vasilevich stated on June 23 that the majority of the
corruption cases were related to accepting and soliciting bribes,
fraud, and abuse of power.
In November the prosecutor general informed the Council of
Ministers that the Ministries of Transport and Communications,
Architecture and Construction, Education, Agriculture and Foodstuffs,
Industry, and Energy were ``most corruption-prone'' and registered the
highest number of corruption crimes. Deputy Prime Minister Uladzimir
Syamashka acknowledged that senior officials had often refused to
assist law enforcement agencies in investigating corruption crimes. He
instructed the ministries to streamline their efforts to tackle
corruption and secure effective operations of anticorruption
departments.
The lack of transparency between the president's personal funds and
official government accounts, and a heavy reliance on off-budget
revenues, suggested corruption within the executive branch.
The January 2008 anticorruption law expanded the list of
professions vulnerable to corruption, designated the Prosecutor
General's Office as the coordinator of anticorruption efforts, and
prohibited government officials from having foreign bank accounts or
engaging in nepotism. On April 25, Lukashenka signed a decree
broadening authority to investigate corruption cases from prosecutors
to also include the Interior Ministry and the KGB.
The prosecutor general reported that during the year authorities
registered 3,366 corruption crimes and identified 1,746 offenders. On
June 4, the head of the State Control Committee stated that his office
began investigating 59 economic crimes against government officials. On
December 4, the Prosecutor General's Office announced that corruption
had caused BYR 88 billion ($30 million) worth of damage to the state
from January to October and that 1,470 persons had been charged with
corruption.
There were numerous corruption prosecutions during the year;
however, prosecutions remained selective and were in some cases
politically motivated.
On January 21, the prosecutor general announced the arrest of
former chief of the Financial Investigations Department of the State
Control Committee, Anatol Hramovich, for abuse of power, bribery, and
customs duty evasion. Hramovich's case remained pending at year's end.
On February 17, a judge sentenced two Mahilyou State Control
Committee officers to up to nine and one-half years in jail on charges
of bribery and extortion of a foreign company's chief executive
officer.
On March 11, KGB officers arrested the first deputy chairman of the
Mazyr city government on bribery charges for taking money from a local
private company to advance its interests and abuse of power. He was
sentenced on December 31 to six years in jail and his property was
ordered confiscated. In March the KGB opened a major corruption case
against a number of senior-level Interior Ministry personnel in Homyel
region. Authorities reportedly arrested and charged the officials with
bribery and other corruption-related offenses.
On May 11, Ihar Radzyuk, the former Staubtsy town government
chairperson, was sentenced to four years in prison for abuse of power.
His deputy, Ihar Komar, was jailed for three and one-half years in the
case.
On May 13, a court in Malaryta sentenced two senior customs
officials to seven years in prison for bribery and ordered their
personal property confiscated. On August 26, a court sentenced another
customs officer to five years in jail on similar charges.
On October 28, the senior member of the progovernment Liberal
Democratic Party and former Minsk city government member, Uladzimir
Karunas, was imprisoned for five years and his property ordered
confiscated for bribery and complicity in fraud.
On November 16, a court sentenced Syarhey Novik, one of the leaders
of the Interior Ministry's cybercrime department, to 12 years in jail
and ordered his personal property confiscated over thefts from
automated teller machines.
The law, government policies, and a presidential decree severely
restrict public access to government information. Citizens had some
access to certain categories of information on government databases and
Web sites; however, much of the information was neither current nor
complete.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were a number of active domestic human rights NGOs; however,
authorities were often hostile to their efforts, did not cooperate with
them, and were not responsive to their views. Three prominent human
rights NGOs, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Center for Human
Rights, and the Innovative Foundation for Legal Technologies, remained
registered in the country. A variety of unregistered NGOs, including
Vyasna, Charter97, Committee for the Protection of the Repressed
``Solidarity,'' Human Rights Alliance, Legal Assistance to Population,
and ``For Religious Freedom,'' continued to operate in spite of
systematic harassment from authorities.
Authorities harassed both registered and unregistered NGOs with
frequent inspections and threats of deregistration and monitored their
correspondence and telephone conversations. The government ignored
reports issued by human rights NGOs and rarely met with them. State-run
media did not report on human rights NGOs and their actions;
independent media that reported on human rights issues were subject to
closure and harassment.
On April 26, police searched the offices of human rights group
Charter97 and obstructed its live coverage of a Chernobyl-related
demonstration.
The government refused to register and continued to harass NGOs
under article 193 of the criminal code, which criminalizes organizing
or participating in any activity by an unregistered organization. The
law also prohibits persons from acting on behalf of unregistered NGOs.
Since 2006 courts convicted 17 persons of crimes under article 193.1.
Several domestic and international human rights groups, including
Amnesty International, continued to urge the government to abolish
article 193 and remove other legal obstacles that hinder the work of
NGOs and allow official harassment of civil society and youth
activists.
In August the prosecutors in Brest warned Mikhas Iljin that he
could be held criminally liable for participating in the Malady Front,
an unrecognized organization. His associate received a similar warning
in Brest in December.
On November 13, the Prosecutor General's Office issued a warning to
a group of 15 human rights advocates and civil society leaders that
they could face criminal liability under article 193 for their
participation in an unregistered organization. The group, dressed as
Santa Clauses, handed the prosecutor's office a statement saying that
they were participants ``in an unregistered association of Santa
Clauses'' and planned to organize New Year celebrations, distribute
``gifts, including among minors,'' and extend their wishes of ``happy
New Year at meetings and through the media.''
In December 2008 the Ministry of Justice approved the registration
of the civil society NGO For Freedom led by former presidential
candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich. The ministry had previously denied
three registration applications, citing as reasons improper payment of
registration fees, irregularities in the group's charter, organizing an
unapproved open-air rally, and technical flaws in registration
documents. On March 24, the ministry authorized the For Freedom
movement to establish regional offices and media outlets and to conduct
polling. On April 7, police confiscated office property from the
residential premises rented by the For Freedom movement in Minsk.
According to Milinkevich, court officers inventoried all the property
in the apartment in November 2008 on the pretense that a person
involved in a criminal case had lived there 10 years prior.
While the government continued to reject the vast majority of NGO
registration requests during the year, at least two organizations,
including the Center for the Chernobyl Initiatives and the Association
of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, successfully registered.
Authorities can close an NGO after issuing only one warning that it
violated the law. The most common violations that prompted a warning or
closure were failure to obtain a legal address and technical
discrepancies in application documents. The law allows authorities to
close an NGO for accepting illegal forms of foreign assistance and
permits the Ministry of Justice to participate in any NGO activity and
review all NGO documents. NGOs also must submit detailed reports
annually to the ministry about their activities, office locations,
officers, and total number of members.
In April 2008 a presidential order took effect that increased rent
10-fold for most NGOs. Prior to the order, NGOs paid one euro ($1.40)
per square foot for office space, compared to 10 euros ($14) charged to
commercial groups. While some groups, including youth sports groups,
charity organizations, and children's arts centers, continued to pay
the one euro rate, other NGOs, such as the Belarusian Voluntary Society
for Historic and Cultural Heritage Protection, were required to pay the
higher rate. Many NGOs stated the higher rent would likely force them
to close.
During the year the BHC continued to experience problems with
authorities. In February 2008 the Supreme Court allowed the Ministry of
Justice to withdraw a petition to suspend the BHC's activities.
However, the NGO's bank accounts remained blocked, and alleged tax
arrears were unresolved. The case originated in 2005, when authorities
seized BHC office equipment as partial payment of BYR 191.5 million
(approximately $68,500) in alleged tax arrears and fines for back taxes
on international donor funds dating from 2000-02. On October 19, the
financial intelligence services requested income statements and other
information from BHC members.
The KGB allegedly harassed NGO members by planting defamatory
articles or information about them in the media. For example, on March
3, unknown persons left photographs containing digitally altered
pornographic images of Union of Poles leader Anzhelika Borys at Borys'
home and all neighboring apartments in the building. On December 1,
unknown persons released a recording purportedly of Belarusian
Christian Democrats cofounder Ryhor Dzmitruk in conversation with three
prostitutes.
Authorities were reluctant to discuss human rights with
international NGOs, whose representatives often had difficulty gaining
admission to the country. For example, on February 27, authorities
refused to issue visas to representatives of the Polish Stefan Batory
Foundation and another foreign institute seeking to participate in a
civil society conference. The government denied a visa to the president
of the International Federation for Human Rights, Souhayr Belhassen,
who sought to observe the Vyasna appeal hearings before the Supreme
Court on August 10. In September authorities prohibited Swedish
independent media expert Joanna Kurash from traveling to the country as
a member of an international media experts' delegation.
Authorities routinely ignored NGO recommendations on how to improve
the human rights situation in the country and their requests to stop
harassing the NGO community.
On October 22, the first deputy chairperson of the Presidential
Administration, Natalia Pyatkevich, held a meeting with the BHC, BAJ,
and other human rights advocates as part of the process for
government's preparations to draft a report for the Universal Periodic
Review by the UN Human Rights Council. She stated that the government
``was not politically'' ready to liberalize legal practices related to
civil society or take steps to improve the country's human rights
record.
In December 2007 the UN General Assembly for a second consecutive
year adopted a resolution expressing deep concern over the human rights
situation in the country, particularly the government's ``persistent''
harassment and prosecution of opposition activists and independent
NGOs. The resolution also expressed concern that senior government
officials were implicated in the disappearances of opposition figures
Yury Zakharanka and Viktar Hanchar and businessman Anatol Krasouski in
1999 and television journalist Zmitser Zavadski in 2000, as well as the
government's failure to hold a free and fair presidential election in
2006.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status. In practice the government did not always
protect these rights. Problems included violence against women and
children; trafficking in persons; and discrimination against persons
with disabilities, Roma, ethnic minorities, and members of the lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape in general but does not include
prohibitions against spousal rape. Rape was a problem. However, most
women did not report it due to shame or fear that police would blame
the victim. In 2007 the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported 306 cases
of rape or sexual assault. According to the prosecutor general, the
number of rape cases decreased 26 percent in January-September 2008
compared to the same period in 2007.
Domestic violence, including spousal abuse against women, was a
significant problem. A 2006 Amnesty International report concluded that
measures taken by authorities to protect women against domestic
violence were insufficient. The criminal code does not contain a
separate article dealing with domestic violence. According to a 2008
study released by the Belarus State University's Center for
Sociological and Political Research, four out of five women between
ages 18 and 60 claimed that they were subject to psychological violence
in their families. One in four women suffered from physical violence,
and 13.1 percent of women reported that they were sexually abused by
their partners. Women remained reluctant to report domestic violence
due to fear of reprisal and social stigma. According to the study, only
6 percent of male and 46 percent of female victims of domestic violence
sought professional assistance. NGOs operated crisis shelters primarily
in Minsk, but they were poorly funded and received only limited support
from the government.
During the year the Minsk Family Welfare Center noted a rise in the
number of male victims of domestic violence. In 2008 the center
estimated that male victims comprised 30 percent of the total victims.
According to the Interior Ministry, men accounted for 10 percent of all
registered victims of domestic abuse.
Between January and October, the Interior Ministry registered more
than 1,850 reports of domestic violence. Of these cases, 146 were
murders and 316 were cases for severe physical injuries.
Prostitution is illegal, but it is an administrative--rather than a
criminal--offense, and penalties are light. Officials and human rights
observers reported that prostitution was not a significant problem.
However, anecdotal evidence indicated that it was growing, particularly
in regions outside the main cities. There were prostitution rings in
government-owned hotels, particularly in towns outside of Minsk.
According to a senior interior ministry official, 1,730 persons were
cited by police for prostitution-related activities, 560 of whom were
in Minsk. Svyatlana Brutskaya, leader of a project on HIV/AIDs
prevention, put the number of persons engaged in prostitution in Minsk
at 3,000. Between January and November, 431 persons received
administrative penalties for engaging in prostitution. This was a 30
percent increase compared to the same period in 2008.
Sexual harassment reportedly was widespread, but no specific laws,
other than those against physical assault, address the problem.
Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number,
spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to
do so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception
and skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were widely
available. Women and men were given equal access to diagnostic services
and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is responsible for
ensuring gender equality, although it cannot issue binding instructions
to other government agencies. The law provides for equal treatment of
women with regards to property ownership and inheritance, family law,
and the judicial system, and it was generally respected in practice.
The law also requires equal wages for equal work, although this
provision was not always enforced. There were very few women in the
upper ranks of management or government.
The National Statistics Committee reported that as of December 31,
57.1 percent of the unemployed were women. The law grants women the
right to three years of maternity leave with assurance of job
availability upon return. However, employers circumvented employment
protections by using short-term contracts, then refusing to renew a
woman's contract when she becomes pregnant. During an inspection of 29
enterprises in the Vitsyebsk region, the local prosecutor's office
found that employed women who were taking care of minor children were
at times forced to travel on business and to work overnight and
overtime without their prior consent and in violation of laws. A number
of women worked in extreme and hazardous conditions.
Children.--Citizenship is derived either by birth within the
country's territory or from one's parents. A child of a Belarusian
citizen is a Belarusian citizen regardless of place of birth, even if
the other parent is not a citizen.
Romani children were subject to harassment from non-Romani children
and teachers. The majority of Romani youth did not finish secondary
school. There was no public school for Roma, although there were school
programs for Jews, ethnic Lithuanians, and Poles.
Reports of child abuse were infrequent. Between January and
September, authorities removed 457 children from homes with neglectful
parents and placed them in the care of child welfare authorities.
An education ministry representative stated on November 19 that the
number of child pornography, child prostitution, and child trafficking
cases remained small. However, there were reports that the number of
child pornography cases was on the rise and children were trafficked
for commercial sexual exploitation and, in one case, labor. As of
October 1, the Interior Ministry registered 11 child pornography cases.
The law provides penalties of up to 13 years in jail for production or
distribution of pornographic materials depicting a minor.
Rape or sexual assault of a person known to be a minor is
punishable by up to 15 years in jail. Sexual acts between a person over
18 years of age and a person known to be under 16 carry penalties of up
to five years in jail.
There were some reports of child marriage within the Romani
community, where girls as young as 14 and boys as young as 16
frequently were married with parental consent.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, trafficking remained a serious problem, and the
country continued to be both a source and transit country for
trafficked persons.
From January through September, the Ministry of Internal Affairs
registered 321 trafficking-related crimes, including 94 cases of
trafficking. Over the same time period, the ministry also reported 232
victims who were trafficked abroad. The majority were sexually
exploited.
Women were primarily trafficked to Russia, the European Union
(particularly Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Lithuania,
Austria, and the Netherlands), the Middle East (particularly Israel,
Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates), and Turkey. Trafficking to
Russia presented a particular problem, both because of an open border
between the countries and because authorities tended to downplay
problems with Russia due to political considerations. Most female
victims of trafficking were seeking a way to escape bad economic
circumstances or situations involving domestic abuse. Local NGOs
asserted that more government intervention to reduce domestic violence
and alcoholism would greatly reduce the number of women seeking
employment abroad.
Reports by the Ministry of Internal Affairs indicated that
traffickers were usually members of loosely organized criminal networks
with connections to larger international organized crime rings,
brothels, clubs, or bars in destination countries.
Traffickers lured victims through advertisements, via modeling and
employment agencies, and by personal approaches through friends and
relatives to offer jobs abroad or solicit marriage partners.
Traffickers often withheld victims' documents and used physical and
emotional abuse, fraud, and coercion to control them.
The law criminalizes trafficking for sexual or other exploitation.
The property of convicted traffickers may be confiscated. The penalty
for trafficking is a minimum of five years' imprisonment with property
forfeiture, while the punishment for severe forms of trafficking is a
minimum of 15 years' imprisonment.
Presidential decrees have eliminated criminal responsibility for
illegal acts committed by victims, defined the status of victims, and
mandated measures to provide protection, medical care, and social
rehabilitation, but only on the condition that victims cooperated in an
investigation and prosecution. Reports indicated antitrafficking
agencies often pressured victims to cooperate in investigations.
The government's antitrafficking efforts were coordinated by the
Internal Affairs Ministry's department on Combating Trafficking in
Human Persons. However, NGOs were more active in the areas of
prevention and rehabilitation. Government sources stated that victims
were more likely to trust assistance from NGOs than from government
agencies. Antitrafficking NGOs and international organizations
complained that the government provided insufficient and mostly in-kind
assistance and failed to provide mandatory funding for victim
assistance. NGOs actively participated in training government workers
in rehabilitation but were dissatisfied with implementation by regional
authorities.
During the year there were no investigations, prosecutions, or
convictions of officials complicit in human trafficking. There were no
reports of government complicity in trafficking, although such
information may have been limited because of lack of press freedom and
imprisonment of citizens for criticizing government officials. There
were, however, continued reports that law enforcement and border
officials often accepted bribes to facilitate border crossings without
thorough scrutiny of identity documents. Such actions could have
facilitated trafficking. There was no indication that the government
systematically facilitated or condoned trafficking. The State Control
Committee was responsible for investigating allegations of official
trafficking-related corruption through the Interagency Commission for
Combating Crime, Corruption, and Drug Trafficking.
Victims seldom reported trafficking crimes to police due to social
stigma, aversion to dealing with authorities, and a shortage of social
services and rehabilitation options. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Protection maintained 156 social service centers that could in theory
help trafficking victims, but only 20 had specialized trafficking-
related services and ``crisis'' facilities. Officials referred child
victims of trafficking to one of the 146 government social care and
education centers under the Education Ministry. To supplement
government shelters, the UN Development Program, the International
Organization for Migration, and La Strada also opened rehabilitation
shelters for victims and their families. More than 30 NGOs nationwide
provided services to trafficking victims. La Strada provided training
to many regional victim support centers but expressed dissatisfaction
with the follow-up, citing several cases where regional officers
displayed skepticism or insensitivity towards victims.
La Strada and the Young Women's Christian Association maintained a
women's hotline that provided advice regarding offers of employment or
marriage that might be trafficking-related. Since 2001 the hotline
received over 15,000 calls and 550 emails. During the year the hotline
received 770 calls and more than 100 emails.
The government continued to distribute information through state
institutions, show antitrafficking commercials on state television,
place materials at local and foreign diplomatic posts, and organize
roundtables and seminars for NGOs and government officials.
To deter trafficking, the government required Internet dating
services to reregister and provide information about citizens and
foreigners planning to meet in person. Authorities continued to enforce
strong measures to discourage and control freedom of movement, which
they justified in part as antitrafficking measures.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not specifically prohibit
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and other government services, and
such discrimination was common in practice.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is the main government
agency responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. The law mandates that transport, residences, and
businesses be accessible to persons with disabilities. However, in
practice few public areas were wheelchair accessible. The Republican
Association of Disabled Wheelchair Users estimated that more than 75
percent of persons with disabilities were unable to leave their own
homes without assistance.
Authorities provided minimal, reportedly ineffectual, benefits for
persons with disabilities. For example, persons with disabilities who
lived alone were entitled to a 50 percent discount on rent and
utilities. Since few residences were accessible, persons with
disabilities had to live with friends or family and thus were
ineligible for the discount. Public transportation was free to persons
with disabilities, but neither the subway in Minsk nor the bus system
was wheelchair accessible. A government prohibition against workdays
longer than seven hours for persons with disabilities made companies
reluctant to hire them.
On May 29, a court in Minsk rejected a lawsuit from a wheelchair
user seeking damages for his inability to enter the Ballet and Opera
Houses on March 12. The individual's wheelchair was too wide to fit
through the main entrance of the building, and security guards refused
to allow him to enter through a side entrance reserved for employees.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Governmental and societal
discrimination against the ethnic Polish population and Roma persisted.
There were also expressions of societal hostility toward proponents of
Belarusian national culture.
Authorities continued to harass the unrecognized Union of Poles,
its chairperson Anzhelika Borys, and her associates.
On January 31, authorities deported two Polish language and history
teachers at a school in Brest. They were members of the Union of Poles
and residents of Poland.
On February 19, police warned Teresa Selivonchyk, chairwoman of the
Union of Poles office in Baranavichy, to stop acting on behalf of the
unregistered organization.
In March police in Hrodna refused to open a criminal investigation
into incidents of harassment against Andrzej Paczobut and his family.
Criminals damaged the entrance doors to his apartment and made phone
calls to threaten his daughter with physical abuse. Also in early
March, the Foreign Ministry cancelled Paczobut's foreign media
accreditation for allegedly ``biased'' coverage of events in the
country and ``slandering the president.''
On June 23, policed detained four Union of Poles members for three
hours and confiscated their printed materials in Shchuchyn.
On October 12, officials in Ivyanets made an inventory of the
property at the Polish community center after they had allegedly
received an anonymous report about the community's financial fraud.
Official and societal discrimination continued against the
country's 40,000 to 60,000 Roma. The Romani community continued to
experience high unemployment and low levels of education. In 2005
authorities estimated the unemployment rate among Roma at 80 percent.
Roma were often denied access to higher education in state-run
universities.
On December 3, however, OPRRNA stated that the country's Romani
community had no problems that would require the government's
``attention.'' Officials also claimed that the rate of unemployment
among Roma was decreasing and school attending rates were improving.
The Russian and Belarusian languages have equal legal status;
however, in practice Russian was the primary language used by the
government. In 2007 the Constitutional Court's chief justice
acknowledged that discrimination against the Belarusian language was
``not rare'' but maintained that such discrimination was usually
corrected.
Because the government viewed proponents of the Belarusian language
as political opponents of the regime, authorities continued to harass
and intimidate academic and cultural groups seeking to promote use of
the Belarusian language. Authorities made concessions to Belarusian
language usage, such as changing street signs to Belarusian and airing
more news shows in Belarusian, but proposals to widen the language's
usage were routinely rejected.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality is not illegal,
but discrimination against members of the LGBT community was
widespread, and harassment occurred. According to a local LGBT rights
group, government-controlled media discouraged participation in the
protests following the 2006 presidential election by saying they were
part of a ``gay revolution.''
In February Homyel authorities denied local gay activists
permission to hold a ``Right to Love'' event on February 12 in which
they planned to distribute educational materials and raise public
awareness about homophobia and discrimination against homosexuals. A
similar request submitted to the Minsk authorities was also denied.
On July 22, Syarhei Androsenka, the head of the GayBelarus project,
announced that Belarus customs officials had seized 25 copies of a gay
interest magazine that were mailed to him. Officials claimed that they
seized the publication because it was not registered in the country.
In the early morning of August 24, following a dispute at a bar,
unknown persons followed and assaulted gay rights activist Maksim
Tsarkou. During the assault the assailants cursed at the victim and
shouted homophobic slurs.
On September 23, the KGB in Homyel informed local gay rights
activist Svyataslau Semyantsou that they had opened a criminal case
against him for participating in activities of an unregistered group.
The KGB also threatened Semyantsou with charges of providing defamatory
and discrediting information to a foreign source.
On December 17, a court in Minsk fined LGBT community activist
Alyaksandr Gagaryn BYR 105,000 ($35) for participating in an
unsanctioned picket in front of the Iranian embassy. The activists
demonstrated to protest the capital punishment against LGBT persons in
Iran. Police fined Syarhei Androsenka BYR 875,000 ($300) and Syarhei
Pradzed BYR 350,000($120) on December 23 for their participation in the
same protest.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination
against persons with HIV/AIDS remained a problem and the illness
carried a heavy stigma despite greater awareness and increased
tolerance towards persons infected with the virus. For example,
maternity wards no longer had separate facilities for HIV-infected
mothers. However, the UN AIDS office reported that there were still
numerous reports of HIV-infected individuals who faced discrimination.
In December the government reported that 10,590 persons were infected
with HIV.
In November the Belarusian Community of People Living with HIV
noted that it had received approximately 15 complaints from HIV-
positive residents of Svetlahorsk who said that teachers at schools
attended by their children had been informed of their HIV status.
According to the association, local authorities collected the
information from the local drug addiction hospital and shared it with
the schools, in response to a presidential decree that requires
authorities to monitor families in which parents are drug users. The
association expressed concern that the disclosure of confidential
medical information could lead to discrimination against children of
HIV-positive individuals.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers, except state
security and military personnel, to form and join independent unions;
however, in practice the government did not respect this right. During
the year the government continued efforts to suppress independent
unions, stop union activities, and bring all union activity under its
control. Its efforts included frequent refusals to extend employment
contracts for members of independent unions and refusals to register
some unions.
According to Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BCDTU)
leader Alyaksandr Yarashuk, no independent unions have been established
since President Lukashenka's 1999 decree requiring trade unions to
register with the government.
The law provides for the right to strike; however, tight government
control over public demonstrations made it difficult for unions to do
so. Management and local authorities also blocked worker attempts to
organize strikes on many occasions by declaring them illegal.
The government-controlled Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus
(FTUB) was the largest union, claiming an estimated four million
members; however, that number was likely inflated, since the country's
total workforce was approximately four million. The BCDTU, with three
constituent unions and approximately seven thousand members, was the
largest independent union. Approximately 9,500 persons were members of
independent trade unions.
On December 9, Leanid Kozik, FTUB chairman, asserted that
``provocations'' and ``demands'' by trade unions not affiliated with
the FTUB should be ignored.
Local authorities continued to deny registration to the Vitsyebsk,
Mahilyou, and Homyel chapters of the Belarusian Union of Electronic
Industry Workers (REP). According to the REP, authorities refused to
reregister the chapter in Mahilyou because the REP office landlord had
not agreed to register the office as its legal address due to
harassment from officials. On April 22, a court in Mahilyou upheld the
registration denial.
The REP reported on January 7 that the Rechytsa city authorities
registered their office despite two earlier registration denials and an
unsuccessful court appeal to challenge them.
The government prevented the REP from staging multiple protests
across Belarus on April 3. The REP had intended to disseminate
information about violations of trade union rights.
The government combined administrative measures and a system of
contracts with individual workers, mostly from one to five years in
length, to discourage membership in independent unions and in regional,
national, and international labor organizations.
On January 16, a court in Babruisk sentenced local factory worker
and free trade union member Vasil Kurlyandchyk to 18 months of
community service for allegedly beating a factory manager in August
2008. Kurlyandchyk claimed that he suffered head and brain injuries in
the incident and was hospitalized for two weeks. He suggested that the
charges stemmed from his multiple complaints to the management about
the illegal deductions from his salary for purportedly flawed products.
On October 12, a court in Babruisk upheld two reprimands that were
issued to Mikhal Ustsinovich, leader of a 20-member independent trade
union at the Belshyna tire factory. Ustsinovich was accused of
allegedly violating the factory's labor regulations. Ustsinovich could
be dismissed after a third disciplinary action.
In January the Ministry of Justice denied registration to Razam, a
trade union of small- and medium-sized businesses, citing absence of
the minutes of the union's founding convention, failure to cover
registration fees, and insufficient documentation. Razam's leader,
Mikalai Kanakh, said that the registration process was ``excessively
complicated'' and insisted that his group had filed correct
applications with the ministry.
The government also targeted union leaders and activists. During
the year more than 30 REP members were forced to quit their membership
in the union following threats of dismissal.
Workers who were deemed ``natural leaders'' or who involved
themselves in NGOs or opposition political activities were routinely
fired for these activities. For example, in October Mahilyou-based
Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada leader Ihar Barysau was
dismissed from his job for allegedly failing to comply with
professional duties. In 2006 Barysau also lost his job due to his
political activities.
Pursuant to a December 18 court order, management of a hydropower
station in Lukoml reinstated Alyaksey Gabryel, the leader of a local
independent trade union. Gabryel's labor contract was not extended in
October, and it was widely believed that he was dismissed for his union
activities.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively; however,
government authorities and managers of state-owned enterprises
routinely interfered with union activities and hindered workers'
efforts to bargain collectively, in some instances arbitrarily
suspending collective bargaining agreements.
On July 30, the FTUB issued recommendations for the employers to
sign collective bargaining agreements only with the most represented
trade unions irrespective of whether there were members of other trade
unions among the personnel. BCDTU leader Yarashuk argued that such
measure would violate the rights of trade unions.
Since 2004 the government has required state employees, who
constitute approximately 80 percent of the working population, to sign
short-term work contracts. Although such contracts may have terms of up
to five years, most expired after one year, which gave the government
the possibility of firing employees by simply declining to renew their
contract. Many members of independent unions, political parties, and
civil society groups lost their jobs because of this practice.
On August 11, Brest-based Riona Enterprise Management forced 11 of
12 REP members at the firm to withdraw from the union by threatening to
withhold their salaries. The REP had sought to have their working
conditions designated as hazardous so they could receive appropriate
compensation.
During the year the Polatsk chapter of the BFTU continued to
negotiate without success with the Polatsk Shklovalakno fiberglass
manufacturer over the company's unwillingness to grant the BFTU the
same privileges granted to its rival, the progovernment FTUB.
In contrast, the management of the Baran-based Lyos factory ceased
putting pressure on Free Trade Union of Metal Workers members to leave
that union and join the FTUB.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the country's six free economic zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that women,
men, and children were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
and forced labor.
During the year the government approved several ``subbotniks,''
which required employees of government, state enterprises, and many
private businesses to work on Saturday and donate earnings to finance
government social projects. Workers who refused to take part were
subject to fines and intimidation by employers and authorities.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law forbids the exploitation of children in the workplace, including a
prohibition on forced and compulsory labor, and specifies policies for
acceptable working conditions. The government generally implemented
these laws in practice.
The minimum age for employment is 16; however, a child as young as
14 may conclude a labor contract with the written consent of one parent
or legal guardian. The prosecutor general's office reportedly enforced
the law effectively. Minors under 18 were allowed to work in
nonhazardous jobs, but were not allowed to work overtime, on weekends,
or on government holidays. Work was not to be harmful to the minors'
health or hinder their education.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On November 1, the national
minimum monthly wage was BYR 220,080 (approximately $102), which did
not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. In
November the average monthly wage was BYR 1,012,900 ($355).
The law establishes a standard work week of 40 hours and provides
for at least one 24-hour rest period per week. Because of the country's
difficult economic situation, many workers worked considerably less
than 40 hours per week, and factories often required workers to take
unpaid furloughs due to lack of demand for the factory's products. The
law provides for mandatory overtime and holiday pay and restricts
overtime to four hours every two days, with a maximum of 120 hours of
overtime each year. According to sources, the government was believed
to effectively enforce these standards.
The law establishes minimum conditions for workplace safety and
worker health; however, employers often ignored these standards.
Workers at many heavy machinery plants did not wear minimal safety
gear. There is a state labor inspectorate, but it lacked authority to
enforce employer compliance and often ignored violations.
The Ministry of Labor reported that 83 workplace fatalities
occurred and 338 employees suffered serious injuries in workplace
incidents from January to June. The ministry reported that workplace
accidents were caused by carelessness, poor conditions, malfunctioning
equipment, and poor training and instruction. Worker intoxication was
involved in 6 percent of workplace deaths and injuries. The law does
not provide workers the right to remove themselves from dangerous and
unhealthy work environments without risking loss of employment.
__________
BELGIUM
The Kingdom of Belgium, with a population of approximately 10.7
million, is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch who
plays a mainly symbolic role. The country is a federal state with
several levels of government: national, regional (Flanders, Wallonia,
and Brussels), language community (Flemish, French, and German),
provincial, and local. The council of ministers (cabinet), led by the
prime minister, holds office as long as it retains the confidence of
the lower house (Chamber of Representatives) of the bicameral
parliament. Federal parliamentary elections held in 2007 were
considered free and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
The following human rights problems were reported: overcrowded
prisons, lengthy pretrial detention, poor detention conditions prior to
expulsion of adults and children whose asylum applications were
refused, violence against women, child abuse, trafficking in persons,
and racial and ethnic discrimination in the job market.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
In 2008 the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) issued a
judgment that found one violation by the country of provisions
prohibiting inhuman or degrading treatment.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions met most international standards, but overcrowding
remained a problem. The government permitted monitoring visits by
independent human rights observers, and such visits occurred during the
year.
On average in 2008, 9,891 inmates occupied prison and detention
facilities. By year's end the number of inmates had reached 10,327 in
facilities with a designed capacity of 8,529.
In June the human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe (CE)
issued a report noting that 75 percent of all prisons in the country
were overcrowded. He also expressed concern over the dilapidated state
of some prisons and shortcomings in the supply of health care. Although
the government upgraded some older facilities, incarcerations outpaced
construction. Forty percent of all inmates were noncitizens, which
prompted authorities to address cultural diversity in the prisons by
allowing inmates to practice their religious beliefs and providing
meals that met the dietary requirements of different religions. An
independent Central Control Council oversees the prisons.
The government permitted visits to prisons and detention centers by
members of parliament and independent human rights groups during the
year. From September 28 to October 7, the CE's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture carried out its fifth visit to the country that
focused on prison conditions, safeguards against police mistreatment of
persons in custody, and conditions at the detention camp for irregular
migrants in Vottem and at other facilities where persons were
incarcerated.
During the year the Justice Ministry continued implementing the
2008-12 master plan for building seven new penitentiaries and upgrading
existing infrastructure.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal police are
responsible for internal security and nationwide law and order. Local
police operated branches in 196 police districts. The federal police
General Inspection Service handled 1,179 complaints in 2008, and there
were 87 files handled by its disciplinary commission. An independent
oversight committee (Committee P) also monitored police activities. In
a report submitted to parliament in January, the committee stated that
it had received 6,244 complaints about federal and local police
conduct, including discriminatory behavior, brutality, racism, failure
to intervene, violations of privacy, and arbitrary detention. The
committee noted that police officers often failed to observe rules and
regulations when dealing with undocumented aliens, prostitutes, and
squatters.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the
constitution, an individual can be arrested only while committing a
crime or by a judge's order carried out within 24 hours. The law
provides a person in detention the right to a prompt judicial
determination of the legality of his or her detention, and the
authorities generally respected this right. Detainees were promptly
informed of charges against them. There is a functioning bail system.
Alternatives to incarceration included conditional release, community
service, probation, and electronic monitoring. In 2008 the Justice
Ministry handled 10,131 alternative punishment files (e.g., community
service), compared with 9,847 the previous year. By year's end an
additional 987 convicts were electronically monitored outside of prison
premises.
The law provides rights to inmates regarding disciplinary matters,
correspondence, telephone conversations, and religious practice.
Brochures were distributed to inmates informing them about their
rights. Implementation courts are responsible for handling release
issues, penitentiary leave, and electronic monitoring. In 2007
legislation came into force offering better protection to offenders
with mental disorders, and the government implemented plans to treat
more of these inmates outside of prisons. The legislation allows
authorities to keep inmates imprisoned after completing their sentences
if the court determines that their release might endanger the public.
According to 2009 figures, pretrial detainees made up almost 34
percent of the prison population. The average length of pretrial
detention was approximately 90 days.
In 2008 the ECHR issued a judgment that found one violation by the
country of the right to liberty and security as provided by the ECHR.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
All defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to be present,
to counsel (at public expense if necessary), to confront witnesses, to
present evidence, and to appeal.
On January 13, the ECHR ruled that a defendant in a 2004 murder
case was denied a fair hearing as the jury had failed to justify its
verdict. Such a justification had not been required under the law. In
December parliament adopted changes to the law governing how trial
courts operate, adding the requirement for juries to justify their
verdicts.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found one violation by the
country of the right to a fair trial and nine violations by the country
involving length of proceedings as provided under the ECHR.
The law gives domestic courts jurisdiction over war crimes and
crimes against humanity that occurred outside the country when the
victim or perpetrator is a citizen or legal resident of the country.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Plaintiffs can seek damages
either individually or through specialized organizations for human
rights violations under the applicable antidiscrimination legislation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and legal code prohibit such actions,
and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
The Commission for the Protection of Private Life monitored privacy-
related matters and issued advisory opinions to the relevant
authorities.
In 2008 the ECHR issued a judgment that found one violation by the
country of the right to respect for private and family life as provided
by the ECHR.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
The law prohibits public statements that incite national, racial,
or religious hatred, including denial of the Holocaust. The maximum
sentence for Holocaust denial is one year's imprisonment. In June 2008
two individuals were each sentenced to one year's imprisonment, fined
24,789 euro (approximately $34,700), and denied their civil and
political rights for 10 years for having over a long period denied the
Holocaust in brochures and leaflets. On June 15, a Charleroi court
convicted a man for having made a Nazi straight-arm salute during his
swearing-in ceremony as city councilor and denied him the right to run
for elected office for a five-year period.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly and privately
without reprisal.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. In
cooperation with the government, Child Focus, a government-sponsored
center for missing and exploited children, developed programs to warn
users of Web sites containing illegal content, especially child
pornography.
Internet connections rose to 2.9 million during the year, and 60
percent of all households had Internet connectivity. According to
International Telecommunications Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 69 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
During the year authorities took action against a Dutch national
who started a Web site that posted the whereabouts in the country of
convicted pedophiles, by blocking access to the Web site upon order
from the Federal Prosecuting Office.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
The law accorded ``recognized'' status to six religions and a
grouping of nonconfessional philosophical or secular organizations,
each of which received financial benefits from the federal and regional
governments. The lack of recognized status did not prevent other
religious groups from freely practicing their religions, and citizens
generally practiced religion without official harassment or impediment.
During the year the Buddhist secretariat began receiving subsidies as a
``nonconfessional'' philosophical community meriting state support.
Scientologists continued to experience a strained relationship with
the government. On May 12, the Brussels Chamber of Indictment started
hearings in the case against the Scientology Church of Belgium, based
on a 12-year investigation of the group. The federal prosecutor sought
the indictment of 12 persons, the Scientology Church of Belgium, and
the Human Rights Office of the church. The charges included
embezzlement, racketeering, unlawfully performing medical acts, and
forming a criminal organization.
In October 2008 police raided a Sikh temple in Vilvoorde, near
Brussels, as a religious ceremony was taking place. Of the 49
worshippers present, 46 were illegally living in the country. Following
public criticism that police lacked respect for religious freedom, the
local police chief asserted that police had not been informed in
advance about the ceremony. Police claimed that there was evidence that
many of those present at the ceremony were smuggled into the country.
On June 17, the court dropped charges against all 15 members of the
alleged ring, who had been charged with smuggling the illegal Sikh
immigrants.
The Center for Information and Advice on Harmful and Sectarian
Organizations (CIAOSN), an agency funded by the Justice Ministry that
provides nonbinding advice to the public and public institutions,
received several hundred requests for information about particular
groups. In February 2008 a Brussels court issued a final ruling that
CIAOSN had wrongly identified Shaya Yoga as a dangerous sect in one of
its publications. CIAOSN appealed the ruling.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In its 2008 annual report, the
Center for Equal Opportunity and the Combat against Racism (CEOCR)
warned against growing societal violence, harassment, and
discrimination against Muslims. Of the 105 religious discrimination
incidents reported by the public to the center, 94 concerned
discrimination against Muslims. Of the 430 Internet hate incidents that
were reported 80 percent were against Muslims.
The size of the Jewish community was estimated at 40,000 to 50,000.
During the year there were reports of a number of anti-Semitic acts,
including attacks against persons, verbal harassment of Jews, and
vandalism of Jewish property. The law prohibits public statements that
incite national, racial, or religious hatred, including denial of the
Holocaust.
Anti-Semitism expressed itself through youth violence (almost
exclusively from Muslim extremists). Consequently, many Jews were
afraid to wear religious symbols in public. Violence in the Middle East
was mirrored in increased tension between Jews and Muslims. A group of
Jewish community leaders stated that Jews lacked public support and
faced an anti-Israel bias in the media during the Gaza incursion in
January.
The CEOCR registered 108 anti-Semitic incidents during the year,
compared with 66 in 2008. The Jewish defense organization
antisemitisme.be registered 101 incidents during the year, compared
with 73 in 2008. During the year there was a noticeable increase in
Internet hate messages. In addition there were reports of anti-Semitic
graffiti on Jewish homes and of persons insulting Jews on the street.
During the year antisemitisme.be reported 10 incidents involving
physical violence and four incidents involving Holocaust denial.
On January 23, the Brussels Appellate Court convicted two managers
of the Web site of the Islamic Center of Belgium for inciting hatred
and violence against Jews. They were fined 2,000 euro (approximately
$2,860) and given a provisional one-month prison sentence if they
failed to pay the fine. The two had been originally convicted in 2006.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
The law allows authorities to grant ``subsidiary protection'' to
individuals who may not qualify as refugees and who could establish
that upon return to their home country they would face the death
penalty, torture, or other inhuman treatment. During the year 416
applicants, most of them from Afghanistan and Iraq, qualified for
subsidiary protection.
During the year 17,186 applications were filed for a total of
22,785 asylum seekers, compared with 12,252 applications in 2008. Most
applicants came from Afghanistan, Russia, Kosovo, or Iraq. The
Commissariat for Refugees awarded refugee status to 2,303 applicants.
Most accepted refugees came from Iraq, Russia, and Guinea.
During the year scores of asylum seekers who stayed in the country
illegally after their applications were refused took refuge in
churches, went on hunger strikes, and climbed tower cranes to draw
public attention to their situation. On the eve of the summer recess,
the government reached agreement on a new set of criteria for awarding
residence permits for undocumented aliens. The latter were allowed to
submit applications between September and December. The newly defined
criteria concerned aliens who had become victims of an unduly long
asylum application period, undocumented aliens who were living in a
precarious humanitarian situation or who could prove that they were
integrated into society, either by having lived in the country for at
least five years, or by having been gainfully employed for at least one
year.
Regularization on the grounds of an unduly long application period,
for urgent humanitarian reasons, or on medical grounds was granted to
8,369 applicants in 2008, compared to 11,335 the previous year. In 2008
the number of applications for refugee status on humanitarian grounds
exceeded the number of asylum applications. During the year FEDASIL,
the government agency providing shelter for refugees, the Red Cross,
and local governments provided assistance to an average of 18,150
persons but lacked capacity to deal with the growing demand. In 2007 a
new refugee relief act came into force, under which refugees who spent
four months in a collective relief center qualified for independent
living and were permitted to leave the centers.
Following a critical report from a European Parliament commission,
the government announced that unaccompanied minors stopped at the
border were no longer being held in closed centers, but in specialized
observation and orientation centers. Minors held with their parents had
access to individualized education. During the year FEDASIL provided
shelter to 645 unaccompanied foreign minors.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
Refused asylum seekers were informed in writing and in person of
the repatriation scenarios from which they could choose. The
government, in partnership with the International Organization for
Migration (IOM), provided relocation assistance to unsuccessful asylum
applicants who agreed to return voluntarily to their countries of
origin. Unsuccessful applicants who did not leave voluntarily were
subjected to forced repatriation. A report issued during the year
showed that between 1984 and 2009, over 40,000 refused asylum seekers
and other immigrants were repatriated under the IOM-sponsored Return
and Emigration of Asylum Seekers ex-Belgium program. Between January
and November, 2,446 immigrants used the program. This figure was in
line with that of the previous year, when 2,446 persons were
repatriated under IOM auspices. Refused families with children
qualified for temporary individual housing. In 2008 6,902 persons were
assigned to the closed centers, compared with 7,506 persons in 2007.
Their average stay in closed centers was 36 days. Most refugees held at
these centers came from Romania, Brazil, Morocco, Bulgaria, or Russia.
The Council of Europe human rights commissioner, members of parliament,
and representatives from the International Federation of Human Rights
Organizations visited the closed centers to verify living conditions.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) complained that living conditions
at the closed centers for refused asylum seekers were substandard. The
government started to refurbish the closed centers at the Brussels
national airport.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens ages 18 and older exercised this
right through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage. Voting in all elections is compulsory. Failure to vote is
punishable by a nominal fine.
Elections and Political Participation.--General elections were held
in 2007; they were considered free and fair. Political parties could
operate without restriction or outside interference.
On June 7, the country held elections for representatives to the
country's regional parliaments as well as to the European Parliament;
the elections were considered free and fair.
The constitution requires the presence of men and women in federal,
regional, and local governments, and the law requires an equal number
of male and female candidates on party tickets, in European, federal,
regional, provincial, and local elections. Failure to meet the
requirement would nullify the elections and render any government
created thereby illegal.
There were 57 women in the 150-seat federal Chamber of
Representatives and 29 women in the 71-seat Senate; four of the 22
federal cabinet ministers and state secretaries were women, and 10 of
the 31 regional ministers were female. Following the June 7 regional
elections, the representation of women reached 44 percent in the
Brussels parliament, 41 percent in the Flemish parliament, and 35
percent in the Walloon parliament.
There were five members of minorities in the Chamber of
Representatives, three in the Senate, and two minority ministers in
regional governments.
Legislation is in force to guarantee female presence in public
advisory agencies.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. Elected
officials and high-level civil servants are required to disclose any
regular private employment or public jobs they hold and to provide
confidential disclosure of their financial situation.
The judicial investigation in the case of active and passive
corruption charges in connection with public building contracts
continued. During the year a judicial investigation was opened
regarding a construction contract for a juvenile delinquency center.
The law provides public access to government information with some
exceptions such as information involving national security. In practice
the government respected this law.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views. The
government-sponsored CEOCR is tasked with promoting equal opportunity
and with combating all forms of discrimination, exclusion, or
preferential treatment based on race, skin color, descent, national or
ethnic origin, sexual orientation, marital status, birth, wealth, age,
religion or ideology, physical condition, disability, or physical
characteristics. The center is tasked with ensuring respect for the
basic rights of foreigners and informs the authorities on migration
issues, including smuggling and trafficking. The center is tasked with
promoting consultation among public and private players, and it has the
authority to start litigation regarding complaints sent to the center.
Federal and regional government ombudsmen monitor and publish
reports on the workings of the agencies coming under their respective
jurisdictions. During the year the federal ombudsman released a report
on the closed centers for rejected asylum seekers.
The government cooperated with international tribunals in the
prosecution of war crimes. In May 2008 police arrested Jean-Pierre
Bemba, the leader of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo and a
former Congolese vice president, after an arrest warrant was issued by
the International Criminal Court. Bemba was charged with crimes against
humanity and war crimes and transferred to The Hague in July 2008. His
trial was scheduled for April 2010.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government generally enforced these
prohibitions.
The law identifies 18 grounds of possible discrimination subject to
legal penalty: age, sexual orientation, civil status, birth, financial
situation, religious belief, philosophical orientation, physical
condition, disability, physical characteristics, genetic
characteristics, social status, nationality, race, color of skin,
descent, national origin, and ethnic origin. A separate law governs
gender discrimination in the workplace. Under a directive issued by the
Board of Prosecutors General, the police and prosecutors must mention
racial motivation when recording offenses.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, and the
government prosecuted such cases. In 2008 the federal police registered
2,786 rape cases, compared with 3,111 the previous year. A convicted
rapist can be imprisoned for a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 30
years. The length of sentence is based on the age of the victim, the
age difference between the offender and the victim, the relationship
between the offender and victim, and the use or absence of violence
during the crime. The minimum age for consensual sex is 16 years old.
Statutory rape with anyone under the age of 16 years old carries
penalties of imprisonment from 15 to 20 years. If the victim is under
the age of 10 years old, the imprisonment rises to 20 to 30 years.
Domestic violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained
a problem. The federal police reported 10,460 such cases of physical
violence between partners during the first half of the year, compared
with 19,768 cases in 2008 and 16,532 cases in 2007. The federal police
registered 63 cases of sexual violence between partners during the
first half of the year, compared with 131 cases in 2008 and 129 cases
in 2007. There were 8,391 cases of psychological violence between
partners during the first half of the year, compared with 16,927 cases
in 2008 and 18,356 cases in 2007. The law defines and criminalizes
domestic violence and provides for fines and incarceration. The law
allows police to enter a home without the consent of the head of
household when investigating a domestic violence complaint; however,
there were complaints that the police frequently declined to take such
action in practice. A plan for dealing with domestic violence was in
force, and the regional governments formally joined the effort. Police
forces and prosecuting magistrates registered all complaints and
official actions taken in connection with domestic violence.
A number of government-supported shelters and telephone help lines
were available across the country for victims of domestic abuse. In
addition to providing shelter, many offered assistance on legal
matters, job placement, and psychological counseling to both partners.
In a report to the Senate in 2008, the federal police noted 17
honor killings had taken place over a five-year period. During the year
the Institute for the Equality of Men and Women claimed damages in the
case of a Pakistani woman who died in an honor killing resulting from a
failed arranged marriage. Following a recommendation by the Senate, the
justice minister and the federal police took measures to improve
identification of honor killings.
Prostitution is legal; however, the law prohibits organizing
prostitution or assisting immigration for the purpose of prostitution.
There were reports that women and girls were trafficked to the country
for the purpose of prostitution, and there were a number of arrests and
convictions on related charges.
The law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender,
pregnancy, motherhood, or sex change. It also prohibits sexual
intimidation in labor relations and in access to goods, services,
social welfare, and health care. Separate legislation prohibits sexual
harassment in the workplace, and the government generally enforced it.
A victim of sexual harassment in the workplace can claim damages in a
court of justice. Victims of sexual harassment have the right to sue
their harassers and seek financial remedies, but most cases of sexual
harassment were resolved less formally.
The constitution guarantees complete freedom in the way persons
organize their private lives, including the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so
free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Health clinics and
local health NGOs were permitted to operate freely in disseminating
information on family planning. There are no restrictions on the right
to access contraceptives. Men and women received equal access to
diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV.
Women have the same legal rights as men, including rights under
family law, property law, in the judicial system, in labor relations,
and in social welfare protection. The federal government's Institute
for the Equality of Men and Women, which is tasked with promoting
gender equality, is authorized to initiate lawsuits if it finds that
equality laws have been violated. Most of the complaints it received in
2008 were work-related, and most often concerned women whose employment
contract was terminated because of pregnancy.
During the year the government continued implementing the 2007
Gender Mainstreaming Act. The law obliges the authorities to address
gender aspects in planning policy, collecting data, drafting budgets,
awarding contracts, and drafting reports.
Economic discrimination against women continued. During the year
the Institute for the Equality of Men and Women released a survey which
showed that there was an average gap of 11 percent in the gross wages
paid to men and women. The gap was 27 percent for white-collar and 16
percent for blue-collar workers. The gap was less significant in the
public sector, where female contract workers earned 7 percent less than
their male colleagues, and female statutory civil servants earned 1
percent more than their male colleagues. Taking into account part-time
work, the overall wage gap was 25 percent. The report showed that the
main factors contributing to the gap were job classification, branch of
employment, type of employment contract, and time actually worked.
Through legislation and decrees, federal and regional authorities
sought to increase the presence of women on the boards of public
enterprises and government agencies. Data from the European
Professional Women's Network indicated that women filled 5.8 percent of
the positions on boards of directors of the country's leading private
companies.
Children.--The government registered all live births immediately,
and citizenship is conferred to the child through the parents'
nationality.
There were reports of child abuse. In 2008 the federal police
registered 3,971 cases of child abandonment, abuse, and neglect
compared with 2,029 in 2007.
The NGO Child Focus reported that it handled 2,166 missing children
and child abuse cases involving 2,388 children in 2008. There were
1,041 cases of runaways; half of the runaways returned home within 48
hours. Twenty-two cases concerned abduction by a third person. Child
Focus handled 231 cases (involving 333 children) of abduction to
another country.
The law provides for the protection of youth against sexual
exploitation, abduction, and trafficking, and provides severe penalties
for child pornography and possession of pedophilic materials. The
penalties for producing and disseminating child pornography range from
five to 15 years' imprisonment, and from one month to one year for
possession of such material. The law permits the prosecution of
residents who commit such crimes abroad and provides that criminals
convicted of sexual abuse of children must receive specialized
treatment before they can be paroled and must continue counseling and
treatment after their release from prison. In 2008 the NGO Child Focus
handled 280 sexual abuse cases and continued its Internet-based public
awareness campaign, stopchildporno.be. The group received 1,421 reports
of child pornography on the Internet and forwarded relevant cases to
the specialized units of the federal police.
According to official figures, in 2008 the federal police
investigated 397 child pornography cases, and international networks
operating in several countries were dismantled with the help of Europol
and Eurojust. In several court cases, judges handed down prison
sentences for downloading child pornography.
In 2008, Child Focus, in conjunction with the King Baudouin
Foundation, produced the first comprehensive study to document the
growing number of children contacted via cellular telephone and
Internet for sexual purposes and children responding to such requests.
Child Focus overhauled its clicksafe.be Web site, which provided
guidance to children, parents, and educators on the safe use of the
Internet.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, there were reports of women, men, and girls
trafficked to, through, and within the country for commercial sexual
exploitation and labor.
According to the CEOCR and domestic NGOs that worked with
trafficking victims, women and girls were trafficked primarily from
Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia for sexual exploitation.
Particularly prominent source countries were Bulgaria, Romania,
Albania, Nigeria, China, and Turkey. Male victims were typically
trafficked for exploitative labor in restaurants, bars, sweatshops,
horticulture, fruit farms, construction sites, convenience stores,
certain bakeries and butcher shops, and janitorial services. Prominent
source countries for victims of labor exploitation were China, India,
Brazil, and Bulgaria. Traffickers were principally organized criminal
gangs.
The law criminalizes recruiting, transporting, transiting,
sheltering, and passing to others the control over persons for the
purpose of prostitution, child pornography, exploitation of poverty,
economic exploitation, or organ transplant. The law also makes it
illegal to force trafficked persons to commit crimes. Persons convicted
of violating the antitrafficking law are subject to one to five years'
imprisonment and may be fined between 2,750 and 275,000 euros
(approximately $3,930 to $393,000). Repeat offenses, offenses of an
organized nature, and those with aggravated circumstances are subject
to higher penalties. If the offender belongs to a criminal organization
or if the trafficking results in manslaughter, the punishment is 15 to
20 years' imprisonment and fines ranging from 5,500 to 825,000 euros
($7,870 to $1,180,000).
The country's antitrafficking policy is implemented by the
Interdepartmental Coordination Unit to Combat Human Trafficking and
Smuggling, chaired by the justice minister. Its executive board is
composed of representatives from the Criminal Policy Department of the
Justice Ministry, the CEOCR, the Immigration Office, the federal
police, and the ministries of state security and social welfare and
employment.
In 2008 prosecutors handled 387 trafficking cases, including 202
economic exploitation and 141 sexual exploitation cases. In 2008 the
federal judicial police identified 81 criminal organizations dealing
with smuggling, 84 with sexual exploitation, and 37 with economic
exploitation. The judicial police handled 356 sexual exploitation
cases, making 99 arrests, and dealt with 206 economic exploitation
cases, making 27 arrests. The laws allow authorities to grant residence
to trafficking victims who cooperate with them. The prevailing
protection system has the force of law and extends to unaccompanied
minors and other categories of vulnerable victims.
The government has a plan for combating trafficking and smuggling
that is aimed at improving data sharing between law enforcement
agencies, combating child pornography more effectively, and tracking
persons who exploit trafficking victims.
Trafficking victims who are foreign nationals have 45 days to
decide whether to assist in the investigation of their traffickers and
can qualify for a renewable three-month residency permit or a six-month
permit, depending on the status of the judicial investigation. Victims
can eventually obtain permanent residence when their traffickers are
sentenced. Unaccompanied minors and victims willing to file a complaint
can bypass the 45-day period and immediately apply for a three-month
residency permit. In 2008 the Immigration Office awarded residence
permits under the trafficking victim status program to 174 applicants,
mostly victims of economic exploitation, including six underage
victims.
The government continued to subsidize three specialized shelters
providing assistance to victims of trafficking. NGOs continued to
report excellent cooperation and coordination with law enforcement
agencies. The shelters registered 495 victims in 2008. The three
centers noted a significant increase in 2008 in the number of victims
of economic exploitation and male victims.
The government data collection on human trafficking was slow.
Trafficking victims were harder to identify as international gangs
frequently rotated victims within the EU. Cases were also harder to
prosecute as trafficking gangs became more sophisticated at stopping
victims from testifying. Traffickers also allowed victims to keep some
money that they had earned, making it more difficult to claim that they
were forced to engage in prostitution. Trafficking gangs started to
threaten the families of victims.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for the protection of
persons with physical and mental disabilities from discrimination in
employment, education, access to health care, and other state services
or other areas. In 2008 the CEOCR received 234 complaints regarding
discrimination against persons with disabilities. Most were employment-
related, and they concerned access to private and public buildings and
services, including public transport, and access to banks, bars, and
restaurants. While the government has mandated that public buildings
erected after 1970 must be accessible to persons with disabilities,
many older buildings were still inaccessible.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--A survey released in November
on discrimination and intolerance as perceived by ethnic minorities
coming from the Northern Africa, Turkey, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern
Europe showed that color of the skin and clothing related to Islam were
the most important factors causing intolerance along with
discrimination by Belgians, especially when seeking housing and
employment.
In its 2008 annual report, the CEOCR stated that discrimination
against members of the Muslim community, estimated at 450,000 persons,
principally of Moroccan and Turkish origin, greatly exceeded that
experienced by other immigrant communities. In 2008 the CEOCR, which
investigates complaints of discrimination, racism, and hate
instigation, handled 2,207 discrimination and racism complaints, a
decrease from the previous year. Most complaints concerned nationality
and ethnic descent (39.2 percent), physical handicaps (13.3 percent),
and discrimination on the ground of religious and philosophical
orientation (8.3 percent). Complaints related to ethnic descent,
nationality, race, and skin color accounted for 57 percent of the
complaints registered by the CEOCR. Places of work and the Internet
were most often cited as the places where the alleged discriminatory
acts occurred. Thirty-nine percent of the complaints received by the
CEOCR were deemed to be justified. In 2008 the CEOCR initiated court
cases in 2.5 percent of the registered complaints. Courts convicted a
number of persons for inciting racial hatred, shouting abuse, denying
the Holocaust, and using violence against asylum seekers. Judges
convicted employers for discriminating on racial and physical grounds
in hiring personnel. Landlords were convicted for discriminating
against foreigners and persons with disabilities.
Data released by the Justice Ministry indicated that in 2008, 61
percent of the cases of alleged discrimination handled by the courts
were dismissed.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--According to the CEOCR, 5.2
percent of the complaints it received in 2008 concerned discrimination
based on sexual orientation. Most were work-related, and the center
received several reports on violence against gays, lesbians, bisexuals,
and transgender persons.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--In 2008 3.9 percent of
the complaints received by the CEOCR involved discrimination based on
health or medical conditions, including against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Most of the complaints were related to work.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to
form and join independent unions of their choice without previous
authorization or excessive requirements, and workers exercised this
right in practice, with citizen and noncitizen workers enjoying the
same rights. Works council elections are mandatory in enterprises
employing over 100 employees, and safety and health committee elections
are mandatory in companies employing more than 50 employees.
Approximately 58 percent of private and public sector workers were
members of labor unions. The law allows unions to conduct their
activities without interference, and the government protected this
right in practice. The law provides for the right to strike for all
private and all public workers, except for the military. The
International Trade Union Confederation noted in its annual survey of
violations of trade union rights that, on occasion, multinational
companies took legal action aimed at prohibiting certain forms of
collective action, including strike pickets.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The right to
bargain collectively is recognized, and the government protected this
right. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer
interference in union functions, and the government protected this
right in practice. There were no reports of antiunion discrimination.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Women, men, and children from
Eastern Europe, sub- Saharan Africa, and Asia were trafficked to the
country for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Female
victims, including children, worked as prostitutes in massage parlors,
as escorts, and through the Internet. Male victims were forced to work
in restaurants, bars, sweatshops, horticulture, fruit farms, and
construction sites. Police and courts used antitrafficking legislation
to combat economic exploitation. In its 2008 report on trafficking, the
CEOCR noted several cases of debt bondage, with victims lacking freedom
of movement as their documents were retained.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws
and government policy protect children from exploitation in the
workplace, and the government generally enforced these laws. The
minimum age of employment is 15. Persons between the ages of 15 and 18
can participate in part-time work and study programs and work full time
during school vacations. The Ministry of Employment regulates
industries that employ juvenile workers to ensure that labor laws are
followed and occasionally grants waivers for children temporarily
employed by modeling agencies and by the entertainment business. There
is growing concern about children exploited by organized begging gangs
in larger cities.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly national minimum
wage for workers 21 years of age was 1,387.50 euros (approximately
$2,080) and increased to 1,440.70 euros ($2,160) for workers 22 years
of age with one year of service. When combined with extensive social
benefits, this wage provided a decent standard of living for a worker
and family.
The standard workday is eight hours, and the standard workweek is
38 hours. Departure from these norms can occur under the terms of a
collective bargaining agreement, but work time may not exceed 11 hours
per day and 50 hours per week. An 11-hour rest period is required
between two work periods. Overtime is paid at a time-and-a-half premium
Monday through Saturday and at double time on Sundays. The Ministry of
Labor and the labor courts effectively enforced these laws and
regulations.
Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations that
endanger their safety or health without jeopardy to their continued
employment, and workers exercised this right in practice. In general
regulations were enforced effectively by the Employment and Labor
Relations Federal Public Service.
__________
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) consists of two entities within the
state, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation) and
the Republika Srpska, and Brcko District, with a total population of
approximately four million. The Federation has a Bosniak (Bosnian
Muslim) and Croat majority, while the Republika Srpska has a Serb
majority. The 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace (the Dayton
Accords), provides for a democratic republic with a bicameral
parliamentary assembly but assigns many governmental functions to the
two entities. The Dayton Accords also provide for a high representative
with the authority to impose legislation and remove officials. The
tripartite presidency consists of Bosnian Croat Zeljko Komsic, Bosnian
Serb Nebojsa Radmanovic, and Bosniak Haris Silajdzic. In 2006, the
country held general elections that international observers deemed free
and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.
The following human rights problems were reported: reports of
continued deaths from landmines, police abuses, poor and overcrowded
prison conditions, inter-prisoner violence in prisons, police failure
to inform detainees of the rights or allow effective access to legal
counsel prior to questioning, harassment and intimidation of
journalists and members of civil society, obstruction of refugee
returns, government corruption, discrimination and violence against
women and ethnic, sexual, and religious minorities, discrimination
against persons with disabilities, trafficking in persons, and limits
on employment rights. At year's end Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb war
crimes indictee most wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), remained at large.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
Domestic courts and the ICTY continued to adjudicate cases arising
from killings during the 1992-95 conflict.
During the year there were 22 landmine accidents that killed nine
persons and injured 19.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
An estimated 12,000 persons remained missing from the 1992-95 war.
During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
reported 22,451 requests to trace relatives missing from the 1992-95
conflict. By year's end a total of 11,399 persons had been accounted
for, including 467 located alive.
The state-level Missing Persons Institute (MPI) continued to
account for persons missing from the 1992-95 conflict. During the year
the Republika Srpska continued to support an entity-level body with
similar responsibilities to MPI. Observers characterized the team as an
effort to disrupt the MPI's work. Republika Srpska operational teams
refused MPI personnel access to archives that were transferred to MPI's
ownership in accordance with the law. Republika Srpska prosecutors did
not cooperate in MPI's exhumation and identification process. Since May
there were no exhumations or identifications carried out by Republika
Srpska prosecutors.
At year's end excavations coordinated by MPI resulted in the
recovery of 218 bodies and 346 sets of partial remains. The majority of
remains were recovered from 13 mass graves (four of them related to the
1995 Srebrenica genocide).
From 2000 through the end of the year, the International Commission
on Missing Persons (ICMP) generated a total of 27,505 DNA matches
relevant to 15,331 missing persons, of which 23,562 DNA matches related
to the country. ICMP collected over 87,766 blood samples from persons
related to 28,911 missing individuals, of which 69,532 blood samples
related to 23,279 persons relevant to the country.
During the year the BiH State Prosecutor's Office and its War
Crimes Department continued to investigate the events surrounding the
Srebrenica genocide and the fate of individuals missing from those
events.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, there were
allegations that police physically mistreated individuals at the time
of their arrest and during detention.
On October 14, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture (CPT) released a report on the 2007 visit by a CPT
delegation to the country's detention centers, prisons, psychiatric
establishments, and social care homes. With regard to treatment while
in police custody, the delegation noted it received allegations from a
number of persons of physical mistreatment by police, consisting mainly
of kicks, punches, and blows with batons to various parts of the body.
The CPT report cited several examples of police mistreatment, including
allegations that police officers threatened and beat individual
detainees in some cases. The CPT report noted that, despite the medical
evidence in certain cases, prosecutors had failed to take further
action.
With regard to treatment of persons who were imprisoned, the CPT
reported receiving numerous allegations of mistreatment by prison staff
at the Zenica prison that suggested that mistreatment was a general
problem at the prison. The vast majority of prisoners interviewed at
the Sarajevo, East Sarajevo, and Mostar prisons made no allegations of
mistreatment.
The CPT delegation also reported meeting several patients at the
Sokolac Psychiatric Hospital who alleged that police punched and hit
them with batons at the time of their apprehension. The delegation
noted that a doctor working at the hospital confirmed the allegations.
The CPT report also recorded the presence of baseball bats, replica
pistols, and metal piping (with wrist straps) in interrogation rooms at
a number of police stations and stated that there was no legitimate
reason for such items to be present.
Following the earlier release of preliminary observations by the
CPT delegation on its 2007 visit, various state and entity level
ministries and state, entity, and cantonal law enforcement agencies
took measures to address the problem of police abuse. The Federation
minister of interior and the police director informed the ministries
and police commissioners of each canton of the CPT findings, including
a reminder that mistreatment of persons deprived of liberty is illegal,
unprofessional, and would be punished. Cantonal ministries reported to
the Federation government on actions they had taken to investigate and
punish cases of mistreatment. In the Republika Srpska, Ministry of
Interior officials responsible for oversight of individual
organizational units were ordered to pay special attention to
monitoring legality of treatment of persons deprived of liberty, and to
undertake sanctions as regulated by the law in order to combat torture
and inhuman and degrading treatment.
In 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a
judgement that found one violation by the country with regard to the
prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment in Article 3 of the
European Convention on Human Rights.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions were below international standards in several areas.
The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights
observers and such visits occurred during the year.
Prison standards for hygiene and access to medical care met
prisoners' basic needs, but overcrowding, poor hygiene, and antiquated
facilities remained serious problems. There were no proper facilities
for treating mentally ill or special needs prisoners. There were some
reports of ethnically motivated violence among inmates, particularly
the formation of prison gangs based on ethnicity or region of origin.
In its October 14 final report, the CPT delegation stated that it
found a culture that was conducive to inter-prisoner violence at the
Zenica prison and heard accounts of inter-prisoner violence and
bullying in the Doboj, Foca, and Sarajevo prisons. At Zenica prison,
the delegation reported that the information it gathered ``clearly
indicated that the establishment was not under the effective control of
prison staff'' and that violence and abuse among inmates appeared to be
a feature of everyday life in the prison. The report stated that the
prisons of Zenica, Doboj, and, to a lesser degree, Foca and Sarajevo
could be considered unsafe for prisoners and staff alike. The CPT
delegation noted that gang control of significant parts of Zenica and
Doboj prisons, in particular, rendered life for other prisoners
particularly dangerous and disagreeable.
There were reports of corruption among prison officials.
Lenient rules allowing weekend furloughs for good behavior to even
violent felons came under increasing public scrutiny following the
disappearance of a high-profile prisoner.
Adult and juvenile female inmates were held together in separate
wings of facilities for adult males. Facilities held male inmates aged
16 to 18 with adult male inmates, with male inmates under the age of 16
held separately. The correction facility for Republika Srpska juveniles
aged 16 to 18 in the Banja Luka Prison was seriously overcrowded.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers and gave international community representatives widespread
and unhindered access to detention facilities and prisoners.
On September 25, the Ombudsman Institution of Bosnia and
Herzegovina published a report of its visit to all 12 prisons and three
separate correctional departments in the country in which it noted
several problems. The ombudsman found the legal framework to be
inadequate and in disharmony with international standards, especially
regarding EU standards. The ombudsman found that mistreatment was
common in prisons, often a result of serious organizational problems,
such as putting together inmates serving sentences for violent crimes
with inmates serving sentence for less serious offenses, such as
traffic incidents. Violence among inmates was very frequent.
The report noted growing concern regarding Zenica prison, where
little effort has been made to improve existing conditions, as well as
for the poor condition of Sarajevo prison. The ombudsman noted that
many of the country's prisons were located in very old buildings or
located in city centers that made exercise periods difficult.
The ICRC continued to have access to detention facilities under the
jurisdiction of the ministries of justice at both the state and entity
levels.
The ombudsman's report noted several improvements in prisons during
the year, including the construction of new facilities, and
improvements to existing ones including the new Republika Srpska
juvenile department within Kula prison, and improvements in the
conditions for accommodation of inmates at the psychiatric department
of Zenica prison. As of May a new facility (within Zenica prison) for
these inmates was operating, providing much better conditions for
inmates with mental disorders. To address these concerns, the ombudsman
established a department for the protection of the rights of detainees
and prisoners within its own structure.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The law extends
significant overlapping law enforcement competencies to the state-level
government, to each entity, and the Brcko District, each of which has
its own police force. A 2,000-person EU force continued to implement
the military aspects of the Dayton Accords. The North Atlantic Treaty
Organization oversees defense reform, counterterrorism, and cooperation
with the ICTY. The EU Police Mission remained in the country, tasked
with the mission to monitor aspects of the work of the local police.
The country made some limited progress on state-level police
reform. Authorities postponed local-level police reform until after the
completion of constitutional reform in this area. By year's end six of
the seven bodies mandated by the law were formed, but often had only
minimal staff and had not begun operations. Entities did not meet the
target standards of ethnic representation on police forces that their
respective constitutions mandated.
Police standards units (PSUs) are the internal affairs
investigative units in each entity's Ministry of the Interior and in
the Brcko District. There were continued reports of corruption within
the entity- and state-level security services.
During the first nine months of the year, the Republika Srpska PSUs
investigated 1,373 conduct-related complaints and determined that 80
were well-founded. The unit forwarded recommendations for disciplinary
action to prosecutors in 41 cases that they considered major
violations. In addition authorities filed 31 felony reports and three
misdemeanor reports against eight Republika Srpska Interior Ministry
employees for offenses including narcotics trafficking, forgery, theft,
domestic violence, assault, extortion, and traffic violations,
indicating a significant decrease from the previous year. During the
year Federation PSUs investigated 1,109 cases and forwarded 69
complaints to prosecutors for disciplinary action. During the year the
Brcko District PSU investigated 158 cases and concluded that 52
complaints were well-founded. The PSU forwarded 52 cases deemed to be
major violations of duty to prosecutors for disciplinary action.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police
generally arrested persons openly with warrants based on sufficient
evidence. The law provides that authorities shall promptly inform
detainees of the charges against them, and there was a functioning bail
system. The law requires police to bring suspects before a prosecutor
within 24 hours of detention. During this period, police may detain
individuals for up to six hours at the scene of a crime for
investigative purposes. The prosecutor has an additional 24 hours to
release the person or to bring the person before a judge who decides
whether they should remain in pretrial custody. The law generally
limits pretrial detention to one year. The law allows detainees to
request a lawyer of their own choosing, requires authorities to inform
detainees of the charges against them after an indictment, and provides
for the right to a speedy trial. In practice, detainees were often
denied prompt access to an attorney. There were no cases of arbitrary
arrest or detention reported during the year.
In its October 14 report, the CPT delegation reported that the
right to access an attorney only became effective some time after
detained persons had been deprived of their liberty and that access to
an attorney seemed to occur only after detainees were brought before a
judge to be remanded into custody. Many of the persons interviewed by
the delegation claimed that they had not been permitted to contact an
attorney or even informed of their rights until after being questioned
by crime police.
In 2008 the ECHR issued a judgement that found one violation by the
country of the right to liberty and security provided under Article 5
of the European Convention on Human Rights.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The state constitution does not
explicitly provide for an independent judiciary, but the laws of both
entities do. The State Court is the highest court in the country for
certain criminal cases, including war crimes, organized crime,
terrorism, economic crime, and corruption. The country also has a State
Constitutional Court and State Prosecutor's Office. Each entity has its
own supreme court and Chief Prosecutors' Offices. The state-level
courts do not exercise judicial supremacy over the entity-level courts.
Political parties sometimes influenced the judiciary in politically
sensitive cases. Judicial reforms reduced the level of intimidation by
organized crime figures and political leaders, but intimidation
continued.
The absence of extradition treaties with neighboring countries
continued to be a major hurdle to bringing suspects to justice,
particularly given the relatively small size of the country, the
prevalence of dual citizenship, and the ease of movement across borders
with former-Yugoslav countries.
In September Republika Srpska Prime Minister Dodik publicly labeled
the State Court and the State Prosecutor's Office ``fake institutions''
imposed by the Office of the High Representative. He also called for
their abolition, and the Republika Srpska government subsequently filed
a criminal report with the State Prosecutor's Office.
The state-level High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) acts
independently and regulates many of the most important affairs of the
judiciary with clear, transparent criteria for judicial and
prosecutorial appointments and detailed disciplinary liability for
judges and prosecutors.
Local officials and police generally cooperated in enforcing court
decisions, but problems persisted as a result of inefficiency. Despite
efforts to streamline court procedures, there was a backlog of nearly
two million unresolved cases, over one-half involving utility bills. It
was estimated that only one-tenth of the cases involved criminal
matters.
According to the 2008 Report of the Center for Human Rights of
Sarajevo University, more than 20 percent of decisions of the State
Constitutional Court had not been implemented. The majority of the
cases pertained to so-called ``systematic failures'' of government,
such as issues of missing persons, old currency savings, and payment of
war damage compensation.
Trial Procedures.--Under Federation and Republika Srpska laws,
defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, trials are public, and the
defendant has the right to counsel at public expense, if charged with a
serious crime. However, courts did not always appoint defense attorneys
where the maximum sentence was less than five years. The law provides
defendants the right to confront witnesses, to present witnesses and
evidence on their own behalf, to access government-held evidence
relevant to their case, and to appeal verdicts. The government observed
these rights in practice.
In 2008 the ECHR issued a judgement that found one violation by the
country of the right to a fair trial as provided under Article 6 of the
European Convention on Human Rights.
The State Court continued to make progress adjudicating organized
crime and war crimes cases and expanded the witness protection program.
During the year the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA)
Witness Protection Department provided support to more than 120
individuals.
The State Court War Crimes Chamber and entity courts continued
conducting war crimes trials during the year. The State Prosecutor's
Office opened 33 new war crimes investigations involving 103 suspects
and confirmed 18 new indictments involving 31 alleged war criminals.
The State Prosecutor's Office continued to use plea agreements in
some cases. In December 2008 the Council of Ministers adopted a
national strategy for the prosecution of war crimes that foresaw the
prosecution of the most serious war crimes by 2016 and all other war
crimes by 2024.
On October 16, a State Court first instance panel found Milorad
Trbic guilty of genocide in Srebrenica in 1995 and sentenced him to 30
years in prison.
On February 16, a State Court appeals panel upheld the May 2008
conviction of Dusko Knizevic, Zejlko Mejakic, and Momcilo Gruban for
crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, and physical and
mental abuse, committed against Bosniaks and Croats at the Omarska and
Keraterm detention camps in Prijedor in 1992. However, the court found
that the State Prosecutor's Office had not proven that Mejakic and
Gruban had command responsibility for the crimes, but found them guilty
of joint criminal enterprise. The court confirmed the prison terms of
21 and 31 years respectively for Mejakic and Knizevic, but reduced
Gruban's sentence from 11 to seven years, due to the testimony of
several witnesses who said Gruban had provided assistance to some
detainees.
On February 20, a State Court first instance panel found Marko
Radic, Dragan Sunjic, Damir Brekalo, and Mirko Vracevic guilty of
crimes against humanity, including inhuman treatment and rape,
committed against Bosniaks in Heliodrom Camp between July 1993 and
March 1994. The four men were members of the Second Brigade of the
Croat Defense Council. The court senteced Radic, Sunjic, Brekalo, and
Vracevic to 25, 21, 20, and 14 years in prison, respectively.
On May 5, a State Court appeals panel upheld the conviction of
Mirko Perez and Milorad Savic for crimes against humanity in connection
with their participation in the killing of 23 Bosniaks from the
villages of Ljoljici and Cerkazovici and the wounding of four others.
Perez and Savic were former members of the reserve police in Jajce, and
Perez was also formerly a member of the Army of Republika Srpska.
On February 26, the trial of Ratko Bundalo in a 1992 Kalinovik war
crimes case began; the trial continued at year's end.
On September 9, a State Court appeals panel upheld the July 2008
conviction of six of the seven defendants found guilty of genocide in
the killing of more than 1,000 Bosniak men and boys in Kravice, but
reduced the sentences of the remaining six from 38 to 42 years to nine
to 10 years each. The court granted a retrial to the seventh
individual.
Despite local and international efforts to prosecute war crimes,
many lower-level perpetrators remained unpunished, including those
responsible for the approximately 8,000 persons killed in the
Srebrenica genocide and those responsible for approximately 13,000 to
15,000 other persons who are missing and presumed killed during the
1992-95 war.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and citizens
could file civil suits for human rights violations. The country has
three ombudsmen (one Bosniak, one Croat, and one Serb), each with six-
year mandates. At year's end the entities still maintained ombudsmen
despite the law requiring entities to eliminate these positions when
state-level positions were created.
Property Restitution.--The country's four traditional religious
communities had extensive claims for restitution of property that the
government of the former Yugoslavia nationalized after World War II.
The law provides religious communities the right to restitution of
expropriated property ``in accordance with the law.'' In the absence of
state legislation specifically governing restitution, return of former
religious properties continued on an ad hoc basis at the discretion of
municipal officials; these officials rarely completed such restitution,
and usually did so in favor of the majority group in that particular
municipality.
On April 2, the Islamic community in Zvornik regained the
possession of land in Divic, from which the Serb Orthodox Church had
removed an illegally constructed church building built on the
foundations of a prewar mosque. The Islamic community paid for the
relocation. According to the local imam, the reconstruction of the
mosque was underway at year's end.
Many officials used property restitution cases as a tool of
political patronage. Other unresolved restitution claims were
politically and legally complicated. For example, the Serbian Orthodox
Church continued to seek the return of the building that housed the
University of Sarajevo's Faculty of Economic Sciences. The Jewish and
Muslim communities also asserted historic claims to many commercial and
residential properties in Sarajevo. The Catholic community maintained a
large number of similar claims in Banja Luka.
Roma displaced during the 1992-95 conflict had difficulty
repossessing their property as a result of discrimination and because
they lacked documents proving ownership or had never registered their
property with local authorities. The lack of documentation also
prevented them from applying for reconstruction assistance.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. However, some
Republika Srpska-based journalists continued to complain of telephone
tapping and increased government surveillance.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press; however, the government did not always respect
press freedom in practice. Laws delegated safeguarding freedom of the
press to the cantons in the Federation and to the entity-level
authorities in the Republika Srpska. Defamation laws exist at the
entity level, and freedom of information legislation exists at both the
entity and state levels. Government respect for freedom of speech and
the press continued to decline during the year.
The Federation criminal code prohibits hate speech; the Republika
Srpska criminal code does not. The broadcasting code of practice also
regulates hate speech by broadcasters. The country's Communications
Regulatory Agency (CRA) did not register any cases of hate speech
during the year. However, independent analysts noted a tendency by
politicians and other leaders to label unwanted criticism as hate
speech. Many media outlets used language, often nationalistic,
considered incendiary on matters related to ethnicity, religion, sexual
orientation, and political affiliation. Both entities have defamation
laws which were used in courts.
Many independent, privately owned newspapers were available and
expressed a wide variety of views. A number of independent print media
outlets continued to encounter financial problems that endangered their
operation.
During the year the Press Council considered 116 complaints related
to print media, accepting 32 as valid and rejecting 45 as unfounded. In
some cases the council instructed media outlets to publish a refutation
or a retraction, or advised the same, resolving 23 cases in this way.
The council rejected 16 cases, as they were already in court
procedures. Most of the complaints accepted by the council involved
allegations that print media outlets denied persons the right to
respond to reports and articles that they considered false or
defamatory. The Press Council was faced with difficulty in preserving
its status as an organization able to deal with media issues throughout
the country.
Political pressures on state-level broadcast media continued. Both
Bosnia-Herzegovina Radio Television (BHRT) and the CRA were exposed to
political pressure, with politicians often alleging a lack of
impartiality. In the case of the BHRT, observers believed the attacks
were aimed at undermining the state-level public broadcasters and
building support for transferring media competencies from the state to
the entity level. Other public broadcasters remained vulnerable to
political influence as well. Two public broadcasters, Federation
Television (FTV) and Radio Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS),
remained the largest television broadcasters in the country. RTRS
reported predominantly pro-Republika Srpska ruling party views.
The status of the CRA remained shaky, and its authority was
challenged on political grounds. The Council of Ministers failed, for a
second year in a row, to appoint a CRA general manager and attempted to
influence the selection of a candidate by making it part of broader
political package. In April the mandate of CRA council members expired.
At year's end, the state parliament had not completed procedures for
appointing new council members.
The few media outlets in the Republika Srpska that retained
editorial independence continued to report government interference with
their operations. A local commercial network of five stations operated
in both entities (Mreza Plus), as did the private television networks
OBN and PinkBH. Dozens of small independent television stations
broadcast throughout the country. Radio continued to provide a forum
for diverse points of view. In many cases, news programs of independent
broadcasters reflected opposition perspectives.
The majority of Republika Srpska media showed a distinct pro-
Republika Srpska government bias. On September 17, that government
reached a decision to distribute five million convertible marks ($3.6
million) to media outlets, including independent media, raising
concerns about the impact of such financial support on editorial
policies. On November 16, Republika Srpska media signed individual
agreements with the government and received the first installment of
these funds. Federation media outlets also exhibited political bias
along ethnic lines, with some clearly taking positions in support of
specific political or business interests.
There were continued reports of threats against journalists. During
the year the Free Media Help Line (a part of the Bosnian Journalists
Association) registered 40 cases involving violations of journalists'
rights and freedoms or pressure from government and law enforcement
officials. During the year there were 13 cases of pressure on and
threats to journalists that included six death threats, and four
physical attacks. Other cases involved assault threats and denial of
access to information.
In some instances, media sources reported officials threatened
media outlets with loss of advertising or limited their access to
official information. Politicians and government officials also accused
media outlets of opposing a given ethnic group or betraying their own
ethnic group. Some Republika Srpska-based journalists complained of
telephone tapping, increased government surveillance, actual or
threatened lawsuits, repeated visits from tax authorities, and
revocation of credit or loans.
On February 8, residents of Gluha Bukovica attacked FTV journalists
and held them for two hours while they were reporting on a local imam
charged with pedophilia. The Islamic community accused several media
outlets of ``Islamophobia'' for their reporting on the story. The
Bosnia and Herzegovina Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (HCHR), the
Office of the High Representative, and others strongly criticized the
attacks.
In May Republika Srpska Prime Minister Dodik filed suit for slander
against the BETA news agency and a Banja Luka correspondent, Ljiljana
Kovacevic, for reporting that SIPA submitted a report on suspected
criminal activity against him and other persons in connection with
questionable construction tenders. Dodik asked the court for 15,000
convertible marks ($11,000) in compensation for damages.
On June 7, an unknown person verbally threatened the general
secretary of the Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina Journalists,
Borka Rudic. The individual was waiting for Rudic in front of her
apartment building and, implying that she encouraged ``Islamophobia,''
said that she ``would see what would happen to her in the future.'' The
incident was reported to the police, and an investigation was underway
at year's end.
On June 11, Alija Behram, the director of RTV Mostar and host of a
political-themed television show, received a death threat by text
message, which immediately followed the conclusion of a broadcast of
his political show, during which he addressed several controversial
political issues in Mostar. In the message, Behram was accused of
working against Muslims and was told that ``your end is near.'' He
reported the threat to the cantonal Ministry of the Interior, which
announced that it would open an investigation. According to Behram, the
police responded seven days after he initially reported the incident.
The Free Media Help Line sent a letter to the police demanding a
detailed investigation and protection for Behram.
On June 27, convicted trafficker Tasim Kucevic was sentenced to an
additional two years in prison for his April 21 assault on Safija
Mahmutovic and verbal attack on FTV journalist Vildana Duran on the
premises of the State Court. In the incident, Mahmutovic stopped
Kucevic on his way into court and showed him a photo of her niece, one
of his victims. Kucevic later verbally threatened Dzenana Karup-Drusko,
a journalist for Dani magazine, and Avdo Avdic of ``60 Minutes'' for
their reports on the incident. The media reported extensively on the
attacks. The country's political leaders and representatives of
judicial and executive branches, as well as nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) and associations of journalists, criticized the
attack.
In July, following the escape of Karay Kamal bin Ali from Zenica
prison, FTV reported the prisoner had received a gift from Reis Ceric.
In a July 29 press release, the Islamic community asserted that FTV's
reporting was ``crucial evidence of the hatred that television spreads
against the Islamic community.'' The press release claimed that FTV's
coverage indicated ``the possibility of a repetition of genocide
against'' Bosniaks. FTV noted and apologized for a factual error in its
reporting of the gift exchange: Ceric had received a gift from Kamal
bin Ali, rather than given a gift to him.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 35 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events; however, ethnic
favoritism and politicization of faculty appointments constrained
academic freedom. In Sarajevo, Serbs and Croats complained that
Bosniaks received preferential treatment in appointments and promotions
at the University of Sarajevo. The University of Banja Luka continued
to limit faculty appointments almost exclusively to Serbs. The
University of Mostar remained divided into two separate universities,
reflecting the continued ethnic divide in the city. Parochial interests
influence the remaining five universities in Bosniak-majority areas.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected this right in practice.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government, with certain exceptions, generally
respected this right in practice. A wide range of social, cultural, and
political organizations functioned without interference.
The law allows NGOs to register freely; however, some NGOs and NGO
associations experienced difficulties registering, including long
delays and inconsistent application of the law. Some NGOs, frustrated
by delays at the state level, chose instead to register their
organizations at the entity level.
On March 18, Slobodan Vaskovic, a reporter for FTV, and his
cameraman were verbally attacked in Trebinje while filming a Serb
Orthodox congregation during a religious service. According to the
reports, the bishop's driver tried to break the crew's camera and take
their equipment. Vaskovic and his crew sought refuge in the office of a
local NGO, and were later escorted by police out of Trebinje. Vaskovic
claimed that his car was later stoned while driving through Ljubinje.
There was widespread public criticism of the attack, although the Serb
Orthodox Church criticized the reporters for allegedly having political
motivations. A police investigation continued at year's end.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion;
however, societal abuses and discrimination based on religious belief
restricted the ability of adherents of minority religions to worship as
they pleased. The religions with the largest number of adherents in the
country are Islam, Orthodoxy, and Catholicism. Bosniaks are
predominantly Muslim, Serbs are predominantly Orthodox, and Croats are
predominantly Catholic.
In some cases, entity and local governments allowed or encouraged
an atmosphere in which abuses of religious freedom could take place.
Minor attacks on religious objects and religious officials occurred
frequently, but a systematic obstruction of religious freedom in
several high-profile cases remained. The reluctance of police and
prosecutors to investigate and prosecute crimes against religious
minorities aggressively remained a major obstacle to safeguarding the
rights of religious minorities.
The law requires religious communities to register with the
Ministry of Justice; any religious group can register if it has at
least 300 adult members who are citizens. Muslim, Serbian Orthodox,
Jewish, and Catholic congregations registered, as did congregations of
several smaller Christian denominations.
The law provides for the right to religious education. The law
calls for a representative of the various religious communities to
teach religious studies in all public and private schools. However,
authorities did not always fully implement the law, particularly in
segregated school systems or where there was political resistance at
the municipal level. Schools often offered religious instruction only
in the municipality's majority religion. Authorities sometimes
pressured parents to consent to religious instruction for their
children. In some cases, peers and teachers pressured and discriminated
against children who chose not to attend religion classes.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Individuals reported
ethnically-motivated religious violence in many municipalities.
Perpetrators directed violence at ethnic symbols, clerics, and
religious buildings. Civil society representatives noted that political
leaders tended to criticize incidents primarily in cases where members
of their own ethnic group were victims.
On January 30, a bomb was thrown at Hadzi Perviz Mosque in Banja
Luka, causing minor damage. Police confirmed the attack and invited
citizens to help them find the perpetrators. The Republika Srpska
Minister of Interior Stanislav Cadjo, publically criticized the attack.
On August 10, shots were fired at the Serb Orthodox Church building
in the Sarajevo suburb of Reljevo. Sarajevo canton police arrested a
20-year-old man, who admitted firing the shots and claimed that he was
drunk at the time. He was detained and a criminal procedure against him
was opened.
On September 20, according to media reports, unidentified persons
threw rocks at the catholics while they were gathered at a mass at
Londza cemetery near Donji Vakuf. One woman sustained light injuries.
Police stated that they believed the attackers were minors whose
identity would be determined in the course of the investigation. The
case continued at year's end.
There were a number of highly politicized cases involving the
illegal construction of religious buildings or monuments on private or
government-owned land. In these cases the buildings or monuments were
built to send a political message to religious minorities about the
dominance of the majority group in that area.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic violence against members or
properties of the Jewish community, which is estimated to be less than
1,000 people. In January unknown persons painted anti-Semitic graffiti
in Mostar, Sarajevo, and Zenica, possibly in response to the conflict
in the Gaza Strip. Also in January the Islamic youth magazine SAFF
published an anti-Semitic article that used pejorative language in
referring to Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the suffering of Jews
in concentration camps during World War II.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights;
however, some limits remained in practice. The government cooperated
with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance
to internally-displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The return of persons
displaced by the 1991-95 wars in the former Yugoslavia continued to
steadily decrease. According to the UNHCR, 984 persons (of whom 956
were minority returnees) returned during the year. Government officials
and some NGOs, however, believed that the total number of returns was
lower, since the UNHCR determines returns based on property restitution
rather than physical presence. According to UNHCR, there were an
estimated 117,345 registered displaced persons in the country still
seeking return to their prewar places of residence.
The difficult economic situation in the country remained a primary
factor inhibiting returns, with many rural areas experiencing official
unemployment rates above 40 percent. When jobs were available, minority
returnees often complained of discrimination in hiring. In returnee
areas throughout the country, the percentage of minorities holding
municipal employment was neither representative of current populations,
nor consistent with legally mandated percentages based on the 1991
census, indicating local government failures to implement and enforce
the provisions of the law.
A hostile return environment remained a factor. During the year
observers noted a trend of attacks directed against symbols of minority
groups, rather than attacks against individuals. Many returnees cited
authorities' failure to apprehend war criminals as a disincentive to
return. Many displaced persons created permanent lives away from their
prewar homes, and only individuals with few other options (including a
large number of elderly pensioners) tended to return.
Other factors inhibiting returns were a lack of access to social
benefits, a lack of available housing, and high municipal
administration taxes on documents that were necessary for return, such
as birth or land certificates. Minority returnees often faced
intimidation, discrimination, and other obstructions in their access to
education, health care, and pension benefits, as well as poor
infrastructure.
At the end of July, Bosniak returnees to Dzivare village near
Trebinje reported they were exposed to numerous provocations,
robberies, and verbal insults. For example on July 26, a group of
people taunted Bosniak returnee children, asking them whether ``they
would want some pork,'' singing Chetnik songs, and yelling ``this is
Serbia.'' Returnees reported the incidents to the police, who responded
by providing increased patrol in the area where the incidents occured.
In the Republika Srpska, the Ministry for Refugees and Displaced
Persons provided support to Bosniaks and Croats returning to the entity
and to Bosnian Serbs returning to the Federation. The Federation
Ministry for Refugees assisted Croats and Serbs returning to the
Federation, and Bosniaks and Croats returning to the Republika Srpska.
Both entity-level refugee ministries provided limited reconstruction
assistance to returnees and also committed part of their budgets
towards joint projects that were determined by the State Commission for
Refugees.
On June 18, a revised Return Strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina
was rejected by Republika Srpska delegates in the State House of
Peoples, thus blocking the implementation of Annex VII of the Dayton
Peace Accords (functionally, the country's constitution), which grants
the right of refugees and displaced person to return to their prewar
places of origin, or to be compensated for property that cannot be
restored to them, and to freely choose their place of living.
On July 15, the Republika Srpska government reduced the budget for
the Ministry of Refugees and Displaced Persons by 15 million
convertible marks ($11 million). Bosniak and Croat political
representatives criticized the decision.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol relating to
the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or
refugee status, and the government has established a system for
providing protection to refugees.
The government provided protection against the expulsion or return
of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group, or political opinion.
Asylum seekers with pending claims, regardless of national origin,
may remain in asylum centers until their claims are adjudicated, which
was normally three months, although in some cases longer. Asylum
seekers have the right to appeal a negative decision, and the court is
required to render a decision within two months.
Asylum seekers have the right to education and legal redress for
human rights complaints. However, they do not have the right to
employment unless they are granted asylum. There were no reports of
abuse of refugees, and adequate protection was provided to refugees in
asylum centers.
During the year the government did not grant temporary protection
to any individuals not considered to qualify as refugees.
Stateless Persons.--According to UNHCR statistics, there were
approximately 10,000 stateless persons in the country at the end of the
year. The law provides that a child born to one or two parents who are
citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina is also a citizen, regardless of the
place of birth. A child born on the territory of the country to parents
who are not Bosnian citizens does not gain citizenship unless both
parents are stateless persons. In practice, statelessness was often the
result of complexities which arose from the breakup of the former
Yugoslavia, and in some cases lack of registration for births or
marriages.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic multiparty elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Observers from the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concluded
that the 2006 general election was largely conducted in line with
international standards but noted problems, including problems with the
registration process, group voting, irregularities in the counting
process, and a few cases of voter intimidation.
In September 2008 Republika Srpska special police units in Doboj
arrested the director of the Center for Social Welfare and 16 Serb
Democratic Party (SDS) activists on suspicion of buying votes ahead of
the October 5 local elections. A hearing was held on December 23. All
those indicted pled not guilty. A next hearing in the continuing trial
had not been scheduled at year's end.
Political parties generally operated without restriction or outside
influence. Individuals and parties representing a wide spectrum of
political views could freely declare their candidacies and run for
election. The law provides that Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, and ``others''
must be adequately represented in entity, cantonal, and municipal
government institutions, based on the 1991 census until the returns
process (as described in Annex VII of the Dayton Accords) is completed.
However, this law was not respected in practice. Separate from the
three constituent peoples, there were 16 recognized national minority
groups.
Nationalist rhetoric from leaders of all ethnic groups dominated
political exchanges. In particular, Serb politicians regularly called
into question the validity and existence of the state of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and threatened to call a referendum in the Republika
Srpska to secede from the state.
The law requires that at least 30 percent of political party
candidates be women. At year's end seven of 57 members of the
parliament were women. There were no women in the nine-member Council
of Ministers, although there were two female deputy ministers. At the
entity level, women held three of 22 leadership positions in the
Federation and two of 22 leadership positions in the Republika Srpska.
Minorities remained severely underrepresented in government. There
were no members of a minority group in the parliament and only one
member of a minority in the Council of Ministers.
On December 22, the ECHR handed down a ruling in the January 2006
case brought by representatives of the Jewish and Romani communities
claiming that the provision of the constitution that precludes
``others'' (i.e. those outside the three ethnic constituencies) from
becoming president violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ECHR found that the Bosnian constitution discriminates against
minorities other than the ``constituent peoples,'' and required Bosnia
to bring its constitution in compliance with the European Convention
for Human Rights. Separately, at year's end, the court had not rendered
a judgment in response to the September 2007 application by a Bosniak
from Srebrenica which sought redress with regard to a provision in the
Republika Srpska constitution that precludes non-Serbs from running for
president.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials frequently engaged in corrupt actions with impunity.
According to World Bank governance indicators for 2008, corruption was
a serious problem.
While the law prohibits citizens from holding positions of public
responsibility if they have pending criminal indictments against them,
this prohibition was not observed in practice.
On February 19, SIPA announced that it filed a criminal report for
corruption against Republika Srpska government officials, including
Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, in connection with allegations that they
were involved in several illegal construction tenders. Although the
Republika Srpska government cooperated with investigators, RS officials
said the entity government would ``reassess'' its relationship with
state-level law enforcement bodies.
In March the media reported that the manager of the Federation
Development Bank, Ramiz Dzaferovic, was under investigation for
corruption by the Federation Financial Police. The investigation
continued at year's end.
On September 9, the State Court began corruption trials against
Edhem Bicakcic and Dragan Covic, president of the Croatian Democratic
Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina party, for alleged offenses committed
during the time they served as prime minister and deputy prime minister
of the Federation, respectively. The trials continued at year's end.
During the year Transparency International maintained its
allegation that Prime Minister Dodik misappropriated public funds and
pocketed revenue from the privatization of several formerly state-owned
enterprises. Dodik claimed in press interviews that the NGO was
engaging in blackmail and racketeering. Transparency International
charged that Dodik's allegations were attempts at retaliation and
complained that state-level judicial institutions failed to investigate
the case against him.
In June 2008 the State Court found Mladen Ivanic, president of the
Party for Democratic Progress and a House of Peoples delegate, guilty
of misuse of public funds when he was Republika Srpska prime minister
from 2000-02. The court sentenced him to 18 months in prison. An appeal
was pending at year's end, although Ivanic remained in office.
Candidates for certain public offices, including candidates for
parliament at the state and entity levels, and members of the Council
of Ministers and entity governments are subject to financial disclosure
laws. The Central Election Commission is responsible for ensuring
compliance with these laws.
Although the law provides for citizen access to government records,
many government agencies did not comply with the law. According to the
law, the government must provide an explanation for any denial of
access, and citizens may appeal denials in the court system or to the
ombudsman's offices. In practice, the government sometimes failed to
provide the required explanation for denial of access unless citizens
appealed to the ombudsman, the courts, or legal aid. Public awareness
of the law remained low.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of human rights groups and NGOs generally operated
without restriction, investigating and publishing their findings.
However, government officials were often inefficient and slow to
respond to their recommendations.
The state-level government cooperated fully with international
organizations, such as the Office of the High Representative, which has
special powers over the government, as well as other international
organizations, such as the ICRC and the OSCE. However, the Republika
Srpska government was less cooperative with such organizations.
Citizens' remedies for human rights violations included seeking
assistance from the state ombudsman, whose recommendations were not
binding. The law establishes a single state-level ombudsman institution
composed of three members representing the country's three constituent
groups that will eventually replace entity-level ombudsman institutions
which had not been disbanded more than three years after passage of a
law requiring such, though laws requiring this closure were passed by
both Federation and Republika Srpska parliaments.
The country's state parliament has a Joint Commission for Human
Rights, Rights of Children, Youth, Immigration, Refugees, Asylum, and
Ethics, comprised of members of both the House of Peoples and House of
Representatives. The Commission, comprised of 11 members, regularly
holds hearings, proposes legislation, and participates in human rights-
related activities with governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
The ICTY trial of Radovan Karadzic, a fugitive for 13 years,
continued at year's end. One ICTY indictee wanted for crimes committed
in the country, Ratko Mladic, remained at large. In a December 3 speech
to the UN Security Council, ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz
reported that the government continued to respond to all prosecution
requests, but noted deep concern over the departure of international
judges and prosecutors from the country. He noted that their departure
could jeopardize continuing trial proceedings and war crimes
investigations and that there could be serious repercussions for the
ICTY's work.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or other social status; however, the government did not
enforce these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape and spousal rape are illegal; the maximum penalty for
either crime is 15 years' imprisonment. A sense of shame reportedly
prevented some rape victims from complaining to authorities. While
police generally responded to reports of sexual assault, they tended
not to treat reports of spousal rape with the same seriousness.
Violence against women, including domestic violence and sexual assault,
remained widespread and underreported. According to NGO estimates, one-
third of the women in the country were victims of domestic violence.
Both entities have laws that require police to remove an offender from
the family home. Experts estimated that only one-tenth of domestic
violence victims reported the crime. Police received specialized
training in handling cases of domestic violence, and there were two
hotlines operating throughout the country that provided assistance to
victims. During the year, the Republika Srpska domestic violence
hotline had received 688 reports of domestic violence. There were
several shelters throughout the country for victims of domestic
violence.
Prostitution is illegal. The law treats procuring as a major crime,
but prostitution and solicitation are misdemeanors punishable by a fine
only. Police raids on bars and brothels drove prostitution further
underground. Single mothers, minorities, or other vulnerable women,
particularly from economically depressed rural areas, were at higher
risk of being recruited for exploitation.
Couples and individuals had the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception, skilled
attendance during childbirth, and women were diagnosed and treated for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men.
The law prohibits sexual harassment, but it was a serious problem.
Many NGOs reported that women experienced sexual harassment, but
victims almost never filed complaints because they did not recognize
their experiences as harassment and were not aware of their legal
rights. Women have equal legal status to men, and authorities treated
women equally in practice. The government's Agency for Gender Equality
worked to inform women of their rights. The state- and entity-level
parliaments had committees for gender equality. Although few women held
positions of substantial economic or political power, they were
represented in most professions. Results from a 2006 Labor Force Survey
indicated that almost 63 percent of women of working age are inactive
in formal labor markets, though the problem of employers underreporting
employment in order to avoid mandatory social security contributions is
prevalent.
Authorities documented a small but increasing number of gender-
related discrimination cases. Anecdotal accounts indicated that women
and men generally received equal pay for equal work at government owned
enterprises but not always at private businesses. Women in all parts of
the country had problems with nonpayment of maternity leave allowances
and the unwarranted dismissal of pregnant women and new mothers. Many
job announcements openly advertised discriminatory criteria, such as
age and physical appearance, for female applicants. Women remained
underrepresented in law enforcement agencies, although there was
continued progress.
Children.--Under the country's laws, a child born to one or two
parents who are citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina is also a citizen,
regardless of the place of birth. A child born on the territory of the
country to parents who are not Bosnian citizens does not gain
citizenship unless both parents are stateless persons.
The government failed to register the births of an estimated 1,000
children--mostly Roma--in the country. These children experienced
significant obstacles in accessing social, educational, and health
benefits.
While education is free and compulsory through age 15, schools
required parents to pay for books, lunches, and transportation. These
expenses caused some children to drop out of school. A lack of reliable
monitoring hindered efforts to ensure that children received an
education. The law requires children with special needs to attend
regular classes, but schools were often unable to accommodate them.
According to the country's Roma Council, less than 35 percent of
Romani children attended school regularly. Poverty prevented many
Romani children from attending school. Authorities provided textbooks,
meal allowances, and transportation allowances for Romani children.
Verbal harassment from other students and language problems also
contributed to the exclusion of Roma from schools.
Students in minority areas frequently faced a hostile environment.
Obstruction by nationalist politicians and government officials slowed
efforts to abolish school segregation and enact other reforms.
Federation cantonal governments and the Ministry of Education in the
Republika Srpska pressured school directors at the primary and
secondary level, and several schools were directed by hard-line
political figures.
Laws that provided for administrative and legal unification of the
52 cases of ``two schools under one roof,'' with separate classes for
Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks, did not lead to integrated classrooms,
although shared extracurricular activities, school entrances, and
recreation facilities sometimes resulted. In some areas of the country,
local officials and parents sought to establish complete physical
segregation of Bosniak and Croat students. Many schools effectively
entrenched segregation and discrimination. In the Republika Srpska,
non-Serbs made up less than 5 percent of the teaching staff in primary
and secondary schools. In the Federation, minority teachers made up
between 5 and 8 percent of all teachers, depending on the canton.
Children in primary and secondary schools studied from what some NGOs
described as ``divergent, ethnically specific curricula.''
Family violence against children was a problem. Police investigated
and prosecuted individual cases of child abuse. Some NGOs estimated
that one in four families experienced domestic violence. Municipal
centers for social work protected children's rights, but lacked
resources and housing for children fleeing abuse or those whom they
needed to remove from abusive homes.
Trafficking in children for sexual exploitation or begging in
organized begging rings was a problem. Child begging was common among
Romani communities, including infants (with adults). There were also
cases in which Romani parents sent children as young as four out to beg
on street corners, often begging 10 or more hours per day in all
weather conditions.
In certain Romani communities, girls married between the ages of 12
and 14. The government did not have any programs that were aimed
specifically at reducing the incidence of child marriage.
Rape is a crime under entity criminal laws. The prescribed sentence
for rape is from one to 10 years' imprisonment (if without aggravating
circumstances). The minimum age for consensual sex is 18. In entity
criminal codes, the crime of ``Abuse of a Child or Juvenile for
Pornography'' carried a sentence of one to five years' imprisonment.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons;
however, individuals and organized crime syndicates trafficked women
and children for sexual exploitation, and children and adults,
particularly from the Romani community, for begging and labor. There
were reports that public officials were involved in trafficking.
The country was primarily a country of origin for women and girls
trafficked domestically for sexual exploitation and, to a lesser
extent, a destination and transit point for foreign trafficking. Some
victims from Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Iraq, and Russia were
trafficked into the country through Serbia or Montenegro for commercial
sexual exploitation. More than half of all documented trafficking
victims were minors, and the number of victims trafficked within the
country far surpassed the number of foreign victims. During the year
there were cases of Romani children trafficked to and within the
country for forced labor or begging. There were reports that some
girls, particularly Roma, were trafficked for the purpose of forced
marriage.
The majority of women trafficked into the country came from Serbia
or other East European countries. While no reliable estimates were
available, individuals and organized crime syndicates may have
trafficked a number on to Western Europe. Authorities also found
Bosnian victims in other parts of Europe. During the year one victim
was repatriated to the country through international referral
mechanisms.
During the year the number of reported victims continued to
decline. Police raids forced trafficking further underground, often in
private apartments, motels, and gas stations. There were no reliable
estimates on the number of victims trafficked during the year. The
Ministry of Security registered five new foreign trafficking victims
through its referral mechanism. The state Ministry of Human Rights and
Refugees registered 20 domestic victims of trafficking. Out of a total
of 25 victims, 11 were minors.
Under the law, trafficking is a state-level crime punished with up
to 10 years in prison. During the year three trafficking cases were
prosecuted at the state level, and a number at the entity and cantonal
level. The Ministry of Security is responsible for coordinating
antitrafficking law enforcement at all levels of government, but it was
understaffed and lacked the capacity to comprehensively manage
antitrafficking activities.
During the year the Ministry of Security changed the Office of the
State Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Illegal
Migration to the Department for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.
The change secured funding for planning, coordinating and monitoring
human trafficking.
The state prosecutor has authority to decide which cases to
prosecute at the state level. The Department for Combating Trafficking
in Human Beings, which has a mandate that includes coordination of
victim protection efforts among NGOs, police, and government
institutions, is part of the Ministry of Security. The chief state
prosecutor chaired a nationwide interagency investigative
antitrafficking strike force that included prosecutors, police, and
financial investigators.
Authorities did not prosecute persons identified as trafficking
victims for immigration or prostitution violations. In most cases,
authorities voluntarily repatriated foreign victims.
There continued to be reports of police and other official
involvement in trafficking, particularly at the local level. Victims'
groups alleged that, because of strong local networks, local police
often accepted bribes in exchange for ignoring trafficking. There were
no documented cases of official involvement in trafficking during the
year.
During the year authorities distributed antitrafficking manuals for
use by government and civil society groups involved in the
rehabilitation and reintegration of trafficking victims. Authorities
also supported shelters and other services. The Department for
Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, in cooperation with the
International Center for Migration Policy Development, maintained
databases that tracked victims and traffickers, including data on the
prosecution of trafficking with comprehensive information on known
offenders.
The law provides protection for domestic trafficking victims. In
practice, competing state and entity laws concerning trafficking
victims often led to confusion in their implementation. The government
has a formal victim referral mechanism and memoranda of understanding
with four NGOs that ran shelters for victims. NGOs operated safe houses
throughout the country. At the shelters, victims received medical care,
psychological counseling, legal assistance, repatriation assistance,
and limited vocational training. Police protected the shelters
effectively.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law in both entities prohibits
discrimination against persons with disabilities; however, there was
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, and access to health care and other state services. Children
with disabilities lacked sufficient medical care and educational
opportunities.
In the Federation, the law mandates that all public buildings be
retrofitted to provide access to persons with disabilities and that new
buildings must also be accessible. However, buildings were rarely
accessible to persons with disabilities in practice. The Republika
Srpska had comparable laws for public access, but few older public
buildings were accessible.
There was clear discrimination between different categories of
persons with disabilities, although the vast majority of such persons
were unemployed. Persons with disabilities resulting from service
during the 1992-95 conflict were given a privileged status above
civilian war victims and persons who were born with disabilities. Many
individuals with disabilities lived in institutions, although a growing
number of programs for children with disabilities were available in
schools. One NGO estimated that 30 percent of persons with disabilities
residing in institutions were capable of independent living if housing
and resources were available.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic differences remained a
powerful force, although mixed communities existed peacefully in some
areas.
Harassment and discrimination against minorities continued
throughout the country, often related to property disputes. These
problems most often included desecration of graves, graffiti, arson,
damage to houses of worship, verbal harassment, dismissal from work,
threats, and assaults.
On the night of August 11, a 20-year-old male fired two shots at
the Serb Orthodox church building in Sarajevo's suburb of Reljevo.
Sarajevo Canton Police arrested the perpetrator the next day, who
immediately admitted to having committed the crime. He was detained and
criminal proceedings were initiated. The case continued at year's end.
On November 20, a bomb was detonated on the doorstep of the Serb
Orthodox parish priest's home in Sanski Most (in the Federation).
Priest Slobodan Visekruna was standing near the door at the time of the
explosion, but sustained no injuries. Police and the cantonal
prosecutor immediately came to the site and carried out a crime site
investigation. The investigation continued at year's end. All local
officials strongly condemned the incident and called on law enforcement
agencies to complete the criminal investigation as soon as possible.
On August 21, two young males verbally attacked Trebinje Imam
Husein Effendi Hodzic in front of Osman Pasina Mosque in central
Trebinje, and threatened to return. Hodzic promptly reported the
incident to the police. The case remained unsolved at year's end.
Ethnic discrimination in employment and education remained key
problems. In most cases, employers did not reverse the widespread
firing of members of ethnic minorities during and after the 1992-95
conflict, and employers often hired members of the local ethnic
majority over minorities. Many smaller enterprises were owned by
politically connected individuals, usually members of the majority
group in their communities, and did not employ minorities. State and
entity-level officials generally did not act to prevent such
discrimination.
The Roma population, estimated at 40,000 persons, experienced
serious difficulties in exercising the full range of fundamental human
rights provided to them under the law. The BiH HCHR estimated that only
1 percent of the working-age Roma population was employed and indicated
that employers usually downsized Roma first during a reduction in
force. Many Roma lacked birth certificates, identification cards, or a
registered residence, preventing them from accessing health care and
public education services or registering to vote.
In September 2008 the country joined the 12-country Decade of Roma
Inclusion initiative of central and southeast European countries to
raise the socioeconomic status and encourage the social inclusion of
Roma over the 2005 to 2015 period. As part of the initiative, the
country adopted a national ``decade action plan'' that established
goals and indicators in the initiative's four priority areas:
education, employment, health, and housing. In coordination with Roma
representatives, the state Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees was
tasked with overseeing implementation of the action plan.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, Acts of Violence Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity.--While the law prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, it was not enforced
in practice, and there was frequent societal discrimination against
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons.
Gays and lesbians faced frequent harassment and discrimination,
including termination from employment. In some cases, dismissal letters
explicitly stated that sexual orientation was the cause of termination,
making it extremely difficult for them to find another job.
During the year the Q Association conducted an awareness campaign
to follow up on the September 2008 ``Queer Sarajevo Festival,'' which
drew harsh, often discriminatory commentary from Islamic community
leaders, and was the scene of numerous threats and several acts of
physical violence.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--According to government
statistics, there were 156 officially registered cases of HIV/AIDS in
the country at year's end. The NGO XY-Association for Sexual and
Reproductive Health estimated that the actual number of cases was at
least 600. There was significant social stigma against persons with
HIV/AIDS, a general lack of awareness of HIV/AIDS, and extremely
limited resources to identify and assist those affected.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers in both
entities (including migrant workers, but excluding members of the
military) to form and join independent unions, and workers did so in
practice. An ineffective state-level government NGO registration system
was a problem. For example, the International Labor Organization (ILO)
has criticized the government for not allowing the Trade Union of BiH
(SSBIH), representing approximately 260,000 workers, primarily from
Federation government-owned enterprises, to register as a union at the
state level since 2002. Lack of formal recognition blocked the union
from engaging in social dialogue on issues pertaining to state-level
competencies with partners, although the government alleged that SSBIH
lacks leadership and cohesion.
The law provides for the right to conduct union activities without
interference; however, authorities did not impose sanctions against
employers who obstructed workers from organizing. Worker rights
violations continued to be a lower priority for ministry inspectors, as
state officials instead focused on bolstering state revenues by
cracking down on unregistered employees and employers that did not pay
taxes. Some unions reported that employers threatened employees of
private companies with dismissal if they joined a union.
The law provides for the right to strike in both entities, and
workers exercised this right in practice. In the Federation, the law
has burdensome requirements for workers who wish to conduct a strike.
For example, a trade union cannot officially announce a strike to the
employer before an agreement on the activities, or an arbitration award
on those activities, is reached between the parties. This allows the
employer to avoid addressing a proposal from the trade union, thus
preventing a strike.
In Republika Srpska, an overly-broad list of public service
workers, including those in state radio and television and basic food
production, must provide a minimum level of service in the event of a
strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to bargain collectively in both entities. In
both entities, general collective agreements, in which the minimum wage
and other conditions of work are fixed, were negotiated by the
respective governments and representative organizations of employers
and workers. A number of private employers refused to recognize these
agreements. Workers' and employers' organizations were not skilled in
collective bargaining.
Antiunion discrimination is prohibited by law but was widespread in
both entities. The labor inspectorates and courts did not deal
effectively with the many complaints of antiunion discrimination
against employers. In practice, the government did not impose fines on
employers who prevented workers from unionizing, a practice that was
becoming more prevalent as private sector businesses replaced former
state-owned enterprises that had a traditional union culture. Barriers
to employees bringing complaints against employers included high
unemployment rates, a backlogged court system, and the large number of
unregistered workers in the gray economy, which by some estimates
represent more than 40 percent of the workforce.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the country's four export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that individuals and organized crime syndicates trafficked
women and children within and to the country for commercial sexual
exploitation and sometimes for begging and forced labor.
Victims of sexual exploitation worked primarily out of private
apartments and homes or were driven to clients and forced to perform
sexual services. They reported working in conditions akin to slavery,
with little or no financial support, where they were intimidated,
verbally threatened, and subjected to physical and sexual assault to
keep them in a condition of servitude
(see section 6--Trafficking in Persons).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Entity-level labor laws restrict child labor, and the entity
governments enforced these laws in practice. The minimum age for
employment of children in the Federation and in Republika Srpska is 15
years; minors between the ages of 15 to 18 must provide a valid health
certificate in order to work. The law prohibits children from
performing hazardous labor. In the Federation, minors are prohibited
from ``night work,'' except in exceptional circumstances. Although
child labor was not generally a problem, children sometimes assisted
their families with farm work and odd jobs. Reports also indicated that
children worked on construction sites, in small, family owned shops, on
the streets, and cleaned cars.
Trafficking in children for sexual exploitation and sometimes for
labor and begging was a problem. Organized begging rings exploited Roma
children in particular, of which more than half were under the age of
14 and did not attend school.
Entity governments are responsible for enforcing child labor laws.
Neither entity had inspectors dedicated to child labor inspections, and
authorities investigated violations of child labor laws as part of a
general labor inspection. Both entities' labor inspectorates reported
that they had not found significant violations of child labor laws in
the workplace, although they did not conduct reviews of children
working on family farms. The government did not collect data on child
labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly minimum wage in the
Federation was 343 convertible marks ($250). In the Republika Srpska,
the monthly minimum wage was 320 convertible marks ($234). Neither
minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a worker and
family. In the Federation, the minimum wage was established by a joint
commission that included representation of employers, workers, and the
Federation government. The commission met annually to determine the
minimum wage. Labor inspection agencies at the entity level were
responsible for enforcing the minimum wage. In the case of the
Federation, the entity agency was responsible for large state-owned
enterprises, while cantonal inspection agencies were responsible for
small, private businesses. The agencies were effective at enforcing the
minimum wage, largely because the wage was low and a smaller problem in
comparison to employers not reporting actual salaries in an effort to
avoid payment of social contributions.
Many workers had outstanding claims for back payment of salaries
and pensions. The law requires employers in both entities to make
substantial mandatory contributions to pension and health care funds.
To avoid paying high social welfare benefits, employers often did not
officially register their employees, leaving employees without access
to public health care and unable to officially transfer to another
employer. The employer obligation to the government for large social
contributions led to an increase in black market employment, as
employers preferred employees that were ``off the books'' to official
salaried ones.
Many employers were behind, sometimes for years, in paying salaries
or providing health and pension benefits to employees of public works
and institutions.
The legal workweek in both entities is 40 hours; however, seasonal
workers may work up to 60 hours per week. The law limits overtime to 10
hours per week in both entities; the Federation has no provision for
premium pay, while the Republika Srpska requires a 30 percent premium.
An employee in the Republika Srpska may volunteer for an additional 10
hours in exceptional circumstances. Federation and Republika Srpska
laws require a minimum rest period of 30 minutes during the workday. In
the very large informal economy, no working hours, daily and weekly
rest, or annual leave protections could be enforced and were generally
believed to be lacking.
Authorities did not adequately enforce regulations related to
acceptable work conditions. While entity labor inspectorates made some
effort to enforce registration of employees, they limited most
inspections to conditions affecting the officially registered
workforce. Since the courts only served as recourse for complaints
involving registered workers, the Republika Srpska labor inspectorate
had to submit fines and penalties for court approval; due to court
backlogs, this system was not effective, and many workers for practical
purposes worked without protections. Republika Srpska law holds
employers responsible for analyzing and improving working conditions.
The law provides workers the right to remove themselves from
situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardy to
their employment; however, this right was not effectively enforced in
practice. Workers' rights extended to all official, i.e. registered,
workers, including migrant and temporary workers. According to informal
estimates, approximately 40 percent of the total work force was
unregistered.
__________
BULGARIA
The Republic of Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy with a
population of approximately 7.6 million. Legislative authority is
vested in the unicameral National Assembly (Narodno Sabranie). The
country is ruled by a minority government headed by a prime minister.
General elections held in July were deemed generally free and fair but
were marred by numerous reports of vote buying and late changes to the
electoral system that were supported only by the previous ruling
coalition. While civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of law enforcement organizations, there were some instances in
which law enforcement officers acted independently.
There were problems with police abuse and mistreatment of pretrial
detainees, prison inmates, and minorities; harsh conditions in prisons
and detention facilities; and official impunity. There were some
limitations on freedom of the press; discrimination against religious
minorities; and pervasive government corruption in the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of government. The new government
took initial steps to address corruption, and progress was made by
year's end. Other problems included violence against women and
children, and substandard education for Romani children; harsh
conditions in state-run institutions for children; trafficking in
persons; discrimination against persons with disabilities; and
discrimination against minority groups.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
during the year four persons in police custody died under unclear
circumstances. Three cases involved accusations that the police did not
provide adequate medical attention to seriously ill detainees. In the
fourth case, prosecutors charged two police officers for placing a hood
over a detainee who then suffocated during his transfer to another
detention center.
On August 5, the military appellate court upheld the sentencing of
former Blagoevgrad police officers who were convicted of beating to
death Angel Dimitrov while arresting him in 2005. The case was pending
a Supreme Court review at year's end. On August 10, more than 1,000
police officers and supporters protested in front of the courthouse in
Blagoevgrad in support of the officers.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
Ransom kidnappings involving wealthy businessmen and their families
remained a problem. In December police arrested more than 30 members of
a kidnapping gang believed to be responsible for 17 to 19 kidnappings.
At year's end the alleged leaders of the gang remained in jail awaiting
trial.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
police sometimes beat suspects, particularly members of minority
groups.
Police can detain persons for 24 hours without charging them. Human
rights observers noted a continuing decline of cases where police
arrested suspects for minor offenses and physically abused them to
force confessions. However, there were reports that this practice was
more widely used with Romani suspects. Nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) reported that Romani victims have been more willing to lodge
official complaints against the authorities.
Human rights groups continued to claim that medical examinations in
cases of police abuse were not properly investigated and that offending
officers were very rarely punished.
In 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered
judgments that found 11 violations by the government involving the
prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment under the European
Convention on Human Rights.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally did not meet international standards, and the government did
not allocate funds to make significant improvements.
Conditions in some prisons were harsh, with inadequate toilet
facilities and insufficient heating and ventilation. The daily food
allowance was approximately 2.5 levas ($1.85). NGOs received complaints
about both the quality and quantity of food.
Overcrowding remained a serious problem. At year's end there were
9,071 prisoners in the country's 13 prisons, fewer than in the previous
three years but still several times more than capacity. NGOs received
complaints from prisoners about insufficient space and considered this
a major factor contributing to brutality among inmates.
Guards' mistreatment of inmates continued to be a problem. On
September 9, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) filed a claim
against the Ministry of Justice on behalf of a prisoner who was beaten
by another inmate in October 2008 in the Varna prison, accusing the
ministry of providing inadequate guard supervision and failing to
provide physical security to prisoners.
In February 2008 the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture (CPT) released the report of its 2006 visit to
the country's prisons and detention facilities. The CPT noted that
while the majority of persons with whom it met were treated correctly,
numerous persons alleged physical mistreatment at the time of
apprehension or subsequent questioning by police officers. Mistreatment
consisted mainly of kicks, punches, slaps, and blows with truncheons or
other hard objects. This abuse was combined with psychological pressure
to induce a detainee to confess to a crime.
All prisoners have the right to work, and two days of work reduced
the prison term by three days. In practice the prison administration
offered work to only a limited number of prisoners in minimum-security
prisons. Prisoners alleged that the system for determining what type of
prison regime one received was corrupt and lacked oversight. Two
members of an organized crime group specialized in kidnapping, arrested
on December 16, reportedly had participated in illegal activities while
completing a previous work program. As a result, the interior minister
requested an internal review of the work program.
Citing financial constraints, prison authorities acknowledged
difficulties diagnosing and treating the increasing numbers of drug-
dependent inmates and limiting their access to narcotics. According to
the prison administration, approximately 1,200 prisoners or 13 percent
of the prison population were drug dependent.
In 2008 the ECHR found that the government violated the rights of
prisoners with substandard conditions of detention. The government took
some measures to improve the conditions in detention centers. Prisoners
reported substandard conditions to the prison administration, the
ombudsman, and the court system. During the year prisoners filed 1,062
complaints with the prison administration claiming poor conditions and
denial of rights.
At year's end there were 1,024 detainees in the country's 43
pretrial detention centers.
Foreign prisoners serving longer terms were held in a separate
prison in Sofia to provide easier access to consular services. Men and
women were held in separate prisons and generally treated the same.
During the year the government generally permitted independent
monitoring of prisons by independent observers, including the CPT's
December 2008 visit to the country's detention facilities, as well as
the BHC's periodic visits. The CPT reported severe overcrowding and
understaffing, unhygienic conditions, and insufficient medical
facilities.
In 2008 the ECHR delivered judgments that found 40 violations by
the country of the right to liberty and security as provided by the
European Convention on Human Rights.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, there were reports that police at times
ignored these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Interior Ministry
is responsible for law enforcement. On October 1, the government
created organized crime task forces focused on complicated, high-level
organized crime and corruption.
In November the parliament passed a high-profile bill to reform the
State Agency for National Security (DANS), clarifying its law
enforcement role in relation to the Ministry of Interior. The bill
removed organized crime, drugs, dual-use goods, and transborder crime
from the agency's jurisdiction and prohibited DANS from conducting
controlled delivery and undercover operations. DANS is now strictly
responsible for domestic intelligence analysis. During the year media
and NGOs continued to criticize DANS for lack of results and for the
apparent politicization of high-profile disputes in the agency that led
to the dismissal and resignation of several senior civil servants. In
August the newly elected government appointed new leadership to head
the agency.
The National Intelligence Service and the National Protective
Service, which answer to the president, continued to operate in the
absence of judicial, executive, and legislative oversight.
Impunity remained a problem. NGOs claimed that military judges, who
were responsible for all military and Ministry of Interior appeals,
were vulnerable to influence, as the defense minister had the power to
confirm their appointments as well as to promote or demote them in
rank. However, there were no specific reports of such pressure during
the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--While not
required, police normally obtained a warrant from a prosecutor prior to
apprehending an individual. Detainees were generally informed promptly
of the charges against them. Police may hold a detainee 24 hours
without charge, and a prosecutor may authorize detention for up to 72
hours without charge. Prosecutors could not arrest military personnel
without the defense minister's approval. A court must approve detention
for more than 72 hours; such detention could last up to two years for
the most serious charges.
The law provides for bail, and bail was widely used.
The law provides for the right to counsel from the time of
detention; however, police often failed to inform detainees of this
right, and detainees often lacked timely access to a lawyer. The
February 2008 CPT report of its 2006 visit stated police effectively
denied suspects the right to counsel during initial interrogations.
The law provides state-funded legal aid for low-income defendants,
but a lack of coordination hindered the program's implementation.
Long delays awaiting trial were common, and there was a large
backlog of outstanding investigations. Tough statutorily mandated time
limits for investigations often resulted in hasty indictments that were
returned by judges for additional investigation.
On April 22, the country passed an amnesty law that terminated
pending cases and released an estimated 400 convicts. The amnesty law
granted a reprieve for all types of crimes due to ``negligence'' for
which the maximum penalty was five years in prison that were committed
prior to July 2008. In practice this meant that for crimes punishable
by up to five years in prison, prosecutors could only bring to court
those guilty of ``intentionally'' committing a crime, a standard that
was difficult to prove. Prosecutors complained the law effectively
barred investigations of abuse of public office. The new government was
challenging the constitutionality of this law in the constitutional
court at year's end.
In 2008 the ECHR delivered 25 judgments that found violations by
the country of the right to a speedy trial.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, political influence, widespread
corruption, inefficiency, and lack of accountability were problems.
The Supreme Judicial Council appoints, disciplines, and dismisses
judges, investigators, and prosecutors; investigates complaints of
judicial misconduct; and recommends disciplinary action. Observers
noted that the council was slow to exercise its authority and implement
internal discipline. From January to October, the council dismissed
seven magistrates for professional misconduct. During the year NGOs
alleged that the council's decisions to replace a large number of
magistrates were not merit based.
Cases are reviewed through a three-tier court system, which
consists of regional courts, district courts (which act both as trial
and appeals courts), appellate courts, the Supreme Court of Appeals,
and the Supreme Administrative Court. Administrative courts hear
citizens' appeals of actions taken by the central and local government.
Judicial and investigative backlogs remained a serious problem in
some jurisdictions. Despite modest improvements, long delays awaiting
criminal trials were common. According to practitioners, the law did
not sufficiently reduce the opportunities for delaying cases.
Prosecutors continued to dismiss criminal charges when the statute of
limitations had been reached. From January to June, prosecutors
dismissed approximately 70,000 cases. In 2008 more than 235,000 cases
were dismissed.
The courts often granted continuances to defense lawyers, which
delayed hearings and sentencing, particularly in organized crime cases.
One particularly notorious organized crime case has been postponed 27
times since 2006.
In 2008 the ECHR delivered judgments that found eight violations by
the country of the right to a fair trial as provided by the European
Convention on Human Rights.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent and are allowed
ample time to prepare a defense. All court hearings are public except
for cases involving national security, endangerment of public morals,
and the privacy of juvenile defendants. There are no juries. In cases
involving serious crimes, the professional judge is joined by two lay
judges. If a crime may entail imprisonment for more than 15 years, two
professional judges and three lay judges hear the case. In such
circumstances, verdicts are determined by majority vote Defendants have
the right to be present at their trials. A defense attorney is
mandatory if the alleged crime carries a punishment of 10 or more years
in prison for juveniles, foreigners, persons with mental or physical
disabilities, or for trials conducted in the absence of the accused.
Defendants have the right to confront witnesses, to examine evidence,
and to present their own witnesses and evidence. The law provides for
the right of appeal, which was widely used. Trial procedures apply
equally to all citizens.
In 2008 the ECHR delivered judgments that found 25 violations by
the government of the European Convention on Human Rights with regard
to length of proceedings.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however, civil
cases were plagued by the same long delays as criminal cases.
Allegations of human rights abuses may be filed with courts and also
with the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, which may
impose sanctions on violators.
In 2008 the ECHR delivered judgments that found 21 violations by
the government of the right to an effective remedy as provided by the
European Convention on Human Rights.
Property Restitution.--In May the Jewish community was able to
regain possession and physically occupy a formerly state-run hospital
in central Sofia. The hospital management's appeal of the court's
ruling remained pending at year's end.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these provisions in practice.
During the year following the 2008 investigation of DANS, the
parliament established an oversight committee for DANS that determined
the organization had acted on the orders of the former DANS chairman
when it obtained telephone records and possibly voice recordings of
calls by members of parliament and journalists. The committee referred
the case to the prosecutor general and recommended launching an
internal investigation.
NGOs reported that in some poor rural areas local authorities
denied government services, including employment and scholarships, to
individuals who lacked proof of membership in the local ruling
political parties.
In 2008 the ECHR delivered judgments that found seven violations by
the government of the right to respect for private and family life as
provided by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press; however, there were reports that individuals
with political and economic interests intimidated journalists. NGOs
reported that journalists practiced self-censorship, or took money from
political and business leaders and organized crime to plant positive
stories about them.
Individuals criticized the government freely without reprisal.
However, in rural areas offering fewer employment opportunities,
individuals were more hesitant to criticize local governments.
Media organizations and in a few cases political parties freely
published a variety of newspapers. Private television and radio
stations provided a variety of news and public interest programming.
However, NGOs complained that recent acquisitions of a number of media
outlets by groups affiliated with business and political interests had
led to a partial monopolization of the private media and limited the
variety of views available in print and on television. Both print and
electronic media were susceptible to economic and, to a certain degree,
political influence. Although the state-owned media presented
opposition views, observers believed that the law was inadequate to
protect their programming independence and left these media vulnerable
to government pressure.
In September 2008 four men severely beat and critically injured
Frognews editor in chief Ognian Stefanov. Authorities suspected that
Frognews was affiliated with the Web site opasnite.net, which was
closed for reportedly publishing classified information. Following the
incident, Frognews editors complained of multiple death threats. An
investigation into Stefanov's beating continued at year's end.
Libel is punishable under the law. Usually the courts interpreted
the law in a manner that favored journalistic expression. Many
defamation cases were prompted by reporting about corruption or
mismanagement, and the most frequent plaintiffs were government
officials or other persons in public positions.
In 2008 the prosecution service determined that there was
insufficient evidence to prosecute Volen Siderov, leader of Attack, a
far-right nationalist party, for a February 2007 incident when he and a
group of 50 supporters, angered by press reports about the sources of
their party's funding, broke into the offices of the 24 Hours daily and
168 Hours weekly newspapers and threatened employees.
In 2008 there was one suit before the ECHR alleging denial of
freedom of expression.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to the International Telecommunication Union, the Internet
penetration rate was an estimated 35 percent. However, many less-
developed rural areas did not have the infrastructure to support
Internet services.
In December 2008 the Supreme Administrative Court struck down a
January 2008 decree that allowed security services to gather data on
Internet users' activities. The court ruled that the decree lacked
limitations on the data that the services could access.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected this right in practice. The law requires groups
requesting a permit for gatherings to give 48 hours' notice (five days'
notice for a demonstration). Mayors can prohibit, dismiss, or suggest
an alternative site for a gathering they regard as posing a threat to
public order, security, or traffic.
On January 14, police arrested more than 150 protesters
participating in an antigovernment rally. The mayor of Sofia shut down
the demonstration after police received a bomb threat. Opposition
parties and civic organizations called for the interior minister's
resignation, alleging police used excessive force to disperse the
crowd. The prosecution service declined to investigate these
allegations, claiming that police responded properly to protesters who
were throwing rocks, bottles, and firecrackers.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. The law prohibits groups that endanger national unity or
promote racial, national, or religious hatred; violate the rights of
citizens; or seek to achieve their objectives through violent means.
The government generally respected the rights of individuals and groups
to establish their own political parties or other political
organizations.
Political parties based on religious, ethnic, or racial affiliation
are illegal. In practice the prohibition did not appear to weaken the
role of some ethnic minorities in the political process; a number of
parties in reality represented various ethnic minority groups. NGOs may
not engage in political activity.
The law requires a political party to have 5,000 members to
register officially.
During the year the government continued to prevent the Macedonian
activist group Ilinden from registering as a political party, despite a
2005 ECHR judgment against the cancellation of the group's original
registration. During the year Ilinden members continued to complain of
hostile treatment by local authorities, including police questioning
members about their affiliation with the group.
During the year the Sofia Appellate Court upheld the decision of
the Blagoevgrad Regional Court, which refused to register the Nikola
Vaptsarov Macedonian cultural and educational society. The court
decided there was no separate Macedonian ethnicity in the country, and
some of the organizations' goals, as outlined in the statute, inferred
the existence of such an ethnicity.
c. Freedom of Religion.--Although the constitution provides for
freedom of religion, the law and the government restricted this right
for some religious groups not registered by the courts. An estimated 85
percent of the population was Orthodox Christian. Muslims comprised the
largest minority, estimated at 13 percent. According to the Council of
Ministers Religious Confessions Directorate, there were approximately
150,000 evangelical Protestants, up to 30,000 Armenian Christians, and
3,000 Jews. The law designates the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as the
``traditional'' religion and requires other religious groups to
register with the government to operate and be recognized as legal
entities or to conduct religious activities outside of their places of
worship. By the end of the year, there were more than 100 religious
groups registered. The state budget allocated approximately 3.3 million
levas ($2.5 million) for registered religious groups, including the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Muslim community, the Jewish community,
the Armenian Apostolic Church, Protestants, and other groups. An
estimated 2.8 million levas ($2.1 million) was allocated for the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church, mostly for renovating and maintaining church
property. Human rights organizations criticized the law's preferential
treatment of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and expressed concern the
requirement that groups submit a statement of their beliefs constituted
an infringement on freedom of religion.
On January 22, the ECHR ruled that the government violated the
rights of the Alternative Orthodox Synod when it expelled members from
their parishes in 2004. The court gave the parties three months to
negotiate mutually agreeable compensation. As of the end of the year,
the parties failed to reach an agreement on compensation. The ECHR
ruling on the amount of compensation was pending.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were some manifestations
of public intolerance of nontraditional religious groups and religious
minorities.
Since 2008 there were 110 cases of vandalism against mosques,
including an October 7 fire that completely destroyed the Nokopol
mosque; authorities determined the fire was arson. On October 8, the
government announced that it would provide 25,000 levas ($19,230) to
repair this mosque and another mosque that was also damaged in a fire
believed to be accidental. The investigation into the arson continued
at year's end.
According to the Jewish organization Shalom, anti-Semitism was not
widespread, but there were increasing reports of anti-Semitic incidents
prior to the July 5 national elections. On June 24, vandals broke a
memorial slab in Blagoevgrad, in the southwest, before its unveiling.
The memorial was dedicated to Jews from Aegean Thrace who died in the
Auschwitz concentration camp. On July 13, several Molotov cocktails
were thrown at the former synagogue and the Jewish school in the
coastal city of Burgas. In 2008 a Jewish cemetery in Shumen was
desecrated; the youths were caught and ordered by the court to attend
an educational program In January anti-Semitic slogans, including
``Juden Verboten'' (Jews forbidden), were painted on the Holocaust
memorial in Plovdiv. Jewish organizations expressed concern over the
lack of public reaction to these incidents from the government and the
lack of successful prosecutions.
On May 21, the Sofia municipal council decided to name one of the
capital city's streets after Bogdan Filov, a prominent scholar and
former prime minister. As prime minister, Filov's government passed
anti-Semitic legislation, advocated the country's alliance with Nazi
Germany, and deported approximately 12,000 Jews from present-day
Macedonia and Greece to concentration camps in Germany and Poland. In
response to local and international outrage, then Sofia mayor and now
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov submitted a report to the Sofia City
Council calling for the annulment of this decision. On October 2, the
Sofia City Council annulled the decision, returning the street to its
original name.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for asylum or refugee
status. The country is a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the government has
established a system for protecting refugees. The government provided
some protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to
countries where their lives or freedoms would be threatened. The UNHCR
claimed that the risk of genuine refugees being rejected was limited.
Nonetheless, observers remained concerned about the institutional
capacity of the government to process requests and transfer applicants
to shelters. According to lawyers, the practice of sending asylum
seekers who enter illegally to the Center for Temporary Accommodation
of Foreigners in Busmantsi resulted in their being treated as illegal
immigrants, subject to potential deportation. In Busmantsi there were
numerous reports of guards mistreating detainees and of stays exceeding
six months. Detainees also complained of poor living conditions and
inadequate access to legal counsel. The May 15 amendments to the
Foreigners Act set a maximum six-month period of detention.
The law requires that persons seeking refugee status file an
application within ``a reasonable time'' after entering the country.
On October 6, Hassun Albaddj, a rejected asylum applicant from
Syria, died in the Busmantsi detention center. He was in custody since
2006 and was reportedly one of two individuals not released after the
amendments to the law. A preliminary review found no evidence of
physical abuse. However, witnesses claimed that guards ignored repeated
requests for medical attention. At year's end human rights groups were
waiting for a response to a formal inquiry sent to the Interior
Ministry requesting information on Albaddj's immigrant status and
medical condition prior to his death.
The government reported that the number of refugee applicants had
been steadily decreasing, except for a slight increase in 2007
following EU accession. As of December, the government granted asylum
in 39 cases and denied it in 358 cases of a total of 689 applications
during the year. Most applications came from citizens of Iraq,
Afghanistan, Iran, Armenia, Algeria, and the Palestinian territories.
As of December, the government also provided temporary protection,
described by the law as ``humanitarian status,'' to 216 persons who may
not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and its 1967
Protocol.
The UNHCR expressed some concerns about the government's processing
of Iraqi asylum applications. The government maintained its high
rejection rate for Iraqi asylum seekers.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens generally exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage;
however, the June 12 European parliament election and July 5 general
elections were marred by reports of large-scale vote buying.
Elections and Political Participation.--Despite persistent vote-
buying allegations and the previous ruling coalition's late changes to
the electoral system, the July 5 parliamentary election was widely
regarded as free and fair.
According to election observers, the June 12 European Parliament
election was also marred by widespread reports of vote buying, which
had a greater influence on the results than in the July 5 elections due
to the lower voter turnout. NGOs estimated that 10 to 16 percent of the
votes in the June elections were purchased or manipulated. As of
October, there were two convictions on vote-buying charges, and the
prosecution service was investigating another 87 cases.
On April 14, parliament amended the election law, only two months
before the national election, creating a mixed electoral system. Under
the new system, individuals voted for both a political party and a
particular ``majoritarian'' candidate. The introduction of the
``majoritarian'' element in the electoral system compromised the
principle of the equality of the vote due to a significant variation in
population sizes of the majoritarian districts, and it was implemented
without broad consensus.
Another significant type of violation, linked to the change in the
election law, was the organized busing of voters from their home
districts to districts in which majoritarian candidates needed extra
votes, usually referred to as ``election-day tourism.'' Observers noted
that the surge in vote buying was prompted by efforts of business
circles and organized crime figures to enter parliament through the new
majoritarian seats. Bussed voters allegedly received money, food, and a
free excursion in exchange for voting outside their districts.
On September 2, the parliament established a committee to
investigate numerous accusations of double voting and improper
registration of citizen voters living in Turkey. According to the
committee, the majority of the irregularities (64.4 percent of reported
cases) was unintentional and resulted from officials' incompetence or
disregard of procedures to cut time for voting and processing of
results. The committee recommended drafting new election legislation.
The law provided immunity for candidates. This resulted in the
release of parliamentary candidates who were charged with serious
crimes, including leaders of organized-crime groups, from pretrial
detention. Despite losing the election and immunity, two accused
organized-crime figures were able to post bond and were not returned to
detention.
There were 50 women in the 240-seat national assembly, compared
with 51 elected in 2005. A number of women held elective and appointive
offices at high levels in the government, including four ministers.
Women held key positions in the national assembly, including the
speaker of parliament, one deputy speaker, and chairmanship of three of
the 24 standing committees.
The 29 members of minority groups in the--assembly included 28
ethnic Turks and one Rom. There was one ethnic Turkish minister in the
cabinet. While the ethnic Turkish minority was well represented, Roma
were underrepresented, particularly in appointed leadership positions.
Pomaks (ethnic Bulgarians who are Muslims) held elected positions at
the local level.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
The new government, elected on an anticorruption platform, pressed
charges against four former ministers and fired several other high-
level government officials for corruption. The overly formal judicial
system made it difficult for the judiciary to prosecute high-profile
organized crime cases effectively.
Corruption was pervasive in the country and plagued all branches of
government. Corrupt practices included bribery, EU funds fraud,
elaborate embezzlement schemes, legislation protecting private
interests, and official protection for organized crime figures.
Corruption reportedly was severe in high civil and administrative
courts.
In October the judicial system became mired in a scandal involving
an influence broker who allegedly claimed he could sway eight to 13 of
the Supreme Judicial Council votes needed to obtain a high-level
judicial appointment in exchange for $200,000. A Supreme Judicial
Council and prosecutor's office investigation found 31 prosecutors and
judges and three Supreme Judicial Council magistrates to have been in
contact with the broker. The scandal led to the resignation of five
magistrates and two of the 25 Supreme Judicial Council members
responsible for appointing, promoting, and dismissing members of the
judiciary.
In its July 22 report, the European Commission severely criticized
the country for misuse of EU funds. In 2008 the EU blacklisted two
government agencies handling EU assistance and stripped the country of
an estimated 486 million euros (approximately $729 million) in EU
funding.
On September 9, the government adopted a 57-point plan to implement
the EU's recommendations to reform law enforcement and the judiciary.
On September 10, the EU unblocked 156 million euros ($230 million) in
preaccession agriculture funds due to the new government's initial
efforts to implement EU recommendations.
On September 30, the trial on charges of document fraud and
embezzlement of EU funds resumed for Mario Nikolov and eight other
members of the Nikolov-Stoykov group; the trial had been suspended
while one of the codefendants, Ivan Ivanov, unsuccessfully ran for
parliament. The trial continued at year's end.
On April 22, the Sofia Appellate Court upheld the acquittal of
former interior minister Rumen Petkov on charges that he leaked the
identity of a DANS agent. Petkov was reelected to parliament in July.
On March 18, the Sofia City Court dismissed all charges of fixing
soccer matches by manipulating referees against the former deputy chair
of the State Sports Agency Ivan Letkov. The soccer referees who brought
charges against Letkov declined to testify or provide evidence against
him.
On May 13, the Supreme Judicial Council officially dismissed the
chair of Varna administrative court Anelia Tsvetkova for undermining
the prestige of the judiciary. DANS arrested Tsvetkova in July 2008 for
bribery and confiscated 150,000 levas ($115,000) from her home. Her
trial on bribery charges was pending at year's end.
The law mandated that government officials declare any
circumstances in which they could be accused of using their position
for personal profit. According to the law, high-level public officials
who fail to submit a financial disclosure declaration can be fined as
much as 1,500 levas ($1,100). According to the National Audit Office,
during the year 71 of 6,656 officials did not submit their annual
declaration within the statutory deadline, compared with 55 out of
5,952 officials in 2008.
The law provides for public access to government information;
however, in practice the government often restricted such access. NGOs
reported that citizens increasingly appealed denials of information
requests and petitioned the courts to overrule the decisions. While the
courts allowed greater access to government information, court
decisions were rarely implemented.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated, investigated, and published their findings on human
rights cases without government restriction. Human rights observers
reported uneven levels of cooperation from various national and local
government officials.
During the year the ombudsman received approximately 2,500
complaints of violations of citizens' rights and freedoms compared with
2,400 in 2008. The majority of complaints concerned property issues,
quality of public services, and social assistance programs. By law the
ombudsman reviews individuals' complaints against the government for
violations of rights or freedoms. The ombudsman can request information
from state authorities, act as an intermediary in resolving disputes,
make proposals for terminating existing practices, and refer
information to the prosecution service. Many NGOs criticized the
ombudsman for focusing on administrative issues rather than actively
engaging on human rights cases.
During the year the ECHR issued 63 judgments against the country
and ordered the government to pay 1.4 million euros ($2.02 million) for
violations, including denial of fair trial rights, an unreasonably slow
judicial process, substandard prison conditions, mistreatment of
detainees and prisoners, and other human rights abuses.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, gender,
disability, social status, and sexual orientation; however, the law
does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of language. Societal
discrimination continued, particularly against women, sexual
minorities, and ethnic minorities. Trafficking in persons continued to
be a problem.
The government investigated complaints of discrimination, issued
rulings, and imposed sanctions against violators. During the year the
government raised public awareness and continued to implement
administrative provisions of the widely used antidiscrimination law.
This law allows claimants to pursue a case through the court system or
through the Commission for Protection against Discrimination. During
the year the commission received 1,039 complaints, compared with 714 in
2008. More than half of all complaints concerned labor discrimination.
Approximately 30 percent of the cases involved complaints of multiple
types of discrimination. The commission found 115 cases of
discriminatory practices and imposed 61 fines on violators. In November
human rights NGOs protested the government's approval of a report,
which recommended reducing the members of the antidiscrimination
commission from nine to five. NGOs claimed this move, justified by
state budget cuts due to the financial crisis, would seriously limit
the commission's capacity to review discrimination claims and ensure
protection of citizens' rights.
In 2008 there was one suit before the ECHR alleging discrimination.
Women.--Rape is illegal but underreported due to the stigma
attached to it. Spousal rape can be prosecuted under the general rape
statute; however, it was rarely prosecuted in practice. Sentences for
rape range from two to eight years in prison (from three to 10 if the
victim is a blood relative). When rape results in serious injury or
suicide, sentences range between 10 and 20 years' imprisonment.
Authorities generally enforced laws against rape when violations came
to their attention. According to NGOs, the social taboo experienced by
rape victims discouraged them from reporting the crime, and it was a
far more serious obstacle to prosecution than police reluctance to
investigate.
NGOs reported that domestic violence was a serious problem.
Although there were no precise statistics on its occurrence, police
believed that one of every four women had been a victim.
The law defines domestic violence as any act of, or attempt at,
physical, psychological, or sexual violence against members of one's
family or between cohabitating persons. In December the parliament
adopted amendments that expanded the law's scope to include emotional
and economic pressure. The revisions also obliged the government to
adopt annually by March 31 an action plan for the law's implementation
and ensure state funding for it. The law empowers the court to deal
with offenders by imposing fines, issuing restraining or eviction
orders, or requiring special counseling. NGOS assessed the
implementation of the law positively, and stated that the courts issued
more restraining orders. In April the parliament approved amendments
that criminalized violators' failure to adhere to a court restraining
order.
A local NGO operated a 24-hour hotline for women in crisis, and
other NGOs provided short-term protection and counseling to victims in
15 crisis centers around the country. Police and social workers
referred victims of domestic violence to NGO-run shelters, but NGOs
complained that local authorities rarely provided financial assistance
for operational costs.
Prostitution is neither illegal nor specifically addressed in the
law. A variety of activities associated with prostitution, such as
procuring and enticement into prostitution, are illegal, but remained
serious problems. Poor socioeconomic conditions contributed to a
disproportionately higher number of Romani women in organized
prostitution.
Sexual harassment is punishable under prohibitions against
coercion, which carry a punishment of up to six years in prison. Sexual
harassment is also identified as a specific form of discrimination
under the antidiscrimination law, and during the year the Commission
for Protection against Discrimination continued to receive sexual
harassment complaints, which accounted for approximately 5 percent of
all complaints. However, sexual harassment remained a widespread
problem, and the government did not effectively enforce the law.
The government generally respected the right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children, and to have the information and means to do
so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Women generally
had good access to contraception and skilled attendance during
childbirth, including essential obstetric and postpartum care. Access
to contraception and skilled attendance in childbirth were less
available to women in poor rural areas.
The law provides women with the same rights as men; however, women
faced some discrimination in hiring and pay. According to trade union
estimates, in 2008 women's salaries were 16 percent lower than men's,
with some lower-paid sectors, such as education and services, dominated
by women. A National Council on Equality between Women and Men, headed
by the minister of labor and social policy under the Council of
Ministers, was tasked with safeguarding the rights of women. Primarily
a consultative body, the council is charged with promoting cooperation
and coordination among NGOs and government agencies.
Children.--The government generally was committed to protecting
children's welfare; however, government efforts in education and health
were constrained by inadequate budgets. Problems in state-run
institutions for children, including incidents involving exploitation
of children, continued to receive media attention during the year.
Citizenship is derived by birth within the countryand from one's
parents. Children are immediately registered upon birth in the country.
Public education is compulsory until the age of 16, and free
through the 12th grade, but the government did not effectively enforce
attendance requirements. Children were required to pay for books after
the fourth grade, which was a problem for poor families.
According to the Ministry of Education and Science, 8,820 students
dropped out of school during the current academic year compared with
14,000 in the previous year (2007-08). The majority of students left
school due to social and family reasons.
The number of school dropouts was highest in regions with large
Romani populations.
Education for Romani children was generally inferior, and nearly 10
percent of Roma never attended school. During the year the Supreme
Court of Appeals upheld the 2005 ruling that the city of Sofia was
guilty of discrimination for failing to provide equal educational
opportunities to Romani children.
Romani activists continued to complain that the government's 2008
delegated budgets policy, which set a standard funding allowance on a
per student basis, disproportionately adversely affected Romani
communities and reportedly led to the closure of 320 schools. NGOs
reported that Romani parents were reluctant to allow their children to
travel to new schools in other towns, and parents at schools accepting
new Romani students often reacted negatively to their arrival.
In November the antidiscrimination commission found that the
Ministry of Education discriminated against children with disabilities
by limiting their choice of education and isolating them in specialized
institutions. The commission recommended that the ministry initiate
legislative changes that take into account the children's specific
education needs but allow for their integration into society.
Violence against children was a problem. According to the national
center for public opinion surveys, during the year one in every five
children was a victim of violence in school. According to the National
Statistical Institute, 2,606 children were victims of serious crimes in
2008, compared with 2,743 in 2007. The government often removed
children from abusive homes and prosecuted abusive parents; however,
once away from their families, children often fell victim to street
violence or violence in specialized institutions.
Although no official statistics were available, the government
reported that child marriage, while rare nationwide, was common in
Romani communities. The government also stated that arranged marriages
and traditional Romani bride markets constituted trafficking in
persons.
The government reported that the number of children detained by
police for vagrancy and begging was 659 in 2008, compared with 1,044 in
2007. Many believed adults exploited such children, who were primarily
engaged in begging, prostitution, or car window washing. When
apprehended, police generally placed such children in protective
custody for up to 24 hours, unless remanded to protective custody by a
prosecutor. Subsequently, many children were sent to state-run
institutions.
Implementation of child-care policies was decentralized. The
government funded child welfare programs. Some municipalities
transferred services to NGOs, improving the quality of care, but some
NGOs remained concerned about the ability of poorer municipalities to
manage and administer care effectively. Despite a government policy to
develop alternative service providers, the country continued to
struggle with a communist-era system of state-run specialized
institutions for children.
During the year there were 7,190 children in 138 specialized
institutions. This was a decrease from 7,276 children in 140
institutions in 2008 and a 44 percent decrease from 12,609 children in
165 institutions in 2001. The majority of children in institutions were
Roma. Watchdog organizations claimed the actual number was much higher,
and the government manipulated the numbers by changing the terminology
for the different types of institutions. Most children in state
institutions were not orphans; they were institutionalized for reasons
including disability, poverty, and other family problems.
During the year NGOs continued to criticize the deficiencies in
government-run institutions such as orphanages, educational reform
boarding schools, and facilities for children with mental disabilities.
They noted inadequate budgets, poorly trained staff, and insufficient
oversight in these facilities. Some NGOs, including ARK Bulgaria,
applauded the government's new strategy to systematize efforts to
deinstitutionalize children and use EU funds to this end.
There were fewer cases of abuse in children's institutions than in
the preceding year, but on December 5, three children died in an
institution in Krumovgrad after old ammunition exploded while they were
playing with it. The director of the institution, which was reformed in
2008 after earlier being designated for closure, and two social workers
were dismissed from office pending the investigation into the deaths.
The facility's maintenance worker, who was suspected of providing the
children with the ammunition, was released on bail and committed
suicide shortly afterwards.
Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution and law prohibit
trafficking in persons for all purposes; however, trafficking was a
serious problem.
The country remained a point of origin and transit and, to a lesser
extent, a destination, for trafficking, with most victims trafficked
for sexual exploitation. Victims came from within the country and from
Romania, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia. The principal
destinations of victims trafficked from and through the country were
Greece, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Poland, Macedonia, Kosovo, and
Western Europe. Almost all victims were women and girls trafficked for
sexual exploitation, but some were also young boys. Young women between
the ages of 16 and 24 years old with modest education and weak family
ties were most vulnerable. Minorities, particularly Roma, and women
engaged in prostitution were also at particular risk.
Trafficking of pregnant women and forcing them to sell their
children abroad remained a problem because the women were free to
travel and could not be stopped by border police. During the year
authorities reported 13 investigations into baby selling in Greece. The
investigations into seven such incidents in 2008 continued at year's
end.
In larger cities, powerful organized crime groups controlled most
trafficking for sexual exploitation. In towns smaller criminal groups
and independent operators were involved.
Traffickers in foreign countries generally recruited their victims
through false promises of work, while victims of internal trafficking
were most often recruited through close friends or acquaintances.
Traffickers for sexual exploitation, both within the country and
abroad, use call-girl operations, complicating law enforcement efforts.
Traffickers typically used genuine travel documents for their victims.
The punishment for trafficking in persons includes prison terms of
up to 15 years in prison, fines of 20,000 levas ($15,000), and
confiscation of a trafficker's assets. Prosecutors used other laws to
prosecute persons for activities associated with trafficking, such as
inducement to prostitution.
The National Antitrafficking Commission is the primary
antitrafficking coordination and policy-making body. During the year
the commission continued to establish local commissions at destination
points for internal trafficking and source locations of victims
trafficked to Western Europe; it also created three information
centers. In April the commission opened the first state-run shelter for
adult trafficking victims in Varna.
In October the commission launched an open doors initiative and
hosted more than 350 students in its office to raise awareness about
trafficking in persons. The commission developed and distributed a
prevention CD. During the year the commission continued to partner with
NGOs in delivering training for border police, social workers, and
diplomats on human trafficking.
Two police units focused specifically on the problem of
trafficking. One was within the National Border Police and the other
was within the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. The
government participated in multinational antitrafficking activities and
permitted the extradition of citizens for crimes committed abroad,
including trafficking. In 2008 the courts convicted 69 traffickers.
Due to successful cooperation with West European counterparts,
police reported a decline in the number of children sent abroad to work
as beggars and pickpockets. As of June, the government reported
assisting 22 repatriated children, compared with 90 in 2008. The
majority of children were repatriated from Greece, Austria, the
Netherlands, Germany, and Spain.
NGOs alleged that some low-ranking and poorly paid officials
accepted bribes to ignore trafficking, although there was no evidence
of a pattern of official complicity.
On June 11, two municipal councilors from Varna pled guilty and
were sentenced to one and three years' imprisonment, respectively, for
leading and participating in an organized crime group involved in drug
trafficking, extortion, and human trafficking. This was the first time
elected officials were prosecuted successfully for crimes related to
human trafficking. Nine of 11 officials of the local antiorganized
crime unit in Vratsa were also dismissed for alleged ties with a local
trafficking ring.
The government operated six shelters for child victims of violence
and trafficking, each of which had the capacity to host 10 children for
up to six months. The government cooperated with NGOs and international
organizations in raising awareness and referring victims to services.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state
services; however, the government did not effectively enforce these
provisions in practice. Societal discrimination against persons with
disabilities persisted.
The law requires improved access to buildings for persons with
disabilities, and new public works projects took this requirement into
account; however, enforcement of this law lagged in existing,
unrenovated buildings. The law promotes the employment of persons with
disabilities; however, enforcement was poor, and most persons with
disabilities were unemployed primarily due to lack of access to
adequate education and skills. For the most part, work places were not
equipped to accommodate persons with disabilities, and many were not
able to find accessible transportation.
Despite some incremental improvements, conditions in institutions
for persons with disabilities remained poor. During the year the BHC
continued to complain that the majority of the institutions were
located in remote rural areas which prevented hiring of qualified staff
and hampered access to timely medical assistance.
Persons with mental and physical disabilities, including very young
children, were often separated from the rest of society. For example,
they were placed in special schools, which lowered the quality of their
education. The government operated 26 institutions for children and
youth with disabilities.
The constitution protects the right of all citizens to vote, and
the law provides specific measures to ensure that persons with
disabilities have access to the polls. However, in practice these
measures were rarely enforced, and the majority of polling stations
were still not wheelchair accessible.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy was responsible for
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and worked with
government-supported national representative organizations for persons
with disabilities. However, human rights groups remained concerned
about the lack of transparency regarding the allocation of funds from
the ministry to the national representative organizations and the lack
of a long-term vision for the removal of persons with disabilities from
institutions and their integration into society.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Societal discrimination against
Roma and other minority groups remained a problem, occasionally
resulting in incidents of violence between members of different ethnic
groups.
Roma were estimated to constitute between 6 and 10 percent of the
population, and according to a 2002 Council of Europe report, there
were 600,000 to 800,000 Roma in the country. According to the 2001
census, ethnic Turks made up 9 percent of the population. Ethnic
Bulgarian Muslims, often termed Pomaks, are a distinct group of Slavic
descent, whose ancestors converted from Orthodox Christianity to Islam;
they constitute 2 to 3 percent of the population.
Workplace discrimination against minorities, especially Roma,
continued to be a problem. The unemployment rate among Roma was nearly
65 percent, reaching 80 percent in some regions. The generally
unfavorable attitudes towards Roma, coupled with their poor education
level, made Roma less able to find jobs. Many observers noted the
quality of education offered to Romani children was inferior to that
afforded to most other students.
Popular prejudice against Roma remained widespread. There were
isolated cases of police harassment, arbitrary arrests, and violence
against Roma. However, NGOs reported that while more Roma were willing
to launch complaints against the authorities, the number of complaints
had dropped in recent years.
On September 16, 50 members of the Ilinden activist group protested
in front of the ECHR in Strasburg and called for the recognition of a
Macedonian minority in the country.
In September the Burgas municipality destroyed 46 Romani homes,
leaving at least 200 persons homeless. There were reports that
municipal police used disproportionate force against the Romani
inhabitants during the demolitions. Since Romani residents lacked legal
titles to this land, the Burgas municipality did not provide any
alternative housing for the evicted residents. Local NGOs estimated
that 50 to 70 percent of Romani housing was illegally constructed and
were concerned that more municipalities would initiate legal
proceedings to demolish illegally built houses.
In July 2008 the ECHR, acting on a complaint filed by the BHC,
issued an interim injunction to halt the planned demolition of Romani
housing in Sofia. The ECHR requested that the local authorities provide
information regarding their plans to relocate the residents, especially
children and persons with disabilities.
There were no developments in the 2007 beating death of a 17-year-
old Roma, Asparuh Atanasov, by a group of four teenagers. The
prosecution against them was ongoing at year's end.
On August 6, the European Committee of Social Rights unanimously
found the country to be in violation of the European Social Charter by
failing to meet its obligations to ensure than any person who is
without adequate resources has access to social assistance provided by
the state. The committee issued the ruling in response to 2006 and 2008
amendments to the Social Assistance Act, which limited the time
citizens were eligible for assistance. The court found that these
restrictions had a disproportionate effect on Roma, women, and other
marginalized groups and that access to social assistance cannot be
subject to time limits if the persons affected continue to meet the
basic condition for eligibility for assistance.
During the year human rights organizations continued to file
complaints under the antidiscrimination law. Inciting racial or
national enmity, hatred, or discrimination is a crime punishable by up
to three years' imprisonment, and plaintiffs may also file civil claims
with the court for damages inflicted by discriminatory statements.
During the year the BHC and other human rights groups urged the
government to punish the perpetrators of racially motivated violence
against persons of African, Indian, and Arab origin. On August 20,
seven persons beat an Indian national in central Sofia. On September
21, an Indian diplomat was assaulted and, on the same day, another
Indian national was beaten by three men reportedly associated with the
skinhead movement.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but the government
did not effectively enforce this prohibition. Reports of violence
against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons were rare, but
societal discrimination, particularly discrimination in employment,
remained a problem. The gay-rights organization Gemini reported that
individuals continued to be reluctant to pursue legal remedies for
discrimination due to the stigma of being openly identified as gay.
On June 27, the second annual gay pride parade in downtown Sofia
attracted 300 to 500 participants. In contrast to the first parade in
2008, there were no violent incidents or major antigay protests, thanks
in part to strong police cooperation and protection. Gemini reported
that on the day of the parade, vandals broke a window in its
headquarters and threw Molotov cocktails at a well-known gay club and
hotel. In June 2008, police arrested approximately 60 nationalist
protesters who attempted to disrupt the parade, and the Patriarch of
the Christian Orthodox Church and the Muslim chief mufti condemned the
march, calling it immoral and referring to homosexual activity as a
disease.
In February the Sofia city court fined the prosecution service for
discriminating against a female prisoner who was refused early release.
The prosecutor maintained the prisoner's way of life and emotional
status were problematic because of her homosexual conduct.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--As of November, the
Health Ministry reported 1,071 HIV-infected patients but cautioned that
their actual number was at least four times higher. During the year the
ministry identified 133 new HIV patients--four were pregnant women and
four others were drug-dependent children. The majority of the newly
identified patients contracted the disease through intravenous drug use
and homosexual contacts. According to the Hope against AIDS Foundation,
HIV/AIDS patients faced discrimination and inadequate medical care due
to doctors refusing to provide treatment from fear of contracting the
disease. Patients typically did not contest these situations in court
due to the social stigma attached to being identified as having HIV/
AIDS. The NGO stated that at least four HIV/AIDS patients died due to
denial of treatment. Patients reported hiding the fact that they were
HIV positive to receive medical care. Women also encountered social
stigma when being diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted
diseases.
Incitement to Acts of Discrimination.--During the year the extreme
nationalistic political party Attack continued to denigrate the
country's Romani, Jewish, and Muslim populations. Attack employed
discriminatory rhetoric during the campaign for the July parliamentary
election. It published anti-Muslim material in its newspaper and on its
Web site.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of all
workers to form or join independent trade unions of their choice, and
workers exercised this right in practice. No reliable statistics
existed on the extent of unionization of the workforce, but experts
noted that membership in unions continued to decrease as employees
questioned their ability to effectively represent them and found it
difficult to pay membership fees.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the government generally protected this right in
practice. The law also provides for the right to strike; however, key
public sector employees (primarily military and law enforcement
personnel) were subject to a blanket prohibition against striking.
These employees were able to take the government to court as a means of
ensuring due process in protecting their rights. Although the law
prohibits the police from effectively striking, police held symbolic
protests in December 2008 and on January 17 against low wages and poor
working conditions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides a legal structure for collective bargaining, which was
practiced nationally. Labor unions alleged that some employers failed
to bargain in good faith or to adhere to agreements.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and includes a provision
for a six-month salary payment as compensation for illegal dismissal.
In addition, complaints of discrimination based on union affiliation
could be filed with the commission for protection against
discrimination, but there were no reports of such complaints during the
year.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the six free trade zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, according
to the government's labor inspectorate, there were some reports that
such practices occurred in the agricultural and textile industries.
Children sometimes were forced to work due to economic conditions or
because of pressure from family members or criminal organizations.
Women and children were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, including a prohibition on forced or compulsory labor
and policies regarding acceptable working conditions. The government
was generally effective in implementing these laws and policies.
The law sets the minimum age for employment at 16 years and the
minimum age for dangerous work at 18 years. To employ children,
employers must obtain a work permit from the General Labor Inspectorate
under the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The General Labor
Inspectorate inspects the working conditions at all companies applying
for child work permits.
Employment of children without a work permit is a criminal offense
and entails a punishment of up to six months' imprisonment. Child labor
laws generally were enforced well in the formal sector, but NGOs
reported that children were exploited in certain industries
(particularly small family-owned shops, textiles, restaurants,
construction, and periodical sales) and by organized crime (notably for
prostitution, pick-pocketing, and the distribution of narcotics).
Besides trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, the worst forms
of child labor included heavy physical labor and health hazards on
family tobacco farms, particularly among the ethnic Turkish minority.
The government continued programs to eliminate the worst forms of child
labor, mounting educational campaigns about their effects, and
intervened to protect, withdraw, rehabilitate, and reintegrate children
engaged in the worst forms of child labor.
The general labor inspectorate reported a decline in child labor
during the year, which was primarily due to the overall unemployment
rise resulting from the financial crisis. During the year the
inspectorate granted 2,765 requests for employment of children between
16 and 18 years, compared with 5,807 in 2008. The inspectorate referred
58 cases of unlicensed, underage workers to the Prosecution Service,
compared with 194 in 2008. The inspectorate also found 120 other
violations of child labor laws, primarily involving failure to provide
protective uniforms, compared with 365 such violations in 2008.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--During the year the government
approved and implemented an increase in the national minimum wage to
240 levas ($180) per month. While this wage did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family, many workers received more
wages unofficially to avoid taxes.
The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours with at least
one 24-hour rest period per week. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Policy is responsible for enforcing both the minimum wage and the
standard workweek. The law stipulates that premium pay for overtime
could not be less than 150 percent during workdays, 175 percent during
weekends, and 200 percent during official holidays. The law prohibits
overtime for children under age 18, pregnant women, and women with
children up to age six. Enforcement generally was effective in the
state sector but was weaker in the private sector. During the year the
labor inspectorate found 986 violations of overtime pay rules, compared
with 953 in 2008.
A national labor safety program, with standards established by law,
gives employees the right to healthy and nonhazardous working
conditions. The labor inspectorate is responsible for monitoring and
enforcement. During the year the inspectorate reported a decrease in
the number of work-related incidents and noted that employers were
generally more compliant in observing their obligation to provide
healthy working conditions. However, conditions in some sectors,
particularly construction, mining, chemicals, and transportation,
continued to pose risks for workers. There were 91 workplace-related
deaths during the year, compared with 161 in 2008. At least 30 percent
of the deaths occurred in the construction sector.
The law gives employees the right to remove themselves from work
situations that present a serious or immediate danger to life or health
without jeopardy to their continued employment; however, refusal to
work in such situations could result in the loss of employment.
__________
CROATIA
The Republic of Croatia is a constitutional parliamentary democracy
with a population of 4.4 million. Legislative authority is vested in
the unicameral Sabor (parliament). The president serves as head of
state and commander of the armed forces, cooperating in the formulation
and execution of foreign policy; he also nominates the prime minister,
who leads the government. Domestic and international observers stated
the 2007 parliamentary elections, the May 2009 local elections, and the
first round of the presidential election in December 2009 were in
accord with international standards. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
The judicial system suffered from a case backlog, although courts
somewhat reduced the number of unresolved cases awaiting trial.
Ineffective prosecution of some domestic war crimes trials remained a
problem. The government made little progress in restituting property
nationalized by the former Yugoslav communist government to non-Roman
Catholic religious groups. Societal violence and discrimination against
ethnic minorities, particularly Serbs and Roma, remained a problem.
Violence and discrimination against women continued. Trafficking in
persons, violence and discrimination against homosexuals, and
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS were also reported.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful
killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
In September the government reported 1,827 persons remained missing
from the 1991-1995 military conflict, including an estimated 797 ethnic
Serbs who went missing in 1995. During the year the government
investigated 64 possible mass and individual gravesites, resulting in
the exhumation of the remains of 76 persons. The government identified
the remains of 86 persons found earlier.
The government continued to cooperate with the International
Commission of Missing Persons (ICMP) with which it exchanged 6,943
blood samples. These exchanges have led to the identification of the
remains of 204 persons since 2004. To date the government has exhumed
4,543 bodies and identified 3,636 missing persons.
The government handled all exhumations and identifications, while
the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
monitored only the sites related to cases it investigated. The ICMP
assisted in the identification of remains. The Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) and experts from Serbia and Bosnia and
Herzegovina also monitored certain exhumations.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports government officials employed them.
In 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found one
violation by the country of the prohibition against inhuman or
degrading treatment as defined by the European Convention on Human
Rights.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
centers continued to be overcrowded. The prison system has a capacity
of approximately 3,500 persons, but there were nearly 5,000 inmates in
its prisons, penitentiaries, and juvenile detention institutions at the
end of the year.
The ombudsman for human rights made regular visits to assess prison
conditions throughout the country. According to the ombudsman, while
the treatment of prisoners was generally humane, the government was
unable to fully meet prisoner needs for healthcare, hygiene, space and
fresh air, and access to work opportunities due to the problem of
overcrowding.
In March the Constitutional Court handed down a verdict instructing
the government to adjust prison capacity in Zagreb's main prison to
meet present needs within five years.
During the year the government began construction on a new prison
facility in Glina; the facility is designed to provide room for an
additional 420 prisoners.
To address the issue of overcrowding, the Ministry of Justice in
July drafted an action plan for improving the prison system, which
contained plans to construct new premises in the coming years and, most
important, introduced a probation system. The Probation Law, passed by
parliament on December 17, provides the possibility for house arrest,
release on probation with close supervision, community work, and
measures aimed at reducing recidivism.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers, including the ICRC.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
have primary responsibility for national security; in times of
disorder, the prime minister and the president may call upon the
military to provide security. The intelligence service is under the
authority of the prime minister and the president. An independent
oversight board monitors intelligence service performance.
Police reforms begun after two high-profile killings at the end of
2008 continued through the year. On June 19, the general police
director appointed at the end of 2008 was removed from his position and
appointed as a state secretary in the Ministry of Interior. While the
move was technically a promotion, it was widely criticized in the press
as politically motivated because the new position gives no control over
daily police work. His replacement continued many of the reforms
started by his predecessor, including the creation of a separate police
unit to deal with organized crime and corruption cases, the National
Police Office for Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption (PN-
USKOK). In September all four planned offices in Zagreb, Rijeka, Split,
and Osijek were formally opened and operations continued to expand at
year's end.
The police reported good cooperation with Bosnian and Serbian law
enforcement officials regarding investigations into the high-profile
killings of Ivo Pukanic, a publisher and co-owner of the NCL Media
Group and a colleague in Zagreb in 2008. The alleged perpetrator of the
crime, Joca Amsterdam, was arrested in Serbia and was awaiting trial at
year's end. Due to Serbian restrictions on the extradition of its
nationals, Joca Amsterdam's trial was scheduled to take place in Serbia
while his accomplices were arrested and were being prosecuted in
Croatia.
Arrest Procedure and Treatment While in Detention
Police obtained arrest warrants by presenting probable cause to an
investigative magistrate; however, police can make arrests without a
warrant if they believe a suspect might flee, destroy evidence, or
commit other crimes. The police have 24 hours to justify an arrest to a
magistrate.
Police must provide those arrested with access to an attorney of
their choice within 24 hours of arrest. The magistrate appoints an
attorney to represent an indigent detainee if the case could carry a
long sentence. The government generally enforced these provisions. The
investigative judge must decide within 48 hours of an arrest whether to
extend detention for further investigation. Investigative detention
generally lasted up to 30 days; however, trial courts could extend the
period up to 12 months in certain cases. The law allows six months'
pretrial detention, but a court can extend it to 12 months in certain
cases, primarily war crimes and organized crime cases, at the state
prosecutor's request. The courts may release detainees on their own
recognizance, but most criminal suspects were held in custody until
trial. The option of posting bail after an indictment is available, but
detainees did not commonly exercise the right. Detention centers
allowed visits by family members.
A new Criminal Procedure Act came into force on January 1. Due to
an extensive revision of procedures in criminal investigations and
prosecutions, the act is being implemented in phases. The Office for
Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption (USKOK), operating out of
the State Prosecutor's Office, began operating according to the new
procedures on July 1, with regular prosecutors scheduled to implement
the changes by September 2011. Under the new law, primary investigative
responsibilities are to be transferred from investigative judges to
state attorneys. The role of the investigative judge under the new law
is to be limited to monitoring human rights issues and protecting the
legal process during proceedings. They also are to supervise relations
between prosecutors and defendants, judge appeals regarding detention,
and rule on the use of such special investigative techniques as
surveillance, wiretapping, and raids. The new law also provides for the
establishment of a ``supervisor for detention,'' who will be
responsible for ensuring the constitutional rights of defendants have
not been violated.
In April the Supreme Court overturned the June 2008 conviction of
Mitar Arambasic, a U.S. citizen and former Serb police officer found
guilty of war crimes against civilians and prisoners. The Supreme Court
ordered Arambasic released from detention and remanded his case for
retrial. Arambasic had already spent six years and eight months in
detention, including incarceration during his extradition proceedings.
The Supreme Court found based on the available evidence, further
detention would not be proportional to the expected sentence.
Amnesty.--The law permits amnesty except in cases of war crimes. In
practice, when investigations failed to substantiate original charges
of war crimes, courts often convicted the defendants on reduced
charges, thereby making them eligible for amnesty. This practice
enabled the court to resolve such cases without further investigation
and allowed the defendants to go free, but it disregarded the future
repercussions a criminal record could have on possibly innocent
defendants, particularly with regard to their future prospects for
employment.
During the year prosecutors reviewed all war crimes cases in which
there were indictments or ongoing investigations. For 254 of the 1,242
individuals involved in these cases, prosecutors either downgraded the
charges from war crimes to armed rebellion, for which amnesty would
apply, or cancelled proceedings for other reasons, such as insufficient
evidence.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary and the government generally respected
judicial independence. The judiciary continued to suffer from a heavy
backlog of cases. In June the Ministry of Justice reported 870,538
unresolved cases, both civil and criminal, remaining before courts.
The judicial system consists of municipal and county courts,
commercial and misdemeanor courts, an administrative court, and the
Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court determines the
constitutionality of laws, governmental acts, and elections. A parallel
commercial court system adjudicates commercial and contractual
disputes. A State Judicial Council appoints, disciplines, and, if
necessary, removes judges. The parliament appoints the chief state
prosecutor, who appoints chief state attorneys at the county and
municipal level; the State Prosecutorial Council, a disciplinary body
appointed by the parliament, appoints and disciplines deputy
prosecutors.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments in which it found two violations
by the country of the right to a fair trial as provided in the European
Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR also found 11 violations of the
convention's provisions concerning the length of judicial proceedings.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a public trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. The legal system uses panels of judges, which in some cases
include lay judges, rather than juries, to hear cases. Defendants have
the right to counsel, to be present at trial, to confront or question
witnesses against them, and to present witnesses and evidence on their
behalf. Defendants have access to evidence relevant to their cases and
enjoy the presumption of innocence and right to appeal.
During the year prosecutors continued to implement the October 2008
order of the chief state prosecutor to review all pending war crimes
cases and in absentia convictions, and apply standard measures to
ensure uniform practices without regard to the defendant's national
origin.
A special provision in the new Criminal Procedure Act, which became
effective in January, provided for reopening of war crimes cases tried
in absentia, upon the presentation of new evidence by either the
defendant or prosecutor, whether or not the defendant is present in the
country. While no defendants petitioned to have their cases reopened,
prosecutors asked courts to reopen approximately 20 percent of cases
tried in absentia and reported receiving good cooperation in most
instances from the courts. During the year, according to the Office of
the Chief State Prosecutor, prosecutors requested trials be reopened
for 93 of the 464 individuals convicted in absentia and courts of
original jurisdiction granted requests on behalf of 48 defendants and
rejected cases involving 24. On appeal the Supreme Court approved
reopening of cases involving 21 defendants. The OSCE reported almost
half of defendants on trial for war crimes during the year were not
present at their trials.
The OSCE reported during the year on the Supreme Court issuing
decisions on appeal in 10 war crimes cases involving 23 individuals (16
ethnic Serbs, seven ethnic Croats). It confirmed 19 of the 23
individual decisions and reversed four, a reversal rate of 17 percent.
In 2008 the Ministry of Justice, together with the UN Development
Program (UNDP), implemented a program to provide support to witnesses
and victims who testify in war crimes and complex criminal cases.
Between May 1, 2008 and October 20, 2009, offices to assist witness and
victims helped more than 2,200 persons. The Law on Courts, adopted in
October 2008, allows county courts, on a pilot basis, to form
specialized departments for victim and witness support in criminal
proceedings. The judges working at the pilot courts reported witnesses
and victims provided more coherent testimony than in the past. During
the year an additional six courts joined the initial four pilot courts.
The new criminal procedure law, which went into effect during the year,
provides for witness/victim protection from unlawful and unauthorized
pressure from other participants in the criminal procedure, and
provides them with psychological and other expert support.
On May 8, a court convicted parliamentarian Branimir Glavas for war
crimes committed in Osijek in 1991 and sentenced him to a total of 10
years in prison. Glavas' 10-year sentence resulted from combined
convictions from several cases. In one case the court found Glavas
issued orders to five codefendants who killed five Serb civilians and
attempted to kill an additional person. In a second case, the court
found Glavas guilty because he had command responsibility and failed to
prevent subordinates from torturing and murdering two civilians.
Glavas fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 8, the day of the
verdict, where he had recently acquired citizenship. On May 13, a
parliamentary committee lifted Glavas' immunity from detention, and the
full parliament confirmed this decision on May 20. On May 13, Glavas
was arrested on international arrest warrant in Kupres and a Bosnian
court subsequently ordered him detained for a maximum of 40 days due to
the risk he would flee to avoid extradition. After a day and a half in
detention, a Bosnian appellate court reversed the order and lifted
Glavas' detention. The appellate court found, since Glavas had a
registered residence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there were no grounds
for assuming he was a flight risk. Glavas has been at liberty in Bosnia
and Herzegovina since then. Glavas' five codefendants were taken into
custody after the verdict. For all six defendants, the court took into
account the participation of all six defendants in the Balkan wars in
the early 1990s as a mitigating factor. Glavas officially remains a
member of parliament, receiving salary and other benefits until his
verdict is made final, although he cannot attend any parliamentary
sessions without risk of arrest and detention.
In May the Supreme Court confirmed the 2008 lower court verdict
against Antun Gudelj, who was sentenced to 20 years for killing a
police officer and two local officials.
An appeal in the Olujic case, reported in 2008, was decided by the
Supreme Court in July. The Supreme Court confirmed the sentences of two
defendants, and slightly reduced the sentences for the three other
defendants.
On February 5, the Vukovar County Court announced a verdict in the
case of genocide in the village of Miklusevci in late 1991 and 1992.
Sentences ranging from four to 12 years' imprisonment were given to the
12 defendants convicted. Two defendants were acquitted. While 22 Serbs
and Ruthenians were originally charged, prosecutors dropped charges
against eight defendants during the proceedings.
Since the constitutions of most of the Southeast European countries
involved in the 1991-1995 conflict prohibit their citizens to be
extradited, Croatia's chief state prosecutor has signed agreements with
counterparts in Montenegro and Serbia to enable the transfer of
evidence in such cases, allowing suspects to be tried where they live
rather than where the alleged crime was committed. Croatia transferred
evidence in six cases covering 15 defendants to Serbia during the year.
There were no transfers of evidence to Montenegro.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, although continuing case
backlogs raised concerns about judicial effectiveness and efficiency.
In April the human rights ombudsman reported long administrative and
court proceedings were the most frequent reason for citizens to address
his office in 2008. In 2008 the Office of the Ombudsman received 1,560
complaints about protracted administrative proceedings, which often
lasted several years and in many cases took as long as 10 years to
resolve. The ombudsman blamed an understaffed court administration and
poorly prepared laws for the courts' inefficiency. He also criticized
the application of political criteria instead of competence when
appointing personnel in state administration. For the second year in a
row the parliament took note of the ombudsman's annual report without
adopting it.
Property Restitution.--During the year the government continued to
work toward completion of its program to return occupied private
properties to their rightful owners. However, the property law
implicitly favors ethnic Croats over ethnic Serbs, who lost possession
of their properties during the 1990s, by giving precedence to the
rights of temporary occupants, who were mainly ethnic Croats, over
those of the original owners, predominantly ethnic Serbs. In nine
cases, owners could not repossess their homes and were waiting for
completion of administrative procedures. Thirty-four owners of
agricultural land with unclear title, mostly in the Zadar hinterland,
who previously could not take possession of their plots, were able to
take possession of their land in April.
Restitution of property seized during World War II and the
Communist era remained a problem. The law on restitution of and
compensation for property taken during the time of the Yugoslav
Communist government permits the restitution of property only to
individuals who were citizens at the time the parliament passed the
law. As a result the law does not apply to persons who had property
expropriated but left the country and became citizens of other
countries. Many claimants have since acquired Croatian citizenship but
still cannot file claims.
Restitution of communal property remained a problem for all major
religious groups except the Islamic community.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
In 2008 the ECHR found one violation by the country of the right to
respect for private and family life as provided by the European
Convention on Human Rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law generally
provide for freedom of speech and the press; however, some government
influence over the media continued, and there were reports of
increasing pressure from commercial interests.
The law provides for no less than six months' and no more than five
years' imprisonment for hate speech. Hate speech committed over the
Internet is punishable by six months' to three years' imprisonment.
Individuals can freely criticize the government publicly or
privately without reprisal.
A wide range of private newspapers and magazines were published
without government interference. In spite of the media law, media
ownership was not fully transparent, making it possible for political
or other interests to conceal their influence on media outlets.
The law regulates the national television and radio networks
separately from other electronic media. Independent television and
radio stations operated in the country, and two of the four national
television channels were private.
Local governments partly or fully owned approximately 70 percent of
the local media, making local broadcast media particularly vulnerable
to political pressure. Approximately 46 percent of local radio stations
depended on the financial support of local authorities. On World Press
Freedom Day in May, the Croatian Journalists Association issued a
statement warning that media owners continued to intervene directly in
editorial policy. In particular, the statement noted ``political
pressure on media has not ceased to exist in the public, local or
private media. Advertisers expect to be spared because of the media
space they purchase, so the media would not report negatively about
them.''
In March, during the local elections campaign, some journalists
were denied access to press conferences organized by political parties.
On March 17, Drago Hedl, Jutarnji List correspondent from Osijek, was
denied entrance to a press conference by Branimir Glavas, a member of
parliament, and an Osijek TV crew was denied entrance to the press
conference by Vladimir Sisljagic, the president of a political party.
As of year's end there were no arrests in the 2008 beating of
investigative journalist Dusan Miljus. An investigation was ongoing and
Miljus remained under police protection. In June the Ministry of
Internal Affairs announced an award of 50,000 kunas ($10,000) for
information leading to the arrest of Miljus' attackers.
On June 16, the National Council for Monitoring Implementation of
the Anticorruption Strategy held a session on the freedom of the media
and the fight against corruption. The council concluded investigative
journalism was rarely practiced, and the media was not effectively
serving its purpose as a watch dog in the fight against corruption. At
the session investigative journalist Dusan Miljus reported he had
recently received another threatening letter. Journalist Hrvoje Appelt
discussed his dismissal from one of the largest publishers in the
country while he was under police protection after writing about
organized crime.
Libel is a criminal offense; in recent years there were no reports
of politically motivated libel cases. However, a large number of libel
cases from previous years remained unresolved due to judicial backlogs.
Courts may fine, but not imprison, persons convicted of slander and
libel.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports the government monitored e-mail or Internet
chat rooms. In general individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Internet access was widely available and used by citizens throughout
the country. According to International Telecommunication Union
statistics for 2008, approximately 51 percent of the country's
inhabitants used the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and the government generally respected this right in practice. The law,
however, prohibits political protests in Zagreb's St. Mark's Square,
adjacent to the parliament and government offices.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice; however, the law grants discretionary power to the
Ministry of Justice over the establishment and internal governance of
foundations. While authorities applied the law equally to all
organizations, the law itself is restrictive and controlling. For
example, the law provides that organizations may not register if their
statutory goals are deemed trivial or if their property is not deemed
sufficient to carry out their statutory activities. The law also
permits the government to influence the appointment of an
organization's management body.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of conscience and religion and free public profession of
religious conviction, and the government generally respected these
rights in practice. There is no official state religion; however, the
Roman Catholic Church has a historic and close relationship with the
state not shared by other religious groups.
On September 24, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia,
Cardinal Josip Bozanic, visited Jasenovac, the site of the largest
concentration camp in Croatia during World War II where thousands of
Serbs, Jews, and Roma were killed. Some critics accused the Catholic
Church of collaborating with the pro-Nazi regime ruling Croatia at the
time. Bozanic was the highest ranking church official to ever visit
Jasenovac. While there, Bozanic acknowledged crimes were committed at
Jasenovac by members of the Catholic Church but reaffirmed the church
itself had no role in Jasenovac. He also asked for the truth to be
told, not only about the victims of Jasenovac, but also the victims of
fascism, Nazism, and communism. His trip was seen as a step toward
reconciliation by leaders of the Jewish and Serb communities; however,
he was also criticized for not offering a direct apology from the
Catholic Church and for equating victims of communism with those of the
Holocaust.
On October 2, a ceremony was held to lay the cornerstone for a
mosque in the town of Rijeka after a number of administrative delays.
The cost of the mosque was estimated at 8 million euros ($11.4
million); it will serve a community of approximately 10,000 Muslims
residing in the surrounding county.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal violence and physical
abuse of religious minorities were problems.
The country's Jewish community numbered approximately 2,300. Acts
with anti-Semitic overtones were reported during the year.
On July 25, at a concert in Biograd, controversial ultranationalist
singer Thompson incited the audience to chant profascist slogans. He
also accused President Stjepan Mesic, who has a reputation as a strong
antifascist, of high treason. Police investigated the incident but
brought no charges.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Refugees returning to the country as citizens of another former
Yugoslav republic rather than as Croatian citizens encountered
obstacles obtaining permanent residency status. The law permits former
habitual residents who returned and applied by June 2005 to be
reinstated to their prewar status as habitual residents without further
requirements, and they could subsequently apply for citizenship.
However, the government did not consistently apply this provision. This
caused uncertainty and delayed the integration of returnees. The 2008
Law on Foreigners includes a clause exempting refugees from the
republics of the former Yugoslavia from the rigid citizenship
requirements under the previous law. Nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) reported positive feedback concerning the law from returnees who
were able to acquire citizenship.
The government took steps to recognize or ``convalidate'' legal and
administrative documents issued by entities not under the country's
control during the 1991-1995 conflict. In December the government
reported receiving 19,185 applications for ``convalidation'' and
issuing decisions in approximately 55 percent of the cases.
Approximately 55 percent of the cases decided were resolved positively,
while 45 percent were resolved negatively. International observers
noted there were wide discrepancies between regional offices with
average approval rates varying by as much as fifty percent, bringing
into question the equity of the approval system. The government stated
the discrepancy was due to the lack of documentation in some regions of
the country.
As of September the UNHCR had registered the return of 388,583
refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), 132,322 of them
minority Serbs. The total includes 627 persons who returned in the
first nine months of the year. The UNHCR reported 54 percent of total
returns were sustainable, while the remainder were either one-time or
``commuter'' returns. International organizations listed the poor state
of the regional economy, lack of employment, and delays in access to
permanent housing for the former tenants of socially owned apartments,
as the main obstacles to return. Additionally, many refugees have
chosen to settle in their countries of refuge.
To address problems experienced by returning IDPs and refugees, the
government in 2008 began implementing a 60 million euro ($85.8 million)
social and economic recovery project, jointly funded by the government
and the World Bank. The project was aimed at revitalizing the economies
of disadvantaged areas affected by the war and promoting interethnic
social cohesion. International observers said the program had some
success as it made possible improvements to infrastructure and social
inclusion, but because of budgetary constraints, its continuation was
in question. Public hostility toward returning ethnic Serb refugees
diminished in most parts of the country, but sporadic incidents, mostly
in Dalmatia and its hinterland, were still a cause of concern.
Repossession of houses belonging to Serbs was almost complete, and
reconstruction of those damaged by looting continued. As of September
authorities had finished repairing damage to 275 of 456 properties
eligible for repair under the government protocol for looted
properties. There were cases in which persons were discovered
attempting to use the courts to recover alleged investments they had
made while illegally occupying the property, and 13 such cases were
pending in the courts. Although the government adopted a process in
2006 to resolve the cases with investors out of court, it remained
reluctant to offer settlements before the cases reached a court.
The government slowly continued the program to resolve the claims
of persons, mainly ethnic Serbs, who held tenancy rights in socially
owned apartments prior to the war but who lost these rights during or
just after the war. Individuals submitted 13,695 claims for government-
provided housing under the program, 4,576 of which were in urban areas.
According to the UNHCR, from 1995 through the end of September, the
government had allocated 6,772 housing units, mainly in war-affected
areas. The Ministry of Regional Development, Forestry, and Water
Management had delivered approximately 97 percent of its 2007 target of
1,400 housing units and 80 percent of the 2008 target of 1,454 housing
units, but during the year it delivered fewer than 10 percent of its
target of 2,100 housing units. Despite broad cuts in the 2010 budget
caused by the economic recession, the government reportedly secured
slight increases in budget allocations for housing.
On March 30, the UN Human Rights Committee issued a decision on a
complaint brought by a former tenancy rights holder in 2006. The
complainant, Dusan Vojnovic, lost his tenancy rights in 1992 when he
fled the country after receiving threats due to his Serb ethnicity. The
complaint stated the country violated his rights to equal treatment,
home and family life, fair trial, and trial in a reasonable time, as
written in the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights to which the country is signatory. The committee
decided, although the termination of the tenancy rights had been done
in accordance with the country's law, it had been done arbitrarily, in
violation of some procedural decisions of the courts, was arbitrary,
and violated the principles of fair trial and equality before the
courts, including a reasonable time for completion of proceedings. The
committee decided the country should provide an ``effective remedy to
Vojnovic, including compensation. The government was supposed to reply
to the committee by October 30 describing the actions it took, but it
had not responded by the end of the year. Observers noted the
government's actions could potentially set a precedent for
approximately 30,000 persons who lost their tenancy rights during the
war.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Authorities took an
inconsistent and nonuniform approach in its treatment of minority IDPs.
As of September, 2,359 IDPs were registered with the government; of
this number, 1,638 were ethnic Serbs, whose numbers remained unchanged
from 2008. The Serbs were either waiting to be recognized as integrated
in their current places of displacement or to receive reconstruction
assistance from the state.
The government allowed free access to all displaced persons by
domestic and international humanitarian organizations and permitted
them to provide assistance.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Its laws
provide for granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government
has established a system for providing protection to refugees. Persons
seeking protection generally considered the country a country of
transit, and a significant number of asylum seekers left the country
before courts had reached decisions on their claims. International
observers criticized the government for delays in initial decisions for
asylum seekers.
In law and practice the country provided effective protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
The government reported 147 persons applied for asylum during the
year; of these, the government granted one person subsidiary protection
(protection granted to an applicant whose situation is not covered by
the 1951 convention), rejected the applications of 51 persons, and
dismissed the applications of 64 persons; decisions were awaited in 32
cases. Nine persons appealed the government's decisions. During the
year the government granted protection to 13 persons. Of these, refugee
status was granted to 11 and subsidiary protection to two. In the first
group there were five persons from Russia, three from Uzbekistan, and
one each from Afghanistan, Armenia, and Uzbekistan. Persons from
Afghanistan and Kosovo were granted subsidiary protection. There was a
reception center for asylum seekers in Kutina, near Zagreb.
In May 2008 the government introduced a new appeals commission that
conducts substantive reviews of the cases of rejected asylum seekers.
Observers believed the new commission was an improvement over the
previous appeals body because it enjoyed greater autonomy and included
representatives from civil society and academia. However, international
observers reported the commission did not have its own offices or
proper facilities for conducting interviews and storing confidential
files. Additionally, only one member of the commission, the president,
was a full-time employee. The UNHCR closely followed cases of
individuals whom the government deported or whom authorities returned
to their country of origin.
There were no reports of persons requesting temporary protection
during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Political parties could
operate without restriction or outside interference.
Coalition negotiations following the 2007 parliamentary elections
produced a government led by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), with
the Croatian Peasant Party, the Independent Democratic Party of Serbs,
and the Croatian Social Liberal Party represented in the new cabinet.
While no significant irregularities were reported in the 2007
elections, the local NGO Citizens Organized to Monitor Elections (GONG)
estimated the registrations of approximately 20 percent of voters
abroad (mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina) were outdated on election
day.
In July Prime Minister Ivo Sanader abruptly resigned from office
and was replaced by the then HDZ vice president and deputy prime
minister, Jadranka Kosor. Despite slight adjustments in the cabinet,
the composition of the ruling center-right coalition remained
unchanged. No candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in
the December 27 presidential election, forcing a second round to be
held in January 2010 between Ivo Josipovic, candidate of the center-
left Social Democratic Party, and Milan Bandic, the independent mayor
of Zagreb.
There were 36 women in the 153-seat parliament. There were four
women in the 20-seat cabinet, including the prime minister and one
deputy prime minister. There were five women among the 13
Constitutional Court justices, including the president of the court,
and 17 women among the 37 Supreme Court justices.
The law requires representation for ethnic minorities in local
government bodies if the census showed a minority group constituted at
least 5 percent of the local population. Local elections held in May
used updated voter lists as the basis for calculating the number of
elected minority representatives, as required by law. Due to the return
of refugees since the previous census in 2001, this method resulted in
greater minority representation than the earlier practice of basing
proportional minority representation on census figures alone. To
provide adequate minority representation in local governments as
required by the Constitutional Law on National Minorities, the country
held special minority elections on December 6 to choose six deputy
county prefects and 40 deputy mayors.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not always implement the laws effectively
and corruption remained a serious problem. During the year the
government gave special attention to the legal and institutional
framework used to combat corruption, including investigations,
prosecution, and interagency and international cooperation. The
government worked closely with civil society and the private sector to
try to inculcate respect for the rule of law in society.
Corruption remained a serious problem, with a nexus of
institutions, primarily in health care, university faculties, the
judiciary, and public-sector and commercial enterprises often at the
center of corruption cases.
Corruption cases in the country involved nearly all segments of
society, economy, and government. The number of cases prosecuted by
USKOK continued to increase substantially in comparison with previous
years. During the year USKOK concluded several cases against high
profile civil servants, university professors, students, judges, public
servants, and other professionals. The highest ranking person to be
formally investigated for corruption was former minister of defense and
current member of parliament Berislav Roncevic. On July 31, criminal
charges were filed against Roncevic and his former deputy and a current
state secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Ivo Bacic, for alleged
misuse of funds in a 2004 deal to buy 39 trucks for the Ministry of
Defense. Earlier in the year, a parliamentary committee, controlled by
the ruling HDZ party of which Roncevic was a member, concluded there
had been no irregularities in the truck purchase. On December 14, a
Zagreb court upheld all counts of a indictment filed by USKOK against
former defense minister Berislav Roncevic and his former assistant Ivo
Bacic. The trial was scheduled to begin in early 2010.
A multiyear anticorruption operation, codenamed ``Maestro,''
concluded during the year. The investigation into the Privatization
Fund resulted in the arrests in 2007 of six suspects, including three
fund vice presidents. USKOK ultimately indicted 10 persons for bribery
and abuse of authority and position. On March 12, the court found fund
vice president Ivan Gotovac and another individual not guilty in a
first, smaller trial. The verdict was being appealed at year's end. In
a second, larger trial, fund vice president Matanovic was sentenced on
May 15 to 11 years in prison, while fund vice president Pesa was
sentenced to two years. Four other persons received sentences ranging
from one to three years in prison. Two defendants were acquitted.
During the year authorities continued their investigation of
another large corruption case, dubbed ``Index.'' USKOK filed an
indictment for the case in December 2008. On May 27, the court
announced verdicts against 16 defendants including professors,
students, mediators, and middlemen charged with illicit enrollment at
the Faculty of Transport Sciences. The former vice dean of the faculty
and the chief middleman were sentenced to two and a half and one and a
half years in prison, respectively, for illegally enrolling students.
The other 12 defendants in the trial, known as ``Index 1,'' including a
senior lecturer, were given suspended sentences. On July 29, in a trial
known as ``Index 2,'' nine professors from Zagreb's Faculty of
Transport and Traffic Engineering and four middlemen were sentenced to
prison terms ranging from six months to two years for taking bribes
from students to pass examinations. The remaining 17 middlemen,
students, and parents standing trial were given suspended sentences,
while two were acquitted, including a teacher. All the convicted
teachers were prohibited from teaching for five years.
In September Supreme Court reduced the sentence of Ognjen Simic,
who fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina after his conviction on corruption
charges in 2008, from nine to five years. The court ruled the
sentencing guidelines in force at the time the offense was committed
should have been applied, rather than those in force at the time of the
conviction. Simic continued to live freely in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The law requires public officials to declare their assets. Most
government officials complied, although there were questions as to the
thoroughness and effectiveness of the system and imprecision as to the
types of assets covered.
Within the government, the prosecutors and police Offices for
Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK and PN-USKOK,
respectively) are the main law enforcement bodies responsible for
fighting corruption. The PN-USKOK was established in April, and its
offices were formally opened on September 10. The government also
created special anticorruption and organized crime departments in the
four largest courts in the country, where judges are screened and
receive additional training and higher pay for working on USKOK cases.
The Ministry of Justice's Anticorruption Office monitors the
implementation of anticorruption measures throughout the government and
oversaw a large anticorruption public relations campaign in the spring
and summer of the year.
The law provides the right of public access to government
information; however, NGOs continued to complain the government did not
implement the law efficiently or effectively. On September 4, GONG
published results of a survey showing a third of towns and
municipalities did not have information officers as required by law.
Additionally, some towns and municipalities were charging citizens for
documents that should be free to the public.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were often cooperative and responsive to their views.
The Office for Human Rights, the entity for cooperation with NGOs
and other government ministries and offices, was active in coordinating
and promoting NGO and governmental efforts on human rights and civil
society. It received both UN and government funds during the year. The
office was the primary government body responsible for developing,
coordinating, and implementing the government's human rights policies.
While the office did not have authority to investigate alleged human
rights abuses directly, it cooperated effectively with NGOs and the
international community to conduct awareness campaigns to promote
gender equality and women's rights, encourage general tolerance, and
prevent trafficking in persons. It also served as a liaison between
governmental offices and citizens reporting violations and complaints.
The office awarded project grants to NGOs to address various human
rights problems. It was adequately funded and enjoyed the cooperation
of other government agencies.
In December Human Rights House--an umbrella organization for human
rights NGOs--began operations in offices donated by the city of Zagreb
in a reconstructed building with a five-year moratorium on rent
payments.
During the year the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor prosecuted
war crimes committed by both ethnic Serbs and ethnic Croats; ethnic
Croats were defendants in several high-profile cases, including the
conviction of parliamentarian Branimir Glavas (see section 1.e.).
The government cooperated with the ICTY. On December 3, ICTY Chief
Prosecutor Serge Brammertz stated during his semiannual presentation to
the UN Security Council that the ``central issue of concern remains the
still unresolved request to locate and obtain key military documents
related to Operation Storm of 1995.'' The chief prosecutor welcomed the
October personal initiative of the prime minister of Croatia to
establish an interagency task force aimed at locating these documents
and stated that a recent report of the task force was helpful in
revealing gaps in the previous administrative investigations and in
identifying further investigative steps to be taken. The prosecutor
concluded by saying that ``these and all other available investigative
steps must be urgently undertaken in order to complete a comprehensive
and credible investigation into locating the missing documents.''
An appeal in the Ademi-Norac trial reported in 2008 was still
pending.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on gender, age, race,
disability, language, or social status; and the government generally
enforced these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime punishable by one
to 10 years' imprisonment; however, according to NGOs many women did
not report rape or spousal rape. The law provides longer sentences for
sexual violence against persons with disabilities. In cases of rape
under aggravated circumstances that result in death or pregnancy, or if
the victim is a minor, sentences may be between three and 15 years. Due
to social pressure and stigmatization, rape and sexual violence were
underreported. NGOs criticized the government for allowing only police
and not hospitals to have rape kits. This resulted in victims having to
be examined twice. During the year the government formed a working
group with NGOs to work on a protocol for conduct in cases of sexual
violence, aimed at streamlining the procedures. The availability of
victim assistance services, such as rape crisis centers, varied widely
from community to community.
In the first 11 months of the year, 75 rapes and 20 attempted rapes
were reported to police. NGO officials estimated that for every
reported rape, there were three unreported cases; on average 100 to 140
cases of sexual violence and rape are reported annually. The NGO
Women's Room stated women frequently did not report rape and spousal
rape because they lacked information about available legal protections,
felt ashamed, feared reprisal, or, in case of spousal rape, were
concerned over the economic consequences. Victims were often reluctant
to report rape, particularly spousal rape, because it was difficult to
prove in court and because medical staff, police, and judicial
officials were not trained to treat victims. Women's NGOs asserted
sentences for spousal rape tended to be lenient.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, continued to be a
problem. The law provides for persons other than the victim, including
the police, to initiate a domestic violence case, which is treated as a
misdemeanor. Penalties range from fines of 1,000 to 10,000 kunas ($200
to $2,000) or up to 60 days in prison. Under the criminal law,
perpetrators can face up to three years in prison for the same acts.
Police officials tended to classify domestic violence against women as
misdemeanors, resulting in minimal sentences. Minimum sentences were
particularly common in cases of rape. Police officers in most urban
areas were trained to handle family violence and to provide quick
intervention, secure victims' safety, and remove perpetrators from
families; in rural areas, police officers were generally less well
trained in handling family violence cases.
Support for victims of violence was limited. In general private
donations financed most services, but the government took some steps to
address the rising number of domestic violence cases.
NGOs and local governments operated 17 shelters, but, according to
the ombudsperson for gender equality, only five were permanent. On
November 25, the government signed contracts with county, city, and
civil organizations to cofinance shelters and counseling centers for
victims of domestic violence. In September the ombudsman reported
550,000 kunas ($111,000) was paid during the year to NGOs running
shelters for victims of domestic violence. Hotlines, counseling, and
legal assistance were available to victims of domestic violence.
On January 27, the ECHR ruled against the state in a law suit
brought by the family of a domestic violence victim with the assistance
of a local women's NGO. The court ruled the state did not take
sufficient measures to prevent the death of Mignon Tomasic, who was
murdered along with her daughter by her husband in 2006. The court
found the state failed to conduct a thorough investigation and did not
order sufficiently long psychiatric treatment after the victim reported
her husband's first serious threats. The court ordered the state to pay
40,000 euros ($57,200) in compensation to the family of the deceased
woman and 1,300 euros ($1,860) for court expenses.
Prostitution is illegal but widespread and generally punishable by
fines. Engagement in prostitution is treated as a misdemeanor, while
pandering is a criminal act. Activities of clients are not
criminalized. The activities of the brothel owner/operator, pimps, and
enforcers are crimes and the laws were generally enforced. Women's
organizations claimed prostitutes faced abuse, stigmatization, and
public humiliation. There were reports that women were trafficked for
commercial sexual exploitation.
The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace; however, it
remained a problem. According to trade unions, the problem was most
pronounced in the textile and leather, trade, and catering industries.
The ombudsman for gender equality and unions reported that his office
worked on sexual harassment cases, although many women were reluctant
to take action for fear of reprisal.
The government generally respected the right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Citizens generally had the information and
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, or violence. There
was no recent data on the percentage of the population with access to
contraception, although condoms are widely available and oral
contraception is available with a prescription.
According to the UNDP, the number of women reported to have HIV
infections is significantly lower than men, but women were and men were
diagnosed and treated equally. However, women who lived in rural areas
and worked out of the home may not be as aware of the need for testing
or where to get tested as their male counterparts.
Women generally held lower paying positions in the work force. In
June the Croatian Statistics Bureau released its annual report, Women
and Men in Croatia. The report noted women in the private and public
sectors earned 10.8 percent less than men. Women's pensions were 17
percent lower than those of men. Women were also more likely to be
unemployed, accounting for 62.2 percent of all job seekers registered
with the employment bureau. These disparities were present despite
women generally achieving a higher level of education.
In November 2008 the World Economic Forum (WEF), an international
NGO based in Geneva, noted large differences in Croatian women's and
men's salaries, employment and access to managerial functions as well
as political representation and women's access to education and health
care was regarded as commendable. The WEF measured gender equality in
the fields of the economy, politics, education, and the health system.
The government Office for Gender Equality criticized the report for
using inaccurate data.
The government cooperated with NGOs to promote gender equality.
While NGOs participated in drafting legislation promoting gender
equality, they believed their impact on the ultimate result was often
limited.
The Office for Gender Equality was responsible for implementing the
law on gender equality that came into effect in 2008 and for
formulating the government's gender policy; the ombudsman for gender
equality monitored implementation of the law, including the submission
of mandatory action plans for state institutions and public companies.
The 2008 law established quotas to secure increased political
representation of women. It requires women to make up at least 40
percent of the voting list for each political party by the third round
of local and national elections as well as in elections for the
European Parliament. Political parties, state bodies, local
authorities, employers, and the media can be fined for violating the
new law. Local NGOs criticized the law on the grounds the fines were
too small to be a deterrent and the government rarely enforced previous
laws with quotas.
However, NGOs noted the Office for Gender Equality campaigned
actively during the year to educate the public about the new law,
especially about the provision regarding the composition of voting
lists for the May 31 local elections. It funded projects by 23 NGOs
aimed at informing the public about the new law. It also ran a number
of television and radio ads and organized local meetings to discuss
women's participation in politics, an effort that lasted for six months
and consumed approximately 20 percent of the office's annual budget.
The number of women on political party slates on a county level rose to
26 percent compared with 21 percent in the 2005 elections.
In July the Office for Gender Equality criticized Croatian Radio
Television for what it claimed was insufficient programming featuring
gender issues, a position shared by the ombudsman for gender equality.
Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth in the country's
territory (jus soli) or from one of the parents (jus sanguinis).
Authorities register all births at the time of birth within the country
or upon registration for births abroad. There are no reports failure to
register births resulted in denial of public services, including
education and health care, to children.
While education is free and mandatory through grade eight, Romani
children faced serious obstacles to continuing their education,
including discrimination in schools and a lack of family support. The
number of Romani children enrolled in preschool education for the 2008-
2009 school year rose to 595 from 509 in 2007. According to the
Ministry of Science, Education, and Sports, the number of new Romani
pupils increased to 3,940 from 3,786 in 2008. There was a fourfold
increase over 2005.
During the year the ministry reported, for the first time, the
reimbursement of kindergarten fees to Romani parents. The payments made
for the previous academic year totaled 130,700 kunas ($26,300) for 71
children in 13 kindergartens. The government distributed over 300
scholarships to Romani students in high school, 35 more than in the
previous school year. The number of Roma students receiving
scholarships for university level studies increased to 20 from 12 in
the school year.
In 2008 international organizations and local NGOs reported school
authorities continued to provide segregated, lower quality classes for
Romani students in the northern part of the country.
In July the ECHR rejected a complaint of discrimination by the
parents of 15 Romani children concerning the creation of separate
classes for Romani students in several elementary schools in the
northwestern county of Medimurje. The court found the schools did not
set the children apart simply for being Roma but rather the schools
separated them only until their language improved to the point where
they could join a regular classroom. The ECHR agreed to reconsider the
case in April; a decision was pending at year's end.
Child abuse, including sexual abuse, was a problem.
The Office of the Ombudsman for Children reported 1,050 new
complaints of individual violations of children's rights through
December. The office has seen yearly increases in the number of
complaints, due in part to the greater visibility and presence of the
ombudsman.
In June 2008 the government launched a campaign in cooperation with
the Council of Europe to prevent corporal punishment. The campaign
continued through the year and targeted families, schools, children's
homes and penitentiaries. However, the ombudsman for children reported
in August the campaign was not visible enough and the number of cases
of corporal punishment was not diminishing.
In 2007 local NGOs filed suit against the country before the
European Committee for Social Rights (ECSR) alleging its sexual
education curriculum for school-age children violated young people's
basic rights to comprehensive and adequate sexual and reproductive
health education. In August the ESCR published its decision, which
found ``the evidence was insufficient to justify a conclusion that the
sexual and reproductive health education overall is inadequate.''
However, the committee criticized the government for homophobic
material in classroom texts. The textbook in question was subsequently
removed. Despite this ruling, the ombudsman for children criticized the
government for not having a systematic and uniform sexual health
education program throughout the country. While some areas of the
country had very developed sexual education programs, others had
limited information.
The country has no official statistics on child marriages; however,
social welfare services believed this to be a problem in the Romani
community. Common law marriages between persons 16 and older were
customary, many times prompted by pregnancies. These marriages were in
some cases made official when partners reached adulthood.
Statutory rape is a part of the penal code with the minimum age for
consensual sex set at 14 years. Penalties for statutory rape range
between one and eight years, but in aggravating circumstances such as
sex resulting in pregnancy or repeated sexual acts, penalties range
from five years to up to 40 years. Filming or photographing children
for pornographic material is penalized with between one and five years
of prison, while exposure of children to pornography can be punished
with financial fines or up to one year in prison.
During the year state prosecutors received reports of the following
incidents involving children and minors: 36 reports of sexual
intercourse with minors and 29 convictions for the same crime, 114
reports and 86 convictions for lewd behavior involving a child or a
minor, 11 reports and nine convictions of abusing children for
pornography, and 68 reported cases of child pornography on the Internet
with 13 convictions for crimes committed earlier.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, the country was a source, destination, and country
of transit for trafficked women and children.
The country was mainly a country of transit for women and girls
trafficked from countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans to other
parts of Europe for prostitution and labor exploitation. The country
was also a source and destination for trafficked women and men. In
December the government reported authorities identified eight
trafficking victims during the year. Four victims were Croatians, two
were Serbians, and two originated from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Six of
the victims were women trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation
and included one underage girl, while two were men trafficked for labor
exploitation. The government reported the victims cooperated with
police investigations and NGOs.
Trends in 2008 indicated women and girls 30 years old and younger
were most at risk of being trafficked. Anecdotal information indicated
regional and domestic organized crime groups were responsible for
trafficking. Traffickers controlled victims through violence,
intimidation, withholding documents, and threats.
The law defines trafficking in persons as a crime separate from
slavery and provides penalties between one and 10 years' imprisonment
for traffickers. The minimum penalty for trafficking crimes committed
against a minor is five years' imprisonment. If a criminal organization
committed the crime and it resulted in death, the penalty is five
years' to life imprisonment. The law provides criminal sanctions of
three months to three years in prison for using the services of
trafficked persons.
As of December the government had arrested and instituted criminal
proceedings against nine persons. The government reported six
trafficking convictions against five persons, in which the court
sentenced the defendants to prison terms ranging from two to eight
years, while in one case the defendant was ordered to compensate the
victim with 152,196 kunas ($30,400). The government also issued five
indictments against eight persons during the year whose cases were
pending at year's end.
The government has a national committee for the suppression of
trafficking in persons. The head of the government's human rights
office was also the national coordinator for trafficking issues.
Various agencies are responsible for the suppression of trafficking.
Police participated in international investigations through the
regional center of the Southeastern European Cooperative Initiative
(SECI) Bucharest, and through Interpol and Europol. Between March and
November, the Ministry of Interior conducted four operations responding
to sexual services advertisements on the Internet and in the media in
order to identify possible trafficking victims. Police continued to
cooperate with both short- and long-term advisors from Germany and
Austria. In addition, police had an active role in the Mirage working
group from the SECI regional center and reported strong cooperation
with Europol and Interpol in combating trafficking in persons.
There were no specific reports government officials were involved
in trafficking.
During the year the government did not deport or punish victims of
trafficking, and it cooperated with NGOs and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) mission to offer all necessary
assistance to victims. While the law criminalizes international
prostitution and unauthorized border crossings, it exempts trafficking
victims from prosecution. Similarly, the law exempts trafficking
victims from deportation under laws that permit authorities to charge
foreigners engaged in prostitution with a misdemeanor and initiate
deportation proceedings if they do not fulfill legal requirements for
their stay in the country.
The government has a legal framework to provide for victim
assistance, and support services were available for trafficking
victims. The government continued to finance shelters for adults and
minors who were victims of trafficking. The Croatian Red Cross, in
cooperation with the government, operated four reception shelters. The
government offered assistance to all victims and provided services
jointly with local NGOs and the IOM.
The law regulates the status of foreign victims of trafficking. It
defines methods of identification and the scope of assistance and the
respective bodies that are responsible for offering victim assistance.
The Law on Foreigners was amended in March to extend the ``reflection
period'' for adult victims from 30 to 60 days, while for victims who
are minors it remained at 90 days. The law specifies different forms of
assistance that should be offered to foreign victims, including safe
accommodations, financial support, education and training, and
assistance with regard to work. The law also provides for temporary
residence permits for victims, initially from six months to one year,
which the government can extend based on a subsequent needs assessment.
The government continued to broadcast public awareness campaigns
produced during the previous years and continued to support an NGO
hotline, alternative shelters, and two traditional shelters. Government
information campaigns targeted children and adults as potential
victims, while one targeted potential clients of those who were
trafficked.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and in the provision of other state services; however,
discrimination occurred.
The government maintained 10 counseling centers offering assistance
to persons with disabilities and their families. In 2008 the government
also opened a separate department for persons with disabilities at the
employment agency, aimed at increasing employment rates. A total of
1,028 persons with disabilities were employed during the year, while
the number of unemployed was 6,215. An estimated 67.3 percent of
unemployed persons with disabilities have been unemployed for more than
a year.
In June 2008 parliament appointed the first ombudsman for persons
with disabilities. In a report covering the second half of 2008, the
ombudsman noted the majority of complaints received by his office
involved welfare and pension payments. The office actively cooperated
with NGOs dealing with disabled persons.
During the year parliamentarian Vesna Skulic criticized the
government for lagging behind in fulfilling its obligations under the
National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities for 2007-2015. The
government was late in introducing measures or revising relevant laws
that affect the lives of persons with disabilities. Skulic continued to
criticize the lack of transparency in the management of the
government's fund for professional rehabilitation and employment.
The number of persons with mental disabilities in institutions did
not decrease, despite some efforts to develop community-based
alternatives. The law provides that unemployed parents of children with
disabilities be granted 2,200 kunas ($443) in monthly compensation. The
law also provides compensation to foster-care families.
The law mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities;
however, the government did not always enforce this provision, and the
law did not mandate that existing facilities be retrofitted. As a
result, access to public facilities for persons with disabilities
remained limited.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--While constitutional
protections against discrimination applied to all minorities, open
discrimination and harassment continued against ethnic Serbs and Roma.
Incidents, including looting, physical threats, verbal abuse, and
spraying graffiti on Serb property, continued in the Dalmatian
hinterland and the central part of the country. International
organizations reported that the frequency and gravity of violent
incidents against ethnic Serbs diminished in most of the country with
the exception of the Zadar and Sibenik hinterland, where they remained
unchanged.
On July 11, police arrested two young men who broke into the house
of a Serb returnee in a village near Knin, smashed the furniture and
verbally and physically assaulted the owner. Human rights NGOs reported
the two were a part of group that first stoned the house and then used
wooden sticks and ladders to break the windows. The owner immediately
called the police, who stopped the attack. The police filed criminal
charges against the two attackers, 19-year-old immigrants from Bosnia
and Herzegovina, for acts of violence motivated by hatred. The Croatian
Helsinki Committee subsequently issued a statement criticizing the
incident and the police in Knin for repeated reluctance to report low-
level violence (such as driving across cultivated fields or destroying
satellite dishes) against ethnic Serbs in the area over the previous
three years.
On March 26, a group of eight young men threw stones at and
verbally abused the local Serb population in the village of Bukovic in
the Benkovac area. They threatened one of the villagers with a knife
and demanded money. They smashed windows in homes and burned the
haystack of another villager. The police identified all eight
perpetrators and charged them with ``violent behavior'' and
``disruption of the inviolability of the home.'' Human rights NGOs
reported no indictments had been issued at the year's end.
On July 16, police arrested three men for smashing the windows and
slashing the tires of a car with Serbian plates in front of the Hotel
Plat in Dubrovnik. The three were indicted for damaging and destroying
property, and authorities qualified the act as a hate crime. The case
was pending at year's end.
In May 2008 authorities transferred the 2007 case of two young men
arrested for verbally and physically abusing two Serb returnees and
attempting to burn their house with them inside, from the county court
to the municipal court in Pozega. The prosecutors in Pozega revised the
charges from attempted murder to inflicting grave injuries. On April
23, the court sentenced the two perpetrators to two years in prison
with parole. The prosecution appealed the verdict in June; a final
decision was pending at year's end.
Authorities made no further progress in identifying suspects in the
2007 bombing of a Serbian-owned vehicle.
Discrimination continued against ethnic Serbs in several areas,
including the administration of justice, employment, and housing.
Ethnic Serbs in war-affected regions continued to be subject to
societal harassment and discrimination. Local authorities sometimes
refused to hire qualified Serbs even when no Croats applied for a
position.
Seven years after the parliament passed the Constitutional Law on
National Minorities (CLNM), authorities had not implemented its
provision on proportional minority employment in the public sector in
areas where a minority constitutes at least 15 percent of the
population. Ethnic Serbs, the largest minority, were most affected by
the slow implementation of the law. Difficulties with the
implementation of the CLNM continued during the year. At a roundtable
on minority employment organized by the Ministry of Justice in Karlovac
on May 14, officials admitted that minority representation in the
judiciary was not adequate. One department head cited Karlovac County
as an example of an area where minorities made up 11 percent of the
population but constituted only 2 percent of employees in the
judiciary. The law provides that minority participation is to be taken
into account when appointing judges in regions where minorities
constitute a significant percentage of the population.
The National Minority Council received approximately 42 million
kunas ($8.5 million) for minority associations' cultural programs
during the year.
Societal violence, harassment, and discrimination against Roma
continued to be a problem. While only 9,463 persons declared themselves
to be Roma in the 2001 census, officials and NGOs estimated the Romani
population was between 30,000 and 40,000.
At the end of June, four skinheads verbally abused and then tried
to set on fire 12 Roma sleeping on trucks parked near a temporary dump
site at the outskirts of Zagreb. One of the skinheads hit a Rom with a
Molotov cocktail but failed to cause any injuries. The attackers fled
before being arrested.
In June the ECHR ruled in favor of Darko Beganovic, a Rom beaten by
seven persons in 2000, and found the state violated the European
Convention on Human Rights by failing to institute criminal proceedings
in the case. The court ordered the government to pay Beganovic 1,000
euros ($1,430) for damages and 6,940 euros ($9,920) for court expenses.
Roma faced many obstacles, including lack of knowledge of the
Croatian language, lack of education, lack of citizenship and identity
documents, high unemployment, and widespread discrimination. Many
Romani women in particular had only limited Croatian language skills.
In 2007 Romani NGOs estimated 25 percent of Roma did not have
citizenship documents and thus could not obtain social benefits,
employment, voting rights, and property restitution. According to the
Council of Europe, only 6.5 percent of Roma had permanent jobs, while
the government estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Roma were receiving some form
of social assistance. In September the government estimated over 90
percent of registered Roma lived on social aid.
On a national level, the government worked to increase the
employment rate of Roma by providing two years' worth of salary
payments to employers who hired Romani workers. Government spending on
programs for Roma increased from 17 million kunas ($3.4 million) in
2008 to 27 million kunas in 2009 ($5.4 million). During the year the
government worked with the European Commission to improve conditions in
major Roma settlements in the Medjimurje region, where Roma constituted
6 percent of population. The government allocated 7.5 million kunas
($1.5 million) for administrative costs related to the legalization of
four Roma settlements there. In addition, the government contributed
2.5 million kunas ($503,000) to a joint project with the European
Commission to reconstruct infrastructure in these settlements.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was some societal
violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) persons. There are at least two active LGBT
organizations.
On June 13, an antigay protest was staged during the annual Gay
Pride Parade. Members of the protest carried banners with abusive
language such as ``kill the faggots.'' Organizers of the parade
considered the protest a hate crime and criticized authorities for
having allowed it to take place. Police arrested five persons who tried
to break through police lines and attack parade participants. After the
parade two unidentified persons followed one parade supporter to his
doorstep and severely beat him.
In August the ECSR issued a statement on the sexual education
curriculum in Croatian schools that criticized the government for
homophobic material in classroom texts. The committee stated certain
parts of the educational material were ``manifestly biased,
discriminatory, and demeaning'' and served to stigmatize homosexuals
``based upon negative, distorted, reprehensible, and degrading
stereotypes.'' The committee found the material had a ``discriminatory
and demeaning impact'' upon persons not of heterosexual orientation
throughout society and presented a ``distorted picture of human
sexuality.'' The committee stated the government had failed ``in the
provision of objective and nonexclusionary health education.''
Authorities removed the textbook in question.
Societal discrimination against LGBT persons was frequently
manifested by insults, stereotypical jokes, and societal prejudices.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination
against persons with HIV/AIDS remained a problem. The Croatian
Association for HIV (HUHIV) reported dentists and general practitioners
at times refused to treat HIV-positive patients and some hospitals
postponed surgery because doctors were reluctant to operate on them. If
an HIV patient did not go through the infectious disease hospital, he
or she often waited for treatment, and doctors sometimes delayed
surgery indefinitely. There were allegations transplant centers refused
to put HIV patients on their lists of potential organ recipients.
According to HUHIV representatives, the lack of public assistance,
such as hotlines, for HIV-positive patients was a problem. According to
the UN theme group on HIV/AIDS, an analysis of the country's laws
indicated they contain discriminatory provisions regarding HIV. The
group cited legal provisions requiring testing under medical
supervision for certain professions and, in certain cases, restricted
employment for prisoners and HIV-positive persons. According to the
analysis, most cases of discrimination occurred outside the scope of
the law or were due to insufficient enforcement of privacy laws, lack
of consistent, adequate medical care, and discrimination in school or
the workplace.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Workers are entitled by law to form
or join unions of their choice without previous authorization or
excessive requirements, and workers exercised this right in practice.
Unions generally were independent of the government and political
parties.
In July 2008 the government initiated a consultative process
through the Croatian Social and Economic Council with key stakeholders:
labor unions, employer associations, and economists, to provide
recommendations on bringing the existing labor code into line with EU
standards. The negotiations concluded in December 2009 with three
amendments to the labor code which were pending in the parliament at
year's end. The amendments include limiting temporary work contracts to
no more than three years, establishment of a flexible eight-hour
workday with overtime regulations and night-shift restrictions, and
establishment of a 56-hour maximum work week.
The law provides for the right to strike, with some limitations,
and workers exercised these rights during the year. The law does not
permit members of the armed forces, police, government administration,
or public services to strike. Workers may strike only at the end of a
contract or in specific circumstances mentioned in the contract after
they have gone through mediation. When negotiating a new contract,
workers are also required to go through mediation before they can
strike. Labor and management must jointly agree on a mediator if a
dispute goes to mediation. If a strike is found to be illegal, any
participant may be dismissed and the union held liable for damages.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The
constitution and law protect collective bargaining and the right to
organize, and workers exercised these rights in practice, although some
international observers reported there that small firms did not always
uphold this right.
Approximately 12 percent of the country's workers are on fixed-term
contracts with employers. Manual labor and retail employees are
primarily affected and many employers hire new workers for a trial
period of typically three months.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and expressly allows
unions to challenge firings in court; however, incidents of union-
related harassment and firing of employees occurred, and in general the
inefficiency of the court system seriously delayed and discouraged
citizens' attempts to seek redress through the legal system.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but there were
incidents in which adults and children were trafficked for prostitution
and labor (see section 6, Trafficking in Persons). The cases of
trafficking for labor involved an auto mechanic and a pickpocket.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace and provide for acceptable working conditions. While the
government for the most part implemented these laws and policies
effectively, child labor remained a problem.
In 2008, the last year for which data were available, the State
Labor Inspectorate recorded 173 violations of labor-related laws
involving 86 children under the age of 17. Of these violations, two
involved a child under the age of 15. Violations occurred mainly in the
hospitality, tourism, retail, food, industrial, services, and
construction sectors.
The minimum age for employment of children is 15 years. The
Ministry of Economy, Labor, and Entrepreneurship, in conjunction with
the ombudsman for children and the state inspectorate, is responsible
for enforcing this regulation. Minors under the age of 15 may work if
they receive prior approval from the state labor inspectorate and if it
is determined that the child will not suffer physically or mentally
from the work. Approval is usually requested for filming movie scenes
or for play rehearsals. The law prohibits workers under the age of 18
from working overtime, at night, or under dangerous conditions.
The law proscribes the worst forms of child labor, including
trafficking in children for purposes of sexual exploitation and labor.
The national ombudsman for children coordinated the country's efforts
to prevent the exploitation of children and to assist in removing
children from exploitative situations. The labor inspectorate has 111
inspectors whose duties include inspection for illegal employment of
minors. The inspectorate forwarded all cases of violations involving
minors to the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. Criminal cases were
prosecuted by the State Prosecutor's Office and often resulted in
convictions.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage as determined
by the government was 2,814 kunas ($566) per month; the net wage was
between 2,000 and 2,200 kunas ($402-$443), depending on exemptions, and
did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
Government statistics from June indicated the average wage was 5,370
kunas ($1,080), and the minimum cost of living for a family of four in
rented housing was 6,316 kunas ($1,270). The government enforces the
minimum wage, while the ministry of finance determines the level.
Nonpayment and late payment of wages continued to be a problem, as
was nonpayment for overtime and holiday work. According to the labor
inspectorate, the law no longer requires that records be kept of the
number of persons who did not receive payment of their salaries.
However, workers have the right to bring court proceedings against
employers who did not issue pay slips to their employees. Based on data
that it received through various reports, the inspectorate concluded
that at least 1,708 employees did not receive full payment for their
work in 2008, the last year for which data were available.
The inspectorate reported that it shut down 452 employers for
periods of at least 30 days during 2008 for labor law violations.
Violations included illegally employing local and foreign workers
without work permits, employing workers not registered with the pension
fund, and employing workers not registered with a health insurance
agency. The labor inspectorate reported that although its officers
greatly increased their inspections and reporting of violations, the
courts did hand down punishment commensurate with the seriousness of
the violations, and therefore the inspectorate's actions were not
effective. The inspectorate pointed to the large number of violations
that were not tried in court due to the expiration of the statute of
limitations. In 2008 there were 4,186 such cases involving terms of
employment and 948 involving work safety.
The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours. Workers are
entitled to a 30-minute break daily, one day off out of seven, and a
minimum of four weeks of paid vacation annually. The law provides that
workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay for overtime and limits
overtime to eight hours per week. The labor inspectorate must be
notified if overtime work by an employee continues for more than four
consecutive weeks, for more than 12 weeks during a calendar year, or if
the combined overtime of employees of an employer exceeds 10 percent of
the total working hours in a particular month. Pregnant women, mothers
of children under three years of age, and single parents of children
under six years of age may work overtime only if they freely give
written consent to perform such work. In 2008 the inspectorate
processed 14,593 violations. After processing, the inspectorate sent
5,737 violations to misdemeanor courts for proceedings. Infractions
included violations related to labor contracts, payment for work,
annual leave, and unpaid and unreported overtime. In 2008 authorities
sent 36 criminal proceedings against employers to municipal state
attorneys' offices.
The government set health and safety standards, which the Health
Ministry enforced; its inspectorate has jurisdiction over enforcement
of health and safety laws at the workplace. In practice many industries
often did not meet worker protection standards. In 2008 the
inspectorate initiated 2,687 requests for misdemeanor proceedings
covering 5,588 violations of safety standards. During 2008 misdemeanor
courts issued 1,526 violations, of which authorities declared three
were criminal acts and referred them to higher courts. Courts rejected
948 of the reported violations because of expiration of the statute of
limitations.
Under the law workers may remove themselves from hazardous
conditions and have recourse through the courts if they believe that
they have been dismissed wrongfully for doing so; however, according to
the labor inspectorate, workers did not exercise this right in practice
and normally reported employers only after they had left their job.
__________
CYPRUS
Since 1974 the southern part of Cyprus has been under the control
of the government of the Republic of Cyprus, while the northern part,
administered by Turkish Cypriots, proclaimed itself the ``Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus'' (``TRNC'') in 1983. The United States
does not recognize the ``TRNC,'' nor does any country other than
Turkey. A substantial number of Turkish troops remained on the island.
A buffer zone, or ``green line,'' patrolled by the UN Peacekeeping
Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), separates the two parts.
REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS
The Republic of Cyprus is a constitutional republic and multiparty
presidential democracy. The area under control of the government has
approximately 796,900 inhabitants. In 2006, 56 representatives were
elected to the 80-seat Vouli Antiprosopon (House of Representatives) in
free and fair elections, and in February 2008 President Demetris
Christofias was elected in free and fair elections. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
Problems were reported in some areas. There were reports of police
abuse and degrading treatment of persons in custody and asylum seekers.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, and several incidents
of violence against children were reported. There were instances of
discrimination against members of minority ethnic and national groups.
Trafficking of women to the island, particularly for sexual
exploitation, continued to be a problem, and labor trafficking was also
reported.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings during the year.
In 2008 authorities completed an independent investigation of the
2005 police killing of a Syrian immigrant that the chief of police had
reported was in self-defense. The attorney general initially ordered
the prosecution of the police officers involved but later decided that
the evidence was not strong enough to stand in a criminal trial. The
district court awarded compensation to the victim's family in civil
proceedings brought by them.
In June 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a
judgment that found that the government of Turkey violated the right to
life as provided under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human
Rights in the cases of Isaak v. Turkey and Solomou and others v.
Turkey. The court found that Isaak was killed in 1996 during a Greek
Cypriot demonstration in the buffer zone by Turkish Cypriot
counterdemonstrators, including ``at least four uniformed soldiers
belonging to the Turkish or Turkish Cypriot forces.'' The ECHR also
found that in 1996 ``two soldiers in Turkish uniform and a man in
civilian clothes'' shot and killed Solomou when he entered the buffer
zone and tried to climb a flagpole with the Turkish flag on it. The
court ordered Turkey to pay 215,000 euros (approximately $308,000) to
Isaak's family plus 12,000 euros ($17,200) in court expenses and
125,000 euros ($179,000) to Solomou's family, plus 12,000 euros in
court expenses.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
The government participated in the autonomous, tripartite (UN,
Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot) UN Committee on Missing Persons (CMP)
as part of its efforts since 1996 to account for persons missing as a
result of the intercommunal violence in 1963-64 and the conflict in
1974. As of December 30, the CMP had exhumed the remains of a total of
596 missing persons and returned the remains of 145 Greek Cypriots.
Exhumations continued in different parts of the island. According to
the CMP, 1,455 Greek Cypriots and 455 Turkish Cypriots remained
missing.
On September 21, the ECHR Grand Chamber upheld the court's original
decision in the case of Varnava and others v. Turkey, filed by the
relatives of nine Greek Cypriots missing since the events of 1974. The
ECHR had found Turkey in continuing violation of the convention's
Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (prohibition against torture and
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment), and Article 5 (right to
liberty and security) on account of its failure to conduct an effective
investigation into the whereabouts of the nine missing persons.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; there
were reports, however, that police abused detainees. There continued to
be reports that police engaged in heavy-handed tactics and degrading
treatment of suspects.
On March 10, police officers at Strovolos police station allegedly
beat and used racist comments against 19-year-old Henry Taylor, a
national of Zimbabwe who had lived in Cyprus for eight years, after
accusing him of stealing a moped. Taylor contended he was a victim of
mistaken identity, and he was later released without charge. The
Independent Authority, an independent committee appointed by the
Council of Ministers to investigate complaints of police bribery,
corruption, unlawful financial gain, violation of human rights, abuse
of power, preferential treatment, and conduct unbecoming of police
officers, investigated the incident and submitted its report to the
attorney general, who ordered the summary trial of the officers
involved.
On March 19, the criminal court acquitted the remaining 10 police
officers accused in the 2005 case involving plainclothes officers
stopping two cars in Nicosia and handcuffing and beating the drivers,
27-year-old students Marcos Papageorghiou and Yiannos Nicolaou.
Authorities had charged 11 officers with numerous offenses, including
assault and torture; one officer was subsequently cleared of the
charges. The court decision caused a public uproar, including
demonstrations and statements from the attorney general, who appealed
the decision. The hearing on the appeal before the Supreme Court
started on November 23 and was ongoing at year's end.
In May the press reported on a young man who was arrested by police
in Limassol in 2007 for allegedly making an indecent hand gesture to
police. The man claimed that he was taken to the Limassol police
station, handcuffed, and beaten by an officer while five to six other
officers looked on. As a result of the beating, he allegedly suffered a
concussion and other head and neck injuries and was hospitalized for
five days. According to police, disciplinary charges were brought
against an officer after an investigation by the Independent Authority;
the officer's hearing on charges of misconduct and illegal exercise of
authority had not been completed at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in prisons,
detention centers, and other government institutions generally met
international standards, although there have been reports of
overcrowding.
During the year the ombudsman and nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) received complaints that police subjected inmates to physical
abuse and discriminatory treatment. The ombudsman reported that during
the year her office received two complaints from prisoners concerning
physical violence that were being investigated. Complaints submitted to
the ombudsman in previous years could not be substantiated due to
insufficient evidence. The ombudsman's investigation into complaints by
Greek Cypriot prisoners that prison officials tolerated and, in some
cases, supported violence among inmates was inconclusive due to lack of
sufficient evidence.
The ombudsman reported discriminatory treatment of Turkish Cypriot
inmates regarding their access to facilities at the Central Prison. A
2008 investigation by the ombudsman showed that prison authorities
denied requests by Turkish Cypriot inmates for access to the Open
Prison and Out of Prison Employment Center. The ombudsman recommended
that the security reasons cited for the rejections be explicitly stated
and fully justified on a case-by-case basis. The ombudsman received two
more complaints during the year from Turkish Cypriots alleging
discriminatory treatment in the Central Prison. Both complaints were
under investigation at year's end. An NGO reported that foreign
detainees and prisoners complained of physical violence in detention
centers located in police stations and discrimination in the Central
Prison.
In 2008 an NGO reported that foreign inmates were tasked with
heavier work and had greater restrictions on visitation rights than
local prisoners.
On March 15, a young Moldovan man arrested for drunk driving and a
series of traffic violations was found dead in his cell at the
Lycavitos Police Station in Nicosia. The state coroner found no
evidence of a crime. The Independent Authority appointed two criminal
investigators to the case. The investigation was ongoing at year's end.
During the year overcrowding remained the Nicosia Central Prison's
greatest problem, despite renovation and expansion. Prison authorities
acknowledged that many of the prison buildings, constructed prior to
1960, needed renovation. Construction work was underway to increase
capacity and improve sanitary conditions. In September the ombudsman
complained via the media that such overcrowding created problems for
prisoners' health and welfare. The prison's capacity was 340, but at
times it housed up to 750 inmates. Approximately 73 percent of the
detainees were foreigners imprisoned for illegal entry, stay, and
employment, as well as theft, burglary, false pretenses, and other
offenses. The ombudsman reported that, due to overcrowding, convicted
criminals were not separated from pretrial detainees, and both long-
and short-term prisoners were kept together. In a report issued during
the year concerning drug use in the Central Prison, the ombudsman
recommended separate detention for drug users. In September the
ombudsman also complained via the media that the prison lacked a health
center, even though her office had requested the creation of one 10
years earlier; at year's end, the Central Prison still lacked a health
center.
The government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, and such visits, unrestricted and unannounced, occurred
during the year. The ombudsman, the law commissioner, and the
commissioner for the protection of personal data visited Central Prison
on a regular basis. The parliamentary human rights committee also
visited the prison and examined the living conditions of the detainees.
In May 2008 the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) conducted one of its periodic spot checks;
representatives visited several sites, including the Central Prison,
the psychiatric unit in Athalassa, and several police stations, and
privately interviewed detainees and prisoners. The CPT's report on the
visit had not been released by year's end.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police enforce the
law and combat criminal activity. The Greek Cypriot National Guard
(GCNG), backed by a contingent of Greek military forces called Elliniki
Dhinami Kyprou (Hellenic Force in Cyprus), protects national security.
The GCNG reports to the Ministry of Defense, which reports to the
president. The police report to the Ministry of Justice and Public
Order. The president appoints the chief of police. The police force is
composed of a headquarters with six functional departments, six
geographic district divisions, including one inactive district for the
area administered by Turkish Cypriots, and seven police units that
provide specialized services. One case alleging serious police
corruption was before the court.
The Independent Authority appoints independent investigators from a
list submitted by the attorney general. In 2008 the committee received
110 complaints, a 14.6 percent increase compared with 2007. Of those,
16 were deemed outside the scope of the committee's responsibility,
four were withdrawn, three were rejected because the plaintiffs failed
to provide a written statement, eight were sent to the police chief for
further investigation, and four were still under investigation at the
end of 2008. The committee completed investigations of 42 complaints
and carried out preliminary investigations of 33 cases. In eight of the
42 completed investigations, the committee recommended the criminal
prosecution of specific officers. Of those eight, the attorney general
ordered the criminal prosecution of three and decided against the
prosecution of three, and his decision was pending on the remaining
two.
During the year the Independent Authority ordered criminal
investigations of 14 members of the police force.
In January two Paphos police officers were suspended on suspicion
of extorting and blackmailing illegal immigrants. They were scheduled
to be presented to court in January 2010.
In February a Sri Lankan man complained to Limassol police that
three police officers blackmailed him and his two Sri Lankan roommates,
who were residing illegally in the country, into paying 700 euros
(approximately $1,000) each. The alleged victim identified three
officers, who were arrested together with a 35-year-old mechanic. The
trial of the four was scheduled for January 2010.
In June the killing of police officer Stavros Stavrou attracted
media attention due to Stavrou's alleged involvement in illegal
dealings. In the past, police had allegedly investigated Stavrou for
involvement in cabarets, drugs, electronic gambling, and an arson
attack, although they were reportedly unable to gather enough evidence
to make a case against him. An administrative investigation into
possible illegal dealings of the deceased officer did not reveal any
incriminating evidence. His killing remained under police investigation
at year's end.
In 2008 the attorney general ordered a criminal investigation of a
member of the police for allegedly assaulting a civilian. The
investigation concluded that there was no evidence of a criminal
offense. Of the 14 cases against police officers pending before the
courts at the end of 2007, four resulted in convictions, four were
pending at the end of 2008, and one was dropped by the court; the
attorney general suspended charges in two cases and dismissed the
remaining three cases. Two of the pending cases were set for hearing at
the end of 2009, and the other two were scheduled for hearing at the
beginning of 2010.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires judicially issued arrest warrants, and authorities respected
this requirement in practice. Persons may not be detained for more than
one day without referral of the case to a court for extension of
detention. Most periods of investigative detention did not exceed 10
days before formal charges were filed. The attorney general generally
made efforts to minimize pretrial detention, especially in cases of
serious crimes. Prior to May 2008, however, authorities indefinitely
detained aliens arrested for illegal entry into the country without
identity documents when they did not know where to deport them.
Attorneys generally had access to detainees. Bail was permitted. The
government claimed the right to deport foreign nationals for reasons of
public interest, regardless of whether they had been charged with, or
convicted of, a crime.
Following a series of demonstrations by eight long-term detainees
(all of whom were immigrants who had been denied asylum and were
awaiting deportation), their families, and a local asylum-rights NGO,
the minister of interior announced in May 2008 that the government
would no longer hold such persons long term in detention centers.
Instead, if deportations could not be executed in a reasonable amount
of time--generally six months--the government would release
undocumented migrants and rejected asylum seekers and give them
residence permits for a limited period of time, provided they had not
been found guilty of a crime. An NGO reported, however, that the
released detainees did not have access to health care or social
benefits and were not entitled to permanent residency permits unless
they had a job.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law and constitution provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
this provision in practice.
Most criminal and civil cases begin in district courts, from which
appeals may be made to the Supreme Court. There are no special courts
for security or political offenses. There are military tribunals that
have jurisdiction over members of the GCNG.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The
constitution provides for public trials, and defendants have the right
to be present and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner. Jury
trials are not used. An attorney is provided for those who cannot
afford one, and defendants have the right to question witnesses against
them and present evidence or witnesses on their behalf. The law also
provides that defendants and their attorneys have access to government-
held evidence related to their cases. Defendants enjoy a presumption of
innocence and have a right of appeal. The government generally
respected these rights in practice.
During the year there were three ECHR judgments that found the
country in violation of the right to a fair hearing within a reasonable
time, as provided by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human
Rights. On January 13, the ECHR ruled in Charalambides v. Cyprus that
six years of criminal proceedings for charges of forgery and fraud
constituted an unreasonably excessive length of proceedings in
violation of Article 6. The court similarly found in Michael
Theodossiou Ltd. v. Cyprus that the country had violated Article 6
because the applicant company was a party to property expropriation
proceedings initiated by the government that lasted more than 11 years.
On July 16, the ECHR ruled in Christodoulou v. Cyprus that the country
violated Article 6 because it took the government almost six years to
adjudicate a commercial dispute with the applicants over the value of
rental property.
In 2008 the ECHR found one violation by the country of Article 7
(no punishment without law), and it issued judgments that found three
violations by the country of the right to a fair trial and two
violations involving length of proceedings under Article 6 of the
European Convention on Human Rights.
In January 2008 the ECHR ruled in Kafkaris v. Cyprus that the
country violated the Article 7 rights of the applicant, who was given a
life sentence for murdering a family of three. The court found that at
the time the applicant committed the offense, the law was not
formulated with sufficient precision so as to enable him to discern the
scope of the penalty of life imprisonment and the manner of its
execution.
In March 2008 the ECHR issued a final judgment in the case of
Panovits v. Cyprus and found that the country violated the applicant's
Article 6 right to a fair trial based on the lack of legal assistance
provided to the applicant during police questioning, the use of his
confession during trial, and the court's mishandling of a confrontation
with the applicant's defense counsel during the trial. The applicant
had been arrested in 2000 as a minor and confessed guilt during an
interrogation by the Limassol police conducted outside the presence of
his guardian or an attorney.
In July 2008 the ECHR ruled in Douglas v. Cyprus that the country
violated the applicant's Article 6 right to a fair hearing within a
reasonable time. The applicant's legal proceedings, related to a
postdivorce dispute over property distribution, lasted more than eight
years. Similarly, in December 2008, the ECHR ruled in Mylonas v. Cyprus
that the country violated Article 6 because the applicant's legal
proceedings, stemming from a family dispute over property, lasted more
than 10 years.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, permitting claimants to bring
lawsuits seeking damages for or cessation of human rights violations,
and citizens successfully availed themselves of it.
Property Restitution.--On January 15, the ECHR ruled in Michael
Theodossiou Ltd. v. Cyprus that the country violated the applicant's
Article 1 property rights under the convention because it failed to
compensate the applicant for its property in a timely manner over the
course of expropriation proceedings that lasted for more than 11 years.
Turkish Cypriots have filed a total of 57 court cases, eight of
them during the year, to reclaim property located in the government-
controlled area, and the Supreme Court issued judgments in two cases
concerning Turkish Cypriot properties that are under the guardianship
of the Ministry of Interior. According to the law, these types of
properties cannot be returned unless the owners resettle permanently in
the government-controlled area. In one case the Supreme Court ruled in
favor of the applicant and declared null and void a decision by the
guardian to turn down the owner's request for restitution of his
property. In the second case, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of
the guardian rejecting the owner's request for restitution.
On April 28 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in favor of
the plaintiff in the case of Apostolides v. Orams, in which the Greek
Cypriot plaintiff sought to enforce a Cyprus court order regarding
property located in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots by
applying the court order against the defendants' assets in the United
Kingdom. The ECJ ruled that the fact that the Cyprus court judgment
concerns land situated in an area of the state over which the
government does not exercise effective control does not mean that the
judgment is unenforceable under EU law. The case was seen as setting a
precedent for the enforcement in EU member states of Cyprus court
judgments concerning property in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots. On November 13, the British Court of Appeal concluded a two-
day hearing on the case; the ruling was not announced by year's end.
On January 20 and 27, the ECHR issued judgments in favor of Greek
Cypriot applicants in 12 property cases brought against Turkey. In all
the cases, the court held that Turkey violated and continued to violate
the applicants' property rights under Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the
European Convention on Human Rights. On September 22, the ECHR issued
judgments in favor of the Greek Cypriot applicants in 18 additional
property cases. Turkey was found responsible for 18 violations of
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property), nine violations
of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life), and two
violations of Article 3 (prohibition against torture and inhuman or
degrading treatment).
In April 2008 the ECHR endorsed a friendly settlement brokered by
the Turkish Cypriot ``property commission'' in 2007 between Greek
Cypriot Michael Tymvios and Turkey. The settlement would exchange
Tymvios's property in the northern part of the island for Turkish
Cypriot property in the government-controlled area and a payment of one
million dollars. In August 2008, however, Tymvios complained that the
government, citing the guardianship law, refused to transfer ownership
of the Turkish Cypriot property in the government-controlled area to
him despite the ECHR ruling. On November 26, Tymvios filed a lawsuit
against the attorney general, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of
Education, and the Larnaca School Commission for refusing to turn over
to him the Turkish Cypriot property awarded to him by the
``commission.''
On July 28, the ECHR endorsed a friendly settlement brokered by the
Turkish Cypriot ``property commission'' between a Greek Cypriot,
Evgenia Alexandrou, and the government of Turkey. Alexandrou filed a
case against Turkey in 1990 seeking damages for loss of use of 63 plots
of land in Kyrenia. In January the ECHR found Turkey in violation of
Alexandrou's right to property but did not establish compensation. In
2008 Alexandrou applied separately to the ``commission'' for
compensation of approximately 10 million euros ($14.3 million) for loss
of use of her property. In April the Turkish government and Alexandrou
informed the ECHR of the settlement, which called for withdrawal of the
case from the ECHR, restitution of part of Alexandrou's property, and
1.5 million British pounds ($2.4 million) in compensation to
Alexandrou.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found two violations by the
country of the right to respect for private and family life under
Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In October 2008
the ECHR found that the country violated Article 8 in Kyriakides v.
Cyprus and Taliadorou and Stylianou v. Cyprus. Both cases involved
police officers who had been dismissed and later reinstated following
allegations of torturing suspects. The domestic court originally found
that significant injury had been caused to the applicants' moral and
psychological integrity and awarded damages for moral injury, but this
award was reversed on appeal. The ECHR found that the appeals court did
not provide adequate explanation for the reversal of the award for
moral damages, in violation of Article 8.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these
rights in practice.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately
without reprisal, and the government did not attempt to impede
criticism.
Independent newspapers and periodicals proliferated. Several
private television and radio stations competed effectively with
government-controlled stations; government-owned stations accounted for
approximately 18-20 percent of the viewership for television news and
30 percent of the general radio audience. International broadcasts,
including telecasts from Turkey and Greece, were available without
interference throughout the island.
In 2006 the Council of Ministers rejected a 2005 decision by the
board of the Cyprus News Agency to appoint Christoforos Christoforou as
its new director. Some newspapers and opposition parties attributed the
rejection to Christoforou's authorship of articles criticizing
government policies regarding the UN efforts in 2004 to reunify the
island. The Cyprus Journalists' Union called on the government to
reverse its decision and approve the appointment. Christoforou appealed
to the Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor in June 2008. In July
2008 the Attorney General's Office appealed the Supreme Court decision.
The appeal was pending before the court at year's end.
The government imposed significant restrictions on Turkish (as
opposed to Turkish Cypriot) journalists crossing the green line to
cover news events in the government-controlled area.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail. The
Internet was easily accessible and widely available to the public.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
more than 38 percent of the country's inhabitants were users of the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were generally no
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events, but
certain oversight efforts threatened academic independence and
activities.
The government continued to exert political pressure on
universities to refrain from any contact with universities in the
Turkish Cypriot community because the government considered them
illegal.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law and
constitution provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law and constitution provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
The law and constitution specify that the Greek Orthodox Church of
Cyprus, which is not under the authority of the Greek Orthodox Church
of Greece, has the exclusive right to regulate and administer its
internal affairs and property in accordance with its holy canons and
charter. The law also states that the Turkish Cypriot religious trust,
the Vakif, the Muslim institution that regulates religious activity for
Turkish Cypriots, has the exclusive right to regulate and administer
its internal affairs and property in accordance with Vakif laws and
principles. No legislative, executive, or other act may contravene or
interfere with the Orthodox Church or the Vakif. The law and
constitution also recognize as official religious groups the Armenian
Orthodox, Maronite Christians, and Roman Catholics.
The government required other religious groups to register as
nonprofit companies in order to maintain bank accounts or engage in
other financial transactions.
The ombudsman reported receiving complaints during the year from
Muslim inmates in the Central Prison that they were unable to practice
their religion in prison. The complaints were being investigated at
year's end.
In September an imam from the mosque in Nicosia complained through
the media that the Muslim community had difficulty obtaining visas for
clergy from unspecified countries. Another religious community reported
delays in obtaining visas from the government for clergy from Southeast
Asia.
In May two NGOs reported that some Buddhist groups encountered
government obstacles in obtaining property to use as houses of worship
for their respective congregations.
The limited number of active mosques available for the growing
Muslim population was a problem. The single functioning mosque in
Nicosia was particularly overcrowded.
Missionaries have the legal right to proselytize; in contrast to
2008, there were no reports during the year of the government
monitoring missionary activity. It is illegal for a missionary to use
``physical or moral compulsion'' to make religious conversions. Police
may investigate missionary activity based on a citizen's complaint.
Police can also open an investigation if missionaries are suspected of
involvement in illegal activities threatening the security of the
government, constitutional or public order, or public health and
morals. No detentions or arrests were reported under these laws during
the year.
The government required children in public primary and secondary
schools to take instruction in the Greek Orthodox religion. Parents of
other religions may request that their children be excused from such
instruction and from attending religious services. This exemption is
not allowed for children whose parents are Greek Cypriot, regardless of
their religious affiliation or lack thereof.
Conscience and Peace Tax International reported that the length of
alternative service for conscientious objectors was punitive compared
with military service.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In February vandals attacked a
Muslim cemetery in the Limassol suburb of Kato Polemidia, destroying
headstones and causing other damage. Police investigated the incident
and questioned several persons but reported they did not find any
leads.
In February the ombudsman issued a report on the case of a group of
youths who attacked foreign residents in Ypsonas village in Limassol in
June 2008, causing serious bodily injuries to some and material damage
to their properties. Police arrested 12 young men between the ages of
15 and 18. The trial was ongoing at year's end. In her report, the
ombudsman noted that the racist motives of the attack were never
investigated and that there has never been a conviction in the country
based on the law against racism and discrimination.
In May 2008 the NGO Action for Equality, Support, and Antiracism in
Cyprus (KISA) reported that it continued to receive complaints from
recognized refugees of Muslim origin that they had difficulty securing
employment because of their religion. KISA also reported that police
often beat asylum seekers of Muslim origin and that such asylum seekers
faced difficulties securing residence permits. The NGO alleged that the
``general climate'' was not amenable for asylum seekers from countries
where Islam is prevalent and that citizens in general demonstrated
``aggressive behavior'' toward Muslim asylees. Some asylum seekers
reportedly had difficulty securing employment, and one asylee alleged
that he could not secure housing because of religious discrimination.
The ombudsman received one complaint during the year alleging
physical violence due to ``religious racism.'' An investigation was
ongoing at year's end.
Turkish Cypriots continued to claim that unused mosques in the
government-controlled area had been vandalized. The government
routinely carried out maintenance and repair of mosques in the area
under its administration.
There were approximately 2,000 persons in the Jewish community,
which consists of a very small number of native Jewish Cypriots and a
greater number of expatriate Israeli, British, and other European Jews.
The Jewish community in Larnaca reported an increase in anti-
Semitic incidents following the start of Israel's military operations
in the Gaza Strip in late December 2008. The Chabad House in Larnaca
reported instances of rock and egg throwing that continued throughout
the year, as well as harassing telephone calls. There were also several
instances of anti-Semitic graffiti, including at bus stops along one of
the main roads in Nicosia.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within government-controlled areas, foreign travel,
emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected
these rights in practice. The government cooperated with the Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The government did not restrict Greek Cypriots from traveling to
the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, but it generally advised
them against spending the night at Greek Cypriot properties, gambling
in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, or buying or developing
property there. The government in many cases prohibited Turkish
nationals from crossing from the area administered by Turkish Cypriots
to the government-controlled area in the south.
The government allowed EU citizens and citizens of other countries
not subject to a visa requirement, who entered from ports of entry in
the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, to cross the green line into
the government-controlled area; the government maintained, however,
that all ports of entry in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots
are illegal.
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were required to show
identification cards when crossing the green line. Members of each
community were required to obtain insurance coverage in the community
where they planned to drive their vehicles. Turkish Cypriots flew in
and out of Larnaca and Paphos airports without obstruction. The
government issued 4,308 passports to Turkish Cypriots during the year.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Although Greek Cypriots
displaced as a result of the 1974 division of the island fall under the
UN definition of IDPs, the government considered them refugees. At the
end of the year, these individuals and their descendants numbered
200,847. Depending on their income, IDPs and their descendants are
eligible for financial assistance from the government. They have been
resettled, have access to humanitarian organizations, and are not
subject to attack, targeting, or mandatory return under dangerous
conditions.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
In contrast to previous years, NGOs and refugees reported that the
Asylum Service was better staffed and processed applications more
quickly. Of the 37,750 applicants who filed from 2002 to the end of
2009, 257 were granted full refugee status and 2,013 were granted
subsidiary protection status. During the year the government did not
deport any refugees, and authorities granted full refugee status to 49
persons. The law forbids the detention of minor asylum seekers.
In contrast to previous years, refugees and NGOs did not report any
asylum cases being closed without consideration or receiving a
government response. NGOs and asylum seekers alleged that the Nicosia
District Welfare Office continued to be inconsistent in the delivery of
benefits to eligible asylum seekers. The ombudsman examined many such
complaints and reported that, in many cases, the allegations were well
founded, and her office made suggestions for remedial action.
In practice, the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary
protection to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion.
In contrast to previous years, KISA reported that police rarely
violated the law and the human rights of asylum seekers by carrying out
illegal arrests, detentions, and deportations. The group claimed that
in some cases authorities treated asylum seekers as illegal immigrants
or economic migrants and jailed or deported them. Similarly, the
ombudsman reported that she did not receive any complaints from asylum
seekers that police physically or psychologically abused them.
The government granted individuals determined to be refugees
permission to stay and gave them temporary work permits, but it did not
grant permanent resettlement rights. Prior to October 2008 NGOs and
asylum seekers filed complaints with the ombudsman alleging that the
government permitted the exploitation of asylum seekers as cheap labor
by restricting their employment to the agricultural sector. In October
2008 the law was amended to allow asylum seekers to be employed in
fisheries, the production of animal feed, waste management, gas
stations and car washes, freight handling in the wholesale trade,
building and outdoor cleaning, distribution of advertising and
informational materials, and food delivery.
Asylum seekers whose cases were awaiting adjudication were allowed
to begin working only after residing six months in the country but were
limited to the areas previously outlined; during the six-month period,
asylum seekers had access to a subsistence allowance and could live in
the reception center for refugees located in Kofinou, the sole
reception center for asylum seekers. There were complaints regarding
the remoteness, limited capacity, and lack of facilities at Kofinou;
conditions reportedly improved, however, after the government entered a
private-public partnership with a university in 2008 to operate the
center. Asylum seekers who refused an available job could be cut off
from state benefits. To obtain welfare benefits, asylum seekers had to
have a valid address, which was impossible for many who were homeless.
KISA reported that asylum seekers who were eligible for benefits
received their checks only sporadically, and that in June 2008 more
than 100 affected asylum seekers conducted a protest in response. It
also reported that the Labor Office refused to approve labor contracts
for asylum seekers outside the farming and agriculture sector, despite
the October 2008 increase in the available areas for employment.
According to NGOs, asylum seekers reported discrimination in the
provision of state medical care.
In January a 28-year-old asylum seeker died after allegedly waiting
two days for treatment at a private clinic in Nicosia, and later at the
Nicosia general hospital, following an accident at the horse farm where
he was working. According to press reports, the private clinic did not
offer the man treatment during the first 24 hours he was there, despite
his having suffered a head injury. Police opened a case against the
employer for illegal employment and a second case relating to the death
of the asylum seeker. Both cases were presented to court and were
pending trial at year's end. The coroner's investigation had not been
completed.
In August the UNHCR complained through the media that a Kurdish
child was denied government funding to travel abroad for medical
treatment because of his refugee status, in contravention of the
country's refugee law which provides refugees access to the same
medical treatment as Cypriots and other EU citizens. Although the
Health Ministry agreed to cover the travel costs on humanitarian
grounds, the child was never taken for treatment abroad.
The government provided funding to two local colleges to support
educational services to help recognized refugees integrate into society
and to a local NGO to help torture victims.
The government provided temporary protection to individuals who may
not qualify as refugees to 1,320 persons during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law and constitution provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
In national elections, only those Turkish Cypriots who resided
permanently in the government-controlled area were permitted to vote
and run for office. In the elections for the European Parliament, all
Cypriot citizens have a right to vote and run for office, including
Turkish Cypriots who live in the area administered by the Turkish
Cypriots.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 free and fair
elections were held for the 56 seats assigned to Greek Cypriots in the
80-seat House of Representatives.
On June 6, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
In 2006 Ali Erel and Mustafa Damdelen, two leading members of the
group of 78 Turkish Cypriots not residing in the government-controlled
area who had been denied the opportunity to run, sued the government
for failure to fully reinstate the Turkish Cypriot community's rights
to vote and run for office. In 2007 the Supreme Court dismissed their
application, and they subsequently applied to the ECHR for redress.
Political parties operated without restriction and outside
interference.
Women held seven of the 56 seats filled in the House of
Representatives and one of 11 ministerial posts. They also held senior
positions in the judicial branch.
There were no members of minorities in the House of
Representatives, and the 24 seats assigned to Turkish Cypriots went
unfilled. The small Armenian Orthodox, Maronite Christian, and Roman
Catholic communities elected special nonvoting observer representatives
from their respective communities to the House of Representatives.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, which
vary depending on the charges, and the government generally implemented
these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of government
corruption.
While the government generally investigated and prosecuted cases of
corruption, cases usually moved at a slow pace, and the evidence law,
which prohibits wiretapping and electronic surveillance, made obtaining
convictions challenging.
On October 15, the attorney general ordered an investigation into
allegations that the minister of agriculture had attempted to influence
the procedure to appoint personnel in one of the ministry's
departments. The complaints were made by a senior agriculture ministry
inspector.
On July 31, the attorney general brought criminal charges against
four police officers and the director of the central prison in
connection with the December 2008 escape of double murderer and rapist
Antonis Procopiou Kitas from a Nicosia private hospital, where he had
been staying for seven months while serving a life sentence. The
minister of justice and public order resigned over the escape, and the
government appointed independent criminal investigators to investigate
the possible involvement of police and government officials. Separate
investigations were also ordered into how Kitas acquired a new passport
and why he was allowed to stay at the hospital for such an extended
period of time. The four officers charged in July were suspended from
their duties; a court hearing was set for October 19. On November 18,
the attorney general dropped the charges against the police officers.
State and public officials are required by law to declare their
assets, but asset declarations are not public documents. Officials who
fail to submit declarations are subject to a fine. In June the Supreme
Court ruled unconstitutional the law requiring public officials to
declare their assets. The attorney general appealed the decision.
The constitution provides citizens the right of access to
government information, yet there are no specific laws that ensure
public access. Civil servants were not allowed to provide access to
government documents without first obtaining permission from the
relevant minister. During the year there were no reported cases of the
government denying individuals access to government information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. There is a government
ombudsman, whose portfolio includes human rights, and a legislative
committee on human rights.
A number of NGOs considered themselves to be human rights groups.
Most were concerned exclusively with alleged violations of the rights
of Greek Cypriots by Turkey. Other NGOs included groups promoting
migrant support and awareness of domestic violence and those concerned
with allegations of police brutality. Domestic NGOs were numerous but
had limited impact on public opinion or specific legislation. Few
international NGOs were active in the country.
The UN, through the CMP, continued its efforts to account for
persons missing after the intercommunal violence in 1963-64 and the
conflict of 1974.
During the year the ombudsman received complaints from citizens and
foreigners living on the island who believed their rights had been
violated by the government. During her independent investigations, the
ombudsman generally enjoyed good cooperation with other government
bodies. The ombudsman's annual reports focused on police misconduct,
treatment of patients at state hospitals, treatment of asylum seekers
and foreign workers, and gender equality in the workplace. The Office
of the Ombudsman was well respected and considered effective. In
November 2008 the ombudsman stated that the government had complied
with 80 percent of her office's recommendations.
The legislative committee on human rights, which most local NGOs
considered effective, is made up of 10 members of the House of
Representatives, who serve five-year terms. The committee discussed
wide-ranging human rights problems, including trafficking in persons,
prison conditions, and the rights of foreign workers. The executive
branch did not exercise control over the committee.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government effectively enforced
these prohibitions.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape and spousal rape with a maximum
sentence of life in prison. Most convicted offenders received
considerably less than the maximum sentence. Police indicated that 29
cases of sexual assault were reported during the year.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was reported, and
there has been a sharp increase in recent years in the number of
reported cases. The law establishes clear mechanisms to report and
prosecute family violence and provides that the testimony of minors and
experts, such as psychologists, may be used as evidence to prosecute
abusers. The law provides for prison terms for the abuse of family
members. Doctors, hospital workers, and education professionals are
required to report all suspected cases of domestic violence to police.
Many victims refused to testify in court, however, and by law spouses
cannot be compelled to testify against each other. Courts were obliged
to drop cases of domestic violence where the spousal victim was the
only witness and refused to testify.
During the year, 540 cases of domestic violence were reported to
police. Police initiated criminal investigations of 290 of these. In 80
percent of the cases, the victims were female.
An NGO working with domestic abuse victims reported a slight
increase in the number of telephone calls to its hotline from 2008 to
2009. The NGO reported that 1,148 callers, of whom 83 percent were
women, 8.4 percent children, and 8.6 percent men, claimed to be victims
of domestic violence. The NGO also operated a shelter in Nicosia that
served 125 victims of domestic violence during the year.
In September the media reported that five NGOs accused the
government of deliberately minimizing the number of domestic violence
victims by failing to collect accurate data using EU definitions. By
their estimates, 80,000 Greek Cypriot women were directly subjected to
domestic violence, and an estimated 4,000 foreign housemaids suffered
violence at the hands of their employers.
The law does not prohibit prostitution. It is illegal to live off
the profits of prostitution, however, and police routinely arrested
pimps under this section of the law. Procuring a woman for prostitution
is a misdemeanor. Police reported the arrest and investigation of 22
individuals for suspected involvement in 11 cases of prostitution
during the year; at year's end, authorities continued to investigate
five of the cases, four cases were awaiting trial, and two cases had
been otherwise resolved.
The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace, but there
were reports that it was a widespread problem, with most incidents
unreported to authorities. In September a Cyprus University of
Technology (TEPAK) report showed that 6 percent of employees in the
country had experienced sexual harassment in their workplace and that
one in two persons believed that some victims deserved the harassment.
During the year the Labor Office received 54 complaints regarding
sexual harassment, 52 by foreign housekeepers. The Labor Office's
initial investigation revealed that most of the cases were unfounded
pretexts used to justify a change of employer before the expiration of
a housekeeper's contract. Only one complaint was found to be valid and
was scheduled for further investigation. In 2006 authorities
investigated and prosecuted one of the country's ambassadors, Costas
Papademas, for sexually harassing two female employees at the overseas
mission he headed. In 2007 the court found him guilty and sentenced him
to seven months' imprisonment. In May 2008, however, the Supreme Court
acquitted Papademas, ruling that the main witnesses' testimony was
unreliable. He served four months in prison during the interim.
Although the case was widely reported in the press, reaction to his
acquittal was muted.
Couples and individuals were generally able to freely decide the
number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to have the
information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and
violence. There was easy access to contraception, skilled attendance
during childbirth, and women were diagnosed and treated for sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men.
Women generally have the same legal status as men under family and
property law and in the judicial system. The National Mechanism for
Women's Rights under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order is tasked
with the promotion, protection, and coordination of women's rights.
Laws requiring equal pay for men and women performing the same work
were enforced effectively at the white-collar level. Despite a strong
legal framework, the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance's
enforcement was ineffective at the blue-collar level. Research by one
NGO suggested that remuneration for female blue-collar workers was 25
to 30 percent less than for their male counterparts.
During the year an NGO representing divorced mothers worked with
police to encourage efforts to collect delinquent child support
payments. The courts may garnish wages and assets and ultimately
imprison persons to enforce child support payments.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis), and there is universal birth registration at the time of
birth.
During 2008 the ombudsman's office received a complaint regarding
discriminatory treatment of Romani children in public education. The
ombudsman's investigation was still ongoing at year's end.
Child abuse was a problem. The Welfare Department reported an 8.8
percent increase in cases of child abuse during the year compared with
2008. The Welfare Department stated that some cases of abuse were
linked to domestic violence, alcohol abuse, psychological illness, and
cultural perceptions. Police reported that 32 cases of child abuse were
prosecuted during the year. Of those, eight resulted in convictions,
one in acquittal, 20 were pending trial at year's end, and three were
withdrawn, suspended, or interrupted.
In 2008 there were two reports that girls were trafficked for
commercial sexual exploitation; there were no reports of such
trafficking in 2009.
The minimum age for consensual sex is 17, and sexual intercourse
with a person under the age of 17 is a criminal offense. Sexual
intercourse with a person between 13 and 17 is punishable with a
maximum of three years' imprisonment. Sexual intercourse with a person
under 13 is punishable with up to life in prison. Possession of child
pornography is a criminal offense punishable by a maximum of 10 years'
imprisonment.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; there were widespread reports, however, that persons were
trafficked to, through, and within the country. During the year there
was a sharp increase in the number of victims of labor trafficking.
Police continued to identify victims of sex trafficking and labor
trafficking. The police antitrafficking unit remained understaffed,
although in September a new member was added to its four-member staff.
On February 1, the government abolished the use of ``artiste''
category work permits for women from non-EU countries working in the
cabaret industry. Previously, individuals from non-EU countries wishing
to work in Cyprus as ``artistes'' could apply for work permits as
creative artists (writers, composers, etc.) or performing artists
(dancers, singers, actors, etc.) and provide evidence of their
qualifications, experience, and international renown.
The country was primarily a destination for women trafficked for
commercial sexual exploitation. Although the government generally
acknowledged its trafficking problem, some authorities continued to
tolerate the situation despite the 2005 adoption of a national action
plan to combat trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation of
children. The country was a destination for women trafficked from the
Philippines, Moldova, Morocco, Bulgaria, the Dominican Republic,
Hungary, Ukraine, and Romania. Within the previous three years, there
was evidence that women coming from China on student visas engaged in
prostitution and, in some cases, were victims of sexual exploitation.
NGOs reported that female domestic workers from South and Southeast
Asian countries were forced to work long hours, and there were
allegations of labor trafficking, especially in the field of elder
care. There were no reliable statistics on the number of victims
trafficked for sexual purposes, but 18 women filed charges during the
year. There were no reports of children trafficked for commercial
sexual exploitation during the year.
Traffickers fraudulently recruited victims and often rotated
victims among different cabarets and cities. In some cases, women
reportedly were arbitrarily denied all or part of their salaries,
forced to surrender their passports, raped, beaten, threatened,
involuntarily detained, or forced into providing sexual services for
clients. Contacts in the cabaret industry alleged that the ``artistes''
often owed money upon their arrival and had a verbal understanding with
the cabaret owners to pay back the cost of their travel and lodging.
Some NGOs alleged that government officials with oversight and policing
responsibility over the sex industry frequented cabarets and
nightclubs.
It is a felony to engage in the exploitation and trafficking of
persons, but the conviction rate for trafficking offenses remained low.
As of year's end, seven persons had been convicted. A court may order
persons convicted of trafficking to pay all or part of the expenses
incurred for the provision of protection, temporary shelter, medical
care, and psychiatric care for victims, as well as compensation to the
victim, including repatriation expenses. The ministries of interior,
labor and social insurance, justice, health, and education and the
attorney general shared responsibility for combating trafficking as
part of the Multidisciplinary Team against Trafficking (MDAT), with the
Ministry of Interior as the lead government agency. The MDAT also
included two NGOs.
In February the Council of Ministers appointed three independent
criminal investigators to examine the events surrounding the 2001 death
of 20-year-old Oxana Rancheva from Russia. Rancheva fell from a fifth-
floor balcony when she tried to escape from the apartment of the
brother of her cabaret-owner employer. The police attributed her death
to an accident. The investigation was ongoing at year's end.
Through the end of the year, police arrested 68 individuals
involved in cases related to prostitution and trafficking. Of those, 46
individuals involved in 15 cases were arrested specifically on
trafficking charges. Of those cases, 11 concerned sexual exploitation,
two cases concerned both sexual and labor exploitation, and two cases
concerned labor exploitation. Police statistics indicated that 14 cases
were prosecuted and pending trial, and one case was otherwise disposed
of. Of the 42 trafficking cases pending investigation and trial at the
end of 2008, one resulted in a four-year sentence, one case involving
four individuals resulted in 15-month sentences for each of the persons
accused, one resulted in a five-month sentence, and, in one case, the
accused was fined 3,500 euros ($5,000). Of the remaining cases, 28 were
pending trial, five resulted in acquittals, and two were otherwise
disposed of. The prosecution of three cases had been suspended by
year's end.
On November 5, police arrested a 38-year-old Cypriot man in
connection with a suspected case of labor trafficking and exploitation
of approximately 160 Romanian workers. Approximately 110 of the workers
were reportedly living in squalid conditions in prefabricated
structures owned by the suspect, who allegedly underpaid them, gave
them insufficient money for food, and withheld their travel documents.
The case was under investigation at year's end. The same man had been
arrested and released on bail in December 2008 in connection with a
Romanian trafficking ring that similarly brought victims to Cyprus to
work for a fee, then seized their passports and identification
documents in order to extort more money. According to press reports on
that ring, police recovered 200 passports and 78 identity cards in a
Nicosia apartment during the investigation, and several suspects were
arrested in Romania.
Police participated in or assisted with 42 international
trafficking investigations and requested assistance from Europol and
Interpol in six trafficking investigations.
There were allegations of corruption and xenophobia related to
trafficking in the police force, the Ministry of Interior, and the
Attorney General's Office. In April 2008 four bishops from the Greek
Orthodox Church alleged during parliamentary hearings that ``certain
government officials'' were collaborating with traffickers. During the
hearings, the newspaper Alithia reported that police submitted a
confidential report to a parliamentary committee stating that
individuals involved with trafficking in persons ``have influence on
government officials, which makes the arrest and prosecution of
traffickers more difficult.''
Under the law, persons identified as victims of trafficking are
granted at minimum a one-month residency permit to give them time to
recover and decide whether they wish to cooperate with the police in
the investigation and to testify at trial. The law obligates the
government to protect and support trafficking victims with financial
assistance, shelter, medical and psychiatric care, and psychological
support, as well as legal aid and access to government-funded training
and educational programs. The government is obligated to facilitate the
victims' repatriation under safe and dignified conditions. Through
October 31, police identified 107 victims of trafficking, all of whom
filed charges against their traffickers. The majority, 89, were victims
of trafficking for labor exploitation, while 18 were victims of sexual
exploitation. Government welfare services provided financial aid,
counseling, and temporary shelter to 215 victims.
Despite the legal protections in place, NGOs reported that
trafficking victims who had provided court testimony in antitrafficking
cases were excluded from the government's witness protection program,
leaving them vulnerable, weakening antitrafficking cases, and providing
a disincentive for future witnesses to testify. In response, the
government contended that witness protection was available if
requested, but no requests for protection had been made. There were
also allegations that the Attorney General's Office downgraded
trafficking cases and systematically placed antitrafficking cases in
lower courts rather than the assize courts, which are reserved for more
serious crimes and penalties. NGOs alleged that the district courts
were not as well equipped to deal with antitrafficking cases, leading
to a lack of convictions on trafficking charges and more lenient
sentences. The government reported that all pending trafficking cases
were before the assize courts.
There were reports that cabaret owners and agents for dancers used
attorneys to bribe potential witnesses and pressured women to withdraw
complaints or not to follow through with testifying in court. Of the 18
women who requested police protection during the year, the government
reported all were waiting to testify. On average victims waited
approximately one year before the commencement of their trials, which
NGOs alleged resulted in weaker cases because of inconsistent testimony
and because victims often left the country.
NGOs that protect the rights of women and immigrant workers were
available to assist trafficking victims and reported that they received
one to two requests for assistance per month.
The NGO Stigma in Limassol operated a shelter for trafficking
victims until the end of 2008, when it closed down due to financial
difficulties. Stigma continued to actively locate victims and offered a
wide range of services, including counseling, psychological, and
financial support, and assistance to victims in finding alternate
employment or in repatriation in cooperation with NGOs in victims' home
countries.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or in the provision of other state services, and in
practice the government generally enforced these provisions. The law
mandates that public buildings and tourist facilities built after 1999
be accessible to all; government enforcement of the law was
ineffective, however, and older buildings frequently lacked access for
persons with disabilities. There were no appropriate institutions for
adults suffering from mental disabilities who were in need of long-term
care.
The amended People with Disabilities Law, which extended the
ombudsman's authority to cover discrimination based on disabilities in
both the private and public sectors, had not been fully implemented by
year's end. Problems facing persons with disabilities included narrow
or nonexistent sidewalks and lack of transport, parking spaces,
accessible toilets, and elevators. The ombudsman examined a number of
complaints concerning access to goods, services, and employment. Many
of the complaints were found to be justified and the ombudsman made
recommendations for the elimination of such discriminatory policies and
practices.
There were no long-term care facilities specifically for persons
with mental disabilities, but many such persons were housed at the
Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital. In 2007 an association representing
approximately 300 families with children with Down syndrome complained
that the government did not respond to its repeated calls for the
creation of a specialized center for the treatment of children with
Down syndrome, particularly those in need of temporary hospitalization.
Some were housed at the hospital, where they allegedly received
inadequate care. The parents claimed that the children were left naked,
locked in their wards for excessive amounts of time, and placed under
the influence of sedative medication. On December 9, the same
association complained that the government rejected its request in the
spring for a subsidy to cover its operating expenses, and as a result
it had to close down its office.
In February 2008 the president of the Cyprus Mental Health
Commission, Christodoulos Messis, stated that, in order to reduce
numbers, patients in the Athalassa psychiatric unit were being released
into nursing homes for the elderly regardless of their age, with no
plan for their rehabilitation within the community. He criticized the
mental health services for not creating appropriate halfway houses and
boarding schools to host psychiatric patients wishing to reintegrate
into society and return to active employment.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance's Service for the Care
and Rehabilitation of the Disabled was responsible for protecting the
rights of persons with disabilities. In addition the minister chaired
the Pancyprian Council for Persons with Disabilities, which included
representatives of government services, organizations representing
persons with disabilities, and employer and employee organizations. The
council monitored action for the protection of the rights of persons
with disabilities and served as a forum for persons with disabilities
to contribute to public policy.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were reported incidents
of government and societal discrimination against members of minority
national and ethnic groups, particularly Turkish Cypriots, Roma,
Filipinos, Pontian Greeks, and Sri Lankans.
The 1975 Vienna III Agreement remains the legal source of authority
regarding the treatment of Turkish Cypriots living in the government-
controlled area. The government generally effectively enforced the
agreement, which provides for the voluntary transfer of populations,
free and unhindered access by the UNFICYP to Turkish Cypriots living in
the south, and facilities for education, medical care, and religious
activities.
In January the ombudsman complained through the media that
foreigners were being subjected to humiliating and discriminatory
treatment by authorities at passport control at Larnaca Airport. The
ombudsman reported that she was not aware of any changes to these
practices by year's end.
The Maronite religious group complained to the ombudsman that the
government failed to take effective measures to protect the use of the
Maronite language. The ombudsman found the complaint to be justified
and made recommendations to the government.
In October the European Network Against Racism Cyprus issued its
2008 ``shadow report'' on racism in Cyprus. The report noted a
significant rise in racist violence and called for the government to
adopt and implement an action plan covering all areas where
discrimination and racism persist. It also called on the government to
develop and enact a comprehensive migration policy that would include
an integration policy for migrants.
In March a Cypriot citizen of Lebanese origin accused the Limassol
Hospital of denying him treatment unless he spoke to doctors and staff
in Greek.
During a police operation in the early morning hours of September
25, police took 150 individuals to police stations, reportedly to
confirm their immigration status. Authorities arrested 36 for ``illegal
residence'' and 12 for involvement in violence that took place earlier
at Nicosia's only functioning mosque. The minister of interior was
critical of the operation, noting that his ministry was responsible for
implementation of immigration policy; the minister of justice defended
the operation, stating that police were simply doing their job.
Ombudsman Iliana Nicolaou, acting as head of the Authority against
Racism and Discrimination, said such practices fed xenophobic attitudes
and racist stereotypes and had nothing to do with the country's
immigration policy. She expressed her deep concern over the police
action and opened an investigation that was still in progress at year's
end.
In December 2008 the press reported that a large group of
schoolchildren beat a 15-year-old Cypriot girl of African descent after
a school volleyball game. The attackers shouted racist slogans and did
not stop the beating until police arrived. The girl was treated for
severe injuries at the hospital. The girl's father and KISA complained
that police did not take the girl to the hospital but kept her in a
room at the school until her father arrived. Police subsequently turned
the father away three times when he attempted to file a complaint and
made no arrests in connection with the attack. A number of senior
government officials publicly criticized the attack. The teachers'
union, OELMEK, denied that there was any racism in the schools,
however. The ombudsman opened an investigation into the incident. In
May the ombudsman publicly criticized some Ministry of Education
officials for presenting the attack as an incident of school violence
rather than of racism. The ombudsman's investigation found that the
police neglected to act efficiently in this case and failed to file
criminal charges against the offenders within the antidiscrimination
law. The attorney general reviewed the case and decided that there were
no grounds for criminal court proceedings.
Many foreign workers reported that they almost always faced delays
in the renewal of work visas despite the fact that they followed proper
and timely procedures. In many cases, this left them vulnerable to
detention and deportation by immigration police.
Some Turkish Cypriots living in the government-controlled area
reportedly faced difficulties obtaining identification cards and other
government documents, particularly if they were born after 1974.
Turkish Cypriots made few formal complaints to the UNFICYP about their
living conditions in the south. Complaints most often concerned the
lack of affordable accommodation.
After complaining repeatedly about the lack of a Turkish-language
school in Limassol, the Turkish Cypriot teachers' union filed suit,
seeking a declaration from the Supreme Court that a 2005 decision by
the Council of Ministers to operate a mixed elementary school in
Limassol with a specialized program and staff to serve the needs of the
Turkish-speaking students was null and void. The union argued that,
under the 1960 constitution, the Council of Ministers had no competence
in matters relating to the education of Turkish Cypriots. In March 2008
the Supreme Court rejected the union's appeal. The government stated
that, according to surveys of Turkish Cypriots in the government-
controlled area, none had requested a Turkish-language school.
The ombudsman received complaints that the government denied
automatic citizenship for children of Turkish Cypriots married to
Turkish citizens. Instead of granting citizenship automatically, the
Ministry of Interior routinely sought approval from the Council of
Ministers before confirming the citizenship of such children. During
the year the Council of Ministers approved 365 cases. The ombudsman's
office had no authority to examine the complaints because the Council
of Ministers' decision to apply different criteria for granting
citizenship to children born to one Turkish parent was a political one.
Children of Turkish Cypriots married to Turkish citizens and living
outside of Cyprus were automatically granted citizenship, however.
In June 2008 the Turkish Cypriot press reported that Turkish
Cypriot Emirali Parlan and seven Turkish Cypriot colleagues working at
a construction site in Paralimni alleged that Greek Cypriot police
attacked and beat them. Parlan said that police officers pointed their
revolvers at the workers, handcuffed them to each other, made them lie
on the ground, beat them, and made them stay on the ground under the
sun for half an hour. Parlan claimed that he showed his Republic of
Cyprus identification to police but that they dropped it on the ground
and later left laughing as if nothing had happened. The Independent
Authority investigated the incident and found that the officers had
committed no offense.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Despite legal protections,
gays and lesbians faced significant societal discrimination, and few
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) persons were open about
their sexual orientation. According to a report during the year by the
Gay Liberation Movement of Cyprus (AKOK) and the International Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Trans- and Intersex Association (ILGA), there was no
significant LGBT movement in the country, and a general stigma against
homosexuality was present in society. The organization reported that
some local religious figures and politicians frequently stated in
public that homosexual individuals were ``immoral persons, bodily and
mentally perverted.'' The groups also noted that there was no specific
LGBT antidiscrimination law and that the lack of awareness-raising
efforts and education about LGBT issues significantly contributed to
the stigmatization of LGBT persons.
In January the ombudsman publicly claimed that authorities at
passport control at Larnaca Airport asked some foreign nationals were
asked about their sexual orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--An NGO reported
complaints of discrimination toward persons with HIV/AIDS and asserted
that HIV-positive persons faced social exclusion and termination from
employment. In June the media reported that a Congolese asylum seeker
faced deportation while awaiting a third HIV test at Nicosia General
Hospital, following an earlier positive test. According to press
reports, the Immigration and Asylum Services claimed that the man had
voluntarily withdrawn his asylum claim and asked to be sent back home.
The man was eventually granted subsidiary protection status and
remained in the country.
Incitement to Acts of Discrimination.--The government continued to
use textbooks at the primary and secondary school levels that included
language biased against Turkish Cypriots and Turks or that refrained
from mentioning the Turkish-Cypriot community altogether. This was a
particularly serious concern with history textbooks. Anecdotal evidence
indicated that teachers used handouts and held discussions that
included inflammatory language in the classroom. A special government
committee was established in 2008 to look at issues of education
reform, including updating history textbooks.
In July National Guard training officers at two sites reportedly
forced conscripts to chant anti-Turkish slogans. The defense minister
stated that the National Guard chief ordered the immediate withdrawal
of the training officers when he became aware of the problem, calling
on new conscripts to disobey orders and report to superiors if they are
ordered to shout slogans not been ordered by the head of the National
Guard.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--All workers, except members of the
police and military forces, have the legal right to form and join
independent unions of their own choosing without prior authorization,
and workers did so in practice. Police officers were only permitted to
join associations that have the right to bargain collectively but not
to go on strike. More than 70 percent of the workforce belonged to
independent unions. The law allows unions to conduct their activities
without interference, and the government generally protected this right
in practice. All workers, including migrant and foreign workers, have
the right to strike; authorities have the power to curtail strikes in
``essential services,'' but this power was used rarely in practice. The
law provides that members of the armed forces, police, and gendarmerie
do not have the right to strike, but the right is recognized for all
other providers of essential services. An agreement between the
government and essential services personnel provides for dispute
resolution and protects workers in the sector.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining, and workers exercised this right in
practice; collective bargaining agreements were not legally
enforceable, however. Collective bargaining agreements covered all
workers, citizen and foreign, with the exception of housekeepers and
cabaret workers; approximately 60 percent of workers were covered by
such agreements.
Antiunion discrimination is illegal, but union leaders contended
that private sector employers were able to discourage union activity
because the enforcement of labor regulations was sporadic and penalties
for antiunion practices were minimal.
There are no special laws for or exemptions from regular labor laws
in the export processing zone at the port of Larnaca.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The government
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children; there were
reports that women and children were trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation and domestic labor, however, and NGOs reported isolated
cases of asylum seekers trafficked for forced labor in agriculture (see
section 6, Trafficking in Persons).
The Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance experienced a
substantial increase in the number of complaints of labor exploitation.
Foreign workers, primarily from Eastern Europe and East and South Asia,
were reportedly forced to work up to 13 hours a day, seven days a week,
for very low wages. NGOs and the ombudsman confirmed that employers
often retained a portion of foreign workers' salaries as payment for
accommodations.
Many domestic workers were reluctant to report contract violations
by their employers out of fear of losing their jobs and consequently
their work and residency permits. An NGO reported that there were cases
of domestic workers whose travel documents were withheld by their
employers. In one case, a housemaid who accused her employer of rape
was not allowed to change employers until the completion of her
employer's trial. In addition, police filed two criminal cases against
her for working illegally.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the employment of children, defined as persons under 15,
except in certain cases such as a combined work-training programs for
children who have attained the age of 14 or employment in cultural,
artistic, sports, or advertising activities, subject to certain rules
limiting work hours. Nighttime work and engagement of children in
street trading is prohibited. The law also permits the employment of
adolescents, defined as persons between the ages of 15 and 18, provided
it is not harmful, damaging, or dangerous, and also subject to rules
limiting hours of employment. Employment of adolescents between
midnight and 4:00 a.m. is not permitted. The minimum age for employment
in an ``industrial undertaking'' is 16.
The government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect
children from exploitation in the workplace. Ministry of Labor and
Social Insurance inspectors are responsible for enforcing the child
labor laws and did so effectively. There were isolated examples of
children under 16 working for family businesses.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 791 euros
(approximately $1,130) per month for shop assistants, nurses'
assistants, clerks, hairdressers, and nursery assistants. The minimum
wage rose to 840 euros ($1,200) per month after six months of
employment. For asylum seekers working in the agricultural sector,
however, the minimum monthly wage was either 425 euros ($608) with
accommodation and food provided or 767 euros ($1,100) without
accommodation and food. Neither amount provided a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. The law provides that foreign and local
workers receive equal treatment.
Workers in almost all other occupations, including unskilled labor,
were covered under collective bargaining agreements between unions and
employers within the same economic sector. The wages set in these
agreements were significantly higher than the minimum wage. The wages
set for unskilled workers not covered by the collective bargaining
agreements, i.e., non-EU performers (previously called ``artistes'')
and domestic workers, were typically lower than the legal minimum wage.
The Ministry of Interior's Migration Service set the starting
salary for foreigners working as housekeepers at a minimum of 290 euros
(approximately $415) per month, plus a minimum of 120 euros ($172) for
lodging if the worker was not a live-in, and an additional 16 percent
for social insurance, which employers were required to pay directly to
the government. The ministry reported the current gross monthly wage of
domestic workers to be 422 euros ($603). Medical insurance, visa fees,
travel, and repatriation expenses are covered by the employers. Cabaret
performers' contracts typically stipulated that workers receive at
least 205 euros ($293) per week for 36 hours of work.
Foreign workers were allowed to claim pensions, and in some cases
there were bilateral agreements that allowed workers to claim credit in
their home countries. Unions and labor confederations were generally
effective in enforcing negotiated wage rates (collectively bargained
rates), which were generally much higher than the minimum wage. The
Migration Service was responsible for enforcing the minimum wage for
foreign workers but did not actively do so.
The legal maximum workweek was 48 hours, including overtime. Unions
and employers within the same economic sector collectively determined
the actual working hours. In the private sector, white-collar employees
typically worked 39 hours a week and blue-collar employees worked 38
hours a week. In the public sector, the workweek was 38 hours in the
winter and 35 hours in the summer. The law does not require premium pay
for overtime or mandatory rest periods; this is usually stipulated in
the contracts of workers and in the collective agreements in larger
sectors. The same conditions applied to foreign workers. Labor ministry
inspectors are responsible for effectively enforcing these laws; labor
unions, however, reported problems in their enforcement in sectors not
covered by collective agreements. They also reported that certain
employers, mainly in the building industry, exploited illegal foreign
workers by paying them wages that were much lower than those provided
for in the collective agreements.
In May eight seamen from Burma claimed through the media that they
worked for a Paphos shipping company 11 to 16 hours per day for eight
consecutive months without a single day off. The seamen earned between
120 and 137 euros ($172 to $196) per month, which was significantly
less than the terms agreed to in the contract they signed prior to
leaving their home country. After leaving their employment, the
merchant shipping department accused the men of being ``escapees'' and
the immigration police arrested them, although they were later
released. On June 10, following mediation by the merchant shipping
department, the employer was obliged to pay their salaries in full as
well as their repatriation expenses. The seamen had filed a case with
the Supreme Court, which they withdrew following the resolution of the
dispute.
There were reports of mistreatment of maids and other foreign
domestic workers. Such reports usually involved allegations that maids,
primarily from East or South Asia, were mistreated by their employers
or fired without cause in violation of their contracts. Some domestic
workers, particularly live-in maids, reported working excess hours for
employer families at all times, night and day, without additional
compensation or time off. Although the law protects domestic workers
who file a complaint with the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance
from being deported until their cases have been adjudicated, NGOs
reported that many domestic workers did not complain to authorities
about mistreatment due to fear of deportation.
Health and safety laws apply to places of work in all economic
sectors and were enforced by government inspectors. Factory inspectors
processed complaints and inspected businesses to ensure that
occupational safety laws were observed. Their inspections were
supported by close government cooperation with employer and employee
organizations. However, the law does not apply to private households
where persons are employed as domestic servants. Workers have the right
to remove themselves from work situations that endanger health or
safety without jeopardy to their continued employment, and authorities
effectively enforced this right.
THE AREA ADMINISTERED BY TURKISH CYPRIOTS
Since 1974 the northern part of Cyprus, with a population of
approximately 265,000 persons, has been run by a Turkish Cypriot
administration that proclaimed itself the ``Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus'' (``TRNC'') in 1983. The United States does not
recognize the ``TRNC,'' nor does any country other than Turkey. Mehmet
Ali Talat was elected ``president'' in 2005 in free and fair elections.
Elections to the ``Assembly of the Republic'' in April were also free
and fair and resulted in the formation of a single-party ``government''
of the UBP (National Unity Party). The 2006 municipal elections were
generally free and fair. The ``TRNC constitution'' is the basis for the
``laws'' that govern the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. Police
and security forces were ultimately under the operational command of
the Turkish military, per transitional article 10 of the ``TRNC
constitution,'' which cedes responsibility for public security and
defense ``temporarily'' to Turkey.
There were problems in some areas. Police abuse of detainees and
prison conditions were particular problems. There were restrictions on
the rights of asylum seekers and no regulatory infrastructure to handle
asylum applications or to protect the rights of asylum seekers.
Trafficking in persons continued to be a problem.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that authorities or their agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
Authorities participated in the autonomous, tripartite (UN, Greek
Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot) UN Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in
Cyprus as part of its continuing efforts to account for persons who
remained missing after the intercommunal violence in 1963-64 and the
conflict of 1974. In 2006 the CMP began its project to exhume,
identify, and return remains. By December 2009 the CMP exhumed the
remains of a total of 596 missing persons and returned the remains of
47 Turkish Cypriots to their families. Exhumations continued in
different parts of the island. According to the CMP, 1,455 Greek
Cypriots and 455 Turkish Cypriots remained missing.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The ``law'' prohibits such practices; there were reports
that police abused detainees, however. The ``law'' does not refer to
``torture,'' which falls under the section of the criminal code that
deals with assault, violence, and battery.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions did not
meet international standards. Inmates complained of overcrowding at the
prison, but the authorities claimed that they addressed the problem.
During the year inmates also raised complaints via the media of
unsanitary living conditions, brutality, and prison authorities'
negligence. In the prison, which had a former capacity of 291 inmates,
the introduction of a bunk-bed system raised official bed capacity to
427; of the 299 prisoners held there at year's end, 57 percent were
foreigners, mostly Turkish citizens. More than 40 percent of the
prisoners were awaiting trial.
On October 14, inmates went on a hunger strike to protest poor
living conditions, corruption, and mistreatment by custodial staff, as
well as negligence by the authorities.
In October an opposition ``member of parliament'' visited the
prison and told the press afterward that prison conditions were
unsatisfactory.
In November a riot broke out in the prison. The media reported that
inmates set a section of the prison on fire to protest the warden and
``government's'' failure to improve conditions. One inmate allegedly
told his lawyer that the riot police who raided the prison set the
mattresses on fire.
In November the head of the Prison Wardens Union alleged that
visitors, lawyers, and civilian workers often entered the prison
unchecked and supplied inmates with drugs and cell phones.
In September 2008 the media reported that a number of inmates were
on a hunger strike to protest poor living conditions. In October 2008 a
group of inmates set their beds on fire to protest what they considered
to be severe punishment in the prison.
In September an anonymous 17-year-old former prisoner, who had been
convicted of theft and was recently released from the Nicosia prison,
told the media that custodial staff and inmates mistreated and
physically intimidated inmates convicted of rape. The youth also
claimed that police beat him when he was arrested and forced him to
sign a false police-drafted testimony.
In response to a 2007 riot, prison authorities summoned the special
riot police to restore order; the riot police, however, allegedly
targeted not only rioters but the general prison population, beating
scores of prisoners with truncheons. After obtaining permission from
the ``Ministry of Interior,'' the Turkish Cypriot Doctors Association
examined prison inmates in May 2008; of a random sample of 60
prisoners, 54 had heavy bruising on their legs consistent with blows
from truncheons. The ``prime minister'' subsequently announced that the
police intervention would be investigated; however, at year's end,
there had been no effective investigation of the events.
Juveniles were not held separately from adults.
During the year authorities permitted prison visits by local
journalists. In 2007 a group from the Turkish Cypriot Doctors
Association visited the prison to observe and investigate. A group from
the Turkish Cypriot Bar Association and another from the Turkish
Cypriot Human Rights Association visited the prison in 2008. According
to authorities, a number of foreign diplomats visited the prison during
the year to inspect prison conditions and to evaluate the situation of
some foreign prisoners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The ``law'' prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and authorities generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police are responsible
for law enforcement. The chief of police reports to a Turkish Cypriot
general, who is nominally under the supervision of the ``Prime
Ministry,'' holding the ``security portfolio.'' The police and security
forces are ultimately under the operational command of the Turkish
military, however, per transitional article 10 of the ``TRNC
constitution,'' which ``temporarily'' cedes responsibility for public
security and defense to Turkey. Security forces were generally
cooperative with civilian authorities and effective in matters of law
enforcement. The police are divided into eight functional divisions and
five geographic divisions.
The ``Office of the Attorney General'' continued to work with the
inspection division (or occasionally the criminal investigative
division) to investigate allegations of police misconduct. In contrast
to previous years, there were investigations of five officers
concerning the abuse of detainees during the year. The investigations
were pending at year's end.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Judicially
issued arrest warrants are required for arrests. No person may be
detained for more than 24 hours without referral of the case to the
courts for a longer period of detention. Authorities generally
respected this right in practice. Detainees were usually promptly
informed of charges against them, although individuals believed to have
committed a violent offense were often held for longer periods of time
without being charged. Judges could order that suspects be held for
investigative detention for up to 10 days before formal charges are
filed, or up to three months for those accused of serious crimes.
According to ``legislation,'' any detained person must be brought
before a judge within 24 hours. The person can then be detained in
police custody for a period of up to three months, but a judge reviews
the detention every eight days. Bail was permitted and routinely used.
Detainees were usually allowed prompt access to family members and a
lawyer of their choice. The authorities provided lawyers to the
destitute for violent offenses only. Particularly at the time of
arrest, police sometimes did not observe legal protections. Some
suspects were not permitted to have their lawyers present when giving
testimony, in contravention of the ``law.'' Suspects who demanded the
presence of a lawyer were sometimes threatened with stiffer charges or
physically intimidated.
In June the Chair of the Turkish Cypriot Bar Association told the
media that police commonly mistreated suspects and used violence to
coerce suspects to provide testimony.
In October the president of the Nicosia Regional Bar suggested that
surveillance cameras be placed in police stations and detention centers
in order to deter torture and coercion. The president also complained
that arrested suspects were not granted access to their lawyers during
questioning and that this was left to the discretion of the police. He
insisted that the criminal code in use since the colonial period must
be revised and updated to meet international standards.
In June the lawyer for three defendants in the Yucel Erol murder
case arrested in May alleged that police repeatedly tortured his
clients in order to obtain confessions. The lawyer maintained that the
defendants, Mustafa Cavga, Hasan Nur, and Emin Ozbeyit, were subjected
to severe beating and threats while in detention. The judge ordered the
suspects to undergo a medical examination to substantiate the claim.
The NGO Torture Prevention Platform lobbied the ``attorney general'' to
investigate the claims but reported at year's end that no effective
investigation was conducted. In December there were media reports that
a former detainee claimed to have witnessed Hasan Nur being tortured.
At year's end, the case was still underway.
In August 2008 three Iranians arrested in Famagusta for possession
of opium complained in court that narcotics police tortured them to
force a guilty plea. The lawyers for two of the three suspects
complained that their clients were stripped naked and beaten in
detention and pressured to sign a statement. The judge ordered the
suspects to undergo a medical examination, which did not substantiate
the defendants' claims, and the trials proceeded. In June the ``Torture
Prevention Platform,'' associated with the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights
Foundation, filed an official complaint with authorities related to the
case. As of year's end, no results had been reported.
In September 2008 the lawyer representing Ferhat Beyoglu and Metin
Taskin, both accused murder suspects, claimed in court that police were
using torture to pressure his clients to plead guilty. The judge
ordered a medical examination, which did not substantiate the
defendants' claims, and the trials proceeded.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The ``law'' provides for an
independent judiciary, and authorities generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Most criminal and civil cases begin in district courts, from which
appeals are made to the ``Supreme Court.'' There were no special courts
for political offenses. In 2007 ``legislation'' was passed transferring
jurisdiction from military to civilian courts for cases in which
civilians are accused of violating military restrictions, such as
filming or photographing military zones.
In January the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled against
Turkey and in favor of an applicant, Yasir Amer, who claimed that he
had not been provided with a translator and, therefore, had been denied
the right to a fair trial as provided under the European Convention on
Human Rights. Amer had been sentenced to life in prison for murdering a
businessman in the northern part of Cyprus. The ECHR ruled that there
had been a violation of the convention on account of the excessive
length of the criminal proceedings; the court awarded Amer 5,000 euros
($7,150) in nonpecuniary damages and 2,000 euros ($2,860) for costs and
expenses.
Trial Procedures.--The ``law'' provides for the right to a fair
trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The
``TRNC constitution'' provides for public trials, the defendant's right
to be present at those trials, and the defendant's right to consult
with an attorney in a timely manner. Authorities provide lawyers to
indigent defendants only when charged with violent offenses. Defendants
are allowed to question witnesses against them and present evidence and
witnesses on their behalf. The ``law'' also requires that defendants
and their attorneys have access to evidence held by the ``government''
related to their cases. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and
have a right to appeal. Authorities generally respected these rights in
practice.
In September 2008 the head of the Nicosia Bar, Baris Mamali,
complained via the media that protections of detainees' rights were not
sufficiently implemented, contravening articles 16-18 of the ``TRNC
constitution.'' Mamali confirmed that legally granted rights, such as
the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer, were not
uniformly respected. Mamali also stated that arbitrary and unjust
arrests took place at times.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There was generally an
independent and impartial judiciary for civil matters, permitting
claimants to bring lawsuits seeking damages for human rights
violations. There were generally no problems enforcing domestic court
orders.
Property Restitution.--During the year Greek Cypriots continued to
pursue property suits in the ECHR against the Turkish government for
the loss since 1974 of property located in the area administered by
Turkish Cypriots. Under ECHR rules, an appellant does not have standing
to bring a case before the ECHR until that appellant exhausts all local
remedies, unless no adequate local remedy exists. In response to the
ECHR's 2005 ruling in the Xenides-Arestis case that Turkey's
``subordinate local authorities'' in Cyprus had not provided an
adequate local remedy, Turkish Cypriot authorities established a
``property commission'' to handle claims by Greek Cypriots; later in
2006, the ECHR ruled that the commission had satisfied ``in principle''
the ECHR's requirement for an effective local remedy. The ``property
commission'' had reportedly received 437 applications by the end of
2009. By the end of December, 132 cases had been completed; four
applicants received restitution of their properties outright (plus
compensation), one received restitution pending a future settlement of
the Cyprus problem, one accepted partial restitution, and 76 accepted
compensation in lieu of restitution. Two property exchange (plus
compensation) decisions were also issued. Two applications were
rejected and 46 revoked. At year's end the commission had paid over 38
million British pounds (approximately $62 million) in compensation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The ``law'' prohibits such actions; there were
reports, however, that police subjected Greek Cypriots and Maronites
living in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots to surveillance.
Although the authorities reported otherwise, a Maronite representative
asserted that 13 houses in the village of Karpasia were occupied by the
Turkish military during the year.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The ``law'' provides for freedom
of speech and of the press, and the authorities generally respected
these rights in practice, but journalists were at times obstructed in
their reporting, fined, and threatened with more serious charges.
Individuals were generally able to publicly criticize the
authorities without reprisal. In November 2008, however, two youths
were arrested for forming a group on Facebook that involved ``gross
personal insults'' against ``TRNC president'' Mehmet Ali Talat. The
youths were detained for three days and released pending trial. A trial
was scheduled for January 2010, when the youth will face defamation
charges.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction. International media were generally allowed
to operate freely. Bayrak Radyo Televizyon Kurumu is the only
``government''-owned television and radio station.
In August a well-known Nicosia independent bookstore, Isik
Kitabevi, was damaged by an apparent arson attack. ``President'' Talat,
``prime minister'' Dervis Eroglu, several ``members of parliament,''
and NGOs criticized the attack. The bookstore moved shortly after the
attack to a new location and continued to operate. At year's end, no
perpetrator had been identified, and the investigation had not yielded
any results.
In March, in the run-up to the April 19 general elections, the
``Ministry of Finance,'' then controlled by the ruling Republican
Turkish Party (CTP), demanded that the highest-circulation newspaper,
Kibris, immediately pay its tax debt of 11 million Turkish lira
($7,310,000) to the ``government.'' According to the Kibris editor in
chief, Resat Akar, the ``government'' also demanded that he resign or
take a leave of absence until after the elections. After negotiations
with the ``ministry,'' the management of Kibris agreed to pay the debt
in several installments. Eventually, Akar did leave his position during
the elections; it is unclear whether this was in response to the
``government's'' alleged demands.
Internet Freedom.--The authorities did not restrict access to the
Internet, and there were no reports that they monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
Internet was easily accessible and widely available to the public.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The authorities did not
restrict academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The ``law''
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the authorities
generally respected this right in practice.
On November 23, riot police used pepper spray to disperse a group
of trade unionists protesting against the ``government'' and arrested
16 of the demonstrators. The Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation
issued a statement condemning the ``government'' and the police for
using brutality to suppress the demonstration, for wrongful arrests,
and for subsequent abuse of some of those arrested. A trial was
scheduled for February 2010.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The ``law'' provides for freedom of
religion, and the authorities generally respected this right in
practice.
Greek Cypriots and Maronites were prohibited from visiting
religious sites located in military zones. Greek Cypriots and Maronites
were required to apply for permission to conduct church services
anywhere other than the seven churches designated by the authorities.
Some religious groups complained that authorities often took several
months to respond to requests for permission and faced restrictions,
such as limits on the number of visitors. There were anecdotal reports
of permission being denied in some instances.
In September formal religious information and morality lessons,
based on Sunni Islam, became compulsory in the secondary school system.
The several-thousand member Alevi community in the area
administered by Turkish Cypriots stated they would like Cem assembly
houses to be recognized as official places of worship. Representatives
from the Alevi community complained that ``state'' funding was spent
exclusively on building mosques.
Missionaries have the legal right to proselytize, but authorities
closely monitored such activities.
Conscience and Peace Tax International noted that authorities
enforced conscription into military service with no provision for
conscientious objection. One local NGO stated that this continued to be
a significant problem.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Greek Cypriots living in the
government-controlled area continued to assert that vandals damaged
vacant Greek Orthodox churches and removed religious icons in the area
administered by Turkish Cypriots in previous years; there were no
reported investigations of these incidents. Greek Cypriot claims in
2008 included alleged Turkish Cypriot misuse of a Greek Orthodox church
in the village of Trimithi as a ceramics showcase. Turkish Cypriot
authorities denied the claim that using the church in this manner
constituted misuse. The church remained locked and unused.
In March the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, one of the
bicommunal committees appointed by the two Cypriot leaders to support
their efforts to reach a Cyprus settlement, finalized planning and
agreed on a budget for a pilot project to restore the Arnavut mosque in
Limassol and the church of Archangelos Michael in Lefkoniko village.
The project was awaiting financing at year's end. In October Turkish
Cypriot and Greek Cypriot members of the committee worked jointly to
clean a mosque in the government-controlled area and a church in the
area administered by Turkish Cypriots.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The Jewish community
was very small and composed primarily of nonresident businesspersons. A
synagogue that opened in 2008 in Kyrenia held services regularly.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The ``law'' provides for freedom of
movement within the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, foreign
travel, emigration, and repatriation, and authorities generally
respected these rights in practice.
Cooperation between the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and the Turkish Cypriot authorities was handled
through an intermediary NGO, due at least in part to complications
arising from the unrecognized status of the ``TRNC.'' No law exists
regarding the handling of asylum applications; therefore, the UNHCR
representative in Cyprus conducted such procedures.
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were required to show
identification cards when crossing the green line. Greek Cypriots and
foreigners crossing into the area administered by Turkish Cypriots were
also required to fill out a ``visa'' form.
In September, confusion surrounding procedures to allow worshipers
to pass through the normally unused Limnitis/Yesilirmak crossing to
attend a mass at St. Mamas Church in the Turkish Cypriot-administered
area prevented some Greek Cypriot worshipers from attending.
Nevertheless, the mass took place, and hundreds of Greek Cypriots who
had entered through other crossing points participated.
In 2006 the immigration ``law'' was amended, and authorities
reported that all illegal immigrant workers were registered. According
to the new ``law,'' all employers who wish to import foreign workers
need official permission from the ``Department of Labor'' to register
them. As a result of the new ``law,'' the number of illegal workers,
and thus illegal immigrants, in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots decreased dramatically. Authorities deported illegal
immigrants found without work permits. All illegal immigrants without
work permits were prohibited from entering the ``TRNC'' at the ports of
entry. Asylum seekers were generally treated as illegal immigrants and
were either deported or denied entry.
Authorities no longer maintained general restrictions on visitors
to the 358 Greek Cypriots and 121 Maronites living in enclaves in the
area administered by Turkish Cypriots, although there were reports that
specific refugees from the enclaved villages were barred from returning
to them.
Turkish Cypriots had difficulty traveling to most countries because
only Turkey recognizes travel documents issued by the ``TRNC.'' Some
Turkish Cypriots used Turkish travel documents, but many obtained
travel documents issued by the Republic of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots
born after 1974 to parents who were both Republic of Cyprus citizens
before 1974 obtained passports relatively easily, compared with Turkish
Cypriots born after 1974 to only one Cypriot parent. Children of
Turkish Cypriot mothers and Turkish fathers were usually denied
citizenship by Republic of Cyprus authorities. Children of Turkish
Cypriot fathers and Turkish mothers reportedly also faced some
obstacles. According to a September 2008 interview with the Kibris
newspaper, a Republic of Cyprus official stated that non-Cypriot
spouses of Turkish Cypriots would not be eligible for passports if
their marriage ceremony took place in the ``TRNC'' and that any
children resulting from such marriages would also be ineligible to
receive Republic of Cyprus passports.
The ``law'' prohibits forced exile, and the authorities did not
employ it.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Although they would fall
under the UN definition of IDPs, Turkish Cypriots considered persons
displaced as a result of the division of the island to be refugees.
These persons and their descendants numbered approximately 90,000 to
100,000 in the north. They were resettled, had access to humanitarian
organizations, and were not subject to attack, targeting, or return
under dangerous conditions.
Protection of Refugees.--The ``TRNC'' is not a party to the 1967
Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, but the 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees is incorporated into Turkish Cypriot
domestic ``law,'' as were all other laws adopted during pre-1963
British colonial rule and later ``ratified'' by the Turkish Cypriot
administration. Authorities admitted that they had no ``law'' or system
in place for dealing with asylum seekers or the protection of refugees
and stated that asylum applications were systematically rejected.
Potential asylum seekers who attempted to enter the area administered
by Turkish Cypriots illegally were almost always arrested, taken to
court, and deported after serving their sentence.
In practice authorities did not provide protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened. Individuals who requested asylum were
supposed to be directed to the UNHCR or its local implementing partner,
the Refugee Rights Association (RRA). However, authorities often
refused to grant asylum seekers access to the RRA, refused their entry,
treated them as illegal immigrants, and denied them the opportunity to
apply for asylum through the UNHCR.
The UNHCR's implementing partner, the RRA, was affiliated with the
Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation in the area administered by
Turkish Cypriots. Only the UNHCR representative can consider
applicability of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees; the RRA's mission was to monitor and identify individuals who
want to apply for asylum, to refer them to the UNHCR, to advocate to
the Turkish Cypriot administration not to deport such individuals but
instead to provide protection for the prospective applicants, and to
facilitate accommodation and employment for these individuals. During
the year four persons were able to apply for asylum. All asylum
applicants were already residing in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots. According to the RRA, at year's end, a total of 10 asylum
seekers and refugees were residing and working (for below-minimum wages
and sometimes in exchange for food) in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots. They could not travel abroad because they would be unable to
return due to their lack of status, which rendered them illegal
according to Turkish Cypriot immigration rules. The UNHCR did not
provide financial assistance to the asylum seekers except in
exceptional cases. There were no reliable estimates of the number of
asylum seekers crossing into the government-controlled areas, since
irregular crossings go unrecorded.
In February Kivanc Aktug, the head of the NGO Human Relief Mission,
the former implementing partner of the UNHCR in the area administered
by the Turkish Cypriots, was arrested by Turkish Cypriot ``police'' for
smuggling asylum seekers into the government-controlled area. According
to media reports, Aktug was working as part of a ring of human
smugglers. Following the arrest, the UNHCR Representative's Office
publicly stated that it had stopped working with the NGO as its
implementing partner at the end of 2008. Aktug was detained for three
days and released on bail pending trial. An investigation of the case
was ongoing at year's end.
In September a Palestinian couple successfully applied to the UNHCR
for asylum with the help of RRA. They reside in the area administered
by Turkish Cypriots.
In November a Palestinian residing in the area administered by
Turkish Cypriots applied to the UNHCR for asylum.
The RRA stated that, despite its efforts, authorities at ports
often denied entry to asylum seekers, and those trying to enter the
``TRNC'' illegally were usually detained and subsequently deported. The
RRA complained that authorities usually denied asylum seekers access to
the RRA's lawyers and vice versa.
During the year several Iraqis and Palestinians were denied entry
and deported back to Turkey or Syria.
On July 30, two Palestinian Iraqis, ages 17 and 19, entered the
``TRNC'' with ``visas'' and applied to the UNHCR for asylum with the
help of the RRA but were deported on September 5.
In July two Cameroonians were resettled to Sweden. In November
three refugees were resettled to Finland.
In September the chair of the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights
Foundation complained through the media about systematic deportation of
asylum seekers and refugees despite laws against such treatment in the
Turkish Cypriot ``legislation'' and accused authorities of negligence
and using the unrecognized status of the ``TRNC'' as an excuse for not
abiding by international rules and practices.
In 2007, 17 Iraqis and Palestinians were arrested for trying to
illegally enter the ``TRNC'' in a fishing boat and were handed over to
the UNHCR.
There continued to be fewer media reports of Syrians and persons of
other nationalities utilizing ferry links between Syria and the
``TRNC'' to reach the island with the intent of later crossing
illegally into the government-controlled area.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The ``law'' provides Turkish Cypriots the right to change their
``government'' peacefully, and they exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Turkish Cypriots choose a
leader and a representative body every five years or less. The 2009
``parliamentary'' elections, which were free and fair, resulted in the
formation of a single-party ``government'' of the National Unity Party
(UBP).
Greek Cypriots and Maronite residents were prohibited from
participating in Turkish Cypriot ``national'' elections; they were
eligible to vote in Greek Cypriot elections but had to travel to the
government-controlled area to exercise that right. In 2006 Greek
Cypriot and Maronite communities in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots directly elected municipal officials for the first time;
previously, the Republic of Cyprus appointed these representatives. The
Turkish Cypriot authorities did not recognize these officials.
Authorities did not restrict the political opposition, and
membership or nonmembership in the dominant party did not confer formal
advantages or disadvantages; there were widespread allegations,
however, of societal cronyism and nepotism.
There were four women in the 50-seat ``parliament.'' There were no
minorities represented in the ``parliament.''
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The ``law'' provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, authorities did not implement the ``law'' effectively, and
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Corruption, cronyism, and lack of transparency were generally perceived
to be serious problems in the legislative and executive branches.
The ``government'' stated several times since April that once it
formed a regulatory board for corruption matters, it would investigate
corruption allegations regarding the Evkaf Foundation, the Electricity
Authority, the ``ministries'' of finance and health, and the
cooperative central bank. In August the ``government'' drafted and
passed ``legislation'' to create a ``regulatory commission'' to
investigate corruption allegations; in October, the law was referred to
the ``Constitutional Court'' by ``President'' Talat and found
``unconstitutional.'' Some lawyers criticized the ``government''
through the media for stalling necessary investigations and waiting for
the board to be established instead of tasking the ``Attorney General's
Office'' to investigate corruption allegations.
In November 2008, after a lengthy trial, a public servant was
sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding the state electricity
authority from 1998 to 2000. During the year six additional public
servants from the Electricity Authority were convicted and sentenced to
various prison terms in the same case. Several of them appealed, and in
September the appeals court overturned the conviction of Senel Ortan,
who had been sentenced to six years in prison.
In August 2008 the media reported that 116 corruption and abuse
cases documented by the Court of the Exchequer since 1986 were still
awaiting review by the ``parliament.''
In 2007 recurrent and serious allegations of corruption led to the
dismissal of the ``minister of economy and tourism,'' who represented
the junior coalition partner. The ``minister'' was replaced by a
``member of parliament'' from the same party. Many accounts claimed
that the ``minister'' was soliciting bribes from individuals and
companies that applied for licenses, land allocation, and other
services. The details and scope of the corruption were unknown. No
investigation was carried out regarding the allegations by year's end.
Opposition parties continued to claim that the ``government''
primarily hired supporters of the ruling party for public sector jobs
during the year.
The ``constitution'' provides for the right of free access to
``government'' information, and the ``Right of Access to Information
law'' provides for public access. In practice, however, civil servants
were not allowed to provide access to ``government'' documents without
first obtaining permission from their directors or ``minister.'' There
were some complaints by NGO representatives about being denied access
to ``government'' information during the year. ``Member of parliament''
Mehmet Cakici unsuccessfully attempted to follow the steps prescribed
by the ``law'' to gain access to information and statistics regarding
alleged mismanagement of the public employees' retirement fund. He
finally took the case to the ``attorney general's office,'' where it
was pending at year's end.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic human rights groups operated, although one NGO
asserted that it faced restrictions when investigating human rights
cases. Minority Rights Group International was also active in the area
administered by Turkish Cypriots, conducting research and capacity-
building and advocacy campaigns under an EU grant. Authorities'
cooperation with NGOs was inconsistent.
In contrast to previous years, local human rights groups broadened
their focus beyond alleged violations of Turkish Cypriot rights by
Greek Cypriots, and many were concerned with improving human rights
conditions in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. NGOs included
groups promoting awareness of domestic violence; women's rights; rights
of asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants; trafficking in persons;
torture; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons' rights.
These groups were numerous but had little impact on specific
``legislation.'' A few international NGOs were active in the area
administered by Turkish Cypriots, but many were hesitant to operate
there due to political sensitivities related to working in an
unrecognized area.
The UN, through the CMP, continued its efforts to account for
persons who remained missing after the intercommunal violence beginning
in 1963-64 and the conflict of 1974.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The ``law'' prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status. Authorities generally enforced
these prohibitions.
Women.--The ``law'' provides no minimum sentence for individuals
convicted of rape, including spousal rape; the maximum sentence is life
imprisonment. The authorities and police effectively handled and
prosecuted rape cases, including cases of spousal rape. There were no
NGOs whose specific mission was to support rape victims.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a problem. The
``law'' prohibits domestic violence under a general assault/violence/
battery clause in the criminal code. Even though allegations of
domestic violence were usually considered a family matter and settled
out of court, 29 domestic violence cases were tried during the year; of
these, 27 were in progress at year's end. The two cases that were
completed resulted in fines but no prison sentences. An additional four
cases were under preliminary investigation. Authorities considered a
case credible only if there was at least one witness in addition to the
victim.
In May a Turkish national was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment
for abducting and raping a 19-year-old university student in Famagusta.
Justice Gulden Ciftcioglu called the ``law'' ``insufficient'' for
describing rape as a crime against morality and stated that it is also
a crime against personal freedom.
In December an academic expert complained that domestic violence
was not defined specifically in the ``law'' and that certain
requirements for the protection of women's rights--such as rights to
education, rehabilitation services, and special units in police and
health departments--were not met.
The ``law'' does not specifically prohibit prostitution;
encouraging or forcing a person to engage in prostitution is illegal,
however, and procurement of a prostitute is a misdemeanor. The ``law''
regulating the hiring of women at nightclubs and cabarets provides
penalties for women and employers who ``partially or completely earn a
living from prostitution.''
The ``law'' does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, but
victims could pursue such cases under other sections of the ``law.''
Sexual harassment was not discussed widely, and any such incidents
largely went unreported.
Couples and individuals were able to freely decide the number,
spacing, and timing of their children, and had access to contraception,
skilled attendance during childbirth, and obstetric and postpartum
care.
Women generally have the same legal status as men under property
``law,'' family ``law,'' and in the ``judicial system.'' ``Laws''
requiring equal pay for men and women performing the same work were
generally enforced at the white-collar level; however, women working in
the agricultural and textile sectors were routinely paid less than
their male counterparts. There were several NGOs, but no specific
``government'' agency, that worked to protect women's rights.
Children.--``Citizenship'' is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis), and there is universal birth registration at the time of
birth.
Turkish Cypriot authorities continued to screen all textbooks sent
to the Rizokarpasso Gymnasium, a Greek Cypriot school, but did not send
textbooks deemed as derogatory back to the government-controlled area.
One NGO and the media reported that child labor was a growing
problem. According to reports, exploited children were mostly from
mainland Turkey.
There were some media reports of child abuse, most commonly in the
form of sexual battery or rape. As with domestic violence, there were
social and cultural disincentives to seek legal remedies for such
problems, which observers believe were underreported.
The criminal code penalizes sex with underage girls. The maximum
penalty for sex with a girl under the age of 13 is life imprisonment.
The maximum penalty for sex with girls older than 13 but younger than
16 is three years' imprisonment. There are no ``laws'' regarding child
pornography.
Trafficking in Persons.--The ``law'' does not prohibit trafficking
in persons, and there were widespread reports that women were
trafficked to and within the area administered by Turkish Cypriots for
the purpose of sexual exploitation. There were also reports of men and
women trafficked for labor exploitation. The green line reportedly
served as a porous crossing point for traffickers to move victims into
the south.
Authorities issued special entertainer ``visas'' to women,
primarily from Eastern Europe, permitting their entry into the area
administered by Turkish Cypriots to work in nightclubs and cabarets.
There were credible reports that many of these women engaged in
prostitution and that some women were coerced. The authorities were
uneven in acknowledging the existence of trafficking; when they did,
however, they often confused it with human smuggling or illegal
immigration. According to researchers, women working in nightclubs and
cabarets often were sold by agencies that had advertised for models,
babysitters, or elder caregivers. They also reported that large casinos
had offered women as ``gifts'' to their richest customers.
One NGO reported a growing problem with labor trafficking in the
agricultural and domestic help sectors and claimed that authorities
were not responsive. The NGO claimed that entire families, almost all
from Turkey, were forced to work in agriculture, while males, including
children, were employed in the manufacturing sector. The ``Ministry of
Labor'' was generally unsuccessful in identifying victims and providing
numbers, so the scope of the problem remains largely unknown. After
conducting approximately 80 personal interviews with foreign workers,
one NGO stated that several were trafficking victims, who had their
passports confiscated by employers, had been threatened with firing or
violence, and were subjected to debt bondage. The workers lived and
worked in unsafe conditions, with some agricultural workers sleeping in
the fields and construction workers sleeping in building sites.
A growing number of women from Turkmenistan and the Philippines
were being brought in as domestic workers and for child care by travel
and recruitment agencies, including via the Internet; there were some
claims of trafficking regarding these women.
By year's end, authorities had concluded several prostitution-
related cases that were pending from the previous year, resulting in
fines and prison sentences that typically ranged between one and three
months. There were no new prostitution cases as of year's end, but
authorities reported that several investigations were underway.
Authorities did not examine the extent of the trafficking problem
and offered limited assistance to victims. The 157 hotline, which was
only briefly operational, was discontinued.
The police reported that they had assisted international
trafficking investigations through Turkish authorities.
There were two NGOs available to provide assistance to trafficking
victims.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The ``law'' prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or in the provision of other ``state'' services, and in
practice the authorities effectively enforced these provisions. The
``government'' employed 617 persons with disabilities and provided
financial aid to another 3,472 of the approximately 3,900 known persons
with disabilities in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. The
``law'' does not mandate access to public buildings and other
facilities for persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The ``law'' prohibits
discrimination, and the 1975 Vienna III Agreement remains the legal
source of authority regarding the treatment of Greek Cypriots and
Maronites; authorities' noncompliance with some of the agreement's
provisions made life difficult for the 358 Greek Cypriot and 121
Maronite residents, however.
Under the Vienna III Agreement, the UNFICYP visited the enclaved
Greek Cypriots weekly and the Maronites twice a month; any additional
visits had to be preapproved by the authorities. Although the Vienna
III Agreement provides for medical care by a doctor from the Greek
Cypriot community, the authorities only permitted such care by
registered Turkish Cypriot doctors; enclaved persons also traveled to
the government-controlled area for medical care.
Greek Cypriots and Maronites were able to take possession of some
of their properties but were unable to leave any of their properties to
heirs residing in the government-controlled area. A Maronite
representative asserted that Maronites were not allowed to bequeath
property to their heirs who do not reside in the area administered by
Turkish Cypriots and possess ``TRNC'' identification cards. The
authorities allowed the enclaved residents to make improvements to
their homes and to apply for permission to build new structures on
their properties. Maronites living in the government-controlled area
could use their properties only if those properties were not under the
control of the Turkish military or allocated to Turkish Cypriots.
A majority of foreign workers in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots were Turkish. One NGO reported that Turkish workers were often
targeted by police investigations during the year. The same NGO also
reported that many Turkish workers lived in derelict buildings in
Nicosia, with up to 20 persons sleeping in one room. Those working in
the agricultural and construction sectors were reportedly forced to
sleep on the ground, and those working at restaurants were seen
sleeping after hours on chairs in the establishments where they worked.
During the year, many Turkish women were employed as cleaners
without being registered for social insurance. A growing number of
families employed women from Turkmenistan and the Philippines as
domestic workers and for child care.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Male homosexual activity is
criminalized in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots under a
general sodomy statute that excludes female homosexual activity. The
maximum penalty is 14 years' imprisonment. Homosexuality remained
highly proscribed socially and rarely discussed. Very few LGBT persons
were publicly open about their sexual orientation.
In 2008 members of the LGBT community, including some NGOs, started
a group, called the ``Initiative Against Homophobia,'' aimed at legal
reform and reducing homophobia. There were no reported impediments to
its operation or free association, and it was officially accepted and
registered as an association in March. An informal LGBT group, called
``The Short Bus Movement,'' organized cultural activities, such as film
screenings. During the year neither police nor ``government''
representatives condoned or perpetrated violence against the LGBT
community.
While there were no recorded cases of official or societal
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing,
statelessness, access to education, or health care, some members of the
LGBT community explained that an overwhelming majority of LGBT persons
hide their sexual orientation to avoid such problems. They also
complained that there is no specific antidiscrimination law for LGBT
persons.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--All workers except members of the
police and military forces have the legal right to form and join
independent unions of their own choosing without prior authorization,
and workers did so in practice. Fewer than 1 percent of private sector
workers (total 63,300), more than 70 percent of semipublic sector
workers, and nearly half of public sector workers belonged to labor
unions. The ``law'' allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the authorities generally protected this right in
practice.
Although the ``law'' provides for the right to strike, employers
have an unrestricted right to hire replacement workers in the event of
a strike, which limited the effectiveness of this right in practice.
The ``law'' does not ensure due process for essential service workers
and states that judges and members of the police and armed forces do
not have the right to strike. Authorities have the power to curtail
strikes in ``essential services.'' Although this power was rarely used
in practice, in 2007 the ``government'' invoked its right to postpone a
strike for 60 days at the ``state'' university, citing the crucial need
of students to continue their education without interruption.
During the summer the ``government'' did not invoke its right to
postpone strikes conducted by the customs officers union and by the
teachers union. It threatened to postpone a strike by ``parliamentary''
workers but did not act upon the threat.
In September the ``government'' postponed a strike by a public
servants labor union (Kamu-Sen).
In October the ``government'' postponed a strike at Ercan Airport,
where workers had announced a one-day general strike to protest against
new ``legislation'' lowering salaries for new public sector hires.
Some companies pressured workers to join unions led or approved by
the company. Officials of independent unions claimed that the
authorities created rival public sector unions to weaken the
independent unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The ``law''
provides for collective bargaining, and workers exercised this right in
practice. Collective bargaining agreements were not legally
enforceable, however. According to the ``State Planning Department,''
the total number of union members was over 25,000. The 28,000 public
and semipublic employees who made up approximately 30 percent of the
work force benefited from collective bargaining agreements.
The ``law'' does not prohibit antiunion discrimination, and union
leaders claimed that private sector employers were able to discourage
union activity because the enforcement of labor regulations was
sporadic and penalties such as reassignment to an undesirable location
or denial of promotion for antiunion practices were nominal.
There are no special ``laws'' for or exemptions from regular labor
``laws'' in the export processing zone at the port of Famagusta.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The authorities
prohibited forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but there
were reports that such practices occurred. Women were trafficked for
commercial sexual exploitation (see section 6, Trafficking in Persons).
Migrant workers in the construction and agricultural sectors were
subjected to reduced wages and nonpayment of wages, beatings, and
threat of deportation. One NGO asserted that there were cases of forced
labor in the agricultural and domestic service sectors. At year' end,
the NGO was assisting five women from the Philippines, who had worked
17-hour days at a restaurant in Kyrenia without leave.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
``laws'' generally provide protection for children from exploitation in
the workplace. In contrast to previous years, NGOs alleged that
authorities did not always effectively enforce these ``laws'' and that
children, mainly from Turkey, were being used for labor, primarily in
the agricultural sector along with their families and in manufacturing.
According to accounts by the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights
Foundation, child labor in the urban informal economy was a problem,
albeit to a lesser extent than in the agriculture and in manufacturing
sectors.
The minimum age for employment in an ``industrial undertaking'' is
16, and children may be employed in apprentice positions at 15. Labor
inspectors generally enforced the ``law'' effectively. It was common in
family-run shops for children to work after school, and children as
young as 11 worked in orchards during school holidays.
The ``Ministry of Labor'' is responsible for enforcing child labor
``laws'' and policies, and they were generally enforced in practice.
The ``ministry'' held monthly inspections and kept statistics of its
findings. During the year inspectors identified approximately 200
workers without work permits. The authorities fined employers,
companies, and employees for failures to comply with the ``law'' but
were generally perceived to be insufficient in their enforcement of
rules and requirements.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In September the minimum wage
was raised to 1,237 lira ($800), which did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. Migrant workers often were
offered substandard accommodation as part of their compensation or were
made to pay for accommodation. The ``Ministry of Labor and Social
Security'' is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage; however, it
was widely reported that illegal foreign workers were generally paid
below the minimum wage.
The legal maximum workweek was 38 hours in the winter and 36 hours
in the summer. Labor inspectors generally enforced these ``laws,''
except in the case of migrant workers, who worked irregular hours and
at times were reportedly required by their employers to work up to 14
hours per day, seven days a week. The ``law'' requires overtime pay,
but it was not uniformly enforced.
Authorities sporadically enforced occupational safety and health
regulations. Although factory inspectors processed complaints and
inspected businesses to ensure that occupational safety ``laws'' were
observed, workers who filed complaints did not receive satisfactory
legal protection and could face dismissal. Workers did not have the
legal right to remove themselves from situations that endangered health
or safety without risking their continued employment.
__________
CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czech Republic is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with a
population of approximately 10.2 million. Legislative authority is
vested in the bicameral parliament, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies
(Poslanecka snemovna) and Senate (Senat). The president, whom
parliament elects every five years, is head of state; he appoints a
prime minister from the majority party or coalition. In February 2008
the parliament elected Vaclav Klaus as president for a second term. The
coalition government, led by the center-right Civic Democratic Party
(ODS) and Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, fell on March 24, and an
interim government led by new Prime Minister Jan Fischer took office on
May 8. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of
the security forces.
European authorities reported that the government castrated some
convicted sex offenders without their free and informed consent. Other
notable human rights problems included official corruption, trafficking
of persons for commercial sexual exploitation and labor, neo-Nazi and
nationalist extremism directed at Roma and other minorities, and
societal discrimination against Roma.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
in January a Vietnamese man died in police custody in Brno. According
to press reports, police beat the man, a suspected heroin dealer, in
his apartment and encouraged a neighbor to kick him. On December 18,
the Brno prosecutor brought charges against three police officers and
the victim's neighbor in the Brno Regional Court. The three policemen
were charged with abuse of power and face up to three years in prison.
The neighbor was charged with the crime of bodily harm and faces up to
12 years in prison.
On July 17, the regional court in Prague sentenced 20-year-old Jiri
Fous, a member of a local neo-Nazi group in Pribram, to 12 years and
six months in prison for killing a member of an antifascist
organization in February 2008.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice; however,
compensation for coerced sterilizations and surgical castration of male
prisoners convicted of sexual offenses were ongoing issues.
According to a 2005 report by the National Defender of Rights
(ombudsman), there were many allegations that doctors at state
hospitals forcibly sterilized mainly Romani women in the 1973-91
period. In 2008 the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Group of Women
Harmed by Sterilization (WHS) reported that its field research
uncovered two cases of coerced sterilization in November 2008 and in
2007. The alleged instance in 2008 involved a 19-year-old Romani woman
from Karvina; at year's end authorities had not opened an investigation
into the allegation. In the 2007 case, a social worker allegedly told
the victim that if she did not undergo sterilization two of her
children would be placed in state care. In August police began
investigating the case. In August the Budapest-based European Roma
Rights Center provided and funded legal representation for the victim.
At year's end the case was pending at the Prosecutor's Office in
Frydek-Mistek. The WHS also identified 18 new cases of women, both Roma
and non-Roma, who alleged they had been sterilized without their
informed consent, some before 1989 and others in the 1990s. At year's
end authorities had not opened investigations into the cases.
The Ostrava Regional Court ruled in October 2008 that a local
hospital was liable for a wrongful sterilization performed on a Romani
woman, Iveta Cervenakova, 11 years prior and recognized her right to
compensation of 500,000 thousand korunas ($27,600) and an apology. The
hospital appealed to the Olomouc High Court, which ruled in November
2008 that Cervenakova was not entitled to financial damages because the
deadline for making such claims had passed. However, the High Court
upheld the requirement that the hospital apologize, which it did. In
April Cervenakova appealed the decision to the Supreme Court in Brno.
At year's end there were no further developments in this case. On
October 23, the Supreme Court dismissed a claim by another Romani
woman, Helena Ferencikova, who demanded financial compensation from a
hospital that performed an unwanted sterilization on her. In 2005
Ferencikova's case was the first involuntary sterilization case to
reach the courts. On November 23, the interim government officially
expressed regret over unauthorized sterilization of (mostly) Romani
women, but interim prime minister Fisher stated that the issue of
possible financial compensation should be left to the government formed
after 2010 parliamentary elections.
In March and April 2008, a delegation from the Council of Europe's
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) visited psychiatric
hospitals to follow up on concerns over the government's program of
surgical castration of sex offenders, which continued during the
reporting period. According to the Health Ministry, 94 sex offenders
underwent surgical castration in the 10 years prior to April 2008. Six
more reported between April 2008 and November 2009. The CPT believed
patients did not give free and informed consent to surgical castration
and that in most cases sex offenders requested castration because they
feared long-term imprisonment as an alternative. The CPT reported that
in 50 percent of the cases it reviewed, surgical castration was carried
out on individuals who had committed nonviolent offenses, for example,
repeated exhibitionism. Calling the practice ``degrading,'' the CPT
called upon the government to end it immediately. The CPT delegation
criticized the government for withholding medical records and for
providing inaccurate information on a number of occasions before,
during, and after the visit.
In response the government stated that, according to the law, all
patients must request the castration in writing and have their cases
approved by an independent expert commission. It did not, however,
address actual practice. The government did not consider the CPT's
findings sufficient reason to abandon the sterilization program.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards. The government
permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and
such visits occurred during the year.
During its follow-up visit in March and April 2008, the CPT visited
Section E of Valdice Prison, which accommodates persons sentenced to
life imprisonment as well as troublesome or dangerous high-security
prisoners. It found that the treatment and conditions of detention of
these prisoners continued to raise serious problems. These included
concerns about physical and sexual abuse of vulnerable prisoners,
failure to integrate prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment with the
general prison population, the lack of a process for prisoners to
appeal their placement in Section E, and an unresponsive staff. In
reply the government stated it replaced a substantial part of its
prison staff in mid-2008 and said positive changes had resulted.
In July the prison service announced that the prison population was
130 percent of the intended capacity of the facilities. There were an
estimated 22,000 prisoners in the country's prisons, 1,500 more than in
2008.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights groups and the
media. According to the Czech Prisons Service, there were numerous
media visits to prisons during the year. All requests for visits were
granted.
In 2008 the government built 355 additional prison cells in four
prisons with the goal of increasing the average prison cell size from
four square meters (43 square feet) per prisoner to six square meters
(65 square feet). Given the increase in the prison population, however,
the goal was not met.
Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary arrest
and detention, and the government observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police are
responsible for enforcing the law and maintaining public order. While
law enforcement bodies were generally effective, corruption remained a
problem. The Interior Ministry oversees police actions and is
responsible for investigating allegations of police misconduct.
Observers believed that the ministry often whitewashed wrongdoing or
prematurely terminated investigations of units under its control.
Investigations that led to successful prosecution rarely resulted in
lengthy sentences.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, police conducted 18
bribery investigations in the first eight months of the year and
investigated 58 public officials for abuse of authority. According to
ministry records, in the first half of the year courts convicted 21
public officials of crimes relating to abuse of power, but none was
sentenced to prison.
On June 25, three members of the ``Berdych'' gang, including a
former member of the Slovak rapid response police, were sentenced to
six to 14 years in prison. The long-running and complex legal case
against the gang involved a conspiracy between criminal elements and
members of the government's organized crime task force to kidnap,
assault, and ransom wealthy businessmen.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police arrest
persons accused of criminal acts using warrants issued by a judge. The
accused person must be turned over to a court within 24 hours, and a
judge has an additional 24 hours to determine whether to prolong the
individual's detention.
Police may arrest a person without a warrant under a number of
circumstances: when they believe a prosecutable offense has been
committed; when they consider it necessary to prevent further offenses
or destruction of evidence; when they need to protect a suspect; or
when a person refuses to obey police orders to move. Suspects arrested
without a warrant must be informed promptly of the reason for their
arrest, questioned, and either released within 48 hours or turned over
to a court. If turned over to a court, a judge must decide whether to
charge the individual within 24 hours. Only a person who has been
charged with a crime may be held in custody.
A defendant in a criminal case has the right to choose a lawyer or
have one provided by the state. The court determines whether attorneys'
fees will be partially or fully covered by the state. The law provides
for bail except for serious crimes or to prevent witness tampering. The
authorities respected these rights in practice.
Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. Under the law, pretrial
detention may last no longer than two years except for ``exceptionally
grave'' offenses. According to prison service data for the first six
months of the year, the average length of pretrial detention was 98
days. A suspect may petition investigating authorities at any time for
release from detention.
Amnesty.--The president granted amnesty to 69 persons for
humanitarian reasons in the first 11 months of the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice; however, judicial effectiveness was hampered
by complicated procedural rules that often delayed judgments for years.
Political influence, structural deficiencies, and a lack of specialized
judicial training and resources also contributed to delays and
undermined effectiveness.
The court system consists of district, regional, and high courts.
The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal, and a separate
Constitutional Court adjudicates the legality of legislation. Judges
are nominated by the minister of justice and appointed for life by the
president. The Senate confirms constitutional court judges. Defendants
may appeal decisions of the district courts through appellate layers to
the Supreme Court. Civil cases are handled by the administrative court
system, the highest court of which is the Supreme Administrative Court.
During 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found 12
violations by the country of the right to a fair trial and one
violation of the right to an effective remedy under Articles 6 and 13,
respectively, of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Trial Procedures.--The laws provide for the right to a fair trial,
and the independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are public.
Juries are not used. In serious cases a panel of judges rules on the
guilt or innocence of the defendant, while a single judge hears less
serious cases. Defendants have the right to be present at trial and to
consult an attorney; the government provides an attorney without charge
to defendants who cannot afford one. Defendants may confront
adversarial witnesses and present witnesses and evidence on their own
behalf. Defendants and their attorneys are entitled to access
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Convicted persons
have a right of appeal. The law extends these rights to all persons.
There were case backlogs throughout the judicial system, a problem
compounded by numerous judicial vacancies.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
for a separate, independent judiciary in civil matters, and there is
access to a court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation
of, human rights violations; however, inefficiency and inadequate
resources caused significant delays in case resolution. Available
remedies include monetary damages, equitable relief, and cessation of
harmful conduct. Administrative remedies are also available.
Property Restitution.--The law provides for restitution of
properties confiscated under the Communist regime as well as
restitution of, or compensation for, Jewish property wrongfully seized
during the Nazi era. While it was still possible to file claims for
artwork, the claims period for other types of property had expired. Two
claims for Jewish communal property in Brno were before the courts at
year's end. The Liberec regional government refused to return one
property in Turnov without providing a reason.
The comprehensive compromise settlement reached in 2007 between the
government and the churches, which offers restitution of properties of
religious orders and financial compensation to churches for loss of
their properties, had not been ratified by parliament at year's end.
Protracted litigation between the government and the Catholic Church
over the ownership of St. Vitus Cathedral continued, pending the
outcome of an appeal by the church against earlier court rulings that
declared the cathedral to be the property of the state.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these
rights in practice. Independent media actively expressed a variety of
opinions without outside restriction.
In November 2008 a Prague district court fined journalist Sabina
Slonkova 20,000 korunas ($1,100) for refusing to reveal her sources in
a court case regarding a leaked video published on the Web site
aktualne.cz. The video showed a presidential advisor meeting with a
lobbyist in a hotel before the February 2008 presidential elections. On
February 6, an appeals court upheld the fine.
On April 1, a law criminalizing the publication of information
obtained from police wiretaps went into effect. The law also
criminalizes the publication of names of victims of serious crimes and
the names of all victims younger than age 18. Journalists violating the
law face fines of up to five million korunas ($276,000) and prison
sentences of up to five years. The International Press Institute
criticized the law, asserting that its provisions are unclear, may
inhibit investigative journalism, and provides no exception for the
public interest.
The law mandates prison sentences of six months to three years for
persons who deny Communist-era crimes or the Nazi Holocaust. Speech
inciting hatred based on race, religion, class, nationality, or other
group affiliation is also illegal and carries a sentence of up to three
years in prison.
On April 24, the government arrested former U.S. Ku Klux Klan grand
wizard David Duke and charged him with denying the Holocaust and
inciting hate. The group National Resistance had invited Duke to speak
at Charles University. After university officials canceled the speech,
a small group of supporters gathered at a Prague restaurant, where
police arrested Duke. The government ordered Duketo leave the country
the following day. On September 29, the State Prosecutor's Office in
Prague dismissed the charges due to lack of evidence.
As the result of a televised election advertisement that referred
to a ``final solution of the Gypsy question,'' the Prague Municipal
State Attorney's Office filed charges in September against a member of
the unregistered, ultranationalist National Party for inciting hatred
based on race. In November a Prague district court gave a
representative of the National Party a one-year suspended sentence and
three years' probation for the advertisement.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could and did engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 58 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected this right in practice.
The government may legally restrict or prohibit gatherings,
including marches, demonstrations, and concerts, that promote hatred or
intolerance, advocate suppressing individual rights, or jeopardize the
safety of participants. Protesters are required to have permits for
demonstrations, but police generally did not interfere with
spontaneous, peaceful demonstrations.
On August 18, the law on assembly was amended, giving local
governments additional time (three working days instead of three
calendar days) to review demonstration applications. In June the
government distributed a handbook to local governments designed to help
local officials accurately apply the law regarding public gatherings.
In July police in Plzen arrested two persons on suspicion of
supporting and promoting a movement aimed at suppressing human rights
and freedoms. The arrests stemmed from a gathering of approximately 50
neo-Nazis for a celebration at a local restaurant. Police stated that
when the party began to perform a song celebrating the National
Resistance organization, they shut down the music, verified the
identities of the persons present, and arrested the two individuals who
were running the production.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice. The law, however, requires organizations,
associations, foundations, and political parties to register with local
officials or the Ministry of the Interior.
In September the government again proposed to dissolve the far-
right Workers Party, with mostly neo-Nazi membership. The government
first proposed dissolving the party in March, but the Supreme
Administrative Court said the proposal was poorly prepared and did not
present sufficient evidence that the party represented a threat to
democracy. At year's end the new, more comprehensive proposal was
before the Supreme Administrative Court.
In August the Interior Ministry refused to register the Czech
Sudeten German Association. The association demanded the abolition of
President Edvard Benes' post-World War II decrees that led to the
expulsion of Sudeten Germans from what was then Czechoslovakia and
confiscation of their property. The Interior Ministry justified its
refusal by citing a 1995 ruling of the Constitutional Court, which held
that the post-war confiscation decree was legal and legitimate at the
time. The ministry also referred to the 1997 Czech-German declaration
in which the two countries' governments pledged not to burden their
relations with the past. The association filed an appeal with the
Prague Municipal Court. At year's end the case was pending.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
Although registration is not obligatory for assembly or worship,
the Ministry of Culture administers a two-tier system of registration
for religious groups. Tier one status confers no benefits, but the
larger and longer-established religious groups in tier two enjoy
certain benefits, including the right to receive state subsidies and to
apply to teach religion classes in schools.
To register, a group must submit a short description of the group
and its teaching and goals, along with the signatures of 300 members.
Examples of registered groups include the Roman Catholic Church, the
Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, and the Czechoslovak Hussite
Church. Thirty-one groups are registered, 10 in tier one and 21 in tier
two. Of the 21 tier two groups, 10 have official permission to teach in
state schools.
Organizations from both the Jewish and Muslim communities were
registered. The Muslim community of approximately 10,000 members
generally operated freely and maintained two mosques in Prague and
Brno. The Brno Muslim community's plan to build a second mosque in the
city led to protests, including a small demonstration organized by the
National Party on August 29. The local and national leadership of the
Christian Democratic Party (KDU-CSL) also opposed the second mosque.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There continued to be reports
of societal harassment and discrimination against religious groups. In
2008, according to the OSCE's annual report on Hate Crimes in the OSCE
Region, the police recorded 217 hate crimes, prosecuted 215 persons,
and sentenced 97 persons. Prosecutions in the pretrial stage involved
41 persons.
Although estimates varied, the Jewish population was thought to
number approximately 10,000. Public expressions of anti-Semitism were
generally rare, but small, fairly well organized, ultranationalist
groups with anti-Semitic views were active around the country. The
Interior Ministry continued to counter such groups, monitoring their
activities, increasing cooperation with police from some neighboring
countries, and shutting down unauthorized rallies. In 2008, according
to the OSCE's annual report on Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region, the
government recorded 27 criminal offences with an anti-Semitic motive,
two of them violent. The Federation of Jewish Communities reported 44
anti-Semitic incidents, including one attack on a person and two on
property.
Several groups advocating violence against Jews and other
minorities were active. The number of rallies and demonstrations of
extreme right groups increased during the year.
In January vandals damaged the monument to Holocaust victims in
Teplice. Police began an investigation of the case but closed it for
lack of evidence.
On October 12, a court sentenced three men convicted of stealing
bronze plaques from 824 tombstones of Holocaust victims at the Terezin
National Cemetery in April 2008. The court handed town sentences of up
to three and a half to four and a half years in prison; however, two of
the three were sentenced in absentia. The crime appeared not to have
been anti-Semitic, since the plaques were stolen to be sold as scrap
metal.
In November the Ministry of Defense discharged two military
officers with no severance or pension after reports surfaced that they
had worn symbols of SS units on their helmets while serving in
Afghanistan. Their immediate supervisors retired.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.
The constitution and law prohibit forced exile, and the government
did not employ this practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
The laws provide for the granting of refugee status or, for those who
do not qualify for refugee status but are deemed in need of
international protection, subsidiary protection, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Because the law defines ``safe countries of origin,'' from which
applicants are unlikely to be granted refugee status, the Interior
Ministry no longer accepts asylum applications from ``safe'' countries.
In practice the government provided protection against the expulsion or
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion.
The Interior Ministry makes the initial determination on granting
international protection. Applicants whose cases are denied may appeal
to a single-judge regional court. Appeals of regional court decisions
are reviewed by a five-judge panel composed of judges serving on the
Supreme Administrative Court. The five-judge panel first determines if
the case presents new problems or if the regional court made a grave
error. If so, the panel reviews the substance of the claim.
The law provides that the government must conduct asylum hearings
in a language comprehensible to applicants or provide them with an
interpreter.
The law allows the government to detain asylum applicants for up to
120 days in reception centers. This provision particularly affected
applicants lacking identity documents. According to the UNHCR, regional
courts are obliged to review these cases expeditiously but in practice
did not do so.
According to Interior Ministry statistics, 622 asylum claims were
filed in the first eight months of the year. During the same period,
the ministry granted refugee status to eight asylum seekers, and one
person was granted subsidiary protection.
A pilot resettlement program was established in October 2008, when
a group of 39 Burmese refugees were brought from Malaysia. On April 10,
a resettlement agreement between the government and the UNHCR went into
effect.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The most recent national
elections for the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber of parliament,
took place in 2006. In October 2008 elections were held for one third
of the seats in the Senate and for regional governments. Both elections
were considered free and fair. On March 24, the coalition government
led by the center-right Civic Democratic Party (ODS) fell, and on May 8
an interim government led by Prime Minister Jan Fischer took office.
Parliament agreed to hold early national elections for the Chamber of
Deputies on October 9-10, but the Constitutional Court canceled the
elections, stating the method parliament used to call the elections was
unconstitutional.
On June 5-6, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
Individuals and parties freely declared their candidacies and stood
for election, and political parties operated without restriction or
outside interference.
There were 35 women in the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies and 14
women in the 81-seat Senate. There were three women in the 16-member
interim cabinet and five women on the 15-member Constitutional Court.
Two women were elected as governors in October 2008 regional elections.
One justice on the Constitutional Court and one member of the
interim cabinet were ethnic Slovaks. Few of the country's estimated
200,000 Roma were integrated into political life. No Roma were members
of parliament, had cabinet portfolios, or sat on the Supreme Court.
Some Roma were appointed to national and regional advisory councils
dealing with Romani affairs. Four Roma served in leadership roles in
the Ministry for Human Rights and National Minorities.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption.
However, the government did not always implement the law effectively,
and investigations suggested officials at times engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. The World Bank considered corruption to be a
problem in the country.
The police anticorruption unit, as well as NGOs, stated that
corruption in public procurement was a major problem. Political
pressure and ineffective police investigative tools contributed to the
infrequency of prosecution of high-level corruption. According to the
police anticorruption unit, a major barrier was the lack of a ``crown
witness'' process, where immunity can be offered to persons willing to
testify against coconspirators. Although public figures must disclose
the state of their finances each year, disclosure of the origin of
financial assets is voluntary. There was a virtual absence of
successful prosecutions of corruption.
Law enforcement agencies are responsible for combating government
and private corruption. The police anticorruption unit investigated
corruption allegations concerning high-level officials and major
regional and local cases. It also investigated private individuals and
companies accused of corruption. Other police units investigated lower-
level cases. As of October 9, the anticorruption unit initiated 52 new
cases during the year. Of these, six involved judges of whom two were
cleared for lack of evidence, and the remaining four were under
investigation at year's end.
The government eliminated the anticorruption unit of the military
police as of October 1, redistributing the unit's responsibilities to
other offices. The government cited budgetary reasons for the cuts, but
allegations persisted that the unit was disbanded because it was
successfully fighting corruption. The police anticorruption unit stated
that it continued to work well with military police anticorruption
officials despite the disbandment of the military unit.
The press continued to report allegations of corruption. On
September 26, a national newspaper alleged that a reporter with a
hidden camera posed as a casino owner and, purportedly in exchange for
opposing a proposal to introduce a new fee on gambling machines,
offered one million korunas ($55,200) to several members of the major
political parties. Only the Green Party member refused the offer
outright. Two leaders of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
(KSCM), Jiri Dolejs and Cenek Milota, resigned their party leadership
positions after indicating to the reporter they were willing to take
the bribe. Dolejs, who was also a member of parliament, did not resign
from parliament. Ladislav Sustr, a member of parliament who had
switched his allegiance to a new political party, TOP 09, also agreed
to the bribe and resigned from parliament as a result. Members of the
other parties deferred but did not directly refuse the bribe. The
police anticorruption unit was investigating the case at year's end.
In October the media reported that the law school at the University
of Western Bohemia in Plzen awarded numerous degrees in recent years to
persons who did not earn them, including politicians, law faculty,
police, customs agents, other state officials, and family members of
mafia figures. Some allegedly obtained five-year law degrees in two
months. The head of the country's accreditation commission, Vladimira
Dvorakova, alleged that organized crime established the system with the
goal of controlling these officials once in office. Dean Jiri Pospisil,
brought in to address the scandal, fired former dean Jaroslav Zacharias
and Vice Dean Ivan Tomazic from the faculty, and Vice Dean Milan Kindl
resigned. The accreditation commission temporarily suspended the
doctoral program in November, and in December an internal university
investigation found that 14 of 63 doctoral degrees had serious
shortcomings. The internal commission recommended that independent
experts review the doctoral theses in the 14 cases.
An investigation by the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office into
overseas bribery allegations against BAE Systems continued, including
allegations that the British-Swedish aerospace joint venture BAE
Systems/Saab bribed several members of the Czech parliament and
ministry officials in 2002 to gain their approval for a multimillion-
dollar contract to replace the country's fighter-jet fleet. Three
persons who were members of parliament at that time acknowledged that
they were approached and offered large bribes but maintained that they
refused. In November the police anticorruption unit suspended its
investigation of the Czech officials implicated in the case because
investigators did not find any evidence of a criminal act.
Several ministries have anticorruption hotlines for citizens to
report allegations. The Interior Ministry's anticorruption hotline,
administered by the country branch of the NGO Transparency
International (TI), received 3,049 calls in the first six months of the
year, of which 235 were first-time callers. In 166 cases, TI identified
corruption complaints, 14 concerning police corruption and 152
concerning public tenders at the local level.
Credible allegations of corruption throughout the judiciary
persisted, as did allegations of high-level political interference in
sensitive public corruption cases.
A number of legal cases involving judicial misconduct were ongoing
during the year. In August the Regional Court in Tabor suspended the
trial of former bankruptcy judge Jiri Berka, arrested in 2005 on
charges of criminal conspiracy and fraud. The court said it needed more
evidence.
The case filed against former supreme state prosecutor Marie
Benesova for calling six top-level judicial officials a ``judicial
mafia'' was pending at year's end. On October 22, the Constitutional
Court returned the case to the original judge, who had held that
Benesova did not have to apologize to the officials. The case was
pending at year's end.
In the first nine months of the year, the Justice Ministry received
18 calls on its anticorruption hotline, 120 e-mail complaints, and 572
written complaints. Of this total, 10 communications alleged corruption
on the part of judges and three alleged corruption on the part of
prosecutors. One case concerning a judge was submitted to the police
for investigation.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government generally provided such access in practice to citizens
and noncitizens, including foreign media. Applicants whose requests are
denied have 15 days to appeal. They may also appeal if authorities
exceed the time limit for processing a request.
The Open Society Foundation, an NGO focusing on free access to
information, reported that four cases regarding public access to
information from local governments reached the courts during the year.
Courts were receptive to the requests for information by the
plaintiffs. In one case, the Regional Court in Usti nad Labem held that
the regional governor's office must cover expenses for refusing to
provide information to the NGO Children of the Earth about the office's
rising budget. In another case, the Supreme Administrative Court held
that the Czech energy company CEZ is a public institution that must
provide information upon request.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups operated
without government interference, investigating and publishing their
findings on human rights cases. Government officials were generally
cooperative and responsive to human rights inquiries.
The ombudsman made regular visits to government facilities,
examining the treatment of individuals and monitoring respect for
fundamental rights. He issued quarterly and annual reports on his
office's activities in addition to reports on topics of special
concern. He operated without government or party interference, had
adequate resources, and was considered effective.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on sex, age, disability,
race, ethnic origin, nationality, sexual orientation, religious faith,
or personal belief. However, the government did not effectively enforce
these provisions, and significant societal discrimination against Roma
and women persisted. Trafficking in persons also remained a problem.
On June 17, parliament overrode the president's May 2008 veto of
antidiscrimination legislation and adopted a comprehensive
Antidiscrimination Act that harmonized the country's law with EU
requirements.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape, and the
government effectively enforced this prohibition. The law provides
penalties of two to 15 years in prison. Although experts considered
rape to be underreported, they noted an upward trend in the number of
rape convictions since 2001. They attributed this trend to improved
police training, public awareness campaigns, and greater interaction
between police and NGOs. In the first 10 months of the year, 411 rapes
were reported, 273 of which were investigated. In the first six months
of the year, courts convicted 67 offenders, giving suspended sentences
to some offenders and prison sentences to others.
Experts believed that violence against women was more widespread
than suggested by the number of cases reported to authorities, due to
the stigma associated with reporting such abuses.
Domestic violence is punishable by up to three years in prison,
with longer sentences under aggravated circumstances. In 2008 police
obtained the authority to remove violent abusers from their homes for
10 days. According to a report released by the NGO Bily Kruh Bezpeci
(White Circle of Safety), a total of 778 offenders, including women,
were removed from their homes during the year.
In the first 10 months of the year, Interior Ministry statistics
indicated that 441 cases of domestic violence were reported and 330
investigations were completed; authorities continued to investigate
additional cases. In the same period, authorities prosecuted 275 cases
of domestic violence. Justice Ministry statistics indicated that in an
eight-month period one person was sentenced to one year in prison, six
persons were sentenced to two to five years, and three were sentenced
to 15 years. While most prosecutions resulted in conviction, the
majority of convictions did not involve incarceration. Alcohol played a
major role in many domestic violence cases.
Koordona, an association of 13 NGOs dealing with domestic violence,
provided specialized training manuals for health care workers and
distributed materials informing victims of their rights. Police
continued to train personnel selected to handle cases and to work with
social service agencies. Several hot lines and crisis centers offered
psychological counseling to victims of rape and domestic abuse. In the
first six months of the year, for example, the Dona hotline received
1,277 calls related to domestic violence, compared with 995 calls in
the same period in 2008.
The law does not prohibit prostitution, but local governments may
limit or regulate it. Pimping is illegal. Prostitution in border areas
and major urban areas declined due to the economic slowdown and a
crackdown by local governments. Sex tourism, which used to flourish in
border areas, declined for the same reasons. An Interior Ministry
report for the first six months of the year noted that there was a
general trend of declining interest in commercial sexual services,
especially in the regions bordering Germany and Austria. Due to the
activities of local municipalities, street prostitution was forced out
of public places. For example, the city of Cheb near the German border
used a camera system to deter street prostitution. Cities in the
interior also made progress reducing sex tourism. Prague, Brno, Plzen,
and other cities adopted by-laws banning prostitution in public places.
The number of erotic clubs or nightclubs decreased, and many were on
the brink of closure.
The law prohibits sexual harassment. However, the government did
not effectively enforce it, and sexual harassment remained a problem.
The law places the burden of proof on the defendant. Those convicted
can be fined up to 70,000 korunas ($3,860), dismissed from work, or
sentenced to prison. According to a study conducted by the Gender and
Sociology Section of the Czech Academy of Sciences in February, 25
percent of female respondents experienced sexual harassment at work.
Couples and individuals had the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and had
the information and means to do so without discrimination, coercion,
and violence. However, involuntary sterilization of Romani women
continued to be a problem. In 2007 and 2008 there were reports that
doctors had forcibly sterilized two Romani women.
Access to contraception was widespread, and the prevailing practice
was to have skilled attendance at childbirth, including obstetric and
postpartum care. According to NGOs, women and men were equally
diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
The law grants men and women equal rights, including in family and
property law matters. According to Eurostat data for the first quarter
of the year, the employment rate of women was 56.7 percent and women
constituted 49.4 percent of the workforce. Women's salaries for similar
work lagged behind men's by almost 24 percent, and women were more
likely to work in professions with lower median salaries than those
chosen by men. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether the salary gap was
the result of discrimination against women, lack of access to proper
professional training and preparation, or a possible preference among
women for more flexible, family-friendly jobs. The Council for Equal
Opportunities for Men and Women monitored gender issues and advised the
government on enforcing equal gender rights.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents.
While the government provided free, compulsory education through
age 15, Romani children were subject to discriminatory treatment.
Romani children were enrolled at disproportionately high rates in
remedial school systems, which effectively segregated them into a
substandard education. According to the Ministry of Education,
approximately 27 percent of Romani children, compared with 2 percent of
non-Romani children, attended these ``practical'' schools during the
year. In regular schools, Romani children were often segregated from
the majority population, both due to their place of residence (often in
a Romani majority neighborhood) and because school officials in regular
schools at times separated Romani children for remedial instruction.
During the year the government continued to address discrimination in
the education of children.
Early in the year the Ministry of Education finalized two studies,
one on education opportunities of children from excluded communities
and the other analyzing teachers' individual approaches to students
with special educational needs. Both studies pointed to unequal
educational opportunities for Romani children. Sixty-five percent of
Romani children from practical elementary schools enrolled in
vocational high schools, many of which do not have final examinations
in their curricula, and only 0.93 percent enrolled in regular high
schools. The remaining 34 percent did not continue their education.
Since the examinations offered at the completion of regular high school
are required in order to enter a university, the large majority of
Romani students who were in vocational schools without final
examinations were effectively precluded from a university education.
The Ministry of Education created a new Department for Equal
Opportunities in Education to address these issues.
Although the law permits Romani curricula, no elementary school in
the country used the curricula. The Romani language was taught as a
foreign language at two secondary schools and several universities.
While the law prohibits family violence, sexual abuse, and other
forms of mistreatment of minors, child abuse remained a problem.
According to an ongoing 15-year study conducted by sexologists at the
medical school of Charles University in Prague, 10 percent of children
in the country have experienced sexual abuse. Seven percent were
sexually abused at least once, while three percent were sexually abused
repeatedly.
Social protection agencies reported that authorities remove
approximately 1,800 children from their homes annually due to
mistreatment. According to a report by the Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs in January, as many as 22,000 children were living in
institutions, including more than 9,000 placed in care pursuant to a
court decision.
Prison sentences for child abuse ranged from five to 10 years. In
February the regional court in Hradec Kralove sentenced Antonin Novak
to life in prison for the sexual assault and murder of a nine-year-old
boy in 2008. Novak had already served more than four years in prison
for previous sexual offenses. He had been released and ordered to
attend outpatient treatment, which he failed to attend.
Although some members of the Romani community married before
reaching the legal age of 18, underage marriage was not a significant
problem.
Some children were engaged in prostitution for survival without
apparent third-party involvement. NGOs reported that many teenagers in
prostitution were runaways or products of orphanages and the foster
care system. NGOs working with high-risk children attributed the
problem largely to deficiencies in the foster care system, which often
failed to provide adequate job skills and promote the adoption of
unwanted children by capable parents. According to the Ministry of
Interior's statistics, police investigated 26 cases of forced child
prostitution in the first nine months of the year.
The minimum age for consensual sex is 15. Sexual relations with a
child younger than age 15 is punishable by a prison term up to eight
years. The law prohibits the possession, manufacture, and distribution
of child pornography, which is punishable by imprisonment for up to six
years.
In October police broke up the largest network of distributors of
child pornography in the country's history. The distributors operated
in Prague and parts of southern and northern Moravia. Of 160 suspects,
32 persons were detained. One quarter of the suspects were women. In
November three civilian employees of the Ministry of Defense were
detained. The operation involved approximately 1,000 police throughout
the country. More than 300 computers containing pictures and videos
with child pornography were confiscated. The perpetrators ranged in age
from 20 to 80. At year's end the investigation was ongoing, with
additional arrests possible.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, trafficking to, from, and within the country for
sexual exploitation and forced labor continued to be a problem. Most
women trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation came from Slovakia,
Ukraine, Russia, and other republics of the former Soviet Union. NGOs
also assisted trafficked women from Brazil and Vietnam. Destination
countries included the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom,
Switzerland, and Germany.
Major traffickers of women for commercial sexual exploitation were
mostly foreigners who recruited women in their home countries through
employment agencies by promising them jobs as models, maids,
waitresses, and dancers. Traffickers coerced victims' compliance by
stealing their travel documents, exploiting their isolation and any
drug and alcohol dependence, employing violence or threats of violence
to the victims or their families, and threatening victims with arrest
and deportation. The women also had to pay back fictitious ``debts''
arising from their travel and the cost of visas and housing.
Romani women were at the highest risk of internal trafficking;
girls raised in state homes were also at high risk. According to
government authorities, women already working in prostitution were
particularly vulnerable to traffickers.
Penalties for trafficking range from two to 15 years in prison and
are generally similar to penalties for rape and sexual assault.
Authorities may also prosecute traffickers for organized prostitution
and pimping, which are punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
In the first six months of the year, police investigated 13
trafficking cases involving seven Czech citizens and six foreigners.
One person received a suspended sentence for trafficking. During the
same period, authorities conducted 21 investigations into suspected
pimping. The courts sentenced 44 persons for pimping; 11 persons
received prison sentences of up to five years while 33 persons received
suspended sentences. Since the government often utilized other criminal
statutes to prosecute traffickers, it was difficult to develop an
accurate estimate of the total number of trafficking prosecutions and
convictions that were related to trafficking. Police investigated one
case of trafficking in children in the first nine months of the year.
An organized crime unit within the national police was dedicated to
combating trafficking. It worked closely with its counterparts in
Interpol, Europol, and foreign governments. A separate organized crime
unit within the national police focused on labor trafficking.
The government continued implementing its third national strategy
against trafficking to cover the period 2008-11. The Justice and
Interior Ministries organized several training sessions on trafficking
issues for judges and prosecutors, and the Interior Ministry continued
offering specialized training to police. The Interior Ministry and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs trained consular officers on trafficking
issues, focusing on procedures leading to identification of victims of
trafficking.
The government cooperated with NGOs to provide services to
trafficking victims and to train police and investigators in handling
trafficking cases and referring victims for counseling. The government
provided psychological and social assistance to trafficking victims for
60 days after they were discovered. During this time foreign victims
had to decide whether to cooperate with authorities or return to their
home countries. Victims choosing to cooperate are eligible for
residency visas for the duration of the criminal proceedings and may
thereafter apply for permanent residency on humanitarian grounds.
Trafficking victims no longer have to testify against their traffickers
in order to obtain permanent residence. According to an Interior
Ministry report, 13 victims participated in the government's victim
protection and assistance program during the year. Eight of the
participants were victims of trafficking for labor, and five were
victims of trafficking for commercial sex.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and the provision of other state services, and the
government generally enforced these provisions. However, persons with
disabilities faced a shortage of public accommodations and were
unemployed at disproportionately high rates.
The ombudsman is required to make regular visits to all
governmental and private workplaces of persons with physical
restrictions to examine conditions, ensure that fundamental rights are
respected, and advocate for improved protection against mistreatment.
He made these visits throughout the year.
Through its program to aid persons with disabilities, Mobility for
All, the government provided 112.5 million korunas ($690,000) during
the year to cosponsor 56 projects in towns and cities throughout the
country, building barrier-free sidewalks, crossings, crossroads, and
handicapped elevators in government institutions; purchasing barrier-
free buses; and providing barrier-free access to government
institutions, schools, libraries, galleries, and museums.
Approximately 60 percent of Prague's metro stations were accessible
to persons with disabilities, and most buses and new tramcars have been
configured to accommodate them. However, of 15 major metro stations in
the city center, only five were barrier-free. There were 294 barrier-
free high schools across the country as well as 50 barrier-free
institutions of higher learning, including universities.
In prior years news reports and the UN Human Rights Council
denounced the use of ``cage beds'' for young persons with severe mental
and physical disabilities in several social care homes in the country.
During unannounced visits to eight psychiatric institutions in the
first half of the year, the ombudsman found that restraint beds were
used in six geriatric psychiatric units. He found that in two of them
net beds were used without approval of the physician. In his report the
ombudsman cited lack of personnel as a major cause for the use of these
beds.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Minority groups in the country
included Roma, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Vietnamese, Poles, Russians, and
Germans. Roma faced high levels of poverty, unemployment, and
illiteracy as well as widespread discrimination in education,
employment, and housing.
Latent societal discrimination against the Romani population
occasionally manifested itself in violence. Members and sympathizers of
neo-Nazi organizations were the most frequent perpetrators of acts of
interethnic violence, particularly against Roma. Ultranationalists were
also active.
The Interior Ministry estimated there were 4,000 active right-wing
extremists in the country. During the year neo-Nazi and skinhead
rallies or marches took place in several cities. Although the
organizations operated separately, both the Workers Party and the
National Party periodically announced they would be ``patrolling''
Romani neighborhoods or Romani gatherings to ensure no laws were being
broken.
In 2008, according to the OSCE's annual report on Hate Crimes in
the OSCE Region, 195 persons were charged with crimes motivated by
racial or similar hatred. The two largest categories of crimes were
assault (30) and incitement to hatred (35).
In May unknown persons attempted an arson attack against a Romani
home in the village of Zdiby. No one in the home was injured. Police
were investigating the case at year's end.
In August police arrested four men for throwing Molotov cocktails
into the home of a Romani family in the town of Vitkov on April 19. The
ensuing blaze injured three persons, including a two-year-old girl who
was treated for second- and third-degree burns over 80 percent of her
body. Police believed the attack was racially motivated and
premeditated. The men, charged with attempted murder, face between 12
and 25 years in prison if convicted. The case against the men was
pending at year's end.
In November 2008 an estimated 1,000 police officers used force to
prevent an estimated 500 well armed, right-wing rioters in Litvinov
from attacking Roma. Approximately 300 Romani men who gathered to
defend their community were also involved in the melee. In January the
state prosecutor dropped rioting and assault charges against 15
protestors. The only persons convicted in the confrontation were two
Roma sentenced to 400 hours of community service for physically and
verbally assaulting members of the Workers Party.
Starting October 1, the government stepped up police presence in
Roma neighborhoods, including an increase from 21 to 31 officers in
Janov, the Litvinov Roma neighborhood.
Police arrested a number of right-wing extremists during the year.
On June 9, the special police unit for investigating organized crime
(UOOZ) charged 10 neo-Nazis with supporting and promoting movements
aimed at suppressing the rights and freedoms of the individual. Those
arrested faced prison sentences of three to eight years if convicted.
They remained in custody and their cases were pending at year's end. On
October 21, UOOZ arrested 24 individuals on similar charges. Police
President Oldrich Martinu said that several of the arrestees were
linked to the neo-Nazi organization White Justice and had been trained
by Lukas Sedlacek, a member of the Czech military. In response, the
Ministry of Defense discharged Sedlacek with no severance pay or
pension. Other arrestees were linked to the National Resistance, the
Workers Party, and the Resistance Women Unity group. At year's end
their cases were pending. In both June and October, extremists gathered
to protest the arrests.
Eight men were on trial at year's end for a series of attacks on
Roma in November 2008 in Sumbark, a neighborhood in Havirov with a
large Romani population. Some of the alleged attackers were described
as members of the group Thugs Havirov and one as a member of the
National Resistance. One attack victim was severely beaten. The trial
was adjourned to February 2010.
The government proceeded with plans to build a memorial for Romani
Holocaust victims near the site of a World War II concentration camp
for Roma in Lety. It allocated 21.5 million korunas ($1.2 million) for
the memorial and purchased property from three nearby municipalities.
Because the site is currently a pig farm, Romani Holocaust survivors
and activists strongly rejected the government's plan and insisted that
the pig farm be removed. The government rejected acquiring the pig farm
as prohibitively expensive.
The law prohibits employment discrimination based on ethnicity;
however, Roma continued to face discrimination in employment. Some
employers refused to hire Roma and requested that local labor offices
not send them Romani applicants. According to a 2008 joint study by the
government and the World Bank, 55.8 percent of Roma of working age did
not participate in the labor market (they were neither employed nor
actively seeking employment), 5.2 percent were unemployed, and 12.2
percent did not have a job but reported income during the survey
period.
Roma faced widespread discrimination in access to housing and other
accommodations. While housing discrimination based on ethnicity is
prohibited by law, NGOs stated that some municipalities still apply
municipal regulations in a way that discriminates against certain
socially disadvantaged groups, primarily Roma, including basing housing
decisions on the reputation of the applicant and family in previous
residences.
A 2006 Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs study found that more
than 330 ghettos in the country were almost exclusively inhabited by
Roma. The study put the combined population in these ghettos at 80,000,
more than one third of the Romani population. The study found that the
ghettos were blighted by substandard housing and poor health
conditions. The author of the 2006 study, Ivan Gabal of the Gabal
Analysis & Consulting research firm, believes the ghettos continue to
grow. Beyond housing discrimination, reasons for the growth in Romani-
dominated ghettos include unaffordable rents elsewhere and urban
gentrification.
Lack of transportation limited work opportunities for Roma outside
the ghettos and made Roma less likely to accept jobs far from home.
Restaurants, bars, and other public places at times refused to
serve Roma.
The government continued implementing a long-term integration plan
for Roma that provided state-paid advisers to assist Roma in finding
employment and special stipends for Romani secondary school students.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs worked with NGOs to increase
services to the Romani community.
The Interministerial Commission for Romani Community Affairs
continued to take an active role in resolving disputes between Romani
communities and their non-Romani neighbors and promoting
antidiscrimination initiatives in housing and education. The Agency for
Social Inclusion in Roma Localities, created in 2008 to coordinate and
evaluate social integration efforts, is now operating in 15
communities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender organizations operated freely.
In June in the town of Tabor, members of the Workers Party
attempted to disrupt a second annual gay pride march held by gay rights
advocates. Police, including members of an anticonflict team, kept
Workers Party members mostly separated from the march.
The government did not keep statistics regarding incidents of
violence directed at individuals based on their sexual orientation or
gender identity. A report by a government working group on issues
involving sexual minorities indicated that physical and verbal attacks
occur, although are often not reported.
There were some reported cases of discrimination against persons
based on sexual orientation. A gay registered partner of a parent may
not adopt the partner's child, although a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or
transgender person not in a registered partnership may adopt.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--As of June 1, the
country requires citizens of certain countries who request long-term
resident status to provide a medical record attesting that they are not
HIV-positive.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law protects workers' right to
form and join unions of their choice without authorization or excessive
requirements, and workers, including foreign and migrant workers,
generally exercised this right in practice. Although the law applies
equally to Czech and foreign workers, the latter generally did not join
unions due to the short-term nature of their work or the lack of social
interaction with Czech employees. An estimated 17 percent of the
workforce was unionized, a decrease of approximately 8 percent from
2008, according to the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions
(CMKOS), a national umbrella organization. Approximately 75 percent of
nonagricultural union members were affiliated with CMKOS. Agricultural
workers made up 3 percent of the workforce; 60 percent of agricultural
workers were members of the Trade Union of Agricultural Workers.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference. While regulations entitle union members to conduct some
union activities during work hours, the amount of time to which workers
are entitled is not specified, leaving room for wide interpretation on
the part of employers. CMKOS reported cases in which employers did not
allow union members sufficient paid time to fulfill union
responsibilities.
Workers generally have the legal right to strike if mediation
efforts fail. However, unionized workers in certain professions may not
strike. These professions include judges, prosecutors, police, and
members of the military and other security forces. The law limits the
right to strike for workers in health care, nuclear energy, oil and gas
pipelines, air traffic control, firefighting, and telecommunications.
Workers in these industries do, however, have access to mediation. The
law requires unions to provide employers with a list of strikers at
least one day before a strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining, which generally was carried out by
unions and employers on a company basis. The scope for collective
bargaining was more limited for civil servants, whose wages are
regulated by law. Under the law only trade unions may legally represent
workers, including nonmembers of trade unions. During the year trade
unions affiliated with CMKOS negotiated collective agreements that
covered 22 percent of the workforce, a 1.5-percent decrease from 2008.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination. Despite this, CMKOS
reported that in 2008 some employers pressured workers to give up their
trade union activities by threatening either to fire them or to reduce
their wages. A leading hotel group, CPI Hotels, indicated to all
members and officers of the CMKOS-affiliated Trade Union of Catering,
Hotel and Tourism workers (OSPHCR) that employment at the newly
acquired Cernigov Hotel in Hradec Kralove would be conditional on their
leaving the union. The local OSPHCR organization subsequently
terminated its activities in March of that year. The OSPHCR reports
that as of the end of the year, the Cernigov Hotel Trade Union chapter
was not reconstituted. Moreover, during the year chapters operating in
other hotels recently acquired by CPI Hotels also yielded to pressure
from the new employer and terminated, or were planning to terminate,
their activities. Nevertheless, no formal complaint against CPI was
lodged.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that women were
subject to conditions of forced commercial sexual exploitation.
According to labor legislation, all workers with a valid working permit
are treated equally. The State Bureau for Labor Inspection (SBLI),
which enforces regulations on labor conditions, undertakes regular
checks and deals with accusations of labor infringements. In 2008 SBLI
undertook 108 checks of work agencies employing migrant workers. This
reflected a 71 percent increase from 2007. According to SBLI, the
result of checks undertaken included inconsistencies in work
agreements, rejected salary bonus payments, and inconsistencies in
working hours and overtime. No systematic discrimination based on
citizenship, gender, age, or health status was proved.
In 2008 the government established an interministerial group to
coordinate government efforts against trafficking and forced labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect children
from exploitation in the workplace. Under the lead of the Ministry for
Human Rights, the government adopted a strategic document in 2008
called ``National Strategy of Prevention against Violence against
Children for the Period 2008-2018.'' The document identifies several
priorities such as zero tolerance of violence against children, support
of primary prevention, professionalism of experts, and accessibility of
services for endangered children. In April the ministry led a
conference on promoting children's rights during the country's EU
presidency term. A second conference in June focused on child violence
and injury prevention and child mental health promotion.
The law sets a minimum working age of 15 years, although children
with disabilities who have completed special training may work at the
age of 14. Employment conditions for children ages 15 to 18 were
subject to strict safety standards. One exception in the regulations
allows children to obtain permits from the Labor Office to work up to
12 months in specific artistic, cultural, sports or advertising
activities. Nevertheless, the subject work must be age-appropriate,
safe, and compatible with full-time school attendance. The work cannot
hinder the child's development. Such activities cannot take place
between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The SBLI effectively enforced these
regulations in practice. Infringement of child labor rules is subject
to fines of up to 2 million korunas ($110,000). In 2008 SBLI reported
only four minor cases of violations relating to the issuance of work
permits. No fines, however, were imposed due to the relatively minor
nature of the offences.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs establishes and enforces minimum wage standards. During the
year the national minimum wage was 8,000 korunas ($440) per month and
provided a decent standard of living for a worker and family when
combined with social benefits for low-paid workers. The minimum wage is
determined by the government, following negotiations with employers and
trade unions. The last update to the minimum wage occurred in January
2007. The minimum wage is enforced by the SBLI and is one of the main
targets of the SBLI's checks, in response to reported violations of
labor law, as well as regular and ad hoc controls.
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek, two days of rest, and a
paid break of at least 30 minutes during the standard eight-hour
workday. If the employee agrees, employers may establish up to eight
hours per week of overtime; the local employment office may permit
additional overtime. Premium pay for overtime, equal to at least 25
percent of the average earnings, is governed by the provisions of the
labor code.
According to the International Organization for Migration, the
standard conditions of work were not always observed in situations
involving migrant workers. Low-qualified foreign workers coming from
less developed countries are sometimes dependent on job intermediaries
to find and retain work. The job intermediary is usually someone from
their home country who has developed professional ties in the Czech
Republic. According to trade unions and NGOs, there have been cases of
violations of labor conditions, as well as inhumane treatment of
migrants, generally perpetrated by job intermediaries. Most commonly,
salaries are paid to job intermediaries who garnish wages, resulting in
subminimum wage or overtime without proper compensation for workers.
Generally, such treatment occurs within migrant communities as a result
of voluntary decisions by the migrant workers. There has been neither
formal evidence nor formal complaints, and thus local authorities have
few tools with which to intervene.
The SBLI effectively enforced health and safety standards. In 2008
numerous checks focused on health and safety standards, and occurred
primarily (but not exclusively) in the construction, manufacturing,
agricultural, and forestry sectors. Fines totaling 46 million korunas
($2.5 million) were imposed for cases of substantial law infringement.
Workers have the right to refuse work endangering their life or health
without risking the loss of their employment, and they exercised this
right in practice.
__________
DENMARK
Denmark, with a population of approximately 5.5 million, is a
constitutional monarchy with democratic parliamentary rule. Queen
Margrethe II is head of state. A prime minister, usually the leader of
the majority party or coalition, is head of government and presides
over a cabinet, which is accountable to the unicameral Folketing
(parliament). The minority center-right coalition government led by the
Liberal Party (Venstre) won a plurality of seats in the 2007 elections,
which were deemed free and fair. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
Reports of religious and ethnic discrimination against minority
groups have remained relatively constant over the past several years,
while domestic violence against women and trafficking in women and
children continued to be reported.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. Police shot and killed three persons in the line of
duty, but preliminary investigations showed that none of these killings
were arbitrary or unlawful.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards; however, authorities often held
pretrial detainees together with convicted criminals.
The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human
rights observers, and such visits occurred during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the national
police, and the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and
punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity
involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law police
are allowed to begin investigations and make arrests either without a
warrant based upon visual evidence or on the basis of indictments filed
by public prosecutors with the courts. In November parliament enacted
permanent legislation in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen that, among other provisions, extended from six to 12 hours
the length of detention permitted without being brought before a judge
and charged. A court may summon the accused to appear or order police
to arrest the accused based upon an application filed by a public
prosecutor. Apprehended persons were brought before an independent
judiciary.
If an individual is taken into custody, the law provides for an
initial appearance before a judge within 24 hours; however, noncitizens
may be detained for up to 72 hours before being given a court
appearance. Authorities generally respected the right to a prompt
judicial determination. Detainees were informed promptly of charges
against them. The country does not have a bail system; rather, a judge
decides within 24 hours of detention either to release the detainee on
his or her recognizance or to keep the detainee in jail until trial.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, of the
total number of pretrial detainees in 2007, 89.5 percent served less
than three months in pretrial custody.
A Ministry of Justice circular to police provides detailed rules
and procedures concerning the rights of detained persons. They include
the right to inform next of kin of their arrest, to contact a lawyer,
and to have access to medical treatment. The circular specifies that
arrested persons should generally be given access to a lawyer from the
time they are brought to a police station. The government provided
counsel for those who could not afford legal representation. The law
does not allow any visitors during the first 24 hours of detention
except for legal counsel. However, depending upon the charges, police
generally did not restrict visitor access in practice.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice. The judicial system consists of local courts,
which hear cases in the first instance; two regional high courts, which
address appeals; and the Supreme Court, which is the highest and final
court of appeal.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Trials are
public. Juries are required for criminal cases in which the maximum
penalty is greater than four years' imprisonment. The law provides for
defendants' right to timely consultation with an attorney, at public
expense if needed. Defendants have the right to question witnesses
against them and to present their own witnesses. Defendants and their
attorneys have access to government evidence relevant to their case.
The right of appeal is automatic and encompasses both procedural
matters and sentences imposed. The law provides that criminal sentences
can be increased when bias is proved as a motive. Bias can be based on
race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access to the court
system to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human
rights violation. There were no reported problems enforcing domestic
court orders. In addition to judicial remedies, administrative remedies
are also available.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press. Individuals were able to
criticize the government publicly and privately without reprisal.
The law prohibits any public speech or dissemination of statements
or other pronouncements by which a group of persons is threatened,
derided, or degraded because of their race, skin color, national or
ethnic background, faith, or sexual orientation; offenders may be fined
or imprisoned for up to two years. The law also prohibits ``blasphemy''
and provides that a person who publicly mocks or insults a legally
existing religious community's tenets of faith or worship may be fined
or imprisoned for up to four months. In a submission to the UN
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination published in
August, authorities reported that in 2008 prosecutors brought charges
of violating these prohibitions in four cases; two cases were settled
with a fine and two had not been decided. Information released by the
Danish Security and Intelligence Service explained that one of the
cases involved a person in possession of flyers advocating beating to
death immigrant Pakistanis and another concerned the hanging of a sign
with offensive remarks about the Prophet Muhammad.
Authorities continued to provide protection to cartoonist Kurt
Westergaard, whose caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005 led to
demonstrations in Denmark and in many Muslim countries.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
However, some observers contended that a system designed to block child
pornography mistakenly blocked other sites. According to International
Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008, approximately 84 percent
of the country's inhabitants used the Internet. Government statistics
published in July indicated that 86 percent of the population had
Internet access in their homes.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice. On December 12, a large
demonstration during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen
threatened to become violent. Using the new 12-hour detention
authority, police detained nearly 1,000 persons involved in the
demonstration; most were released without charge the following day.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church is the official state church and
enjoys some privileges not available to other faiths, such as receiving
state subsidies directly through voluntary tax payments.
Members of other faiths, notably Catholics, have asserted that the
system is unfair and that, although the government provides religious
freedom, it does not provide religious equality. Allowing other
religious organizations to be given the same status and privileges as
the Evangelical Lutheran Church would require changes to the
constitution. While the government does not require the licensing of
religious groups, government recognition is required for religious
ceremonies, such as weddings, to have civil validity or for religious
groups, which numbered more than 100 at year's end, to receive tax
exemptions.
Religious history, with special emphasis on the Evangelical
Lutheran faith, was taught in public schools, but students could
withdraw from religious classes with parental consent.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were isolated incidents
of societal abuses and discrimination, including anti-immigrant (mainly
Muslim and African) graffiti, desecration of ethnic minority
gravesites, and low-level assaults, as well as some denial of service
and hiring on racial grounds. Societal discrimination against religious
minorities was difficult to distinguish from discrimination against
ethnic minorities. The government condemned the incidents, investigated
several, and brought some cases to trial.
Reports continued of desecration of graves of the religious
majority and those of ethnic and religious minorities; however,
centrally compiled statistics are no longer available.
The Jewish population was estimated at 7,000 persons. There were
isolated incidents of anti-Semitism, apparently perpetrated primarily
by immigrants, according to victims' reports. Most incidents involved
vandalism, such as graffiti, and nonviolent verbal assaults. In 2008
there were nine reported cases of religiously motivated crime, at least
one of which involved anti-Semitic graffiti.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
The constitution and law prohibit forced exile, and the government
did not employ it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the government
provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account
of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion.
In May the government concluded an agreement with the Iraqi
government under which Iraq would take back those of its citizens who
had been denied asylum based on safe country of origin. Authorities
arrested and deported a few such individuals during the summer, while a
group of approximately 70 Iraqis occupied a church in protest against
their imminent deportation. Following consultations with a visiting
Iraqi delegation, police entered the church on August 13, detained some
Iraqis, and let others go. By the end of December, authorities had
deported 47 of 242 rejected asylum seekers; 66 of the rejected asylum
seekers remained in detention awaiting deportation, and 129 either went
into hiding or left the country.
The government also provided temporary humanitarian protection to
certain individuals who fell outside the definition of the 1951
convention and its 1967 protocol. The government provided such
protection to 367 persons in 2008 and 242 such persons through
September.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
The territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands have
democratically elected home rule governments, whose powers encompass
all matters except foreign and national security affairs, police
services, and monetary matters. Greenlanders and Faroese have the same
rights as other citizens. Each territory elects two representatives to
the parliament. On June 21, Greenland's new Self-Governance Agreement,
which further expanded the area of competency of the Greenland self-
government, entered into force.
Elections and Political Participation.--Free and fair parliamentary
elections took place in 2007; they resulted in a continuation of a
center-right coalition. In April Lars Loekke Rasmussen was named prime
minister, replacing Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Political parties could operate without restriction or outside
interference.
Based on the parliamentary elections in 2007, there were 67 women
in the 179-seat parliament and eight women in the 19-seat cabinet.
Following the November 17 municipal and regional elections, the
percentage of women as members of municipal councils increased from
27.3 percent in 2005 to 32.1 percent. This was the first time that the
number of women on municipal councils exceeded 30 percent nationwide.
The election also increased the number of female regional council
members from 33.7 percent in 2005 to 35.1 percent.
Four citizens of non-Danish origin were elected to the parliament.
No ethnic minorities are in the 19-seat cabinet. The number of
politicians of non-Danish ethnic origin who were elected to municipal
councils dipped slightly in the November elections to 65 from 67 in
2005.
Section 4. Official Government Corruption and Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented the law effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year. One instance
involved Peter Brixtofte, a former mayor of the town of Farum, who was
sentenced to two years in prison for abuse of office after it was
uncovered that he had used public funds to finance his personal wine
consumption during his time as mayor.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws, but
government officials are not allowed to work on cases in which they
have a personal or economic interest, or to represent someone, or have
close relations to someone, with a special interest in the case.
Officials are obligated to inform superiors of any possible
disqualification issues related to a case. The Ministry of Justice and
the State Employer's Authority in the Ministry of Finance are
responsible for combating government corruption.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government granted access to citizens and noncitizens, including
foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
The government cooperated with, and permitted visits by, UN and
other international governmental organizations. There were no such
visits this year because Copenhagen was home to permanent branches of
several international organizations, including the World Health
Organization, UN Development Program, World Food Program, UNICEF, and
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The government
generally responded to the reports of international organizations. For
example, on March 13, the Council of Europe published the government's
response to a 2008 visit by the European Committee for the Prevention
of Torture.
Parliament had an ombudsman who investigated complaints regarding
national and local public authorities and any decisions they made
regarding the treatment of citizens and their cases. The ombudsman
could, at his initiative, independently inspect any facility within his
authority, such as prisons, detention centers, and psychiatric
hospitals. The country also had a European ombudsman, who ensured
compliance with EU basic rights, and a consumers ombudsman, who
investigated complaints related to discriminatory marketing. These
ombudsman services enjoyed the government's cooperation, operated
without government or political interference, had adequate resources,
and were considered effective.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government
generally enforced the law effectively. However, there were incidents
of violence against women, child abuse, and trafficking in persons.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense, and
the government effectively prosecuted persons accused of such crimes.
In 2008, 475 reports were received; charges were brought in 340 cases,
resulting in 57 convictions. During the year there were 418 reports of
rape.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained a
problem. According to the Ministry for Gender Equality, an estimated
28,000 women and 22,000 children experienced domestic violence every
year. The National Organization of Shelters for Battered Women in 2008
provided safe haven in 3,287 cases, while alternative solutions were
provided in 626 other cases where shelters did not have capacity. Under
the law, any assault on another person is illegal. This also applies to
domestic violence and rape. Penalties include imprisonment for up to 12
years, depending on the magnitude of the offense. The government and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operated 24-hour hotlines,
counseling centers, and shelters for female victims of violence and
embarked on nationwide information campaigns and police training on
gender-based violence.
Honor killings in the country are a relatively new phenomenon. In
2007 the national police force formally published a strategy to
identify and combat such crimes. In April police held a nationwide
seminar to train officers. Twelve honor-related murders have been
officially identified since 2002. In 2008 police reported over 157
separate cases involving honor-related crimes such as forced marriage
and threats.
Prostitution is legal, but subject to restrictions; procuring,
coercion into prostitution, solicitation of prostitution from a minor,
and trafficking are illegal. According to a report released during the
year by the National Board of Social Services, the latest police
estimate of the number of persons involved in prostitution is
approximately 5,500.
The law prohibits sexual harassment and provides monetary
compensation for victims of sexual harassment. The government
effectively enforced the law. There were few reported cases during the
year.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so
free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Health clinics and
local health NGOs were permitted to operate freely in disseminating
information on family planning under the guidance of the Ministry of
Public Health. There were no restrictions on the right to access
contraceptives, and the government provided free childbirth services.
Women also used nurses and midwives for prenatal and postnatal care
unless the mother or child suffered more serious health complications.
Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Women have the same legal status as men, including under family
law, property law, and in the judicial system. The law requires equal
pay for equal work. However, the latest figures from the country's
National Statistics and the Ministry for Gender Equality indicated
that, as an average percentage of income, women earned 93 percent of a
man's salary as an employee of the state, 84 percent as an employee of
the local community, and 79 percent when employed in the private
sector. Women did not experience economic discrimination in access to
employment, credit, or owning or managing businesses. Women held
positions of authority throughout society although they were
underrepresented in senior business positions and as university
professors.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
in early September released statistics indicating that women occupied
13 percent of the management positions in the labor market. It called
for the existing requirement--that employers with more than 35
employees report wages paid by gender--be extended to companies with
fewer employees. The EU in 2008 also asked the government to address
this problem.
Children.--Citizenship at birth is primarily derived from one's
parents (jus sanguinis). Citizenship is automatically given to children
of married parents if one is a citizen and to children of unwed citizen
mothers. Citizenship for a child of an unmarried citizen father and a
foreign mother can only be transmitted if the child is born in the
country. Anyone born in the country, who would otherwise be stateless,
has the right to obtain citizenship either at birth or by application
at a later date. The law requires that all persons practicing medicine
in the country register the births of the children they deliver.
In the first three quarters of the year, police received 101
reports of the sexual abuse of children, compared with 155 such reports
in 2008.
Female genital mutilation (FGM)--with or without consent from the
victim or her parents--is illegal and carries a penalty of six to 10
years' imprisonment. The law applies to nationals or residents,
regardless of whether the act was committed within the country or
abroad and regardless of whether the act was a criminal offense under
the law of the state where it was committed. On January 29, a court
convicted a 49-year-old woman of Sudanese background of conducting FGM
on two daughters. It sentenced her to two years in prison, of which 18
months were suspended and the remaining six months corresponded to time
served. The husband was acquitted. The government conducted information
campaigns targeting the problem of FGM.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, there were reports that persons were
trafficked to and through the country.
The country was both a destination and a transit point for women
and children trafficked from the Baltic countries, Eastern Europe,
Southeast Asia, West Africa, and Latin America for the purposes of
sexual exploitation and occasionally to work in petty crime.
The country has an active sexual service industry made up of both
trafficked and voluntary persons. The National Board of Social Services
estimated that there were more than 5,567 male and female prostitutes
working nationwide. An estimated 37 percent were foreigners, some of
whom were believed to be trafficking victims. According to Copenhagen
police, women were recruited in their native countries, transported to
Denmark, and then forced into prostitution. However, no reliable
figures are available with regard to how many persons were being
trafficked. In 2008 the police met with 431 women suspected of
association with trafficking and 72 were confirmed to be victims.
Through March police met with 202 women, resulting in identification of
22 confirmed trafficking victims. Authorities suspected that
traffickers had ties to organized crime.
The law criminalizes trafficking and provides for a maximum prison
term of eight years for those convicted. In 2008 police investigated
and prosecuted 30 trafficking cases, compared with 23 cases in 2007;
the number of convictions dropped from eight in 2007 to seven in 2008.
Police also conducted 24 investigations into trafficking procurement in
2008, compared to 23 in 2007, laying charges in 51 cases in 2008,
compared to 31 cases in 2007. There were 12 procurement convictions in
both 2007 and 2008.
The national commissioner for police maintained an internal task
force on trafficking in persons, assisted local police constabularies
with investigations, and trained officers to recognize and investigate
trafficking cases. The government cooperated with international
investigations of trafficking and exchanged information with
neighboring countries.
Persons identified as trafficking victims by the country's
immigration service were not prosecuted for immigration violations.
Women who accepted the offer of assisted voluntary return received help
from local NGOs and the International Organization of Migration.
The government funded two NGOs that provided social, medical, and
legal services to trafficking victims. Government funding was also used
for conferences, media campaigns, and NGO outreach programs as well as
for hotlines to support victims, prevent trafficking, and gather data
on the extent of the problem. The Ministry of Social Welfare subsidized
a hotline and Web site and organized antitrafficking seminars for NGOs,
police, and foreign embassies to provide information on legislation,
identifying trafficking victims, and providing assistance.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state
services or other areas, and the government effectively enforced these
provisions in practice. The law mandates access to buildings for
persons with disabilities, and the government generally enforced these
provisions in practice. Responsibility for protecting the rights of
persons with disabilities falls under the Ministry of Social Affairs
and is implemented by the municipal governments. The Danish Disability
Council, a government-funded organization, monitored the status of
persons with disabilities and advised the government and the parliament
on issues relating to disability policy. The Equal Opportunities Center
for Disabled Persons is a government-funded entity that documented and
alerted the government to inequalities in society that affect persons
with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Security and Intelligence
Service (PET) reported 175 hate crimes in 2008. The number of cases was
roughly a five-fold increase over the number of hate crimes reported in
2007. Police attributed the increase to a new, broader definition used
by PET of what constitutes a hate crime. For the first time, PET
combined its hate crime cases with those from the various regional and
national police registries. The new definition was expanded to cover
crimes motivated by political issues, skin color, nationality, ethnic
origin, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation. Reported cases
included hostile actions by persons against ethnic and national
minorities and involved graffiti, vandalism, theft, and racist Internet
and written messages. The government effectively investigated and dealt
with cases of racially motivated violence.
According to police, hate crime victims were ``Jews and people of
an ethnic origin other than Danish'' (usually meaning both African and
Middle Eastern ethnic groups). Members of other minority groups were
sometimes the perpetrators of the incidents. The government effectively
investigated and dealt with cases of racially motivated violence.
The presence of ethnically and racially diverse refugees and
immigrants (mostly Iraqis, Palestinians, Moroccans, Pakistanis, Sri
Lankans, Somalis, and refugees from the former Yugoslavia) caused some
tension between citizens and immigrants, which was documented in press
reports. A report released by the EU Human Rights Agency in December
stated that every third Somali in the country experienced some form of
racist harassment.
Indigenous People.--The law protects the rights of the indigenous
Inuit inhabitants of Greenland. Greenland's legal system seeks to
accommodate their customs, provides for the use of lay persons as
judges, and sentences most prisoners to holding centers (rather than
prisons), where they are encouraged to work, hunt, or fish during the
day.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The country has one major
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organization, the Danish
National Association of Gays and Lesbians, which was founded in 1948.
It operated independently of political interference to promote LGBT
interests in Denmark. The annual Copenhagen Pride parade was held on
August 1 and was followed by a ``pride show'' in Copenhagen's main town
square. During the year Copenhagen also sponsored the World Outgames,
which occurred without incident and without police or government
interference.
There were no reports of official or societal discrimination based
on sexual orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law states that all workers,
including military personnel and police, may form or join independent
unions of their choosing without previous authorization or excessive
requirements. These laws were effectively enforced. Approximately 80
percent of wage earners belonged to unions. Unions could conduct their
activities without government interference. The law provides for the
right to strike, and workers exercised this right during the year by
conducting legal strikes. In some cases, when a strike occurs, not all
union members may strike. In April the nurses union went on a national
strike for a raise in pay, but almost a third of its members were not
able to participate due to the legal minimum staffing levels required
at hospitals.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining is protected by law and was freely practiced. Approximately
85 percent of the workforce was covered by collective bargaining
agreements. These agreements indirectly influenced wages and working
conditions for the rest of the workforce. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without interference, and the government
protected this right in practice.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that persons were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
and that children were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
and occasionally to work in petty crime.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the exploitation of children in the workplace, and the
government effectively enforced it in practice.
The minimum legal age for full-time employment is 15 years. The law
sets a minimum age for part-time employment of 13 years; however,
school-age children are limited to less strenuous tasks. The law limits
work hours and sets occupational health and safety restrictions for
children.
In the period from January 2008 to the end of March, the Red Cross
and the Danish Antitrafficking Center reported meeting with 15 minors
suspected of having been trafficked, but none was identified as a
victim.
Child labor law is enforced by the Danish Working Environment
Authority (DWEA), an autonomous arm of the Ministry of Labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law does not mandate a
national minimum wage; minimum wages are negotiated between unions and
employer associations. According to statistics released on March 1, the
average minimum wage for all private and public sector collective
bargaining agreements was 103.15 kroner ($20) per hour, exclusive of
pension benefits. The wage provided a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. Migrant workers are also entitled to minimum wage
and must also adhere to the same employment regulations as Danes.
Workers generally enjoyed a 37-hour workweek that was established
by contract rather than by law. Workers received premium pay for
overtime and were not subjected to compulsory overtime. Working hours
were determined by collective bargaining agreements that adhered to the
EU directive that an average workweek not exceed 48 hours.
The law prescribes conditions of work, including safety and health;
the DWEA ensured compliance with labor legislation. During the year the
DWEA conducted 25,569 company screenings, visits, and inspections and
made 36,374 requests for additional information or required
improvements concerning working environment problems. If required
improvements are not carried out within the given time frame, the DWEA
has the authority to take the case to police or the courts. Workers may
remove themselves from hazardous situations without jeopardizing their
employment, and authorities effectively enforced this right in
practice. Similar work conditions were found in Greenland and the Faroe
Islands, except that there the workweek was established by contract at
40 hours.
__________
ESTONIA
With a population of 1.34 million, Estonia is a multiparty
constitutional parliamentary democracy with a unicameral parliament, a
prime minister as head of government, and a president as head of state.
Parliamentary elections held in 2007 were generally free and fair.
Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
Problems were reported in some areas. There were allegations that
police used excessive force during the arrest of suspects; authorities
investigated and brought charges against alleged offenders. Conditions
in detention centers generally remained poor. Lengthy pretrial
detention continued to be a problem. Domestic violence, inequality of
women's salaries, child abuse, and trafficking of women were also
reported.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, there were
reports that police used excessive physical force and verbal abuse
during the arrest and questioning of suspects.
During the year authorities processed 30 criminal cases related to
police officers' excessive use of force. They dropped charges in 19
cases and sent one to the prosecutor's office for further action. At
year's end 10 cases were pending.
In July the Tartu County Court brought charges against a guard in
the Tartu prison for using excessive force. The prison guard had beaten
a prisoner on several occasions. On September 30, the court found the
prison guard guilty and sentenced him to two years and six months in
prison. He did not appeal the court's judgment.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in detention
centers were poor; however, there were some improvements.
Following visits in 2008 to detention centers in Jogeva, Haapsalu,
Tartu, Paide, and to the Tallinn Prison, the legal chancellor, the
country's human rights ombudsman, reported poor living conditions in
all detention centers, inadequate staffing in Jogeva detention center
and Tallinn Prison, and insufficient access by detainees to legal
information and opportunities to study and work in Tallinn Prison. In
September the legal chancellor called for improved procedures for
inmates seeking services and noted the need to determine the extent of
medical services available in detention centers. The legal chancellor
emphasized the state's obligation to monitor and provide security to
detainees in detention centers.
The trial continued of the former acting director, the former
security chief, and a former warden of Murru prison on charges of
negligence in a case that led to the deaths of two inmates at the hands
of other prisoners in 2006. The trial began in January 2008.
At year's end the country's prisons and detention centers held
3,563 persons, including 2,706 convicted prisoners and 855 pretrial
detainees. Women made up 5.5 percent of the prisoners, and persons
under the age of 18 accounted for 1 percent.
The government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, and such visits occurred. There were no visits by the
International Committee of the Red Cross during the year. In 2007 the
Council of Europe's Committee on the Prevention of Torture visited the
country; the results of the visit were not available by year's end.
The opening of a 1,000-bed prison in Viru County eliminated
overcrowding in prisons (as opposed to detention centers). The new
prison also contained a detention facility with a capacity of 150
persons. The Kohtla-Jarve detention center, known for its poor
conditions, closed in 2008.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and laws
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the national police, security police,
tax and customs board, and national border guard. The government has
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during
the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the law
authorities in most cases must possess warrants issued by a court in
order to make arrests. They must inform detainees promptly of the
grounds for their arrest. There is a functioning bail system.
Authorities may hold a person for 48 hours without charge; further
detention requires a court order. Police rarely violated these
requirements. Detainees must be given immediate access to legal
counsel, and the government pays for legal counsel for indigent
persons. Authorities may hold a person in pretrial detention for six
months. In a particularly complex criminal case, the judge responsible
for the preliminary investigation may extend the length of detention at
the request of a chief public prosecutor. Lengthy pretrial detention
was a problem. Approximately 24 percent of the incarcerated population
was in pretrial detention; the average length of pretrial detention was
seven months.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and
have a right of appeal. Trials are public. Juries are not used. A
single judge, a judge and public assessors, or a committee of judges
hear cases. Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with
an attorney in a timely manner. In criminal proceedings an attorney is
available to all defendants at public expense, although individuals
often preferred to hire their own attorneys. In civil proceedings an
attorney is provided for indigents. Defendants may confront or question
witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their own
behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held
evidence relevant to their cases. The law extends these rights to all
residents, whether or not they are citizens.
The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial, and an
independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. There is access to a court to
bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights
violation. Administrative as well as judicial remedies are available
for alleged wrongs. There were no problems with enforcing civil court
orders.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
During the year approximately 69 percent of the population used the
Internet, and 63 percent of households had Internet access in the home.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for this right, and the government
generally respected it in practice.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for this right
for citizens, and the government generally respected it in practice.
The law specifies that only citizens may join political parties, but
noncitizens are free to join other civil groups.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. The law prohibits activity that publicly incites hatred,
violence, or discrimination on the basis of a variety of
characteristics, including religion if it threatens a person's life,
health, or property.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Relations between the various
religious communities were generally amicable; however, the Estonian
Apostolic Orthodox Church and the Estonian Orthodox Church under the
Moscow Patriarchy continued to have differences over the disposition of
Orthodox Church property.
Criminal proceedings continued against two individuals charged in
2008 with damaging 44 gravestones, including four crosses in the old
Haapsalu cemetery that were under protection as historic memorials.
The Jewish community was estimated to have approximately 2,500
members. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
The government took a number of steps to associate itself with
commemoration of the Holocaust and to encourage best practices in
teaching about it in schools.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the government did not
employ it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
The government has a ``safe country of origin or transit'' policy;
it regarded countries that were parties to the 1951 refugee convention
as safe countries, but authorities granted interviews to all individual
asylum seekers.
In practice the government provided protection against expulsion or
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion. The government
granted refugee status or asylum to three individuals.
The government provided temporary protection to one individual who
did not qualify as a refugee.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship derives from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). According to government statistics, at the end of the year,
101,041 persons, or 7.4 percent of the population, were of undetermined
citizenship or de facto stateless. The UNHCR recorded 110,315 stateless
persons as of January, 2009.
A majority of stateless persons were long-term residents and, as
such, could vote in local but not parliamentary elections. The
government has statutory procedures in place that offer opportunities
to gain legal residence status or citizenship. Individuals of
undetermined citizenship were eligible to apply for naturalization.
Authorities have adopted policies, such as funding citizenship and
language courses and simplifying the process for persons with
disabilities, to facilitate acquisition of citizenship by those
stateless persons who wish it. Children whose parents are residents of
undetermined citizenship and have lived in the country for five years
are eligible to acquire citizenship at their parents' request.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2007 the country held
parliamentary elections, considered free and fair, that led to the
formation of a three-party coalition government. In May the government
dismissed one of the junior parties in the ruling coalition and
continued under Prime Minister Andrus Ansip's leadership as a two-party
minority government. Political parties could operate without
restriction or outside interference.
On June 4, the country held elections to the European Parliament,
and on October 18, there were nationwide municipal elections. Both were
considered free and fair.
Only citizens may vote in parliamentary elections and be members of
political parties. Noncitizens who reach the age of 18 by election day,
whose address in the corresponding rural municipality or city is
entered in the population register, and who reside in the country on
the basis of a long-term residence permit, may vote in local elections.
Resident noncitizens may not run for office.
EU citizens who have established permanent residency may also vote
in local elections, and those EU citizens who are registered in the
country's population register may vote in elections to the European
Parliament.
There were 23 women in the 101-seat parliament. The speaker and
deputy speaker of the parliament were women. There was one female
minister in the 13-member cabinet.
There were nine members of ethnic minorities in the 101-seat
parliament.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
several reports of government corruption during the year.
On November 12, the trial of a former minister charged with
illegally approving the exchange of protected land in nature preserves
for other state properties began in the Harju County Court. State
prosecutors also charged two well-known politicians, the head of a
state agency, and a group of businessmen with involvement in the
illegal exchange.
On May 19, the Harju County Court found a businessman, a lawyer,
and a former minister guilty of attempted bribery in connection with
the sale of a building belonging to the Ministry of the Environment.
The former minister received a suspended jail sentence of two years and
three months for demanding a bribe, while the court fined the lawyer
and businessman, one for acting as intermediary and the other for
promising a bribe. On November 20, on appeal, the Tallinn District
Court allowed the county court verdict to stand. All defendants
appealed to the Supreme Court.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Justice Ministry is responsible for coordinating anticorruption
activities.
The law provides for public access to government information and
allows for monitoring of the public sector's performance. The
government provided access for citizens and noncitizens in practice,
including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were usually cooperative and responsive to their views.
The government cooperated with international governmental
organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives.
The legal chancellor, an independent official with his own staff of
30 persons, performs the role of human rights ombudsman. The legal
chancellor reviews legislation for compliance with the constitution and
oversees observance by authorities of fundamental rights and freedoms
and the principles of good governance. The legal chancellor also helps
resolve accusations of discrimination based on gender, race,
nationality (ethnic origin), color, language, religion, social status,
age, disability, and sexual orientation. The legal chancellor makes
recommendations to ministries and local governments, requests
responses, and has the authority to appeal to the Supreme Court. The
legal chancellor compiles an annual report for parliament. Public trust
in the office was high, and the government was responsive to the
reports and decisions issued by this office.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the government generally
enforced the prohibitions. However, violence against women and child
abuse were problems.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, and authorities
prosecuted rape cases. The penalty for rape is up to 15 years'
imprisonment. During the year the police reported 108 rapes and 16
attempted rapes. In 2008 courts convicted 30 persons of rape.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a problem.
According to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), one woman in four
has suffered physical, sexual, or emotional domestic violence, and NGOs
considered domestic violence a serious problem. The law prohibits
physical abuse but does not differentiate between acts committed
against men and women. Domestic violence is punishable by a fine or
imprisonment of up to three years and up to five years in the case of
longstanding and unremitting violence. During the year police reported
more than 4,500 cases of physical abuse, including domestic violence,
and 63 cases of longstanding and unremitting violence. During 2008
courts convicted 1,544 persons of physical abuse. Victims of domestic
violence may obtain help, including counseling and legal assistance,
from local social workers and specialized NGOs.
The law does not prohibit prostitution, and it was common, but
pimping is illegal. There were reports that women were trafficked for
purposes of sexual exploitation.
The law prohibits sexual harassment. Sexual harassment in the
workplace occurred but was not considered a serious problem. According
to the law, disputes over sexual harassment are resolved in court, in
an administrative hearing by the legal chancellor, or by the gender
equality commissioner. An injured party may demand compensation for
damages and termination of the harmful activity. During 2008 a local
branch of the Labor Inspectorate handled five harassment cases
involving four women and a man who filed complaints against their
supervisors. The maximum compensation for damages is 50,000 kroon
($4,490).
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Health clinics and local health NGOs operated
freely in disseminating information on family planning. There are no
restrictions on access to contraceptives. Men and women received equal
access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV.
Although women have the same legal rights as men under the law and
are entitled to equal pay for equal work, these rights were not always
observed in practice. While the average educational level of women was
higher than of men, women's average pay was generally lower, and there
continued to be female- and male-dominated professions. According to
government statistics, the difference between the salaries of men and
women was 30.3 percent in 2007.
Children.--Citizenship derives from one's parents. Children born to
members of the country's large population of stateless persons were
automatically stateless unless a long-term resident parent applied for
the citizenship of the newborn.
Child abuse was a problem. In 2008 police reported 762 cases of
violence against children, including domestic and school violence.
During the year there were 42 reports of rape, and five cases of
attempted rape, of minors. Police registered 159 cases of sexual abuse
of persons under 18 years of age, including 69 cases involving victims
under the age of 14. In 2008 courts convicted 36 persons of sexual
assault against minors. There is no legal minimum age for consensual
sex. The law prohibits child pornography; the punishment ranges from a
fine to as much as three years in prison.
On September 16, in a report issued following an October 2008 visit
to the country, the UN special rapporteur on the sale of children,
children in prostitution, and child pornography emphasized that the age
of consent for children should not be below 18 years of age. The
rapporteur recommended assigning the role of ombudsman for children's
rights to the legal chancellor.
Trafficking in Persons.--There is no specific law criminalizing all
forms of trafficking; however, authorities prosecuted traffickers under
laws prohibiting enslavement, abduction, and pimping.
Individuals were trafficked from and within the country. Women were
trafficked to Norway, the United Kingdom, and Finland for the purpose
of forced prostitution.
In December 2008 the Parnu County Court found two individuals
guilty of enslaving a resident of the country to sell drugs.
Travel-friendly regulations in the Schengen zone, short distances,
low travel costs, and the draw of legitimate employment lowered the
barriers to trafficking to Nordic and other EU countries.
Traffickers included individuals, small groups, and organized
criminals who ran the prostitution industry and lured victims with the
promise of legitimate employment or the opportunity to live and study
abroad. Traffickers tended to befriend victims or attempted to pass
themselves off as legitimate job mediators. Due to generally liberal
travel regulations in the region, false documentation was not always
necessary.
Penalties for trafficking-related offenses (enslavement, abduction,
procurement for prostitution, labor fraud, and other trafficking-
related crimes) range from five to 15 years' imprisonment; fines may
also be imposed.
The ministries of Interior, Social Affairs, Foreign Affairs,
Education and Research, Finance, and Justice have responsibilities for
combating trafficking.
Authorities cooperated actively with regional and international
efforts to fight trafficking, including participation in the work of
the Nordic Baltic Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings.
The law provides protection, as well as legal and medical
compensation rights, to victims of all crimes, including trafficking.
During 2008, 55 women received assistance within the framework of a
Nordic-Baltic pilot project for victims of trafficking and sexual
exploitation. Authorities repatriated three victims. Shelter
facilities, as well as psychological, social, and legal counseling
services were available to women identified through the initiative. The
project, a three-year (2006-2008) initiative aimed at building shelter
facilities and providing public outreach, targeted women who had
previously been victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation,
primarily prostitution. Each county assigned an assistant to provide
trafficking victims access to public assistance. These assistants
received specific training on trafficking in persons issues from NGOs
during the year.
The government continued to support an NGO-operated hotline that
provided information on trafficking risks to persons interested in
working abroad. The hotline received more than 600 calls during the
year.
During the year the Ministry of Social Affairs and NGOs engaged in
educational outreach programs to governmental organizations, NGOs, and
individuals by sponsoring lectures and seminars and preparing training
materials.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report may be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or in the provision of other state
services. The government generally enforced these provisions. The law
does not mandate access to buildings for persons with disabilities;
older buildings were inaccessible, although new or renovated buildings
were generally accessible. The Ministry of Social Affairs is
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--While there is no specific law
prohibiting hate crimes, the law prohibits incitement to hatred,
violence, or discrimination on a variety of grounds, including
nationality, race, skin color, language, and social origin.
The government provides for the protection of the cultures of
minority groups. However, some observers alleged that a law related to
minority cultural autonomy is discriminatory because it has not been
successfully used to support the large Russian population. To receive
the status of cultural autonomy, an NGO must represent a significant
fraction of that minority's population; however, no one NGO represents
the required fraction of the 343,000 ethnic Russians, so they do not
enjoy this status. Ingrian Finns and Coastal Swedes were the only two
groups to achieve recognition as culturally autonomous. The government
funds language and cultural programs for a number of other minority
groups, including Russians. In districts where more than one-half of
the population speaks a language other than Estonian, the law entitles
inhabitants to receive official information in that language, and the
law was effective in practice.
Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians are the largest ethnic
minorities, together making up 29 percent of the population. The
government encouraged social integration through a policy that promotes
learning Estonian and naturalization. Knowledge of Estonian is required
to obtain citizenship, and all public servants and public sector
employees, service personnel, medical professionals, and sole
proprietors must know the Estonian language. Proficiency is usually
determined through examination; however, citizenship applicants who
have previously passed the basic-level language proficiency examination
or the basic school final examination for Estonian as a second language
do not have to take the citizenship language examination.
Largely for historical reasons, Russian speakers are
disproportionately employed in blue-collar industries and continued to
experience higher unemployment than that faced by ethnic Estonians.
Some noncitizen residents, particularly ethnic Russians, alleged
that the language requirement resulted in job and salary
discrimination. Many Russian speakers believed they would face job
discrimination even if they possessed adequate Estonian. The country's
Human Development Report for 2008, prepared by a local NGO, noted that
Russian speakers who possess equal human capital (fluent Estonian,
higher education, and Estonian citizenship) faced greater difficulty
finding positions as managers and professionals than did ethnic
Estonians.
Over 100 schools, 58 of them high schools, provided instruction in
the Russian language. The government continued to implement its plan to
provide 60 percent of all instruction in the Russian-language high
schools in the Estonian language by 2011. Many Russian-language high
schools have implemented this transition more rapidly than required by
the governmental plan.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of
societal violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of
workers to form and join independent unions of their choice without
previous authorization or excessive requirements; however, some workers
reportedly found it difficult to exercise this right in practice. The
Confederation of Estonian Trade Unions (EAKL) continued to report
frequent violations of trade union rights in the private sector. Less
than 10 percent of the total workforce belonged to trade unions; unions
were present in the energy, transportation, teaching, public service,
media, and services sectors, among others. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without interference, and the government
generally respected this right in practice. The law provides for the
right to strike, and workers exercised this right in practice. Public
servants at the state and municipal levels do not have the right to
strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--According to
the EAKL, collectively bargained contracts covered approximately 11
percent of workers, including some nonunion members. The law provides
for collective bargaining and collective dispute resolution, and
collective bargaining was freely practiced.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination; however, EAKL continued
to report that antiunion behavior was rife in the private sector.
According to the EAKL, labor inspectorates were not efficiently
enforcing the law. Some enterprises advised workers against forming
trade unions, threatened them with dismissal or a reduction in wages,
or promised them benefits if they did not join unions. Both employees
and employers have the right to request that labor dispute committees
or the courts resolve individual labor disputes, and these mechanisms
functioned effectively throughout the year.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that men were trafficked within the country for forced labor
(see section 6, Trafficking in Persons).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect children
from exploitation in the workplace.
The law sets the minimum age for employment at 18, although
children who are 15 to 17 years old may work with the consent of a
parent or guardian. Minors who are seven to 12 years old are allowed to
do light work in the areas of culture, art, sports, or advertising. In
order to enter into an employment contract with a minor who is seven to
14 years old, an employer must apply to the labor inspectorate for
consent.
Children under the age of 18 may not perform hazardous or dangerous
work. The law limits the hours that children may work and prohibits
overtime or night work. The labor inspectorate was responsible for
enforcing these laws and did so in practice. There were no separate
inspections regarding the age of child workers.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national monthly minimum
wage of 4,350 kroon ($391) did not provide a decent standard of living
for a worker and family; however, approximately 84 percent of the
workforce earned more than the minimum wage.
The standard workweek is 40 hours. The law requires a minimum rest
period of 11 hours in sequence for every 24-hour period. Reduced
working time is required for minors and for employees who perform
underground work, work that poses a health hazard, or work of an
otherwise special nature. The law requires overtime pay of not less
than 150 percent of the hourly wage of the employee. These requirements
were effectively enforced.
The government set occupational health and safety standards. The
labor inspectorate, health protection inspectorate, and technical
inspectorate were responsible for enforcement of these standards and
made efforts to enforce them. Workers have the right to remove
themselves from situations that endangered health or safety without
jeopardizing their continued employment, and they exercised this right
in practice. In 2008, 4,059 occupational accidents occurred, a ratio of
618.3 occupational accidents per 100,000 employees.
__________
FINLAND
Finland is a constitutional republic of 5.3 million persons with a
directly elected president and a unicameral parliament (Eduskunta). The
prime minister is head of government. Parliamentary elections in 2007
were free and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of military and security forces.
Human rights problems included police failure to provide detainees
timely access to legal counsel, questionable contributions to political
campaigns, violence against women, trafficking in persons, and societal
discrimination against foreign-born residents and Roma.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law and constitution prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards. The government
permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and
such visits occurred during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law and constitution
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the military and the national police
force, which are under the centralized control of the Ministry of
Defense and Ministry of the Interior respectively. The government has
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
There were no reports of impunity involving security forces during the
year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires police to have a warrant issued by a prosecutor to make an
arrest. If an individual is arrested while committing a crime, a
warrant must be obtained within three days; arrested persons must
receive a court hearing within three days. Detainees must be promptly
informed of the charges against them, and lawyers must be provided for
the indigent. Authorities generally respected these rights in practice.
There is no system of bail, but most defendants awaiting trial were
eligible for conditional release based on personal recognizance. There
were no reports of preventive detention, which the law allows only in
exceptional circumstances such as during a declared state of war or for
narrowly defined offenses including treason, mutiny, and large-scale
arms trafficking.
On January 20, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture (CPT) released a report on the 2008 visit of a CPT
delegation to the country. The report noted that in most cases a
detainee's access to a lawyer was delayed until an investigator's first
formal interview of the detainee, often by ``a considerable time''
after the initial arrest. The report also stated the delegation heard
several allegations that access to a lawyer was only granted after a
detainee signed a confession or a statement, or at the beginning of the
court hearing. The delegation also heard complaints that detainees were
not allowed freely to choose their lawyers and that authorities imposed
on them ex officio lawyers who were said to be ``working with the
police.''
At the Helsinki City Center Police Precinct, a senior police
officer, citing the Pretrial Investigation Act, told the CPT delegation
that, in cases of minor offenses, police staff were not obliged to
provide access to a lawyer and were not required to inform detainees of
their rights. Many of the persons interviewed by the CPT delegation
were only verbally informed of their rights at the first formal
interview with an investigator.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair public trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced
this right.
Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The law does
not provide for trial by jury. Defendants have a right of appeal, to be
present at trial, and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner;
attorneys are provided at public expense if defendants face serious
criminal charges that can result in imprisonment or significant fines.
Defendants can confront and question witnesses against them and present
witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants and their
attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to their
cases.
The law extends these rights to all citizens and legal residents.
Irregular migrants have the same rights as citizens except that they
may be removed from the country or deported for legal cause. An alien
and his or her family residing in the country are given a hearing
before removal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
all citizens with a fundamental right to live under the rule of law and
to have the law applied equally and without discrimination. The country
has an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and there
was access to courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, human rights violations.
Between October 2008 and October 2009 the European Court of Human
Rights issued seven judgments against the government for violating the
rights of accused persons as provided under the European Convention on
Human Rights.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press. The independent media were
active and generally expressed a wide variety of views without
restriction, with the exception of hate speech.
Publishing hate material and public speech intended to incite
discrimination or violence against any national, racial, religious, or
ethnic group are crimes.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
more than 82 percent of the country's inhabitants use the Internet.
Courts can fine persons found guilty of inciting racial hatred on
the Internet, and there were reports of court decisions in 2008 against
persons for publishing and distributing hate material via the Internet.
On March 17, the Helsinki District Court found a municipal politician
in Turku guilty of circulating hate material and fined him 615 euros
(approximately $920). The court found the defendant's remarks during
the 2007 election campaign to be derogatory and slanderous toward
immigrants. The Helsinki District Court also found an independent
member of the Helsinki City Council guilty of writing hate material on
his blog and fined him 330 euros (approximately $470). During the year
the Kouvola Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of a man for posting
anti-Roma hate material on the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the government generally respected this right in practice.
According to the law, the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) of Finland
and the Finnish Orthodox Church are established state churches.
Citizens who belong to one of the two state churches pay a 1-2
percent church tax as part of their income tax but may opt out by
officially leaving the ELC or Orthodox Church. Other registered
religious communities that qualified by having 200 or more members may
receive state funds to help defray operating costs.
Religious instruction in Lutheran or Orthodox doctrine is a part of
the public school curriculum; however, students could substitute
philosophy or world religion courses. In some urban communities,
students may receive Islamic religious instruction in public schools.
The Ministry of Defense stated that between seven and 12 persons
annually refuse to perform military service, and it estimated that 30
to 40 persons also refuse to perform civilian service. In April the NGO
Union of Conscientious Objectors (a member of NGO War Resisters'
International) reported that 11 conscientious objectors were in prison
for refusing to perform either compulsory military service or
alternative civilian service. The 2009 Amnesty International USA report
on the country put the number of imprisoned conscientious objectors
between October 2007 and September 2008 at 18. Some of those imprisoned
stated their objection to military or civilian service was based on
religious conviction. However, there was no evidence that the
government singled out any individuals for prosecution because of their
religious beliefs or their membership in a religious minority. The law
specifically exempts Jehovah's Witnesses from military service. Regular
military service is between 180 and 362 days. The period prescribed for
nonmilitary service is 362 days. There is no obligation to repeat the
service.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to Statistics
Finland, the country's Jewish community numbered approximately 1,500.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
The Ministry of Education continued to integrate tolerance and
antibias courses and material into the public school curriculum.
Students begin studying the Holocaust and the phenomenon of anti-
Semitism in the eighth grade.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law and constitution provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees. However, the government
automatically denied asylum to anyone who previously was denied asylum
by another EU state. According to the Finnish Immigration Service, the
average processing times for asylum applications in the first part of
the year were 7.6 months (normal procedure) and 3.4 months (accelerated
procedure), compared with 5.9 months and 1.9 months in 2008. During the
first nine months of the year, the government provided temporary
protection to 19 individuals who might not qualify as refugees.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
There were reports of societal discrimination against foreign-born
residents, including refugees and asylum seekers, and there was
violence aimed at asylum applicants. On June 15, an explosion occurred
in the yard of the Finnish Red Cross reception center housing 21 asylum
seekers in Suomusjarvi in the southwest. There were no reports of
injuries, but the blast was strong enough to cause minor damage to the
property. The police have not determined if the act was racially
motivated.
There are also reports of individual attacks against asylum
seekers, including a knife attack on June 30 by two men against an
asylum seeker at a reception center in Kemi, fighting at a refugee
center in Pudasjarvi, and an assault originating in Takajarvi on a male
asylum seeker who was thrown into a lake.
On July 1, the Ministry of the Interior responded to the attacks by
stating it would more closely monitor the security situation at refugee
centers. Officials have tried to reduce tension by writing about
refugees in local newspapers, inviting refugees to participate in local
sporting events, and increasing opportunities for direct contact
between locals and immigrants. The ministry stated it is concerned
about the recent attacks against asylum seekers but has not planned to
take official action to deal with the attacks.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Municipal elections were
held in October 2008. Due to the malfunction of electronic voting
machines in three districts, the Supreme Administrative Court in April
ordered a rerun of elections; the repeat elections were held in the
three districts on September 9.
Parliamentary elections in 2007 were considered free and fair.
Political parties could operate without restriction or outside
interference.
On June 7, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
There were 84 women in the 200-seat parliament and 12 women in the
20-member Council of State (cabinet). The president is a woman.
There were 13 members of minority groups in parliament and two in
the cabinet. The autonomous region of the Aland Islands elects one
representative and has its own parliament. The indigenous Sami minority
enjoys semiautonomous status and has its own parliament.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. In May the
first phase of campaign finance law reforms proposed by a nonpartisan
governmental working group was approved and implemented.
There were allegations of improper campaign contributions during
the year. Starting in May 2008 the press began publishing stories about
questionable campaign donations made to a large number of candidates in
the 2007 parliamentary elections--mainly but not exclusively involving
the governing parties. The largest source of questionable donations was
a business development association that received funds from a now-
bankrupt real estate developer. State-owned enterprises also gave
donations. The majority of the recipients were members of the prime
minister's Center Party, including the prime minister himself. During
the year, the Center Party, the National Coalition Party, the Social
Democratic Party, and individual politicians returned campaign
donations from the real estate company. Late in the year controversy
became more heated and led to calls from the opposition for the
resignation of the prime minister. On October 1, the government
survived a no-confidence vote over the issue in parliament.
By the end of the year police initiated one pretrial investigation.
This investigation is focused on the former chairman of the board of
the state-owned Finnish Slot Machine Association. This person resigned
from his post on September 29 after media reported that he had received
campaign donations from a foundation that receives financial support
from the Slot Machine Association. The former chairman was a member of
parliament for the Center Party from 1983 until he lost his bid for a
seat in the 2007 elections.
All citizens, including public officials, are subject to public
disclosure laws; by law, income and asset information from all tax
forms must be made public each year. The Office of the Chancellor of
Justice has responsibility for oversight of government activities and
prosecuting cases of possible corruption.
The law provides for public access to government information, with
the exception of national security information and documents covered by
privacy laws, and the government provided such access in practice.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
On September 1, the Porvoo District Court opened the trial of
Francois Bazaramba, a 58-year-old Hutu man accused of committing war
crimes in Rwanda in 1994. Finnish authorities had detained Bazaramba,
who came to the country in 2003 as a refugee, since 2007. On February
20, the government declined an April 2008 request from the Rwandan
government to extradite Bazaramba to Rwanda.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government effectively enforced
these prohibitions. However, there were reports of violence against
women and children, trafficking in persons, and societal discrimination
against foreign-born residents and Roma.
On September 3, the government released a report on human rights
policy. The report noted that women, children, persons with
disabilities, sexual minorities, and indigenous persons face the
greatest risk of discrimination in the country.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and the
government enforced the law effectively. The maximum prison sentence
for rape is six years but can be as much as 10 years in cases of
aggravated rape. A total of 668 cases of rape were reported to police
for the year. In 2008, the most recent period for which government
figures were available, 110 persons were convicted of rape. The 2009
Amnesty International USA report on the country, which covered the
period from October 2007 through September 2008, stated that less than
10 percent of rape cases were reported and that only one in seven rape
cases resulted in a conviction. Officials at the Ministry of Justice
estimated that the actual number of rape cases was higher and that, of
the unreported cases, as many as 75 percent were committed by an
assailant known to the victim.
Police and government officials actively encouraged victims to
report rape cases through various public awareness campaigns.
Societal violence against women, including spousal abuse, continued
to be a problem. Domestic abuse may be prosecuted under various
criminal laws, including laws prohibiting rape, assault and battery,
harassment, and disturbing the peace. The penalty for physical domestic
violence ranges from a minimum of six months to a maximum of 10 years
in prison.
During the year a survey by the National Research Institute of
Legal Policy implicated domestic violence in an estimated one in three
homicides in the country. According to the survey, domestic violence
accounted for 12 percent of all violence reported to the police. The
survey asserted that the number of domestic violence cases reported to
police has risen as a result of training police to identify potential
domestic violence and greater public awareness of the problem.
Police may refer potential perpetrators or victims of domestic
violence to government social welfare agencies that have programs aimed
at reducing domestic violence by promoting cooperation between
cohabiting partners through support to victims, as well as anger
management and other counseling services for perpetrators.
The government encouraged women to report domestic violence and
abuse and provided counseling, shelters, and other support services to
victims of domestic violence and rape. The government also funded NGOs
that provided additional services, including a telephone hotline and
crisis center. According to regional and municipal officials who
operated shelters, most women who sought shelter from violence were
between the ages of 25 and 35 and married or in a cohabiting
relationship; nearly one-fourth of those seeking shelter were reported
to be immigrants, although shelter logs often omitted victims' origin
to protect them. Foreign-born residents who were not proficient in
Finnish, Swedish, Sami, or English experienced some difficulty
accessing domestic violence services.
Prostitution is legal, but pimping, pandering, selling, and
purchasing sexual services in public is illegal. Prostitution was
generally limited to private apartments and nightclubs in larger
cities.
Sexual harassment is prohibited by law, and the government
generally enforced the law in practice. The prosecutor general is
responsible for investigating sexual harassment cases. Employers who
fail to protect employees from harassment are subject to fines or a
maximum of six months' imprisonment.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
do so free of discrimination, coercion, and violence. Women have access
to contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth, including
obstetric and postpartum care, and are equally diagnosed and treated
for sexually transmitted infections.
Women have the same rights as men under family and property laws
and in the judicial system. The government maintained three government
organizations devoted to gender equality issues: the ombudsman for
equality, the Gender Equality Unit, and the Council for Equality.
The law stipulates that men and women must receive equal pay for
equal work. However, allegations of wage discrimination against women
continued to be reported. In 2008 the equality ombudsman's office
received 370 complaints (52 percent of all cases) alleging
discrimination and unequal treatment.
According to the Office of the Ombudsman for Minorities, one of the
authorities that track gender-related issues in the country, situations
of inappropriate treatment in the workplace in 2008 were associated
with grievances relating to working conditions (ambiguities in working
hours and pay) or other unsatisfactory treatment such as name-calling
or isolation in the work community.
On average women earned approximately 18 percent less than men for
substantially similar work. Statistics Finland data from October 2008,
the most recent information available, indicated that in the private
sector the average monthly wage for men was 3,500 euros (approximately
$5,000), but only 2,700 euros (approximately $3,900) for women. These
averages, accounting for more than 635,000 private sector employees,
demonstrate the gender wage disparity in the private sector. This
disparity is attributed to the fact that men tend to work in more
senior or skilled positions than women. An exception is in the field of
medicine. The Finnish Medical Association, representing 94 percent of
physicians living in the country, reported in December 2008 that 52
percent of its 22,951 physicians were women. Furthermore, women
accounted for 72 percent of all physicians under the age of 30. In
other occupations, women remained overrepresented in lower-paying
occupations, while men tended to dominate the upper ranks in industry,
finance, and some government ministries. The law provides that
individuals may receive compensation for lost wages in cases where
gender-based discrimination is proven.
Children.--Citizenship at birth is generally derived through the
child's parents. A child can also acquire citizenship at birth if he or
she is born in the country and meets certain other criteria, such as if
the parents have refugee status in the country or if the child is not
eligible for any other country's citizenship. A local register office
records citizens' births in the Population Information System. There
were no reports of unregistered births during the year.
During the year 1,078 cases of suspected child sexual abuse were
reported to police, approximately the same number of cases as in 2006
and 2007. According to Statistics Finland, 1,321 cases of child sex
abuse were reported to the police in 2008.
Information on violence against children was not collected
comprehensively. In 2008 a child victim survey by police indicated that
children and young persons experienced violence more frequently than
adults. Approximately 20 percent of boys and 15 percent of girls
indicated they had experienced some form of assault or battery over the
previous year. Children were subjected to violence at home, school, and
leisure. Adults were responsible for the violence against children in
one in 10 cases. In general, girls tended to experience violence at
home, while boys were subjected to violence outside the home, usually
by another boy.
The government has established a national action plan to train law
enforcement, judicial, and social welfare officials in methods of
identifying, protecting, and assisting child victims of sexual abuse.
However, according to a survey conducted during the year by the
National Institute of Legal Policy, there was still a need for better
central planning and information sharing among national and local
officials and judges in order to streamline judicial procedures to
combat child abuse.
The country has laws against statutory rape, with the age of sexual
consent set at 16 years. The minimum age for a sex worker is 18. A
person whose age cannot be determined but who can justifiably be
assumed to be under the age of 18 is regarded as a child. Sexual abuse
of a child has a maximum sentence of four years' incarceration while
aggravated sexual abuse of a child carries a maximum sentence of 10
years. Manufacturing, selling, renting, importing, or exporting
sexually obscene pictures or recordings of a child carries a maximum
prison sentence of two years while aggravated distribution of sexually
obscene pictures of children has a minimum sentence of four months and
a maximum sentence of six years.
There were no reports that child sex tourism was a problem in the
country. If a citizen engages in child sex tourism overseas, the
country's laws provide for extraterritorial prosecution for such acts,
and the citizen could be investigated and prosecuted by local law
enforcement. The country has prosecuted sex tourism under child
pornography laws.
There is a government ombudsman for children's issues under the
Ministry for Social Affairs and Health. During the year the ombudsman
continued to work to raise public awareness of child abuse and to
promote the government's child, youth, and family policy program.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked
to, through, and within the country.
The country continued to be a transit and destination point for
trafficked men, women, and children; however, there were no reliable
estimates available on the actual incidence of trafficking.
Many of the trafficking victims were believed to be women of
Russian origin, although Azerbaijani, Moldovan, Estonian, Latvian,
Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian women were also trafficked to and
through the country to Western Europe for commercial sexual
exploitation. Increasing numbers of Asian women, most of whom were
believed to be Chinese or Thai, were trafficked through the country to
other parts of Europe.
Men and women were also trafficked to provide forced labor. Many of
these workers were trafficked from China, Vietnam, India, and, to a
lesser degree, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and employed by other Asians,
who frequently had family or clan ties to the victims.
According to government and NGO reports, Russian organized crime
syndicates were the principal traffickers of women into the country.
Many of the trafficked women were aware that they would work as
prostitutes. Economic incentives for women seemed to play a larger role
than physical coercion in the recruitment of trafficked women by crime
syndicates. However, after arriving, they were pressured and coerced
into working longer hours and accepting lower wages. In some cases
traffickers stole victims' passports and used violence or the threat of
violence to ensure their compliance.
Many trafficking victims entered the country with valid visas
obtained at Finnish consulates abroad. The Schengen Agreement, which
allows travelers already within the Schengen area to travel to any
other Schengen country without inspection, facilitated the transit of
trafficked persons from Russia and the Baltic countries to Western
Europe.
The maximum prison sentence for trafficking in persons is six
years, and for aggravated trafficking in persons, 10 years. Other laws
used to prosecute traffickers include laws against organized
prostitution, dissemination of child pornography, coordination of
illegal entry into the country, and the marketing of sexual services.
During the year the police, the border guards, and the National
Bureau of Investigations successfully prosecuted one conviction of
human trafficking, 98 convictions of the arrangement of illegal
immigration, 16 convictions of aggravated arrangement of illegal
immigration, and 46 convictions of abusing a person who is the object
of the sex trade. In addition there were 85 convictions of employers
for improperly hiring aliens and 1,466 convictions of aliens for
working illegally. In December 2008 a court handed down prison
sentences to three men and two women on human trafficking for the
purpose of sexual exploitation and fraud charges. The sentences ranged
from two to five and a half years.
The ministries of foreign affairs, interior, justice, labor,
education, and social welfare were involved in combating trafficking.
The parliamentary human rights caucus, the National Bureau of
Investigation, the border guards, customs and immigration, and
municipal police also were involved in antitrafficking efforts. The
government provided specialized training for law enforcement personnel
and prosecutors in antitrafficking measures. In January the parliament
designated the ombudsman for minorities as a national rapporteur on
human trafficking. The ombudsman reports regularly to the government
and independently monitors the country's international commitments.
The government participated in multilateral and regional efforts to
combat trafficking through organizations such as the Council of Baltic
Sea States, the Nordic Baltic Task Force against Trafficking in Human
Beings, the Council of Ministers, and the Barents Euro-Arctic Council.
The government was also involved in antitrafficking efforts with the EU
and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The state-owned airline, Finnair, continued to train new flight
attendants to identify and report potential trafficking victims,
particularly children and unaccompanied minors, on its international
flights.
The government provided the majority of funding for antitrafficking
NGOs. However, critics questioned the overall effectiveness of the
trafficking awareness campaigns and their ability to target relevant
NGOs, authorities, and victims. Although there were no NGOs dedicated
to assisting trafficking victims, several focused on women's rights and
general assistance to victims. NGOs and government facilities operated
by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy provided trafficking
victims with shelter, subsistence, medical services, and psychological
counseling. Law enforcement and social workers identified trafficking
victims and referred them for necessary care. The government generally
respected the rights of trafficking victims and did not penalize them.
Authorities allowed some victims to apply for a temporary residence
permit.
In October the Office of the Prosecutor General and police
cosponsored a two-day antitrafficking education seminar for police
officials, prosecutors, and judges.
The Ministry of the Interior operated a cross-administrational
trafficking-in-persons intelligence group that was permanently assigned
in March to work on international exchange of information, participate
in national and international working groups, coordinate national
operations, and monitor and compile statistics with regard to
trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state
services, and the government effectively enforced these provisions.
Laws mandating access to buildings for persons with disabilities
were generally enforced, although many older buildings remain
inaccessible. Most forms of public transportation were accessible, but
problems remained in some geographically isolated areas. The Ministry
for Social Affairs and the Ministry of Employment and the Economy are
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There was some societal tension
between ethnic Finns and minority groups, and there were reports of
racist or xenophobic incidents. The most common reported race-related
crime was assault. In 2008, the year for which the most recent data are
available, the police received 859 reports of race-related crimes and
misdemeanors. This represents a 19 percent increase over the 698 race-
related crimes reported in 2007, but at least a portion of this
increase is likely due to an increased awareness of this type of crime
resulting from additional training and an improvement in the collection
of statistics.
There were occasional reports of fighting between ethnic Finns and
foreign-born youths of African and Middle Eastern descent as well as
fighting between rival ethnic immigrant groups. However, none of the
cases that led to court proceedings was prosecuted as a hate crime.
According to the minority ombudsman, discrimination against the
approximately 10,000 Roma in the country extended to all areas of life,
resulting in their de facto exclusion from society. The Romani minority
was the most frequent target of racially motivated crimes. According to
government figures, 60 percent of discrimination cases involved Roma,
followed by Russian-speakers, Somalis, Turks, Iraqis, and ethnic Thai.
Ethnic Finns were also occasionally victims of racially motivated
crimes for associating with members of minority communities.
The government strongly encouraged tolerance and respect for
minority groups and sought to address racial discrimination. All
government ministries included antiracism provisions in their
educational information, personnel policy, and training programs. The
government also monitored the treatment of national, racial, and ethnic
minorities by the police, the border guards, and teachers. The
government's minority ombudsman monitored and assisted victims of
discrimination. The ombudsman for minorities supervises compliance with
the prohibition of ethnic discrimination.
Indigenous People.--The law provides for the protection of the Sami
language and culture, and the government financially supported these
protections. The Sami, who constitute less than 0.1 percent of the
population, have full political and civil rights as citizens, as well
as a measure of autonomy in their civil and administrative affairs. A
21-member Sami parliament (Samediggi) popularly elected by the Sami is
responsible for the group's language, culture, and matters concerning
their status as an indigenous people. The Sami parliament can make
initiatives to officials and adopt resolutions. It is an independent
body but operates under the purview of the Interior Ministry. Despite
constitutional protections, members of the Sami community continued to
protest the lack of explicit legislation to safeguard Sami land,
resources, and economic livelihood. The government owns 90 percent of
the land in the Sami home region. Sami have alleged for decades that
the government used their land for logging and other purposes without
consulting them.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--No person may be discriminated
against on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, or other personal
characteristics. The government generally respects these rights, and
law enforcement authorities have mechanisms to investigate and punish
violations against these human rights. The national human rights and
sexual equality-oriented NGO Seta and its members participate actively
in national decision-making processes, and the organization provides a
forum for public discussions of these subjects. In addition, several
foundations, social platforms, and government-funded offices offer
advising services, support, and hotlines related to sexuality issues.
There were no incidents of violence or human rights abuses
specifically targeting individuals based on their sexual orientation or
gender identity. Gays in legal partnerships are not allowed to donate
blood or organs for national use.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join unions of their choice, and workers exercised this right in
practice. According to statistics from the Ministry of Employment and
the Economy, approximately 71 percent of the workforce was unionized
during the year. According to a survey by the University of Turku
published in January, approximately 30 percent of the foreign labor
force in the country is unionized.
The law grants employees the right to strike, with some exceptions
for public sector employees who provide essential services. Workers
exercised this right in practice. An official dispute board can make
nonbinding recommendations to the cabinet on ending or limiting the
duration of strikes when national security is threatened.
Employees prohibited from striking can use arbitration to ensure
due process in the resolution of their concerns. The national
conciliator assists the negotiating partners in settling labor disputes
if a collective agreement cannot be reached without outside help. The
national conciliator can also assist central labor market organizations
in drawing up comprehensive income policy agreements. A strike is legal
when an employment contract is not in effect and the action is pursuant
to new contract negotiations. Strikes are considered illegal after a
contract agreed to by all parties is in effect. Fines may be imposed
for illegal strikes.
The constitution provides for the right to trade union freedom. The
statute regulating work agreements extends these rights to both the
employee and the employer. Any restriction or obstruction of these
rights is prohibited.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the
government protected this right in practice. Collective bargaining
agreements usually were based on wage policy agreements among
employees, employers, and the government. All unionized workers were
covered by such agreements. Employers of nonunionized workers were
required to compensate employees at a wage equal to that stipulated by
existing collective bargaining agreements.
The law requires all employers, including nonunionized employers,
to pay minimum wages that are collectively agreed. This means that in
theory workers for the same job will all receive the same wages,
regardless of whether they are a member of a labor union.
The government sets occupational health and safety standards, and
the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health enforced them effectively.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that such
incidents occurred. Men, women, and children were subjected to forced
prostitution and forced labor in the construction industry,
restaurants, and as domestic servants. They often worked long hours for
low pay and were reluctant to approach authorities for cultural reasons
or out of fear of reprisal.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace; however,
there were reports that children were subject to commercial sexual
exploitation and forced labor.
The law allows children older than 15 to enter a valid employment
contract as long as work does not interrupt compulsory education. Such
employment is restricted to no more than nine hours per day and 48
hours per week with mandatory minimum daily rest of 12 hours.
Additionally, young workers may not work at night after 10 p.m. or in
certain conditions that risk health and safety. Children as young as 14
may work only under more limited circumstances.
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy enforces child labor
regulations; there were no reports of children engaged in work outside
the parameters established by law.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage law; however, the law requires all employers, including
nonunionized employers, to pay minimum wages agreed to in collective
bargaining agreements. These agreements covered almost all workers. The
negotiated minimum wages provided a decent standard of living for
workers and their families.
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy is responsible for labor
policy strategy and implementation, improving the viability of working
life and its quality, and promoting employment. The ministry's tasks
also include arbitration in industrial disputes, ensuring
nondiscrimination, certain services for seamen, and matters related to
wage security.
The standard workweek established by law is eight hours per day
with no more than 40 hours of work per week. Only seamen, household
workers, road-transport workers, and workers in bakeries are subject to
separate working time regulations. Employees working shifts or during
the weekend are entitled to one 24-hour rest period per week. Workers
are entitled to premium pay for overtime work. The law limited a worker
to 250 hours of overtime per year and to 138 overtime hours in any
four-month period.
The government sets occupational health and safety (OSH) standards,
and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health enforced them
effectively. Occupational safety and health inspectorates monitor
compliance with occupational safety and health legislation. OSH
inspectors have the right to enter workplaces and carry out health and
safety inspections there. They also receive from the employer
information and analyses necessary for inspection purposes. The
employer is informed of the inspection in advance, unless a surprise
inspection is necessary for enforcement purposes. A subsequent
inspection report gives the employer written advice on how to remedy
minor defects. In the case of more serious violations, the inspector
issues an improvement notice and monitors the employer's compliance
with it. When necessary, the OSH authority--the office of the OSH
Inspectorate--may issue a binding decision and impose a fine. If the
hazardous situation involves a risk to life, the inspector may halt
work on the site or issue a prohibition notice concerning the source of
risk. Workers have the right to refuse dangerous work situations
without penalty, and the government enforced this right in practice.
Compliance with collective agreements is monitored by the labor
market organizations concerned. OSH authorities monitor unorganized
employers' adherence to generally applicable collective agreements.
The labor and occupational safety law is applied to all employees
in the country, regardless of their nationality. If an employer's
response to an employee complaint is not satisfactory, unionized
employees may forward the matter to the relevant trade union. Nonunion
employees may contact the OSH Inspectorate for advice and guidance.
__________
FRANCE
France is a multiparty constitutional democracy with a population
of approximately 64.3 million\1\. The president of the republic is
elected by popular vote for a five-year term, and Nicolas Sarkozy is
the incumbent. The upper house (Senate) of the bicameral parliament is
indirectly elected through an electoral college while the lower house
(National Assembly) is directly elected. Parliamentary and presidential
elections took place in 2007 and were free and fair. The Union for a
Popular Movement (UMP) is the majority party in parliament. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The country includes 11 overseas administrative divisions
covered in this report. Four overseas territories in French Guiana,
Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion, have the same political status as
the 22 metropolitan regions and 100 departments on the mainland. Six
divisions are overseas ``collectivitie.'': French Polynesia, Mayotte,
Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and Wallis
and Futuna. New Caledonia is a special overseas collectivity with a
unique status between an independent country and an overseas department
and will hold a referendum on independence in 2014. Following a March
29 referendum, Mayotte will become the 101st department in 2011.
Citizens of these territories periodically elect deputies and senators
to represent them in parliament, like the other overseas regions and
departments.
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The following human rights problems were reported: overcrowded and
dilapidated prisons, lengthy pretrial detention, protracted
investigation and trial proceedings, restrictions on religious wear in
public institutions, anti-Semitic incidents, discrimination against
Muslims, societal hostility towards immigrants and Roma including
``Travellers,'' societal violence against women, child abuse and child
marriage, and trafficking in persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
two deaths of detainees while in police custody were under
investigation at year's end. On September 24, 31-year-old Hakim
Djelassi died of a heart attack while under arrest in a police van. On
November 12, Mohamed Boukrourou, a 41-year-old Moroccan citizen, died
during a police arrest in Valentigney.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
there were occasional accusations of police discrimination and
degrading treatment.
In 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that
authorities failed to prevent the suicide of a man in pretrial
detention.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards. The government
permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights observers. Both
credible nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and government officials,
however, reported overcrowding and unacceptable hygienic conditions in
some facilities that prompted President Sarkozy to commit to improve
what he described as the state of the country's prisons as ``the shame
of the nation.''
Prison overcrowding was a problem. As of December 31, the Ministry
of Justice reported that 61,800 persons were incarcerated in the
country's 185 prisons, exceeding prison capacity by almost 7,500
inmates. The law allows neither men and women to be held together nor
minors to be held with adults in prisons and detention centers unless
they are detained along with their parents. In practice there were no
reports of violation of requirements for separate detention facilities
for men, women, and minors.
Although there were no known deaths in prison due to mistreatment
or adverse conditions during the year, prison suicides continued to be
a problem. According to penitentiary officials, there were more than 81
prison suicides during the year, while credible NGO sources reported
129 prison suicides.
In five separate lawsuits, local courts in Lyon, Rouen, Nantes,
Bordeaux, and Strasbourg ordered the state to compensate victims and
their families an average of 15,000 euros ($21,400) per plaintiff in
the case of prison suicide and 5,000 euros ($7,150) per plaintiff for
poor detention conditions, including the lack of basic hygiene and
privacy for inmates.
In December 2008 a Paris appellate court acquitted then-Rennes
regional prison director Alain Jego of involuntary homicide,
overturning an April 2008 ruling that held Jego liable for neglecting
to prevent an inmate's suicide.
Authorities maintained administrative holding centers for
foreigners whom they could not immediately deport. There were 26
holding centers on the mainland and three in the overseas territories.
The government permitted prison visits by independent local and
foreign human rights observers. In November-December 2008 the Council
of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) visited
prisons in French Guiana. The CPT reported cases of low standards for
hygiene facilities as well as overcrowding.
On October 13, the president signed into law a bill to make the
detention system more humane, with less time spent in isolated special
punishment cells and greater parole opportunities for inmates serving
short sentences. The government aimed to triple the use of electronic
tags and planned to release prisoners fitted with the devices four
months before the end of their sentence.
To reduce overcrowding the government opened seven new prisons and
created an additional 5,000 places during the year, with a long-term
goal of gradually reaching national capacity of 80,000 beds by 2017.
The government earmarked 30 million euros ($42.9 million) for use
during the year to renovate 165 jails, 15 million euros ($21.5 million)
to monitor short-term imprisonment, and 10 million euros ($14.3
million) to purchase real estate for future corrections-related
facilities. On August 18, the Ministry of Justice instituted an action
plan to combat suicides that included such preventative measures as
increasing prison guard training, ``humanizing'' inmate living
conditions, providing at-risk inmates with ``protective kits'' of
tearable sheets and blankets and flame-retardant mattresses, and
implementing a solidarity and alert policy among prisoners. For the
first time, the government now publishes prison suicide statistics
biannually.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions. However, lengthy pretrial detention was a
problem. The government provided financial compensation in 82 cases of
wrongful incarceration in 2008.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Under the direction of
the Ministry of the Interior, Overseas France, and Local Authorities, a
civilian force of 146,000 national police and a quasi-military national
gendarmes force of 99,509 maintained internal security. In conjunction
with specific gendarmes units used for military operations, the army is
responsible for external security under the Ministry of Defense. Police
and gendarmes were generally considered effective.
During the year, 24 ``neighborhood police'' (``police de
proximite'') units worked to curb juvenile delinquency and petty crime
in neighborhoods with high levels of youth crimes.
Official impunity was not widespread. The inspector general of the
national police (IGPN), the inspector general of police services (IGS),
and the Office of Judicial Police investigated and prosecuted
allegations of civil law enforcement brutality by all police forces and
the gendarmes. The National Commission on Security Ethics (CNDS)
investigated allegations of misconduct by municipal police, gendarmes,
and private security forces and reported its findings to the prime
minister and parliament. According to the 2008 CNDS report, the most
recent year for which data was available, the number of complaints
increased by 26 percent during 2007 to 147 cases, compared with 117 in
2006.
Created in 2000, the CNDS investigates claims regarding impropriety
by law enforcement officers and ensures the compliance of ethical
standards for all persons responsible for implementing the law. In July
2008 the independent CNDS merged into a larger body called the Defender
of Rights, which Amnesty International criticized during the year as a
less effective organization.
Drawing on cases from 2008 and earlier, Amnesty International in
April criticized police for brutality and improper procedures and
oversight organs for inadequate monitoring of police behavior. During
the year there were occasional reports that police used violence during
counterriot operations. On July 13, police fired a ``flash-ball'' too
close to a crowd during a riot in Montreuil, causing a protester to
lose an eye. On April 4, demonstrators filmed police throwing stones at
protestors during an anti-NATO protest and released the footage to the
local newspaper. At year's end, the IGS and IGPN were investigating
both incidents.
Police corruption was generally not a problem. The IGS, IGPN, and
the Inspectorate of the National Gendarmerie (IGN) actively
investigated and prosecuted allegations of police and gendarme
corruption. However, Amnesty International accused the government of
failing to punish properly all cases of police misconduct and
corruption.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires police to obtain warrants based on sufficient evidence prior
to detaining suspects, but police can immediately arrest suspects
caught in the act. Individuals have the right to a judicial ruling on
the legality of their detention during the first hour, and authorities
generally respected this right in practice. Authorities must inform
detainees of charges against them once they are in police custody. A
system of bail exists and was utilized. Detainees generally had access
to a lawyer, and the state provides legal counsel if the detainee is
indigent.
In cases involving terrorism or drug trafficking, the law allows
longer periods of detention before notification to counsel. Authorities
may hold such suspects for up to 96 hours without charge or access to a
lawyer and may petition a judge to extend detention by an additional 48
hours. After a maximum of six days, suspects must either be charged or
released.
However, in cases involving terrorism or drug trafficking, the law
allows for longer periods of detention before notification to counsel.
Authorities can hold terrorism suspects for up to 96 hours without
charge or access to a lawyer and may petition a judge to extend
detention by an additional 48 hours. After a maximum of six days,
suspects must either be charged or released.
On August 19, police invoked the antiterrorism law to prolong the
detention of three suspected members of the terrorist organization
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA). During the year alleged railway
saboteur Julien Coupat spent six months in preventive detention
following four days in police custody.
In November Amnesty International criticized the country's system
of multiple periods of detention during investigation of an alleged
crime and accused authorities of inadequate investigations of
complaints.
Long delays in bringing cases to trial and lengthy pretrial
detention were problems. Pretrial detention was generally allowed only
if the suspect could be sentenced to more than three years in prison
for crimes against property. However, a few suspects spent many years
in detention before trial, a practice that officials attributed to
changing judicial laws and insufficient government resources. According
to government statistics for 2007, the most recent year for which they
were available, the average length of pretrial detention was 5.7
months, an increase of 10 percent since 2001.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice. However, delays in bringing cases to
trial were a problem. During the year the government lost six cases in
the ECHR for improper arrest, lack of fair hearing, and unreasonable
length of the judicial process.
The Tribunal of the Armies, in Paris, is a military court for acts
committed outside of the country. The court tries only military
personnel.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and have the right
to appeal. Except for those involving minors, trials are public and
usually held before a judge or tribunal of judges. In cases where the
potential punishment exceeds 10 years' imprisonment, a panel of
professional and lay judges hears the case. Defendants are able to
question the testimony of prosecution witnesses against them and
present witnesses and evidence in their defense. Defendants and their
attorneys have access to government-held evidence relative to their
cases.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters and access to a court to bring
lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
A 2008 report by the independent government agency, the National
Commission on Security Ethics (CNDS), described a quasi-systematic
practice of strip searches during secondary inspection by the national
police.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
There were some limitations of freedom of speech and of the press.
Strict antidefamation laws prohibit racially or religiously motivated
verbal and physical abuse. Written or oral speech that incites racial
or ethnic hatred as well as denial of the Holocaust and crimes against
humanity are illegal. On October 27, comic Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala was
fined 14,300 euros ($20,400) by a Paris court for lauding a renowned
Holocaust denier, Robert Faurisson, during a show. Authorities may
deport a noncitizen for publicly using ``hate speech'' or constituting
a threat of terrorism.
Beginning on March 4, the law prohibits primetime advertising from
state-funded television networks and authorizes the president to name
the head of public broadcasting. The board of the public television
network began voluntarily implementing the prohibition in December 2008
and was compensated 450 million euros ($644 million) by the government
for the loss of profit during the year.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 68 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of faith. However,
some Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh leaders remained concerned
about the prohibition against ``conspicuous'' religious symbols by
employees and students in public schools, including Muslim head scarves
and burkas; Jewish skullcaps; and large crosses, as a possible
restriction of religious freedom.
During a June 23 speech, President Sarkozy asked parliament to
consider a prohibition on the burka, stating that burkas ``were not
welcome in France.'' Lawmakers established a burka factfinding mission
on June 24 with nonbinding recommendations due in January 2010. On
August 1, a Muslim woman wearing a ``burkini'' bathing suit that fully
covered her head and body was denied entry into a public pool. Regional
public officials stated that she was not in compliance with strict
public health regulations which prohibit swimming in street clothing
for hygienic reasons.
Groups of religious believers that did not seek status as a
religion were free to meet and conduct religious practice. Under the
law, a religious group must disclose certain management and financial
information when applying to the local prefecture for tax-exempt status
as an association of worship. As of year's end, the ECHR had not ruled
on the Jehovah's Witnesses' appeal of the government's denial of tax-
exempt status, which made donations to the church subject to a 60-
percent tax.
Government action against fraudulent organizations was limited by
an amendment to the About-Picard law on May 12, which blocked the
government's ability to ban an organization and its legal activities in
the country as the maximum penalty for a fraud conviction.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Representatives of the Church
of Scientology continued to report cases of societal discrimination. On
October 27, a Paris court found the Church of Scientology and its top
officials in the country guilty of organized fraud. The court fined the
organization 600,000 euros ($858,000), and two of the top officials
were fined 30,000 euros ($42,900) each. The Church of Scientology in
France appealed the verdict.
The Jewish community was estimated to number 600,000 persons. There
were reports of a number of anti-Semitic incidents during the year,
including slurs against Jews and attacks on synagogues and cemeteries.
According to the Ministry of Interior, Overseas France, and Local
Authorities, there were 832 anti-Semitic incidents, nearly double the
474 reported in all of 2008. The ministry noted that 354 of the
incidents occurred during the January conflict in the Gaza Strip. The
report of the Protection Service of the Jewish Community (SPCJ)
covering the year tallied 658 acts involving graffiti and threatening
gestures and 174 incidents of vandalism and violence. In the months
that followed the Gaza conflict, the number of reported incidents
decreased to a rate of 43 per month, which roughly reflected the
monthly average for 2008.
Jewish leaders credited the government's strict enforcement of
anti-Semitism laws with preventing more violence after the initial
response to the Gaza conflict. Despite the decrease in the average
number of anti-Semitic acts after January, both Jewish and Muslim
leaders indicated the tension between the two groups, particularly
among their youth, was reduced but unresolved. The Jewish Agency for
Israel reported that 1,909 French Jews emigrated to Israel during the
year, 36 percent fewer than the 3,000 in 2006. In the agency's view,
the last time tension between the Jewish and Muslim communities in
France reached a similar high was after the war between Israel and
Hizballah and the murder of Jewish youth Ilan Halimi.
On July 10, a Paris court sentenced Youssouf Fofana to life in
prison with no possibility of parole for 22 years and convicted 26
members of the ``gang of barbarians'' for the kidnapping, torture, and
killing of a 23-year-old Jewish man, Ilan Halimi. Two of Fofana's most
active accomplices received sentences of 15 and 18 years in prison, and
others received sentences ranging from six months to nine years. Fofana
appealed the verdict.
Members of the Arab Muslim community continued to experience acts
of harassment, particularly against immigrants of North African origin.
According to the 2008 National Consultative Commission on Human Rights
(NCCHR) report, there were 467 actions and threats of racist or
xenophobic nature in 2008, an increase from 321 in 2007.
According to press reporting throughout the year, mosques in
Castres, Maubeuge, Montjoie-Saint-Martin, and Estevelles, among others,
were desecrated with xenophobic slogans and anti-Islamic graffiti. On
November 10, police in Nantes arrested four students at the
construction site of a new mosque for vandalism. According to the NGO
Human Rights First, on August 20, three persons were detained for
allegedly vandalizing a mosque in Toul with depictions of pork meat,
racist slogans, and Nazi inscriptions.
According to representatives for the Jehovah's Witnesses community,
there were 55 acts of vandalism against the group in 2008, the most
recent year for which data was available, including Molotov cocktails
thrown at Jehovah's Witnesses' property. No individuals were targeted
during that year.
The government promoted interfaith understanding to combat racism,
anti-Semitism, and anti-Islamic sentiment through public awareness
campaigns and by encouraging dialogue among local officials, police,
religious leaders, and citizen groups.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2009/
index.htm.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
The law requires persons engaged in itinerant activities with a
fixed domicile to sign a declaration that must be renewed periodically.
Itinerant persons without a fixed abode must possess travel documents
which are renewed every three months and must choose a city of
residence for administrative purposes.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees. The system for granting
refugee status was active and accessible.
Although asylum application forms submitted to the Office for the
Protection of Refugees and Stateless Refugees (OFPRA) must be completed
in French, application instructions were available in English,
Albanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, Tamil, and Arabic.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of persons to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened because of race, religion, nationality,
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Authorities take into account the ability of the state concerned to
offer protection to the person in danger from persecution by nonstate
agents. However, in October and December, human rights groups
criticized the government's expulsion practices, pointing out that the
government was deporting illegal Afghan immigrants back to a war-torn
country. During the year, 29,000 illegal immigrants were deported,
according to Minister of Immigration Eric Besson.
On August 31, Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe asked Prime Minister
Francois Fillon to provide services for the estimated 300 homeless
Afghan youths in the 10th district of Paris. Fillon committed city
resources to providing lodging and medical care for up to 700
unaccompanied foreign minors and identified 70 Afghan exiles for the
Welcome Center for Asylum Seekers.
In November the NGO Human Rights Watch criticized the government
for substandard treatment of unaccompanied minor children arriving at
the country's international airports.
The government also provided temporary protection to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees but who may be exposed to certain
serious risks if they returned to their country of origin. Temporary
protection was granted to 11,441 persons in 2008, according to OFPRA.
Individuals may renew their status for a period of one year.
Stateless Persons.--According to UNHCR statistics, there were 1,006
stateless persons in the country at the end of 2008. Stateless persons
in receive benefits from OFPRA, which is charged with the
implementation of international conventions on refugees and stateless
persons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Political parties generally operated without restriction or outside
interference.
Travellers (an itinerant group of individuals that may also include
Roma if they do not have fixed abodes) were permitted to vote in
municipal elections only after a three-year period of ``attachment'' to
a municipality. Romani groups asserted that this requirement, which is
based on special legislation applying only to itinerant groups, was
discriminatory, since other French and EU citizens, including homeless
persons, were able to vote after only a six-month attachment period.
Elections and Political Participation.--The 2007 national
parliamentary and presidential elections were free and fair.
On June 6-7, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
As a result of the September 2008 senatorial elections, 182 women
sat in the two chambers of the 920-seat parliament, 107 in the National
Assembly and 75 in the Senate. As of December 31, there were 13 female
ministers in the 37-member ministerial cabinet. Women made up 47
percent of regional council members, 13 percent of departmental council
members, and 35 percent of municipal council members. They held one
presidency of the 22 regional councils, four presidencies of the 96
mainland departmental councils, and 8 percent of mayoral positions. The
law requires political parties to present voting lists containing equal
numbers of male and female candidates or face fines.
The law prohibits the government from collecting information on the
racial or ethnic background of residents of the country. As a
consequence, no statistics on minority participation in the government
were available. With the exception of parliamentary representatives
from some of the overseas territories where the populations were
predominantly of non-European origin, minorities appeared to be
significantly underrepresented in the government. As of year's end,
there was only one black member of the National Assembly. During his
tenure, President Sarkozy has appointed three female minority officials
to his cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
some reports of government corruption during the year.
On December 16, former president Jacques Chirac was questioned by
Paris judges about alleged corruption when he was mayor of Paris from
1977 to 1995. On October 27, a Paris court fined former minister of
interior and senator Charles Pasqua 100,000 euros ($143,000) and
sentenced him to a year in prison for accepting bribes in an arms deal
with Angola in 1994. In addition he was sentenced to 18 months of
suspended custody for corruption in authorizing the construction of a
casino in 1994.
Former Henin-Beaumont mayor Gerard Dalongeville was removed from
office on May 2 for corruption and was under investigation for the
period of 2001-09. On May 20, a Paris court ruled that Pierre Bedier,
the former president of the General Council of Yvelines, was ineligible
for reelection due to corruption and the misappropriation of public
goods in 2003. On June 8, the Council of State found Serge Dassault,
senator and former mayor of Corbeil-Essonnes, guilty of paying
constituents for votes in the municipal election in 2008.
The president, parliamentarians, members of the European
Parliament, ministers, regional and departmental council heads, mayors
of larger communities, and directors of state-owned companies (post
office, railway, and telephone) are required to declare their personal
assets to the Commission for the Financing Transparency of Political
Life at the beginning and the end of their terms. The commission issued
periodic reports on officials' financial holdings on a discretionary
basis at least once every three years.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access in practice for citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights
organizations generally operated, investigated, and published their
findings on human rights cases without government restrictions.
Government officials were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The High Authority for the Struggle against Discrimination and for
Equality (HALDE) is the independent administrative authority that
judges all discrimination, direct or indirect, that is prohibited by
law or an international agreement to which the country is a party. The
National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) serves in an
advisory role to the government on human rights and produces an annual
report on racism and xenophobia in the country. A member of the Council
of Europe, the country is subject to the rulings of the independent
judicial body, the ECHR.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government
generally enforced these prohibitions.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and the
government generally enforced the law effectively. The penalty for rape
is 15-years' imprisonment and may be increased due to the age of the
victim or the nature of the relationship of the rapist to the victim.
The government and NGOs provided shelters, counseling, and hotlines for
rape victims. The Ministry of the Interior, Overseas France, and Local
Authorities reported that the number of reported rapes increased by 1.4
percent from 10,132 in 2007 to 10,277 in 2008. According to the NGO
Observatory of Violence towards Women, as many as 177,750 cases of rape
occur each year.
Violence against women was a problem. The law prohibits domestic
violence against women, including spousal abuse, and the government
generally enforced it. The penalty for domestic violence varies
according to the type of crime and ranges from three years in prison
and a fine of 45,000 euros ($64,400) to 20-years' imprisonment. The
government sponsored and funded programs for female victims of
violence, including shelters, counseling, hotlines, and mobile phones.
The government also supported the work of 25 associations and NGOs
dedicated to the fight against domestic violence by labeling them a
``great national cause.'' The government funded a media campaign
denouncing domestic violence. There was a 6 percent decrease from 2007
to 2008 in the number of women killed by their spouses in domestic
violence (from 166 to 156). According to estimates by the National
Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), 675,000 women
were victims of domestic violence during the two years that ended
December 31. The law prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM) as
``violence involving mutilation or permanent infirmity.'' It is
punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros
($215,000). The sentence increases to 15 years if the crime involves a
minor under 16 years of age.
According to the association Group for the Abolition of Sexual
Mutilations, 65,000 adult and minor women were either victims of FGM or
under threat of it, while the INED reported that 53,000 women were
under threat of FGM during the year.
The majority of victims were recent sub-Saharan African immigrants
or their children. One study concluded that FGM had become less
prevalent due to awareness campaigns, but prevention and information
efforts were needed to cover children at risk during family visits to
their countries of origin. The government provides reconstructive
surgery and counseling for FGM victims. The government launched a media
campaign in April to fight against FGM domestically and internationally
with leaflets and posters.
Prostitution is legal; however, the law prohibits procuring,
aiding, assisting, maintaining, publicly soliciting, or profiting from
the prostitution of another. Enforcement of these laws varied, and
criminal activity related to prostitution remained a problem.
Sex tourism to other countries remained a problem. The government
created a Web site where individuals could report cases. It also funded
campaigns on child prostitution on all major television channels. The
Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Employment, which is responsible for
tourism, mandated that all tourism students complete courses designed
to develop awareness of the problem of sex tourism. The Ministry of
Foreign and European Affairs researched indicators of child sex tourism
abroad in order to warn tourists of child sex tourism sites and
monitored sex tourism data. The law includes extraterritorial
provisions that apply domestic law to sexual offenses committed abroad
by citizens or residents of France.
On March 11, a Colmar court sentenced two men to seven years in
prison for sex tourism with minors in Cambodia and Thailand.
During the year the past activities of Minister of Culture Frederic
Mitterrand became a public issue. In his 2005 literary work, Mitterrand
admitted to engaging in sex tourism in Thailand in the 1970s. However,
he has publicly denied paying for sex with minors.
The law prohibits gender-based job discrimination and harassment of
subordinates by superiors, but it does not apply to relationships
between peers. Sexual harassment was not widely considered a problem in
the workplace. Both the government and NGOs widely publicized the laws,
and the government enforced them effectively. According to the Ministry
of the Interior, Overseas France, and Local Authorities, the number of
reported sexual harassment cases dropped by 12 percent from 2006 to
2007, the most recent year for which data was available; the statistics
did not specify the gender of the victims.
There was easy access to contraception, skilled attendance during
childbirth, and women were diagnosed and treated for sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men. Couples and
individuals were free to decide the number, spacing, and timing of
their children, and had both the information and means to do so free
from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
Under the constitution and law, women have the same rights as men
in family law, property law, and the judicial system. The secretary of
state for solidarity is responsible for the legal rights of women. The
constitution and law provide for equal access to professional and
social positions. The law requires that women receive equal pay for
equal work. However, various governmental organizations and NGOs
estimated that there was a gender-based pay discrepancy of
approximately 25 percent in practice. Although they made up 58.5
percent of the state sector's workforce, women were underrepresented in
managerial jobs and continued to face difficulties attaining positions
of responsibility. According to a survey of the top 40 companies in the
country released during the year, 10.5 percent of executive-board
members were women. Although approximately 22 percent of government
cabinet ministers were women, women were generally underrepresented in
the legislature and other levels of government leadership. In the third
quarter of the year, the unemployment rate was 9.5 percent for women
compared with 8.8 percent for men.
Children.--Citizenship is derived both by jus sanguinis and jus
soli. Children born within the country's territory to at least one
French citizen parent automatically acquire citizenship at birth. A
child born in the country to foreign parents may acquire citizenship at
birth if stateless or acquire the right at age 18 with five years of
residence.
There are strict laws against child abuse by parents or guardians,
and the government generally enforced the law effectively and
prosecuted abusers. The law provides for a government children's
advocate, a position charged with defending and promoting children's
rights as defined by law. Child abuse was generally not considered a
problem.
The government provided counseling, financial aid, foster homes,
and orphanages for abuse victims. Various NGOs also helped minors seek
justice in cases of mistreatment by parents.
Child marriage was a problem, particularly in communities of
African or Asian origin. Although such marriage ceremonies took place
primarily outside of the country, authorities took steps to address the
problem. Parents may be prosecuted. Women and girls could seek refuge
at shelters if their parents or guardians threatened them with a forced
marriage. The government offered some educational programs to inform
young women of their rights. The High Council for Integration stated it
was important to distinguish between arranged and forced marriage. The
minimum legal age of marriage is 18. In April the government launched a
media campaign to fight against forced marriages. According to human
rights observers, 70,000 teenagers between the ages of 10 and 18 were
at risk of being forced into a marriage.
The law criminalizes statutory rape of minors under age 16, the
minimum age of consensual sex, and the government generally enforced
the law effectively. The penalty for statutory rape is 15 years'
imprisonment and may be increased due to the age of the victim or the
nature of the relationship of the rapist to the victim. The government
and NGOs provided shelters, counseling, and hotlines for statutory rape
victims. The law prohibits child pornography, and the maximum penalty
for its use and distribution is five years' imprisonment and a 75,000
euro ($107,000) fine.
Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution and law prohibit
trafficking of persons for all purposes. However, trafficking of women,
men, and children for commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, and
petty crime was a problem. Antitrafficking laws were used to address
exploitative labor practices in cases involving both males and females.
The country was a destination for victims, primarily women,
trafficked from Africa (notably Cameroon and Nigeria), Central and
Eastern Europe (notably Bulgaria and Romania), the former Soviet Union,
and increasingly Asia (notably China) for prostitution and domestic
servitude.
Officials in French Guiana reported two trafficking investigations
in the territory during the reporting period, one involving the
possible forced labor of Chinese victims and the other a sex
trafficking case involving a Brazilian minor.
Traffickers operated principally in small criminal networks, some
of them linked to larger international trafficking gangs, particularly
from Bulgaria, Albania, and West Africa that included both citizens and
foreigners. They used various methods to recruit and retain victims
including force, fraud, theft of identification document, cultural
isolation, and physical and psychological abuse. Some victims came to
the country willing to work in prostitution and were subsequently
exploited by pimps and traffickers. In other cases, traffickers
kidnapped or ``bought'' women and girls elsewhere and sold them to
larger prostitution networks that trafficked them into the country.
In 2008, the most recent year for which data was available,
authorities initiated more than 500 court cases for soliciting and
dismantled more than 23 pimping networks. During that year, 822 victims
were identified, compared with 1,218 in 2007.
In July a Clermont court charged two French citizens and a Swiss
national with operating a prostitution ring of 1,700 Central and East
European women via the Internet.
Apart from social assistance, trafficking victims may be given a
provisional residence permit on the condition that they cooperate with
police in securing the arrest of the person who controlled them.
Trafficking victims involved in prostitution, who turned in their pimps
or the trafficking ring in which they were involved could receive a
one-year temporary residence card with permission to work and a 10-year
residency card once the case went to trial. However, immigration laws
were not always applied consistently due to public officials' lack of
familiarity with them and did not adequately address the difficulty
that victims faced finding alternate employment.
Trafficking in persons is punishable by up to seven years'
imprisonment and a fine of up to 150,000 euros ($215,000). The penalty
increases to 10-years in prison and a 1.5 million euro ($2.2 million)
fine if the victim is a minor, pregnant, or a ``vulnerable person.''
Exploiting foreign laborers and exposing them to inhumane conditions
are criminal offenses under other statutes and are punishable by up to
three years' imprisonment or substantial fines. Prosecutors were
increasingly using the antitrafficking law to prosecute these cases;
however, charges in the majority of cases were under antipimping
statutes.
Several law enforcement agencies were involved in combating
trafficking. The government cooperated with other countries,
particularly source countries, and with international institutions such
as the European Police Agency to investigate, track, and dismantle
trafficking networks.
The government continued to screen and to refer victims to
counseling centers and safe houses for comprehensive services. The
government assumed child victims to be in danger and provided immediate
shelter while assessing the minor's best interests. Numerous NGOs dealt
with trafficking in persons and prostitution. Social Aid to Children,
the national social service's branch for childcare, was responsible for
caring for and assisting victims under the age of 22.
In December 2008 the government set up an interministerial
trafficking working group led by the Central Office for the Suppression
of Trafficking in Human Beings (OCRTEH). On February 5, the government
asked prefects to deliver the right of residency to victims of human
trafficking or sexual exploitation. It also continued an awareness
campaign regarding female prostitutes who may be victims of
trafficking.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of
other state services. The government generally enforced these
provisions effectively.
During the year, according to INSEE, 18 percent of persons with
disabilities were unemployed, more than twice the national unemployment
rate. The law requires companies with more than 20 employees to ensure
that persons with disabilities make up 6 percent of the company work
force. Noncompliant companies can face criminal fines that benefit the
National Association for the Professional Integration of the Disabled,
a certified joint collecting body of workers and employers unions that
funds training for disabled professionals. However, many companies
admitted to being unaware of their legal obligations. For those
companies subject to the law, the average employment rate of persons
with disabilities was approximately 5 percent.
The law provides compensation to persons for the consequences of a
disability and requires their access to buildings, education, and
employment. The law requires that any new building with public or
community space and any existing public building be accessible for
persons with disabilities. Many existing buildings as well as
transportation systems did not yet meet these requirements. The law
also requires the establishment of centers in each administrative
department to assist persons with disabilities with receiving
compensation and employment assistance.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Societal violence and
discrimination against the country's large immigrant population
remained a problem. The problem continued to be particularly severe on
the island of Corsica, where attacks caused some families to move to
the mainland or to return to their countries of origin. While ethnic
tensions have been a problem in Corsica in recent years, there were
signs of improvement. In 2007, the most recent year for which data was
available, a total of 187 attacks took place in Corsica, a 20 percent
decrease from the 235 attacks that occurred in 2006. The government
publicly criticized and addressed incidents of violence against
immigrants.
On September 11, Brice Hortefeux, the minister of the interior,
overseas France, and local authorities made allegedly racist comments
about Arabs on camera. Following the incident, the NGO Movement against
Racism and for Friendship between Peoples (MRAP) lodged a complaint
with HALDE, and the minister's comments were under investigation at
year's end. On September 9, the prefect and local coordinator for
Reunion, Paul Girot de Langlade, was forced to resign after an official
inquiry found him guilty of racism, based on a complaint by a security
employee of Caribbean origin at Orly Airport.
Many observers expressed concern that discriminatory hiring
practices in both the public and the private sectors prevented
minorities from sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb, the Middle East, and
Asia from equal access to employment.
According to a 2008 survey by INSEE, the unemployment rate of
immigrants was twice as high as that of nonimmigrants (13.2 percent
versus 6.8 percent). The unemployment rate among legal immigrants
varied with the country of origin. Immigrants from Algeria and Turkey
faced a three times higher risk of unemployment than did nonimmigrants,
while unemployment among immigrants from such EU countries as Spain,
Italy, and Portugal was only 1 percent lower than that of the
nonimmigrant population. INSEE attributed those variations to
differences in professional qualification.
Romani organizations alleged that both itinerant Roma and Roma with
fixed abodes faced discrimination in education, housing, and access to
government services. Housing and other discrimination problems were
particularly acute for itinerant Roma and ``Travellers,'' as some
mayors denied school registration to children whose parents lived in
illegal campsites. An October 2007 report of the National Institute of
Educational Research noted that Roma and Travellers benefited from a
special status that authorizes children discontinuous school attendance
without justification. School registration rates for Roma and
Travellers were 66.7 percent in kindergarten, 81.8 percent in primary
schools, and 78.8 percent in high school, but absenteeism and breaks
within the education system were frequent.
Travellers and itinerant Roma were subject to laws that did not
apply to residents with permanent residences. Individuals over the age
of 16 not settled in one place must have a periodically renewed travel
permit. Any delay in renewal entails a maximum fine of 1,500-euro
($2,150) fine. Authorities did not consider itinerant Roma or Traveller
caravans to be housing. As a result, they were not entitled to housing
assistance.
The law requires municipalities of more than 5,000 inhabitants to
provide a camping site with facilities and access to water and
electricity. As of year's end, more than half of the municipal
authorities had established 16,000 campsites. However, there was still
a shortage estimated at over 20,000 sites (according to authorities) or
up to 60,000 sites (according to NGOs).
According to NGOs the government imposed administrative barriers to
employment of itinerant Roma and Travellers. Although citizens of
member states of the EU, Travellers, itinerant Roma, and other
itinerant groups must obtain special authorization from their local
prefecture in order to work in the country; this application process
can take up to nine months and can cost over 700 euros ($1,000),
according to the NGO the Voice of the Roma.
Citizens may report cases of discrimination based on national
origin and ethnicity to the HALDE. In 2008 the HALDE received 7,788
discrimination claims, half of which regarded employment.
The government attempted to combat racism and discrimination
through programs that promoted public awareness and brought together
local officials, police, and citizen's groups. Some public school
systems also managed antidiscrimination educational programs. The 2008
plan Hope for Suburbs combined security, employment, housing, and
education measures into a package of initiatives to improve living
conditions and opportunities for the citizens, particularly youth, of
the country's multiracial suburbs. The government allocated 12 billion
euros ($17 billion) during the year to fund the plan, whose
implementation began in June 2008. However, implementation continued to
be slow.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The constitution prohibits
discrimination on the basis of gender, and there are laws prohibiting
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment or
service, public or private. Authorities pursued and punished
perpetrators of violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and
transgender persons (LGBT). The NGO SOS Homophobia reported 1,248
homophobic acts in 2008, a 3 percent decrease from 2007. In 2007 there
were 132 instances of physical assault. After the NGO Inter-LGBT
claimed that homosexual minors were frequently targeted for violence,
the Ministry of National Education responded by asking schools to
introduce lessons on tolerance and diversity.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no societal
violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution and law provides
workers, including migrant workers, the right to form and join unions
of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements, and workers exercised these rights in practice on the
mainland as well as in the overseas territories. The law allows unions
to conduct their activities without interference, and the government
protected this right in practice. Workers, including civil servants,
have the right to strike except when a strike threatens public safety.
Workers exercised this right by conducting legal strikes. Illegal
migrant workers in Paris .''sans-papiere.'') also conducted strikes
without reprisal throughout the year in order to protest their
employment conditions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to bargain collectively, and workers exercised
this right freely. Approximately 8 percent of the workforce maintained
formal union membership, while approximately 90 percent of workers in
the formal economy operated under collective bargaining agreements
negotiated by trade union representatives.
There are no special laws or exceptions from regular labor laws in
the country's three export-processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. However, there were
reports that such practices occurred.
Men, women, and children continued to be trafficked for the purpose
of forced labor, including domestic servitude, many from Africa. The
Committee against Modern Slavery reported that there were 164 cases of
forced labor in 2008.
There were press reports that undetermined numbers of undocumented
immigrants experienced substandard pay and working conditions.
Forced or compulsory child labor occurred. Although there are
strict laws against trafficking in persons for domestic labor, the
press reported cases of forced child labor in households, but no
government statistics substantiated the claim. The press reported that
some African boys were victims of trafficking and lured into forced
labor within the professional soccer industry. The Committee against
Modern Slavery received 200 complaints in 2008.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits most forms of child employment, and the government
generally implemented laws and policies to protect children in the
workplace effectively. Child labor was generally not a problem. Persons
under the age of 16 are prohibited from working, with a few exceptions
for those enrolled in certain apprenticeship programs or working in the
entertainment industry. They may not work after 8:00 p.m. Persons under
the age of 18 are generally prohibited from performing work considered
arduous or working between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Labor inspectors
from the Ministry of Labor, Labor Relations, Family, and Solidarity
investigated workplaces and generally enforced compliance with child
labor laws.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In July the Council of Ministers
raised the national minimum wage to 8.82 euros ($12.61) per hour. The
Ministry of the Economy, Industry, and Employment enforced the new
wage. The minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. Salaries below the minimum wage were permitted for
certain categories of employment, such as persons in subsidized jobs
and internships, which must conform to separate, clearly defined
standards. Employers, except those in the informal economy, generally
adhered to the minimum wage requirement.
The official workweek is 35 hours. Companies may negotiate opt-outs
with employees and increase the maximum number of working days for
white-collar workers to 235 per year from 218 in 2008. Maximum hours of
work are fixed at 10 hours per day, 48 hours per week, and an average
of 44 hours per week over a 12-week work period. Employees were
entitled to a daily rest of at least 11 hours and a weekly break of at
least 24 hours total, not including the daily rest period. Employers
were required to give workers a 20-minute break during a six-hour
workday. Premium pay of 25 percent was mandatory for overtime and on
weekends and holidays. These standards were effectively enforced.
The law sets basic occupational health and safety standards. The
Ministry of Ministry of Labor, Social Relations, the Family,
Solidarity, and Urban Affairs is responsible for enforcing the law and
did so effectively. Workers have the right to remove themselves from
situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardy to
their employment, and the government effectively enforced this right.
__________
GEORGIA
The constitution of the Georgian republic provides for an executive
branch that reports to the president, a unicameral Parliament, and an
independent judiciary. The country has a population of approximately
4.6 million. President Mikheil Saakashvili was reelected in January
2008 in an election that international observers found consistent with
most Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
democratic election commitments; however, the OSCE also highlighted
significant problems, including widespread allegations of intimidation
and pressure, flawed vote-counting and tabulation processes, and
shortcomings in the complaints and appeals process. These and other
problems continued into the parliamentary elections in May 2008, which
international observers concluded were uneven and incomplete in their
adherence to international standards. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
The main human rights abuses reported during the year included at
least one suspected death due to excessive use of force by law
enforcement officers, politically motivated kidnappings and assaults,
poor prison conditions, abuse of prisoners, including juveniles,
arbitrary arrest and detention, politically motivated imprisonment,
excessive use of force to disperse demonstrations, pressure that
appeared politically motivated on owners of property, lack of due
process, government pressure on the judiciary, and senior-level
corruption in the government. Respect for media freedom declined, and
there were cases of government interference with the rights of assembly
and association. While three months of protests by the nonparliamentary
opposition were generally held peacefully, there was a clear imbalance
in protest-related incidents--crimes against government officials were
investigated and solved quickly, while this was not the case for crimes
committed against nonparliamentary opposition activists. There were
some cases of restrictions on religious freedom and a lack of progress
on such religious problems as the determination of ownership of
disputed churches and the unequal status of non-Georgian Orthodox
religions. Abuse of women and children, trafficking in persons, and
societal discrimination and prejudice against persons based on their
sexual orientation were also reported.
Significant human rights achievements included the passage of a
reformed criminal procedure code providing for fair trial protections
and for the introduction in Tbilisi of a limited jury trial system; and
passage of an amended election code calling for the first direct
election of the Tbilisi mayor.
De facto authorities in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia, supported by several thousand occupying Russian troops,
remained outside the control of the central government. In August 2008
Russia officially recognized the independence of both territories.
Pursuant to ``bilateral'' agreements between Russia and the de facto
authorities, Russian border guards began controlling the administrative
boundaries of the two regions in May and restricted the movement of the
local population. A cease-fire remained in effect in both Abkhazia and
South Ossetia, although incidents of violence occurred in both areas.
Deprivation of life, abduction, and arbitrary arrest and detention
continued to be serious problems. Except where otherwise noted, figures
and other data do not include the separatist regions of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia.
The de facto authorities in Abkhazia continued to restrict the
rights, primarily of ethnic Georgians, to vote, to participate in the
political process, and to exercise basic rights such as property
ownership, business registration, and travel permission. Ethnic
Georgians also suffered harassment by Abkhaz and Russian forces, forced
conscription in the Abkhaz ``army,'' a lack of funding for basic
infrastructure maintenance, and limitations on Georgian-language
instruction in the Gali district schools.
In August 2008 the de facto authorities in South Ossetia adopted a
policy of refusing to permit ethnic Georgians driven out during and
after the conflict return to South Ossetia unless they renounced their
Georgian citizenship and took the ``citizenship'' of the ``Republic of
South Osseti.''; in practical terms this often meant accepting a
Russian passport. With the exception of the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC), international organizations were not allowed
regular access to assess the condition of the local population or to
provide humanitarian assistance.
respect for human rights
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Georgian government
officials and de facto authorities accused one another of committing
attacks that resulted in arbitrary and unlawful killings in the
separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia during the year.
Georgian and Russian officials also traded such accusations (see
section 1.g.).
In May 2008 patrol police officers Vakhtang Abuashvili and Levan
Jinikashvili were pursuing a vehicle that was speeding in Tbilisi. The
driver of the vehicle, Giorgi Gamtsemlidze, stopped the car, got out,
and began to run. Abuashvili shot and killed Gamtsemlidze; Abuashvili
stated that he thought that Gamtsemlidze, who was unarmed, had a
weapon. Witnesses stated that Abuashvili did not give a proper verbal
warning prior to firing his weapon. On January 16, the court convicted
Abuashvili and sentenced him to four years in prison for deprivation of
life as a result of negligence. The Public Defender's Office stated
that the investigation was not handled properly and that Abuashvili
should have been prosecuted for intentional murder.
In August 2008 Roin Shavadze, a member of the armed forces, left
for work at the Khelvachauri military base. His wife later received a
call that he had not arrived at work and was seen being forced into a
car. She contacted local police. In the evening, in response to a
telephone call, she went to the emergency room where she found her
husband dead. His body had numerous injuries and bullet wounds.
According to Kobuleti district police inspector Mamuka Tkhiliashvili,
Shavadze was found dead on the Kobuleti-Kakuti highway. Adjara
prosecutor Vasil Roinishvili told Shavadze's widow that he was shot and
killed by police while he was fleeing from the scene of a drug-related
crime. When Shavadze's widow stated she would press for more details
about her husband's case, the prosecutor reportedly threatened her.
Some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that Shavadze's
widow was not recognized as a ``victi.''; only recognized victims or
their legal successor can request information and pursue matters
through the court system. The Ministry of Justice strongly disagreed
with the allegation made by Shavadze's widow against the prosecutor and
stated that in the course of the investigation the court had accorded
her special protective measures. According to the Ministry of Justice,
in August 2008 the criminal case was transferred to the Investigative
Division of the Prosecution of Adjara, and at year's end the
investigation continued.
In 2006 the Prosecutor General's Office opened an investigation to
determine whether law enforcement agents acted in accordance with the
law during a prison riot in Tbilisi Prison Number 5 that year. During
the riot seven prisoners were killed and 22 injured; two Special Forces
Task Force officers were wounded. According to information provided to
the Public Defender's Office by the Office of the Prosecutor General,
the investigation into the incident continued at year's end. Tbilisi
Prison Number 5 was demolished in 2008.
In 2007 authorities submitted a criminal case to the Kutaisi City
Court regarding the 2006 death of Varlam Pkhakadze, who was allegedly
shot and beaten by police investigating a break-in. The court found
officer Ivane Kapatadze guilty of murder and official negligence and
sentenced him to five years in prison. The court convicted three other
officers who had been at the scene. Davit Minashvili was charged with
official negligence, sentenced to three years in prison, and fined
2,000 lari ($1,180). The other officers involved, Avalo Gabrichidze and
Kakha Bunia, were sentenced to two years in prison and fined the same
amount. After the Kutaisi Court of Appeal upheld the decision, the
counsel for Minashvili and the victim appealed the decision to the
Supreme Court. In March 2008 the Supreme Court declined to hear the
appeals. While serving his prison sentence in Prison Number 2,
Minashvili committed suicide in August 2008. An investigation into the
suicide was pending at year's end.
Former police officer Roland Minadze appealed his 2006 conviction
in absentia of falsifying and fabricating evidence, exceeding
authority, and the illegal release of a suspect, in connection with the
fatal beating of Khvicha Kvirikashvili. The Tbilisi City Court of
Appeals upheld the decision in September 2008. On May 27, the Supreme
Court declined to hear any further appeals.
The criminal case against Akaki Bartaia, Kakhaber Azariashvili, and
Giorgi Kurdadze for allegedly fabricating evidence in the 2004 death of
Amiran Robakidze continued at year's end. On December 1, parliament
voted down a proposal to create a parliamentary commission to
investigate the allegations of a police cover-up in this case.
During the year four deaths and 25 injuries from land mines and
unexploded ordnance were reported. Many of the incidents involved old
explosives from the Soviet era. Limited information about incidents in
Abkhazia and South Ossetia made it difficult to confirm reports of
incidents in those regions. In some instances when media reports
attributed deaths to land mines, observers believed they were more
likely due to unexploded ordnance.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances perpetrated by the government. However, some
nonparliamentary opposition parties asserted that a number of their
members had been kidnapped and beaten by unknown assailants for their
political activity.
On August 1, unidentified assailants attacked well-known karate and
wrestling champion Amiran Bitsadze and his friend David Bendeliani.
Bitsadze was a member of the nonparliamentary opposition party
Democratic Movement-United Georgia (DMUG). The DMUG reported that
Bitsadze and Bendeliani were driving in Tbilisi when they came across a
minibus blocking the road. They reported that 15 to 18 masked
assailants dragged them out of the car and beat them. Bendeliani was
left on the street, but Bitsadze was taken away in a car. The DMUG said
that Bitsadze was later found on a highway with two bullet-like wounds
on his back, a broken leg, and a broken arm. The DMUG claimed that the
wounds on Bitsadze's back came from rubber bullets similar to those the
government used and that Bendeliani had described the vehicle as
similar to those used by police special forces. The DMUG claimed that
the motivation for the attack was Bitsadze's affiliation with the
party. An investigation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the
ministry under which all police departments fall, was underway at
year's end.
Disappearances and kidnapping occurred during the year in the
separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, although reliable
information from these separatist regions, which remained outside of
government control, remained difficult to obtain. In some cases the
missing individuals turned out to have been detained by Russian or de
facto authorities (see section 1.d.).
On August 13, the local media reported that several workers from
the Enguri hydroelectric power station in the predominately ethnically
Georgian Gali District of separatist Abkhazia were abducted by Russian
and Abkhaz forces and taken to the capital, Sukhumi. The abductors
reportedly told local villagers they arrested the workers for refusing
to accept Russian passports.
On August 7, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that
unidentified individuals took five local shepherds by force from the
village of Koshka, in undisputed Georgian territory, across the
administrative boundary into separatist South Ossetia. The shepherds
were later released unharmed. The shepherds said that they were told
that the motive for their abduction was their illegal entry into
separatist South Ossetian territory.
Please see section 1.g. for information on disappearances and
kidnappings during the August 2008 conflict.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
there were reports that government officials continued to employ them
with limited accountability.
On May 12, according to the Human Rights Center, law enforcement
authorities severely beat Nugzar Otanadze, whom they had detained
because he was related to Koba Otanadze, accused of leading a mutiny at
the Mukhrovani military base (see section 1.d. and 1.g). The Ministry
of Internal Affairs charged Nugzar Otanadze with resisting arrest, and
a court placed him in pretrial detention for two months. The Human
Rights Center alleged that authorities broke Otanadze's arm and caused
him to lose consciousness during the alleged beating. The Public
Defender's Office also reported the incident and requested that the
Prosecutor's Office initiate a criminal case, which it did. At year's
end the investigation continued.
On July 7, representatives of the Public Defender's Office went to
Kutaisi Jail and Strict Regime Institution number 2 to investigate an
incident involving 12 juveniles that took place the previous day. The
representatives reported that at about 2 a.m. on July 6, masked
unidentified officers that they characterized as coming from a special
unit entered the juveniles' cell area and demanded that the prisoners
come outside. The juveniles, who had been housed in three cells, were
then taken out into the corridor, forced to put their hands on the
wall, and assaulted verbally and physically. The Public Defender's
Office reported that the juveniles were beaten with open palms, wet
towels, and padlocks. The prisoners said the officers threatened to
urinate on their heads or expose them to possible sexual assault if
they moved. The Public Defender's Office reported that the juveniles
spent about five hours with their hands in this position. Reportedly
the officers also made them put on police caps, salute, and say, ``We
are serving Georgia.'' The prisoners stated that the officers focused
on the inmates of cell number 102; one of them, L.L., lost
consciousness and collapsed.
The juveniles also reported being forced to pass through a so-
called corridor, where the employees of the institution and the
officers beat and spat on them, after which they were transferred to
the quarantine block. The Public Defender's Office reported that
penitentiary authorities claimed that no one was hurt during the
incident. However, representatives of the Public Defender's Office
inspected the juveniles and noted that they bore injuries of different
types and sizes.
According to the Ministry of Justice, an investigation that begun
on July 7 concluded that the juveniles in question destroyed their
cells and incited other juveniles to riot for several hours until
brought under control by a special task force unit of the Penitentiary
Department of the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance. During
these events 11 juvenile prisoners reportedly received minor injuries.
On July 16, the Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal investigation,
which continued at year's end, into the allegation of excessive of use
of force by prison staff. The juveniles were transferred to Prison
Number 5 for Juveniles and Women in Tbilisi.
According to the Public Defender's Office and human rights
monitors, the incidence of abuse in police stations remained low, due
to continued, unannounced, random monitoring of stations. The office
reported that abuse at temporary detention facilities was practically
eliminated by the end of 2007, but some cases of physical abuse were
reported directly to the police stations. In June 2008 the Public
Defender's Office reported that torture had become rare and that there
had been efforts to improve laws, discuss complaints publicly, and
raise awareness of the problem. (The penalty for torture was increased
from five to 15 years in prison in 2008.) Despite the changes,
intimidation of suspects remained a problem.
In the first half of the year, according to the Public Defender's
Office, there were three possible incidents in which law enforcement
officials beat persons in detention awaiting trial.
During protests in the spring, the Public Defender's Office
received 32 complaints of police mistreatment from protest activists.
According to the Ministry of Justice, during the year 17 cases were
opened into claims of torture, six cases into inhuman or degrading
treatment, one case into giving evidence under duress, and one case
into premeditated less grave injury to health. Five of the claims of
torture were terminated for lack of cause, and one was submitted to the
court for criminal proceedings; the accused was convicted. Of the
claims of inhuman or degrading treatment, two were submitted to the
court for criminal proceedings, and in both cases there was a
conviction. Both the case involving evidence obtained under duress and
the case of premeditated, but less grave injury to health were
terminated for lack of cause. In 2008 there were 39 investigations
opened into claims of torture or degrading treatment against Ministry
of Internal Affairs personnel. Eight cases were carried over from 2007.
Of these, 23 investigations were terminated for lack of cause, two
cases went forward to criminal proceedings, and five persons were found
guilty. Of the five found guilty, one was given a conditional sentence
of five years and fined 10214.80 lari($5,920),one was sentenced to 18
years in prison, and three were sentenced to 22 years in prison.
NGOs reported victims often did not report abuse, fearing police
retribution against them or their families. NGOs also continued to
claim that close ties between the Prosecutor General's Office and
police hindered their ability to substantiate police misconduct and
alleged that the judiciary's lack of professionalism and independence
made it unresponsive to torture allegations. As a result, despite
implementation of positive reforms, NGOs claimed law enforcement
officials could still resort to torture or mistreatment with limited
risk of exposure or punishment. NGOs also believed a lack of adequate
training for law enforcement officers, as well as low public awareness
of the protections afforded citizens, impeded improvements.
The Public Defender's Office noted that monitoring groups found no
instances in which police officers had incorrectly registered a
detainee upon arrival at the police station, which previously had been
a means for police officers to conceal abuse. All law enforcement
officers and representatives of the Prosecutor's Office--except for
officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs police from special units
including the Special Operatives Department, the Constitutional
Protection Department, and the counterterrorism center--were required
to wear identity badges during meetings with detainees and prisoners.
Special police units were exempt to protect members' anonymity. NGOs
believed this prevented accountability for any abuse by the units.
In 2008 the Public Defender's Office noted 112 detainees who were
admitted at pretrial detention facilities with injuries, of whom eight
claimed to have been injured by police. Three detainees claimed that
they had been pressured by police officers. The Public Defender's
Office reported that 132 complaints of police mistreatment of detainees
had been filed in 2008. Mistreatment included verbal and physical
abuse.
In 2008 five Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel were found
guilty of torturing or administering degrading treatment to persons in
their charge.
There were reports of indiscriminate military force by the parties
to the August 2008 conflict in South Ossetia resulting in civilian
injuries (see section 1.g.).
In January 2008 Zugdidi police officers Data Gvinjilia and Davit
Nadaraia arrested Gocha Ekhvaia near ``Engurkalakkombinad'' in Zugdidi.
Police reported making the arrest, for hooliganism, near the train
station. Ekhvaia alleged that police forcibly took him from his home
after questioning him on the whereabouts of a missing person, beat him,
and drove him around before testing him for drugs. Ekhvaia was placed
in isolation for seven days of court-ordered administrative detention;
in February 2008 he lost consciousness and was hospitalized. The
Zugdidi regional prosecutor's office began an investigation into
allegations that police tortured Ekhvaia in February 2008. In May 2008
Ekhvaia told the Zugdidi court that he would be unable to identify his
abusers, and the prosecutor's office was unable to identify the
officers who committed the offense. The investigation continued at
year's end.
During the year law enforcement authorities closed their
investigation into alleged police mistreatment of Teimuraz Gorgisheli
in July 2008 because they were unable to contact Gorgisheli to continue
the investigation.
The Prosecutor General's Office continued to investigate the
allegation by former chief of the State Audit Agency, Sulkhan
Molashvili, that he was tortured while in pretrial detention in 2004.
According to information the public defender obtained from the Ministry
of Justice, the investigation was still pending, and there were no
suspects or charged individual(s) identified at year's end. According
to the Ministry of Justice, Molashvili was unable to identify the
offenders. Molashvili was pardoned and released in January 2008.
In 2007 a presidential decree created an Interagency Anti-Torture
Council to address torture and mistreatment in prisons and closed
facilities. The council consisted of representatives from the Public
Defender's Office, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministries of
Justice, Internal Affairs, Education, Foreign Affairs, Health, and
Defense, the Penitentiary Department, domestic NGOs, and three
nonvoting international observers. In June 2008 a multifaceted action
plan proposed by the council was approved by presidential decree; the
plan addressed torture, mistreatment, and medical care. On November 27,
2009, the president amended his decree creating the interagency council
to provide for periodic updates to monitor the implementation of the
action plan and to allow the council to create working groups for the
completion of specific objectives in the action plan.
Under a new National Prevention Mechanism, the Public Defender's
Office was the lead on monitoring allegations of torture and
mistreatment of detainees. On July 16, parliament amended the law ``On
the Public Defender'' to give the Public Defender's Office greater
responsibility for monitoring prisons and closed facilities, including
by involving external experts in monitoring. In this role the Public
Defender's Office will be the ``national prevention mechanism'' as
required by the country's acceptance of the UN's Optional Protocol to
the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT)and is responsible for
communicating its reports to the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of
Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(SPT). The Public Defender's Office continued to seek an amendment to
allow its monitors the authority to use recording tools to document
evidence such as detainees with injuries during the monitoring process.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in many prison
and pretrial detention facilities generally remained poor and did not
meet international standards. The Public Defender's Office, the OSCE,
the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), and many NGOs, including Human
Rights Watch (HRW), continued to report that while newly constructed
facilities met international standards, old facilities still in use
were inhumane and presented life-threatening conditions, including poor
facilities, overcrowding, and inadequate health care. Most prison and
pretrial detention facilities lacked adequate sanitary facilities.
According to Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance data, 92
convicts died in prison during the year, compared with 94 in 2008, and
98 in 2007. The Public Defender's Office reported that it frequently
petitioned prison officials to obtain necessary medical treatment for
inmates. Human rights monitors, including the public defender,
witnessed sporadic prisoner hunger strikes to protest poor conditions
and alleged due process violations.
In 2006 Shalva Ramishvili of independent TV 202 filed an
application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) challenging
the legality of his arrest and treatment in detention. During his
incarceration he was moved from his regular cell to a small
disciplinary solitary confinement cell, which he alleged lacked
necessary ventilation and sanitary facilities. On January 27, the ECHR
ordered the government to pay Ramishvili 6,000 euros ($8,580) for
nonpecuniary damage and 7,347 euros ($10,540) for costs and expenses.
In its judgment the ECHR stated that the ``inhumane and degrading
conditions in which he was detained in the punishment cell at Tbilisi
Prison number 5'' constituted a violation of Ramishvili's rights. On
August 26, Ramishvili was released after completing his four-year
prison term.
Many prisons were severely short of medical facilities, including
equipment and medicine. Following the merger of the Ministry of Justice
and the General Prosecutor's Office in 2008, the Penitentiary
Department was transferred to the Ministry of Correction and Legal
Assistance. At that time the unit within the General Inspection of the
Ministry of Justice that was responsible for the monitoring of
penitentiary establishments was transferred to the General Inspection
of the new Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance, which also
received a new Department of Health Care. The Ministry of Corrections
and Legal Assistance created a plan for the development of a new
health-care system in penitentiaries intended to integrate civil and
penitentiary health-care systems, improve the level of service in
penitentiary facilities, raise the needed qualifications of medical
staff, develop a computerized system, and comply with international
medical standards. On June 25, the Ministry of Corrections and Legal
Assistance and the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Protection
issued a joint decree setting out a strategy for the treatment of
inmates infected with hepatitis C.
According to the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance, as
of January prison health care was no longer outsourced to a private
insurance company because of the inadequate services it provided. In
January the Department of Health Care was charged with administering
and monitoring all health care in penitentiary establishments.
According to the Public Defender's Office, the distribution of doctors
within the system was disproportionate and unequal. Apart from the
Institution of Medical Care for Prisoners, no psychiatrist was employed
in any of the penitentiary institutions. A total of 172 nurses were
employed at the penitentiary system, 38 percent of whom worked at the
Central Hospital for Prisoners.
According to Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance, the
overall inmate population at the end of the year was 21,239, compared
with 18,528 in 2008. The law defines three categories of
penitentiaries: common regime, strict regime, and prison. Inmates were
assigned to facilities depending on their crimes, with first-time
offenders and persons convicted of less serious crimes assigned to
common regime establishments, while recidivists and those who committed
more grave crimes were assigned to strict regime establishments or
prisons.
The law sets the standard living space per prisoner as 22 square
feet in common and strict regime establishments, 27 square feet in
prisons, 32 square feet in the women's colony, 37 square feet for
juveniles, and 32 square feet in medical facilities. According to the
Public Defender's Office, six facilities were overcrowded in the first
half of the year. According to the Ministry of Corrections and Legal
Assistance, four of their 12 ``strict regime'' facilities, including a
juvenile education institution and inmate medical institutions, were
overcrowded during the year. The ministry also reported that four of
their eight prisons were overcrowded during the year. International
organizations who monitor prison conditions pointed out that the
country's space requirements for prisoners did not meet international
standards.
The Presidential Administration sought to use early release of
certain convicts to reduce the high numbers of the prison population.
According to Ministry of Justice figures, 990 prisoners were pardoned
during the year (848 were released and 142 had their sentences
reduced), compared with 2,804 in 2008.
In April 2008 authorities closed Tbilisi Prison Number 5 and
subsequently demolished it; Prison Number 5 had been criticized for
poor conditions and abysmal overcrowding.
A working unit of the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance
continued to oversee implementation of a code of conduct for
penitentiary employees modeled after European practices. According to
the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Affairs, there were 263 cases of
disciplinary violations by officers in various penitentiaries during
the year, 15 of which resulted in dismissal. This compared to 179 cases
in 2008 that resulted in the dismissal of 10 officers and lesser
punishments for 169. Possible punishment included notice, reprimand,
and severe reprimand and warning.
During the year the Ministry of Justice and donor organizations
organized and conducted at least 20 seminars and training programs for
1,252 participants, compared with 12 in 2008 with, 738 participants.
These programs focused on international human rights standards,
juvenile justice, trafficking and domestic violence, and professional
training in preparation for implementation of the new criminal
procedure code.
Prior to November 2008, local monitoring councils were appointed to
work in eight penitentiaries to monitor conditions, develop
recommendations, and submit quarterly reports. Council members were
selected on the basis of their desire to work, qualifications, and
reputation, and were approved by the minister of justice. Some
observers questioned the objectivity of the councils, and NGOs noted
that more than half the councils existed only on paper and had stopped
functioning because members' terms had expired and they had not been
replaced. Council members also had difficulty getting passes to enter
prisons. The councils ceased functioning when their mandate expired in
November 2008. Despite the creation of a new Ministry of Corrections
and Legal Assistance and the appointment of a minister to head it on
February 2, monitoring councils had not been reestablished. The new
national prevention mechanism established under the Public Defender's
Office was intended to replace the councils.
The ICRC had full access to detention facilities throughout the
country, including those operated by the de facto authorities in
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, to monitor conditions of detention and
treatment of all detainees. The ICRC also provided support to health
programs in prisons and detention centers.
Prison conditions in the two separatist regions were chronically
substandard, although overcrowding reportedly was not a problem. The
CPT visited Abkhazia from April 27 to May 4. Its December 23 report on
the visit contained several recommendations concerning Dranda prison,
the sole establishment for convicted prisoners in Abkhazia. They
recommended that measures be taken to prevent prisoner-on-prisoner
intimidation, to supply hygiene products and drinking water to
prisoners on a regular basis, to remedy the absence of panes in the
cell windows, and immediately to bring the electrical power supply
network up to standard.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the government did
not consistently observe these prohibitions. During the year the number
of alleged cases of arbitrary arrest and detention increased.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs has primary responsibility for law enforcement. During
times of internal disorder, the government may call on the Ministry of
Internal Affairs or the military. The ministry controls the police,
which are divided into functional departments and a separate,
independently funded, police protection department that provides
security and protection to both infrastructure sites and private
businesses.
A new criminal procedure code (CPC) was adopted and signed into law
on October 9. Most provisions of the code were scheduled to become
effective on October 1, 2010. The new CPC encourages accountability and
professionalism in the police force by barring the use of illegally
seized evidence and legally seized evidence that stemmed from an
initial illegal action by police (see section 1.e.).
A law establishing an investigative service under the Ministry of
Finance went into effect on December 1. Previously, the special
investigative unit, which functioned as the ``financial police,'' was
under the revenue service at the Ministry of Finance and essentially
had all of the same roles and responsibilities as this new
investigative service. This new service is directly under the finance
minister.
There was a low incidence of police corruption at the patrol level.
As a result of reforms, the relatively high salaries for police
officers provided an incentive to refrain from using their positions to
extort money from citizens and from mistreatment or abuse of detainees.
During the nonparliamentary opposition protests between April and
July, police reportedly used excessive force against protesters on
several occasions (see section 2.b.), and in most cases investigations
into such allegations were unresolved at year's end.
Also unresolved at year's end were continued allegations from the
Public Defender's Office and NGOs that police planted evidence, engaged
in inhumane and degrading treatment, abused official authority, and
exceeded the limits of official authority. During the year
nonparliamentary opposition activists claimed that they were especially
targeted for such action by police officials (see section 1.e.).
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the year its
General Inspection Service imposed disciplinary punishment, including
reprimands, demotions, and dismissals, in 566 cases. The ministry also
reported that during the year 29 police officers were arrested for
committing various crimes, including taking bribes (seven), drugs
(five) ``swindling'' (eight), illegally carrying firearms (five) and
abuse of power (four). The General Inspection Service issued two
reprimands, five ``severe'' reprimands, and discharged six officers for
physical and verbal assaults.
In 2007 officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs reportedly
arrested Lasha Khorguiani, Gocha Mildiani, and Khvicha Mildiani,
planted drugs on them, unlawfully detained them, and tortured
Khorguiani. The arrests were allegedly made at the behest of Irakli
Kodua, the head of the ministry's Special Operatives Department. Gocha
and Khvicha Mildiani were released later that month. Khorguiani was
released after two months of detention and a 5,000 lari (2,960 dollar)
fine. No charges were brought against ministry officials, and there
were no new developments as of year's end.
Authorities arrested or administratively disciplined police
officers; according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there were 838
such cases during the year. The Human Rights Protection Unit in the
Office of the Prosecutor General issued regular updates on the status
of cases, trials, and investigations of human rights violations.
However, NGOs maintained that the incidence of abuse was higher than
the number of cases investigated by the prosecutor general and that the
failure to conduct systematic investigations and pursue convictions of
all alleged abusers contributed to a culture of impunity. Human rights
NGOs also asserted that many instances of abuse went unreported by
victims due to fear of reprisal or lack of confidence in the judicial
system.
The Prosecutor General's Office was in charge of all criminal
investigations into allegations of torture and mistreatment.
Prosecutors were required to investigate police use of force when a
detainee with injuries sustained during arrest was registered. The law
required the office to open an investigation when it received
information about a possible violation, even if from an anonymous
source. If prosecutors concluded after investigation that charges were
not warranted, the decision could be appealed to a higher level within
the office. Any person subjected to abuse was able to pursue a civil
action against the abuser. In some cases the Prosecutor General's
office continued investigations indefinitely without issuing any
findings. In most cases that were completed, the office confirmed that
the use of force by police was reasonable.
A 2006 police code of ethics obliges police officers to uphold the
human rights of all persons and to use force only when strictly
necessary for the performance of their duties; the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Prosecutor General's Office are responsible for
implementing the code. The General Inspection Service is responsible
for investigating suspected duty infractions by police officers,
receiving complaints from citizens who call in on the ministry hotline,
via the public defender, or from the main unit of the Human Rights and
Monitoring Department of the ministry. Infractions may be addressed to
the police officer's supervisor, who can also initiate an inquiry.
There are seven categories of disciplinary measures: reproach,
condemnation, severe condemnation, deprivation of the ministry badge,
demotion, demotion by one grade, or dismissal. If there is suspicion
that a police officer committed a criminal act, the officer is
suspended, and if the allegations are confirmed, the inquiry materials
are transferred to the Prosecutor's Office for criminal investigation.
During the year the Police Academy included additional training on
human rights in the basic course for patrol police and conducted
additional specialized training on human rights in cooperation with
international partners such as the Council of Europe. The Police
Academy curriculum for 2,047 patrol, regional inspectors, and junior
police officers included training on the legal basis for the use of
coercive force, tactical training on negotiation skills for managing
critical situations with the goal of using coercive force as a last
resort, police ethics, and role playing to illustrate these points. The
minister of internal affairs required that all officers be retrained
periodically in the use of force and human rights, and during the year
854 officers underwent such training.
During the year some members of religious minority groups reported
that police officers did not respond satisfactorily when called out to
cases of harassment against them (see section 2.c.)
Konstantine Chrelashvili alleged that Ministry of Internal Affairs
officials tortured him in order to force a confession in 2004. In 2006
the accused officials, B. Khvhistani, K. Sopromadze, and J. Jankhoteli,
were found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment. In 2008 Chrelashvili
filed a civil case against the Ministry of Internal Affairs requesting
compensation for the victim from those who committed the crime. In 2008
the Tbilisi City Court found in favor of Chrelashvili and awarded him
9,000 lari ($5,325).
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The new CPC,
scheduled to take effect in 2010, includes better-defined rights and
due process protections for those arrested and measures intended to
increase the speediness of trials, thus potentially reducing time in
detention (see section 1.e.). The new CPC provides that the term of the
defendant's initial arrest shall not exceed 72 hours, and the arrested
person shall be presented with the indictment within 48 hours from the
moment of arrest. Upon arrest, the defendant is to be advised of all
legal rights, and any postarrest statements made prior to the
advisement of rights will be inadmissible and excluded from evidence in
the criminal case.
Under the existing CPC, police, investigators, and prosecutors may
arrest a person upon suspicion and without a warrant.(The new CPC
permits law enforcement officers to arrest a person without a warrant
only in exceptional cases.) The law stipulates that detainees must be
brought before a magistrate judge within 72 hours. Those not charged
within this period must be released. The Prosecutor General's Office is
the only body authorized to engage directly with the courts. At year's
end there were no reported cases of detainees kept longer than 72 hours
without being charged. During the year the Public Defender's Office did
not document any case where this time limit was violated.
During the year law enforcement officers reportedly planted drugs
or weapons in order to arrest and charge individuals in a number of
criminal cases, many of which were considered politically motivated.
The following common factors were present in many of these cases:
Charges were often only supported by police officer testimony; forensic
or ballistic evidence to corroborate police testimony was typically not
presented in these cases; and police commonly did not conduct searches
with a warrant. While such additional evidence was not legally
mandated, its absence, especially given allegations of political
motivation, raised concerns among observers (see section 1.e.).
During the year there were also reports that authorities detained
individuals solely because they were family members of a criminal
suspect despite the lack of evidence of any ties to the alleged crime.
The public defender and NGOs reported that in the early hours of May
20, police officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs' detained at
least 11 relatives of Koba Otanadze, accused of being one of the
leaders of the Mukhrovani mutiny (see sections 1.g. and 1.c.). The
family members included Otanadze's brothers, Jimsher and Nugzar
Otanadze, as well as Jimsher's wife, Gulo Zaridze, and Jimsher's son,
Giorgi Otanadze. Authorities did not formally register their detention
of these individuals, and the public defender could not determine their
whereabouts. They were released 21 hours later after the arrest of Koba
Otanadze. On May 22, the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the
detention of some family members under the status of ``suspects'' or
``witnesses.'' Charges of resisting arrest were filed against Nugzar
Otanadze (see section 1.c.), but no other formal charges had been filed
at year's end, either against detained family members or against those
responsible for such detentions.
In 2007 the law was amended to lower from 14 to 12 years the
minimum age at which children may be held criminally responsible for
certain violent crimes, such as first degree murder and rape. HRW and
others criticized the change. The criminal code states that as of July
2008 juveniles who commit violent crimes will be punished with fines
until the government opens a juvenile correction facility that meets
international standards.
A detainee has the right to request immediate access to a lawyer
and the right to refuse to make a statement in the absence of counsel.
An indigent defendant has the right to counsel provided at public
expense. The ministry in charge of the proceedings appoints the counsel
upon the defendant's request. If a defendant requests an attorney after
arrest, the investigator or prosecutor who is handling the case is
responsible for contacting and engaging the attorney. The law provides
for attorneys to be furnished free of charge to all persons charged in
criminal cases.
In 2007 former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili gave a televised
press conference in which he declared his opposition to the government
and accused President Saakashvili of several serious crimes, including
ordering him to kill prominent businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili.
Police arrested Okruashvili and charged him with corruption later that
month. Opposition leaders expressed concern that Okruashvili's arrest
was politically motivated, constituted an attempt to intimidate the
political opposition, and was part of a series of attacks on human
rights by the government. Okruashvili was released on bail in after
making a videotaped confession to some of the charges against him and
retracted his charges against Saakashvili. Okruashvili left the country
that year and, in subsequent interviews from abroad, stated that his
confession, retraction, and departure from the country had been forced.
In 2007 Okruashvili was arrested in Germany and later returned to
France, his original entry point into Europe. In March 2008 Okruashvili
was tried in absentia in Tbilisi, found guilty of large-scale
extortion, and sentenced to 11 years in prison. In April 2008 he was
granted political asylum in France. In September 2008 the French
appellate court ruled against Okruashvili's extradition to Georgia.
Members of Okruashvili's political party alleged that close associates
or family members of associates were arrested because of their party
affiliation.
Human rights NGOs claimed the government detained 60 to 100
soldiers after the armed conflict in August 2008. Some attributed the
detentions to their failure to report to their units during the war.
Others maintained that the detentions were for suspected drug use or
some other charge. The press reported that soldiers were arrested for
speaking out against the government. Many were released on bail or
pardoned. NGOs could not confirm that any of these soldiers remained in
detention at year's end. Defense counsel has the right to meet persons
accused of a crime without hindrance, supervision, or undue
restriction; however, some attorneys alleged that audio and video
equipment in police stations, which was intended to record
interrogations of suspects by law enforcement or investigators, was
used improperly sometimes to monitor privileged attorney-client
conversations.
Officers must notify detainees' families of their location within
five hours of their arrest and record the circumstances of the
notification in the case record. Monitoring boards regularly reviewed
these records during their visits to police stations.
Police are also required to inform detainees orally of their rights
and to provide them a copy of the arrest and search form, signed by
police and detainees, to acknowledge that detainees have been fully
informed of their rights. The Public Defender's Office and NGOs
reported that police often failed to inform detainees fully of their
rights and that, if informed of their rights, detainees often did not
understand them.
Under the current code of criminal procedure, preventive measures
of restraint include pretrial detention, bail, personal guarantee,
placement of a juvenile defendant under supervision; placement of a
military serviceman under commander's supervision. The new CPC expands
on these to include more alternative options to detention such as the
following: the obligation to appear in court at a set time or upon
summons; the prohibition to undertake certain activities or pursue a
certain profession; the obligation to report to the court, police, or
other state agency daily or periodically; supervision of an agency
appointed by the court; electronic monitoring; the obligation to be
present at a certain place; the prohibition to leave or enter a certain
location; the prohibition to meet certain persons without special
authorization; and the obligation to surrender passport or other
identification document.
Since January 2007 the judiciary has sought to use bail rather than
pretrial detention. NGOs noted that, due to economic hardship, some
defendants were not able to pay bail even when it was granted and ended
up in pretrial detention. According to Ministry of Justice data for the
first 11 months of the year, bail was used in 4,727 cases, custodial
bail used in 2,031 cases, pretrial detention used in 6,957 cases,
release under supervision in 174 cases, and other measures of restrain
in 35 cases. A property bond is also permitted.
As a result of multiple surveys, the judiciary established that in
all three court levels, the average trial time was 12.6 months. The
duration of trials at the court of first instance did not exceed three
to five months. The courts strictly adhered to the requirements of the
constitution, according to which pretrial detention must not exceed
nine months, and initial investigations must be finalized within 72
hours after a person's detention. One cause of delays in scheduling
trials has been the failure of prosecutors and defense lawyers to show
up for hearings. Both prosecutors and defense lawyers used this tactic
if they were not prepared to conduct their case on the day in question.
The new CPC includes sanctions that the court can impose for such
misconduct by the trial lawyers. This provision was scheduled to go
into effect on October 10, 2010. As discussed below, the extensive
professional training of judges causing some court vacancies also
caused some trial delays.
Once the verdict is rendered, the prison sentence begins
immediately regardless of any appeal process underway. There is a
maximum three-month appeal process for the appellate court and a
maximum of six months for the Cassation Court in the Supreme Court. If
all appeals are exhausted, a prisoner can be held for a maximum of 18
months. There are no time constraints once the trial begins for the
first instance court to render a verdict.
During the year there were many cases of individuals detained in
the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for charges
related to their ``illegal'' crossing of the administrative boundary
line. Russian border guards, who began administering the boundary lines
in May, carried out many of those detentions by enforcing boundary-
crossing rules imposed by de facto authorities but then generally
handed custody of the individuals over to the de facto authorities. In
most cases the individuals were released within a few hours or days; in
some cases the individuals were held considerably longer. Georgian
authorities detained a number of individuals near the administrative
boundary lines on various charges, including illegal entry into the
country. Such individuals often carried only Russian passports with no
evidence of authorization to enter Georgia.
In February Ika Bigvava, a resident of Otobaia in Abkhazia, was
detained briefly by Abkhaz de facto forces. Several members of his
village reportedly helped him flee across the administrative boundary
line out of Abkhazia. According to the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) and
the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), on the next day at least
20 and possibly as many as 40 or more villagers, including some
children, were detained or blocked from their residences by Abkhaz
forces demanding the return of Bigvava or the retraction of allegations
he made about his mistreatment while in Abkhaz detention. The detained
individuals were released within a day.
In August six individuals were detained in the Akhalgori region of
South Ossetia and charged with attempting to smuggle wood. According to
the EUMM, the charges were later reduced to ``illegally'' crossing the
boundary line but then changed back to smuggling. Despite efforts by
the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights to negotiate
their release, they remained in the custody of the de facto South
Ossetian authorities at year's end.
In October, 16 individuals chopping down wood were detained by
Russian border guards near the South Ossetian administrative boundary
line. Although the Russian officials, South Ossetian de facto
authorities, Georgian officials, and the EUMM all agreed that the
incident occurred within a short distance of the boundary, the de facto
South Ossetian authorities kept the individuals in custody for four
days on charges of ``illegally'' crossing the boundary before releasing
them.
Amnesty.--Article 77 of the criminal code states that Parliament
declares amnesty in regard to a group of individuals recommended by a
parliamentary committee; the Amnesty Act can absolve a convict of
criminal responsibility, meaning that the defendant is freed of the
charges, or the designated sentence could be reduced. The Amnesty Act
permits the criminal record of the convict to be expunged. In contrast,
article 78 states that a pardon is carried out by the president in
regard to a specific individual; the Act of Pardon can absolve a
convict of the responsibility to serve out a sentence or the designated
penalty could be reduced or modified with a lighter sentence; the Act
of Pardon can expunge the criminal record of the convict. There
appeared to be inconsistencies regarding the government's
interpretation of these provisions for the expunging of a convict's
criminal record.
During the year according to Ministry of Corrections and Legal
Assistance statistics, there were three tranches of presidential orders
pardoning a total of 687 convictsThe law allows the President to
unilaterally pardon an inmate, bypassing the parliamentary committee.
On March 12, one of the president's three tranches of pardons
halved the prison sentences for the four men found guilty of murdering
Sandro Girgvliani in 2006. The four men were among a reported 45
convicts who received a pardon in this tranche. At the time of the
crime, the four men, Gia Alania, Avtandil Aptsiauri, Aleksandre
Gachava, and Mikheil Bibiluri, were employees of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs. They were sentenced to eight and seven-year prison
terms in 2006 for inflicting injuries that resulted in Girgvliani's
death. Two opposition members of parliament (MPs) resigned from the
parliamentary commission on pardons to protest the president's pardon,
which bypassed the commission. Since the four had already served almost
half of their original sentences, on September 6 they were released
along with 384 other convicts, whose imprisonments were replaced with
probation terms.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary. However, reports persisted that the executive
branch continued to exert pressure on judicial authorities. According
to the public defender's report for the first half of the year, in
criminal cases the courts did not adequately implement the right to a
fair trial provided by the European Convention of Human Rights. The
report also stated that the majority of ECHR decisions against the
country referred to the violation of this right. Many NGOs complained
that judicial authorities continued to act as a rubber stamp for
prosecutors' decisions and that the executive branch exerted undue
influence. NGOs also expressed concern that recent judicial appointees
lacked the experience and training to act independently. Much of the
public viewed the judiciary as the country's most corrupt institution.
Under the existing CPC, judges may question witnesses, which
results in the court directing the investigation. As a result, judges
were viewed as assisting the prosecution, a perception that contributed
to the low ratings of the judiciary in public trust polls. The CPC
scheduled to take effect in 2010 mandates an entirely new role for the
judge--that of an objective arbiter and decision maker, who has no role
in prosecuting or defending the case.
The high number of judicial vacancies at the trial court level may
have contributed to some delays scheduling trials. The High Council
graduated a total of 33 new judges during the year. The speed at which
the judiciary could add new judges was affected by a new 14-month
training program that each judicial candidate was required to pass.
Judges serve 10-year terms, a limited term that some observers
viewed as militating against the independence of judges.
The ECHR ruled on October 27 that a 1999 trial of three men was
unfair because the Criminal Bench of the Supreme Court, which had tried
them, was not a ``tribunal established by law,'' since it included two
lay judges who were not legally competent to exercise the functions of
a judge. The country abolished the institution of lay judges in 2005.
In 2008 the ECHR issued a judgment that found one violation by the
country of the right to a fair trial under the European Convention on
Human Rights. The court also found one violation by the country with
respect to length of proceedings.
According to Ministry of Justice data for the first 11 months of
the year, the government initiated criminal proceedings against 18,048
persons, of whom 15,415 were convicted. Some NGOs and nonparliamentary
opposition alleged that in cases involving opposition activists, the
courts tended to rule in favor of the government.
Following constitutional amendments in 2006, the High Council of
Justice, the body that disciplines judges, operated as an independent
institution with a majority of its members from the judiciary. In 2007
parliament passed further changes to the law on common courts,
reorganizing the High Council of Justice and removing the minister of
justice as a member, the last such executive branch official. Eight
judicial members whom the Conference of Judges elected and the chairman
of the Supreme Court constitute the majority of the 15-member High
Council of Justice. The president appoints an additional two members of
the council, and parliament appoints three. The head of the legal
committee of parliament, currently a member of the ruling party, is an
ex officio member of the High Council of Justice. A July 2008 amendment
required that--of the three MPs elected to the Council of Justice--one
must be from a faction other than the parliamentary majority. Nikoloz
Laliashvili from the Christian Democratic Movement occupied this
position during the year.
Following the constitutional amendments, the authority to appoint
or dismiss judges was moved from the president to the High Council of
Justice, and the chairman of the Supreme Court was made chairman of the
council to increase the transparency of the judicial appointment
process. During the year NGOs and observers called for increased
transparency in the selection, appointment, and disciplinary processes
for judges. Despite the use of objective written examinations to create
a pool of potential qualified appointees and publication of the names
of all potential candidates for public comment, the judicial
appointment process was not sufficiently transparent. Oral interviews
of appointees were held behind closed doors with no public knowledge of
what criteria were used for selection.
During the year the Supreme Court and the High School of Justice
unveiled a 14-month intensive training program for prospective new
judges. This program was expected to shift towards a more merit-based
selection and vetting process and help eliminate unqualified judicial
appointees. The new training program included exams and performance
measures that provided objective criteria for ranking the performance
of the judicial candidates.
In 2007 parliament passed legislation on ex parte communications,
prohibiting prosecutors, defendants, investigators, and any interested
third parties from contacting judges outside the courtroom during cases
to influence their judgments. The legislation, which went into effect
in 2007, also repealed Soviet-era laws that punished judges, both
criminally and administratively, for making incorrect rulings,
provisions that many observers believed the government could use to
limit judicial independence. The law requires judges to immediately
report in writing any ex parte communication to the chairman of the
court, who must review the report within 14 days and can impose a fine
up to 2,000 lari ($1,180) or forward the matter to the secretary of the
Council of Justice. The secretary then has one month to review the
report and forward it to the appropriate regulatory body, such as the
prosecutor general for prosecutors, the Georgian Bar Association for
defense attorneys, or the relevant agency heads for investigators for
disciplinary action. The High Council of Justice may appeal a decision
of the regulatory bodies not to impose a disciplinary sanction
according to the general rule for appealing administrative rulings.
According to the judiciary, there were no disciplinary actions
taken related to ex parte communications during the year. There were
four violations in 2008, three of which did not appear to involve
public officials, reported to the High Council of Justice.
In September 2008 a Zestaponi District judge received a telephone
call from a person who introduced himself as a minister of justice and
asked him to consider ruling in favor of a party on a civil case, who
was his friend. The judge reported this communication to the chairman
of the court, who forwarded this report to the law enforcement
agencies. According to the Ministry of Justice, the caller was
identified through an investigation and in October 2008 was fined 2,000
lari ($1,180).
The Prosecutor's Office is responsible for disciplinary action for
violations of the ethics code for prosecutors adopted in 2006. The
Office of the Prosecutor General conducts an inquiry into such facts
and presents this information to the prosecutor general with a
recommendation for disciplinary action. The code was actively
implemented during the first half of the year, with 201 prosecutors
receiving disciplinary actions ranging from notice to reprimand.
Disciplinary violations involved deficient prosecutorial supervision
and ethics violations, while criminal violations involved abuse of
official power. The Inspection Department of the Office of Chief
Prosecutor initiated disciplinary proceedings against 55 prosecutors
during the year. Disciplinary punishment was imposed upon 42
prosecutors, five prosecutors were punished for a violation of the code
of ethics, while the two others were found disciplinarily liable on the
basis of the ruling of the courts. Seven disciplinary proceedings were
pending at year's end.
On December 12, officials arrested a prosecutor and accused him of
accepting a 2,000 lari (1,180 dollar) bribe to secure a favorable
sentence for a defendant. Officials also arrested the defense attorney
for his alleged role in the incident. This allegation reflected a
manner of bribery wherein the defense attorney secured a retainer or
fee to defend his client, while using some portion of his fee to pay
the prosecutor for a favorable case resolution. It was unclear from the
allegations whether the prosecutor was accused of extorting the money
from the defense attorney, or whether the defense attorney approached
the prosecutor with the offer of a bribe. This case continued at year's
end; the prosecutor faced up to a nine-year prison sentence if
convicted.
The new CPC scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2010,
provides for due process and fair trial protections. It was extensively
vetted through parliamentary committee hearings and diverse working
groups that included NGOs.
The central philosophy of the new CPC is to establish the legal
foundations for adversarial court proceedings: hearings and trials that
balance the interests of the state with the rights of the accused, with
the judge serving as a neutral and detached magistrate tasked with
ensuring fair proceedings.
The current CPC allows judges to question witnesses, which results
in the court directing the investigation. As a result, judges were
viewed as assisting prosecution contributed to the judiciary. The new
CPC mandates the entirely new role for the judge of an objective
arbiter and decision maker, who has no role in prosecuting or defending
the case.
The new CPC also includes presumption in favor of pretrial release
instead of pretrial detention for the accused; clearer terms and
defendant protections governing the negotiation, conclusion, and court
approval of plea agreements; and more progressive bail and other
mechanisms to guarantee the defendant's presence at pretrial
proceedings and trial, all of which will help to lessen the number of
defendants incarcerated pending trial.
The new CPC increases the ability of the prosecution and defense to
have equal rights to collect and present evidence. The prosecution is
compelled to disclose all evidence to the defendant and must disclose
the evidence five days prior to the pretrial hearing.
The new CPC also enhances due process guarantees. These include
well-defined detainee and defendant rights to be informed of their
rights upon arrest; to receive a speedy, fair, and continuous trial; to
be presumed innocent until proven guilty; and to be assured that the
judge will refrain from conducting his/her own investigation and will
only examine evidence presented by the parties to the case confirming
the guilt or innocence of a person. The new CPC protects the privilege
against self-incrimination and allows reasonable time and means for
defense to examine evidence obtained by the prosecution. A provision
for voluntary rather than compelled witness interview during
preliminary investigation is not scheduled to enter effect until 2012.
Case investigations will be bound by statute of limitations. Covert
investigation will be conducted on the prosecutor's determination,
other than wiretapping, visual recording, and other types of
interception that require a judge's preapproval. Prosecutors can seize
evidence in exigent circumstances without court approval (i.e.,
evidence about to be destroyed, tampered with, etc.), but they must go
to the court within 12 hours of the warrantless seizure to explain the
underlying urgency to the court's satisfaction.
Under the new CPC, jury trials will be introduced in Tbilisi City
Court only for aggravated murder cases starting in October 2010. The
judge will select and screen the jury members from a 100-person pool
with the participation of the parties, opening statements of parties
shall commence the proceedings, direct and cross-examination will
follow, the jury is allowed to conduct a preliminary deliberation in
the event that they require clarification from the court regarding the
law of the case, and final arguments shall be made. Juries have three
hours to reach a unanimous verdict; unanimous verdicts shall be
required in any case where life imprisonment could result as a possible
punishment. If in nonlife imprisonment cases a verdict is returned
within six hours, it shall be made by a 9/10 majority of the jurors. If
the jury fails to reach a verdict after a total of 12 hours of
deliberation, then a mistrial will be declared.
The new CPC provides that the defendant may ask that his/her
pretrial (investigative) confession be suppressed and excluded from the
main trial without providing a rationale or requiring any showing of
prejudice or any wrongdoing by police. If the defendant does not seek
to exclude his/her confession, no conviction will stand if it is based
solely on the confession of the defendant; there must be a body of
additional corroborative evidence in addition to any pretrial
admissions by the defendant before a conviction can be maintained.
Furthermore, prior convictions shall not be admissible in the trial
against the defendant. A new standard requires the prosecution to
demonstrate a ``high probability'' of guilt at the pretrial stage. If
the prosecutor cannot meet this burden, the court must dismiss the
prosecution's case and release any detained defendant. Courts will
instruct juries that guilt must be established using the high standard
of beyond a reasonable doubt. Courts will also instruct juries that the
defendant is presumed innocent and that the prosecutor alone bears the
burden of providing evidence to demonstrate guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt.
The new CPC provides added safeguards for ensuring a speedy trial
through a new series of strict timeframes: The pretrial hearing must
occur within 60 days of the defendant's arrest. If no pretrial hearing
has commenced within these initial 60 days, the defendant shall be
released. The main trial shall then begin within 14 days of the
pretrial hearing. The total time allowed for detention of a defendant
is reduced to nine months, within which main trial proceedings must be
initiated. Extensions of these timeframes are permitted on the
defendant's motion. The prosecution is limited in its ability to seek
relief from these speedy trial timeframes. For example, the prosecutor
may only move to continue the pretrial hearing once, while the defense
has no such restriction if additional time is needed to prepare for
trial. Similarly, the nine-month limit on overall detention of the
defendant can be extended by the defendant to prepare for trial, while
the prosecutor has no such remedy. These provisions are designed to
force the prosecution to have cases fully investigated and prepared for
trial within a strict and narrow timeframe (74 days). The prosecution's
case must be dismissed when these timeframes have not been honored.
Under existing law defendants must confirm in court any statement
they gave while in pretrial detention before it can be accepted as
evidence. NGOs reported that this provision had little impact, either
because detainees feared reprisal if their statement was not ratified
in court, or they were not aware of the law.
The law provides penalties of up to five years in prison for
witnesses and victims who obstruct justice by giving substantially
contradictory testimonies. NGOs contended that the provision made
witnesses more vulnerable to prosecutorial pressure because it
discouraged them from recanting incriminating statements given to the
prosecutor during pretrial investigations. Prosecutors supported the
provision on the ground that it discouraged witnesses from changing
their testimony due to pressure from the defendant or his or her
associates. The law does not punish defendants for perjury. Witnesses
are legally obliged to give evidence. Protection from criminal
liability for failing to follow this rule applies only if there is risk
that witnesses will self-incriminate or do not want to incriminate
their close relatives.
Both torture and the extortion of evidence represent criminal
offenses under the criminal code. Throughout the year the prosecutor
general issued guidelines for prosecutors on torture investigations in
order to streamline initiation of the investigations and charging
process on torture cases. The guidelines also restricted prosecutors
from concluding plea agreements with persons accused of committing such
violations.
Under the new CPC persons who have suffered property damage,
physical, or moral injuries from crime have the right to file a civil
claim under the civil rocedure code. The compensation for physical
injuries covers the costs of burials, medical treatment, prosthetic
devices and medicine, insurance, the compensation of financial aid, and
pension. Compensation for moral injuries can be monetary. The general
rule of seeking compensation and redress for the injuries received as a
result of crime through civil action equally applies to all crimes,
including torture, extortion of testimony, and illegal arrest.
The High Council of Justice administered a three-tiered court
system composed of regional (city) courts, appellate courts, and the
Supreme Court. Regional (city) courts hear routine criminal, civil, and
administrative law cases. The Supreme Court acts as the court of final
appeal. During the year the High Council established a new system of
magistrate courts and integration of regional (city) courts. This is a
means to alleviate heavy court caseloads and spread work more evenly
amongst the various trail courts.
During the year the monthly salaries of judges at all levels
continued to rise, reducing the incentive for corruption. Judicial
salaries were 4,400 lari ($2,600) for Supreme Court judges, 2,500 lari
($1,480) for appellate-level judges, and 2,300 lari ($1,360) for lower
court judges.
In 2007 the Conference of Judges adopted a code of ethics for
judges that defines rules of judicial ethics to strengthen the
independence, impartiality, and integrity of the judiciary. The
Disciplinary Board of the Common Courts discussed 44 disciplinary cases
involving 32 judges during the year, 19 new cases and 25 held over from
2008. Of these, the board recognized violations and imposed
disciplinary sanctions on 18 judges, three of which were dismissed. In
2008 the board discussed 22 disciplinary cases against 17 judges. The
board recognized violations and imposed disciplinary sanctions on 10
judges. Of these, one case involved an ethics violation.
The Constitutional Court arbitrates disputes between branches of
government and rules on individual human rights violation claims; it
generally demonstrated judicial independence. The power of
constitutional review is vested solely in the Constitutional Court. The
court generally interpreted its role in human rights cases narrowly,
agreeing to rule only on cases in which human rights were violated as a
result of specific articles of law.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants have the right to a public trial,
except where national security, privacy, or protection of a juvenile is
involved. While the criminal procedure code during the year did not
provide for a jury trial, other amendments expanded defendants' rights
in criminal procedures.
Defendants have the right to be present at their trial and to
consult an attorney. In 2007 parliament established a Free Legal Aid
system to provide free legal assistance to the indigent. With a total
of 178 staff members Legal Aid offices operated in Tbilisi and 11 other
cities. The 2009 State budget allocated 2.9 million lari ($1.71
million) for the Legal Aid Service. Initially established under the
Ministry of Justice, the Legal Aid Service was moved to the newly
created Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance when the
Prosecution Service and the Ministry of Justice merged in 2008. As of
January the right to receive free legal aid was linked to the database
of socially vulnerable persons. Despite such efforts, many defendants
in criminal pretrial hearings, where decisions are made on arrest or
bail, did not enjoy the benefit of counsel.
To ensure the independence, transparency, and effectiveness of the
Legal Aid Service, the authorities established a supervisory body
consisting of a Supreme Court judge, a member of the Georgian Bar
Association, NGOs, members of Parliament, and the Ministry of
Corrections and Legal Assistance during the year. The Legal Aid
Service's budget cannot be reduced without approval from its
supervisory board. Despite these precautions, legal NGOs noted that
inclusion of the Legal Aid Service within the Ministry of Corrections
and Legal Assistance would not encourage independence. In addition to
an annual state budget, the Legal Aid Service can be funded by
donations and grants from outside services. However, according to
statistics published by Legal Aid Service in 2008, 97 percent or 2.9
million lari ($1.71 million) of its budget was state funded.
Defendants may question and confront witnesses against them and
present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf at trial. By law
defendants and their attorneys have access to the prosecution's
evidence relevant to their cases at any point during the investigation
and may make copies at their own expense. By law defendants are
presumed innocent and have the right to appeal.
The law provides that a verbatim record must be prepared and signed
by the secretary and the presiding judge of the hearing within five
days of the conclusion of the court hearing or trial. Only after court
officials have signed the document can it be introduced to the parties.
Comments from the parties on the wording of the transcript may be
submitted to the court. Court judgment shall be served to the parties
within the same number of days in simple cases and in 14 days in
complex cases.
Since 2007 persons charged with crimes could be tried in absentia
if they are absent to avoid trial. The same law permits persons
convicted in absentia to appeal their conviction within one month of
their arrest or surrender, which guarantees a new trial. Human rights
NGOs criticized in absentia provisions because they apply to all
crimes; the government's position has been in favor of timely
commencement of trial and presentation of evidence and witnesses to
successfully prosecute criminal behavior and not to reward those who
abscond from their prosecution.
Defense counsel and the defendant have the right to participate in
pretrial hearings; however, their presence is not mandatory. Failure of
defense counsel to appear at a hearing does not constitute grounds for
postponement. A judge may also rule on admissibility of appeal of a
pretrial preventative measure without an oral hearing.
By law a court must certify that a plea bargain was reached without
violence, intimidation, deception, or illegal promise and that the
accused had the opportunity to obtain legal assistance. Under the new
CPC, prosecutors may enter into plea agreements with the defendant, and
the defense may initiate these discussions. Prosecutors are under an
obligation to inform the victim of the terms of the plea agreement. The
victim can also seek senior prosecutor review of the plea bargain. Plea
bargaining increased every year since it was introduced in 2004.
According to the Ministry of Justice, during the year plea bargaining
was used in 58.9 percent (10,400) of cases, compared with 52 percent
(10,608) in 2008.
The majority of plea agreements (which included a proposed
sentence) included a financial penalty along with either a prison term
or a suspended sentence. With a financial penalty being a consistent
factor, even proper and viable plea agreements were often perceived as
a way for a defendant to buy his/her way out of prison, albeit at a
price set by the prosecutor. Some NGOs reported that the government
coerced defendants into accepting plea bargains.
In past years some plea agreements reportedly included a tacit
understanding that the person accused would not pursue complaints of
abuse or mistreatment from law enforcement officials. During the year
the prosecutor general issued guidelines on torture investigations
specifically addressing such misuse of plea bargaining.
Under the new CPC, regardless of whether an arrested person is
ultimately convicted, the state must fully reimburse from the state
budget the damage caused from an illegal or groundless arrest.
In October 2008 parliament passed a constitutional amendment that
merged the Office of the Prosecutor General into the Ministry of
Justice. The minister of justice heads the merged entity. Human rights
activists were concerned that the merger did not allow the Prosecutor's
Office sufficient independence from the Ministry of Justice and did not
allow for a direct parliamentary vote on the chief prosecutor's
nomination. As part of the merger, the criminal justice guidelines were
made confidential, potentially making it difficult for lawyers to raise
procedural points in criminal cases, as this information, even the
general principles, were not shared as public information. Even under
the new CPC, part but not all of law enforcement internal guidance is
not public.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Some nonparliamentary
opposition parties and NGOs, such as the Paris-based Federation for
Human Rights (FIDH), stated that the government held political
prisoners and detainees, although estimates of the number varied.
Estimates ranged from zero to dozens to even hundreds or, in one case,
thousands. The new public defender did not name any political prisoners
or detainees in his report for the first half of the year. The
parliamentary Human Rights Committee claimed that there were no
political prisoners.
In its report for the first half of 2008, the public defender at
the time identified five political prisoners: Merab Ratishvili, Joseph
Jandieri, Ilia Tsurtsumia, Joni Jikia, and Dimitri Godabrelidze. They
were allegedly convicted in connection to their participation in
antigovernment rallies in 2007.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, Ratishvili and Jikia were
arrested on charges of drug possession. The court found them guilty and
sentenced them to nine- and seven-year prison terms, respectively.
Tsurtsumia was arrested on charges of resisting a police officer so as
to impede the protection of public order, found guilty, and sentenced
to three years' imprisonment. Godabrelidze was arrested on charges of
alleged illegal activities while working in the Marneuli District
Agricultural Department in 2003. According to the Ministry of Justice,
Godabrelidze pled guilty to the abuse of an official office and the
forgery of official documents. He was sentenced to five years of prison
and fined 10,000 lari ($5,920). Godabrelidze was released in 2008.
Jandieri was arrested on charges of drug possession, sentenced to eight
years in prison, and then pardoned in 2008. The Prosecutor's Office
stated that criminal cases were pursued only when they met relevant
evidentiary standards.
In its report on the second half of 2008 released on April 1, the
Public Defender's Office described Maia Topuria as a political
prisoner. Topuria was associated with former state security minister
Igor Giorgadze, who previously had been accused of an assassination
attempt on then president Shevardnadze. Fourteen of Giorgadze's
associates, including Maia Topuria, were convicted of treason in 2007;
these convictions were upheld on appeal in 2008. This case was pending
at the ECHR since 2007.
Another high-profile case pending at the ECHR since 2007 involved
charges of treason against former state security minister Irakli
Batiashvili. The head of an opposition party, Batiashvili was released
on presidential clemency in 2008.
In 2007 the opposition compiled a list of 42 persons whom it
considered political prisoners and presented the list to the
government. Thirty-four persons on the list were released in 2008.
According to observers, since the beginning of the spring
opposition protests, a majority of cases alleged to have been
politically motivated involved charges of illegal possession of weapons
and/or drugs against opposition activists. In the majority of such
cases, procedural shortcomings were reported (see section 1.d.).
On August 12, nonparliamentary opposition party representatives
gave the minister of internal affairs a list of 48 activists from
various opposition parties whom they considered to have been arrested
on fabricated charges during the April-July protests. These charges
were mainly related to drug and arms possession. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs opened an investigation into the allegations and began
discussions with the nonparliamentary opposition. Reportedly 10
individuals were released after the initial talks on August 12, nine
were released on November 16; on November 23, seven individuals were
released as part of a larger presidential pardon. Many of these
individuals were released on bail or released after serving short-term
sentences. At year's end it was not clear how many of the individuals
from the original list of 48 had been released. On August 16, two
Republican Party opposition activists on the list were sentenced to
prison terms by the Gori City Court. Davit Gudadze was given a four-
year sentence for the illegal possession of and carrying of a hand
grenade. Tamaz Tlashadze was given a three-year sentence for drug
possession.
The government permitted international human rights and domestic
organizations to visit persons claiming to be political prisoners or
detainees, and some organizations did so during the year.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, but there
were concerns about the professionalism of judges and transparency in
adjudication. The constitution and law stipulate that a person who
suffers damages resulting from arbitrary detention or other unlawful or
arbitrary acts is entitled to bring a civil action.
In Abkhazia the de facto parliament in 2006 adopted a decree
banning de facto courts from considering any property claims filed by
ethnic Georgians who left Abkhazia before, during, or after the 1992-93
war, thereby effectively depriving internally displaced persons of
their property in Abkhazia. According to the decree, any previous
judgments or pending procedures related to ethnic Georgians' properties
were nullified. De facto courts in Abkhazia reportedly did not make
efforts to establish facts or administer justice but acted at the
direction of prosecutors and law enforcement. Criminals paid bribes to
police, prosecutors, and judges to avoid prosecution.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions without court approval
or legal necessity and also prohibits police from searching a residence
or conducting undercover or monitoring operations without a warrant;
however, these prohibitions were not always respected.
During the year some opposition activists reported having concerns
about surveillance to the point of discontinuing their use of cell
phones. Charges brought against some opposition activists after they
were subjected to video and/or audio surveillance, in particular the
March 23 arrest of nine activists for the illegal purchase of weapons,
raised concerns among some NGOs and international observers about this
practice. However, in general human rights workers and civil society
representatives reported that they felt no government surveillance and
felt free to engage in their activities.
NGOs continued to report that police conducted searches, and may
also have occasionally monitored private telephone conversations,
without first obtaining court orders; police often obtained warrants
after the fact. NGOs reported that most citizens were unaware of their
right to delay a search of their home by one hour in order to summon
two objective third-party witnesses to the search. The government
stated that security police and tax authorities entered homes and
workplaces without prior legal sanction. NGOs and some opposition
members contended that the targeting of certain companies and persons
for searches by tax authorities was politically motivated; they viewed
subsequent fines as a form of ``legal extortion'' by the government.
This practice was reported by businesses and persons across the
political spectrum.
There were concerns about the lack of due process and respect for
the rule of law in a number of developments related to property rights.
NGOs reported that, while the government took more concrete steps
to aid internally displaced persons (IDPs) during the year, they did so
at the expense of property rights. NGOs reported that owners of
property squatted on by IDPs from conflict areas were pressured to sell
their property at a lower than fair market price to the government in
order to quickly resolve longstanding ownership issues.
In 2007, according to HRW, restaurant owners in Tbilisi and a
neighboring town complained that officials pressured them into handing
over their property by threatening them with criminal charges for
allegedly purchasing their property through corrupt business
transactions during the Shevardnadze era. The government contended that
these were cases of property with expired or ambiguous leases or
obtained through fraudulent transactions or bribery linked to
corruption. Domestic and international observers expressed concern that
the government had not sufficiently respected due process and the rule
of law. The public defender mentioned this concern in his December 2008
remarks to parliament. The current public defender did not include any
new reports on these incidents in his last report, on the second half
of the year.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
On May 5, the senior leadership of a battalion-sized military unit at
the Mukhrovani base reportedly initiated a mutinous event against the
government. The vast majority of the unit, including 500 members, was
not involved and was unaware of the conspiracy and surrendered
peacefully the same day. Three of the alleged organizers escaped. On
May 21, the three were caught in a firefight with police in a Tbilisi
suburb. In the shootout police killed , Gia Kriashvili, and wounded the
other two, Levan Amiridze and Koba Otanadze, resulting in their
hospitalization. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the three
men had put up armed resistance necessitating the use of lethal force.
Many NGOs questioned the appropriateness of the force used in their
arrest. NGOs also highlighted concerns about detention. On August 24,
the Tbilisi City Court began hearings in the cases of 41 persons
accused of participating in the uprising. Most faced a 27-year
sentence. Verdicts were pending at year's end.
Separatist conflicts in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
remained unresolved and were exacerbated during the August 2008 armed
conflict between Georgia and Russia.
A report issued on September 30 by the EU-funded Independent
International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia, widely
known as the Tagliavini report, made the following conclusions: it was
impossible to assign overall responsibility to one side alone; open
hostilities began with Georgia's shelling of Tskhinvali; some Russian
forces were in South Ossetia prior to Georgia's attack; Georgia's use
of force in the first phase of the conflict was unjustifiable; Russia's
use of force beyond South Ossetia was unjustifiable; a Georgian intent
for genocide in South Ossetia could not be proven; and ethnic cleansing
was carried out against Georgians by South Ossetian forces or irregular
armed groups.
The Tagliavini report also concluded that all parties to the
conflict--Georgian, Russian, Abkhaz, and South Ossetian
forces-.''committed violations of International Humanitarian Law and
Human Rights Law.'' South Ossetian irregular armed groups and others
committed ``numerous'' such violations. The main violations identified
by the report included indiscriminate attacks by Georgian and Russian
forces, widespread looting and destruction of ethnic Georgian villages,
mistreatment, rape, assault, hostage taking, and arbitrary arrests by
South Ossetians, and the failure of Russian forces to prevent or stop
such violations in areas under their effective control. HRW highlighted
the continued lack of accountability for such violations.
In its 2009 report, the ECHR said that it had received over 3,000
appeals in 2008 related to the hostilities. The court also received an
intergovernmental case by Georgia against the Russian Federation.
Incidents of violence occurred in Abkhazia, particularly in the
predominantly ethnic Georgian Gali region, and in South Ossetia.
In August 2008 the Russian government recognized Abkhazia and South
Ossetia as independent states; in September 2008 the Russian government
signed agreements with the de facto authorities that included
provisions to allow Russian military presence in the territories. In
August 2008 the Georgian prime minister signed a decree formally
terminating Russian peacekeeping operations in Georgia. Formerly,
agreements permitted Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping
forces in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In August 2008 parliament
passed a resolution declaring Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be Russian-
occupied territories. By year's end only three countries had joined in
Russia's recognition of the territories.
There was little official information on the human rights and
humanitarian situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia due to limited
access to these regions.
The mandate of UNOMIG was originally extended through February 15,
but on June 15, UNOMIG's mandate was terminated after 15 years after
Russia vetoed extending its mandate in the Security Council. The Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) maintains a presence
in Abkhazia. In 2007 Abkhaz de facto authorities agreed to permit a UN
human rights officer's presence and the deployment of three UN civilian
police in the Gali Sector headquarters; however, this mandate also
expired with UNOMIG's on June 15. Talks for allowing the renewed
presence of a UN human rights officer in Abkhazia were underway at
year's end.
The mandate of the OSCE's military monitoring mission in South
Ossetia was extended through June, but Russia's refusal to join
consensus in a new mandate led to the closure of the mission after 17
years of work. Subsequent efforts to negotiate an arrangement for a new
OSCE presence in South Ossetia and the rest of Georgia were still
unsuccessful by year's end.
The Gali region of Abkhazia, where many ethnic Georgians live,
remained tense as a result of limitations on freedom of movement,
kidnapping, arbitrary arrest, and deaths in custody. There were
numerous reports of looting and robbery by Russian forces, Abkhaz de
facto forces, or criminal gangs, including in particular during harvest
season, when local farmers were extorted for a portion of their
revenue. Systemic problems in the criminal justice system of the de
facto authorities, in particular the failure to conduct impartial
investigations and to bring alleged perpetrators to trial, sustained a
climate of impunity. Abuse by de facto law enforcement authorities
included arbitrary arrests and detention as well as routine
mistreatment of detainees. De facto law enforcement authorities rarely
wore uniforms or carried badges or credentials, allowing them to act
with impunity. Russian military forces and de facto militias limited
the ability of international observers to travel in Abkhazia to
investigate claims of abuses.
After the conflict began in August 2008, South Ossetian separatists
reportedly committed killings, engaged in looting, systematically
attacked ethnic Georgian villages, and blocked international observers
from viewing events first hand. There were numerous reports of
abductions by unidentified armed gangs of individuals on both sides of
the administrative boundary line. Russian military forces and de facto
militias did not permit observers into South Ossetia and occupied areas
to investigate claims of abuses.
Killings.--On August 6, the government released a report
reiterating its version of events leading up to the August 2008
conflict. According to the report, 412 Georgian citizens were killed,
including 228 civilians, 170 military personnel, and 14 police
officers. Ten Georgian military personnel and 14 police officers
remained missing. Although Russian officials initially asserted that
approximately 2,000 civilians had been killed in South Ossetia during
the conflict, the Tagliavini report stated that this number was later
reduced to 162. A Dutch and two Georgian journalists were also killed.
Attacks, some lethal, possibly associated with the conflicts,
continued during the year; Georgian government officials and de facto
authorities accused one another of committing these attacks, which
occurred in or near South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Georgian and Russian
officials also traded such accusations. No suspects or arrests were
announced in connection with any of these cases. In January a Georgian
police officer was shot and killed in Knolevi, near the South Ossetian
administrative boundary line, in what appeared to the EUMM to be a
sniper attack. In March an improvised explosive device killed a
Georgian police officer in Dvani, near the South Ossetian
administrative boundary line; the EUMM again determined the attack was
likely deliberate. In April a Georgian resident of the Abkhaz village
of Nabakevi, Elguja Beraia, was killed; UNOMIG received reports that
Abkhaz forces committed the crime and that Beraia was a former Georgian
partisan. In June an improvised explosive device killed the driver of
an ambulance in a convoy led by EU military monitors in Eritskali, near
the Abkhaz administrative boundary line. The EUMM determined the
explosion was likely a deliberate attack. In July a Georgian resident
of Akhalgori in South Ossetia was killed by an explosion in his car as
he drove from Akhalgori back to an IDP settlement in Tbilisi-controlled
territory. On August 12, two civilians were killed in Gagra in Abkhazia
by an improvised explosive device; another device detonated the same
day in Sukhumi, injuring no one.
Before the conflict began in August 2008, Georgian government
officials and de facto authorities accused one another of committing
arbitrary and unlawful killings in the separatist areas of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia, including intensified shelling of ethnic Georgian
villages in South Ossetia.
HRW reported that, during the August 2008 conflict, Georgian,
Russian, and South Ossetian forces committed numerous violations of the
law of war in the conflict, causing many civilian deaths and injuries
and widespread destruction of civilian property. HRW stated that
Georgian and Russian forces used indiscriminate and disproportionate
force. They concluded that Georgian forces carried out indiscriminate
attacks by their extensive use in civilian areas of multiple-rocket
launching systems, which cannot be targeted with sufficient precision
to distinguish between civilian and military objects. The rockets,
known as Grad, were believed to have been used by Russian forces as
well. HRW also reported that the South Ossetian forces conducted a
campaign of deliberate and systematic destruction of certain ethnic
Georgian villages in South Ossetia. HRW concluded that South Ossetian
forces attempted to ethnically cleanse villages and egregiously
violated multiple obligations under humanitarian law, for which there
must be individual criminal accountability and prosecution for war
crimes where appropriate. Amnesty International documented many
instances of looting, killings, home burning, and systematic ethnic
persecution of Georgians in both territories and found that Russian
forces failed to protect civilian populations by refusing to intervene
when South Ossetian separatists attacked Georgian villagers. HRW noted
that Russian forces failed to ensure, as far as possible, public order
and safety in areas under its effective control.
HRW reported that cluster munitions used by Russia and Georgia
killed at least 17 civilians and wounded dozens more; most of the
casualties appeared to have been caused by Russian weapons. Following
the conflict, unexploded submunitions remained scattered in and along
South Ossetian roads, especially antiarmor submunitions.
In the months immediately after the conflict, violent attacks
continued along the administrative boundaries of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. International monitors were generally unable to identify the
perpetrators but in most cases found that the attacks originated from
the Abkhazian and the South Ossetian sides of the boundaries. The
government announced that 12 members of the Ministry of the Interior
were killed in such incidents despite the cease-fire, in some cases by
sniper fire, in 2008.
Abductions.--During the year tensions on the administrative border
of both separatist regions remained high, and reports of abductions
along the boundary continued.
On July 22, the media reported that 27 individuals from one bus and
one minibus who had crossed the administrative boundary line were
detained inside Abkhazia. Reportedly, some were forced to accept Abkhaz
``passports'' and 11 were designated for conscription.
On February 7, a group of five armed men, whom the OSCE determined
to be Ossetians, stopped a car on the main East-West highway just south
of Orchosani, outside of South Ossetia, abducted the driver, Malkhaz
Beuklishvili, and carried him into South Ossetia. There were reports
the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 6273.64 Lari($50,000). The EUMM and
OSCE negotiated his release the next day.
On February 27, four ethnic Georgians traveling just inside the
South Ossetian administrative boundary near Tsnelisi were seized by six
armed men who appeared to them to be Ossetians. Two were released
shortly thereafter; they claimed that their kidnappers were Ossetians
who had demanded a ransom of 6,000 euros ($8,175.57) for the release of
the other two, Davit Kapanadze and Demur Chighladze. The next day, de
facto South Ossetian officials announced that the two had been arrested
for ``illegally'' crossing the boundary and for participating in the
August 2008 war; the OSCE noted that a ransom demand is inconsistent
with an ``official'' arrest. The two remained in South Ossetian custody
at year's end.
On November 4, four Georgian boys were detained by South Ossetian
de facto authorities for alleged violation of the ``state border'' and
possession of hand grenades and other explosive devices. Although
convicted and sentenced to one year in prison by the de facto
authorities, two of the children were released on December 3 after
negotiations led by the Council of Europe, and the other two were
eventually released on December 19, along with another Georgian minor
who reportedly had been in custody since July.
The 2007 abduction of David Sigua, an ethnic Georgian serving as
chair of the election commission chair in Gali district, controlled by
the de facto Abkhaz authorities, remained unsolved. The Georgian
government denied Abkhaz accusations that it was involved in the
disappearance, and an investigation by the government and Abkhaz,
together with the UN, was inconclusive. With the closure of UNOMIG, the
UN was unable to investigate further. During an August 11 meeting of
the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in Gali, attended by
representatives from Georgia, Russia, and the de facto Abkhazian
authority, the Abkhaz representative once again pushed for information
on Sigua's disappearance.
Government and Abkhaz commissions on missing persons reported that
nearly 2,000 Georgians and Abkhaz remained missing as a result of the
1992-93 war in Abkhazia. The South Ossetia de facto authorities
reported 116 persons still missing from conflicts in 1991 and 2004. The
ICRC continued its efforts to assist the authorities concerned to
fulfill their obligation to inform the families of the missing persons
about their whereabouts. Most of the missing persons from the 1992-93
war were believed to have disappeared in the region of Abkhazia. During
the year there were no exhumations of persons thought to have been
killed during the 1992-93 conflict, according to the ICRC.
During the August 2008 conflict, the ICRC received more than 1,100
tracking requests from families and authorities. At year's end almost
1,000 of these had been closed. After the August conflict, reports of
abductions for ransom, particularly of ethnic Georgians in the Gali
region of Abkhazia became more common. Although in most cases abductees
were quickly returned, some suffered beatings and even death. In
December 2008 the body of an elderly woman who had been missing for
some days was found in the woods near her house in Nabakevi; local
villagers alleged that Abkhaz men had abducted her and demanded ransom.
South Ossetian de facto authorities claimed that several South
Ossetians disappeared while in Georgian custody, including in
particular A. Y. Khachirov, S. R. Pliyev, and A. D. Khugayev, who were
allegedly detained in October 2008. The de facto authorities claimed to
have evidence, including eyewitness accounts, that these three were
held in Georgian facilities; they sought outside assistance in
investigating the cases, and the EUMM and Council of Europe became
involved. The cases remained unresolved at year's end.
Child Soldiers.--In Abkhazia de facto authorities frequently took
teenage boys from their homes for forced conscription in the Abkhaz
militia. Some parents claimed that their sons were younger than 18, the
minimum age for military service. While the number of ethnic Georgians
conscripted into the Abkhaz military was reportedly small, the threat
of conscription remained a political tool the de facto authorities used
to control the ethnic Georgian population and to prevent young Georgian
men from returning to, or staying in, the Gali district.
Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--Russian border guards began
controlling the administrative boundaries of the two regions in May and
restricted the free movement of the local population.
In December the Georgian Young Lawyers Association reportedly
criticized as illegal the government's holding of five South Ossetian
men for four months before releasing them in a prisoner exchange.
Georgian authorities reportedly negotiated the prisoner exchange with
South Ossetian de facto authorities in July, facilitated the release by
the courts of the five South Ossetians, and then learned the de facto
authorities had backed out of the exchange. They reportedly then kept
the five in custody until a new exchange was negotiated in December, at
which time the five were released.
During and after the August 2008 conflict with Russia, HRW reported
that South Ossetian regulars deliberately killed nine ethnic Georgian
women and raped two. The government also reported that South Ossetian
regulars raped multiple citizens. Because of the social stigma
connected with rape, few incidents were reported by the victims.
Investigation of reported rapes was difficult due to chaotic conditions
and lack of police in locations where they reportedly occurred, often
behind Russian checkpoints where Georgian officials had no access.
According to the civil.ge Web site, a June 2008 Studio Monitor
documentary about a May 2008 attack on the village of Khurcha on the
Abkhaz administrative border, reported that contrary to assertions by
the government, the attack was carried out by Georgians. An
investigation by the UN into the attack found that grenades were fired
from the Georgian-controlled side of the cease-fire line. A preliminary
report did not identify the perpetrators but noted inconsistencies in
the circumstances surrounding the incident, in particular footage
indicating that the incident was filmed in such a way as to suggest
that events were anticipated rather than simply recorded as they were
happening. Four civilians were injured.
During the August 2008 conflict in and around South Ossetia, HRW
researchers and others witnessed South Ossetian militias looting and
burning ethnic Georgian villages. According to HRW, satellite images
strongly indicated that most of the destruction in five Georgian
villages around Tskhinvali--Tamarasheni, Kekhvi, Kvemo Achabeti, Zemo
Achabeti, and Kurt--was caused by intentional burning. The damage was
massive and concentrated. In August 2008 HRW researchers spoke with
several members of the Ossetian militias who openly admitted that their
associates were burning the houses, explaining that the objective was
to ensure that displaced ethnic Georgians would not have houses to
which to return.
In August 2008 Russian online news agency Regnum quoted Eduard
Kokoity, South Ossetia's de facto leader, as saying that the Georgian
enclaves of Kekhvi and Tamarasheni were ``liquidated'' as a result of
military operations.
According to HRW, Georgian forces beat and otherwise mistreated at
least five of 32 Ossetians detained in August 2008 during the armed
conflict.
Other abuses related to the August 2008 conflict, according to HRW,
included the arbitrary detention by South Ossetian forces (sometimes
together with Russian forces) of at least 159 ethnic Georgians, in
which at least one detainee was killed; the torture of at least four
Georgian prisoners of war (POWs); the execution at least three; and the
exposure of almost all detainees to inhuman and degrading treatment and
detention conditions.
According to official government figures, persons whom Georgia
detained during the conflict were held in facilities administered by
the Ministry of Defense (Vaziani Military Base), the Ministry of
Justice (Prison N8 and Prison Hospital), and the Ministry of Internal
Affairs (temporary detention cells). The ICRC was accorded unimpeded
access and visited two of five POWs as well as 12 security detainees
captured by Georgian authorities during the August 2008 conflict. The
ICRC was able to assess their general detention conditions and help
them reestablish links with their families in the Russian Federation or
South Ossetia.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press; however, there were credible
reports that the government restricted freedom of speech and the press.
In general individuals criticized the government publicly and
privately without reprisal. However, some individuals told foreign
monitors they were reluctant to discuss, or had stopped discussing,
sensitive issues by telephone due to concerns about government
eavesdropping. Opposition figures and representatives of the government
regularly appeared on the same shows, thereby providing a plurality of
views, but generally not in a debate format. Transparency
International's media report on Georgia concluded, ``The three major
channels are reluctant to air shows that would provide a platform for
factual and informative debates between members of the administration,
the ruling United National Movement party and opposition politicians.''
Throughout the year NGOs, independent analysts, and journalists
accused high-ranking government officials and opposition politicians of
exercising influence over editorial and programming decisions through
their personal connections with news directors and media executives and
of exercising influence over advertising income through their personal
connections with business owners. There were also reports of physical
abuse of journalists carried out, or incited, by local government
officials and opposition politicians.
There were approximately 200 independent newspapers, although most
were local and extremely limited in circulation and influence. During
the year print media frequently criticized senior government officials.
However, some reported facing pressure, intimidation, or violence for
doing so. Few editorially independent newspapers were commercially
viable. Patrons in politics and business typically subsidized
newspapers, which were subject to their influence.
On November 30, Mzia Amaglobeli, the publisher of the Batumi
newspaper Gazeti Batumelebi issued a statement calling on the
international community for protection from the Ministry of Internal
Affairs. The publisher reported that on November 25, the local unit of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Batumi tried to blackmail the head
of the newspaper's investigative reporting team into cooperating with
it. Amaglobeli stated that, despite previous threats, the newspaper had
never previously been under as much psychological pressure and that the
publishers were not confident that the case would be investigated
lawfully. On December 1, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that
its internal investigations unit was probing into the incident. The
investigation continued at year's end.
In July 2008 the Batumelebi newspaper received an e-mail message
threatening to kill the editor in chief, Eter Turadze, and a staffer.
Gazeti Batumelebi went public with the story and informed the
prosecutor's and ombudsman's Offices of the threat. Gazeti Batumelebi
subsequently received a second threatening e-mail. The Ajara
Prosecutor's Office started an investigation shortly after the
incident. At year's end an investigation by the Technical Department of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs continued.
The public defender reported that on April 6, Versia newspaper
journalists Ana Khavtasi and Nino Komakhidze were physically assaulted
at an opposition protest rally in front of the Public Broadcaster's
building. Law enforcement officials issued an order to rally
participants to disperse. Ana Khavtasi was taking pictures as the
policemen reportedly were beating the demonstrators. Allegedly, the
police decided to take her camera away, but both journalists resisted.
The police hit Khavtasi in the forehead and pulled Komakhidze's hair.
The journalists managed to keep the camera and printed the photographs
on the front page of Versia the following day. MPs condemned the
incident. No investigation followed.
Nana Pazhava, a journalist for the Internet-based pressa.ge,
alleged that Zugdidi's chief executive, Alexander Kobalia, ordered her
detention for verbally abusing him. Pazhava and her colleague Ilia
Chachibaia, a correspondent for the Zugdidi newspaper Asaval-Dasavali,
covered President Saakashvili's December 31 visit to the town. Pazhava
claimed sugar was poured in the gas tank of her car but police refused
to investige the case. Both Pazhava and Chachibaia were fined 100 lari
($59) by the Zugdidi regional court for the offence against Kobalia and
released early the next day.
Two independent journalists, Maka Tsiklauri and Irakli Goguadze,
from Presa.ge claimed the following separate incidents of perceived
government pressure related directly to their work between 2007 and
2008:
Goguadze said he was observing parliamentary elections in
Iormuganlo (Kakheti) in May 2008 when several local activists
physically abused him twice and seized his tape and video camera. An
investigation continued at year's end.
Goguadze said he was shooting a protest rally by displaced persons
on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi in August 2008 when several unidentified
persons snapped a battery from his video camera and fled. According to
the Ministry of Justice, an investigation was launched on March 26,
2009, when information about the case was first received by law
enforcement agencies, and was not complete at year's end.
Tsiklauri and Goguadze alleged that they were shooting video in
August 2008 in Tkviavi (Shida Kartli), when they were attacked and
Goguadze's camera and videotapes were seized. According to the Ministry
of Justice, Tkviavi was occupied by Russian forces at that time and
according to the journalists statements the assailants headed towards
Tskhinvali, which is across the administrative boundary line in South
Ossetia.
Goguadze said that several unidentified men tried to force him into
a car in December 2008 in Tbilisi after they asked him to show his
identification card. However, according to the Ministry of Justice,
Goguadze said in an interview that there was no kidnapping attempt,
police officers merely asked for his identification card and his home
address, and the officers left after receiving the information.
In 2007 both journalists complained of government pressure over a
documentary video they had made about recent developments in the
country. The public defender sent a letter describing these incidents
to the Ministry of Justice's head of the Chief prosecutor's Legal
Department, and investigations continued at year's end.
According to media outlets, on May 16 Gizo Tavadze, the head of the
Kutaisi Municipality Culture, Sports, Monument Protection, and
Education Department, verbally and physically assaulted Zviad Khujadze,
a journalist and editor of the news service of Dzveli Kalaki (Old
City), a local radio station in Kutaisi. Reportedly, Tavadze met
Khujadze outside the radio station, got him to sit in his car, and
drove toward Tskaltubo at high speed. Tavadze stopped the car, forced
Khujadze to drop his telephone, and allegedly slapped him on the face.
Khujadze reportedly hit Tavadze back. Tavadze then made Khujadze get
out of the car and drove back to Kutaisi, leaving Khujadze behind.
Khujadze believes Tavadze was upset by criticisms of the municipality's
Cultural Department on his radio show. On July 8, Khujadze filed a suit
against Tavadze in the Kutaisi District Prosecutor's Office for
interference in journalistic activity and illegal deprivation of
freedom. On November 27, the Prosecutor's Office ruled there were no
grounds on which to find Tavadze guilty.
In February the Public Defender's Office voiced its solidarity with
journalists working in Abkhazia and condemned the violence against Inal
Khashig, the editor in chief of the Sukhumi newspaper Chegemskaya
Pravda. Reportedly, Khashig was taken to a local forest by Abkhaz
``President'' Bagapsh's relatives and threatened with death if he did
not stop publishing materials criticizing the Sukhumi administration.
On February 10, two OSCE monitors were detained by five armed South
Ossetians outside the administrative boundary near Adzvi; they were
released three hours later. On the same day, at the same location,
South Ossetian officials detained five journalists who were trying to
report on the OSCE detention. The OSCE estimated the reporters had also
been outside of South Ossetia.
In a November 20 report, Transparency International Georgia
asserted that the country's media was less free and pluralistic than it
was before the 2003 Rose Revolution. ``While the country enjoys a
pluralistic, albeit small print media,'' the report noted, ``Georgia
lacks a truly pluralistic television sector.'' The continued lack of
transparency regarding media ownership fueled concerns over who owned
and controlled the country's television stations, which served as the
main source of information for most of the public. Throughout the year
the public defender and others called for changes in the law on
broadcasting to increase the transparency of media outlet ownership,
including information about the shareholder structure of license
holders and their owners. However, the ownership of many media outlets
remained unclear at year's end.
The privately owned national stations Rustavi-2 and Imedi, the
country's two most popular television stations, and the country's
public television station, were all generally considered to have a
progovernment editorial policy.
In November 2008 Rustavi-2's founder and former owner, Erosi
Kitsmarishvili, alleged that authorities seized the television station
from him in 2004. In December 2008 the next Rustavi-2 owner, Kibar
Kalvaski, filed a letter of complaint with the Prosecutor's Pffice and
Parliament alleging he was forced to give up his ownership of the
station in 2006 under pressure from government officials. No action was
taken on the letter.
Transparency International's November 20 report on media stated
that according to Georgian National Communication Commission (GNCC)
records, Degson Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands, held
70 percent of the shares of Rustavi 2. No other information was
available about the company. The remaining 30 percent of the shares
were owned by the Georgian Industrial Group (GIG). According to the
report, GIG was founded by businessman and member of the ruling party,
Davit Bezhuashvili, the brother of the chief of intelligence services,
Gela Bezhuashvili.
From November 2008 to early May, Irakli Chikovani, former general
director of the Rustavi 2 TV, owned 30 percent of the television
station; offshore firm GeoMedia Group, registered in Marshall Islands,
owned 40 percent; and GIG owned the remaining 30 percent. Rustavi-2's
founder and former owner Kitsmarishvili alleged in 2007 that President
Saakashvili was behind the GeoMedia Group.
On February 25, Joseph Kay announced that he had sold 90 percent of
Imedi's television and radio holding company for an undisclosed price
to RAAK Georgia Holding S.A. Nothing was known about the individual
owners of RAAK. The other 10 percent of the shares were owned by Joseph
Kay, a half-cousin of the original owner Badri Patarkatsishvili.
Officially Imedi was owned by Georgian Media Production Group, formed
of RAAK and Kay's shares. On March 18, Ministry of Defense spokesperson
Nana Intskirveli became Imedi's news director. On May 5, it was
reported that approximately 50 Imedi employees submitted a joint
statement to management stating they did not believe the station's news
coverage had been objective since September 2008, when the station
resumed news programs; they cited examples bias, including a ban on
interviews of nonparliamentary opposition politicians, a ban on
coverage of the problems of displaced persons, and a lack of coverage
of attacks on opposition activists. In response, Imedi's management
reportedly fired two of the statement's initiators and pressured the
other signatories to withdraw their endorsement of it. According to
Transparency International Georgia, all other signatories removed their
names from the statement and four other employees resigned, citing
censorship as the reason. On July 13, Giorgi Arveladze, former
economics minister, was appointed general director of Imedi.
Imedi television was taken off the air in December 2007 after the
resignations of several key journalists concerned that the government
had presented evidence two days earlier showing the owner at that time,
presidential candidate Badri Patarkatsishvili, plotting a coup. Imedi--
the last independent national television station--remained off the air
through the January 2008 presidential election.
After Patarkatsishvili's sudden death in February 2008, Imedi
remained off the air until April 2008 and did not broadcast news until
August 2008. Ownership of the station remained contested, with
Patarkatsishvili's widow filing a notice of arbitration against the
government in December 2008. Gogi Jaoshvili, one of the former
registered owners of Imedi Television, announced at a December 2008
press conference that he had transferred his Imedi holding shares to
Joseph Kay and resigned from the position of chairman of the
supervisory board of I-media under psychological pressure exerted
against him by law enforcement officers. Jaoshvili left the country
several hours after making this public statement.
Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB) was the country's third most-
watched national station, according to Transparency International
Georgia. In late April four GPB board members resigned in protest over
what they deemed was the station's inadequate coverage of ongoing
nonparliamentary opposition protests. On July 20, GPB's general
director, Levan Kubaneishvili, resigned; opposition protestors had been
calling for Kubaneishvili to step down because of his perceived
progovernment bias. On July 31, three board seats were filled by
Parliament despite the protest of the nonparliamentary opposition,
which called for more time to debate candidates' qualifications. On
August 10, the board elected Gia Chanturia as the GPB's new director
general following a public call for nominations. Some NGOs expressed
concern that, since Chanturia had been the deputy under Kubaneishvili,
the public station's progovernment editorial policy would not change.
Chanturia promised to increase investigative reports and budgetary
transparency at the station, and changes were being implemented at
year's end.
On September 22, parliament approved an increase in the number of
board members from nine to 15. The rationale was to make the board more
inclusive by having seven seats filled with candidates nominated by the
opposition, seven from the ruling party, and one civil society
representative. Since one seat was vacant at the time, the increase
resulted in seven vacancies on the board. During the GPB director
selection process in August, a group of media activists, made up of
NGOs and professional journalists working on media freedom and
development, came together to advocate the transparent and fair
election of the new director. This newly formed ``Media Club''
continued its work and pushed for the depoliticization of the GPB board
and the selection of media professionals to fill the vacancies. Three
of the five candidates endorsed by the Media Club were chosen by
Parliament to fill the vacancies. On December 25, parliament passed an
amendment linking the GPB budget to a sum ``not less'' than equivalent
to 0.12 percent of the country's gross domestic product. The amendment
gives the GPB a consistent financial guarantee and means it will not
need to depend on the goodwill of the government for funding.
The GPB was the scene of nonparliamentary opposition protests
following the January 2008 presidential election. Nonparliamentary
opposition supporters, including the United Opposition presidential
candidate Levan Gachechiladze, assaulted 20 GPB journalists and
demanded that the authorities change the GPB director and the board.
These changes were made in February 2008 after negotiations between the
government and the opposition. The opposition parties chose four of the
then nine-member board, including the board chairman, Irakli Tripolski.
However, in May 2008 the opposition held a three-hour rally to protest
the conduct and results of the parliamentary elections and demanded
that the rally be broadcast live. The GPB and other stations featured
extensive reports on the rally, but none broadcast it live in its
entirety. Opposition-supported board chairman Tripolski resigned when
his demand that the entire rally be broadcast was not met; he claimed
that the GPB was biased.
According to Transparency International Georgia's November report,
all national television channels declined to broadcast investigative
reports from two independent studios funded by Western donors. Only
Kavkasia and Maestro, which had limited geographic coverage and openly
pro-opposition editorial positions, broadcast the productions. Although
somenational television directors claimed that that they did not show
the reports because they considered the productions to lack
objectivity, Rustavi 2, Imedi, and the GPB did not produce their own
investigative reports.
On June 15, police assaulted journalists covering a demonstration
of the nonparliamentary opposition outside of Tbilisi police
headquarters (see section 2.b.). Opposition-leaning Maestro TV and
Kavkasia TV both claimed that their crews were attacked during the
incident. Zurab Kurtsikidze from the European Pressphoto Agency was
beaten. Police seized video and photo cameras from a number of
journalists and erased their footage and photographs. On June 16, a
spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs acknowledged that its
forces had attacked journalists and apologized for the incident. The
spokesman said that the ministry had concluded an internal
investigation into the case and that two employees were severely
reprimanded, four employees were reprimanded, and three were suspended
from duty pending further investigation. Equipment seized by police was
returned to the journalists, including a camera belonging to a Reuter's
correspondent in Tbilisi.
As noted in Transparency International Georgia's November report,
the GNCC was not perceived to be a truly independent regulatory body,
in that it made politically motivated decisions. The GNCC denied the
allegations, claiming it treats all broadcasting channels the same. The
GNCC has prevented the establishment of any new television stations by
delaying the issuance of broadcasting licenses since May 2008,
asserting it was conducting research on the broadcasting market. The
commission was composed of five members, each serving a six-year term.
In December 2008 Parliament adopted amendments to the Law on
Broadcasting allowing both the parliamentary minority and majority to
nominate members to the GNCC. On March 13, Parliament approved the two
new members (one nominated by the ruling party and one by the
opposition). Irakli Chikovani, the former director general and
controversial co-owner of Rustavi 2, was appointed as the new GNCC
chairperson on June 12.
The GNCC exercised some control over programming in that it issued
content-based licenses, a ``general license,'' which allows for news
and political programming, and a strict ``entertainment only'' license
rather than a general broadcast license to stations. On July 3, the
GNCC granted the pro-opposition television station Maestro TV a
satellite broadcast license for a 10-year term. Previously, the station
was only available through cable in Tbilisi and a few other cities; the
new license allowed for national transmission. Maestro had applied for
a change of license in November 2007 to allow the broadcast of a
political talk show but was not granted such a license until December
2008. At year's end the station was in the process of raising funds to
initiate its national satellite services. During the year Maestro's
broadcasting was dropped by a few regional cable companies. Although
the companies stated that their decisions were based on business
considerations, on October 7 Maestro's director general alleged that
the owners of these companies were pressured by the government not to
show Maestro programming.
On September 2, Vladimir Mamontov, editor in chief of Russia's
daily newspaper Izvestia, and Maxim Shevchenko, a talk-show host on
Russia's Channel One, were denied entry into Georgia. Both were to
participate in series of roundtable discussions on Russia-Georgia
relations. Georgian authorities cited Shevchenko's and Mamontov's
visits to Abkhazia as violating the Law on Occupied Territories, which
prohibits unauthorized entry into Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the
Russian territories, as the reason behind the refusal to let them into
the country. Another Russian journalist traveling with the group was
granted entry.
On October 9, the Batumi-based television station Channel 25 lost
an appeal challenging a tax levy by local authorities for a period that
the station had been under the control of then-Ajaran leader Aslan
Abashidze (1994-2004). If the station fails to pay the tax obligation,
authorities could auction the station's assets. The station and local
opposition activists asserted that the case was politically motivated
and constituted an attempt to shut down the sole independent television
station in the region in advance of upcoming local elections.
On April 27, a journalist and a cameraman from Rustavi 2 said they
were assaulted outside of Parliament while covering the
nonparliamentary opposition protests. The cameraman, Levan Kalandia,
said that three young persons approached and started to insult
journalist Natia Lekishvili, escalating into a brawl. Video footage,
broadcast on television, showed a young man punching the cameraman.
The Public Defender's Office reported that on April 28, Prime News
agency journalist Teona Managadze was physically assaulted by
protesters at an opposition protest rally in front of the parliament
building. One of the opposition activists approached a group of
journalists who were discussing some incidents that had happened to
journalists during the protest rallies. The activist insulted Managadze
and twisted her arm. The following day two persons from the General
Prosecutor's Office visited the Prime Time bureau to question
Managadze, who was out on an assignment. An investigation was pending
at year's end.
On May 5, three nonparliamentary opposition members were arrested
on charges of hooliganism after allegedly slapping and punching GPB
journalist Nika Avaliani. During the spring protests, the
nonparliamentary opposition set up what they called a ``corridor of
shame'' and forced GPB employees to pass protesters to enter the
station building. It was while he was passing through this ``corridor
of shame'' that the Avaliani incident occurred. The three protesters,
Melor Vachnadze, Giorgi Oniani, and Revaz Revazishvili, admitted guilt
and were fined 200 lari ($118). At a May 7 press conference, the three
protesters alleged that during their May 5 detention, they were beaten,
verbally abused, and threatened with death and rape. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs opened an investigation into the allegations on May
25; the investigation continued at year's end.
As the International Research and Exchanges (IREX) Board's 2009
Media Sustainability Index stated, ``Mirroring the polarized political
scene, news media have essentially split into two opposing camps,
leaving little room for neutrality and balance.''
According to the OSCE's final report on the January 2008
presidential election, campaign coverage in the news of most monitored
television stations, including public television, lacked balance.
Between the presidential election and the beginning of the campaign
period for the May 2008 parliamentary elections, there was a relatively
free media environment. There was new leadership at the public
television station at that time and generally balanced reporting of all
political parties' activities. During the parliamentary elections, the
OSCE noted improvement in the balance of coverage by public television
compared to the presidential election, while concluding that the
coverage of most other monitored television stations lacked balance.
After the May 2008 parliamentary elections, there was a noticeable
weakening in freedom of the media. While media executives cited limited
revenues and a weak advertising market, the net effect was to diminish
the presentation of alternate views, especially on television, and to
substitute entertainment for news and talk shows. Up to the late fall
of 2008, there was a marked decline in the diversity of independent
media, with the exception of the Tbilisi-based Kavkasia television
station. Most alternative voices were greatly diminished, and the
remaining media concentrated on reporting the government's activities
and positions.
By the start of the year, talk shows had reappeared on all of the
country's television channels. The resumption of talk shows followed a
period beginning approximately in June 2008, when most news coverage
had been cut back to eliminate all talk shows and analytical programs.
NGOs asserted that news programming was cut due to government pressure
on the media. Programs cut included Shvidi Dris (Seven Days). Mze, a
progovernment national channel that had 2 percent of the market, also
ceased its news operations on financial grounds in June 2008. Although
Mze was generally seen as progovernment, many opposition figures
criticized its decision to stop broadcasting news, noting that Mze had
broadcast the November 2007 protests live, unlike progovernment Rustavi
2.
In June 2008 Radio Imedi's director was replaced by a former
government spokesman. A group of almost 100 journalists issued a
statement that labeled this action as pressure on the free media.
During the temporary closure of Imedi television in 2008, Radio Imedi
had remained the only national media outlet that carried opposition
views. While the station continued to allow the opposition access,
there was a general decrease in news coverage on Radio Imedi.
In late 2008 Imedi TV launched a twice-weekly talk-show Dghis
Kronika (Chronicle of the Day). This program was also broadcast live on
Radio Imedi. In August Dghis Kronika was closed and replaced by a
weekly talk show, Special Reportage, hosted by the same anchor. In
September 2008 Rustavi 2 announced that it would not renew the popular
talk show, Prime Time, which it suspended in June 2008. Despite
suggestions that the program might return to the air, Rustavi-2 had not
resumed broadcasting Prime Time. However, in February Rustavi-2
launched a new talk show, Pozitsia (Position) with Nino Shubladze, a
deputy general director of the television broadcaster.
Kavkasia TV experienced two transmission interruptions in September
2008, allegedly due to technical issues. Kavkasia's director suspected
the interruption coincided with the station's criticism of the
government's actions during the August 2008 conflict with Russia. At
the time all other television channels were broadcasting the national
Live Chain for Peace in protest over Russia's behavior during the
conflict. Kavkasia's director also alleged that in June 2008 financial
police exerted pressure on companies buying advertising from the
station. As a result, several companies cancelled their contracts with
the station, and other companies decided not to extend their contracts
after they expired. Kavkasia's director kept the names of the companies
confidential.
In August 2008 the outbreak of the conflict between Georgia and
Russia became the primary focus of media attention. Russian forces did
not allow journalists to enter separatist regions or undisputed
Georgian territory located behind Russian checkpoints. After the cease-
fire only journalists accredited by Russia were permitted in the
separatist region areas. In August 2008 eight civilians and one Dutch
journalist were killed as a result of a Russian cluster bomb strike in
the center of Gori. During the conflict three other journalists were
killed, and 14 were wounded. Other journalists were robbed, kidnapped,
or taken hostage. Journalists attributed these attacks to Russian
soldiers or irregulars operating under Russian acquiescence.
Authorities limited access to information during this time and did
not release some sensitive information until after the war, such as
casualty figures and the names of the dead. Government authorities set
up a media center in Gori to provide information to journalists, which
came under Russian attack.
An international NGO estimated that there were more than 45
regional television stations outside of Tbilisi, 17 of which offered
local daily news, although most were at a very low professional level
and largely represented the views of local authorities.
In April 2008 Madona Batiashvili, the chief of the Sighnaghi Bureau
of Radio Hereti, a small independent regional radio station, sent a
statement to the Office of the Public Defender in which she alleged
pressure from Levan Bezhashvili, the president's representative in the
Kakheti region, to prepare positive news reports and to stop reporting
on him and his friends. According to the Ministry of Justice, the
Office of the Chief Prosecutor did not receive any notice of the case
and therefore did not conduct an investigation. According to the Public
Defender's Office, they investigated the case and concluded that there
was no evidence of threat.
In December 2008 Tamara Okruashvili, a correspondent for Khalkhis
Gazeti, said that she stopped to take pictures and talk to displaced
persons from South Ossetia who were near the Gori Municipal Building.
Some of them were complaining about their living conditions. Seeing
this, Gori City Council Chairman David Khmiadashvili told Okruashvili
that she should leave. Heated remarks ensued, resulting in the chairman
striking Okruashvili, knocking her camera out of her hand and breaking
it. Okruashvili filed a complaint with police. The following day the
chairman apologized to her personally and formally in Resonansi
newspaper. Khmiadashvili also sent her a new camera. Okruashvili
withdrew her complaint.
In 2007 Elisio Janashia, editor of Tavisupali Sitkhva (Free Word),
claimed the spokesman for the governor of Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti
verbally abused and threatened her after she published an article about
harassment of a journalist from another newspaper. In the same month,
the public defender requested that the Zugdidi Internal Affairs
Ministry investigate the allegations. The investigation noted that acts
committed by the governor of Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti did not constitute
interference into journalistic activities, as the disputed conversation
took place after the publication of Janashia's article. In October 2008
the investigation was closed.
Very often journalists worked without contracts, which in effect
encouraged them to practice self-censorship. Journalists were hesitant
to report something other than the owners' views, as they were afraid
of losing their jobs.
Media in the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
remained tightly restricted by the de facto authorities and Russian
occupying forces.
Internet Freedom.--Outside of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, there
were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports
that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms.
Insufficient information was available about the situation in the
occupied territories. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. E-
mail access rose slightly during the year but remained centered in
Tbilisi and major metropolitan areas. Estimates were that no more than
11 percent of the population used e-mail. According to International
Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008, approximately 24 percent
of the country's inhabitants used the Internet.
Nevertheless, on November 1, the government reportedly began an
investigation into a series of Facebook videos that insulted the
Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Prosecutors detained two
individuals and seized computer equipment and videos. The incident
prompted a societal discussion about the limits of free speech.
During the August 2008 conflict, Russian cyberattacks defaced or
took official Georgian Web sites offline and jammed the mobile
telephone network. The government blocked access to Russian cable
television news reporting and access to Russian Internet news sites
when hostilities began. In October 2008 authorities restored access to
Russian Internet news sites.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly;
however, the police on occasion reportedly used excessive force to
disperse protests. The law requires political parties and other
organizations to give prior notice and obtain permission from local
authorities to assemble on a public thoroughfare. Permits for
assemblies were routinely granted during the year, and the government
allowed protests and protester-constructed barriers to continue
blocking the streets during the spring despite the expiration of
permits. However, parliament passed a set of amendments to the laws on
police, rallies, and administrative offenses on July 17. Despite urging
by members of the parliamentary opposition to postpone enforcement of
the amended law until European legal experts on the Venice Commission
had reviewed it and submitted their recommendations, the amended law
went into effect in August. The amended law prohibits blocking streets
``artificially'' and ``deliberately,'' either by protesters themselves
or with ``various types of constructions and/or objects. The amended
law on police adds nonlethal projectiles to the list of special
equipment that can be used by police, including for riot control
purposes. The amendment to the code of administrative offences
increased the prison term for a number of administrative offences from
30 days to 90 days. In contrast, under the new CPC, the pretrial
detention for criminal charges is 60 days.
A number of local NGOs, including Transparency International
Georgia, Open Society-Georgia Foundation, and the Georgian Young
Lawyer's Association, published a joint statement calling the amendment
package a ``step back on the path to democracy,'' noting that it
extends the length of administrative detentions without justification,
introduces particularly severe sanctions for acts that pose little risk
to the public, allows the use of nonlethal weapons that could
jeopardize human health and lives, and disproportionately limits
freedom of assembly. The government stated that it submitted the
amendments to the Council of Europe's advisory body on constitutional
and legal issues, the Venice Commission, for review. At year's end the
Venice Commission's official response was pending.
During the year authorities permitted demonstrations, and several
large protests took place despite the fact that many were held after
legal permits had expired. On April 25, the nonparliamentary opposition
created a city of mock prison cells on Rustaveli Avenue and Freedom
Square that remained in place until mid-July blocking Tbilisi's main
thoroughfare. On May 26, tens of thousands of protesters marked the
country's Independence Day by gathering at the national stadium and
calling for President Saakashvili's resignation. On May 27, hundreds of
nonparliamentary opposition protesters blocked the railroad line at the
Tbilisi Central Railroad Station for three hours without major
incident. However, several clashes between police or nonuniformed
assailants and protesters were reported during the year, with no or
little accountability. The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleged there
were no cases of excessive use of force during the spring protests and
that police acted within the law when personally targeted by
protesters.
The nonparliamentary opposition held a sustained protest from April
9 to July 24. Throughout this period the opposition parties called for
President Saakashvili's resignation, and for the most part, authorities
allowed the rallies to take place unimpeded. Protesters blocked major
roads and intersections throughout Tbilisi. However, NGOs and the
Public Defender's Office reported dozens of cases of attacks on
individuals leaving these protests, by unknown assailants wearing masks
and carrying blunt instruments. In a May 11 letter to the minister of
internal affairs and the justice minister, HRW stated, ``In most cases
documented by Human Rights Watch, law enforcement agencies took
victims' reports but to the best of our knowledge took no other action.
In some cases the victims were able to name their assailants or the
license plate numbers of the vehicles they used, yet police did not
appear to apprehend the attacker or take further investigative steps.''
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said that in some cases victims
declined to share information about alleged incidents when police tried
to investigate.
On June 12, a coalition of nonparliamentary opposition parties
published a joint statement alleging that the authorities carried out
``direct terror and assaults'' on opposition supporters and activists
during the protests. The statement also said that ``up to 200 cases of
violence'' against nonparliamentary opposition supporters during the
protests remained unresolved by the police. The Public Defender's
Office and others tracked many of these alleged acts of violence
including the beating of protesters by unknown assailants. At year's
end the Ministry of Internal Affairs had not made any arrests in any of
these incidents.
On May 6, police detained three young activists, who subsequently
asserted that they had been beaten and threatened while in custody.
Later that day, while the activists remained detained at Tbilisi police
headquarters, several nonparliamentary opposition activists and police
officers were injured as a result of a confrontation that took place
outside the headquarters. Reportedly, protesters seeking the release of
the three activists marched to the iron fence surrounding the
headquarters and began shaking it and verbally assaulting police
standing on the other side of the fence. Riot police, with shields and
batons, were then deployed inside the police headquarters' yard. Police
reportedly hit the fence with their batons to get protesters to back
away from the perimeter. However, at least one protest leader managed
to climb over the fence and ran into the yard. While one protest leader
reportedly urged demonstrators to move away from the fence, most did
not.
Following the incident, both police and activists were reportedly
seen with injuries. A chief doctor at the nearby hospital said at least
17 persons asked for treatment for laceration wounds. It was not clear
what caused the injuries. The nonparliamentary opposition claimed that
the police used rubber bullets. At first the Ministry of Internal
Affairs denied this claim. However, on June 2, the ministry
acknowledged firing nonlethal projectiles at the protestors. Public
Defender Sozar Subari, who arrived on the scene after the incident
started, said he saw police officers throwing stones. Subari also
reported that two persons each lost sight in one eye due to a
projectile, although there was no later confirmation of this claim.
Protesters were seen throwing various items at police officers. The
Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that a total of 22 protesters,
one journalist from the public broadcasting station, and six police
officers were injured. Police figures were based on the number of
individuals who sought treatment in the hospital. A Ministry of
Internal Affairs investigation into allegations regarding the use of
force by police officers concluded that police acted in accordance with
the law.
On May 28, several protesters and five police officers were
reportedly injured in a clash close to a protest venue in front of the
parliament building. The Ministry of Internal Affairs released a
statement that an employee of the ministry, who was recording the
protest with a camera, was ``detained'' by protesters and forcibly
taken to a nearby apartment entrance. According to the statement, when
police officers tried to free the man, the protesters resisted and
wounded five police officers, who had to be hospitalized. Two of the
officers were stabbed. On May 29, police arrested two persons involved
in the incident. The nonparliamentary opposition parties protested the
arrests, saying that the officers were not uniformed and that the
authorities triggered the assault.
On June 12, guards at parliament scuffled with protesters who were
throwing eggs and trying to approach the parliamentary speaker's car. A
lawmaker from the parliamentary minority group, Gia Tortladze, and a
protester exchanged punches the same day after Tortladze was reportedly
verbally insulted. Six protestors were arrested and sentenced for the
incidents. Also on June 12, police arrested a man who was protesting
outside of the Rustaveli Theater during a foreign embassy reception.
The man allegedly physically assaulted the chairman of the Central
Election Commission, Levan Tarkhnishvili, and was sentenced to 30 days
in prison.
On June 15, police and protesters again clashed outside a Tbilisi
police headquarter. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the
clash was sparked when police tried to clear the entrance of the police
building and the traffic road. The ministry alleged that the protesters
resisted arrest and disobeyed police orders. Nonparliamentary
opposition activists alleged that the police attacked the protesters.
Among those injured was Zurab Abashidze, associated with opposition
leader Irakli Alasania. Abashidze was hospitalized with multiple
injuries to the head and a broken nose. Journalists were also
reportedly attacked by police. The Public Defender's Office stated that
its representative, Vakhtang Menabdze, was beaten by police although he
was wearing a special uniform with the ``Public Defender'' designation
on it. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that 39 protestors were
arrested for resisting police orders. Five activists, including pro-
opposition youth group leader Dachi Tsaguri, were sentenced to 30 days
in prison. The Tbilisi City Court fined the others 400 lari ($237) and
released them. The Public Defender's Office said that investigations
into allegations against Ministry of Internal Affairs law enforcement
officials continued at year's end.
On June 19, the nonparliamentary opposition accused the government
of sending police to raid a protest venue. However, the Ministry of
Internal Affairs stated that local residents were attempting to
forcibly remove the protest venue, which included ``cell'' barricades
that were blocking the street, and that police intervened to stop a
scuffle between local residents and protestors.
On July 21, police arrested seven activists from a pro-opposition
youth group who were rallying outside of Parliament. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs stated that all of the activists were charged with
petty hooliganism, resisting police orders, and blocking the parliament
building's entrance. One of the activists was fined 400 lari ($237);
the others received either 12- or 14-day prison sentences for
administrative offenses.
According to Civil.ge, police arrested three opposition youth
activists on November 23, claiming that they had violated the amended
law on rallies and resisted arrest. Later that day, the Tbilisi City
Court found the three guilty, despite the reported existence of film
footage indicating that they had not violated the law or resisted
arrest. On November 24, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association
condemned the arrest and the court ruling as a ``rough violation'' of
freedom of assembly. The Public Defender's Office claimed that the
three activists did not break any laws, stating that ``the
constitutionally provided freedom of assembly of Dachi Tsaguria, Jaba
Jishkariani, and Irakli Kordzaia has been violated.''
In November there were reports that representatives of the ruling
party in Tbilisi informed a number of individuals that they had
evidence of their participation in the spring opposition demonstrations
and that they would suffer consequences for their participation.
In December 2008 then-public defender Subari claimed, as he was
delivering his biannual report on human rights, that he had proof that
senior officials, including Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili,
deliberately planned to use excessive force against protesters during a
rally in November 2007. Subari recommended creation of an ad hoc
parliamentary commission to investigate his claims. No such commission
was established.
In 2007 the Old Tbilisi District Prosecution Office initiated a
preliminary investigation into the injuries sustained by individuals
during the November 7 demonstrations. The Office of the Chief
Prosecutor's investigation into the incidents reportedly continued at
year's end. There was no further information on the status of the
investigation at year's end. Then-public defender Subari's March 31
report to parliament covering the latter part of 2008 again noted that
the Prosecutor's Office had not brought charges against attackers. The
Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that 11 police officers were
dismissed because of inappropriate behavior during the demonstration.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right, although there were allegations of government intimidation of
some protesters and the government failed to establish responsibility
for physical attacks that the nonparliamentary opposition considered
politically motivated.
Authorities granted permits for registration of associations
without arbitrary restriction or discrimination. However,
nonparliamentary opposition leaders reported that their party members
were subject to politically motivated kidnappings as well as
politically motivated assaults. The nonparliamentary opposition
reported that these assaults were conducted by unknown assailants,
which they alleged had ties to the government in retribution for the
nonparliamentary opposition's spring protest action. There were at
least 40 such incidents reported by different nonparliamentary
opposition groups.
The Public Defender's report for the first half of the year
featured several examples of unlawful police actions against citizens
involved in the spring anti-government protests. Protesters claimed
they were subject to physical abuse by unknown individuals due to their
political activities. The Public Defender's Office registered 32 such
cases. In most of these cases the individuals received physical
injuries documented by medical records.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs made no arrests or concluded any
investigations into the reported cases. Examples of such cases included
the following:
Four members of the Ratom (Why) movement reported to the Public
Defender's Office that on April 9, 10 to 15 masked assailants stopped
their vehicle, dragged two Ratom members out of the car, and physically
assaulted them. The Ratom members told the public defender that the
assailants warned them not to attend any more rallies and threatened
them with physical retribution if they did. On April 11, an
investigation into the incident was opened by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs. At year's end the investigation continued.
On April 10, Shmagi Gelbakhiani, Ivane Gobejishvili, and other
members of the youth organization of the nonparliamentary opposition
group Alliance for Georgia reported that they were going to a protest
rally outside of Parliament when they were blocked by a black jeep.
Five men got out of the car, verbally assaulted them, and beat them
with rubber clubs. An investigation was under way at the Ministry of
Internal Affairs.
Gocha Sakhltkhutsishvili, a member of the organizational committee
of the protest actions, reported to the Public Defender's Office that
on April 15, he parked his car on the street and was attacked by three
or four persons, who dragged him out of the car and beat him. The
attackers then fled taking Sakhltkhutsishvili's car with them. The car
was later found by police. The Ministry of Internal Affairs opened an
investigation on April 15. At year's end the investigation continued.
Unknown assailants also physically assaulted opposition figures in
2008. For example, in June 2008 General Gia Sehrvashidze, one of the
leaders of the Christian Democratic Alliance, was hospitalized after
being attacked by four masked individuals. According to the Ministry of
Justice, an investigation was conducted, during which Shervashidze told
investigators that he could not identify his attackers and that he did
not consider the attack politically motivated. The investigation did
not find any possible leads.
The public defender's January-July 2008 report mentioned the
following as opposition supporters who were attacked but stated the
Prosecutor's Office had not investigated the incidents: Mamuka
Kvaratskhelia, Ramin Abuladze, Davit Sazanishvili, Amiran Iobashvili,
Nugzar Khutsurauli, Giorgi Tavdgiridze, Giorgi Shervashidze, Boris
Dzanashvili, Levan Jgarkava, Levan Gvarjaladze, Davit Metreveli, Ioseb
Bortsvadze, Zurab Giguashvili, and Nona Sagareishvili. Criminal cases
were opened into all of the incidents and were being pursued at year's
end. In one incident the victim refused to give testimony to law
enforcement officials on the subject matter of the case.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. However, government officials were not always responsive to
the needs and concerns of religious minority groups.
The constitution recognizes the special role of the Georgian
Orthodox Church in the country's history under its own patriarch but
stipulates the separation of church and state. A concordat
(constitutional agreement) signed by the president and the Orthodox
patriarch gives the church legal status. The concordat contains several
controversial provisions that give the patriarch legal immunity, grant
the church the exclusive right to staff the military chaplaincy, exempt
church clergymen from military service, and give the church a unique
consultative role in government, particularly in the area of education.
However, these provisions were not in force, due to lack of
implementing legislation. On April 24, the government and the Georgian
Orthodox Church signed a special agreement of cooperation wherein the
church took on a special role in the resocialization of convicts
through involvement in the church and public works. The tax code
exempts the Georgian Orthodox Church from paying value-added tax (VAT)
for the importation of some religious items (crosses, candles, icons,
books, and calendars used exclusively for religious purposes) but
requires other religious groups to pay VAT and file for reimbursement.
Any religious group may register as a noncommercial legal entity.
The registration application should include the name of the
organization, the place of its location, the purpose of its activities,
information on the founder(s), information on the governing body of the
organization, and the decision-making process of the governing body.
Groups may register in one of several forms, such as a union or
foundation, to receive legal and tax benefits. A union is based on
membership (a minimum of five members is required), while a foundation
involves one or more founders establishing a fund for furtherance of a
certain cause for the benefit of the particular group or the general
public. Registration is a function of the tax department under the
Ministry of Finance, which must grant or deny registration within three
days of application; a refusal may be appealed in court.
Some religious communities expressed dissatisfaction with the
status that registration provided. The Roman Catholic Church and the
Armenian Apostolic Church opposed registering as civil organizations,
preferring to register as religious organizations or at least to be
granted equal status as the Georgian Orthodox Church. Both the Armenian
Apostolic and Roman Catholic churches asserted that they were
traditionally established churches in Georgia and registration as an
association or foundation would diminish their status. However, many
other religious groups registered under the legislation, which does not
discriminate against any religious activity. Jehovah's Witnesses, who
were registered as a civil organization, denied this was the case,
stating that they paid all taxes and had not pursued filing for
reimbursement. According to Jewish community representatives, the
community imported religious items under a humanitarian category.
Generally any company that imported goods had to pay VAT at the border,
but if the imported goods were not designated for further selling by
the importer, the Ministry of Finance must reimburse the VAT.
The separation of state schools and religious teaching further
narrowed the interpretation of the government concordat with the
Orthodox Church on teaching Orthodoxy as an elective part of the school
curriculum. The law states that Orthodox teaching may only take place
after school hours and cannot be controlled by the school or teachers.
Outsiders, including clergy, cannot regularly attend or direct student
extracurricular activities, student clubs, or their meetings. Lay
theologians, rather than priests, led such activities. Religious
minorities broadly welcomed the change to school religious education,
although they observed along with NGOs that practice did not always
keep pace with the law. For example, implementation of the law was
flawed, especially as applied to prayer and displays of crucifixes and
other religious objects. The Public Defender's Office characterized the
problem as especially common in Adjara, where Muslim students were
frequently the target of religious pressure from Orthodox teachers.
However, the Ministry of Education and Science noted a marked reduction
in religious shrines at schools and some additional restraint on the
part of teachers in keeping religion out of the classroom elsewhere in
the country.
Public schools offered students the opportunity to take an elective
course on religion in society, which covered the history of major
religions. Parents complained teachers focused solely on the Orthodox
Church, as did the primary textbook. During the year the Ministry of
Education and Science completed work on a new curriculum addressing the
public complaints. The ministry had some difficulty introducing the
course as an independent and required curriculum. However, the
government was able to add the course into the existing nonmandatory
history curriculum wherein the school may offer the course and students
may choose to take it.
Delays in obtaining permits to build kingdom halls required many
Jehovah's Witness congregations to continue meeting in private
facilities that are bought for the congregation, but in the name of a
particular member. Jehovah's Witness leaders noted that if they tried
to purchase a facility in their organizational name, they often faced
delays in permits and protests from the inhabitants and businesses in
the neighboring area. In February the Administrative Court ruled in
favor of the Jehovah's Witnesses in a case protesting the denial of a
construction permit by the Tbilisi City Administration; however, the
decision was appealed and continued at year's end.
The Jehovah Witnesses provided a list of 35 incidents involving
harassment they said were reported to the authorities. The Jehovah
Witnesses reported that in only two cases was an individual charged,
the rest remained unresolved despite their claim that law enforcement
knew the identity of the harassers. In 2007 the ECHR ruled against the
government for failing to protect the group from violent harassment in
1999. Four additional cases were pending before the ECHR on the alleged
violation of rights against members of Jehovah's Witnesses, some filed
during the administration of previous governments. One of these cases
contested a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that revoked the group's
registration. However, in 2007 the organization was registered under
the new registration law. This status allows them to import materials,
rent venues, and conduct other transactions as a legal entity.
Jehovah's Witnesses reported that authorities continued to defer on
decision for permits to hold a large gathering in Tbilisi and that the
authorities had not permitted them such access since 2004. Jehovah's
Witnesses reported that many private facility owners would not lease or
rent them the space for large activities.
The Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic churches were unable to
secure the return of churches closed or given to the Georgian Orthodox
Church during the Soviet period. In 2007 the Ministry of Justice
adopted plans to rely on disinterested expert opinion for assessment of
future ownership disputes, instead of a now inactive commission that
had included a Georgian Orthodox participant. No action was taken,
however, on the return of five churches to the Roman Catholic Church
(RCC), and due to direction by the Vatican, the church halted all
litigation. The RCC also was hampered in constructing new churches and
reported that, in one case from 2008, authorities referred the church
to a local Georgian Orthodox bishop for permission. The Georgian
Orthodox bishop suggested repairing an old church instead, which the
local government accepted. However, in order for the reconstruction to
begin, ownership of the land on which the church stands must be given
to the RCC. At year's end the ownership of the land had not passed from
the government to the RCC.
The Armenian Apostolic Church's main concern remained the return of
five churches in Tbilisi and one church in Akhaltsikhe. However, the
status of at least 30 other churches it claimed remained in dispute
around the country. Controversy continued to surround the disposition
of the Norashen Church, claimed by both the Armenian Apostolic and
Georgian Orthodox churches. In November 2008 Father Tariel
Sikinchelashvili, a Georgian Orthodox priest, brought a bulldozer into
the common churchyard, which a Georgian church shared with the Norashen
Church, to clear the grounds of rubbish. Father Tariel claimed that the
passage was too narrow for the bulldozer to pass, so he removed, and
later replaced, several Armenian headstones in the yard. Upon seeing
this, Armenian clergy were indignant and called the action
disrespectful to the Armenian remains buried there. During the year the
activity stopped and the rubble that sat atop some Armenian graves was
cleared. Although the Georgian Orthodox Church proposed the creation of
a commission to study the origins of the disputed churches, there was
no movement from either side to start the process at year's end.
On November 19, a disputed church claimed by the Armenian Apostolic
church collapsed in Tbilisi. The church was reportedly constructed in
1356 but was closed during the Soviet era and used as a warehouse. The
church never reopened, even after Georgian independence, when title to
the property passed to the Georgian Ministry of Culture. The Armenian
Apostolic Church released a statement on November 20 blaming the
Georgian government and the Georgian Orthodox Church for failure to
safely preserve claimed Armenian holy sites and their refusal to return
claimed Armenian churches to the Armenian Diocese of Georgia. The local
Tbilisi municipality had begun cleaning up the site at year's end.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--During the year several
religious minority groups faced harassment and attacks by two growing
fundamentalist Georgian Orthodox groups made up of lay persons and
clergy. Harassment included the passing out of pamphlets warning
parents about pedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church from foreign news
reports; holding a street protest at the site of a Muslim community
center in Tbilisi where local ethnic-Azeri Muslims reported that many
of the protestors, who were drunk, pushed them around and told them to
get out of Georgia (they also reported that although police came and
calmed the situation, no arrests were made); the placement of giant
white crosses in traditionally ethnic-Azeri Muslim villages; and the
staging of a large protest at the opening of a new Roman Catholic
Church facility. The Georgian Orthodox Church stated that while there
were clergy in these groups, the groups were not officially part of the
church.
Judaism is practiced in a number of communities throughout the
country, particularly in the largest cities, Tbilisi and Kutaisi. There
were an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Jews in the country. The Jewish
community did not report any acts of anti-Semitism during the year.
Synagogues were not under the ownership of the Jewish Community, which
is registered as a union. The government leased them to the community
for the symbolic price of one lari (69 cents) per month. In April 2008
an anti-Semitic leaflet by the political movement Axali Sitkva was
distributed in Tbilisi metro stations; Tbilisi Jewish leaders saw the
leaflet as an effort to manipulate nationalist sentiment prior to
parliamentary elections.
According to the Jewish community, the Ministry of Economic
Development in 2008 transferred another synagogue in Tbilisi to the
Jewish community on a 25-year lease. A 150-year-old Ashkenazi synagogue
was reopened in the old district of Tbilisi. The synagogue was badly
damaged by an earthquake in 1991 and was restored with the support of
the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC).
Despite a general tolerance toward minority religious groups
considered to be ``traditional'' to the country, including Catholics,
Armenian Apostolic Christians, Jews, and Muslims, citizens remained
apprehensive towards ``nontraditional'' religions, which were perceived
as taking advantage of the populace's economic hardships by gaining
members through economic assistance. Some members of the Orthodox
Church and the public viewed non-Orthodox religious groups,
particularly those considered ``nontraditional'' groups or sects, as a
threat to the national church and the country's cultural values,
asserting that foreign Christian missionaries should confine their
activities to non-Christian areas.
Defrocked Orthodox priest Basil Mkalavishvili was released in July
2008 after serving four years of a six-year jail sentence.
Mkalavishvili was arrested in 2004 and found guilty of carrying out
organized violence against Jehovah's Witnesses and Baptist-Evangelists
and burning their religious literature. Mkalavishvili was
excommunicated in 1995, after he criticized the Georgian Orthodox
Church leadership for not taking a ``radical stance'' towards religious
minorities. After his release from jail he started his own private
congregation. On December 22, the restoration of Father Mkalavishvili
was discussed at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox
Church, but the Georgian Orthodox Church decided against the motion.
Muslim officials reported that local government and police erected
22 solid crosses in and around Muslim communities in the Bolnisi
District. The Georgian Orthodox Patriarchy called the local district
bishop to Tbilisi and explained that the crosses were an act of
provocation and must be removed. No crosses were observed in a later
visit to the area by a representative of the Ministry of Reintegration.
However, large crosses lit up with strings of lights were still
observed outside traditionally Muslim villages in the district. Local
residents said they were continually erected despite efforts to take
them down. Officially, permission is needed to erect a structure along
the road; however, no group claimed responsibility for the crosses.
Bolnisi District officials continued to refuse official permission for
the public call to prayer. A call to prayer nonetheless continued.
On September 16, representatives from radical fundamentalist
Georgian Orthodox groups stopped construction on a mosque in a
traditionally ethnic-Azeri village. The group members demanded to see
the villagers' construction permit, despite not having the legal right
to do so, and threatened the villagers with violence if the
construction did not cease. The village community members were
repairing the roof of their 104-year-old mosque and claimed that they
had received permission from local authorities to complete the roof
work. At year's end the repairs on the mosque had not continued, as the
question of official permission was not settled and members of the
orthodox group continued a vigil at the mosque to ensure that villagers
did not continue repairs.
The Public Defender's Office was approached 41 times by religious
minorities concerning possible instances of violations to their rights.
During the year there were attacks on religious minorities, including
the Jehovah's Witnesses. Police were quick to respond to incidents of
abuse but slower in their follow-up to crimes they viewed as minor
``hooliganism,'' defined as actions that violate public order or
demonstrate open contempt towards society by using violence or threats
of violence.
During the year the government investigated several cases of
interference, threats, intimidation, or violence against religious
minorities. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there were
nine criminal cases opened for the damage of property, 10 criminal
cases opened for physical abuse, and one criminal case opened for
verbal abuse. The ministry also reported that five administrative
sanctions were imposed for verbal abuse. The Prosecutor General's
Office continued to exercise prosecutorial discretion to emphasize
cases arising after 2003, given its limited investigative and
prosecutorial resources. Investigations prior to 2003 were scheduled to
continue where feasible, but priority was given to new cases. Religious
minority groups pointed out that this could lead to the eventual
elimination of cases that could be investigated under law predating
2003. The Ministry of Justice asserted, however, that since 2004 the
investigation of incidents and attacks based on religious grounds was a
priority.
Thirty-five incidents involving harassment were reported to
authorities by the Jehovah's Witnesses. These included 10 cases of
vandalism and other problems with Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Halls.
Out of those, investigations were started on six cases, and one case
was brought to the court. There were eight acts of physical violence.
Criminal proceedings were started on four cases; police issued a
warning to one of the perpetrators. Two cases were reported as
persecutions. In one case the Borjomi local court fined and officially
warned to two perpetrators who insulted members. The other case
pertained to the government's compliance with the ECHR 2007 decision to
pay compensation to 97 victims of a mob attack.
There were no developments reported in the investigation into the
2007 incident involving unidentified individuals who insulted and
physically abused Jehovah's Witnesses Davit Shermadini and David
Karamiani in Gldani and forcibly took their Jehovah's Witnesses
literature, destroying it at the scene. At year's end the investigation
was still underway.
De facto authorities in the separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia
regions remained outside the control of the central government, and
reliable information from those regions was difficult to obtain.
Although the Russian Orthodox Church recognizes the Georgian Orthodox
Church's authority over churches in the separatist regions, the
Georgian Orthodox patriarchate claimed that the Russian Orthodox Church
was sending in priests loyal to the church patriarchate in Moscow on
the pretext of setting up indigenous Abkhaz churches.
In 2008 the Russian Holy Synod passed a resolution officially
recognizing Georgian Orthodox jurisdiction over Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. On September 16, however, the Abkhaz Orthodox Church declared
``independence'' from the Georgian Orthodox Church.
On April 4, the de facto Abkhaz authorities expelled three Georgian
Orthodox priests accused of spying. In April the de facto authorities
also expelled four Georgian Orthodox monks and three nuns of the Saint
Giorgi Church in the village of Azhara in Kodori Gorge, reportedly for
not recognizing Abkhaz de facto jurisdiction over the area. The monks
crossed the administrative boundary line at the Enguri Bridge into
Georgian-controlled territory. While they were crossing, Russian forces
reportedly shot guns in the air for five minutes.
A 1995 decree issued by the de facto leader of Abkhazia prohibiting
Jehovah's Witnesses in the region remained in effect but was not
enforced. During the year members of Jehovah's Witnesses reported no
problems in Abkhazia, where the group had approximately 1,500 members,
but was not conducting services openly. Although Baptists, Lutherans,
and Roman Catholics reported they were allowed to operate in the
region, the Georgian Orthodox Church reported that it was unable to do
so.
In South Ossetia, Orthodox believers were not able to conduct
services in Georgian Orthodox churches located near the villages of
Nuli, Eredvi, Monasteri, and Gera because these areas were under the
control of Ossetian de facto authorities.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the UNHCR and other
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to
IDPs, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons,
and other persons of concern.
De facto authorities in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia, as well as Russian troops in parts of Georgia occupied
during the August 2008 conflict, restricted freedom of movement.
Checkpoints operated by de facto militia and Russian troops often
obstructed citizens' internal movement in these regions and between
these regions and areas controlled by the Georgian government. In June
2008 Abkhaz de facto authorities closed the cease-fire line to all
civilian vehicular traffic.
Following the August 2008 hostilities, Russian and South Ossetian
forces occupied villages outside of the South Ossetian and Abkhazian
administrative boundaries. By October 2008 Russian and irregular forces
had, to some extent, pulled back to preconflict positions. Major
exceptions included an increase in the scale of the Russian presence
and expansions into previously unoccupied areas, including a new
Russian checkpoint outside the village of Perevi, outside South
Ossetia, and a significant Russian and Ossetian presence in the
Akhalgori valley and the Upper Kodori Valley in Abkhazia. The Akhalgori
valley, which the Georgian government had governed since 1991, is
populated predominantly by ethnic Georgians. Russian forces limited
movement in and out of the valley, especially for nonresidents;
international observers had difficulty gaining access. Ossetian
authorities reportedly exerted pressure on local residents, especially
younger ones, to accept Ossetian authority and Russian passports or
leave.
In October 2008 parliament passed the Law on Occupied Territories,
which put limits on the movement of foreigners in and out of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, requiring permission from authorities in Tbilisi. It
also imposed special requirements on those conducting economic
activities in the territories. There were no reports of any
international humanitarian organizations being unduly restricted in
practice by the Georgian authorities. Russian and Abkhaz de facto
authorities generally allowed international organizations to operate in
Abkhazia, with limitations; Russian and South Ossetian de facto
authorities blocked virtually all international organizations,
including humanitarian ones, from entering South Ossetia.
An Abkhaz ``citizenship'' law allows dual Russian-Abkhaz
citizenship but not dual Georgian-Abkhaz citizenship. Ethnic Georgians
living in Abkhazia were required to acquire Abkhaz ``citizenship'' to
open businesses, bank accounts, vote in elections, travel freely, and
own property. While ethnic Georgians in the region could ``legally''
apply for an Abkhaz passport, the processing of their applications met
with long delays and in most cases was never completed.
Abkhaz de facto militia conducted searches of local populations and
erected arbitrary checkpoints. Money and valuables were extorted from
ethnic Georgians accused of violating the identity document
requirements. International organizations reported that Gali residents
faced serious threats of extortion, especially at harvest time, but
generally refused to make public or specific allegations for fear of
retribution.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Internally Displaced Persons.--According to the Ministry for
Refugees and Accommodation, before the August 2008 armed conflict there
were approximately 235,000 IDPs from conflicts of 1992 and 1993; the
UNHCR estimated this number as 220,000. The UNHCR estimated that, of
the approximately 127,000 individuals displaced as a result of the
August 2008 conflict, by September 2009 approximately 7,893 persons
remained displaced in undisputed Georgia. In addition, the UNHCR
accounted for 106,134 in an ``IDP-like'' situation needing protection
and humanitarian assistance as of September; this included individuals
who returned to Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and areas adjacent to South
Ossetia, as well as those displaced in the August 2008 conflict who
were subsequently relocated.
During the year there was debate regarding who was an IDP, as for
example this status was given to the children of persons who were
displaced by conflict, and who may have never been personally
displaced. The numbers also included persons who had fully reintegrated
into society, although perhaps not in their original hometown or
region. Various agencies including the government, the UNHCR, and NGOs
employed different methods in estimating the total number of IDPs.
IDPs from the August 2008 conflict continued to receive substantial
assistance from the government as well as the international donor
community during the year. The Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation
continued to implement the ``Action Plan'' for the Implementation of
the State Strategy on IDPs'' adopted in December 2008. The three main
objectives of the plan were to improve the living conditions of IDPs,
promote their socioeconomic integration, and raise awareness of their
situation. The government took steps during the year to rehabilitate
existing collective centers, purchase or build new housing, or offer
cash payments in lieu of providing housing to IDPs from the early 1990s
and August 2008 conflicts. The government made substantial progress on
providing housing to IDPs and moved from a reactive approach to the war
(getting as much housing up as quickly as possible) to a long-term
solution approach (providing ``durable solutions'' to IDPs from both
conflicts).
Abkhaz de facto authorities continued to prevent repatriation of
the approximately 235,000 persons displaced by the 1992-93 war, despite
their 1994 agreement with Georgia, Russia, and the UNHCR, which called
for the safe, secure, and voluntary return of IDPs who fled during the
war. Approximately 40,000 IDPs, many working as seasonal laborers,
returned to the Gali region of Abkhazia, but Abkhaz de facto
authorities refused to allow the return of IDPs to other regions of
Abkhazia. A property law prevented IDPs living in other parts of the
country from reclaiming homes in Abkhazia, especially outside Gali.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
In practice the government provided some protection against
refoulement, the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where
their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion. However, in its April 2008 report, the UNHCR
expressed concern that the legislation did not fully ensure respect for
nonrefoulement and recommended additional legislation and procedural
safeguards, training for border guards, and a mechanism to speed
referral of asylum seekers. The government granted refugee status and
asylum.
The situation of Chechen refugees in the Pankisi valley improved
significantly enough that by the end of December the Norwegian Refugee
Council (NRC) had pulled out of the valley. The UNHCR coordinated with
NRC and others in the international community to ensure a smooth
transition from relief assistance to development. On April 15, the
government issued Chechen refugees travel documents for the first time,
granting them the right to travel overseas.
Two Russian soldiers stationed in South Ossetia defected in June
and December, and in both cases the government assisted them with
temporary protection while they initiated the process of applying for
asylum in the country. Both cases were in process at year's end, and
both individuals remained in Georgia with protected status as asylum
seekers.
Stateless Persons.--According to the UNHCR, there were more than
1,600 stateless persons in the country at the end of the year. However,
the precise number of stateless persons was not known, as cumbersome
procedures for obtaining identity documents complicated the assessment.
Among those registered as stateless, documentation was poor. The number
of registered stateless persons may include Chechens who volunteered
for repatriation to Russia but were denied because they had never been
registered in Russia and did not have documented Georgian citizenship.
This confusion was compounded by persons who lived in the unrecognized,
separatist regions.
The law allows for acquisition of citizenship by birth, including
for children of stateless individuals born on Georgian territory. For
persons born on foreign territory, the law allows the acquisition of
citizenship through a naturalization process that requires 10 years of
continuous residence in the country, demonstrated command of the
Georgian or Abkhaz languages and Georgian history, and demonstrated
permanent employment or possession of real property.
Children lacking birth certificates were unable to participate in
social aid or educational programs. Often children were not registered
because their parents had no documentation. In July 2008 the Civil
Registry Agency (CRA) launched an intensive registration project in
Kvemo Kartli to register juveniles and family members who lacked
identification documents. On May 14, the CRA opened new offices in
Khvelvachauri and Poti.
After independence in 1991, many Roma left the country, although
several thousand reportedly remained. During the year the European
Center for Minority Issues estimated the Romani population at 1,500,
with no more than 300 in any one location. Roma were found principally
in the Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Kobuleti, Kakheti, and Sukhumi regions. Large
numbers of Roma came from Abkhazia, from where they had migrated to
Zugdidi and Tbilisi, while additional Muslim Roma arrived from Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Internal seasonal migration was noted during the summer
to the Black Sea coast. Romani IDPs from Abkhazia were not entitled to
IDP social assistance because they had no documentation to prove their
status. CRA officials asserted that Roma with out-of-date Soviet
passports had no difficulty applying for and receiving Georgian
documents but noted that Roma were often reluctant to file official
applications for documents. During the year there were no reports of
government mistreatment of Roma in the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully; however, the government's record in the most recent
national elections was mixed.
Controversial constitutional amendments adopted in 2004
strengthened presidential powers, giving the president the ability to
dismiss Parliament in two circumstances: if parliament does not approve
the president's cabinet nominations after three attempts, the president
can dismiss Parliament and appoint the prime minister and cabinet
unilaterally; or if Parliament does not pass the budget on time, the
president can approve the budget by decree. In both instances newly
elected parliaments could not vote on the cabinet or the budget;
however, in neither case did the president invoke the new
constitutional authorities.
Elections and Political Participation.--Parliament passed
amendments to the election code on December 28; provisions included the
direct election of the Tbilisi mayor, the split of the Central Election
Commission (CEC) seats between the opposition and the ruling party, and
the funding of political parties. The new electoral code passed in
December also amends the selection of the chairman. The president
nominates three candidates for the post in consultation with members of
civil society, from which opposition members of the CEC select one. If
none of the three candidates receives a majority of opposition CEC
votes, parliament elects one from among the three candidates.
Following opposition protests in 2007, the government changed the
composition of the CEC to include six members appointed by opposition
parties. One member was appointed by the ruling United National
Movement (UNM) and the other six were appointed by the president and
parliament under the previously existing procedure. The opposition also
appointed members to all precinct election commissions; however, the
midlevel district election commissions remained without opposition
representation. In the period prior to the May 2008 parliamentary
elections, multiparty composition of election administration was
implemented at all levels, including the district election commissions,
and Parliament passed an amendment to lower the threshold for party
representation from 7 to 5 percent of the parliamentary election
results. Prior to this reform, the president and parliament appointed a
new CEC chairman, but opposition parties alleged that the appointee was
selected in advance by the president and that the process was therefore
not consistent with the transparent procedure provided for in the
electoral code.
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in January 2008
and in May 2008, respectively.
The OSCE reported that, while the early presidential election in
January 2008 was consistent with most OSCE and Council of Europe
standards and presented the first genuinely competitive post
independence presidential election, it also revealed significant
challenges. The campaign was overshadowed by allegations of
intimidation and pressure. The distinction between state activities and
the campaign of the ruling party incumbent candidate Mikheil
Saakashvili was blurred, and the election was marred by other
shortcomings in the election process, most notably flawed vote
counting, tabulation, and postelection complaints and appeals
procedures.
The May 2008 parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for
later in the year, were brought forward following a plebiscite held
simultaneously with the January 2008 presidential election. The OSCE
assessed that authorities and other political stakeholders made
significant efforts to conduct these elections in line with OSCE and
Council of Europe commitments; however, according to the OSCE, a number
of problems made this implementation uneven and incomplete. The OSCE's
final report noted shortcomings in vote counting, tabulation, and the
handling of election complaints. The OSCE also reported widespread
allegations of intimidation and pressure on opposition activists,
public-sector employees, and others in the presidential and
parliamentary elections. There also were credible allegations that
there was pressure on businesses to contribute to ruling party election
campaigns. The OSCE also reported flaws in the conduct of election
commissions.
In advance of the 2008 elections, Parliament restructured the
incoming Parliament: the new Parliament consisted of 75 majoritarian
deputies elected in single-mandate constituencies and another 75
deputies elected through a proportional party-list system. The OSCE's
final parliamentary elections report stated: ``The election system was
modified without reaching a consensus between the UNM and opposition
parties...Opposition parties had strongly opposed single-mandate
constituencies, which they saw as benefiting the UNM, given the
fragmentation of the opposition, and had favored regional proportional
constituencies.'' The report also noted that the unified election code
(UEC) ``does not require single-mandate constituencies to be of equal
or comparable size. In these elections the number of voters in
individual election districts, which as a rule coincide with the
administrative districts, ranged from around 6,000 to more than
140,000. Such large variations undermined one of the main principles of
electoral rights, namely the equality of the vote. In amending the
constitution and the UEC, parliament did not try to address this
imbalance.''
In 2008 the ECHR issued a judgment that found one violation by the
country of the right to liberty and security as provided by the
European Convention on Human Rights. In the case of the Georgian Labor
Party v. Georgia, the court found that there was no violation in the
introduction of an active system of voter registration shortly before
the election in a ``postrevolutionary'' political context, aimed at
remedying the problem of chaotic electoral rolls; no violation and no
evidence of abuse of power or electoral fraud adduced to back up a
complaint of a propresidential majority in electoral commissions at all
levels. However, it found there was a violation in the illegitimate and
unjustified exclusion of two electoral districts from the country-wide
vote tally.
The ECHR called for the government to award the Labor Party 1,043
euros ($1,496) for costs and damages. The court stated that the
government failed to comply with a number of rule of law requisites and
effectively disenfranchised a significant section of the population,
estimated at 60,000 voters. The Ministry of Finance claimed it had paid
the judgment by electronic transfer.
Unknown assailants allegedly attacked members of the political
opposition before and after the January 2008 presidential and May 2008
parliamentary elections. Opposition members accused the government of
not earnestly attempting to identify, arrest, and try the attackers,
many of whom wore masks. At year's end there was no reported progress
made on the investigation of these attacks.
The OSCE's final report on the May 2008 parliamentary elections
noted that the election campaign was conducted in a highly polarized
environment, which was compounded by reports of widespread intimidation
of opposition candidates, party activists, and state employees in many
regions. Of the numerous specific allegations the OSCE election
observation mission examined, it found several to be credible. The OSCE
examined a series of postelection beatings and other violence involving
masked men attacking a total of 13 opposition activists, many of whom
were taking legal action against alleged cases of election-related
irregularities. The OSCE visited seven of the 13 individuals and
confirmed that they had been attacked. It noted that some opposition
leaders accused the authorities and the ruling party of responsibility
for the postelection attacks. The public defender also issued a
statement criticizing the attacks and noting that a number of
individuals who had been attacked refused to identify themselves out of
fear.
There were no government restrictions on political party formation
beyond registration requirements; according to the Ministry of
Justice's Registration and Licensing Department, there were 200
registered political parties by the end of the year, compared with 189
in 2008. However, members of nonparliamentary opposition parties
reported that they were subject to politically motivated assaults as a
result of their three-month protest action. The nonparliamentary
opposition also reported that their members were unduly singled out for
prosecution, most commonly for the alleged possession of illegal
weapons or drugs (see sections 1.d. and 1.e.).
There was also a case of the government allegedly extending
benefits to a politician who was in its favor and then withdrawing the
benefits in a punitive manner once that person shifted to the
opposition. After former parliamentary speaker Nino Burjanadze joined
the nonparliamentary opposition, she reported that the government took
politically motivated steps, including the confiscation of a residence
she received from the government in May 2008 through a presidential
decree authorizing the sale of the residence and a plot of land to
Burjanadze for one lari (69 cents). The decree stated that the
residence was in honor of Burjanadze's efforts ``in the development of
parliamentarism and democracy in Georgia.'' On August 18, the Tbilisi
City Court ruled in favor of the Finance Ministry in a claim against
Burjanadze. The Finance Ministry said that Burjanadze owed the state
1.25 million lari ($739,645) in unpaid taxes for the residence.
Burjanadze claimed that the amount of tax she owed amounted to 300,000
lari ($177,500) and that the authorities increased the market value of
the residence, based on which the tax was calculated, only after she
joined the opposition. On October 21, the government took possession of
the residence after Burjanadze exhausted all her appeals and the
residence did not sell in auction. Due process concerns included the
failure of the judiciary to permit Burjanadze to submit her own
experts' assessment of the value of the property to the court.
In July 2008 parliament passed an amendment to the election law
that denied six opposition parties state funding based on their refusal
to take their seats after the parliamentary elections. Some opposition
political members stated that they were being punished by the
government for their failure to participate in the new parliament. In
December 2008 parliament restored political party funding to opposition
parties and endowed a foundation to provide funding to all political
parties for research and training. On July 27, the president put forth
a proposal to allow 10 opposition members to take their seats despite
their earlier boycott. On September 24, Parliament passed a
constitutional amendment endorsing the proposal. At year's end
Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, leader of the opposition Freedom Party, was
the only opposition member to have taken back his seat.
There were seven women in the 150-seat parliament. A woman was one
of seven vice-speakers, and another woman was the chair of the
procedural committee in parliament.
There were five members of minority groups in parliament: two
ethnic Armenians and three ethnic Azeris. As a result of 2006 local
government reforms, the number of seats held by ethnic minorities in
municipal councils was commensurate with the ethnic population in each
region of the country. Higher-level city managers included ethnic
minority leaders among their ranks.
The de facto authorities in Abkhazia continued to restrict the
rights of citizens to vote and to participate in the political process
through a ``citizenship'' law that forced ethnic Georgians to give up
their Georgian citizenship in order to vote in regional elections.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. While
the government implemented these laws effectively against low-level
corruption, which decreased as a result of high profile reforms led by
the president, some NGOs alleged that senior-level officials engaged in
corruption with impunity. The World Bank's worldwide governance
indicators reflected that corruption was a serious problem.
There was a general consensus among public officials and civil
society organizations that levels of petty corruption fell after the
2003 Rose Revolution. Only 2 percent of the respondents to Transparency
International's Global Corruption Barometer, released on June 3,
reported having to pay a bribe in the past year. Observers attributed
the improvement to the detention of corrupt public officials, increases
in public servants' salaries, and the simplification of administrative
procedures.
In spite of this, high-level corruption remained a persistent
concern, and observers considered the official anticorruption campaign
too heavily focused on prosecution as opposed to prevention and too ad
hoc rather than systemic and participatory in nature. Areas of concern
included democratic institutions, civil society involvement in the
planning and execution of public policy, property rights, and elite
corruption.
In 2005 a national anticorruption strategy was approved by
presidential decree. Some concrete results of this strategy were the
reduction of bureaucratic red tape throughout the government and the
state funding of political parties. On January 8, an anticorruption
interagency council was created to update this national anticorruption
strategy. Concrete accomplishments of the council included the adoption
of guidelines on practical issues relating to seizure and confiscation
of illegal assets by the General Prosecutor's Office in February. On
February 6, two presidential orders aimed at ensuring impartial and
fair recruitment, appraisal, and promotion within the public service
entered into force.
According to the Law on Public Service, public officials upon
accepting a position are required to submit yearly declarations of
their personal and family members' financial incomes and property for
tax inspection. The Bureau of Declarations is the receiving agency for
the financial information. Government corruption cases are investigated
by the Prosecutor's Office under the Ministry of Justice.
For the judiciary the task of addressing corruption and ensuring a
cadre of independent and qualified judges involved a multiprong
approach. Specific steps taken by the courts included providing
adequate salaries, pensions, benefits for judges to lessen the appeal
of bribery, and improving basic work conditions so that the job itself
is a sustainable professional career. A portion of new training for
prospective judges focused on judicial ethics and the importance of
avoiding ex parte contact. Under the new CPC, the judge is removed from
the investigative process, thus reducing the opportunity for ex parte
communication and undue influence from the prosecution. A new training
program shifted the selection of judges to a merit-based system
reducing the opportunity for political influence.
There were a low number of reported corruption cases among judicial
authorities. During the last two to three years, only two credible
instances of judicial corruption were reported.
On December 12, a prosecutor was arrested and accused of accepting
a 2,000 lari ($1,180) bribe to secure a favorable sentence for the
defendant (see section 1.e.). The case continued at year's end.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of convictions
during the year for corruption related offenses was as follows:
misappropriation or embezzlement, 217; illicit entrepreneurial
activity, 10; legalization of illicit income, 1; abuse of official
authority, 96; exceeding official powers, 30; accepting bribes, 40;
bribe-giving, 47; trading with influence, 3; and falsification in
service, 24.
Mamuka Maziashvili, head of the Division on Regulation of Gambling
Businesses, at the Central Headquarters of the Revenue Service of the
Ministry of Finance, was found guilty on May 1 by the Tbilisi City
Court for taking bribes. He was sentenced to five years of imprisonment
with an additional four years of conditional sentence. He was also
fined 30,000 lari ($17,750).
Lasha Loladze, head of the Tbilisi Tax Inspection Unit of the
Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance, was found guilty on January
23 by the Tbilisi City Court for forgery and taking bribes. He was
sentenced to six years of imprisonment with five years of conditional
sentence. He was also fined 200,000 lari ($118,000).
Zviad Merabishvili, head of the Audit Division of the Tbilisi Tax
Inspection Unit of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance, was
found guilty on January 23 by the Tbilisi City Court for forgery and
taking bribes. He was sentenced to six years and six months of
imprisonment with five years of conditional sentence. He was also fined
150,000($89,000).
On March 19, by verdict of the Tbilisi City Court and a plea
agreement between the Prosecutor's Office and the accused, the
following cases were concluded: Beka Okrotsvadze, deputy minister of
economic development, was found guilty of taking bribes and sentenced
to five years of conditional imprisonment and fined 300,000 lari
($177,500); Lasha Moistsraphishvili, deputy head of the Privatization
Department of the Ministry of Economic Development, was found guilty of
taking bribes and was sentenced to five years of conditional
imprisonment and fined 100,000 lari ($59,000); Nikoloz Chantladze, head
of the Privatization Department of the Ministry of Economic
Development, was found guilty of taking bribes and sentenced to five
years of conditional imprisonment and fined 100,000 lari ($59,000);
Tamaz Machaladze was found guilty of offering a bribe and sentenced to
three years of conditional imprisonment and fined 500,000 lari
($296,000).
A number of politically active defendants in corruption cases
alleged that they were victims of selective prosecution (see section
1.d.).
In 2007 Mikheil Kareli, the former mayor of Shida Kartli region,
was arrested and charged with bribery and illegal business practices.
Earlier several officials from the local administration, including Gori
governor Vasil Makharashvili, deputy chairman of the City Council Nugza
Papunashvili, and Gaioz Dzanadia, were reportedly arrested on
corruption charges. Kareli was released on bail later that month. Later
that year the prosecution filed four additional charges against Kareli.
Kareli failed to appear to face charges, and a warrant was issued for
his arrest. In April 2008 the courts filed an indictment to try Kareli
in absentia in Gori district; the trial was ongoing at year's end. In
July 2008 French authorities arrested Kareli in France, and Georgian
authorities requested his extradition to Tbilisi. French authorities
had released Kareli on his own recognizance and were reviewing the
extradition request. The press reported that Kareli had requested
political asylum.
In 2007 David Kekua, the deputy head of the General Inspection
Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was charged with
planting evidence during a high-profile murder investigation and held
in pretrial detention. In October 2007 he was found dead in his cell in
Tbilisi Prison Number 7. According to the Ministry of Justice, the
Tbilisi City Court seized video recordings of the cell in October 2007
that clearly showed that Kekua's death was a suicide. On February 5,
the investigation into the case was terminated.
The law provides for public access to government meetings and
documents; however, the government sometimes did not provide access.
Although the law states that a public agency shall release public
information immediately or no later than 10 days from request, the
release of requested information could be delayed indefinitely, and
requests were sometimes ignored in practice.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigations of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. However, while some
NGOs enjoyed close cooperation with the government and officials were
cooperative and responsive to their views, others complained of not
having sufficient access to government officials and a lack of
inclusiveness of all civil society views.
The major human rights problems that caused tensions between the
government and NGOs during the year were the alleged mistreatment of
prisoners, intimidation and use of government resources during the 2008
presidential and parliamentary campaigns, violence against
nonparliamentary opposition figures with no accountability during the
spring protests, violations of rights to property, politically
motivated arrests, and lack of accountability for the use of excessive
force by the police.
According to the NGO Frontline, on October 11, human rights lawyer
and Chairperson of Human Rights Priority Lia Mukhashavria was fined by
the Tbilisi City Court for ``minor hooliganism'' and acts of
harassment. Frontline alleged that her conviction was directly related
to her human rights work. Human Rights Priority provided legal
assistance to victims of human rights violations.
The UN and the OSCE monitored only sporadically in the separatist
conflict areas due to a lack of access, limited staff, and poor
security conditions but provided periodic findings, reports, and
recommendations. The situation became more difficult after the August
2008 conflict, as Russian troops refused or restricted observers' entry
to South Ossetia and Abkhazia as well as to other areas of Georgia
where allegations of ethnically motivated attacks persisted. On June
15, UNOMIG was terminated when Russia vetoed the mandate extension in
the UN Security Council. On June 30, the OSCE completed its last patrol
in Georgia; Russia blocked the extension of the OSCE's 17-year-old
mandate to facilitate the settlement of the South Ossetia conflict. The
OSCE human rights officer had not been allowed into South Ossetia since
the August 2008 conflict.
The EUMM facilitated conflict resolution (including those involving
human rights issues) between the Georgian, Russian, and de facto
authorities in the separatist regions by running regular patrols near
the conflict areas and facilitating informal contacts among the sides.
However, the EUMM was denied access to the separatist regions and
patrols were permitted only on the undisputed Georgian side of the
administrative boundary lines.
The Geneva discussions, which were established as part of the
August 2008 cease-fire, established two Incident Prevention and
Response Mechanisms (IPRMs), one for Abkhazia and one for South
Ossetia, to facilitate practical and depoliticized discussions of the
situation on the ground. Representatives of the EUMM, UN, and OSCE
facilitated these meetings, which helped decrease tensions. South
Ossetian de facto authorities announced in October they would not
attend additional IPRM meetings until three missing-persons cases from
2008 were resolved.
A new public defender, Giorgi Tugushi, took office on September 16.
NGOs continued to view the Public Defender's Office as the most
objective of the government's human rights bodies. The constitutionally
mandated office monitored human rights conditions and investigated
allegations of abuse. The office generally operated without government
interference and was considered effective, with some exceptions. The
government funded the Public Defender's Office, which received 2
million lari ($1.2 million) during the year, up from 1.9 million lari
($1.1 million) in 2008, one of the few government agencies to receive
an increased budget.
On June 15, a representative from the Public Defender's Office was
assaulted by police while monitoring a nonparliamentary opposition
protest (see section 2.b.). According to information received by the
Public Defender's Office, the Ministry of Justice was investigating all
June 15 incidents. At year's end the investigation continued.
There were no developments reported during the year in the Office
of the Prosecutor's criminal investigation into then public defender
Subari's allegation that Ministry of Internal Affairs special unit
officers members beat and injured him when he tried to prevent an
altercation between demonstrators and unit members during the November
2007 protests in Tbilisi.
As required by law, the public defender submitted biannual reports
to parliament. The public defender's most recent biannual report,
submitted on October 31 and officially heard on December 18, covered
the first half of the year. The report was chiefly dedicated to the
April-July antigovernment protests and related incidents. Additionally,
the public defender commented on the systemic abuse of power, inhumane
treatment of criminal suspects and inmates, and the overcrowding and
inadequate conditions of the penitentiary system. Ruling party members
mostly criticized the parts referring to the abuse of power by law
enforcement and the lack of fair trials, while opposition members
criticized the section referring to the need for equality in religious
freedom.
The Public Defender's Office also published a report with all
suspected politically motivated assaults on nonparliamentary opposition
activists during the April-July protests, involving a total of 32
cases. According to the Public Defender's Office, it forwarded all the
information gathered in these cases to the Prosecutor's Office for
further investigation. Investigations continued at year's end.
Former public defender Subari's previous report, which covered the
second half of 2008 and focused on the need for checks and balances and
an independent judiciary, was submitted to Parliament on March 31.
Following the January 2008 election, the Public Defender's Office
asked the CEC for videotapes from voting precincts where observers
noted problems. Eventually, the public defender received some but not
all of the tapes he requested, and only much later following an intense
public dispute. The CEC was slow to deliver tapes, stating that it did
not have time to review hundreds of minutes of hundreds of tapes.
The public defender's authority does not include the power to
initiate prosecutions or other legal actions. The public defender
objected to Ministry of Justice regulations prohibiting the use of
cameras and recorders in the penitentiary system as an obstacle to
substantiating claims of prison abuse.
The parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Civil Integration,
the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Human Rights Division, and the
National Security Council's human rights advisor had mandates to
investigate claims of abuse. By law the prosecutor general is charged
with protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
In October the Human Rights Unit at the Office of Chief Prosecutor
was placed under the Department for the Supervision of Prosecution.
Apart from the overall monitoring over prosecution and supervision of
compliance with national and international human rights standards, the
department is also tasked with statistical and analytical activities
within the prosecution system. According to the Ministry of Justice,
the Human Rights Unit continued to ``monitor and respond to the
notifications regarding the alleged violations of human rights in the
organs of the Prosecution Services, detention facilities and isolators,
as well as to identify and respond to the facts of torture, inhuman,
cruel and degrading treatment or punishment.'' In addition, the unit is
responsible for considering human rights recommendations of national
and international human rights institutions and taking responsive
measures.
On February 2, Dimitri Shashkin was named as the minister for a
newly created Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance. Shashkin
was also tasked to oversee government democratic reforms, including the
passage of the reformed electoral code, improvements to the prison
health system, and legal aid services.
In 2007 Abkhaz de facto authorities agreed to permit a UN human
rights officer's presence and the deployment of three UN civilian
police in the Gali sector headquarters, however; this mandate was
terminated on June 15 (see section 1.g.).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuse, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, religion,
disability, language, or social status; however, the government did not
always enforce these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape is illegal, but spousal rape is not specifically
addressed by criminal law. Criminal cases of rape generally could be
initiated only after a complaint by the victim. A first-time offender
may be imprisoned for up to seven years; a repeat offender or
perpetrator against multiple victims may receive up to 10 years. If the
victim becomes pregnant, contracts HIV/AIDS, or is subjected to extreme
violence, the sentence may be increased to 15 years or, if the victim
is a minor, up to 20 years. In the first 11 months of the year,
investigations were initiated in 136 rape cases. Of these, 46 were
terminated, prosecutions were initiated against 47 cases, and court
proceedings were begun in 28 cases involving 28 defendants. Observers
believed many instances of rape were unreported due to the social
stigma for victims and because police did not always investigate
reports of rape.
Domestic and other violence against women was a problem. According
to Ministry of Internal Affairs statistics, police responded to 1,331
cases of family conflicts during the year, compared with 2,576 cases in
2008 and 2,056 cases in 2007.
Domestic violence is legally defined as a violation of the
constitutional rights and liberties of one member of a family by
another through physical, psychological, economic, or sexual violence
or coercion; however, domestic violence is not specifically
criminalized. Perpetrators of domestic violence were prosecuted under
existing criminal provisions, such as battery or rape.
The law allows victims to file immediate protective orders against
abusers and authorizes police to issue temporary restrictive orders
against persons suspected of abusing a family member. Restrictive
orders were issued in 176 cases of domestic violence during the year,
compared with 141 cases in 2008. Within 24 hours the temporary order
should be approved by a court, at which point it becomes a protective
order that prohibits the abuser from coming within 100 meters (310
feet) of the victim and forbids the perpetrator to use common property,
such as a residence or vehicle, for six months. The victim may request
an unlimited number of extensions of the protective order. The Ministry
of Internal Affairs has developed the legally required form that police
should use to issue restrictive orders, but training for police in this
area was lacking outside of Tbilisi. A local NGO operated a hotline and
a shelter for abused women, although services were limited due to a
lack of funding and facilities.
On December 28, parliament amended existing legislation on domestic
violence. The amended version lays the foundation for the protection,
assistance, and rehabilitation of domestic violence victims; provides a
framework for the cooperation of various government agencies in
preventing domestic violence; and establishes rehabilitation measures
for domestic violence offenders. It establishes a broader definition of
a victim of family violence as ``a family member who has suffered
physical, psychological, sexual, or economic violence or coercion.'' It
also calls for the establishment of domestic violence crisis centers
run by the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Protection or by
nongovernmental organizations. Crisis centers are intended to offer
domestic violence victims psychological, medical, and legal assistance.
In conjunction with these amendments, parliament amended other
laws, including the labor code, the Law on Firearms, the Law on Public
Service, and the administrative procedural code in ways designed to
prevent domestic violence and assist its victims. Among other changes,
they exempt state duty payment on court cases related to protection of
and assistance to domestic violence victims; streamline and simplify
court application procedures for domestic violence victims; allow a
court, either on its own initiative or by request of a party, to hold
closed sessions in domestic violence cases; allow a court to consider
separation of a child from a violent parent; and limit access to
firearms by a domestic violence offender.
In December 2008 presidential decree 625 ordered the establishment
of an interagency council to address domestic violence and coordinate
the activities of ministries and NGOs to combat the problem. During the
year the Interagency Council prepared and received presidential
approval on the 2009-10 National Action Plan to Fight Domestic
Violence. It was on the basis of the plan that the antidomestic
violence legislation was revised. During the year the Interagency
Council initiated a public awareness campaign, coordinated domestic
violence training in partnership with the Prosecution Service and
Police, mobilized funding to rehabilitate two state-run domestic
violence shelters, and introduced a special postgraduate course for law
students at Tbilisi State University on trafficking in persons and
domestic violence issues.
Kidnapping of women for marriage occurred but was not widespread.
Such kidnappings often were arranged elopements. Police rarely took
action in these cases, although the law criminalizes kidnapping. A
local NGO in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region maintained a hotline and
shelter to assist victims of attempted kidnappings, who were often
rejected by their families after escaping from the kidnapper.
Prostitution is illegal but was widespread, particularly in
Tbilisi. Several NGOs claimed that prostitution remained common due to
continuing poor economic conditions.
Sexual harassment and violence against women in the workplace were
problems. The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, the government
did not effectively enforce the law, and complaints were rarely
investigated.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. Information was accessible so
families and individuals could make reproductive decisions free from
discrimination, coercion, or violence. Contraception was widely
available. Skilled attendance during childbirth was accessible. Women
and men were equally treated and diagnosed for transmitted infections,
including HIV. However, patriarchal norms, based on cultural,
historical, and socioeconomic factors, in some cases limited women's
reproductive rights.
The law provides for the equality of men and women; however the law
was not always implemented in practice. A Gender Equality National
Action Plan adopted in 2007 was not enforced. NGOs stated that
discrimination against women in the workplace existed, but instances
were never reported. The speaker of Parliament continued to chair a
Gender Equity Advisory Council, which included MPs as well as
representatives from the executive branch, the Public Defender's
Office, and NGOs. It became a permanent body at the end of the year.
The State Commission on Gender Equity, chaired at the deputy-state-
minister level, prepared recommendations on the implementation of
international agreements and conventions on gender equity. Within the
Public Defender's Office, there is a special group dedicated to women's
and children's issues.
The labor code does not protect pregnant women from being dismissed
from work while they are on maternity leave. According to the UN
Development Program, employers frequently withheld benefits for
pregnancy and childbirth.
Although some observers noted continuing improvement in women's
access to the labor market, women remained primarily confined to low-
paying and low-skilled positions, regardless of their professional and
academic qualifications, and salaries for women lagged behind those for
men. As a result, many women sought employment abroad.
Children.--The law provides for acquisition of citizenship by birth
(jus soli), including for children of stateless individuals born on
Georgian territory.
Romani children were usually born at home, and their parents
frequently did not register their births with the government. Since
official identification is required to receive medical treatment and
other public services, the lack of identification and the reluctance of
parents to apply for such services deprived many Romani children of
access to medical and other services.
Education was officially free through high school, but in practice
a lack of resources inhibited schools' functioning and affected the
quality of education in some areas, especially in the separatist
regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In some areas school facilities
were inadequate and lacked heating, libraries, and blackboards. Most
parents were obliged to pay some form of tuition to support the
schools. Many parents were unable to afford books and school supplies,
and in some cases students were forced to drop out due to an inability
or unwillingness to pay tuition. According to the Ministry of
Education, the situation in schools improved in terms of heating,
although such supplies as blackboards remained inadequate in some
schools. Approximately 55 schools were damaged during the August 2008
conflict. During the 2008 conflict, IDP shelters were established in
165 schools, 169 kindergartens, and nine higher education institutions,
which resulted in the unavailability of buildings for use during the
school year and damage to structures.
Despite legal prohibitions, local residents and international
organizations reported that schools in the ethnic Georgian region of
Gali in Abkhazia were generally allowed to provide instruction in the
Georgian language but not in certain subjects, such as history and
geography, which had to be taught in Russian or Abkhaz. However, the de
facto authorities did not provide funding for teachers of Georgian, and
local communities had either to pay for teachers themselves, make
arrangements for teachers to cross from undisputed Georgia to teach, or
send their children out of Abkhazia for Georgian-language lessons. An
increasingly strict boundary regime imposed by Russian border guards
made the latter two types of arrangements more and more difficult.
There were some reports of Russian border guards detaining children
attempting to cross the boundary for language lessons.
There were some reports of child abuse, particularly of street
children, although there was no societal pattern of such abuse.
Incidents of sexual exploitation of children, particularly girls, were
reported.
There is no explicit statutory rape law, but an article in the
criminal code makes ``perverse action'' involving juveniles under the
age of 16 illegal. The precondition for the crime is that the
perpetrator has to be aware that it is illegal. In such cases the
penalty is an unspecified fine and/or detention for up to two years.
Commercial sexual exploitation of children and child pornography
are punishable by up to three years' imprisonment. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs sponsored a center for the rehabilitation of minors,
which regularly provided medical and psychological assistance to child
and adolescent victims before returning them to their guardians. Street
children and children living in orphanages were reportedly particularly
vulnerable to trafficking.
The number of street children was not considered to be high and has
been decreasing yearly. Difficult economic conditions contributed to
the problem. According to a 1999 UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) study,
there were an estimated 2,500 children living and working in the
streets. A study covering the period 2007-08 by the NGO Save the
Children indicated that the number had decreased to approximately
1,500. The NGO Child and Environment and the Ministry of Education each
operated a shelter in Tbilisi, but the two shelters could accommodate
only a small number of street children. The government took little
other action to assist street children. According to a 2006 UN-
sponsored report prepared by the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights,
the Education Ministry viewed street children as a local issue that
should be addressed by municipalities, not the ministry.
There were unconfirmed reports of police harassment of street
children, but the patrol police routinely transferred street children
to 24-hour care centers. The NGO Child and Environment ran one night
center and three day centers during the year and provided support to
350 street children per day countrywide. These centers lacked resources
for treatment and rehabilitation of children, many of whom were
substance abusers or suffered from mental disorders.
Ongoing conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia displaced thousands
of children; the numbers increased further as a result of the August
2008 conflict with Russia. Even before that conflict, UNICEF reported
that health services in both regions were scant, immunization rates
were lower than elsewhere in the country, schools were deteriorating,
and malnutrition was a serious problem.
Orphanages were unable to provide adequate food, clothing,
education, and medical care, and facilities lacked heat, water, and
electricity. Staff members reportedly often diverted money and supplies
provided to orphanages to their personal use.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, there were reports that women and girls were
trafficked from and within the country for commercial sexual
exploitation, and labor and men and women were trafficked within and
from the country for forced labor.
Instances of trafficking in persons during the year declined.
During the year Georgia remained a country of origin, but fewer cases
of trafficking through the country were recorded, and, according to the
International Organization for Migration (IOM), there were no
statistics to confirm that Georgia was a country of destination for
trafficking.
The most common purposes of trafficking are sexual exploitation and
labor exploitation. In the past internal trafficking was investigated
and prosecuted by law enforcement officials, but there were no reports
of such investigations during the year. Claims of labor exploitation in
the conflict area in South Ossetia were reported in Georgian mass media
after the August 2008 war, and occasionally similar claims were
presented in the case of Abkhazia. However, the IOM reported that it
had seen no conclusive evidence of trafficking in either of the two
conflict zones.
The country was a country of origin, possibly transit, and very
rarely a destination for trafficked persons. Women were trafficked from
the country to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to work in hotels,
bars, and restaurants or as domestic servants. Many were exploited in
the adult entertainment sector or forced into prostitution. Victims
most frequently came from Tbilisi or the impoverished former industrial
centers of Kutaisi and Rustavi. Local NGOs reported that men were
trafficked to Russia and other destinations to work in construction,
agriculture, and other sectors requiring manual labor. There also was
evidence that women from other countries of the former Soviet Union
were trafficked through the country to Turkey.
Based on information from law enforcement investigations and the
IOM's caseload of assisted victims during the year, women and girls
from the ethnic Azerbaijani community in Kvemo Kartli were particularly
vulnerable to trafficking. Although some reports indicated that IDPs,
particularly the 30,000 persons displaced by the August 2008 conflict
with Russia, might also be particular targets of traffickers, there was
no evidence of increased trafficking activity involving IDPs at year's
end.
Children were seldom trafficking victims, although street children
and children living in orphanages were vulnerable. Conditions for
trafficked laborers and women trafficked into prostitution were
extremely poor.
The government did not have control over the separatist regions of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia and was unable to carry out investigations
into allegations of trafficking there.
Traffickers were largely freelance domestic operators with
connections outside the country; there were also some small
international operators. They often used offers of employment from
friends and families or offers of overseas jobs from tourism or
employment agencies to lure potential victims.
The criminal code prohibits trafficking in persons for sexual
exploitation, labor, and other forms of exploitation. Trafficking in
adults is punishable by seven to 20 years in prison. Trafficking in
minors is punishable by a prison sentence of eight years to life, under
aggravated circumstances. Minors are defined as anyone under the age of
18. The code prohibits internal and external trafficking and makes no
distinction between the two.
The law provides for confiscation of assets of convicted
traffickers and members of their families if the assets were acquired
through trafficking in persons. Such assets are to be used to satisfy
the needs of the trafficking victim, with any remaining assets going to
the state. A victim can also claim civil damages from the trafficker
during criminal proceedings. By law it is also a criminal offense to
make uses of the services of a (statutory) trafficking victim. Such
activity is punishable by three to 15 years' imprisonment.
An interagency antitrafficking coordination council served as the
overall coordination mechanism for antitrafficking measures by state
agencies. National NGOs and international organizations were actively
involved in the work of the council, which met quarterly. In 2007 the
council approved a strategy for rehabilitating and reintegrating
trafficking victims into society. The strategy was the final document
in a series providing the framework for assistance to, and protection
of, trafficking victims. The Prosecutor General's Office, the State
Fund, international organizations, and local NGOS jointly implement the
strategy, which calls for individual victims to receive a specific
rehabilitation plan according to their needs. The State Fund for Victim
Protection and Assistance oversees the design and implementation of
individual plans.
The government operated shelters in Batumi and Tbilisi and a
hotline for trafficking victims. The country has a system for
protecting and providing rehabilitation opportunities for trafficking
victims and integrating them back into society.
A public information campaign continued into its sixth year,
ensuring that information about trafficking was widely available
through law enforcement agency Web sites, public service announcements,
antitrafficking television programming, and brochures at the country's
main ports of entry. In addition, local and international NGOs
continued their own initiatives to combat trafficking, including
seminars and public awareness events. These efforts were supported by
the other members of the interagency coordination council.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities, although in practice the problem was
a low priority for the government. Discrimination against persons with
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and in
the provision of other state services was a problem, and societal
discrimination existed. The administrative code mandates access to
buildings for persons with disabilities and stipulates fines for
noncompliance. However, very few, if any, public facilities or
buildings were accessible.
The government took some steps to address the needs of persons with
disabilities during the year. On June 14, National Disability Day, the
first Disability Fair-Forum was held in Tbilisi to raise public
awareness on the problems and needs of persons with disabilities. In
September 2008 a Center for Disability Rights was established in the
Office of the Public Defender. On July 23-25, the office held workshops
on the rights of persons with disabilities. A new Ministry of Internal
Affairs building and presidential palace were accessible to persons
with disabilities.
In March 2008 the National Agency of Public Registry of the
Ministry of Justice hired six persons with disabilities as part of a
telephone consulting service that provided information about how to
apply for benefits. As part of the pilot program, persons with
disabilities received training and office equipment that permitted them
to work from home. In the same month, 40 new buses equipped with a
vertical lift to assist travelers with disabilities were added to the
municipal bus fleet in Tbilisi.
As of December, 139,354 persons with disabilities were registered
in the country. There were 8,034 registered children with disabilities.
These numbers included only those officially registered; the actual
number could be higher.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law requires that all
government officials speak Georgian, the state language, which some
minorities claimed excluded them from participating in government. Some
government materials distributed to the public were only available in
the Georgian language. Authorities asserted the government was not
obliged to provide all official materials in minority languages.
Ballots and election materials were available in minority languages
during the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2008. In 2007,
the Ministry of Education translated textbooks in minority languages
(Armenian, Azeri, and Russian) for the first, seventh, and 10th grades.
In 2008 the textbooks were translated for second, eighth, and 11th
grades. The textbooks were being introduced in minority schools in
minority regions and Tbilisi.
Ethnic Georgians living in the Gali region of Abkhazia had no legal
access to education in the Georgian language. In practice teachers who
did not speak Abkhaz instructed students in Georgian; however, such
teachers were often subjected to harassment and prosecution by Abkhaz
de facto authorities.
Many inhabitants of the region of Akhalkalaki, which is dominated
by ethnic Armenians, complained about government unwillingness to give
provincial-language status to the Armenian language, since very few
persons there spoke Georgian or were able to conduct daily affairs in
Georgian. However, many NGOs in the region stated that they saw an
improvement during the year in the number of opportunities for
Georgian-language instruction and in the quality of the classes. Ethnic
Azeris in the ethnic-Azeri-dominated region of Kvemo Kartli made
similar complaints.
In July 2008 Vahagn Chakhalian, Armen Chakhalian, and Ruben
Chakhalian, all members of United Javakh, a local NGO that calls for
autonomy for ethnic Armenians in the country, were charged with
violating public order, resisting arrest, threatening law enforcement
officers, and illegally possessing firearms. In 2006 the men reportedly
attempted to break into the Akhalkalaki municipal building, wounding
police in the process. A fourth person, Aram Batoian, was also at the
scene, and according to the Ministry of Justice he was charged with the
organization of group activities violating public order as well as the
illegal purchase and possession of firearms; his case was submitted to
the Akhalkalaki District Court and remained under consideration at
year's end.
On April 7, Vahagn Chakhalian was found guilty by the Akhalkalaki
District Court on six of 12 charges brought by the public prosecution.
He was convicted of organizing a riot directed against the public
order, hooliganism, and the illegal purchase and possession of firearms
and sentenced to 10 years of prison. Ruben Chakhalian was convicted of
two of four charges against him, namely organizing a riot directed
against public order and the illegal purchase and possession of
firearms. He was fined 5,000 lari ($2,960). Armen Chakhalian was found
guilty of the illegal purchase and possession of firearms and was fined
2,000 lari ($1,180).
Ethnic Armenians, Azeris, Greeks, Abkhaz, Ossetians, and Russians
usually communicated in their native languages or in Russian in the
areas where they are the dominant ethnic group. The law requires that
ethnic minority students learn Georgian as a second language, and the
government funded more than 200 primary and secondary Russian-, Azeri-,
and Armenian-language schools for persons whose first language was not
Georgian. The Zurab Zhvania School of Public Administration based in
Kutaisi provided courses specifically for students from minority areas.
The school also facilitated integration of future public servants from
minority areas into Georgian society at large. In Tbilisi a large
majority of ethnic minority groups were able to communicate in Georgian
in their daily interaction with members of other linguistic groups.
The government took several steps to integrate ethnic minority
communities through Georgian-language instruction, education,
involvement in political dialogue, and improved access to information.
In 2008 the General Skills National Examinations for university
enrollment were provided in minority languages for the first time. The
government increased its efforts to provide Georgian-language
instruction to members of ethnic minorities serving in the armed forces
and police.
In 2007 parliament approved a law on the repatriation of the Muslim
Meskhetian population, a national minority group that Stalin deported
in 1944. The legislation was a response to commitments that the country
made to the Council of Europe in 1999 to provide for the resettlement
of the Meskhetians by 2011. Passage of the law allowed the government
in January 2008 to begin accepting applications for repatriation from
Meskhetians with documents that confirm their deportation. Passage of
the law came under heavy criticism from opposition members of
Parliament and the media, which pointed to the delicate ethnic and
demographic balance in areas once inhabited by Meskhetians, but
subsequently populated by a sizeable ethnic Armenian community. More
than 1,700 Meskhetians had filed for repatriation by year's end. More
than 150 returned unofficially over the previous three years, quietly
settling in Akhaltsikhe and Abastumani. In December 2008 parliament
voted to extend the application period until July 1.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws that
criminalize sexual orientation, male-to-male sex, or female-to-female
sex; however, homosexuality was not widely accepted in society.
There were a few lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT)
organizations; however, they did not work exclusively as such and
instead promoted tolerance more broadly. One reason for this was the
strong societal stigma against homosexuality, including its
denunciation by the Georgian Orthodox Church. The new public defender
(see section 5) stated that among his priorities would be the
protection of LGBT groups and individuals, and on July 31, in a debate
with another nominee for the post, he said that discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation was unacceptable.
On December 15, the office of an NGO that promotes LGBT equality
was searched by police. Reportedly, officials used antihomosexual
slurs, made unnecessary strip searches, unnecessarily damaged
organizational posters, and unnecessarily ransacked offices. The
Ministry of Internal Affairs denied that any procedural violations took
place and maintained that the profile of the organization was
irrelevant in terms of the law. The ministry reported that its General
Inspection Office gave one officer a reprimand at the ``severe'' level
in accordance with the police code of ethics, as his actions were
determined to be nonethical and inappropriate for police officers. Two
other officers were also given a reprimand at the ``severe'' level for
not preventing the above-mentioned officer from making the unethical
statements.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law prohibits
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; however, there is no
penalty for violating this prohibition. NGOs reported that social
stigma resulted in individuals avoiding testing and treatment for fear
of discrimination. Some health-care providers, particularly dentists,
often refused to provide services to HIV-positive persons. Individuals
often concealed their HIV-positive status from employers for fear of
losing their jobs.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows all workers, including
government employees, to form and join independent unions of their
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements, and
they did so in practice. However, the law restricts the right of
employees of law enforcement agencies, medical doctors, firemen, the
Prosecutor General's Office, and certain ministries (e.g., defense) to
form and join unions and strike. Labor unions stated that provisions of
the labor code limit the mechanisms available for them to exercise
their rights. At least 100 persons are needed for a trade union to be
established--a requirement considered unreasonable by the International
Labor Organization's Committee of Experts on the Application of
Conventions and Recommendations.
The principal association of unions is the Georgian Trade Union
Confederation (GTUC), which represented unions in 23 sectors with more
than 252,900 unionized workers, according to the GTUC information.
There were a few small unions for civil servants, agricultural workers,
and artists, but they did not participate in the GTUC. Although many
employees in large-scale enterprises were unionized, they did not
exercise power commensurate with their large membership. Only a
minority of the members were active in the labor movement. Critics
believed that this gave management a free hand.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference. It provides for the right to strike; however, it limits
the maximum length of strikes to 90 days. Strikes were reportedly
limited to disputes concerning conflict of rights, not conflict of
interests. Workers generally exercised their right to strike in
accordance with the labor code, but strikes were rare. The GTUC
asserted that the rarity of strikes was due to restrictive rules and
workers' fear of losing their jobs.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining is recognized by law, and the law provides punishment for
those who refuse to take part in negotiations; however, the government
did not always protect this right in practice. The Public Defender's
Office stated that one of the major deficiencies of the labor code was
the absence of a requirement that employers provide notice to employees
in the event of termination of employment. The labor code also allows
the employer to terminate employment at will, without providing a
reason. This permits employers to fire employees on discriminatory
grounds (i.e., gender, political affiliation, etc.) or for union
activism.
The practice of collective bargaining was not widespread. Employers
reportedly are not obliged to engage in collective bargaining, even if
a trade union or a group of employees wishes to do so. During the year
the GTUC administered approximately 80 collective bargaining agreements
as well as three sector-level agreements. Poor management and
leadership, as well as a general lack of familiarity with the
collective bargaining process, limited the effectiveness of collective
bargaining.
The law prohibits employers from discriminating against union
members or union-organizing activities, and employers may be prosecuted
for violations and forced to reinstate employees and pay back wages.
However, the labor code allows employers to terminate at will, creating
a loophole in the law. Despite the law, the GTUC and its national
unions continued to report some cases of management warning staff not
to organize trade unions and the GTUC alleged several instances during
the year in which employers threatened union members with dismissal for
union activity. The GTUC estimated that it lost approximately 20,000
members due to harassment and dismissals.
There were continuing reports that some workers complained of being
intimidated or threatened by employers, including public sector
employers, for union-organizing activity. Affected workers included
teachers; employees of various mining, pipeline, and port facilities;
and the Tbilisi municipal government. According to the GTUC, there were
51 dismissals during the year that could clearly be attributed to trade
union membership. In other cases it was not possible to prove that the
ground for dismissal was GTUC membership, as contracts in most
industries were short term (as short as one month), and expiration of a
contract could be cited as the reason for termination of employment.
In 2007 port authorities in Poti fired union members and sealed
their union office because of union activity. After negotiations
between the port authorities and the union, the port authorities
reinstated most workers, and the office reopened. A court ruled against
the union in a lawsuit filed on behalf of eleven workers who were not
reinstated, and on May 4, the GTUC appealed to the ECHR, which accepted
the GTUC's application and was expected to start reviewing the case
early in 2010.
According to the GTUC, in March 2008 employees at BTM Textile, in
the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, officially established a trade
union, which affiliated with the Adjara branch of the GTUC. On the same
day, nine workers who had been with the company since 2007 were elected
as trade union committee members. Notification of the union's
establishment was officially sent to the general director of the
company by mail. On the following day, the employer reportedly
dismissed all nine union officers on the basis of 37(d) and 38(c) of
the labor code, which allows an employer to terminate employment at
will. The GTUC unsuccessfully challenged the dismissals in the Batumi
City Court. At year's end the Georgian Supreme Court was reviewing
these cases. The GTUC stated that these cases discouraged workers from
joining or taking an active part in unions.
The GTUC reported cases of employers failing to transfer compulsory
union dues, deducted from wages, to union bank accounts. In one case
reported by the GTUC, the company Georgian Post systematically blocked
the transfer of 38,000 lari ($22,485) in trade union membership fees
from employees' salaries to a union bank account. According to the
GTUC, by the end of the year the process of transferring the union dues
continued.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor and no cases of forced labor were reported;
however, there were reports that women and children were trafficked
from and through the country for commercial sexual exploitation and men
and women were trafficked from and through, but not to, the country for
labor (see section 6).
NGOs and trade unions objected to a provision in the labor code
that permits compulsory labor in instances of emergency and natural
disaster but does not require remuneration to persons who are
conscripted. The labor code also permits an employer to change the
hours of work by 90 minutes without renegotiating the terms of any
labor contact. NGOs stated that this provision would effectively
require employees to work overtime without compensation in violation of
the prohibition against compulsory labor in the constitution.
During the year there were reports of the forced conscription of
boys in the separatist region of Abkhazia, which is not under the
control of the Georgian government. Whether the boys were under the age
of 18 could not be confirmed.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace; however, there were reports that child labor existed in
some sectors.
The Public Defender's Office noted that one of the major
deficiencies of the labor code was insufficient attention to the rights
of minors. However, with high unemployment resulting in a large pool of
adult workers willing to work for low wages, child labor was uncommon.
The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Affairs is responsible for
enforcing laws regulating child labor. Although official data was not
available, a 2007 survey estimated that 77.4 percent of working
children were employed intermittently on family farms, while 18.4
percent worked in family enterprises. ITUC reported that children
living in rural areas were slightly more involved in child labor.
Children in urban areas were susceptible to trafficking, work in the
streets, begging, or selling small items.
The minimum legal age for employment is 16. In exceptional cases
children may work, with parental consent, at ages 14 and 15. Children
under age 18 may not engage in unhealthy or underground work, and
children ages 16 to 18 are subject to reduced working hours and are
prohibited from working at night. The labor code permits employment
agreements with persons under the age of 14 in sports, arts, and
cultural activities and for the performance of advertising services.
The Department of Social Protection in the Ministry of Health and
Social Security is charged with identifying labor violations, receiving
complaints, and determining compliance with labor laws and regulations.
The Department includes a subdepartment for Child Protection and Social
Programs, which employs 12 specialists who are mainly concerned with
such policy issues as child adoption, foster care, and rights of
children, including child labor. The subdepartment reported that it did
not receive a complaint about child employment during the year. The
policies that are developed by the subdepartment are implemented by the
Social Service Agency under the same ministry through the mechanism of
social workers. In the event a violation of child labor laws is found
to have occurred, the law grants the power to impose sanctions on the
employer to the courts. The Social Protection Department did not
generally take action except when the violation was associated with
job-related accidents.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Neither the minimum wage for
public employees, 115 lari ($68) per month, nor the statutory minimum
wage for private sector workers, approximately 20 lari ($12) per month,
provided a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The
minimum wage was below the average monthly wage in both the private and
the government sectors. The official minimum subsistence levels for the
year were 124.70 lari ($74) for a single person and 209 lari ($124) for
a family of four. Income from unreported trade activities, assistance
from family and friends, and the sale of homegrown agricultural
products often supplemented salaries. The Ministry of Labor, Health,
and Social Affairs is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage. The
minimum wage levels had not changed since 2005 (public sector) and the
1990s (private sector), and the existence of minimum wage requirements
was little known among the public.
The labor code provides for a 41-hour workweek and for a weekly 24-
hour rest period unless otherwise provided by a labor contract. The
Public Defender's Office noted inadequate attention to the rights of
pregnant women as one of the major deficiencies of the labor code. The
code does not protect pregnant women from being dismissed from work
while they are on maternity leave.
The labor code provides that unless otherwise addressed by an
employment agreement, the duration of the business week should not
exceed 41 hours a week, not including breaks and leave. Leave between
shifts should not be less than 12 hours. NGOs stated that the provision
in the labor code permitting employers to change hours of work by 90
minutes unilaterally would effectively require employees to work
overtime without compensation (see section 7. c.). Pregnant women or
women who have recently given birth are prohibited from working
overtime without their consent. Overtime is defined as work that
exceeds the work hours addressed in the employment agreement. If the
employment agreement does not specify business hours, then overtime is
considered to be performance exceeding 41 workhours per week. Terms of
overtime labor are defined by agreement between the parties. The
employer, as a rule, is not obligated to remunerate for overtime work
or to remunerate at an increased rate.
The government set occupational health and safety standards, but
the Public Defender's Office listed failure to ensure safe conditions
for workers as one of the major deficiencies of labor code
implementation. In addition, one deputy minister and a special adviser
to the minister focused on labor problems. The ministry monitors
adherence to accepted labor standards and drafts proposals as
necessary. The parliamentary committee on Health and Social Security
has general oversight over labor policy and considers labor-related
proposals submitted by the ministry.
According to the GTUC, no workplace health or safety inspections
were conducted by the government during the year. Moreover, the
government body previously in charge of workplace monitoring, the State
Department for Engineering Supervision, was abolished by the prime
minister during the year due to alleged corruption, leaving no
government organization in charge of this task. The law permits higher
wages for hazardous work and provides workers the right to remove
themselves from situations that endanger health or safety without
jeopardizing their continued employment. In practice employees rarely,
if ever, took advantage of these protections for fear of dismissal.
__________
GERMANY
Germany is a constitutional parliamentary democracy with a
population of approximately 82 million. Citizens periodically choose
their representatives in free and fair multiparty elections. The head
of the federal government, the chancellor, is elected by the Federal
Parliament (Bundestag). The second legislative chamber, the Federal
Council (Bundesrat), represents the 16 states at the federal level and
is composed of members of the state governments. The constitution
(Basic Law) sets forth the powers of the chancellor and the legislative
branch. The most recent national elections for the parliament took
place in September. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of the security forces.
The government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens. The government limited the freedoms of speech, press,
assembly, and association for neo-Nazi and other groups it deemed
extremist. There was governmental and societal discrimination against
some minority religious groups. Anti-Semitic attacks and vandalism;
violence against women; trafficking in women, men, and children for
sexual exploitation and forced labor; and right-wing extremist violence
and harassment of racial minorities and foreigners were problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings. However,
on April 20, in Regensburg, Bavaria, police killed 24-year-old
Tennessee Eisenberg after he allegedly refused police demands to drop a
knife. Eisenberg's corpse had twelve bullet wounds. The public
prosecuting office subsequently found that the two police officers
involved in the shooting were acting in self-defense and cleared them
of wrongdoing. Tennessee Eisenberg's family appealed the verdict.
On July 7, the Federal Constitutional Court decided not to take up
the appeal of former concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk against
his deportation from the United States. German prosecutors have accused
him of being a guard at the Sobibor extermination camp in 1943 in
German-occupied Poland and charged him as an accessory to the killing
of 29,000 persons. Medical officials deemed Demjanjuk fit for trial.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and there were
no reports that government officials employed them.
On January 14, the Federal Constitutional Court reversed some of
the acquittals by the Muenster Regional Court in North Rhine-Westphalia
of military instructors accused of hazing subordinates in 2007 and
2008. The federal court remanded the cases to another division of the
Muenster court for review. However, a court spokesman stated that a
retrial would not be possible during the year due to a case overload.
The appeals of other verdicts in the case were pending before the
Federal Constitutional Court at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and jail conditions
generally met international standards. The government permitted
monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and such
visits occurred during the year.
One reported incident and conditions in some facilities were causes
for concern. On November 3, Berlin's Constitutional Court ruled that
the holding of a prisoner in a 5.25-square-meter (56.5 sq. ft.) cell in
a city prison violated that prisoner's human rights.
In December 2008 the Dessau regional court in Saxony-Anhalt
acquitted two police officers of causing the death of Oury Jalloh from
Sierra Leone, who died in 2005 when his cell in a Dessau police station
caught fire. The public prosecutor and the joint plaintiffs in the case
appealed the decision to the Federal Court of Justice. The appeal was
pending at year's end.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the police and the Federal Criminal
Investigative Service. The government has effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. No cases of impunity
involving the security forces were reported during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Authorities
may only arrest an individual on the basis of a warrant issued by a
competent judicial authority unless the police apprehend a suspect in
the act of committing a crime or have strong reason to believe that the
individual intends to commit a crime. The constitution provides that a
person detained on suspicion of having committed a criminal offense be
brought before a judge no later than the day following his arrest. At
that time, the judge must inform him of the reasons for the arrest, and
he must be given an opportunity to raise objections. The law entitles a
detainee to prompt access to an attorney either of his choosing or, if
he does not select one, one appointed by the court. If there is
evidence that a suspect might flee the country, police may detain that
person for up to 24 hours pending a formal charge. To continue holding
a detainee, police must bring the detainee before a judge, and the
court must charge the individual at the latest by the end of the day
following the arrest. The court must then issue an arrest warrant
stating the grounds for detention; otherwise, the court must order the
individual's release. Authorities generally respected these rights in
practice.
The law does not allow courts to punish persons twice for the same
crime. In cases involving rape, homicide, or manslaughter, courts may
order offenders to serve additional time in ``subsequent preventative
detention'' if they are determined to be dangerous. Such preventive
detention requires a court finding, based on at least one expert
opinion, that the convicted person could pose a danger to the public.
Such detention may last indefinitely. On December 17, the European
Court for Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the country must compensate a
man held in ``subsequent preventive detention'' since 1991 after the
end of his five-year sentence for attempted murder and robbery. The
ECHR reasoned that the country's ``subsequent preventative detention''
violates the European Human Rights Convention.
Bail exists but is infrequent. Authorities usually released
detainees unless a court decided that there was a clear risk that they
might flee the country. In such cases authorities could hold detainees
for the duration of the investigation and subsequent trial. Such
decisions are subject to judicial review, and time spent in
investigative custody applies towards any eventual sentence. If a court
acquits a defendant who was incarcerated, the government must
compensate the defendant for financial losses as well as for ``moral
prejudice'' due to the incarceration.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected this
provision in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair, public trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced
this right. Juries are not used. Either one judge, a panel of
professional judges, or a mixed panel of professional and lay judges
try cases, depending on the severity of the charges. Defendants enjoy a
presumption of innocence and have a right of appeal. The law requires
defendants to be present at their trials. Defendants have the right to
consult with an attorney. According to the law, before any
interrogation begins, a suspect, arrested or not, must be informed
about his or her right to consult an attorney before the interview. The
government provides an attorney at public expense if defendants
demonstrate financial need. Defendants may confront and question
witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their
behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to all court-held
evidence relevant to their cases.
For simple or less serious cases, procedures exist for an
accelerated hearing and summary punishment at the local-court level.
These procedures are limited to cases for which the maximum sentence is
not more than one year. Courts generally suspended one-year sentences
and placed the convicted individuals on probation. Heavy caseloads at
times delayed court proceedings.
In 2008 the ECHR found one violation by the country of the right to
a fair trial, five violations regarding length of proceedings, and one
violation of the right to an effective remedy, as provided under
articles 6 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--An independent and
impartial judiciary in civil matters provides access to a court to
bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights
violation. Administrative remedies for alleged wrongs are available as
well.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and
authorities mostly respected these prohibitions in practice. However,
members of organizations monitored by the Federal Office for the
Protection of the Constitution (FOPC) and state offices for the
protection of the constitution (OPCs) charged that these agencies
violated their privacy.
In 2007 the Left Party caucus in Lower Saxony's parliament
initiated legal proceedings against the Lower Saxony OPC, accusing that
office of illegally monitoring the caucus and its individual members.
On November 26, the state's interior minister, citing a ruling by North
Rhine-Westphalia's Higher Administrative Court on February 13 that the
Left Party strives to undermine the country's democratic order,
confirmed that the state OPC only monitors the Left Party, and not
individual Left Party members.
On September 9, the federal government confirmed the FOPC collected
information on all 53 members of the federal parliament from the Left
Party. The government asserted that the North Rhine-Westphalia Higher
Administrative Court decision on February 13 authorized surveillance of
the Left Party.
In investigations of certain serious crimes, law enforcement
officials may monitor the telecommunications of suspects, but only with
court approval. In intelligence-related cases, such as suspicion of
involvement in terrorism, the law permits intelligence services to
engage in surveillance activities, for example, monitoring
telecommunications, without court approval; however, an independent
commission elected by a parliamentary control body has to approve such
activities.
In an interim decision against a January law obliging
telecommunication companies to store telephone, cell phone, e-mail, and
Internet services data for six months, the Federal Constitutional Court
ruled that data could be transmitted from telecommunication companies
to the police only if required to prevent an immediate threat to life
or serious injury to a person's freedom or to the security of the
country. The court began its review of the law on December 15.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; while the government mostly
respected these rights in practice, it imposed limits aimed at groups
deemed extremist. On November 17, the Federal Constitutional Court
limited free speech that specifically endorses neo-Nazi doctrines,
claiming this was ``an exceptional circumstance.''
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately
without reprisal, and an active independent media expressed a wide
variety of views without government restriction. However, making or
disseminating oral statements or propaganda inciting racial hatred,
endorsing Nazism, or denying the Holocaust is prohibited. On August 13,
the Federal Court of Justice ruled that persons can be prosecuted for
displaying Nazi slogans in the country only if they are in the German
language. The court argued that translations of Nazi slogans cannot be
considered as Nazi symbols, since Nazi slogans are inseparably
connected with the use of the German language.
On June 15, a judge in Passau, Bavaria, found a prominent neo-Nazi
guilty of displaying unconstitutional symbols after he buried a
``comrade'' with a swastika flag; the neo-Nazi was fined 1,200 euros
($1,700).
At the end of July, the Saarbruecken state prosecutor's office in
the Saarland opened an investigation into right-wing extremist
politician Udo Pastoers, the caucus leader of the National Democratic
Party (NPD) in the Mecklenburg-West Pomerania state parliament. In a
speech in Saarbruecken on February 25, Pastoers allegedly denigrated
Jews and Turks. In order for the proceedings to move forward, the
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania state parliament voted on July 15 to lift
Pastoers' immunity.
On January 27, Hamburg police confiscated 500 copies of the second
edition of the ``Newspaper Witnesses'' that contained a supplement of
the Nazi-era newspaper Racial Observer (Voelkischer Beobachter) and a
Nazi poster. The confiscation was part of a nationwide action initiated
by the Munich Municipal Court, which claimed that the reprint used
banned symbols (e.g., swastikas) and infringed on the copyrights for
the Racial Observer, which the state of Bavaria had inherited following
World War II. A total of 150,000 copies of the offensive supplement
were distributed throughout the country.
On March 31, then federal interior minister Wolfgang Schaeuble
banned the Kiel-based right-wing extremist group German Youth Faithful
to the Homeland (HDJ) for distributing racist and Nazi propaganda.
Searches were also carried out in Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony,
and Saxony in an effort to confiscate the HDJ's assets.
On August 10, the Munich Higher Regional Court in Bavaria upheld
the six-year prison sentence of a prominent member of the right-wing
extremist NPD, Horst Mahler, for denying the Holocaust and incitement
of hatred.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet; however, government agencies may monitor e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 75 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Federal and state laws permitted the FOPC and OPCs to monitor the
private e-mails and chat room postings of individuals and groups under
FOPC and OPC surveillance; an independent commission elected by a
parliamentary control body was responsible for oversight of such
activities. The law prohibits access to material such as child
pornography and Nazi propaganda.
According to the July 13 newsletter of the Hamburg OPC, the Federal
Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons identified as ``harmful''
a Web site run by ``neo-Nazis in Hamburg'' that sought to recruit
youths. The newsletter stated that efforts by the ``Campaign Office
North Germany'' to recruit young persons into right-wing exremist
organizations via the Internet have been successful.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were few government
restrictions on academic or cultural events; however, the law bans Nazi
propaganda, material denying the Holocaust, and pornography.
On April 18, police prevented a right-wing extremist concert from
taking place in Guestrow, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. According to a
police spokesperson, five bands with names suggesting right-wing
extremist content and attitudes, such as Task Force D (Task Force D was
a paramilitary SS unit sent to Ukraine during World War II to kill
Jews, Roma, and Communist Party members), End of System, and Nation of
Perpetrators planned to perform at a motorcycle club. Approximately 200
police officers prevented 100 persons, among them known right-wing
extremists as well as criminal elements, from attending the concert.
On May 23, police stopped a neo-Nazi concert disguised as a
birthday party in Peine, Lower Saxony, after they discovered the ruse.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
usually respected this right in practice. However, the government
prevented certain prohibited organizations, mainly right-wing extremist
in nature, from holding public assemblies.
Permits must be obtained for open-air public rallies and marches,
and state and local officials have authority to deny permits when
public safety concerns arise or when the applicant is a prohibited
organization. Denials were rare but did occur.
Police may detain known or suspected criminals--usually right- or
left-wing extremists--for brief periods when they believe such
individuals intend to participate in illegal or unauthorized
demonstrations. The length of time varies from state to state and can
range from one to 14 days.
The Hanover chief of police barred a neo-Nazi demonstration planned
for May 1 in Celle, Lower Saxony. He claimed that the demonstration
could result in rioting and violence and that he could not provide the
necessary police support for the estimated 1,000 neo-Nazis expected to
attend a demonstration calling fo.''National Socialism Now.''.
Subsequently, the Celle-based organizers filed a petition in court. The
Hanover Administrative Court, the Higher Administrative Court in
Lueneburg, and the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe affirmed
the prohibition.
In July 2008 the federal state of Bavaria passed legislation on the
right of assembly that was aimed primarily at controlling extremist
demonstrations. In February the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that
the Bavarian law was unconstitutional because it would restrict
inappropriately any type of public demonstration. Despite draft
amendments to revise the law, the court in August extended the interim
injunction against the law for another six months.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice; however, the law permits the prohibition of organizations
whose activities have been judged illegal or opposed to the
constitutional democratic order. While only the Federal Constitutional
Court may prohibit political parties on these grounds, federal or state
governments may prohibit or restrict other organizations, including
groups that authorities classify as extremist or criminal in nature.
Organizations have the right to appeal prohibition or restrictions.
The FOPC and state OPCs responsible for examining possible threats
to the constitutional democratic system monitored several hundred
organizations. Monitoring generally consisted of collecting information
from written materials and firsthand accounts; however, the FOPC and
OPCs could employ more intrusive methods, including the use of
undercover agents who were subject to legal checks. The FOPC and OPCs
published lists of monitored organizations, including left-wing
political parties. The OPCs in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-
Palatinate continued to monitor the Left Party.
Although the law stipulates that OPC surveillance must not
interfere with an organization's activities, representatives of
monitored groups complained that the publication of the organizations'
names contributed to prejudice against them. On November 10,the Higher
Administrative Court in Muenster, North Rhine-Westphalia, upheld a
lower court decision enabling the state's OPC to continue monitoring
Pro-Koeln, a citizens' group with right-wing tendencies. Pro-Koeln had
filed suit after the OPC included the organization in its 2005 and 2006
reports. The court found that the group portrayed foreigners and
immigrants as ``criminal'' and ``unable to integrate into German
society'' based on their religion or origin, and disparaged lesbians,
gays, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) persons.
On August 13, Berlin police searched the homes of 11 men who
allegedly belonged to the neo-Nazi organization Frontbann 24, a group
of approximately 60 former NPD members between the ages of 30 and 45.
No one was arrested during the searches, but police gathered evidence,
including pens, lighters, swastika pins, and shirts imprinted with
Frontbann symbols, that was sufficient to support a prohibition of the
organization. On November 4, Berlin's interior minister, Erhard
Koerting, banned Frontbann 24.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government usually respected this right in practice
with some exceptions; however, discrimination against certain religious
minorities remained a problem.
Religion and state are separate, although historically a special
partnership exists between the state and an estimated 180 religious
communities that have the status of a ``public law corporation'' (PLC).
If they fulfill certain requirements, including assurance of permanence
and size of the organization, and do not demonstrate disloyalty to the
state, religious organizations may request PLC status which, among
other things, entitles them to levy ``tithes'' (averaging 9 percent) on
their members, which the state then collects as part of the overall
taxes. Organizations pay a fee to the government for this service, and
not all PLCs availed themselves of it. The decision to grant PLC status
is made at the state level, and there have been cases where federal
states have denied this status to an applicant. To date, the federal
states of Berlin, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony,
Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia have
granted the Jehovah's Witnesses PLC status.
While the federal government has encouraged the federal states to
grant PLC status to Muslim communities, it preferred that the Muslim
community designate a single organization with which federal and state
authorities could negotiate. To date few Muslim organizations have
applied for PLC status. In some cases intra-Muslim disputes prevented
organizations from establishing their right to represent that
community. The Muslim Coordination Council (KRM), a coalition of the
four largest Muslim religious organizations in the country that
represents 10 to 15 percent of the Muslim population, attempted to set
up state-level offices in order to register as a PLC.
The federal states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen,
Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saarland prohibited
teachers in public schools, but not civil servants in general, from
wearing head scarves. The courts have consistently rejected legal
challenges to the prohibition.
In January the federal court in Leipzig rejected the appeal of a
March 2008 ruling by the Baden-Wuerttemberg Higher Administrative Court
in Mannheim that a Muslim elementary school teacher in Stuttgart-Bad
Cannstatt must remove her head scarf during class.
On June 23, the Baden-Wuerttemberg Higher Labor Court in Stuttgart
ruled that a kindergarten run by the local administration could send a
written reprimand to any Muslim female teacher or educator if she
continued to wear a head scarf at work for religious reasons after she
had been instructed not to.
A debate continued in Lower Saxony's state parliament over police
security checks in mosques. The Green Party questioned why random
identification checks were performed at the end of a Friday prayer at a
mosque in Braunschweig on May 29, and a Green Party member accused the
Braunschweig police department of discrimination. The state interior
minister defended the checks as necessary to collect leads on
individuals involved in Islamist extremism and terrorism.
The government continued to deny recognition as religions to some
belief systems, including Scientology; however, the absence of
recognition did not prevent their adherents from engaging in public and
private religious activities.
Federal and some state authorities continued to classify
Scientology as a potential threat to democratic order, resulting in
discrimination against Scientologists in both the public and the
private sectors. Scientology members reported the use of so-called
``sect filters'' by many associations and organizations, whereby
eligibility for membership was contingent upon applicants' declaring
that they do not belong to the Church of Scientology. State education
authorities sometimes informed parents and school children of
Scientologist activities in their school districts.
An item posted on the Web by the Hamburg Working Group on
Scientology alleged a ``massive publicity campaign'' by the Church of
Scientology at several Hamburg schools. The article discussed
Scientologisty's attempts to introduce its teachings to Hamburg's
school system and urged teachers, parents, and students to acknowledge
that the ``organization has nothing to do with religion.''
Scientologists continued to report instances of official and
societal discrimination during the year. On October 8, the Berlin
Office of Foreigners denied temporary residency permits for two
American Church of Scientology members seeking to train local church
staff in Berlin. The denial order noted that it ``lies in the public
interest to impede the further expansion of an organization whose
purposes are directed against the free democratic constitional order.''
On July 9, the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg
confirmed an earlier ruling of the Berlin Administrative Court of
February 27, which ordered the immediate removal of two anti-
Scientology posters. The Charlottenburg district office of the Berlin
city administration placed the posters in front of the Church of
Scientology of Berlin on January 22. They displayed a large stop sign
followed by a ``warning'' from the Charlottenburg District Assembly
about the activities of Scientology in the area. In reaching its
conclusions, the lower court held that the City of Berlin had violated
its duty of religious neutrality and its obligation to remain objective
on religious matters. The court also ruled that the city's warning
campaign served no justifiable purpose. The higher court affirmed the
rights of Scientologists and the Church of Scientology Berlin to
freedom of religion under the constitution.
Some religious groups expressed opposition to the government's
prohibition of home schooling. During the year local authorities
brought criminal charges against some parents who refused to enroll
their children in government-licensed schools for religious reasons.
State authorities generally permitted groups to establish private
schools so long as they met basic curriculum requirements.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports of
continuing societal discrimination and hostility toward some minority
religious groups, including anti-Semitic acts. The government took
measures during the year to address these problems. The federal
government also promoted tolerance by establishing regular dialogues on
the integration of minorities and immigrants and on Islamic problems
between cabinet-level officials and representatives of immigrant and
Muslim groups. Muslim participants generally praised the federal
Interior Ministry's fourth and final plenary of the Islam Conference on
June 25 for promoting dialogue between the government and the Muslim
communities.
On July 1, Alex Wiens, who sympathized with right-wing extremist
organizations, stabbed and killed an Egyptian Muslim woman, Marwa el
Sherbini, in a courtroom in Dresden, Saxony. She had appeared in the
court to testify against Wiens for insulting her for wearing a head
scarf and allegedly calling her a terrorist. The Dresden Prosecutor's
Office stated the killer was driven by deep hatred of Muslims. On
November 11, the Dresden regional court condemned Wiens to a life
sentence. The judge determined that the attacker killed Sherbini out of
revenge and xenophobic hatred. The federal government and
representatives of the German Central Council of Muslims and the
Central Council of Jews publicly criticized the killing. The incident
generated protests against ``Islamophobia'' both within the country and
abroad; the Muslim community in the country and the Egyptian ambassador
expressed satisfaction with the verdict and sentence in November.
According to estimates, Jews number more than 200,000, of which
106,435 are registered members of the Jewish community.
According to preliminary figures from the Federal Interior
Ministry, 817 anti-Semitic offenses .''politically motivated crimes
with anti-Semitic backgroun.'') occurred from January through
September. These included 14 violent and 142 propaganda offenses, and
10 persons were injured. The police investigated 426 suspects and
arrested 15 persons. One arrest warrant was issued.
On July 28, the Higher Administrative Court in Mannheim, Baden-
Wuerttemberg, confirmed the expulsion of two 17-year-old students from
a high school in Pforzheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg, following an anti-
Semitic incident in December 2008 in which five high school students
shouted anti-Semitic phrases at a Jewish student and vandalized a door
to his home.
On February 26, suspected neo-Nazis distributed anti-Semitic
leaflets to mailboxes in Fuerstenzell, Bavaria. The leaflets ``warned''
inhabitants that ``millions of Jews would soon leave Palestine and
enter'' the country. The letters included images of swastikas and other
Nazi symbols.
On September 8, NPD press spokesman Klaus Beier called a national
soccer player with Turkish background, Mesut Ozil, a ``plastic German''
(meaning a German ``only by passpor.''), which resulted in a local
lawyer's initiating legal proceedings against Beier for incitement of
hatred.
In late September the NPD sent letters to parliamentary candidates
and other politicians with non-German ethnic backgrounds instructing
them to leave the country and return to their ``home countries.'' The
letters reportedly were designed to look like official notifications
from an official titled the ``commissioner for foreigners'
repatriation.'' The NPD confirmed it sent the letters. The Berlin
prosecutor general began an investigation against the chairman of the
Berlin NPD, Joerg Haehnel, for suspected incitement of hatred.
While the most widespread anti-Semitic acts were the desecration of
Jewish cemeteries, other properties were also subject to anti-Semitic
vandalism. On November 7, a synagogue in Dresden was vandalized with
swastikas and other anti-Semitic hate symbols. The vandalism took place
days prior to events commemorating the 71st anniversary of
Kristallnacht.
On March 3, vandals smeared a swastika on a commemorative engraved
stone at the memorial site of the former synagogue in the town of
Warren/Mueritz, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.
On March 23, vandals desecrated the Jewish community cemetery in
Meiningen, Thuringia, knocking over gravestones and damaging fencing.
On August 5, then interior minister Schaeuble appointed an expert
team on anti-Semitism to provide a regular report about anti-Semitism
in the country, to coordinate government activities to combat anti-
Semitism, and to submit an action plan on the issue. The expert team is
expected to produce a report on its findings in 2011.
In September 2008 the police canceled an anti-Islam congress
organized by Pro-Koeln on safety grounds after the venue was blocked by
opponents. Pro-Koeln later filed suit against the Cologne law
enforcement authorities for prohibiting the rally; the suit was pending
before the Cologne Administrative Court at year's end.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2009/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the government did not
employ it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. The constitution extends to persons
persecuted on political grounds a right to apply for asylum in the
country. The Asylum Procedure Act regulates the asylum procedure. The
Residence Act can also grant refugee status in cases of nonstate
persecution.
As a rule an asylum seeker whose application has been rejected can
appeal the decision within a period of two weeks of a notice being
served. If an appeal is filed, deportation cannot be carried out until
the court proceedings have been concluded with a final negative ruling.
If the court confirms the rejection, the applicant is obliged to leave
the country. If the applicant does not comply with this obligation, the
applicant is deported to his/her home country.
The government processes the asylum applications of individuals
found to have come from a safe country of origin at an international
airport prior to their entry into the country. The same applies to
applicants without any passport or without a valid passport. In these
cases the law requires the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees
either to make a decision on an asylum application within 48 hours or
to allow the person to enter the country. An applicant has three days
to appeal a negative decision to an administrative court. The law
requires the court to rule within 14 days or allow the individual to
enter the country.
Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to criticize
these periods of time as insufficient to allow applicants to prepare
for hearings. In the case of a final rejection of a claim, authorities
did not allow the individual to enter the country, and he or she had to
stay at the airport reception center until departure. If it is not
possible to return the individual within 30 days after arrival, the law
requires a judicial order in order to keep the individual at the
airport in the transit zone. The federal government claimed not to
maintain statistics about detentions in airport facilities.
In May the human rights NGO Pro Asyl sharply criticized the
government's ``fast'' procedure, whereby a person can apply for asylum
at the airport and the Federal Office for Migration makes a decision
within two days. Based on its examination of 32 cases between 2006 and
2007, the organization asserted that the minimum requirements for a
fair procedure were not met, since the decision was made so rapidly.
According to Pro Asyl's analysis, several decisions were incorrect and
resulted in unjustified deportations. Pro Asyl also asserted that,
during the two days they were awaiting an asylum determination, asylum
seekers were detained in the transit portion of the airport under
``inhumane'' conditions.
According to the constitution, individuals who attempted to enter
the country through a ``safe country of transit,'' i.e., a member state
of the EU or a country adhering to the 1951 convention, were ineligible
for asylum and could be turned back at the border or, if they had
entered the country, be deported to that safe country of transit.
Several NGOs questioned this regulation during the year; they called
for a right of appeal and individual consideration of each case in the
country. Several courts in the country stopped planned deportations to
another EU country under the abovementioned law. On July 20, the
Frankfurt administrative court ruled that the federal government had to
allow the Iranian defendant to file his asylum application in the
country, although he entered the country via another EU country. On
September 8, the Federal Constitutional Court suspended, for similar
reasons, the deportation of an Iraqi asylum seeker to another EU
country, where he had originally filed a first asylum application.
In practice the government generally provided protection against
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. In December, the Federal Ministry of Interior instructed the
federal states to suspend the deportation of Syrians who face immediate
deportation due to uncertainty about their treatment upon return to
Syria.
Although the government processes refugee and asylum cases
according to existing law, the approval rate was low. From January
through July, authorities processed 16,854 asylum applications and
granted 5,261 persons (31.2 percent) refugee protection under the 1951
convention and its 1967 protocol. In addition, authorities granted 860
persons (5.1 percent) temporary suspension of expulsion due to the
situation in their countries of origin or based on other humanitarian
grounds. The country rejected 6,248 applications (37.1 percent) and
``resolved otherwise'' (e.g. procedures were closed or applications
withdrawn) another 4,485 applications (26.6 percent). All cases in
which asylum was granted must be reviewed after three years to
determine whether the grounds for asylum still apply.
On December 4, the interior ministers of the country's 16 federal
states extended the residence permits of ``long term'' asylum seekers
for another two years. This ruling affected approximately 30,000
asylum-seekers in the country who were refused asylum, but who
nonetheless could not be sent back to their countries of origin. In
order for these asylum seekers to remain in the country as residents,
they are required to prove that they have ``made a concerted effort''
to find employment and can be expected to support themselves in the
future. Some human rights organizations criticized the ministers'
failure to grant the asylum seekers' residency outright.
During the year there were more than 14,000 officially registered
refugees from Kosovo living in the country, including 10,000 Roma, all
of whom are required by law to leave the country once the government
determines they would no longer face any risks of oppression upon
return to their homes. The Federal Interior Ministry has pledged to
pursue a maximum of 2,500 repatriations per year to ensure that Kosovo
is not overburdened by a sudden influx of returnees. In 2008, 900
Kosovars returned to the region. Some returned voluntarily; others were
deported.
Stateless Persons.--According to statistics from the UNHCR, 9,322
stateless persons live in the country. There is insufficient data on
the number of stateless persons who are also refugees. In general, the
government effectively implemented laws and policies to provide
stateless persons the opportunity to gain nationality on a
nondiscriminatory basis. German citizenship may be acquired by
naturalization by those with permanent residence who have lived in the
country for eight years. However, refugees and stateless persons may
apply after six years' residence. It can be difficult for an applicant
to produce sufficient evidence or documentation for the establishment
of statelessness status. The burden of proof is on the applicant. In
general, the country protects stateless persons from deportation to
their country of origin or usual residence when threatened with
political persecution.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--On September 27, the
country held elections for seats in the parliament that were considered
free and fair. Political parties operate without restriction or outside
interference unless they are deemed a threat to the federal
constitution. A report on the parliamentary elections released December
14 by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) criticized
certain legal provisions for the admission of new parties. The election
observers noted that the federal election committee, which decides on
such admissions, is composed of those parties already represented in
parliament and that this could lead to a conflict of interest. The
report also noted that the law does not provide for judicial review of
election administration decisions before election day, thus diminishing
access of citizens to a timely remedy.
On June 7, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
The federal chancellor is a woman, and there were 204 women in the
611-seat parliament. In addition to the chancellor, five women sat in
the 16-member cabinet. Three of the 16 judges of the Federal
Constitutional Court were women.
There were at least eight members of ethnic minorities in the
parliament, one on the Federal Constitutional Court, and one in the
cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
There were isolated reports of government corruption during the
year. Parliamentarians are subject to financial disclosure laws that
require them to publish earnings made in outside employment. State
prosecutors generally are responsible for investigating corruption
cases. On December 9, the Council of Europe criticized the country's
anticorruption efforts and recommended the tightening of the criminal
code regarding the bribery of parliamentarians.
Federal law provides for public access to government information.
Four federal states (Berlin, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and North
Rhine-Westphalia) also have freedom of information laws that provide an
appeals process.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were very cooperative and responsive to their views.
The government has cooperated with international war crimes
tribunals. For example, the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation
and Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pledged a sum of
6.7 million euros ($9.6 million) to the operational costs of the Khmer
Rouge War Crimes Tribunal in 2009-2010.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits the denial of access to housing, health
care, or education on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religious
affiliation, age, sexual orientation, disability, language, or social
status, and the government normally enforced these provisions in
practice.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and
provides penalties of up to 15 years in prison. The government
effectively enforced the law. According to national police criminal
statistics, there were 7,292 cases of rape or serious sexual coercion
in 2008. The federal government supported numerous projects in
conjunction with the federal states and NGOs to deal with violence
against women, both to prevent violence and to give victims greater
access to medical care and legal assistance.
The law prohibits violence against women, including spousal abuse;
the law may temporarily deny perpetrators access to the household, put
them under a restraining order, or in severe cases prosecute them for
assault or rape and require them to pay damages. Penalties varied
depending on the nature of the case. The law did not require a civil
court decision for a temporary denial. The government enforced the law;
nevertheless, authorities believed that violence against women was
widespread. Organizations that aid victims estimated that between 20
and 25 percent of women have been victims of physical or sexual
violence. There are more than 400 women's shelters in the country, and,
according to the Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women,
and Youth, approximately 45,000 women per year seek shelter. There are
many NGOs on the local level providing hotlines, assistance, advice,
and shelter.
Forced marriages are illegal and invalid and may be punished by up
to five years' imprisonment. While there were no reliable statistics on
the number of forced marriages in the country, evidence indicated that
the problem occurred more often in the immigrant Muslim community than
in the general population. Forced marriages reportedly often led to
violence. Victims included women and, in some cases, young men living
in the country for whom the family brought a spouse from abroad. In
addition, some women were sent by their families to other countries to
marry against their will.
Hatun und Can Frauennothilfe, a Berlin NGO assisting women
threatened by forced marriage, reported that during the year
approximately 2,000 women approached them anonymously to seek help in
life-threatening situations. The organization provided advice, physical
shelter, and financial support.
Honor killings were also reported. On February 13, the Hamburg
District Court found a 24-year-old Afghan-German man, Ahmad-Sobair
Obeidi, guilty of the May 2008 stabbing and killing of his 16-year-old
sister, Morsal, and sentenced him to life imprisonment with the
possibility of release after 15 years. During the trial the defendant
stated that his sister had, in his view, turned away from her family,
dressed inappropriately in public, and worked as a prostitute.
Prostitution is legal and widespread, although communities have the
authority to exclude it from specified areas, such as residential
neighborhoods. A legal framework for improving the legal and social
situation of persons engaged in prostitution gives them the right to
enforce contracts and to apply for health insurance and other social
benefits. Such persons rarely used the provisions of the law.
On July 26, Baden-Wuerttemberg police raided two brothels in the
state. Both brothels were closed because of unsanitary conditions. In
one establishment, police arrested the manager and 11 other persons.
Police found one confirmed case of forced prostitution. In the other
brothel, the police arrested four persons.
On July 7, a citizens' group called Bi-gegen-bordell protested
against the introduction of a ``flat-rate'' brothel for sexual services
in Wettenberg-Wissmar, Hesse. The group petitioned the police and local
city authorities to take action against the brothel, which was
described as ``inhuman and misogynistic.''
Sexual harassment of women was a recognized problem. The law
prohibits sexual harassment and requires employers to protect employees
from sexual harassment. A variety of disciplinary measures against
offenders are available, including dismissal. The law considers an
employer's failure to take measures to protect employees from sexual
harassment a breach of contract, and an affected employee has the right
to paid leave until the employer rectifies the problem. There were
press reports of sexual harassment in the workplace and in public
facilities. Unions, churches, government agencies, and NGOs operated a
variety of support programs for women who experienced sexual harassment
and sponsored seminars and training to prevent it. There are no
reliable data available on the extent of this problem.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception, skilled
attendance during childbirth, and women were diagnosed and treated for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men.
Men and women enjoy equal rights under the constitution. The
Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth was the
primary federal agency responsible for protecting women's rights. The
law provides for equal pay for equal work. Employers generally did not
discriminate against women in terms of compensation for equivalent
work, although women were underrepresented in well-paid managerial
positions and overrepresented in some lower-wage occupations. According
to current information from the Federal Ministry for Family, Senior
Citizens, Women and Youth, women earn an estimated 23 percent less than
men for the same work. This is largely because more women in the
country tended to be part-time workers.
Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). However, citizenship also can be granted to children born
in Germany as long as one parent has been living in Germany for at
least eight years or one parent has a permanent residence permit and
has had this status for at least three years. Dual nationality is not
allowed, and upon turning 23 a dual national must opt for one
citizenship or the other. Birth registrations are recorded by civil
registration offices.
The law criminalizes rape and provides penalties of up to 15 years
in prison. Consensual sex is legal from the age of 14 in most cases. An
exception is if the older partner is aged over 18 and is ``exploiting a
coercive situation'' or offering compensation, in which case the
younger partner must be over 16. In addition, it is illegal for someone
older than 21 to have sex with someone under 16 if the older person
``exploits the victim's lack of capacity for sexual self-
determination.'' According to one estimate, 3-11 percent of all
prostitutes in the country are underage.
Under the law possession of child pornography is a criminal
offense. A child is defined as a person younger than 14 years of age.
According to the law, the mere possession of, or attempt to acquire,
any material reflecting a true or realistic incident of child
pornography is punished with a prison sentence from three months up to
five years. The country's legal system also applies extraterritorial
jurisdiction, so that any act of child pornography is prosecuted in the
country according to German law, even if the act was not committed on
German territory.
According to the Federal Criminal Office (FCO), in 2008 there were
12,052 reported incidents of sexual abuse of children up to 14 years of
age compared with 15,935 incidents in 2007. Between 2007 and 2008 the
number of cases involving the distribution of child pornography
(photographs and videos) increased by 14.5 percent to 18,264 cases.
However, the number of reported cases of ownership and procurement of
child pornography dropped by 40.9 percent from 11,357 cases in 2007 to
6,707 in 2008.
In March authorities accused Joerg Tauss, then the secretary
general of Baden-Wuerttemberg's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and a
member of the federal parliament, of possessing child pornography. In
June, Tauss left the SPD parliamentary caucus under pressure. The
federal parliament lifted his immunity in September, and the Karlsruhe
prosecutor's office then filed charges against Tauss for possession and
distribution of child pornography.
The Coalition for Street Children estimated there were as many as
11,000 street children in the country during the year. Authorities
believed that these children were often subjected to violence and abuse
and were frequently fleeing violent and abusive homes. Street children
often turned to prostitution for income.
Trafficking in Persons.--The criminal code prohibits trafficking in
persons for all purposes; however, there were reports that persons were
trafficked to, from, through, and within the country.
The country was a transit point and destination for men, women, and
children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and, to a lesser
extent, forced labor. Victims were trafficked to the country from other
parts of Europe, Africa (primarily Nigeria), Asia, and the Western
Hemisphere. Approximately a quarter of the sex-trafficking victims were
German nationals trafficked within the country. In 2008, the most
recent year for which trafficking statistics are available, there were
declines in the observed number of Czech, Romanian, and Polish victims
but increases in the number of Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Nigerian
victims. Twenty-four percent of trafficking victims were younger than
18 years of age. The majority of identified sex-trafficking victims
were exploited in bars and brothels. Reported incidents of forced labor
mainly involved work in restaurants, domestic work, and work in the
agricultural sector.
Authorities identified 676 sex-trafficking victims in 2008,
compared with 689 in 2007, and 96 victims of forced labor in 2008, a
decrease from 101 in 2007. Despite government encouragement of victims
to cooperate in antitrafficking investigations, many victims indicated
that threats or influence from traffickers made them reluctant to
cooperate with authorities. Foreign victims who resided illegally in
the country were given a minimum one-month reflection period to
consider cooperating with government investigators before they were
subject to deportation. The government provided legal alternatives to
victims' deportation to countries where they might face hardship or
retribution. These measures included temporary residence permits for
the duration of trial proceedings as well as long-term residence
permits to victims in certain circumstances, such as when the victim
faced severe threats in the country of origin.
Approximately one-third of sex-trafficking victims reported they
had agreed to engage in prostitution. Many victims who agreed to work
as prostitutes were deceived about the nature of exploitative
conditions at their work: 17 percent of victims stated they were
professionally recruited (e.g., by talent agencies or newspaper
advertisements); 22 percent reported being deceived about the true
purpose of their entry into the country; and 14 percent reported that
traffickers used violence to coerce them into prostitution. Traffickers
promised victims high earnings and better living conditions but then
used debts (e.g., for organizing passports or visas and travel
expenses) deliberately to create relationships of dependency. The
victims felt they had no option but to accept the conditions and
permanently work as prostitutes.
Penalties for sex trafficking range from six months' to ten years'
imprisonment and for labor trafficking from one to 10 years'
imprisonment.
In 2008, the most recent year for which statistics were available,
authorities completed 482 sex-trafficking investigations. In 2008
authorities prosecuted 173 persons and won convictions in 138 cases for
trafficking for sexual exploitation. In the same year, they prosecuted
25 persons and convicted 16 for labor trafficking. In cases where
trafficking offenses carried the most severe sentences, courts gave a
suspended sentence to 70 percent of the traffickers who were convicted.
On July 21, a Hamburg brothel owner received a 10-year sentence for
his involvement in the rape and trafficking of victims forced into
prostitution. The individual was a known criminal who had already spent
time in prison in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
In March police freed a 36-year-old Bulgarian woman who had been
held for weeks in slave-like conditions in a one-room apartment in
Oberfoehring, Bavaria, and forced into prostitution.
On March 18, a Munich court sentenced a 43-year-old man and his 31-
year-old Romanian accomplice for luring young Romanian women to Munich
and forcing them to work as prostitutes. The man received a prison
sentence of three years and three months; his accomplice a two-year
suspended prison sentence.
The federal and state governments worked with NGOs and local
women's shelters to identify and assist victims of sex and labor
trafficking. State governments funded dozens of NGOs that provided
shelter, counseling, and assistance and facilitated protection for
victims of trafficking. The Federal Ministry for Family, Senior
Citizens, Women, and Youth fully funded the umbrella organization
representing 36 NGOs and counseling centers that assisted trafficking
victims. The vast majority of these NGOs focused on adult female
victims. Based on cooperation agreements between law enforcement
agencies and NGOs, police notifed counseling centers of trafficking
victims whom they identified and informed victims of their rights and
options for seeking assistance. In 12 of the 16 federal states, there
were cooperation agreements between police, state welfare agencies, and
NGOs that governed the provision of welfare services to trafficking
victims.
Police and NGOs jointly organized specialized seminars for
investigating officers, victim protection officials, and prosecutors as
well as workshops in source and transit countries.
The country also made increased efforts in combating labor
trafficking. The German Institute for Human Rights began a three-year,
600,000-euro ($860,000) project to assist trafficking victims to claim
their rights in the country's courts.
During the year the International Organization for Migration
received one million euros ($1.43 million) in funding from the Federal
Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs and the Berlin Senate to
administer a three-year project to examine and determine the extent of
labor trafficking in the country and the government's responses. The
project will also establish a network of civil society and government
actors involved in the issue.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Under the law, the Federal Commissioner
for Matters relating to Disabled Persons is the principal government
contact in all matters related to persons with disabilities and has
specific responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. In addition the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the
Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth, and the
Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs have responsibility
for addressing the needs of persons with disabilities.
In 2008 there were eight violent right-wing extremist crimes
against persons with disabilities; there was a total of 45 such crimes
between 2001 and 2008.
The constitution prohibits discrimination against persons with
physical or mental disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and the provision of other federal state services, and the
government effectively enforced these provisions. However, the federal
states of Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and
Saxony limited the number of children with disabilities attending
secondary schools. For example, in Baden-Wuerttemberg 54,200 students
with disabilities were required to go to special schools, which often
prevented them from attending secondary school. During the year only
15.7 percent of children with disabilities attended regular schools
together with children without disabilities. While special schools are
often better equipped to take special care of students with
disabilities, critics argue that such separation prevents the full
integration of children with disabilities in the professional world and
in society as a whole.
The number of schools and day care facilities that accommodated
both children with disabilities and children without disabilities
increased from 7,789 in 1998 to 14,143 in 2008, while the number of day
care centers and schools exclusively for children with disabilities
decreased from 691 in 1998 to 378 by mid-2008.
In July the government released a report on the status of persons
with disabilities which indicated that unemployment among persons with
disabilities decreased by more than 14 percent between 2005 and 2008.
The number of employees with disabilities increased from 7.3 percent in
2005 to 8.5 percent in 2006. In 2007-2008, 72 percent of all juveniles
with disabilities started professional training, and 27 percent found
slots in preparational professional traing programs.
The federal government has developed guidelines for barrier-free
public buildings and for modifying streets and pedestrian zones to
accommodate persons with disabilities. All 16 federal states have
incorporated these guidelines into their building codes. Almost all
federal buildings (98 percent) complied with the guidelines for a
barrier-free environment. The federal government provided payments of
518.2 million euros ($741 million) per year through 2019 to the states
to support barrier-free buildings. Efforts are continuing to improve
further barrier-free access in public transportation.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Beatings and harassment of
foreigners and members of racial minorities remained a frequent problem
throughout the country.
The FCO defined ``politically motivated crimes'' as offenses
related to the victims' ideology, nationality, ethnicity, race, skin
color, religion, world view, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability
status, appearance, or social status. The FOPC report listed 156 right-
wing extremist organizations and groups. Authorities estimated that as
of the end of 2008 there were approximately 30,000 persons who either
belonged to one or more of these groups or were right-wing extremists
without an organizational affiliation.
In 2008 the FOPC recorded 19,894 right-wing politically motivated
crimes compared with 17,176 such incidents in 2007. Of these, 1,042
were violent in 2008, compared with 980 in 2007. The government
registered 308 right-wing politically motivated crimes involving the
use of weapons in 2008, compared with 359 in 2007. According to recent
statistics from the federal government, 12,066 right-wing extremist
offenses occurred in the first nine months of the year, including 572
violent acts and 8,369 instances of propaganda. In these incidents 576
persons were injured.
On August 13, in the federal state of Thuringia the NPD threatened
a 45-year-old Angolan-born citizen who had supported the Christian
Democratic Union (CDU) party on campaign posters for the August 30
state elections. In a press release the NPD insulted him with a racial
epithet and announced it would seek ``direct talks'' with the man to
make him ``begin a new life in his home country, Angola.'' Thuringia
authorities placed the person under police protection. The CDU state
party filed a complaint against the Thuringian NPD for incitement of
hatred.
On August 22, three supporters of the NDP in Hamburg attacked a
British citizen of African ethnic background at an NDP election stand.
The NDP supporters sprayed the man with pepper spray after he tore up
an NDP flyer they had been distributing. The victim received outpatient
treatment at a hospital. Police arrested the three attackers.
In January 2008 police in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, charged two
men for a racially motivated attack on two young Syrians. The police
described the two suspects as active in a local hooligan gang but
stated they were not neo-Nazis. The investigation was continuing at
year's end.
There was no further information on the continuing investigation
into the 2007 case involving the verbal harassment and beating of an
African-American in Berlin-Spandau.
The state district attorney continued to investigate seven persons
involved in the 2007 incident in Muegeln, Saxony, in which 40 to 50
young persons took part in a fight with eight residents from India. The
altercation developed into a riot with significant injuries, property
damage, and several convictions.
There was no further information on the continuing investigation
into the 2007 attack against several Iraqis traveling on a bus in
Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt. The state prosecutor was investigating three
suspects at year's end.
In the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, the NPD eventually
withdrew election posters ``Stop the Invasion by Poles'' after the
Greifswald Higher Administrative Court ruled on September 19 that the
display of the posters was an act of incitement of hatred and posed a
threat to public order and security.
To address right-wing extremism, authorities conducted a variety of
educational programs to promote tolerance, many focusing on anti-
Semitism and xenophobia. The Federal Ministry of Family, Senior
Citizens, Women, and Youth implemented three complementary federal
programs to combat right-wing extremism: ``Diversity is Good,'' a 19-
million-euro ($27.2 million) per year program designed to train youth,
educators, and immigrants about right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism,
and xenophobia; ``Competent for Democracy,'' a five-million-euro ($7.2
million) per year network to provide counseling in conflict situations;
and ``Places of Diversity,'' a network of organizations, including
political parties, media outlets, churches, and businesses, to promote
tolerance and democracy.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Many LGBT rights groups in the
country report no impediments to their operations or free association.
During the year several gay pride marches occurred around the country
without hindrances. However, media and other reports indicated that
societal and job-related discrimination against LGBT persons occurred,
although such instances were rare. The government reported 54 hate
crimes in 2008 in the OSCE's report, Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region.
According to a study by the Berlin antiviolence project MANEO,
between April 2008 and April 2009 more than 35 percent of LGBT persons
surveyed nationwide experienced some form of violence because of their
sexual orientation. Approximately 11.9 percent of all cases were
registered with the police.
According to federal statistics, there were seven violent and
right-wing extremist crimes in 2008 against persons because of their
sexual orientation and a total of 42 such crimes between 2001 and 2008
nationwide.
On April 5 in Berlin, five youths attacked a gay couple, evidently
because of the victims' sexual orientation. One 42-year-old man
suffered swelling, scrapes, and hematoma on his face; his 35-year-old
partner suffered bruises and scrapes on his upper arm. The state
criminal investigation department took over the investigation.
On July 6, a 45-year-old gay man was attacked with a stone in
Berlin. The police were investigating the attack at year's end.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. The government worked
with NGOs, religious groups, and businesses to educate the public about
HIV/AIDS and its prevention.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution provides for the
right of employees to form and join unions of their choice without
excessive requirements or previous authorization. There is no minimum
membership requirement for a trade union. During the year approximately
21.3 percent of the workforce was organized into unions. The
overwhelming majority of organized workers belonged to eight unions
largely grouped by industry or service sector and affiliated with the
German Trade Union Federation, the country's main trade union umbrella
organization. The constitution permits unions to conduct their
activities without interference, and the government generally respected
this right in practice.
The constitution provides for the right to strike for all workers
except certain civil servants (including teachers) and staff in
sensitive or essential positions, such as members of the armed forces.
Workers not allowed to strike had legal recourse through the courts to
protect their rights. The law prohibits retaliation against strikers,
and the government generally enforced this law.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The
constitution protects the right to collective bargaining, and
agreements are governed by law. Collective agreements are only binding
for trade union members and their respective employer associations. The
government generally respected this right in practice. Collective
bargaining agreements covered approximately 63 percent of the labor
force in the western part of the country and approximately 54 percent
in the east. Collective bargaining agreements negotiated with public
service employees are usually extended to civil servants via
legislation, although such extensions did not always include all of the
provisions of those agreements.
Antiunion discrimination and other forms of employer interference
in union functions are prohibited by law and were not widespread.
However, the International Trade Union Confederation reported during
the year that discriminatory tactics of some employers included
targeted dismissals, demotions, transfers, and discrimination in
recruitment.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
federal statutes prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by
children; however, there were reports that men, women, and children
from Europe, Africa (primarily Nigeria), Asia, and the Western
Hemisphere were trafficked to the country, mainly for sexual
exploitation. The majority of incidents of sexual exploitation occurred
in bars and brothels; labor exploitation of illegal residents occurred
mainly in restaurants, households, transportation, and construction.
Researchers estimate 15,000 persons became victims of sexual
exploitation and forced labor during the year.
The constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and there
were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Comprehensive legislation protects children from exploitation in the
workplace, and the government enforced these laws.
The law prohibits the employment of children younger than 15 with a
few exceptions: children 13 or 14 years of age may do farm work for up
to three hours per day or may deliver newspapers for up to two hours
per day, and children three to 14 years of age may take part in
cultural performances under stringent curbs on the kinds of activity,
number of hours, and times of the day. Abusive child labor was not a
serious problem, although violations did occur mainly in small, often
family-owned businesses such as bars, restaurants, and grocery stores.
The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs enforced the law
effectively through its Factory Inspection Bureau.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The country does not have a
statutory minimum wage. However, binding minimum wages have been
established in 14 branches or sectors (e.g., construction, electrical
trades, painting, postal service) covering an estimated 1.4 million
workers. In August employers and union representatives agreed to
introduce minimum wages for approximately 170,000 workers in waste
management, large-scale laundries, and special mining services. The new
government coalition opposed the introduction of a national minimum
wage but advocated a legal ban on ``immoral'' wages, i.e., those wages
one-third below average wages in a given sector. No further government
action on introduction of minimum wages is expected in the foreseeable
future. Collective bargaining agreements setting minimum pay rates are
enforceable by law and covered an estimated 60 percent of all wage
earners. Individual contracts or company-level contracts negotiated by
worker representatives who are not necessarily members of unions
covered the remaining 40 percent of the workforce.
The law provides for equal treatment of foreign workers, who
generally worked in conditions equal to those of citizens; however,
such workers faced some wage discrimination. For example, some schools
paid foreign teachers less than their citizen counterparts. Employers
also often paid lower wages to seasonal workers from Eastern Europe who
came to the country on temporary work permits. At times, employers paid
workers from other EU countries the same wages they would receive in
their home country, even if the corresponding citizen worker would
receive a higher wage.
Federal regulations limit the workweek to 48 hours, but collective
bargaining agreements may stipulate lower maximums. Contracts that
directly or indirectly affected 80 percent of the working population
regulated the number of hours of work per week. According to the
European Labor Force Survey, the average full-time employee's workweek
was 39.4 hours for women and 40.8 hours for men in 2008; rest periods
for lunch were accepted practices. Provisions for overtime, holiday,
and weekend pay varied depending upon the applicable collective
bargaining agreement.
An extensive set of laws and regulations governs occupational
safety and health. In practice a comprehensive system of worker
insurance carriers enforced safety requirements in the workplace. The
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and its counterparts in the
federal states effectively enforced occupational safety and health
standards through a network of government bodies, including the Federal
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. At the local level,
professional and trade associations--self-governing public corporations
with delegates representing both employers and unions--oversee worker
safety. The law provides for the right to refuse to perform dangerous
or unhealthy work without jeopardy to continued employment.
__________
GREECE
Greece is a constitutional republic and multiparty parliamentary
democracy with an estimated population of 11 million. In October the
Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) won a 10-seat majority in the
unicameral Vouli (parliament) in elections regarded as free and fair,
and Georgios Papandreou became prime minister. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
Human rights abuses reported during the year included: abuse by
security forces, particularly of undocumented immigrants and Roma;
overcrowding and harsh conditions in some prisons; detention of
undocumented migrants in squalid and overcrowded conditions; some legal
restrictions on freedom of speech; restrictions on religious freedom;
detention and deportation of unaccompanied or separated immigrant
minors, including asylum seekers; a lack of adequate reception capacity
or legal aid for asylum seekers and refugees; domestic violence;
discrimination against and exploitation of Romani children; trafficking
in persons; limits on the freedom of some ethnic minority groups to
self-identify; and discrimination against, and social exclusion of,
ethnic minorities, particularly Roma.
After the October elections, the new government took steps to
address several human rights issues: it temporarily closed the Pagani
immigrant detention center, which had been criticized for squalid
conditions; it created an experts' committee to overhaul the country's
asylum law and procedures; and it established local government councils
to act as liaison with immigrants and reduce incidents of police abuse.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed any politically
motivated killings during the year; however, immigrant activists
alleged that police officers killed one person in a scuffle.
In December 2008 authorities arrested two police officers for the
December 2008 killing of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos and
charged them with intentional homicide and complicity in homicide. The
killing set off weeks of riots and demonstrations by youths and self-
styled anarchists in cities across the country. The trial was pending
at year's end.
On January 8, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in the
case Leonidis vs. Greece, determined that the country had violated the
right to life of an 18-year-old-youth who was accidentally killed by a
police officer in 2000 during an arrest.
According to media and immigrant NGOs, on January 3, a Bangladeshi
man died when he fell into a ravine after an alleged scuffle with
police. His death followed the death of a Pakistani man in October 2008
at the same spot. Police denied any involvement in the incidents, which
took place close to immigration headquarters where hundreds of
immigrants gathered every week to submit applications for asylum. Some
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) representing Muslim and immigrant
groups criticized the police for brutality and poor organization of
asylum processing procedures. In October the media reported that the
new minister for citizen's protection held an unprecedented meeting
with Pakistani community leaders to discuss ways to prevent future
incidents.
The trial in the 2007 case of a border guard, who shot and killed
an Albanian immigrant attempting to illegally cross the Greek-Albanian
border, remained pending at year's end.
On February 4, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human
Rights reported that, since 1995, at least 108 persons attempting to
cross the border had been killed and another 187 persons were severely
injured by marked minefields in the Evros area along the Greek-Turkish
border. No minefield-related deaths were reported during the year.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices and provides safeguards
for criminal suspects and illegal immigrants in detention. However,
during the year several international organizations and NGOs reported
abuse by police personnel and the coast guard, particularly of
undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, and Roma.
In January and March, immigrants at the port city of Patras alleged
that they were beaten and abused by coast guard personnel and shipping
company employees. In January witnesses alleged that a coast guard
officer struck an immigrant with a club and severely injured his
finger.
On May 9, according to Amnesty International, local NGOs, and the
media, a group of vigilantes that included members of the far-right
group Golden Dawn attempted to storm an abandoned courthouse in the
center of Athens that was occupied by illegal immigrants. Human rights
activists were injured in the ensuing fighting.
NGOs working to support immigrants' rights accused the police of
physical and verbal abuse during sweeps and identity checks as well as
the destruction of personal property and documents. The deputy
ombudsman for human rights stated that police continued to conduct
identity checks and body and vehicle searches based on racial profiling
and that they targeted specific neighborhoods where immigrants were
known to reside.
On June 30, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) released a report on its September 2008 visit to the
country. The CPT noted that it had received many complaints of police
abuse, such as kicks, punches, and blows with batons, from detained
suspected criminals. The allegations often concerned abuses inflicted
during questioning. One detainee alleged that a police officer
threatened him during a search of his house by holding a hot electric
iron close to his head. Another person claimed that he had been forced
to undress at a police station and was ridiculed by police officers.
In contrast the CPT noted a decline in allegations of police abuse
of detained illegal immigrants from 2007 to 2008 and characterized this
as a ``modest step forward.'' However, immigrants continued to complain
to the CPT that police slapped, kicked, threatened, and verbally
insulted them. For example, after one detained immigrant alleged that
police had beaten him, a CPT medical exam indicated that his cheekbone
and a finger were fractured. The government continued to lack
systematic approaches to preventing such abuses. The report noted that
there were no standards for forensic medical examinations for persons
alleging abuse nor was access to a lawyer or doctor consistently
provided.
In July, according to press reports, a coast guard patrol tied the
hands of 12 Somali immigrants they took from a dinghy and beat them.
The coast guard officers allegedly returned the immigrants to the
dinghy, punctured it, and abandoned it. The immigrants were later
rescued by a tourist boat.
Police mistreated Roma. For example, in May Amnesty International
reported that police allegedly beat a Romani man for several hours at
Aharnon police station in June 2008.
On August 28, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern over excessive use of force by
police against persons belonging to vulnerable groups, in particular
Roma.
In March 2008 the Albanian secretary of the Foreign Immigrants
Union of Larisa alleged he was beaten on his fingers, punched, and
kicked by Thessaloniki police. His criminal complaint was pending in
court at year's end.
In June 2008 media reported that seven police officers and the
director of the Corinth police station tortured, abused, and then
abandoned a mentally ill Romanian national. The officers were
suspended, and a prosecutor's inquiry was pending at year's end.
CERD and such NGOs as the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) continued to
report police mistreatment of Roma, and human rights advocates accused
the court system of failing to prosecute abusive police officers
effectively.
In October media reported the case of five police officers who
allegedly covered up for an officer who abused a citizen in 2004. The
officer, whose abuse resulted in the victim's losing an eye, was shown
to have submitted a false alibi. A trial date for the five officers had
been set, but it had not occurred by year's end. The trial of the
police officer who abused the citizen was pending at year's end.
The case of Theodoros Stefanou, a Rom allegedly beaten by a police
officer in 2001 on the island of Kefalonia, was pending with the ECHR
at year's end. Stefanou took his case to the ECHR in 2007 with help
from the GHM, alleging mistreatment, excessive length of court
proceedings, and the failure of the authorities to investigate his case
promptly due to his ethnicity. The case was pending at year's end.
In July 2008 the UN Human Rights Committee found that the country
had violated an international covenant prohibiting torture in the case
of Andreas Kalamiotis, a Romani man who was allegedly the victim of
police brutality in 2001. The government was given six months to
provide the victim with appropriate reparation and to report to the
committee on measures taken to prevent similar violations in the
future. The government had not taken any such measures as of year's
end.
The trial date for a police officer accused of the attempted rape
of a woman in 2007 had not yet been set by year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in prisons and
detention facilities did not meet international standards. Observers
noted that facilities were seriously overcrowded, degrading, inhumane,
and unsanitary. Poor prison conditions led to multiple prison protests
during the year. NGOs and media reported that female prisoners were
subject to systematic, invasive body cavity searches.
International organizations criticized conditions for detained
immigrants at certain detention centers and police stations, citing
overcrowding, unhygienic facilities, a lack of outdoors and exercise
space, and the intermingling of unaccompanied minors with adults and
female with male detainees. Some authorities reportedly failed to
advise detainees of their rights. NGOs and international entities
reported that certain smaller police and border guard stations had
especially poor conditions.
The Ministry of Justice, Transparency, and Human Rights reported
that, as of June, the total prison population was 11,328 (a decrease of
470 from September 2008), while the official capacity of the prison
system was 7,543.
In its June report on prison and detention center conditions, the
CPT criticized the government for overall unacceptable prison
conditions and noted that there had been no improvement since 1993 with
regard to such problems as the lack of access to medical treatment and
legal counsel or the failure to provide forensic medical examinations
for detainees who alleged mistreatment. The CPT repeated many
criticisms from its 2006 and 2008 reports, observing that conditions in
many police and border guard stations were poor, with overcrowding,
unhygienic conditions, a lack of outdoor exercise facilities, and poor
access to medical care. The CPT reported that the worst facilities
included the Xanthi police and border guard station, which it called
dark, filthy, smelly, and dilapidated; the CPT recommended that this
facility be closed and renovated.
The CPT report also observed that police station facilities
designed for short-term stays were used for prolonged detention, that
most toilet and shower facilities were filthy and in many facilities
only partially operable, and that most detention facilities lacked call
bells. The CPT also found that detainees were rarely informed of their
rights in a language they could understand. The CPT criticized the
government for lacking an independent authority to inspect prisons and
investigate allegations of mistreatment.
Poor prison conditions and overcrowding led to multiple prison
protests during the year. In April inmates in Malandrino prison rioted
after the alleged beating of prisoner Yiannis Dimitrakis; riots spread
to other prisons throughout the country. In May media reported that 611
persons were held in Diavata prison, which had an official capacity of
250. In July inmates in Nafplion prison demonstrated against
overcrowding; the prison held 520 inmates but was designed to hold half
that number. In November media reported that inmates in several prisons
went on hunger strikes to protest prison conditions and overcrowding.
According to these reports, the Aghios Stefanos prison, designed to
hold 360 inmates, was holding 710.
After the November 2008 18-day hunger strike of an estimated 8,000
inmates protesting overcrowding, the Ministry of Justice announced the
early release of up to 5,500 prisoners and new measures for improving
prison conditions. The early releases began in December 2008, but fewer
than 1,000 prisoners had been released as of September.
In October the new minister of citizen's protection ordered the
release of 1,200 illegal immigrants held in detention centers.
NGOs and the media reported that female criminal detainees were
subjected to invasive and humiliating body cavity searches. In March
female inmates in Elaionas Theves prison protested the prison's use of
routine body cavity searches, often performed by unskilled prison
guards and without privacy.
Katerina Goulioni, a female prisoner and prisoners' rights
activist, died while being transported to another prison due to what
authorities reported was a narcotics overdose. Amnesty International
called for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding
Goulioni's death and into the complaints she had lodged about the
degrading and inhuman treatment of female prisoners.
In a report to the parliament in May, the deputy ombudsman for
human rights stated that he had received complaints by female prisoners
that they were systematically subjected to body cavity searches each
time they left the prison (for example, to appear in court or visit a
hospital) and that, upon their return, they were required to take
laxatives and placed in an isolation unit for five days. They
complained that their use of the toilets was monitored by video camera
during this period. The deputy ombudsman stated that this practice was
inhuman and degrading and noted that such body cavity searches should
be conducted rarely and on the basis of a risk assessment. The deputy
ombudsman also reiterated the CPT's 2006 recommendation that such
searches only be done by a medical practitioner, with a prosecutor's
approval, in privacy, and in a way that respected the prisoner's
dignity.
Many humanitarian organizations continued to criticize conditions
in facilities for illegal immigrants, including detention centers and
police and border guard stations. The Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and NGOs echoed the CPT's
observations, noting that conditions in detention centers for illegal
aliens were unacceptable and amounted to serious violations of human
rights. While noting that the government faced a significant influx of
illegal migrants, the CPT stated that this could not justify the
overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, and lack of legal aid or medical
care for detained immigrants.
Diplomatic observers noted in July that the Port Authority of
Patras continued using converted metal shipping containers to hold
detained immigrants.
During the year the deputy ombudsman for children's rights, the
UNHCR, and NGOs reported that conditions in the Pagani detention center
were degrading, inhumane, and unsanitary. Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
called the situation in the center ``a continuing humanitarian
crisis.'' Detainees slept on the floor in flooded cells and lacked
exercise opportunities, and the facility, designed to hold 300 persons,
housed 830, including an estimated 150 to 200 unaccompanied minors.
After elections in October, the new government criticized the
conditions at Pagani, temporarily closed the detention center for
renovations, released some detainees, and relocated others to a
detention center in Chios.
On June 11, the ECHR ruled against the government in the case S.D.
vs. Greece, noting that conditions in the Soufli detention center,
including a lack of medical care, exercise facilities, or contact with
the outside world, as well as excessive length of detention,
constituted degrading treatment. Amnesty International noted this case
as well as the ``appalling unhygienic and overcrowded'' conditions in
detention centers for immigrants.
The CPT's June 30 report reiterated many of the same criticisms
that it raised in 2008 of conditions for illegal migrants detained in
police stations and detention centers. It noted severe overcrowding;
many facilities with little or no natural light; a lack of effective
ventilation; filthy common areas, toilets, and showers, access to which
was limited; dirty mattresses and blankets, which detainees sometimes
had to share; lack of call bells; inconsistent and sometimes
nonexistent medical care; lack of access to exercise and outdoor open
space; confiscation of cell phones and very limited opportunities to
contact individuals outside the prison or a lawyer; and insufficient
quantities of hygienic supplies, such as soap, shampoo, and toilet
paper, for detainees.
The CPT reported that, in principle, detained immigrants are
supposed to be transferred from police or border guard stations to
specialized immigrant detention centers within days; however, in
practice, overcrowding at the centers meant that police stations
sometimes kept immigrant detainees for weeks or months. The CPT
expressed particular concern about the practice of holding male and
female immigrant detainees in the same cells, calling the lack of
specific facilities for females a hazardous situation for women in
terms of safety, privacy, and hygiene. The CPT report identified the
Mytilini (Lesvos) detention center, as well as the Xanthi, Feres,
Iasmos, Exarhia, and Tichero police and border guard stations, as
having particularly poor conditions for immigrant detainees. However,
the CPT also observed that the Filakio detention center and the Thermi
border guard station had good detention conditions, with clean, well-
lighted, and ventilated spaces.
In December diplomatic observers visited the Venna detention center
and the Feres border guard station. The Venna facility held 109 male
adult detainees, with a capacity of 222. Detainees had access to hot
water and medical treatment, but mattresses were soiled, and the cells
had a strong foul odor and lacked natural light. The Feres station held
17 men and four women in separate cells. Conditions were clean, but
cells were small and space for medical examinations was inadequate.
The government permitted monitoring of conditions at some prisons
by certain local and international humanitarian organizations, such as
the CPT, MSF, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
but other organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and local NGOs,
complained of inconsistent or little access to prisons and detention
facilities.
During the year the government passed a law allowing the ombudsman
to conduct inspections on short notice of all prisons in the country.
Prison visits by officials of the ombudsman's office began in
September.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. However, police continued to
conduct large-scale sweeps and temporarily detained large numbers of
foreigners, sometimes in crowded and squalid conditions, while
determining their residency status.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police are
responsible for law enforcement and the maintenance of order within the
country, and the coast guard is responsible for law enforcement in
territorial waters. Both agencies are under the authority of the
Ministry of Citizen's Protection. Law enforcement duties in certain
border areas are shared jointly by the police and the army. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control over the police and
coast guard, but corruption and police impunity continued to be
problems.
In May Amnesty International criticized the police for using
excessive force, violence, and arbitrary arrests during the protests
and riots that followed the December 2008 death of 15-year-old
Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
Police corruption continued to be a problem. During the year the
police Bureau of Internal Affairs took multiple disciplinary measures,
including dismissal and suspension, against officers involved in
corruption, primarily forging documents and taking bribes, violations
involving arms and explosives, illegally releasing persons from
custody, procuring, and violations related to alien registration (see
also section 4).
During the year police and coast guard personnel received training
from government ministries, regional and international organizations,
NGOs, and service academies. Subjects included antiracism,
antitrafficking and victim identification, asylum seeker recognition,
witness protection and interviewing, and crowd control.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires judicial warrants for arrests, except when they are made
during the commission of a crime, and prohibits arbitrary arrest
orders. In practice, police did not always follow these provisions.
Police are required to bring persons who are detained before an
examining magistrate within 24 hours. The magistrate has a maximum of
24 hours to issue a detention warrant or order the detainee's release.
Pretrial detention may last up to 18 months, depending on the severity
of the crime. A panel of judges may release detainees pending trial.
Pretrial detainees made up approximately 30 percent of those
incarcerated and contributed to prison overcrowding, according to
figures provided by the Ministry of Justice. Some defense lawyers and
legal activists asserted that pretrial detention was supposed to be
reserved for exceptional cases but that it had become the norm. They
also asserted that the detention period was excessively long. Bail is
available for defendants detained on felony charges unless a judicial
officer determines that the defendant is a flight risk. The law
provides detainees the right to contact a close relative or third
party, access a lawyer, and access medical services. In felony cases,
the bar association provides lawyers to indigent defendants. While
detainees were generally informed promptly of charges against them,
foreign detainees sometimes did not have access to a court-appointed
interpreter. Many detained persons complained that they were not
informed of their rights in a language they could understand.
The CPT reported in June that it continued to receive complaints
from detainees who had been denied contact with a close relative,
lawyer, or doctor.
Individuals accused of misdemeanors may be tried under expedited
procedures that, at times, undermined defendants' basic rights due to
the brevity and swiftness of the trial. Although such defendants
enjoyed the right to counsel, the short time period limited defendants'
ability to present an adequate defense. Defendants may request a delay
to prepare a defense, but the court is not obliged to grant their
requests. Expedited procedures were used in less than 10 percent of
applicable cases.
During the year the ombudsman reported several instances where
police took persons to police stations arbitrarily for identity checks,
used insulting language and threats of force, and conducted body
searches in public. The ombudsman noted that the number of complaints
that police conducted investigations without soliciting testimony from
victims increased during the year. Police reportedly targeted persons
based on their race, color, nationality, or presence in high-crime
areas or in neighborhoods frequented by illegal immigrants.
In May Amnesty International accused the police of making arbitrary
arrests during the riots and demonstrations that followed the December
2008 death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected this
provision in practice; however, observers reported that the judiciary
was inefficient and sometimes subject to influence and corruption. The
judiciary sometimes acted more leniently toward those claiming a
political motivation for their acts of property destruction (professed
anarchists) than it did for others. For example, anarchists were
frequently given suspended sentences in lieu of prison time or fines.
During the year several opinions by the ECHR criticized the
government for unreasonably long trials and found the court system to
be inefficient.
During the year the UN independent expert on minority issues as
well as legal and human rights groups, including the GHM, reported that
Roma experienced police brutality, difficulty in accessing justice, and
excessive delays in civil cases. Legal observers and NGOs reported
discriminatory attitudes and language directed towards Roma in court.
The trial of two police officers charged with killing 15-year-old
Alexandros Grigoropoulos in December 2008 was pending at year's end.
Officials from both the government and opposition parties at the time
had made statements after the killing that observers noted implied
presumption of the officers' guilt.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Defendants
enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are public in most instances,
and juries are used in all first and second-degree felony cases. The
law permits denial of the right to a jury trial in cases of violent
terrorism. Defendants have the right to be present at trial and to
consult with an attorney in a timely manner. An attorney is provided to
indigent defendants facing serious charges. Defendants may question
witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their
behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held
evidence relevant to their cases. They have the right to appeal.
Defendants who do not speak Greek have the right to a court-appointed
interpreter.
Some NGOs reported during the year that the quality and
availability of court interpretation for non-Greek speakers varied from
trial to trial.
The government recognizes Shari'a (Islamic law) as the law
regulating family and civic issues of the Muslim minority in Thrace.
Muslims married by a government-appointed mufti are subject to Shari'a
family law. Many NGO and media reports characterized Shari'a as
discriminatory against women, especially in child custody, divorce, or
inheritance cases.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is a generally
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters. The law provides
citizens with the ability to sue the government for compensation for
alleged violations of rights.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary
interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence; however,
these provisions were not always respected in practice.
Police and prosecutors conducted raids and searches of Romani and
immigrant neighborhoods, frequently entering homes without
authorization in search of criminal suspects, drugs, and weapons. Local
authorities threatened to force evicted Roma from camps and tent
dwellings during the year. NGOs and media regularly reported that
police beat or harassed unlicensed immigrant street vendors and
undocumented immigrants.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law generally
provide for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice. However, the law
prohibits speech that endangers the country's foreign relations,
spreads false information or rumors causing fear among citizens, causes
rivalry or division among citizens, or incites citizens to disturb the
peace or commit acts of violence. In practice, these legal prohibitions
were seldom invoked. In most criminal defamation cases, defendants were
released on bail pending trial without serving time in jail.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately
without reprisal, and the government did not impede criticism.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction.
The law provides for the government to exercise ``immediate
control'' over radio and television stations and establishes ownership
limits on media frequencies. State-operated stations emphasized the
government's views but also reported objectively on other parties'
positions.
The law requires that radio and television stations broadcast
primarily in Greek and that radio stations broadcast 24 hours a day. It
sets minimum capitalization requirements and numbers of employees.
Members of the Muslim minority in Thrace stated that the law
discriminated against smaller, independent, Turkish-language stations.
During the year the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates
Association reported that the government had begun to enforce the law,
with one Turkish-language radio station receiving a violation notice.
The law allows any prosecutor to order the seizure of publications
that insult the president, offend Christianity or any religion, contain
obscenity, advocate the violent overthrow of the political system, or
disclose military secrets. The government did not enforce this law
during the year.
The law punishes individuals who ``intentionally incite others to
actions that could provoke discrimination, hatred, or violence against
persons or groups of persons on the basis of their race or ethnic
origin or express ideas insulting to persons or to groups of persons
because of their race or ethnic origin.''
In May Reporters without Borders reported multiple instances of
anarchists and other violent protestors assaulting, harassing, and
threatening journalists covering the riots and demonstrations that
followed the December 2008 death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos. These
included a December 2008 assault on two French correspondents; a
February 11 bombing of the offices of two Greek newspapers, Ta Nea and
Avriani; a February 17 attack on the television station Alter; and a
February 21 public manifesto by terrorist organization Revolutionary
Struggle that threatened journalists.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Internet was available throughout the country and widely used.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 32.6 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
The libel and defamation trial of an Internet blog administrator
who, on one of his Web sites, allegedly called a Greek Orthodox
televangelist ``stupid'' was postponed until May 2010.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--In general there were no
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
On March 7, the NGO Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece
(OLKE) protested a demand made by the National Opera that a French
theatrical director cut a scene in which two male characters kiss.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and the government generally respected this right in practice.
In May Amnesty International released a report alleging that police
had used excessive force and punitive violence against peaceful
demonstrators protesting the December 2008 police shooting of
Alexandros Grigoropoulos rather than addressing the rioters who were
destroying property. Amnesty International alleged that police beat two
of its members and criticized police for making arbitrary arrests
during the demonstrations.
On May 22, immigrant activists in Athens had a minor altercation
with police during a demonstration to protest the actions of an officer
who allegedly damaged a Koran during an identity check of an immigrant
two days earlier.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association; however, the government continued to place legal
restrictions on the names of associations involving certain ethnic
minorities. The courts did not allow the registration of nonprofit
associations of nationals who claimed to be of Macedonian ethnic
origin, charging that the founders of such groups were seeking to
undermine the country's territorial integrity and cultural identity.
Similarly, the courts refused to register associations that included
the term ``Turkish'' in their names, arguing that applicants intended
to promote the idea that an ethnic, as contrasted to a religious,
minority existed in Thrace.
The government continued to refuse to allow the registration of the
group Home of Macedonian Culture as an association in accordance with
the provisions of the civil code. During the year international
organizations and NGOs expressed concern that this practice violated
freedom of association. The ECHR ruled against the government's denial
of the organization's registration in 1998. In June the Supreme Court
upheld a prior appeals court decision denying the group legal
registration.
In September the Appeals Court of Thrace rejected the application
of the Turkish Union of Xanthi for legal recognition. The ECHR had
ruled in March 2008 that the country was violating the freedom of
association of the Muslim minority by refusing to recognize the
organization. The ECHR had also ruled against the government's refusal
to register the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of Rodopi. The
ECHR upheld its decision in October 2008 following the Greek
government's appeal. In December 2008 the Turkish Union of Xanthi
returned to court to seek recognition in line with the ECHR decision.
Upon rejecting the petition, the Appeals Court of Thrace stated that
the ECHR's ruling was not binding and that the ECHR had neglected to
consider ``political'' factors in its decision.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. However, some non-Orthodox groups faced administrative
obstacles or legal restrictions on their religious practices.
An estimated 97 percent of the population identifies itself as
Greek Orthodox. The remaining 3 percent is comprised of Muslims, Roman
Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Old Calendarist Orthodox, Jehovah's
Witnesses, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(Mormons), Scientologists, Baha'is, Hare Krishna devotees, and
followers of polytheistic Hellenic religions.
The constitution establishes the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ
(Greek Orthodoxy) as the ``prevailing'' religion but also provides for
the right of all citizens to practice the religion of their choice. The
Greek Orthodox Church continued to exercise significant political and
economic influence. The government in effect recognized the Orthodox
canon law. Privileges and legal prerogatives granted to the Orthodox
Church were not routinely extended to other religious groups. Orthodox
Church officials refused to enter into official dialogue with religious
groups that they considered harmful to Orthodox worshippers, and some
officials instructed their members to shun members of groups that they
consider sacrilegious, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and
Protestant and evangelical Christian churches.
Non-Orthodox citizens claimed that they faced greater limits on
advancement in the military, police, firefighting force, and civil
service due to their religious beliefs.
Orthodox religious instruction in public primary and secondary
schools is mandatory, but non-Orthodox students are exempted from
religious instruction.
The government supports the Orthodox Church financially; for
example, the government pays for the salaries and religious training of
clergy and finances the maintenance of Orthodox Church buildings. In
Thrace the government also pays the salaries and some expenses of the
three official Muslim religious leaders (muftis) and provides an
allowance to some imams. Nonrecognized Muslim leaders outside Thrace
receive no such support. No other religious group receives governmental
financial assistance. Some groups, such as the Jewish community, have
requested equal treatment with the Orthodox Church and Muslim Minority
of Thrace on this issue.
In 2007 the government announced a law to hire 240 imams in Thrace
as public employees, with five-member committees to review the imams'
qualifications. While the hiring process in the prefectures of Xanthi
and Evros progressed during the year, the mufti overseeing the
prefecture of Rodopi refused to approve the hiring of imams in his
district unless the mufti were given more authority in the hiring
committee and the five-member committee included two Islamic scholars.
In December the government agreed to these conditions and ratification
of a new law was pending at year's end.
Some religious groups faced administrative obstacles or legal
restrictions on their religious practices. The Orthodox Church, Jewish
organizations, and certain Muslim groups are the only religious groups
deemed to be ``legal entities of public law,'' able to own, bequeath,
and inherit property and appear in court under their own names as
religious organizations. Other religious groups cannot own ``houses of
prayer'' (places of worship) or other property directly as religious
entities but must create other corporate legal associations .''legal
entities of private la.'') in order to own, bequeath, or inherit
property or to appear in court. In order for such an association to be
recognized as a religious organization, the religious group must also
be a ``known religion'' or dogma. While no formal mechanism existed for
a religious group to gain recognition as a known religion, court
rulings require known religions to have publicly taught doctrine with
rites of worship that are open to the public, to be nonprofit in
nature, to not adversely affect public order or morality, and to have a
clear hierarchy of religious authorities.
The Ministry of Education and Religion indirectly recognized groups
as known religions by issuing to them ``house of prayer'' permits. A
separate permit is required for each physical place of worship, but a
religious group with at least one valid permit is considered a ``known
religion.'' Some religious groups, such as Roman Catholics,
Pentecostals, Baha'is, Methodists, Mormons, evangelicals, and Jehovah's
Witnesses were recognized as known religions. Other groups, such as
Scientologists, Hare Krishna devotees, and polytheistic Hellenic
religious groups, have applied for but not received house-of-prayer
permits nor recognition as known religions. The Ministry of Education
and Religion has not issued new house-of-prayer permits or recognized
any new religious groups since 2006.
In March 2008 the government announced the additional requirement
that applicants receive approval from the local Urban Planning
Department in order to receive house of prayer permits. Members of some
religious groups complained that the government's policy effectively
prevented minority religious groups from opening any new places of
worship. During the year Baha'is reported that they had one house-of-
prayer permit application pending with the government, and Jehovah's
Witnesses reported that they had at least 12 applications pending, some
dating to 2005.
The law extends recognition as a legal entity of private law to
Roman Catholic churches and related entities established prior to 1946.
Roman Catholic institutions established in the country after 1946,
however, do not enjoy such recognition, despite several attempts by the
church to have them recognized and the brief formation of a committee
under the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs in 2006 to
develop a legislative solution.
In late September, the deputy ombudsman for human rights stated
that government delays in issuing house of prayer permits were
violations of previous Supreme Court and ECHR rulings.
The constitution prohibits proselytizing and stipulates that no
rite of worship may ``disturb public order or offend moral
principles.'' During the year officials of missionary faiths expressed
concern that antiproselytizing laws remained in effect. In a September
report, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
also expressed concern that proselytizing remained a criminal offense.
The government responded that antiproselytizing laws have ``long since
fallen into disuse'' and that only proselytizing that was coercive or
disturbed public order was illegal.
The Mormon Church reported that local police detained and
intimidated its missionaries in late June and in mid-September,
accusing them of proselytizing. In both cases, the missionaries were
released within one or two hours.
During the summer police in Kalamata accused the leader of an
evangelical group of proselytizing and detained him for two hours.
During the year Muslim community leaders in Athens stated that
their biggest concern relating to religious freedom was the continued
lack of an official mosque, Islamic cemetery, or recognized Muslim
clergy in Athens.
During the year Muslim leaders expressed satisfaction with the
proposed location of a mosque in the central Athens neighborhood of
Votanikos but called for construction to begin more quickly. In 2000
parliament approved plans for an official mosque and cultural center,
and in 2006 it passed a revised bill approving construction of a mosque
only. In May, in response to a parliamentary inquiry, the Ministry of
National Defense stated that it was unable to vacate the land
designated for the mosque, claiming that relocating the naval
facilities currently on the designated land would be cost-prohibitive.
A Muslim cultural center in Athens that functioned as an unofficial
mosque continued to operate without a house of prayer permit at year's
end. Muslim community associations estimated that there were more than
200 unofficial prayer rooms throughout the country. Since the
government does not recognize Muslim clerics outside Thrace, Muslims
elsewhere had to travel to Thrace or go abroad for official Muslim
weddings and funerals.
The law provided for cremation, and in March the government issued
a presidential decree specifying guidelines for municipalities to
construct crematoria. According to these regulations, only
municipalities may operate cremation facilities; private funeral
parlors cannot own crematoria. However, no municipality had begun
construction of a crematorium by year's end. As a result, cremation of
remains had to take place outside of the country.
During the year the government and the Jewish community of
Thessaloniki continued discussions on compensation for the community's
cemetery, expropriated after its destruction during the Holocaust.
Aristotle University, a public institution, was built over the
expropriated cemetery soon after World War II. In July a Ministry of
Finance experts' committee, which included a member of the Jewish
community, proposed a compensation solution. Ministry of Finance
officials stated in December that they were committed to a solution
based on this proposal. Official approval for the compensation plan was
pending at the Ministry of Finance at year's end.
International Jewish NGOs expressed concern that subway
construction in the vicinity of the Thessaloniki Jewish cemetery could
disturb human remains. The government continued dialogue with the
Jewish community to address these concerns.
An officially recognized Muslim minority of 100,000 to 120,000
resides in Thrace, and the government appoints three muftis there. Some
members of the Muslim minority did not recognize the authority of the
officially appointed muftis and instead elected two separate muftis,
one in Xanthi and one in Rodopi, in elections in which only men were
allowed to vote. Some Muslim minority NGOs called on the government to
recognize the elected muftis.
In Thrace the government subsidized bilingual Greek-Turkish public
schools and two Islamic religious schools (termed ``ecclesiastical high
schools'' by the government).
The law requires all civil servants to take a religious oath before
entering office. Persons not belonging to the Orthodox Church may take
an oath in accordance with their own beliefs. In October, 34 members of
parliament refused to take a religious oath during swearing-in
ceremonies and were allowed to take a secular oath.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Followers of non-Orthodox
faiths reported incidents of societal discrimination, including
warnings by Greek Orthodox bishops to their parishioners not to visit
the leaders or members of these faiths and requests that police arrest
missionaries for proselytizing. Some non-Orthodox religious communities
encountered difficulty in communicating with officials of the Orthodox
Church and claimed that the attitude of the Orthodox Church toward
their faiths increased societal intolerance toward their religions.
During the year Orthodox Church leaders increased unofficial dialogue
with members of smaller non-Orthodox religious groups. With the
exception of the growing Muslim immigrant population, however, most
members of non-Orthodox faiths considered themselves integrated into
society.
In September an arson attack took place against the Toxotes Mosque
in Thrace, and the fire damaged interior carpets and part of the roof.
Government officials condemned the attack in October and installed new
security cameras afterward. Muslim minority NGOs reported that this was
the third time the mosque had been attacked since 2004, each time prior
to national elections. A police investigation was pending at year's
end.
Members of the Alevite (Alevi) community in Thrace, who follow a
religion comprising Shi'a and Sufi elements of Islam and number
approximately 3,000 adherents, claimed religious harassment from the
Sunni majority in their villages. The Alevites reported that Sunni
community leaders had taken control of Alevite house of worship,
denying them access to perform maintenance, and disrupted their
traditional festivals.
Local leaders estimated the Jewish community to number 5,000.
Expressions of anti-Semitism continued to occur, particularly in the
extremist press. The mainstream press and public often mixed negative
comments about Jews with criticism of the Israeli government.
There continued to be reports of vandalism of Jewish monuments
during the year. From December 2008 to January, synagogues, Holocaust
monuments, and Jewish cemeteries in Athens, Larissa, Volos, Corfu,
Veroia, Drama, Komotini, and Ioannina were desecrated with anti-Semitic
graffiti. In January, March, and June the Jewish cemetery in Ioannina
was vandalized and gravestones were damaged. The government almost
always condemned such acts of anti-Semitism. On June 17, the minister
of foreign affairs publicly condemned the Ioannina vandalism.
The Jewish Community continued to protest anti-Semitic passages in
the Greek Orthodox Church's Holy Week liturgy, but reported that it
remained in dialogue with the church on removal of the passages.
In 2007 the GHM and the Central Board of Jewish Communities brought
charges against the newspaper Eleftheros Kosmos and former LAOS
political party candidate Kostas Plevris for racism and anti-Semitism.
Plevris was acquitted by an appeals court in March of his 2007
conviction for inciting hatred and racial violence with his book The
Jews--The Whole Truth. A public prosecutor subsequently filed a
``cassation in favor of the law'' with the Supreme Court against the
decision, seeking to ensure it would not be used as a precedent in the
future. The decision was pending at year's end.
In January the government cosponsored commemorative events
throughout the country for Holocaust Remembrance Day. Government
officials attended the events, and the minister of foreign affairs
issued a public statement. On June 17, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
published a book, Greeks in Auschwitz-Birkenau, and held a public event
in remembrance of Greeks killed in Nazi concentration camps.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
free movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation for all citizens, and the government generally respected
these rights in practice. However, immigrants with temporary residence
permits faced prolonged delays in renewing their permits and were
sometimes denied the right of repatriation, and thus faced practical
limits on their foreign travel. During the year the government began to
cooperate more closely with the UNHCR and other humanitarian
organizations in providing assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, and
stateless persons. The UNHCR, local and international NGOs, and
international organizations criticized the country's asylum process,
its poor treatment of asylum seekers, and a lack of protections for
unaccompanied minors.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
The law permits the government to remove citizenship from persons
who commit acts contrary to the country's interests for the benefit of
a foreign state. The historical number of such cases was reported to be
low, and there were no reports of new cases during the year.
Due to bureaucratic problems and delays in the legalization process
for immigrants, many aliens were in a semi-legal status, holding
expired residency permits while going through the process of renewal.
Without current residency permits, immigrants encountered difficulty in
accessing government services. In addition, immigrants holding certain
types of temporary residency permits were given limited periods of time
during which they could leave the country and still return, effectively
restricting their right to foreign travel and repatriation. During the
year NGOs reported multiple instances of immigrants subjected to
summary deportation without legal due process. The law provides for
legalization of undocumented immigrants who can prove by a visa stamp
or possession of a tax roll number that they entered the country before
2005. However, the ombudsman noted that this system of legalization
remained disorganized and that a database of residence permits had not
been created.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to both the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum and humanitarian protection and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
International monitoring organizations, local and international NGOs,
the ombudsman, and foreign governments criticized the country's asylum
process, its poor treatment of asylum seekers, and a lack of
protections for unaccompanied minors.
According to the UNHCR, asylum seekers filed 16,676 applications
and 11,144 asylum appeals from January to October. The government
reviewed 21,626 applications and 3,043 appeals during this period. Only
six applicants (0.02 percent) received refugee status at the initial
claim level, while the government only granted 344 appeals (11.3
percent). An additional 25 persons were granted special humanitarian
status.
During the year the government recorded 12,727 asylum requests, 36
approvals, and 14,190 rejections (many being cases from previous years)
at the initial claim level.
The government also provided temporary protection to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees and provided humanitarian status to 55
individuals in 2008.
The UNHCR reported that, as of July, the government had a backlog
of 6,145 unprocessed initial claims for asylum and 42,700 appeals.
In practice, the government provided only limited protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion. Many NGOs and international organizations reported
that authorities summarily deported illegal immigrants, including
asylum seekers, across Greek-Turkish land and maritime borders.
In July the government reorganized the asylum process,
decentralizing asylum decision making to 55 regional offices throughout
the country, eliminating the asylum appeals board and making police
authorities the ultimate arbiters of asylum cases. The new regulations
extended the period of permissible administrative detention for illegal
immigrants from six to as long as 18 months. A coalition of NGOs and
international organizations, including the UNHCR and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM), immediately criticized the new
regulations. The UNHCR did not participate in the new asylum procedure,
stating that it was neither efficient nor fair to asylum seekers and
that the abolition of the administrative appeals board would deprive
asylum seekers of access to an effective remedy. Amnesty International
reported that the new regulations limited lawyers' access to case files
and clients in detention and put some asylum seekers who were also
illegal immigrants at risk of arrest, because asylum applications must
be filed in person. Amnesty International also noted that the new
requirement that asylum seekers file their applications immediately
upon entry deprived would-be asylum seekers who were detained
immediately upon arrival of the protection of an existing provision of
the law ensuring that all would-be asylum seekers have access to the
asylum process.
In November the new minister for 'citizen's protection announced
the creation of a committee of experts from various ministries, NGOs,
and academia to propose recommendations for overhauling the country's
asylum process and for setting up a new independent agency for
processing asylum claims. The UNHCR and domestic and international NGOs
welcomed this announcement. The committee's report was pending at
year's end.
NGOs and refugee activists reported that asylum interviews were
typically short and superficial. Immigrant advocates alleged that
asylum seekers were often forced to sign documents without knowing
their contents or without interpreters, resulting in nearly automatic
refusals. Unaccompanied minors who did not apply for asylum or who were
refused asylum were not granted protective status and were subject to
repeated detention or to deportation.
In July Human Rights Watch criticized the government for illegal
push-backs of migrants at the Turkish border, for puncturing
immigrants' rubber dinghies in the Aegean Sea, and various legal and
administrative ``tricks'' to keep asylum seekers from filing claims.
Human Rights Watch noted that interpreters and asylum lawyers were in
short supply throughout the country. The government stated during the
year that human smugglers punctured dinghies as a tactic in order to
make sure the coast guard would be forced to pick up the immigrant
passengers.
In August Human Rights Watch urged the government to create new
open centers for immigrant unaccompanied minors. According to the Human
Rights Watch report, the country provides an estimated 300 places in
state care for such children, but these were full throughout the year.
Human Rights Watch stated that an estimated 1,000 immigrant children
entered the country without a parent or caregiver in 2008.
Local NGOs and government officials criticized EU regulations that
determine how asylum seekers may apply for asylum within an EU country.
According to the regulations, an asylum seeker must usually file an
asylum claim in the first EU country of arrival. Government and NGO
representatives claimed this placed an undue asylum burden on the
country, given its geographical location at the southeast edge of
Europe and its proximity to migration source countries. The
representatives urged the EU to reform the regulations so that asylum
seekers claims would be more evenly distributed among EU member states.
On January 3, a Bangladeshi man in a queue to file an asylum claim
at the Athens Petrou Ralli police station fell into a nearby ditch and
died. Immigrant activists alleged that the man died as a result of
police scuffling with immigrant asylum seekers outside of the station.
On July 12, authorities destroyed a long-standing campsite at
Patras occupied by an estimated 600 to 1,000 male Afghani immigrants,
including unaccompanied minors. Local NGOs, international
organizations, the media, and diplomatic observers had noted in prior
months that living and hygienic conditions in the settlement were poor,
with human waste and refuse scattered throughout the site. Amnesty
International criticized the forced eviction of the immigrants and
called on the government to provide emergency relief, including
shelter, access to water, and medical assistance to the reported 80 to
100 persons left without shelter at the time of the demolition, and to
take measures to identify and protect the unaccompanied minors said to
be among them.
The government stated that it wished to increase the number of
formal, legal deportations of immigrants to Turkey and the number of
readmission agreements between the country and migration source
countries.
In December 2008 Human Rights Watch reported on the country's
``systematic failure'' to protect unaccompanied immigrant children,
alleging that minors were detained in the same cells as adults, age and
vulnerability assessment procedures were inadequate, child trafficking
victims were not identified properly, and unaccompanied minors faced
severe problems in applying for asylum. The law requires that
unaccompanied immigrant minors be provided with a temporary guardian,
regardless of whether the child has applied for asylum. In practice,
the government seldom provided a guardian or safe accommodation for
immigrant children, leaving minors vulnerable to homelessness and labor
exploitation.
During the year the UNHCR and international and domestic NGOs
continued to urge EU countries to refrain from returning asylum seekers
to the country under the EU's Dublin II regulations because a
substantial number of asylum seekers continued to face serious
challenges in accessing and enjoying effective protection. NGOs
reported that authorities routinely deported asylum seekers without due
process. Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands suspended returns of
asylum seekers to the country in 2008. However, in June the Netherlands
resumed these returns.
The UNHCR noted that, although the country had taken a number of
steps to improve its asylum practices, a substantial number of asylum
seekers continued to face serious challenges in accessing and enjoying
effective protection. Essential procedural safeguards were not
maintained throughout the process of determining whether candidates
were entitled to refugee status, at both the first instance and appeals
levels, to the detriment of asylum seekers. The UNHCR also highlighted
the lack of interpreters and legal aid, undue hardships in the hearing
and adjudication of claims, problematic conditions and limited capacity
in reception centers, and excessively long waiting periods for appeals
decisions.
The commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe reported
in February that he remained extremely concerned at the persistence of
grave, systemic deficiencies in the country's asylum practices that put
at risk the fundamental right to seek and to enjoy asylum. The
commissioner called for the establishment of a coherent and adequately
resourced action plan on refugee protection and noted that insufficient
reception capacity for asylum seekers made their lives even more
difficult, especially for children. The commissioner stated that he was
particularly concerned with the serious deficiencies in the protection
of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, the chronic lack of
interpreters, and with the existence of mined areas in the Evros region
of the country.
Conditions for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers detained by
authorities were generally unsatisfactory. NGOs and international
organizations continued to criticize detention procedures and
facilities for refugees and asylum seekers as inadequate. All new
arrivals, without exception, were placed under a deportation order
without having the chance to first file for asylum, and detention was
continued, even if an asylum application had been submitted.
The UNHCR, Amnesty International, the ECRI, the deputy ombudsman
for human rights, and the MSF expressed concern over the country's
asylum policy and practices. Specific problems included unacceptable
living conditions; lack of permanent reception facilities with decent
living conditions; the use of ad hoc facilities (primarily on the
islands, when a boatload of refugees arrived); underdeveloped systems
to provide for refugee welfare; insufficient counseling to assist in
the integration of refugees and asylum seekers; a lack of appropriate
facilities for unaccompanied minors who were potential asylum seekers;
and deficient interpretation and legal counseling for asylum seekers,
in particular at entry points.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents and
not by birth within the country.
The Ministry of the Interior reported to parliament in 2005 that
46,638 Muslims from Thrace and the Dodecanese islands lost their
citizenship when they left the country between 1955 and 1998. The law
that permitted this divestment of citizenship was repealed in 1998, and
these ``stateless'' residents are eligible to recover their citizenship
as long as they live in the country. Some members of the Muslim
minority claimed that this policy penalized stateless Muslims who had
moved abroad and subsequently acquired citizenship from another
country.
In 2007 the Ministry of the Interior stated that it had restored
nationality to 36 persons and issued special identity cards to 65 of
these stateless Muslims.
In February, in response to a report by the Council of Europe's
Commissioner for Human Rights, the government stated that most
``stateless'' Muslims now lived abroad and had acquired other
citizenship. Stateless residents were denied access to such benefits as
social security, medical care, and pensions.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The country held
parliamentary elections in October; the elections were considered free
and fair. The Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) won a 10-seat
majority in the unicameral Vouli (parliament), and Georgios Papandreou
became the new prime minister. Four parties passed the 3 percent
threshold for parliamentary representation. Opposition parties
functioned freely and had broad access to the media.
Some Roma reported that local authorities deprived them of the
right to vote by refusing to register them. Some Roma had difficulty
meeting the municipal residency requirements to register to vote.
According to the law, voting is mandatory for citizens over age 18
years old; however, there are many conditions under which citizens may
be exempted, and there was no penalty for not voting.
There were 51 women in the 300-seat parliament and two women in the
17-member cabinet. A quota system requires 30 percent of all local
government candidates to be women. At the three highest courts, women
comprised 14 of 61 Council of State justices, 28 of 59 Supreme
Administrative Court justices, and three of 62 Supreme Court justices.
The PASOK-led government elected in October appointed five female
ministers out of 19 cabinet posts.
There were two members of the Muslim minority of Thrace in the 300-
seat parliament; there were no members in the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not always implement the law effectively,
and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Media, international organizations, NGOs, and World Bank governance
indicators indicated that corruption was a serious and growing problem.
NGOs and media reported throughout the year that the government
lacked success in tackling corruption. Mutual accusations of corruption
among political parties were a regular part of political life during
the year. The government continued to pursue an in-depth investigation
into judicial corruption and took steps to trace and apprehend corrupt
government procurement officials, tax collectors, and police officers.
Despite these efforts, during the year major corruption cases continued
to surface.
During the year NGOs combating trafficking in persons alleged that
members of the police vice squad were routinely seen colluding with
procurers or receiving bribes and free sexual services from persons
illegally engaging in prostitution.
Transparency International released a report in February stating
that in 2008 more than 13 percent of citizens bribed officials,
primarily in health, tax, and urban planning agencies. In April
parliament narrowly voted not to prosecute a former minister for the
Aegean, who was under investigation for receiving bribes over awarding
ferry route contracts.
In June the police Bureau of Internal Affairs reportedly arrested
an Aliens Division police officer who was taking bribes in order to
accept asylum applications. The officer was suspended from duty pending
a criminal investigation.
In July, the Ministry of Justice suspended the director and the
chief warden of two prisons on Crete from duty and ordered an
investigation of corruption and violations of the prison code.
In 2008 two judges were dismissed on corruption-related charges.
Several continuing corruption investigations from 2008 involving as
many as 20 judges were pending at year's end. A judge who fled the
country in 2008 was still hiding abroad at year's end.
The June 2008 criminal case in which the police Bureau of Internal
Affairs dismantled a smuggling ring involving border guards, police,
and intelligence personnel was pending at year's end.
The November 2008 case of coast guard personnel from Patras
arrested on charges of alien smuggling was investigated by the former
Ministry of Mercantile Marine during the year. The results of the
inquiry were not made public.
The November 2008 case of eight Thessaloniki police officers
convicted in connection with the beating of a Cypriot student in 2006
was still pending in appeals court at year's end. The student filed for
1 million euros ($1.4 million) in compensation.
There are income disclosure laws for high-ranking public officials
and members of parliament.
The constitution provides for the right of access to government-
held information. However, NGOs and media observers noted that access
to information was sometimes difficult in practice due to bureaucratic
delays.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
often were cooperative, especially with international human rights
organizations, and responsive to their views. The ombudsman and many
local NGOs reported that the government's relationship with NGOs
improved during the year.
Several NGOs reported harassment or threats. A leader of the
antitrafficking organization European Network of Women (ENOW) reported
multiple threats and media and prosecutorial harassment, all related to
a continuing appeals court case involving an ENOW-supported witness and
a convicted trafficker.
The law provides for an independent ombudsman. The Office of the
Ombudsman provided an effective means for citizens to report human
rights and religious freedom problems. The office was granted adequate
resources to perform its other functions, which included mediating
between private individuals and public administration and defending and
promoting children's rights.
There were five deputy ombudsmen who dealt, respectively, with
human rights, children's rights, citizen-state relations, health and
social welfare, and quality of life. The deputy ombudsman for human
rights received complaints during the year regarding the government's
handling of residence and work provisions for immigrants, overcrowding
in prisons and detention centers for illegal aliens, unjustified
procedural difficulties in acquiring citizenship, excessive and
unjustified delays in processing applications by Muslims from Thrace to
recover citizenship lost under pre-1998 laws, arbitrary acceptance or
denial of asylum seekers' applications, discrimination against aliens,
and police brutality. Personnel of the ombudsman's office were granted
access to several prisons during the year for unannounced inspections.
The government-funded National Commission for Human Rights is an
autonomous human rights body. The commission is the government's
advisory body on the protection of human rights. During the year it
produced reports on the situation and rights of Roma, the abolition of
a religious oath, and the freedom of expression of justices.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and the law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status; however, the government
did not protect these rights consistently in practice.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime. Conviction rates
for rape were low for first-time offenders, but sentences were harsh
for repeat offenders. According to police statistics, 128 rape or
attempted rape cases were reported in the first six months of the year,
and police arrested 122 rape suspects, 59 of whom were noncitizens. In
2008 police reported 232 rapes and attempted rapes. A 2006 academic
study indicated that only 6 percent of rapes were reported to police.
The government reported in 2007 that 22 men were convicted of rape.
Medical, psychological, social, and legal support from the
government and NGOs were usually available to rape victims.
Domestic violence, including spousal abuse, continued to be a
problem. The General Secretariat for Gender Equality, the UN Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and NGOs reported
that domestic violence was common. The law provides for prosecution by
force of law, without the need for a victim to press charges, for all
domestic violence crimes. Penalties range from two to 10 years'
imprisonment, depending on the gravity of the crime.
The General Secretariat for Gender Equality (GSGE), an independent
government agency, estimated that only 6 to 10 percent of domestic
violence victims contacted the police, and only a small fraction of
those cases reached trial.
Despite training efforts the GSGE reported that police tended to
discourage women from pursuing domestic violence charges, encouraging
them instead to undertake reconciliation efforts. NGOs reported that
courts were lenient on male offenders in domestic violence cases.
Police stations generally had a manual on how police should treat
victims of domestic violence. The GSGE, in cooperation with the
Ministry of Citizens' Protection, trained police on working with
domestic violence victims.
The GSGE provided counseling and assistance to domestic violence
victims. Two GSGE shelters for battered women and their children, in
Athens and Piraeus, offered services including legal and psychological
help. The GSGE operated a 24-hour emergency telephone hotline for
abused women, and the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity operated
a hotline providing referrals and psychological counseling for victims
of domestic violence. The municipality of Athens, the Greek Orthodox
Church, and a variety of NGOs operated shelters and walk-in centers for
victims of domestic violence.
Government statistics on the extent of rape, domestic violence, and
spousal abuse were either unavailable or outdated. Data on
prosecutions, convictions, and prison sentences for rape and domestic
violence crimes was unavailable from the Ministry of Justice.
Prostitution is legal at the age of 18. Persons engaged in
prostitution must register at the local prefecture and carry a medical
card that is updated every two weeks. It was estimated that fewer than
1,000 women were employed as legal sex workers and that 20,000 women,
most of foreign origin, were engaged in illegal prostitution. According
to academics and NGOs, many illegal prostitutes could be trafficking
victims. Antitrafficking NGOs reported that prostitutes were sometimes
abused and subjected to violence and harassment by procurers and
clients and that the vice police often tolerated illegal prostitution
and sometimes participated in soliciting prostitutes.
The law prohibits sexual harassment and provides for penalties
ranging from two months to five years in prison. However, labor unions
reported that lawsuits for sexual harassment were very rare, with five
cases during the last eight years. Government enforcement was generally
ineffective due to a lack of punishment for offenders.
The Center for Research on Gender Equality Issues reported that the
vast majority of women who experienced sexual harassment in the
workplace quit their jobs and did not file charges. The center
estimated that 30 to 50 percent of working women and 10 percent of
working men had experienced sexual harassment at their workplace.
The government generally respects the reproductive rights of
couples and individuals. Contraception is widely available in stores
and in hospitals, and the government respected the rights of
individuals to choose the number, spacing, and timing of having
children. Both public and private hospitals provided modern skilled
attendance during childbirth. Women and men have equal access to
diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
Muslim women in Thrace have inferior rights to men under family
law, property law, and in the judicial system, since these issues are
resolved under Shari'a as interpreted by official muftis. The
government recognizes Shari'a as the law regulating the family and
civic issues of the Muslim minority in Thrace, and first-instance
courts in Thrace routinely ratified the muftis' decisions. The UN
independent expert on minority issues highlighted in February that the
application of Shari'a in some instances subjected Muslim women to
norms incompatible with the constitution, legislation, and
international standards, particularly with respect to child marriages.
Child marriage, the UN expert found, carried serious implications for
the health, well-being, and life choices of Muslim women, and it
regularly took place unchallenged by the national authorities.
The UN independent expert on minority issues noted that the
situation of women in Romani and Muslim communities was of particular
concern. According to the UN report, Muslim women experienced severe
inequalities in access to education and consequently suffered
disproportionately high levels of illiteracy and unemployment. In an
unprecedented March 2008 case, a court of first instance in Rodopi
Prefecture refused to ratify a mufti's decision that awarded a woman
only a small share of her parental inheritance, instead of the one-half
share provided by the law. The court held that the law of the country
and European law should prevail over Shari'a. The court stated that the
application of Shari'a should not deprive the country's Muslim women of
their rights and should not be applied if it violated the basic
principles of the constitution regarding the equality of the sexes and
equality before the law. A final court decision regarding the division
of property between the woman and her brother had not been delivered by
year's end.
In February a first-instance court overturned a decision by the
mufti of Komotini to divide the custody of four children equally
between a man and a woman during their divorce proceedings. The court
ruled that, as the father was diagnosed as suffering from a mental
illness and alcoholism, custody of all four children should go to the
mother. A final legal decision was pending at year's end.
In another February case, a Muslim woman sued the local mufti of
Xanthi for breach of duty for refusing to honor a custody agreement she
had previously signed with her husband. The agreement stipulated that
custody of the couple's only child would go to the mother. The woman
claimed that the mufti arbitrarily changed the terms of the agreement
by giving custody to the father. The case was pending at year's end.
The National Commission for Human Rights has advised the government
to limit the powers of the muftis to religious duties and to stop
recognizing Shari'a because it could restrict the civic rights of
citizens. Muslim female activists claimed that, because all Muslim
women in Thrace were married under Shari'a, they were therefore obliged
to acquire mufti consent to obtain a divorce. These decisions were
based on interpretations of Shari'a that do not exist in written form
and therefore would not be able to be appealed. Nevertheless, the
courts routinely ratified such mufti decisions.
Apart from the Muslim minority in Thrace, women have rights equal
to those of men, and equality is stipulated by the constitution.
The law provides for equal pay for equal work; however, according
to 2007 statistics, women's pay was 81 percent of that of men. Although
relatively few women occupied senior private sector positions, women
continued to enter traditionally male-dominated professions, such as
law and medicine, in larger numbers. Women were underrepresented in
labor union leadership.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents at birth. The
law also gives citizenship to a child born in the country who has no
other citizenship, but in practice this provision was not implemented.
The government does not issue birth certificates for children born in
the country to immigrant parents who lack citizenship. The deputy
ombudsman for human rights urged the government to grant citizenship to
all children who were born and raised in the country and to provide
them with all educational, social security, and social protection
services. Without birth certificates or a long-term residence permits,
immigrant children were unable to register for the national college
exam and could not pursue tertiary education.
In December 2008 parliament passed a new law giving immigrant
children born in the country the right to apply for long-term residence
permits. NGOs estimated that, of the 200,000 foreign children living in
the country, only 30,000 could meet the requirements of the law, which
include a fee of 900 euros ($1,290), a certificate of completion of the
mandatory nine years of education in the country, and two parents with
legal residence permits.
In May the Municipality of Kaisariani issued a symbolic birth
certificate to a child born to Ghanaian parents to sensitize the
authorities to the citizenship problem of foreign children born in the
country.
While the law provides free and compulsory education for a minimum
of nine years, noncompliance was a significant problem in the Romani
community. The UN independent expert reported in March that Romani
children did not have full and equal access to education. In September
2008 the UN independent expert visited a Romani settlement in Spata and
found that none of the children attended school. In April 2008 the GHM
reported that 90 percent of Romani children were illiterate.
There were continuing reports of non-Romani parents withdrawing
their children from schools attended by Romani children and attempting
to prevent Romani children from studying at the same schools that their
children attended.
Romani children continued to face social exclusion and
discrimination in education and lacked access to social services.
Unaccompanied immigrant children were detained in the same cells as
adults, lacked safe accommodations and legal guardians, and were
vulnerable to homelessness and labor exploitation.
In September the ECRI noted with concern that the law allows for
the deportation of unaccompanied minors and that unaccompanied minors
were served deportation orders with no specific date and without
interim accommodation centers for housing them. The deputy ombudsman
for children's rights informed the ECRI that guardianship of
unaccompanied minors was among the duties of social workers but that,
in practice, this duty was not carried out due to lack of funds and
guidelines.
Violence against children, particularly against street children,
Romani children, and undocumented immigrant children, was a problem.
Corporal punishment and mistreatment of children is prohibited by law,
but government enforcement was generally ineffective. Welfare laws
provide for treatment and prevention programs for abused and neglected
children as well as alternative family care or institutional placement
for those in need of it. However, government-run institutions were
understaffed, and NGOs complained that they did not have places for all
children who needed alternative placement. In 2008 the deputy ombudsman
for children's rights reported that the system of children's welfare
and protection was deficient overall and did not cover increasing
needs. In particular, social services were not appropriately staffed to
handle serious family problems, and welfare allowances and support for
single parent families were insufficient. In addition, the deputy
ombudsman noted that prosecutors for minors, who should by law take
measures to protect children in difficult situations, were overloaded
with other duties. Child protection institutions were understaffed,
lacked certification, and did not have sufficient qualified staff to
provide care to abused, refugee, or drug-abusing children. Foster care
systems were not adequately implemented, and the process of adoption
continued to take several years.
In September, after visits to child welfare institutions in Attica
and Ileia, the deputy ombudsman for children's rights reported that,
due to a lack of staff, children were sedated, tied to their beds, or
even confined in wooden cages to limit their movement.
The legal age for marriage is 18. Child marriage was common within
the Romani community, and there were limited numbers of marriages of
persons under 18 among the Muslim minority in Thrace and Athens. The UN
independent expert for minority issues reported that young Romani women
typically marry and have children at a very early age, reportedly as
young as 13. Child marriage is considered a tradition in the Romani
community but was also a consequence of lack of education and work
opportunities. The state-appointed muftis, who may apply Shari'a in
family matters, noted that they did not allow the marriage of children
under age of 15 and, in order to protect children, required a
prosecutor's decision to allow marriages where at least one party was a
minor between the ages of 16 and 18.
According to law, the age of consent is 15 for heterosexual sex and
17 for male homosexual sex. The law does not specify an age of consent
for female homosexual sex. The country criminalizes sex with children
under the age of 15.
The law prohibits the possession and circulation of child
pornography as a felony, punishable with five to 10 years'
imprisonment.
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and local NGOs, the
majority of street children (often indigenous Roma or Albanian Roma)
were exploited by family members, who forced them to work in the
streets, begging or selling small items. The government took
insufficient steps to prevent this form of child exploitation. While no
national statistics were available, in June the NGO ARSIS reported that
it had found 638 street children in Athens and Thessaloniki. During the
year ARSIS observed a significant rise in the number of street
children, especially Romani street children, from Bulgaria and Romania,
while there was a decrease in the number of children from Albania.
Conditions for undocumented immigrants and asylum-seeking children
were particularly harsh. During the year local and international NGOs,
including Amnesty International and the MSF, as well as the UNHCR on
several occasions found unaccompanied minors incarcerated along with
adults in detention centers in the Aegean islands under degrading,
inhumane, and unsanitary conditions. The UNHCR stated in August that it
was alarmed at the conditions in the Lesvos detention center, where 200
unaccompanied children were among the 850 detainees and that many of
the 50 infants at the center had illnesses related to the cramped and
unsanitary conditions.
The deputy ombudsman for human rights reported in 2008 that an
estimated 4,000 to 5,000 unaccompanied minors arrived in the country
each year.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons.
The country was a destination and transit venue for women and children
trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and for men and
children trafficked for the purpose for forced labor.
Women and teenage girls were trafficked from Bulgaria, Romania,
Albania, other parts of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Nigeria, and
Brazil into forced prostitution and forced labor. One NGO reported that
there were many teenage male sex trafficking victims from Afghanistan
and sub-Saharan Africa in the country. Victims of labor trafficking
originated primarily from Albania, Romania, Moldova, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, and most were forced to work in the
agriculture or construction sectors. Child labor trafficking victims
were forced to beg and engage in petty crimes. Several NGOs reported
anecdotal evidence that Romani women and children were trafficked
within the country.
According to the police, persons from Greece, Eastern Europe, and
Nigeria are the primary traffickers for sexual exploitation. Police
estimated that there were somewhat fewer than 100 sex and labor
trafficking organizations based in the country. The vast majority were
small, cell-based organizations that operated mostly independently.
Trafficking rings were flexible and known to cooperate with each other
on a short-term basis. Trafficking networks were often linked to bars,
clubs, and hotels. Travel and employment agencies facilitated travel
and legal documentation for traffickers. Police have discovered a
variety of money-laundering fronts for trafficking rings: restaurants,
nightclubs, and even a chain of bakeries. Police and NGOs reported a
decrease in coercion by violence but an increase in emotional coercion,
where traffickers use deception to befriend or enter into a romantic
relationship with the victim, who is subsequently forced into
prostitution.
Labor traffickers typically operated separately from sex
trafficking organizations and were linked more closely to immigrant
smuggling groups.
In June NGOs reported they had begun seeing immigrant children
washing windscreens or selling flowers and handkerchiefs at city
intersections, a phenomenon that had disappeared during the previous
few years. The Thessaloniki-based NGO Arsis reported in June that it
had identified 638 children in Athens and Thessaloniki, most of
Albanian Roma origin, between five and 11 years of age, working in the
streets and exploited by family members and traffickers.
The law considers trafficking in persons a criminal offense and
provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and fines of 10,000 to
50,000 euros ($14,300 to $71,500) for convicted traffickers. Penalties
are harsher for traffickers of children. The government continued to
investigate cases of trafficking and secured convictions of
traffickers.
In 2008 police conducted 40 trafficking investigations (37 sexual
exploitation cases, two labor exploitation cases, and one case of
trafficking for human organs), compared with 41 investigations in 2007.
They brought charges against 162 suspected traffickers, compared with
121 arrests made in 2006. The government convicted 21 defendants of
trafficking-related charges, while 17 were acquitted. Courts handed
down fewer suspended sentences in 2008 than in earlier years, and
punishment often included both imprisonment and a fine. However, many
convicted traffickers remained free on bail for several years while
appealing their convictions. The Ministry of Justice continued to lack
effective databases, hindering its ability to provide and manage
information on convictions and sentencing in all types of court cases.
During the year the government participated in international
investigations in cooperation with EUROPOL, INTERPOL, and the Southern
European Cooperative Initiative. The Ministry of Citizen's Protection
continued working on a police action plan for regional antitrafficking
cooperation.
Government entities responsible for combating trafficking and
supporting victims included the ministries of foreign affairs, justice,
interior, health, education, and finance. A high-level interministerial
committee on trafficking in persons met infrequently during the year.
Some police officers and diplomats were reportedly involved in
trafficking rings or accepted bribes from traffickers, including from
organized crime networks. The police Bureau of Internal Affairs
investigated charges of police involvement in trafficking cases. In
2007 the authorities filed trafficking-related charges against three
police officers, two of them senior officials. No trial date was set by
year's end.
In 2008 the country ratified a child repatriation agreement with
Albania for Albanian child victims of trafficking. In July the
government began implementing the agreement with the help of NGOs from
both countries. ARSIS reported that, while implementation had begun,
the process was subject to bureaucratic delays and children sometimes
remained in custody for weeks.
While the immigration law provides for a ``reflection period'' for
trafficking victims facing deportation, the screening and referral
process did not adequately identify and protect many vulnerable
victims, especially children. Some trafficking victims, including
minors, were prosecuted for immigration violations, sometimes alongside
their traffickers. A few trafficking victims and NGOs reported that
inadequate police protection for victims who were witnesses in trials
meant that those victims lived in constant fear of their traffickers.
Some victims were provided with the full reflection period and
testified against their traffickers.
Authorities identified 78 trafficking victims in 2008, a decrease
over the 100 victims identified in 2007. These victims were given
temporary residence permits and access to free public health and
counseling services. The government operated short-term shelters for
victims during the year and in 2008 approved over 515,738 euros
($738,000) in grants to NGOs for trafficking in persons research and to
provide shelter, counseling, and legal assistance to victims. Several
government ministries also conducted public awareness campaigns to
disseminate information about trafficking in persons.
During the year the government conducted numerous training programs
for prosecutors and public administration officers, including social
workers, psychologists, nurses, police personnel, and justices on
identifying victims of trafficking. The government also conducted
training programs in conjunction with international organizations,
including the IOM.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other government
services; in practice government enforcement of these provisions was
uneven. The law mandates access to buildings for persons with
disabilities; however, authorities enforced this law poorly. During the
year members of a special parliamentary committee on persons with
disabilities reported that this lack of accessibility forced such
persons to remain at home and led to serious social exclusion.
Only 5 percent of public buildings were fully accessible to persons
with disabilities; most buildings with special ramps did not have
accessible elevators or lavatories. The deputy ombudsman for social
welfare handled complaints related to persons with disabilities,
especially those related to employment, social security, and
transportation.
During the year the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity
estimated that there were 180,000 children with disabilities with
special educational needs. The Teachers' Association estimated that
only 18,500 of these children attended primary school and that, of this
number, only 10 percent would attend secondary school, due either to a
lack of local special education schools or a lack of accessibility. In
2007 the National Confederation of Persons with Disabilities reported
that the educational system for persons with disabilities fostered
discrimination and social exclusion and, as a consequence, 90 percent
of children with disabilities were excluded from the mandatory nine
years of education. The deputy ombudsman for children's rights and the
NGO Confederation of the Disabled reiterated during the year that
education was not available for persons with serious disabilities and
many persons with disabilities were forced either to leave school due
to lack of accessibility or to accept a low quality education at the
special education schools. The confederation stated that, of the 10
universities in Athens, only two were accessible to persons with
disabilities.
In June 2008 members of a special parliamentary committee for
persons with disabilities stated that unemployment of persons with
disabilities, estimated to be 80 percent, was the greatest social
problem these persons faced.
The law states that individuals may be confined in mental hospitals
only under a court order. In 2007 the deputy ombudsman for human rights
reported that 94 percent of persons confined in mental hospitals were
there under a prosecutor's order but that, in 84 percent of these
cases, the decision to confine the patient was not supported by a
corresponding court order. As a result, the rights of persons with
mental disabilities were not effectively protected. The deputy
ombudsman further found that 97 percent of persons with mental
disabilities had been transferred to mental hospitals by police,
sometimes handcuffed and escorted as ``dangerous persons'' rather than
as patients.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Roma continued to face
widespread governmental and societal discrimination, including
systematic police abuse; mistreatment while in police custody; regular
raids and searches of their neighborhoods for criminal suspects, drugs,
and weapons; and limited access to education and segregated schooling.
Their dwellings (in many cases shacks made of cardboard, plastic
sheets, and corrugated tin on the edge of city dumps) were at times
demolished and, in other cases, lacked running water, electricity, or
waste removal. Government efforts to address these problems were
inconsistent, especially at the municipality level.
The law prohibits the encampment of ``wandering nomads'' without a
permit and forces Roma to establish settlements outside inhabited areas
and far from permanent housing. There were approximately 70 Romani
camps in the country. Local and international NGOs charged that the
enforced separation of Romani settlements from other inhabited areas
contravened the country's commitments under the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The UN independent expert on minority issues, in a March report to
the UN Human Rights Council, highlighted that many Roma remained in
unhealthy living conditions with their children either in segregated
schools or unable to access educational opportunities. Roma faced a
severe lack of access to adequate housing and were subjected to forced
evictions. The report noted that Roma lacked access to public services,
such as public transportation, clean drinking water, and electricity,
often due to a lack of action or discrimination by local officials.
Roma faced significant discrimination in employment, which often
limited their work prospects to menial jobs in the informal sector.
During the year the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), an EU
organ, and the ECRI reported that Roma were the most disadvantaged
minority group in terms of education and that most Roma who lived in
settlements continued to earn their income from scrap and garbage
collection. The ECRI noted that few Roma were employed in the
mainstream labor market due to discrimination and prejudice, although
their lack of qualifications (as a result of a low level of education)
also played a role.
According to the FRA, only 4 percent of Roma reported having
attended school for at least 10 years and 63 percent were living in
segregated conditions, effectively cut off from mainstream society and
municipal services. The survey noted that 55 percent of Roma had been
victims of discrimination during the year, 90 percent had not reported
discrimination to any authority, 86 percent did not know if there was a
law forbidding discrimination, 94 percent did not know of any
organization that could offer support or advice to them, and 56 percent
thought that they had been stopped by the police because of ethnic
profiling.
In August the UN CERD Committee expressed concern about obstacles
encountered by Roma with regard to access to work, housing, health
care, and education.
In late September, the deputy ombudsman for human rights urged the
government to have local municipalities register Roma. Without
registration, according to the deputy ombudsman, Roma lacked access to
schools and other public services and faced severe challenges
integrating socially. Media reports indicated that at least half of
Roma were not registered with a municipality.
In April 2008 an academic researcher reported that life expectancy
for Roma was 55 years (compared to 79 for the rest of the population),
90 percent of Romani children were not vaccinated, the rate of
hepatitis B among Roma was three times higher than the rest of the
population, and the rate of incarceration for Roma was seven times
higher than that of the general population.
Local authorities continued to harass and threaten to evict Roma
from their camps or other dwellings, but no actual evictions were
reported during the year. There was no follow-up to the April 2008
complaint concerning Romani housing rights by the International Center
for the Legal Protection of Human Rights and the GHM against the
country with the European Committee of Social Rights. The complaint
detailed serious and widespread infringement of the Romani community's
right to housing.
Government ministries continued projects to address the chronic
problems of the Romani community, including training courses for civil
servants, police, and teachers to increase their sensitivity to Romani
problems; the development of special teaching materials for Romani
children; the establishment of youth centers in areas close to Romani
communities; and the deployment of mobile health units and community
social workers to address the needs of itinerant Roma. However, the UN
independent expert on minority issues and the deputy ombudsman for
human rights noted that these projects were not effectively implemented
on the local level and urged the government to ensure that national
policies were not subverted or defied by local authorities influenced
by local prejudices. Roma complained that government-sponsored housing
loans, for amounts up to 60,000 euros ($85,800), were insufficient to
purchase housing and that the loan application process was too slow.
The government blamed incomplete applications for loan delays. NGOs
reported that the loan program lacked sufficient oversight to ensure
the money was directed toward housing.
Media and NGOs reported multiple attacks by far-right extremist
groups on immigrants during the year. The Hellenic League for Human
Rights expressed its deep concern over the rise in racist violence
committed by far-right groups. Nineteen Pakistanis were injured in
April in different neighborhoods of Athens, and three Pakistanis were
attacked in August in Piraeus. Police did not find the perpetrators but
stated that they were investigating the allegations. In May members of
far-right groups attempted to storm an abandoned former court building
in Athens that, at the time, was occupied by an estimated 600 illegal
immigrants. Police evicted all the immigrants from the building in
July.
Immigrants, who made up approximately 10 percent of the population,
faced widespread societal discrimination. Immigrants accused police of
physical, verbal, and other mistreatment. They also reported the
confiscation and destruction of personal documents, particularly during
police sweeps to apprehend undocumented immigrants. In May immigrants
in Athens were involved in a series of scuffles with police, protesting
the alleged defacement of a Koran by a police officer.
In June police arrested two farmers in Manolada for ambushing,
beating, and dragging two illegal immigrants from Bangladesh behind
their motorbikes. The two farmers claimed that they wanted to punish
the immigrants for livestock thefts in the area allegedly perpetrated
by illegal immigrants. The investigation was pending at year's end.
Community leaders reported that it was difficult for ethnic
Albanians and other immigrants to obtain citizenship, even after all
objective citizenship requirements had been met. Government procedures
for granting citizenship are confidential, and the Ministry of the
Interior and Public Order is not obliged to explain the reasons for
rejecting an application. Immigrant community leaders noted that the
ministry regularly rejected the applications of immigrants who believed
that they met all citizenship criteria. Applying for citizenship was
further discouraged by the 1,500 euro ($2,150) nonrefundable
application fee. In 2008 the ombudsman noted that delays in citizenship
processing were excessive and unjustified. The ombudsman reported that
few applications for citizenship were accepted by the Ministry of the
Interior and Public Order and that many applications were pending for
years, even if the applicants met all requirements.
During the year municipal governments in Athens established
immigrant councils to foster dialogue on issues such as discrimination,
social benefits for immigrants, legalization, employment, and security.
Police officials met with representatives of the Pakistani immigrant
community to discuss ways to combat discrimination and incidents of
police abuse.
A number of citizens identified themselves as Turks, Pomaks
(Slavic-speaking Muslims), Vlachs (a Balkan minority group speaking a
dialect of Romanian), Roma, Arvanites (Orthodox Christians who speak a
dialect of Albanian), or Macedonians. Some members of these groups
sought to be officially identified as ``minorities'' or ``linguistic
minorities.'' The government considers the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne as
providing the exclusive definition of minorities in the country and
defining their group rights. Accordingly, the government recognizes
only a ``Muslim minority.''
Although government does not confer official status on any
indigenous ethnic group, nor recognize ``ethnic minority'' or
``linguistic minority'' as legal terms, it affirms an individual right
of self-identification. However, many individuals who defined
themselves as members of a ``minority'' found it difficult to express
their identity freely and to maintain their culture. Use of the terms
Tourkos and Tourkikos .''Turk'' and ``Turkis.'') is prohibited in
titles of organizations, although individuals legally may call
themselves Tourkos. Associations with either term in their name were
denied official recognition. To most ethnic Greeks, the words Tourkos
and Tourkikos connote Turkish identity or loyalties, and many ethnic
Greeks objected to their use by citizens of Turkish origin.
Some members of the Pomak community claimed they were pressured by
members of the Turkish-speaking community to deny the existence of a
Pomak identity as separate from a Turkish identity. Media in
Thessaloniki reported in October 2008 that two editors of Millet, a
local newspaper published in Turkish, were given 12-month suspended
sentences for inciting hatred against the Pomak community. Pomaks filed
four suits against the editors, totaling 200,000 euros ($286,000). The
suits were pending at year's end.
The government did not recognize the existence of a Slavic dialect,
called ``Macedonian'' by its speakers, spoken in the northwestern area
of the country. However, a small number of Slavic speakers insisted on
identifying themselves as ``Macedonian,'' a designation that generated
strong opposition from other citizens. These Slavic speakers claimed
that the government pursued a policy designed to discourage the use of
their language. Government officials and the courts denied requests by
Slavic groups to identify themselves using the term ``Macedonian,''
stating that approximately 2.2 million ethnically (and linguistically)
Greek citizens also use the term ``Macedonian'' to identify themselves.
The foreign press and NGOs reported that on June 2, at least a
dozen unidentified men violently disrupted a presentation of a new
Greek-Macedonian dictionary and a speech by a Western linguist and
academic at the Foreign Press Association in Athens. The reports
alleged that the men damaged banners and video equipment and injured at
least one reporter. Allegedly, they were members of the ultra-
nationalist group Golden Dawn.
The UN independent expert on minority issues, in a March report,
urged the government to withdraw from the dispute over whether there is
a Macedonian or a Turkish ethnic minority in the country and focus
instead on protecting the rights to self-identification, freedom of
expression, and freedom of association of those communities and
complying fully with the rulings of the ECHR that associations should
be allowed to use the words ``Macedonian'' and ``Turkish'' in their
names and to express their ethnic identities freely. The independent
expert found that those identifying themselves as ethnic Macedonians
still reported discrimination and harassment. Representatives of this
minority claimed that they were denied the right to freedom of
association, citing unsuccessful efforts since 1990 to register the
organization ``Home of Macedonian Culture'' in Florina.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--According to law, the age of
consent is 15 for heterosexual sex and 17 for male homosexual sex. The
law does not specify an age of consent for female homosexual sex. The
NGO, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece (OLKE), stated that the
higher age of consent for homosexual males and the lack of any legal
treatment of female-to-female sex, constituted gender identity
discrimination. OLKE also criticized the country's laws against hate
speech for not including sexual orientation or gender identity.
OLKE alleged during the year that police often abused and harassed
homosexual and transgender persons and subjected them to arbitrary
identity checks and body searches in public places. In March organizers
of the Athens Pride parade reported that the police did not respond to
a series of attacks against gay bars in Athens. OLKE reported that
police protection had improved for the parade and that the ombudsman
officials had handed out employment antidiscrimination flyers during
the event.
NGOs reported that societal discrimination based on sexual
orientation was widespread, but focused on gay male relationships.
Transgender and HIV-positive persons were exempted from military
service on disability and medical grounds, respectively.
Other Societal Discrimination.--Observers indicated that
individuals with HIV/AIDS suffered from high social exclusion and a
loss of employment if they revealed their status.
In February the Supreme Court ruled against an HIV-positive
individual and in favor of his employer in a landmark HIV/AIDS
discrimination case. The individual had revealed his HIV-positive
status in 2005 and was subsequently fired. The Supreme Court ruled that
the dismissal was legal due to the fact that his HIV-positive status
caused negative reactions from his coworkers and created a negative
work environment. The General Confederation of Greek Workers protested
the Supreme Court's decision.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that all workers,
with the exception of members of the military services, have the right
to form and join independent unions of their choice without any
previous authorization or excessive requirements, and workers exercised
this right. Approximately 30 percent of the total labor force was
unionized. Agricultural employees, most of whom were foreigners, were
not unionized. The law allows unions to conduct their activities
without interference, and the government protected this right in
practice.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers in the
private sector and in public corporations exercised this right in
practice. Police have the right to organize and demonstrate but not to
strike. There are some legal restrictions on strikes, including a
mandatory notice period of four days for public utility workers and 24
hours for workers in the private sector. The law mandates minimum staff
levels (as determined by management) during strikes affecting public
services. Courts may declare a strike illegal; however, such decisions
were seldom enforced. Unions complained that this judicial power
deterred some of their members from participating in strikes. Courts
declared some strikes (of transportation workers, air traffic
controllers, garbage collectors, dock workers, and others) illegal
during the year for reasons such as a failure by the union to give
adequate advance notice of the strike or the introduction of new
demands by a union during the course of the strike, but no workers were
prosecuted for striking.
In December 2008 unknown persons attacked Constantina Kuneva,
secretary of All Attica Union of Cleaners and Domestic Workers. The
perpetrators threw sulfuric acid in her face and forced her to swallow
it. Her defense of the rights of irregular workers, part of her work
with the union, resulted in intimidation and death threats. Trade
unions and NGOs demanded a thorough investigation.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
generally provides for the right to bargain collectively in the private
sector and in public corporations, and unions exercised this right
freely. No antiunion discrimination was reported during the year.
There are three export processing zones in the country. There are
no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in export
processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, women,
children, and men were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation or
for labor exploitation in agricultural and construction sectors.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, the government did not adequately
protect children, especially Roma, who were trafficked for commercial
sexual exploitation as well as for labor, such as begging, pick-
pocketing, or selling merchandise on the street.
The minimum age for employment in the industrial sector is 15, with
higher limits for some activities. The minimum age is 12 in family
businesses, theaters, and the cinema. These limits were enforced by
occasional spot checks and were generally observed. Families who
engaged in agriculture, food service, and merchandising were often
assisted by younger family members on at least a part-time basis.
Child labor was a problem, although international and local
observers agreed that the number of working children had decreased
compared with previous years. A number of children begged or sold small
items in the streets. The government and NGOs reported that the
majority of beggars were either indigenous Roma or Albanian Roma. Local
children's advocates estimated that a large number of the 150,000
children under the age of 18 who dropped out of school each year ended
up in the labor market, often in poorly paid and arduous positions.
Jobs for dropouts included washing cars, pumping gas, construction, and
low-level service sector employment.
In December 2008 Human Rights Watch reported that unaccompanied
immigrant children, working mainly in the agriculture, construction,
and garment manufacturing sectors, were particularly vulnerable to
labor exploitation.
There were reports that children from Albania were trafficked and
forced to beg; however, antitrafficking NGOs reported a decrease in
trafficking as more Albanian parents entered the country legally with
their children. Some parents forced their children to beg for money or
used their children to elicit sympathy while begging for money.
The labor inspectorate is responsible for enforcing labor
legislation; however, trade unions alleged that enforcement was
inadequate due to labor inspectorate understaffing.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of 32
euros ($46) per day and 701 euros ($1,000) per month was not enough to
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family in urban
areas with higher living costs. Wages were officially the same for
local and foreign workers, but there were numerous reports of
undocumented foreign workers being exploited by employers, who paid low
wages and made no social security contributions.
The maximum legal workweek is 40 hours in the private sector and
37.5 hours in the public sector. The law provides for at least one 24-
hour rest period per week, mandates paid vacation of one month per
year, and sets limits on the amount of overtime worked. Premium pay and
authorization by the Ministry of Employment and Social Security is
required by law for overtime work. The labor inspectorate is
responsible for enforcement of labor legislation; however, trade unions
alleged that enforcement was inadequate, especially in the construction
and public works sectors, due to inadequate inspectorate staffing.
The law provides for minimum standards of occupational health and
safety. The General Confederation of Greek Workers characterized health
and safety laws as satisfactory but stated that enforcement by the
labor inspectorate was inadequate. Workers do not have the legal right
to remove themselves from situations that they believe endanger their
health; however, they have the right to lodge a confidential complaint
with the labor inspectorate. Inspectors can close machinery or a
process for up to five days if they see safety or health hazards that
they believe represent an imminent danger to workers.
__________
HUNGARY
Hungary is a republic with a population of approximately 10 million
and a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Legislative authority is
vested in the unicameral parliament (National Assembly). The National
Assembly elects the head of state, the president, every five years. The
president appoints a prime minister from the majority party or
coalition. The National Assembly elections in 2006 were assessed as
free and fair. On April 14, parliament passed a constructive vote of no
confidence that removed the minority Socialist government led by Ferenc
Gyurcsany and installed a new minority government headed by Gordon
Bajnai. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of
the security forces.
Human rights problems included police use of excessive force
against suspects, particularly Roma; government corruption; societal
violence against women and children; sexual harassment of women; and
trafficking in persons. Other problems worsened, such as extremist
violence and harsh rhetoric against ethnic and religious minority
groups. Extremists increasingly targeted Roma, resulting in the deaths
of four Roma and multiple injuries to others. Discrimination against
Roma in education, housing, employment, and access to social services
continued.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
an off-duty police officer was one of four attackers accused of killing
a man during a robbery in Budapest on December 10. On December 12, the
officer was suspended from duty and placed in pretrial detention. His
case was pending at year's end.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that police harassed and
used excessive force against suspects, particularly Roma.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, during the year
there were 18 complaints of police use of force during interrogation.
The complaints resulted in 17 indictments of 11 police officers.
On December 12, a Romani man filed a complaint against five police
officers who allegedly assaulted him the previous night. The man
claimed that the officers stopped him while he was walking home, beat
him, and discharged a gun next to his head. He said they then forced
him into a patrol car and dumped him near a lake on the outskirts of
town. The man suffered minor injuries. The Prosecutor's Office in Eger
opened an investigation, which continued at year's end.
On January 21, citing lack of evidence, the Prosecutor's Office in
Eger closed its investigation of alleged police abuse of five Romani
men and two Romani women in 2007 during an identity check in Heves. The
Romani plaintiff then filed an appeal, which the Heves County
Prosecutor's Office rejected on March 13. Since the law allows citizens
to file criminal charges without the assistance of a state prosecutor,
on May 25 the defendants filed a new charge directly with the Heves
County Court. On September 14, the Heves County Court suspended the
case until another case, alleging violence by the Roma against the
police, was decided. On October 20, the Metropolitan Court of Appeals
upheld the suspension of the case. Both the case initiated by the
Romani man against the police and the one initiated by police against
the Romani man were pending in the Heves County Court at the end of the
year.
In 2007, citing lack of evidence, the Budapest Prosecutor's Office
dropped charges against five police officers accused of raping a woman
in May 2007. Instead, in 2008 the Prosecutor's Office charged the woman
with falsely accusing the five officers. The woman then filed a new
criminal charge, and authorities suspended the case against her until
the second criminal case against the police officers could be
adjudicated. The case was pending at year's end.
On June 16, the Pecs Appellate Court convicted three police
officers from Somogy County of abuse of authority for humiliating two
men with mental disabilities during questioning in a 2007 theft
investigation. The court fined the three officers and delegated any
further disciplinary action to their supervisor. The Hungarian Helsinki
Committee (HHC) criticized the court for not discharging the officers.
Authorities conducted 203 criminal investigations into allegations
of police misconduct during demonstrations in 2006. In eight cases the
court rejected the charges. Prosecutors terminated their investigations
in 171 cases, mainly because authorities could not identify the
individual perpetrators. The prosecutor pressed charges of causing
bodily injury in 20 cases. Of that number, the court made legally
binding rulings in 10 cases; the remaining 10 cases awaited action at
year's end. One case remained under investigation, while three were
transferred to the military prosecutor's office at the end of the year.
The Budapest Investigative Prosecutor's Office repeatedly stated that
while the top echelon of the police force properly assisted in the
investigations, lower-ranking leaders were not helpful. Unit commanders
claimed on a number of occasions they could not recognize the members
of their units on video recordings. Officers, most of whom wore masks
or helmets without identification numbers, often testified that they
witnessed the incidents but could not identify the perpetrators.
In civil proceedings arising from the 2006 demonstrations, the
Budapest municipal court issued seven verdicts during the year,
ordering police authorities to pay 7,850,000 forint ($38,000) to
compensate eight demonstrators who were either beaten or illegally
detained in 2006.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
The government closed a ``less cost-effective'' prison, which
increased prison overcrowding at other facilities. The prison
population increased to 129 percent of capacity compared with 117
percent in 2008. On December 1, 15,627 inmates were in prisons and
detention centers.
According to the HHC, prison overcrowding was accompanied by a
shortage of bed linens, towels, clothing, and adequate medical care.
Sanitation and toilet facilities were also poor in some facilities. In
some prisons toilets were not separate from living spaces. Many police
holding cells did not have toilets and running water in the cells;
lighting and ventilation were often inadequate as well. The HHC also
noted that detainees who made allegations of physical mistreatment
often were not examined by an independent medical expert.
According to authorities, during the year five inmates committed
suicide.
On February 13, a 56-year-old pretrial detainee died of his
injuries after prison guards allegedly beat him in the Kaposvar prison.
Following an investigation by the Kaposvar Military Prosecutor's
Office, the commander of the Hungarian Penitentiary Service dismissed
the Somogy County prison governor. The Military Prosecutor's Office
charged three prison guards with mistreatment. The case was pending at
year's end.
A court convicted two prison guards of physical abuse in an
official capacity in connection with an attack on an inmate in the
Miskolc Prison in October 2008. The inmate reported that the guards
severely beat him after a disagreement. The guards appealed, and the
case was pending at year's end.
The HHC reported that it conducted four visits to various prisons
and met with prisoners without the presence of prison officials.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions. According to the Prosecutor General's
Office, there were 65 official complaints of arbitrary detention. The
Prosecutor General's Office rejected 22 complaints and initiated
indictments in three cases.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Hungarian National
Police (HNP), which operates under the direction of the Ministry of
Justice and Law Enforcement, is responsible for enforcing laws and
maintaining order nationwide. Twenty regional police departments are
directly subordinate to the HNP; city police are subordinate to the
regional police and have local jurisdiction. Three organizations within
the HNP have national jurisdiction: the Republican Guard; the National
Bureau of Investigation; and the Emergency Police (formerly called
Rebisz), which are also responsible for counterterrorism and crowd
control.
On May 18, the police trade union Ready for Action (TMRSZ), which
represented more than 6,000 officers--approximately 13 percent of the
police force--and the extreme nationalist Movement for a Better Hungary
(Jobbik) signed a cooperation agreement that generated public
controversy. Although the law forbids police officers from joining
political parties, Jobbik placed the secretary general of the union
fourth on its list of candidates in the June 7 elections for seats in
the European Parliament (EP). Jobbik received just less than 15 percent
of the votes and won three seats in the EP. The minister of justice and
law enforcement and the national police chief criticized the agreement,
and the Office of the Prosecutor General initiated legal proceedings
against TMRSZ. On June 3, the chief prosecutor ruled that the leaders
of the TMRSZ violated the law when they signed the agreement with
Jobbik.
Corruption within police agencies remained a problem. Penalties for
police officers found guilty of wrongdoing include reprimand,
dismissal, and criminal prosecution.
During the first 10 months of the year, authorities found 2,458
police officers responsible for breaching discipline, 716 guilty of
misdemeanor offenses, and 26 unfit for duty. No information was
available on the number of police officers charged with criminal
offenses.
During the first 10 months of the year, four police officers were
sentenced to prison, 28 received suspended sentences, 213 were fined,
five were demoted, 26 were dismissed, and 42 were reprimanded. No
information was available on the number placed on probation. In
addition 10 police officers were convicted of corruption.
The military prosecutor's office is responsible for conducting
proceedings involving any member of the armed forces charged with a
criminal offence.
The Independent Police Complaints Board (IPCB), established in
2008, continued to investigate violations and omissions by the police
that substantively concerned fundamental rights. The five-member body,
appointed by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly, functions
independently of police authorities. As of December 15, the board had
received 697 complaints filed by the public. It reviewed 457 complaints
and found legal violations in 215. The board forwarded 52 cases to the
national police chief, who agreed with the findings in eight, partially
accepted the findings in 23, and rejected the remainder.
The HHC reported that police officials accused of a crime routinely
received preferential treatment from the courts. According to the HHC,
police officers generally were not suspended from duty during criminal
proceedings, and those convicted received disproportionately light
punishments. In addition a special provision in the penal code allows
courts to clear convictions from the official record, thereby allowing
police officers to continue working.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires police to obtain a warrant based on sufficient evidence from a
prosecutor's office, a court, or the police department to make an
arrest.
Police must inform suspects of the charges against them and of the
section of the criminal code under which they are charged at the
beginning of their first interrogation, which must be within 24 hours
from the time of their detention. The authorities generally respected
this right.
Persons may be subject to ``short-term arrest'' if they are caught
committing a crime; are suspected of having committed a crime; are the
subject of an arrest warrant; or are unable or unwilling to identify
themselves. Short-term arrests generally lasted eight hours, but could
last up to 12 hours in exceptional cases. However, if a suspect poses a
threat to public security, police may detain him or her for 24 hours.
Police and the prosecutor's office can order the detention of suspects
caught in the act, when their identities cannot be established, or if
other conditions justify pretrial detention. If the prosecutor's office
does not order pretrial detention within 72 hours, police must release
the person.
Under the law persons who were detained and later acquitted may
receive monetary compensation. According to NGO reports, authorities
detained Roma more frequently than non-Roma, and Roma were subjected to
racial profiling. Research conducted in 2008 by the HHC and data from
the HNP and the National Police College indicated that Roma were three
times more likely to be stopped for identification checks than non-
Roma, despite data suggesting that Roma are no more likely to be
involved in unlawful activities than non-Roma.
According to the Hungarian Penitentiary Service, on December 1,
4,582 persons were in pretrial detention. Of these, 999 had been
detained between six months and one year, and 619 had been detained for
more than a year. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found the
government had violated the right to liberty and security provided
under the European Convention on Human Rights by holding a person in
pretrial detention and under house arrest for almost two years and
three months.
There is a functioning bail system.
Police must inform suspects of their right to counsel before
questioning them. Representation by defense counsel is mandatory when
defendants face a charge punishment for which is five years or more in
prison; are in detention; are deaf, blind, or suffering from a mental
disorder; are unfamiliar with the Hungarian language; are unable to
defend themselves in person for any other reason; are juveniles; or are
indigent and request the appointment of a defense counsel. When defense
counsel is required, defendants have three days to hire an attorney;
otherwise, the police or the prosecutor will appoint one. If defendants
makes it clear that they are not willing to retain counsel, the police
or the prosecutor is required to appoint counsel immediately. However,
the police or prosecutor is not obligated to wait for counsel to arrive
before interrogating the suspect. According to human rights NGOs,
police routinely continued the interrogation immediately after
notifying a suspect of his right to counsel.
The HHC advocated reforms to the public defender system to address
critical shortcomings. In late 2008 and in the early part of the year,
the HHC researched closed criminal cases in various county courts to
assess the quality of appointed counsel. The research supported
existing empirical data indicating that the performance of appointed
counsels was substandard, primarily due to a questionable process
whereby investigating authorities appointed defense counsel. The HHC
proposed that public defenders be appointed by an independent legal aid
organization and reviewed regularly by a professional committee.
The law permits detainees to notify relatives or others of their
detention unless the notification would jeopardize the investigation.
If the detainee cannot exercise this right, police must perform the
notification. However, NGOs reported that in practice police did not
fully comply with this requirement.
On March 5, the Tatabanya Municipal Court ordered the detention of
an 83-year-old woman while she was ill in the hospital. The order ran
counter to a 2007 ruling by the Constitutional Court that the accused
must be present in court when pretrial detention is ordered. The
Komarom-Esztergom County Court rejected the woman's appeal, but the
Tatabanya Appellate Court revoked the pretrial detention order on April
17 following a motion by the HHC. The woman also filed a complaint with
the ECHR challenging the circumstances that led to the court-ordered
pretrial detention.
According to the HHC, police took 35 demonstrators into custody
during official ceremonies on the March 15 holiday. They reportedly
strip-searched all of them in violation of the law on short-term
arrests. Those arrested also complained that authorities refused to let
them contact their family members or lawyers, provided incorrect
contact information for the HHC and the Civil Rights Ombudsman, and
provided no information about how they might file complaints at the
IPCB. The IPCB and the national police chief ruled in several cases
that the police had infringed upon the fundamental rights of the
complainants.
Amnesty.--President Laszlo Solyom issued 20 official pardons during
the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
The country has a four-tier judicial system consisting of local and
county courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court, which exercises
control over the operations and judicial procedures of all other
courts. The fourth tier is an 11-member Constitutional Court, elected
by the National Assembly and independent of the judicial system, that
reviews the constitutionality of laws and international treaties
ratified by the government and may review Supreme Court decisions on
constitutional questions. Individuals may bring cases directly to the
Constitutional Court.
Military trials follow civil law and may be closed for national
security or to protect the privacy of individuals. In all cases
sentencing must take place publicly. Civilians may not be tried in
military courts.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. The law extends these rights to all defendants.
Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. There is no
jury system; judges are the final arbiters. Judicial proceedings
generally are investigative rather than adversarial. Trials are
generally public, but the judge can ban or restrict public access to a
trial to ensure the participants' privacy or the trial's safety.
Depending upon the space available in the courtroom, a judge may limit
public access to visitors who have been preregistered. The prosecutor,
the victim, the defendant, and the defense counsel may also request
that public access to proceedings be restricted in order to protect
minors younger than 14 years old, witnesses, or state or business
secrets. The court must publically announce the final decision of every
case.
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) repeatedly criticized
the courts for restricting the media's access to the courtroom. On
August 17, the Office of the Civil Rights Ombudsman also criticized the
regulations used to determine which trials should be open to the media.
The ombudsman argued that the imposition of restrictions at times led
to tumultuous scenes in courtrooms, as well as to arbitrary
interpretations of the law. He called for a new standardized law.
Defendants are entitled to counsel who can be present during all
phases of the criminal proceedings. Defendants have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases, may challenge or
question witnesses, and may present witnesses and evidence on their own
behalf. Defendants have the right of appeal.
Judicial proceedings varied in length; delays of several months to
a year were common. During the year the ECHR found that the government
had denied complainants a fair hearing within a reasonable time in a
case that had lasted 105 years. In 2008 the ECHR found the country
guilty of 39 violations of provisions of the European Convention on
Human Rights concerning length of proceedings.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Under the law persons may
initiate lawsuits to seek damages for human rights violations; however,
fines levied in such cases are payable to the state and not the victim.
Generally, the fines were too small to deter violators.
Property Restitution.--The government continued to facilitate the
restitution of religious properties confiscated by the state during the
communist era and sought to ensure that all religious organizations had
an equal opportunity to regain control over their former property.
Nevertheless, some important cases remained unresolved.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and in
practice the government generally respected these prohibitions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press; however, there were charges
that the state-owned Public Service Broadcasting was politically
influenced due to improper media regulations.
Individuals could criticize the government in public or private
without reprisal; however, individuals, including journalists, can be
held liable for their published statements or for publicizing libelous
statements made by others. Libel is a criminal offense. Officials
continued to use the libel laws to claim compensation for perceived
injuries to their character.
On October 1, police opened an investigation, including taking
fingerprints, of a journalist from the newspaper Magyar Hirlap after
State Secretary Laszlo Keller accused him of defamation in two articles
by the journalist that were published on January 28 and February 2. In
the articles the journalist highlighted a ruling by the Constitutional
Court, published in December 2008, that revealed a legislative mistake
associated with Keller. In response to the investigation, the
journalist launched an official complaint against the police, arguing
that in the case of a criminal charge filed by a private citizen, they
were not authorized to investigate or fingerprint a suspect without the
assistance of a state prosecutor. The police apologized for the
investigation and the fingerprinting procedure; they initiated
disciplinary measures against the officer deemed responsible. The
police investigation into the libel case was pending at year's end.
The criminal code includes provisions against incitement of hatred
and hate-inspired violence. Any person who publicly incites hatred
against any national, ethnic, or racial group or certain other groups
of the population is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment
for up to three years. Additionally, any person who assaults someone
because he belongs to a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group is
guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment up to five years. An
amendment that came into force on January 1 included a provision making
preparations for the use of force against any member of the community a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to two years.
Courts have failed to convict persons of inciting hatred when no
physical assault followed. Under the civil code, a person specifically
targeted by hate speech may file a civil suit, but, as long as the
speech remains abstract and does not mention any specific individual,
there is no legal recourse. On February 24, a report on the country by
the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance stated that
``the very high level of constitutional protection afforded to the
freedom of expression has to date made it impossible for the
authorities to legislate effectively against racist expression.''
The law prohibits the public display of certain symbols, including
the swastika, the hammer and sickle, the five-pointed red star, and the
arrow cross, a symbol associated with the country's fascist World War
II-era government.
On March 10, the Supreme Court acquitted Attila Vajnai, the deputy
chairman of the Workers' Party of Hungary, of the charge of publicly
using totalitarian symbols when he wore a five-pointed red star on his
lapel during a 2003 demonstration. The decision responded to the ECHR
ruling in July 2008 that Vajnai's right to freedom of expression had
been violated when the municipal court found him guilty of a
misdemeanor for displaying the five-pointed red star. The ECHR also
noted that the country's laws prohibiting the use of totalitarian
symbols were indiscriminately applied and too broad.
An active and independent media expressed a wide variety of views
without restriction; however, the traditionally nonpartisan state-owned
radio and television stations, which accounted for 18 and 14 percent,
respectively, of the media market, in some instances took into greater
consideration the concerns of the main opposition party.
The National Television and Radio Commission (ORTT) is responsible
for monitoring public and commercial broadcasting outlets and for
granting licenses and frequencies. The president and prime minister
jointly nominate the head of the six-member commission, and the
National Assembly appoints the five other members. The board monitors
news broadcasts to ensure equal treatment of all political parties.
On October 28, the ORTT awarded the licenses of the only two
frequencies that broadcast throughout the country to companies believed
to be associated with the two major political parties. Two long-term
foreign investors previously held the licenses. Press reports suggested
that the tender process was tainted. On the following day, the
president of ORTT, Laszlo Majtenyi, resigned, stating it was impossible
to keep the broadcast media regulator free of party politics.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 59 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
During 2008 the ECHR found one violation by the country of freedom
of assembly and association as provided under the European Convention
on Human Rights.
Freedom of Assembly.--Under the law demonstrations do not require a
police permit, but event organizers must inform police of a planned
assembly in a public place at least three days in advance. The law
authorizes police to prohibit any gathering if it seriously endangers
the peaceful operation of representative bodies or courts, or if it is
not possible to ensure alternate routes for traffic. However, the
police are not required to disband a spontaneous assembly that remains
peaceful. During the first nine months of the year, police prohibited
53 demonstrations or approximately 5 percent of the total number of
announced demonstrations.
During the year the HHC and other human rights organizations
repeatedly underlined the need to modify the law on assembly to clarify
when the police may prevent a public gathering. According to the HHC,
the present regulations do not permit the police to prevent any
demonstration based on the conviction that the demonstrators are highly
likely to commit a criminal offense. According to NGOs the shortcomings
of the present regulations resulted in sometimes inconsistent police
practices.
On the March 15 holiday, police placed two men under short-term
arrest during an official ceremony conducted by the prime minister.
They charged the men with not complying with a police order to stop
shouting that the prime minister should resign. At the police station,
authorities strip-searched the two men. The police fined them for
``infringing the freedom of association, the freedom of assembly, and
the right to participate in electoral assemblies.''
On March 18, an internal police investigation concluded that,
although the arrest was legal, the four police officers violated the
short-term arrest procedure by strip-searching the men. On May 24, the
civil rights ombudsman issued a special report asserting it was not
possible to commit the petty offenses with which the two men were
charged during such public events.
On June 3, the IPCB ruled that the police actions seriously
infringed upon the fundamental rights of the two men, including their
right to freedom of expression, right to personal liberty, right to
fair proceedings, and their human dignity. On October 1, the Pest
Central District Court stated that official ceremonies organized by the
state do not fall under the scope of the act dealing with the right to
assembly and, consequently, the two men could not have committed the
offence of ``violating the right to assembly.''
The ambiguity in police guidance concerning the law of assembly was
evident during a July 4 demonstration of the far-right Magyar Garda in
Budapest. Protesters, most of whom wore Magyar Garda uniforms,
organized the demonstration in response to a July 2 court ruling
banning the organization. They did not notify police. Police told
several hundred demonstrators to leave the area. When the crowd refused
to disperse, police used tear gas. Some demonstrators began throwing
bottles at police officers. Police arrested 216 demonstrators,
including the Magyar Garda and Jobbik Party chairman, Gabor Vona.
On September 10, Mate Szabo, the parliamentary commissioner for
civil rights, released a report criticizing police for not providing a
reason for dispersing the peaceful demonstration. According to the HHC,
police had legal grounds for breaking up the demonstration, because it
infringed the rights and freedom of others. The HCLU criticized police
for failing to act proportionately and gradually while disbanding the
demonstration.
On August 12, the police denied a demonstration request for a neo-
Nazi procession to commemorate the Nazi war criminal Rudolf Hess that
was planned by the Hungarian National Socialist Front for August 15 in
Budapest. The police ruled that the demonstration would violate
international conventions. The HCLU contended that police did not have
the right to prohibit the procession in advance, but instead should
have advised the organizers that they would break up any demonstration
involving crime or violating other persons' rights.
On August 22, the Magyar Garda, which is a banned organization,
held a swearing-in ceremony for 620 new members on private land in
Szentendre after the police denied their request for a permit to hold
the assembly in Budapest. Police entered the private land after
participants marched in formation wearing the same uniforms used by the
banned organization. Police initiated legal proceedings against 176
individuals, charging them with ``participation in the activities of a
banned social organization.'' The cases were pending at year's end.
On November 14, in Sajobabony, local Roma attempted to break up a
Magyar Garda assembly during a Jobbik party political rally. After a
group of Roma assaulted one of the organizers, Jobbik and the Magyar
Garda members proceeded to the Romani section of town. Several clashes
and damage to vehicles resulted. On November 15, police responded by
establishing several checkpoints leading into town.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right.
On December 15, the Supreme Court, upholding an earlier appeals
court decision, dissolved the far-right paramilitary group, Magyar
Garda Association (MGA). Jobbik Party Chairman Vona formed the MGA in
2007, following violent 2006 antigovernment demonstrations, in order to
``preserve the country's traditions and culture.'' The MGA staged
marches in various towns and rural communities wearing uniforms and
depicting ``Gypsy crime'' as a major threat to public security. The
court ruled that the MGA curtailed the freedom and the rights of others
and ``triggered a risk of violence'' during its rallies.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
There is no state religion, and under the law every registered
religious group is entitled to the same rights. The four ``historical''
religious groups (Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, and Jewish) received 93
percent of state financial support provided to religious groups.
According to supreme court records, 361 churches were registered as
of May. To register, a religious group must submit a statement to a
county court declaring that it has at least 100 followers. The court
determines whether the registration of the new group complies with
constitutional and legal requirements.
A 2007 report by the State Audit Office concluded that the
government underpaid subsidies to schools operated by religious
organizations by 2.7 billion forints ($14.2 million) in 2005 and 2006.
Although support increased during the year to 66.2 billion forint ($348
million), the ``historical'' religious groups wanted the method for
calculating state funding written into law. The issue remained
unresolved at year's end.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Jewish population was
estimated to be between 80,000 and 100,000. During the year anti-
Semitic incidents, including vandalism, continued, but the Federation
of Jewish Communities in Hungary (MAZSIHISZ) reported that anti-
Semitism did not increase in the year compared with 2008. According to
police there were 124 reports of vandalism or destruction of Jewish and
Christian properties (nine in houses of worship and 115 in cemeteries)
during the first 10 months of the year compared with 365 cases reported
in 2008.
The privately owned weekly newspapers Magyar Demokrata and Magyar
Forum continued to publish anti-Semitic articles.
There were several extremist Hungarian-language Web sites, many of
them openly anti-Semitic. NGOs reported that the government monitored
the content of these sites to enforce the prohibition against public
display of such symbols as the swastika, the hammer and sickle, the
five-pointed red star, and the arrow cross.
During the year the prime minister, other senior government
officials, and representatives of other parties routinely denounced
extremist movements; they initiated and participated in several
demonstrations promoting tolerance.
On February 24, the World Jewish Congress joined MAZSIHISZ in
criticizing anti-Semitic comments made by a local government official,
Attila Kiss, from Rajka. Kiss called on other officials to take up
``sickles and swords'' and ``exorcise'' the local synagogue. MAZSIHISZ
lodged an official complaint against Kiss, which the Prosecutor's
Office subsequently rejected.
On April 4, Jobbik, Magyar Garda, and the Hungarian National Front
co-organized an event commemorating the 1882 ``blood libel'' trial in
which residents of Tiszaeszlar accused the local Jewish community of
killing a 14-year-old Christian peasant girl in order to use her blood
for a religious ceremony. The police ordered an investigation into the
event after the media reported that the approximately 80 participants
made anti-Semitic comments. On December 3, the police concluded the
investigation due to the lack of evidence of the crime of ``incitement
against a community.''
On April 18, a day before the March of the Living procession
organized by the Jewish communities, far-right demonstrators marched to
the German embassy in Budapest to deny the Holocaust and to raise their
voices against ``Zionist world-rule.'' An estimated 250 persons,
including 60 wearing Magyar Garda uniforms, held posters reading,
``Down with the Holocaust doctrine'' and ``the Third Reich strikes
back.'' Others wore shirts that said, ``Dare to be white.'' MGA Captain
Istvan Dosa said in a speech that ``nothing from the Holocaust is
true,'' and then he read a petition addressed to the German embassy.
The Budapest police initiated legal procedures against Dosa and another
speaker for ``incitement against a community.'' However, the
participants also made an official complaint concerning police actions
in connection with the march, which the prosecutor's office supported.
Consequently, the police dropped their investigation of the march.
On June 30, three men beat a 27-year-old Jewish man after asking if
he was a Jew. The victim suffered minor injuries. The prime minister
asked the minister of justice and law enforcement to supervise and
accelerate the investigation and to present proposals on how to avoid
similar incidents. On December 23, the police arrested two persons, one
16 years old and the other 18 years old, in connection with the attack
and initiated an investigation of violence against a member of a
community. The case was pending at year's end.
On July 9, the prime minister appealed to police agencies for
increased vigilance regarding racist attacks against Jews and other
minorities.
On September 5, during a pride parade, approximately 20
demonstrators whom police had pushed out of Varoshaz Square began
shouting ``nasty Jews'' in the direction of Budapest's largest
synagogue. The demonstrators threw an empty beer bottle at the
synagogue and tore down a hanging banner advertising the Jewish Summer
Festival. They set the banner, along with a temporary reed fence near
the synagogue, on fire. Police quickly extinguished the fire. They
opened an investigation into the incident, and the case was pending at
the end of the year.
On October 26, a 22-year-old man smashed a memorial plaque
dedicated to Armin Kecskemeti, chief rabbi of Mako for more than 40
years, who died in a concentration camp in 1944. The perpetrator also
wrote ``what six million?'' and ``lying swine'' on the wall. Two days
later the police captured a suspect and initiated proceedings against
him on vandalism charges. On November 11, President Laszlo Solyom laid
a wreath at the restored plaque and said he considers it necessary to
counteract the ``barbaric act of a drunken man'' and to ensure that
positive aspects of the history of the country and Jewry reach public
awareness. The case against the man was pending at year's end.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law does not provide for forced exile, and the government did
not employ it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or the return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
On April 21, the prosecutor general determined that the Office of
Immigration and Nationality (OIN) was unlawfully detaining certain
asylum seekers. The prosecutor general sent a notice to the OIN
demanding that it immediately enforce the law by releasing all asylum
seekers whose applications had been admitted into the final asylum
procedure. The OIN challenged this notice at the Ministry of Justice
and Law Enforcement, suggesting an amendment to the law. The HHC
reported that the unlawful practice continued at the end of the year
despite the prosecutor general's intervention.
During the first six months of the year, the OIN received 2,269
applications for refugee status, of which it approved 114. The
government also provided temporary protection to individuals who may
not qualify as refugees and provided it to approximately 23 persons
during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 Prime Minister
Gyurcsany and his Socialist-Liberal coalition were returned to office
in a free and fair election. The coalition subsequently dissolved and,
on April 20, a new government headed by Prime Minister Bajnai assumed
office.
On June 7, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
There were no government restrictions on political parties.
The 386-seat National Assembly included 43 women. There were two
women in Gyurcsany's cabinet, but none in Bajnai's. Due to data privacy
laws, no information was available on the number of minorities in the
National Assembly or the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and NGOs
contended that officials often engaged in corrupt practices with
impunity.
Corruption in the executive and legislative branches reportedly
increased during the year, and numerous cases of alleged corruption
received significant public attention. According to the World Bank's
Worldwide Governance Indicators, government corruption was a problem.
Low-level corruption among police officials remained a problem.
On February 10, the Chief Prosecutor's Office ordered the pretrial
detention of the mayor of Budapest's Seventh District, Gyorgy Hunvald,
on suspicion of real estate fraud, bribery, and forgery of documents.
Budapest's Seventh District, especially the area called the ``Jewish
quarter,'' has been the center of suspected real estate fraud for
years. At the end of the year, the Central Investigative Chief
Prosecutor's Office continued investigating the significantly lower-
than-market sale price in 2003 and 2004 of 14 formerly state-owned
buildings, which cost the district 970 million forint ($5.1 million).
During the year the police opened an investigation into the
Budapest Public Transport Company (BKV) in connection with 1.7 billion
forint ($9 million) in severance payments to 100 persons over the
previous six years. BKV chief executive officer Istvan Kocsis reported
to the police that employment contracts signed by previous management
teams were disadvantageous for the company. Leaked information on the
company's confidential employment terms, salaries, and bonuses
generated a strong negative public reaction. In response, the
government issued a decree on August 28, requiring state-owned
companies and institutions to publish senior executives' salaries.
However, some publicly owned companies remained reluctant to release
such data.
On December 7, the police arrested the directors of Budapest
Airport and the BKV on suspicion of bribery, malpractice, and other
crimes. Their cases were pending at the end of the year.
On December 14, parliament passed an anticorruption package
designed to track disbursement of public funds and promote public
trust. The law introduced whistleblower protection measures as well as
a new national anticorruption authority empowered to review all public
procurement and to forward any suspected criminal cases to prosecutors.
However, President Solyom only signed the whistleblower protection
measure and returned the legislation on the anticorruption authority to
parliament for reconsideration. Parliament did not act further on the
bill by the end of the year.
The National Assembly, high-level government officials, civil and
public servants, and police officials disclosed their financial status
on a regular basis, as the law requires.
Several government offices were responsible for combating
corruption. The State Audit Office audited the public sector and
campaign spending of political parties. The independent judiciary, the
prosecutors, the police, and in certain cases the customs and finance
guard were responsible for investigating corruption. Special agencies
such as the competition authority and the supervisory body of financial
institutions were responsible for ensuring fair and transparent market
conditions.
The 18-member Anticorruption Coordination Board ceased its
activity. The board originally consisted of cabinet members,
representatives of nongovernmental state institutions, and NGOs.
However, in 2008 three NGO representatives left the board and were not
replaced.
The constitution and law provide both citizens and foreigners the
right to access state-held information, although the government may
restrict this in order to protect legitimate state interests.
Requestors can appeal in court a state institution's decision to deny
access. Government offices charged a fee to cover copying costs.
Government offices were required to report access requests and detail
reasons for denials to the data protection ombudsman. According to the
latest statistics published by the ombudsman, government offices
received 78,245 requests in 2008 and rejected 35 because they involved
commercial secrets or the offices concerned lacked authority to act.
The HCLU contended that the ombudsman's statistics were highly
inaccurate and claimed that the government denied approximately 80
percent of their requests.
During the year the ECHR ruled that in 2004 the government had
improperly denied the HCLU access to public information regarding drug
policy.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views. The Council of Europe's
Committee for the Prevention of Torture visited the country from March
24 until April 24; a report of the visit had not been published.
There are four parliamentary commissioners (ombudsmen) for civil
rights, national and ethnic minority rights, data protection, and
future generations. They examine constitutional rights violations and
initiate individual or general proceedings to prevent further
violations. Following nominations by the president, a two-thirds
parliamentary majority elects the ombudsmen for six years. The
ombudsmen are responsible only to the parliament, which allocates their
financial resources in the annual state budget and votes on their
annual report. The ombudsmen operated without government or party
interference and published several reports during the year. The public
perception of the ombudsmen's activities was generally positive.
The Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights and Minority, Civil,
and Religious Affairs has 19 members selected in proportion to the
parties' seats in parliament and is chaired by Zoltan Balog. The
committee debates and reports on human rights-related bills and
supervises the human rights-related activities of the ministers.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status; however, the government
failed to enforce these rights fully in practice.
During the year the Equal Treatment Authority (ETA) in the Ministry
of Social Affairs and Labor, which monitors enforcement of
antidiscrimination laws, received 1,087 complaints. These led the ETA
to initiate 368 inquiries, and it determined that 51 complaints were
justified. In the ``justified'' cases, the ETA ordered employers to
stop their illegal activities, refrain from further wrongdoing, and in
19 instances, pay penalties ranging from 200,000 forint to five million
forint ($2,650 to $15,900).
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, but the crime was
often unreported. Under the law a sexual assault is considered to be
rape only if it involves the use of force or threats. Penalties for
rape range from two to eight years in prison and can be as long as 15
years in aggravated cases.
During the year the prosecutor's offices pressed rape charges in
103 cases against 116 individuals, all of whom were convicted.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence or spousal
abuse. The charge of assault and battery, which carries a maximum
prison term of eight years, was used to prosecute domestic violence
cases. On June 22, parliament adopted the Restraining Act in Cases of
Violence between Relatives. Under the law police may issue an emergency
order valid for three days, and courts are authorized to issue longer-
term restraining orders. According to women's rights NGOs, the law does
not provide appropriate protection for the victims and does not place
sufficient emphasis on the accountability of perpetrators.
Expert research in the field of family violence indicated that
approximately 20 percent of women in the country had been physically
assaulted or victimized by domestic violence. According to the HNP,
5,522 women were reported to be victims of domestic violence during the
first 10 months of the year, compared with 2,137 in 2008; however, most
incidents of domestic violence went unreported due to fear and shame on
the part of victims, and prosecution for domestic violence was rare.
Prosecuting those who abused women was difficult because of societal
attitudes that tended to blame the victim. Correspondingly, according
to NGOs police remained reluctant to arrest abusers due to a lack of
confidence that the judicial system would effectively resolve abuse
cases.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor operated an Internet site,
a 24-hour hotline, and 11 shelters for victims of abuse. During the
year the ministry opened four ``halfway houses'' around the country
able to accommodate as many as 16 families (victims of domestic
violence) for up to five years.
Prostitution is legal, but persons engaged in prostitution could
only work legally in certain locations away from schools and churches.
The Hungarian Prostitutes' Interest Protection Association estimates
that between 15,000 and 20,000 persons regularly engaged in
prostitution. Buying sexual services from a person younger than 18
years old is a crime punishable by up to three years' imprisonment.
According to NGO reports, the number of females younger than 18 years
involved in prostitution has increased in recent years.
The law provides the right to a secure workplace and prohibits
sexual harassment as a criminal offense. While only two reports of
sexual harassment were filed with the ETA, according to NGOs sexual
harassment remained a widespread problem. NGOs contended that the law
did not clearly define sexual harassment, leaving a lack of legal
awareness or incentives to file a case. Only one violation of the law
has been found since its passage in 2005.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception and to
skilled attendance during childbirth, and women were diagnosed and
treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally
with men.
Under the constitution and the law, men and women have equal
rights. The ETA was responsible for monitoring the implementation of
the Equal Treatment Law and for coordinating governmental activities in
the field of gender equality. NGOs pointed out that the law has no
gender-specific provisions. NGOs also raised concerns about the ETA's
lack of financial and human resources to carry out its mission.
According to the Central Statistical Agency, women continued to
earn 17 percent less than men for substantially similar work. The ETA
found employer discrimination against women in eight of the 19
complaints it received. There was economic discrimination against women
in the workplace, particularly against job seekers older than 50 and
those who were pregnant.
Children.--The country's citizenship law is based on the principle
of jus sanguinis, meaning that a person acquires citizenship by birth
from a parent who is a citizen. The ECHR found in one case that the
government improperly withheld maternity benefits to the children of a
citizen father because the mother was not a citizen of the country.
While the law provides free compulsory education for children
through 18 years of age, a 2006 study found that more than 82 percent
of Roma have eight years of education or less, compared with 36 percent
of the rest of the population. Similarly, while an estimated 40 percent
of the population had some form of secondary schooling, only 3.1
percent of Roma received such education.
The public education system continued to provide inadequate
instruction for minorities in their own languages. Romani language
schoolbooks and qualified teachers were in short supply.
Segregation of Romani schoolchildren remained a problem. NGOs and
government officials estimated that 20 percent of Romani children were
placed without cause in remedial classes for children with mental
disabilities, effectively segregating them from other students. Schools
with a majority of Romani students employed simplified teaching
curricula, were generally less well equipped, and were in significantly
worse physical condition than those with non-Roma majorities.
On September 17, the Chance for Children Foundation (CFCF) sued the
Ministry of Education and Culture for violating the Equal Opportunity
Act by failing to halt the segregation of Romani children in public
schools. The case was pending at year's end.
On December 1, the Somogy County Court ruled that the municipality
of Kaposvar had unlawfully discriminated against Romani children by
segregating them from non-Romani students in a separate school with a
simplified curriculum. The municipality appealed the verdict, and the
case was pending at year's end.
On December 9, the Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok County Court ruled that the
municipality of Jaszladany did not discriminate against Romani children
by segregating them from non-Romani students in a private school
established inside the building of the state school and cofinanced by
the local government.
Another CFCF lawsuit, against local authorities of Gyor, was
pending at year's end.
According to police 4,386 crimes against children were reported
during the first 10 months of the year, compared with 3,801 in 2008.
Police continued to lack the necessary training, capacity, and
institutional support to protect children adequately, particularly in
situations involving domestic violence.
The minimum age of consensual sex is 14 years. According to the
law, statutory rape is a felony punishable by imprisonment for two to
eight years and for five to 10 years if the victim is under 12 years of
age. The law prohibits child pornography, which is punishable by up to
eight years in prison.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, there were reports that persons were
trafficked to, from, through, or within the country.
The principal countries of origin for victims of trafficking
through the country were Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland,
countries of the former Yugoslavia, and China. The principal
destinations were Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands,
Spain, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, the United States, and the United
Kingdom. Women were trafficked primarily for sexual exploitation, while
men were trafficked for forced labor. Girls were reportedly trafficked
within the country for commercial sexual exploitation. There were no
official estimates of the number of victims who were trafficked from or
through the country.
The majority of internally trafficked victims originated in the
eastern part of the country. The high-risk groups included orphans who
reached adulthood, young women from the countryside, and young Romani
women.
According to government officials and NGOs, the majority of
traffickers were individuals or small, family-based groups. Organized
crime syndicates transported many of the trafficking victims to or
through the country for forced prostitution. The principal recruitment
methods used by traffickers included advertisements for jobs abroad as
waitresses or dancers. In some cases the victims may have expected that
they would engage in prostitution in their destination countries, but
they were not aware of the coercive conditions they would face.
Under the law punishment for trafficking depends upon the
circumstances of the offense. The basic punishment is up to three
years' imprisonment. Penalties increase to five- and eight-year
maximums when two or more of the following occur: the victim is kept in
captivity; subjected to forced labor; used for the purpose of sodomy or
sexual penetration; or is in the care, custody, supervision, or
treatment of the perpetrator. If the crime involves a child under 12,
the punishment is five years to life in prison. Any person who makes
plans to traffic is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment
for up to two years.
NGOs suggested that the weakest features of the antitrafficking
effort were the ``exchange or trade'' provisions of the trafficking
act. They provide that any person who sells, purchases, conveys, or
receives another person or exchanges one person for another person, or
appropriates a person for such purpose for another party, commits the
felony offense of trafficking in persons. The low number of
prosecutions was due to the strict requirement to prove the trade
element. Police investigated 13 trafficking cases during the first
eight months of the year and forwarded five to the prosecutor's office.
The government agencies most directly involved in combating
trafficking included the ministries of justice and law enforcement and
foreign affairs, the HNP, border guards, and customs authorities. An
interministerial countertrafficking working group, which included NGOs
and international organizations, met quarterly. In addition, there was
an International Trafficking Unit within the National Bureau of
Investigation.
The government regularly cooperated with other countries in joint
trafficking investigations. During the first 10 months of the year,
authorities extradited seven persons on trafficking charges, while two
persons were extradited from abroad to the country.
There were approximately 60 regional and local general victim
protection offices and 11 crisis centers where trafficking victims
could receive psychological, social, and legal assistance. The Ministry
of Social Affairs and Labor operated a hotline for victims of
trafficking and domestic violence. Trafficking victims who cooperated
with police and prosecutors could receive temporary residency, short-
term relief from deportation, and shelter. During the year the
government allocated 245.7 million forint ($1.3 million) to
antitrafficking efforts. This included: 4.5 million forint ($23,800)
for research, 3.2 million forint ($17,200) for training, three million
forint ($15,800) for prevention, six million forint ($31,700) for
shelter support, and 229 million forint ($1.2 million) for prosecution
and enforcement resources to include the special trafficking in persons
investigation unit.
The government worked together with the International Organization
for Migration (IOM) to promote public awareness programs about
trafficking. Between March and June, the government funded a demand-
side campaign posting placards in gas station restrooms explaining how
hiring prostitutes could support the trafficking industry. Government
funding included IOM-developed anti-demand information posted on the
Ministry of Justice's Web site and IOM-provided trafficking-prevention
training throughout the year for the staff of the shelter for
unaccompanied minors.
On December 30, the government signed an initial six-month contract
valued at six million forint ($31,700) with the NGO Hungarian
Interchurch Aid to support a shelter exclusively for trafficking
victims.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or the provision of other state services; however, persons
with disabilities frequently faced discrimination and prejudice.
Government sources estimated there were 600,000 persons with
disabilities, while disability organizations estimated the number to be
approximately one million.
NGOs expressed concern about the lack of independent oversight over
government-run, long-term-care institutions for persons with mental
disabilities. There were sporadic reports that employees of such
institutions used inappropriate physical restraints on patients, a
problem experts attributed partly to inadequate numbers of qualified
staff.
The international NGO Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC)
criticized the government for failing in its obligation to protect the
rights of persons with disabilities placed under the legal guardianship
of others. According to MDAC one of the key problems was a lack of
alternatives to guardianship for persons with disabilities who needed
support in making certain decisions. According to NGOs there are an
estimated 80,000 adults under guardianship.
A government decree requires all companies with more than 20
employees to reserve 5 percent of their jobs for persons with physical
or mental disabilities. The decree specifies fines for noncompliance.
Employers typically paid the fines rather than employ persons with
disabilities. Approximately 9 percent of working-age persons with
mental disabilities were employed during the year.
Both the central government and municipalities continued to update
public buildings to make them accessible to persons with disabilities.
The law requires all buildings operated by the central government be
accessible by 2010; those operated by the municipalities must meet this
goal by 2013. There was no data available on the percentage of
government buildings that were not accessible.
The lead agency for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities is the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe Hate Crimes Report for the year stated that
12 violent attacks against members of national, ethnic, racial, or
religious groups occurred in 2008.
According to the Central Statistics Office, in 2007 the Romani
community was the largest ethnic minority, accounting for 2 percent of
the population, or about 200,000 persons. However, unofficial
estimates, which vary widely, suggested the actual figure was much
higher, ranging between 500,000 and 800,000 persons.
Violent attacks against Roma continued and generated strong public
concern and intense disputes as to the existence of racially motivated
crimes in the country. On February 23, a Romani home in the town of
Tatarszentgyorgy was attacked with Molotov cocktails and gunfire, and a
man and his five-year-old son were shot and killed as they ran from
their burning home. On April 22, a 54-year-old Romani man died from a
gunshot wound in Tiszalok. On August 3, in Kisleta a Romani woman was
shot and killed in her home, and her 13-year-old daughter was seriously
injured.
Between June 2008 and August 3, a series of physical attacks
against Roma resulted in the killing of nine persons and injuries to
many others. In response, the national police chief doubled the number
of detectives in the special unit assigned to the case to 100. On
August 21, police arrested four suspects. No additional attacks of this
nature occurred after the arrests. The case was pending at year's end.
Human rights NGOs criticized authorities for mistakes made during on-
site investigations, particularly in Tatarszentgyorgy. The police
ordered an internal disciplinary proceeding to identify the alleged
mistakes, and these resulted in disciplinary measures against two
police officers.
On October 9, five Roma were charged with a racist assault after
allegedly beating an ethnic Hungarian on September 23. The four men and
a woman were placed in pretrial detention. According to a police
spokesman, this was the country's first racist incident in which the
victim was not a member of a minority.
On January 30, Albert Pasztor, the head of the Miskolc police
headquarters, stated in a press conference, ``Hungarians appear to rob
banks or gas stations, but all the other robberies are committed by
Gypsies.'' He also stated that Hungarians should refrain from
patronizing bars in certain parts of the city, since they may become
victims of Romani criminals. He added that the problem was that ``cute
Gypsy children often become rude and cruel perpetrators.'' Upon the
instruction of the minister of justice and law enforcement, the HNP
initiated an inquiry into the incident, and Pasztor was suspended from
his position. However, two days later the investigation concluded that
Pasztor did not break any law, and the HNP terminated his suspension;
the decision to reinstate Pasztor was approved by the minister of
justice and law enforcement.
On April 2, Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights Szabo
stated in an interview that ``Gypsy crime'' existed and defined it as a
type of crime performed to earn a living. He also referred to Roma as
being a ``collectivist, almost tribal-level social group, in contrast
to the highly individualist Hungarian society.'' He also presented
himself as the parliamentary commissioner of the ``majority'' rather
than the parliamentary commissioner for the rights of national and
ethnic minorities. Although he withdrew his statement the next day
following strong criticism by human rights groups, Szabo's professional
acceptance greatly weakened following this incident.
On September 3, Oszkar Molnar, the mayor of Edeleny and a FIDESZ
parliamentarian, stated during a press conference that pregnant Romani
women hit their bellies with rubber hammers and took harmful medicines
to increase the chance their child would be born with disabilities in
order to receive increased state financial aid. Responding to the
statement, FIDESZ party leaders initially labeled it as a ``local
issue.'' However, in December the center-right FIDESZ party dropped
Molnar from its slate for the April 2010 parliamentary elections.
On November 24, parliament's Committee on Human Rights, Minorities,
and Civil and Religious Affairs published an open letter calling on all
Hungarian public personalities to speak out against hate speech. The
letter was initiated by the committee's chairman, Zoltan Balog; the
former president of the Supreme Court, Zoltan Lomniczi; and the
director of international relations of the FIDESZ Hungarian Civic
Union, Dan Karoly. The leaders of the four historic churches signed the
letters as supporters.
Human rights NGOs reported that Roma were discriminated against in
almost all fields of life, particularly in employment, education,
housing, penal institutions, and access to public places, such as
restaurants and bars.
According to statistics of the Hungarian Institute for Educational
Research and Development, Roma were significantly less educated than
other citizens, and their incomes and life expectancy were well below
average.
A 2007 International Labor Organization report estimated the
unemployment rate among Roma to be 40 percent. However, in many
underdeveloped regions of the country, it exceeded 90 percent. Romani
unemployment was estimated to be three to five times higher than among
the non-Romani population.
Inadequate housing continued to be a problem for Roma; their
overall living conditions remained significantly worse than the general
population's. According to Romani interest groups, municipalities used
a variety of techniques to prevent Roma from living in more desirable
urban neighborhoods. According to a survey by the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Labor, approximately 100,000 seriously disadvantaged
persons, mostly Roma, lived in approximately 500 settlements lacking
basic infrastructure and often located on the outskirts of cities. The
government continued its program to eliminate these settlements and to
help residents move to more desirable communities.
Most ministries and county labor affairs centers had special
officers for Romani affairs focused on the needs of the Romani
community. The Ministry of Education and Culture continued to offer
financial incentives to encourage schools to integrate Romani and non-
Romani children in the same classrooms and to reintegrate Roma
inappropriately placed in remedial programs. The Ministry of Social
Affairs and Labor operated a program to finance infrastructure
development in Romani communities.
The Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement operated an
antidiscrimination legal service network that provided free legal aid
to Roma in cases where they encountered discrimination based on their
ethnicity.
Since January 1, in order to apply for EU and government funds for
urban rehabilitation and public education projects, every city must
attach to its proposal a desegregation plan outlining planned actions
to eradicate segregation in housing and public education. The
government opened 200 positions in public administration for Romani
college graduates. By the end of the year, 122 applicants passed the
mandatory civil servant entry exam and awaited placement in various
national and county government offices.
Roma, like the other 12 official minorities, are entitled to elect
their own minority self-governments (MSGs), which organize minority
activities and handle cultural and educational affairs. The president
of each MSG also has the right to attend and speak at local government
assemblies.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexual conduct is legal,
but extremist groups continued to subject gay men and lesbians to
physical abuse and attacks.
On September 5, the Rainbow Mission Foundation organized the 14th
annual Pride March in Budapest, which capped a week of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender programs. Organizers were successful in
registering the march but criticized a police statement that
participants should refrain from ``actions that are against public
taste'' or the police would disperse the march. Although protestors
tried to disrupt the event, the march, in which an estimated 1,500
persons participated, finished without major disturbances. Police
detained 41 counterdemonstrators and initiated proceedings against 17
of them on suspicion of using force against officials. Police opened an
investigation against three persons for creating a ``public nuisance''
when they assaulted a woman who was wearing a gay pride shirt. On
September 7, after the HCLU complained to the national police chief
that the reason for the assault was related to the woman's membership
in a societal group, police changed the legal grounds of the
investigation to ``violence against a member of a community.'' The case
was pending at year's end.
On April 8, police detained two persons in connection with two 2008
attacks on a gay bar and a gay bathhouse in Budapest. The case remained
pending at the end of the year.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join independent unions of their choice without previous authorization
or excessive requirements, and workers exercised these rights in
practice.
The law also allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the government protected this right in practice.
Twenty five percent of the workforce was unionized. With the exception
of military personnel and police officers, workers have the right to
strike, and workers exercised this right. The law permits the unions of
military personnel and police officers to seek resolution of grievances
in the courts.
Two national trade unions, MSZOSZ and LIGA, have reported cases of
employers' intimidating trade union members, transferring, relocating,
or dismissing trade union officers, and hindering union officials from
entering the workplace.
Court proceedings on unfair dismissal cases can take more than a
year to complete, and court decisions are not always properly enforced.
LIGA reported that it took six years for an unfairly dismissed trade
union leader in the Malev airline company to obtain a reinstatement
order from the court. However, the airline company still did not allow
him to return to work.
The Independent Trade Union of Air Transport Workers continued to
face problems with the Budapest airport. The airport hired foreigners
on fixed-term contracts to replace striking workers when they organized
a strike at the end of the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining is protected by law and was freely practiced. In 2007
collective bargaining agreements covered 41 percent of the workforce.
The Labor Code requires trade unions to represent 65 percent of the
workforce (for a single union) or 50 percent of the workforce (for a
group of unions) to engage in collective bargaining.
There are no export processing zones, but individual foreign
companies frequently were granted duty-free zone status for their
facilities. There were no exemptions from regular labor laws in the
duty-free zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Women and children were
trafficked into, within, through, and from the country for commercial
sexual exploitation and forced labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, and the
government effectively enforced these laws in practice.
The law prohibits children less than 16 years old from working,
except under certain conditions, such as temporary work during school
vacations. Otherwise, children less than 15 years old are prohibited
from all work. Children may not work night shifts or overtime, or
perform hard physical labor.
As of August 2008, the country's Labor Inspectorate reported that
19 companies employed 57 children under 15 years old, mostly in
construction and agriculture. Companies that employed children were
fined between 30,000 and 20 million forint ($158 to $105,000),
depending on the circumstances. Individuals who identify children as
victims of labor exploitation are required to report them to the
Guardianship Authority.
According to the IOM, trafficking of children for sexual
exploitation was a problem.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum monthly
wage of 71,500 forint ($377) did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. The National Council for Interest
Reconciliation, a tripartite body of employers, employees, and the
government, regularly evaluated and raised the minimum wage.
The law sets the official workday at eight hours, although it may
vary depending on the industry. A 48-hour rest period is required
during any seven-day period. The regular workweek is 40 hours with
premium pay for overtime. The law prohibits overtime exceeding 200
hours per year. The laws also apply to foreign workers with work
permits; they were enforced effectively and consistently.
Labor courts and the Labor Inspectorate enforced occupational
safety standards set by the government, but enforcement was not always
effective. Workers have the right to remove themselves from unsafe and
unhealthy situations without jeopardizing their continued employment,
and this right was generally respected.
__________
ICELAND
Iceland, with a population of 318,000, is a constitutional
parliamentary republic. The president is the head of state; a prime
minister, usually the head of the majority party, is head of
government. There is a unicameral parliament (Althingi). In 2008 Olafur
Ragnar Grimsson was reelected president in free and fair elections.
After parliamentary elections on April 25, the Social Democratic
Alliance (SDA) and the Left-Green Movement (LG) formed a governing
coalition led by Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir (SDA). The
elections were free and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
Reported human rights problems included societal discrimination
against minorities and foreigners, especially refugees and asylum
seekers; violence against women; and reports of persons trafficked to
and through the country.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards. The government
permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and
such visits occurred during the year.
During the year media expressed concern regarding overcrowding at
the main prison at Litla-Hraun and at Reykjavik's main pretrial
detention facility. When overcrowding in the main facility occurred,
pretrial detainees were held in local police station jails. There was a
waiting list of 240 persons convicted of crimes but unable to serve
their sentences during the year due to a lack of prison space.
The government maintained a separate minimum-security prison for
female inmates; however, because so few women were incarcerated (six on
average), some men were also held there. Men housed in facilities with
women were closely monitored and only interacted with women in the
common areas; they did not share cellblocks. Juvenile offenders were
normally held in facilities run and supervised by the Government Agency
for Child Protection. In at least one instance, a child was held in
detention with adults, since there was no separate facility for
juveniles in the prison system. Pretrial detainees were held together
with convicted prisoners, except in those instances when it was deemed
necessary to place them in solitary confinement.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers during the year. Prisoners could, and did, request visits
from Prisoners' Friends, a group of volunteers from the Icelandic Red
Cross. The volunteers talked with the prisoners and provided them with
second-hand clothes upon request. There were no prison visits by
international human rights monitoring groups during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the police, and the government has
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during
the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police may
make arrests under a number of circumstances: when they believe a
prosecutable offense has been committed; where necessary to prevent
further offenses or destruction of evidence; to protect a suspect; or
when a person refuses to obey police orders to move. Arrest warrants
are usually not employed; the criminal code explicitly requires
warrants only for arresting individuals who fail to appear at court for
a hearing or a trial or at a prison to serve a sentence.
Persons placed under arrest are entitled to legal counsel, which
the government provides for the indigent. Authorities must inform
persons under arrest of their rights and must bring them before a judge
within 24 hours. The judge determines whether a suspect must remain in
custody during the investigation; the judge may grant conditional
release, subject to assurances that the accused will appear for trial.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Courts do not use juries, but multijudge panels are common.
Defendants are presumed innocent, and courts generally tried cases
without delay. Defendants have access to legal counsel of their own
choosing. For defendants unable to pay attorneys' fees, the government
covers the cost; however, defendants who are found guilty are required
to reimburse the government. Defendants have the right to be present at
their trial, to confront witnesses, to introduce evidence, and to
participate in the proceedings. They and their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. At the discretion of
the courts, prosecutors may introduce evidence that police obtained
illegally. Defendants have the right to appeal, and the Supreme Court
handles appeals expeditiously. These rights extend to all citizens
without prejudice.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--A single court system
handles both criminal and civil matters. The two levels of the
judiciary--the district courts and the Supreme Court--were considered
independent and impartial in civil matters. Lawsuits may seek damages
for, or cessation of, a human rights violation. Administrative remedies
are available as well as judicial remedies for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Immigration law allows authorities to conduct house searches
without a prior court order when there is a significant risk that delay
would jeopardize an investigation of immigration fraud. In September
2008 police searched the temporary residence of asylum seekers in
Reykjanesbaer, a municipality near Keflavik Airport, after obtaining a
court order. The police conducted the search on the suspicion that some
asylum seekers were withholding information pertinent to their asylum
requests. Immigration authorities were still processing their findings
at the end of the year.
Immigration law allows authorities to request DNA tests without
court supervision in cases where they suspect immigration fraud. There
were no reports that DNA testing took place during the year.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the government respected these
rights in practice. Individuals could criticize the government publicly
or privately without reprisal.
The law establishes fines and imprisonment for up to three months
for persons convicted of publicly deriding or belittling the religious
doctrines of a lawful religious association active in the country. The
law also establishes fines and imprisonment for up to two years for
anyone who publicly ridicules, slanders, insults, threatens, or in any
other manner publicly assaults a person or a group on the basis of
their nationality, skin color, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
There were no reports that the law was invoked during the year.
An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning
democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of
the press. The independent media were active and expressed a wide
variety of views without restriction.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to data from Statistics Iceland, approximately 93 percent of
the country's inhabitants used the Internet during the year.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. The state financially supported and promoted the official
religion, Lutheranism. Other religions did not receive equal financial
support from the government or treatment in school curricula (grades 1-
10).
The law specifies conditions and procedures that religious
organizations other than the state church must follow to be registered
by the government and to be eligible for a per-capita share of church
tax funds from the government. The government did not place any
restrictions or requirements on unregistered religious organizations,
which, except for access to state funds, had the same rights as other
groups in society. The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights approved
the registration of the Islamic Cultural Center of Iceland in March but
rejected the registration application of the New Avalon Center in May.
In October the ministry approved the registration of the Church of God
Ministry of Jesus Christ International and the Church of the
Resurrected Life, which previously applied for registration as the New
Avalon Center.
All citizens 16 years of age and older pay an annual church tax of
10,260 kronur (approximately $82). According to an amendment to the law
on church taxes passed in June, persons who are not registered as
belonging to a religious organization, or who belong to one that is not
registered and officially recognized, no longer have to pay church
taxes. Previously the tax payment went to the University of Iceland, a
secular institution. Atheists and ethical humanists had objected to
having their fees go to the university, asserting that this was
inconsistent with the right of freedom of association.
The state provided the Evangelical Lutheran State Church (ELSC)
with a per capita share of the church tax funds. In addition, the ELSC
received additional state funding that was not available to other
registered religious organizations.
In July 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) agreed to
review the case of the Icelandic Pagan Association (Asatruarfelagid) to
receive funding proportional to its membership from monies made
available only to the state church. The Supreme Court had previously
rejected the association's request. As of year's end, the ECHR had not
issued a judgment in the case.
The Muslim Association of Iceland's long-pending application to the
Reykjavik city planning commission for land to build a mosque
encountered further delay during the year. Some observers believed that
the commission was prejudiced against the proposed mosque, since the
applications of other groups for similar plots made swifter progress
during the same period.
School grades 1-10 (ages 6-15) in the public schools are required
by law to include instruction in theology. The precise content of this
instruction, however, can vary as the curriculum is not rigid and
teachers are often given wide latitude in the classroom. Lessons on
non-Christian religions are part of the curriculum, but some teachers
reportedly focused primarily on Christianity. Students may be exempted
from attending the classes upon parental request.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Jewish community numbered
fewer than 100 individuals. There was one report of an anti-Semitic
act. The proprietor of a Reykjavik bicycle store hung up a sign in his
store in January that read that no Jews were welcome. The owner removed
the sign in short order after receiving harsh public criticism.
The law establishes penalties of fines and up to two years in
prison for verbal or physical assault on an individual or group based
on religion. The law also establishes fines and imprisonment for up to
three months for publicly deriding or belittling the religious
doctrines of a lawful religious association active in the country.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees. Human rights advocates,
however, complained about the ambiguous nature of the asylum system and
the high refusal rate of asylum cases.
In practice, the government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. The government had no fixed refugee acceptance requirements.
Asylum seekers were eligible for government-subsidized health care
during the processing of their cases, which at times took a year or
longer. They could enroll their children in public schools after being
in the country for three months, and some children of asylum seekers
were enrolled in public schools during the year. Asylum seekers could
also obtain work permits and attend Icelandic language classes.
During the year, the Directorate of Immigration processed 41
applications for asylum. It gave residential permits on humanitarian
grounds to 10 persons and granted refugee status to three asylum
seekers and two of their dependents. The Directorate of Immigration
rejected eight asylum applications and deported 18 asylum seekers to
other European countries on the basis of the Dublin Convention.
The minister of justice appoints the director of immigration, who
also heads the adjudicating body for asylum cases. Some observers
asserted that this arrangement could constitute a conflict of interest.
Human rights advocates criticized the law for not specifying which
``significant human rights reasons'' must underpin granting temporary
residence (and eligibility for work permits) while asylum cases are
processed, arguing that the situation created the possible appearance
of arbitrary decisions. Observers noted that the law was ambiguous
about the criteria for granting and denying asylum. This ambiguity,
combined with the small number of approved asylum applications, left
unclear what considerations were applied in adjudicating the
applications of asylum seekers.
The law allows for accelerated refusal of applications deemed to be
``manifestly unfounded.'' Asylum seekers can appeal denials to the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. If rejected at that level, they
can appeal to the courts. Human rights advocates have criticized this
process, however, because several asylum applicants were deported when
their deportation dates came up even though they were still awaiting a
court decision on their appeal case.
In March the Supreme Court overturned a decision by the Directorate
of Immigration to reject a 2004 asylum application by a Mauritanian
citizen. The court stated that the directorate did not obtain necessary
and accessible information on which to base its decision on the asylum
request.
In July 2008 police carried out a deportation order from the
Directorate of Immigration and deported a Kenyan asylum seeker to Italy
without ruling on the merits of his claim. In August 2008 the minister
of justice overturned the directorate's decision and ordered it to
evaluate the basis of the Kenyan's asylum claim. The directorate was
processing the case at year's end.
In July 2008 a report by the UN Committee against Torture (CAT)
expressed concern over reports of inappropriate handling of asylum
requests by law enforcement officers and border guards, for example, at
airports and detention centers. The CAT report provided no specifics
concerning the reported incidents.
The law permits the government to provide temporary protection to
individuals who may not qualify as refugees. The government has never
made use of this authorization.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--On April 25, the country
held parliamentary elections that were considered free and fair. In
2008 the incumbent president was reelected unopposed. Political parties
could operate without restriction or outside interference.
There were 27 women in the 63-seat parliament and six women in the
12-member cabinet. Two of nine Supreme Court members and 14 of 40
district court judges were women. No members of minority groups held
seats in either the parliament or the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no reports of government corruption during the year. In August the
parliament created three independent junior special prosecutors to work
alongside the special prosecutor to investigate allegations of public
and private corruption related to the collapse of the country's three
largest banks in October 2008.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access in practice for citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media. On occasion the government denied
legal requests for information based on reasons of confidentiality. The
government provided the legal reasons for denials. Appeals against
refusals by government authorities to grant access to materials may be
referred to an information committee consisting of three persons
appointed by the prime minister. Permanent employees of government
ministries may not be members of the committee.
Most public officials were not subject to financial disclosure
laws. In March, however, the parliament's presidium approved nonbinding
rules stating that members of parliament are expected to report to the
presidium their financial interests for public disclosure. Every member
of parliament had registered his or her financial interests by year's
end.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The Icelandic Human Rights Center was the leading human rights
organization, vetting government legislation, reporting to
international treaty monitoring bodies, and promoting human rights
education and research. The center was funded by the government, the
EU, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), unions, and the city of
Reykjavik; it operated as an NGO.
An independent ombudsman, elected by parliament, monitored and
reported to national and local authorities on human rights developments
to ensure that all residents, whether or not they were citizens,
received equal protection. Individuals could lodge complaints with the
ombudsman about the decisions, procedures, and conduct of public
officials and government agencies. The ombudsman may demand official
reports, documents, and records, may summon officials to give
testimony, and has access to official premises. Government agencies
generally responded to the ombudsman's requests for information and
documents within a reasonable time. While the ombudsman's
recommendations are not binding on authorities, they were generally
adopted.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, and social status. Various laws implement these
prohibitions, and the government effectively enforced them.
Women.--Rape carries a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison.
Judges typically imposed sentences of one to three years. Spousal rape
is not explicitly addressed in the law. In previous years, the
Icelandic Counseling and Information Center for Survivors of Sexual
Violence (Stigamot) noted that the number of reported rapes
consistently rose faster than the number of convictions. According to
national police statistics, there were 68 reported rapes in 2008.
During that year prosecutors brought 10 cases to trial and obtained a
conviction in one. In 2007 convictions were obtained in 17 of the 19
cases that went to trial. Activists continued to complain that the
burden of proof in rape cases was too heavy and discouraged victims
from reporting acts of rape and the authorities from prosecuting them.
The government did not respond formally to these concerns.
The law prohibits domestic violence; however, violence against
women continued to be a problem. Police statistics indicated that the
incidence of reported violence against women, including rape and sexual
assault, was low; however, the number of women seeking medical and
counseling assistance suggested that many incidents went unreported.
During the year, 117 women sought temporary lodging at the country's
shelter for women, mainly because of domestic violence. The shelter
offered counseling to 197 clients. During the year 128 women sought
assistance at the rape crisis center of the national hospital
(Landspitali University Hospital).
In February the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Security
released the results of a survey conducted to gauge the extent of
violence against women. The survey indicated that 42 percent of the
country's women suffered physical or sexual violence or been threatened
with it since they were 16 years old.
The law permits judges to increase the sentences of persons who
commit violence against persons with whom they had a domestic
relationship or other close bond. However, there were no domestic
violence cases in which judges actually handed down stronger sentences,
and one respected activist expressed concern that sentences were too
mild. The State Prosecutor's Office reported 263 cases of domestic
quarrelling and 252 cases of domestic violence during the year.
Although courts could issue restraining orders, advocates expressed
concern that such orders were ineffective because courts granted them
only in extreme circumstances and the court system took too long to
issue them. Victims of sex crimes were entitled to lawyers to advise
them of their rights and help them pursue cases against the alleged
assailants; however, a large majority of victims declined to press
charges or chose to forgo trial, in part to avoid publicity.
Some local human rights monitors attributed underreporting of
domestic violence and sex crimes to the infrequency of convictions and
to traditionally light sentences. In the few cases of domestic violence
that went to court, the courts continued in many cases to base
sentences on precedent and rarely made full use of the more stringent
sentencing authority available under the law. According to statistics
from the Icelandic Counseling and Information Center for Survivors of
Sexual Violence, 14 percent of its clients pressed charges in 2008, the
latest year for which data was available.
The government helped finance the Icelandic Counseling and
Information Center for Survivors of Sexual Violence, the rape crisis
center of the national hospital, and other organizations that assisted
victims of domestic or gender-based violence. In addition to partially
funding such services, the government provided help to immigrant women
in abusive relationships, offering emergency accommodation, counseling,
and information on legal rights.
Prostitution is legal; however, in April the parliament passed
legislation criminalizing the buying of sexual services. The law also
prohibits advertising for prostitution and prohibits a third party, or
pimp, from profiting from prostitution or procurement of sexual
services. It is also illegal for a person to rent facilities for
prostitution.
Two laws prohibit sexual harassment. The general penal code
prohibits sexual harassment and stipulates that violations are
punishable by imprisonment. The law on equal status defines sexual
harassment more broadly. The law requires employers and organization
supervisors to make specific arrangements to prevent employees,
students, and clients from becoming victims of gender-based or sexual
harassment. Victims of harassment could report incidents to the
Complaints Committee on Equal Status. Employers were only required to
provide their employees with information on the legal prohibitions
against sexual harassment in workplaces with 25 or more employees.
Gender equality advocates reported receiving several complaints during
the year; there were two court cases, but no guilty verdicts.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception and
skilled attendance during childbirth, and women were diagnosed and
treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally
with men.
Women enjoy the same legal rights as men, including under the
family and property laws and in the judicial system. However, despite
laws that require equal pay for equal work, a pay gap existed between
men and women. According to a 2008 study commissioned by the Ministry
of Social Affairs and Social Security, women earned 16 percent less
than men.
The law states that employers and unions should work towards gender
equality in the labor market, especially in managerial positions, and
that employers should work towards declassifying jobs as primarily
female- or male-oriented.
The government funded a center for promoting gender equality to
administer the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men.
The center also provided counseling and education on gender equality to
national and municipal authorities, institutions, companies,
individuals, and NGOs. The minister of social affairs and social
security appoints members of the Complaints Committee on Equal Status,
which adjudicates alleged violations of the act. The minister also
appoints members of Equal Status Council, drawn from national women's
organizations, the University of Iceland, and labor and professional
groups. The council makes recommendations for equalizing the status of
men and women in the workplace.
During the year the Complaints Committee on Equal Status decided
eight cases. In one case the committee found that Kaupthing Bank
breached the law on equal status when, after terminating a female
employee and three male employees, it offered jobs to the three men but
not to the woman. The committee also found that the bank had
discriminated against the same woman when she received lower bonus
payments than a male employee in a similar position.
Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). A child acquires the country's citizenship at birth if both
parents are Icelandic citizens, if the mother is an Icelandic citizen,
or if the father is an Icelandic citizen and is married to a foreign
mother. This does not apply if a mixed-nationality couple had obtained
a judicial separation at the time when the child was conceived.
In 2008 local child protection committees, whose work is
coordinated by the Agency for Child Protection, received 1,526 reports
of abuse, including 571 reports of emotional abuse, 480 of physical
abuse, and 479 of sexual abuse. The agency operated four treatment
centers and a diagnostic facility for abused and troubled minors and
coordinated the work of 30 committees throughout the country that were
responsible for managing child protection issues in their local areas.
The local committees hired professionals with expertise in social work
and child protection.
The government maintained a children's assessment center to
accelerate prosecution of child sexual abuse cases and to lessen the
trauma experienced by the child. During the year the center conducted
217 investigative interviews, provided assessments and therapy for 110
children, and performed 27 medical examinations. The center was
intended to create a safe and secure environment where child victims
might feel more comfortable talking about their abuse. It brought
together police, prosecutors, judges, doctors, and officials from child
protection services. After an interview with a child, the assessment
center could analyze the possible effects of the sexual abuse on the
child and family. The children's assessment center could also provide
advice to parents. District court judges were not required to use the
center, and the Reykjavik District Court held investigatory interviews
in its courthouse instead, a practice that concerned some children's
rights advocates.
The children's ombudsman, who is appointed by the prime minister
but acts independently of the government, has a mandate to protect
children's rights, interests, and welfare. When investigating
complaints, which typically involved physical and psychological abuse
and inadequate accommodation for children with illnesses or
disabilities, the ombudsman had access to all public and private
institutions that house or otherwise care for children. The ombudsman
was not empowered to intervene in individual cases but could
investigate them for indications of a general trend. The ombudsman
could also initiate cases at her discretion. While the ombudsman's
recommendations are not binding on authorities, they are generally
adopted.
The law criminalizes statutory rape, and it is punishable by up to
12 years in prison. The minimum age for consensual sex is 14. The law
prohibits child pornography and it is punishable by up to two years in
prison.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
with the aim of sexual abuse or forced labor and provides for
imprisonment of up to eight years for such offenses. Victims may file
civil suits or seek legal action against the traffickers. During the
year there were reports that persons were trafficked to and through the
country.
In a September report on human trafficking, the Icelandic Red Cross
stated that 59 to 128 persons were trafficked to the country between
2005 and 2008.
An estimated 70 percent of trafficking cases involved underpaid or
mistreated workers in nightclubs and massage parlors and as women in
prostitution trafficked from Eastern Europe, Africa, Brazil, and
Southeast Asia. Nightclub and massage parlor workers who were allegedly
forced to work in prostitution may have stayed for several months
before being trafficked onward, while others may have spent only a few
days in Reykjavik before being moved abroad. Observers also alleged
that workers in the construction and restaurant industries were
exploited. The Throughout the year, the Directorate of Labor
investigated cases involving undocumented workers suspected of being
victims of trafficking. In some cases employers were fined for
noncompliance with labor laws, but none were charged with trafficking.
According to a February report by the national police commissioner
on organized crime and terrorist threats, traffickers are often
connected with dealers of illegal narcotics, and international
organized crime rings traffic foreign women to the country for the
purpose of prostitution.
In December the Reykjanes District Court acquitted a woman of
Equatorial Guinean origin of trafficking charges; she was the first
person in the country ever to be indicted on such charges. The woman
was convicted of profiting from prostitution as a third party, and two
days later she was charged again on separate counts of trafficking. The
matter had not gone to court by year's end.
In March the parliament approved the country's first national
action plan on trafficking in persons. In October the Ministry of
Justice and Human Rights took over primary responsibility from the
Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Security for efforts to prevent
and punish trafficking. In December the parliament amended the
legislative definition of a trafficking victim to pave the way for the
ratification of the Palermo Protocol to the UN Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime.
Legal measures to reduce the number and operations of strip clubs
in the Reykjavik metropolitan area, the predominant location of
prostitution and trafficking cases, have been somewhat successful. At
the end of the year, as a result of strengthened licensing requirements
for such establishments, only three strip clubs remained in operation
in the country, all in the Reykjavik area. The owners of these
establishments were reportedly able to exploit loopholes in the law to
remain in operation. According to NGO representatives and police,
rumors continued to circulate that prostitution, illegal nude shows,
and lap dances took place in the three establishments.
The government provided funding for various organizations that
assist victims of trafficking but did not have its own assistance
program for trafficking victims.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities, and there were no reports of
official discrimination in employment, education, access to health
care, and the provision of other state services. The law also provides
that persons with disabilities receive preference for government jobs
when they are at least as qualified as other applicants. However,
disability rights advocates asserted that the law was not fully
implemented and that persons with disabilities constituted a majority
of the country's poor.
Building regulations require that public accommodations and
government buildings, including elevators, be accessible to persons in
wheelchairs, that public property managers reserve 1 percent of parking
spaces (a minimum of one space) for persons with disabilities, and that
sidewalks outside the main entrance of such buildings be kept clear of
ice and snow to the extent possible. Violations of these regulations
are punishable by a fine or a jail sentence of up to two years;
however, the main association for persons with disabilities complained
that authorities rarely, if ever, assessed penalties for noncompliance.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Security was the lead
government body responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. It coordinated the work of six regional offices that
provided services and support to persons with disabilities. It also
maintained a diagnostic and advisory center in Reykjavik that aimed to
create conditions allowing persons with disabilities to lead normal
lives.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Immigrants, mainly from Eastern
Europe and the Baltic countries, stood out from the largely homogeneous
population and suffered occasional incidents of harassment based on
their ethnicity.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender persons' organizations in the country included Samtokin
'78, the major interest and activist group, and Trans-Iceland, an
activist organization for transgender persons.
Reykjavik Gay Pride is an independent organization responsible for
coordinating annual gay pride festivities in Reykjavik. An estimated
80,000-100,000 persons attended the annual gay pride march in Reykjavik
in August. The government authorized the march and police provided
sufficient protection to marchers.
There were no reports of societal violence or discrimination based
on sexual orientation.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join independent unions of their choice without previous authorization
or excessive requirements, and workers exercised these rights. Labor
unions were independent of the government and political parties.
Approximately 80-85 percent of all eligible workers belonged to unions.
Workers had the right to strike and exercised this right in practice.
The government has imposed mandatory mediation when strikes have
threatened key sectors in the economy, such as in the fishing industry.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference and prohibits
antiunion discrimination and employer interference in union functions,
and the government protected these rights in practice. The law allows
workers, including foreign workers, to bargain collectively, and
workers exercised this right in practice. Nearly 100 percent of the
workforce was covered by collective bargaining agreements.
There were no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women were trafficked to the country from Eastern Europe,
Africa, and Brazil for sexual exploitation. There were also reports of
persons being trafficked to the country to work in the construction,
manufacturing, and restaurant industries.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively implemented laws and policies to protect
children from exploitation in the workplace.
The law prohibits the employment of persons younger than 16 in
factories, on ships, or in other places that are hazardous or require
hard labor; this prohibition was observed in practice. Children who are
14 or 15 may work part time or during school vacations in light,
nonhazardous jobs. Their work hours must not exceed the ordinary work
hours of adults in the same positions. The Administration of
Occupational Safety and Health (AOSH) enforced child labor regulations
effectively.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law does not establish a
minimum wage. The minimum wages negotiated in various collective
bargaining agreements applied automatically to all employees in those
occupations, including foreign workers, regardless of union membership.
While the agreements can be either industry- or sector-wide, or in some
cases firm-specific, the negotiated wage levels are occupation-
specific. Labor contracts provided a decent standard of living for a
worker and family.
The standard legal workweek is 40 hours, including nearly three
hours of paid breaks a week. Work exceeding eight hours per day must be
compensated as overtime. Workers are entitled to 11 hours of rest
within each 24-hour period and to a day off every week. Under special
defined circumstances, employers may reduce the 11-hour rest period to
no less than eight hours, but they must then compensate workers with
one-and-a-half hours of rest for every hour of reduction. They may also
postpone a worker's day off, but the worker must receive the
corresponding rest time within 14 days. Foreign workers are entitled to
the same protections in terms of working time and rest periods as
citizens. The AOSH effectively enforced these regulations.
There were indications that undocumented foreign workers--primarily
men in the construction and restaurant industries--were underpaid and
required to work long hours while living in substandard housing or even
sleeping at building sites. Most sources stressed that the men
willingly worked illegally to earn more than they might have expected
in their East European or Baltic home countries. The size of the
immigrant labor force shrank drastically because of the country's
financial and economic crisis that began in fall 2008.
The law sets health and safety standards, and the Ministry of
Social Affairs and Social Security administers and enforces them
through the AOSH, which conducted both proactive and reactive
inspections. The ministry can close workplaces that fail to meet safety
and health standards. Workers have a collective, but not individual,
right to refuse to work at a job that does not meet occupational safety
and health criteria. It is illegal to fire workers for reporting unsafe
or unhealthy conditions, and this law is generally observed in
practice.
__________
IRELAND
Ireland, with a population of approximately 4.1 million, is a
multiparty parliamentary democracy with an executive branch headed by a
prime minister, a bicameral parliament (Oireachtas), and a directly
elected president. The country held free and fair parliamentary
elections in 2007. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of the security forces.
During the year there were some reports of police abuse of
authority and inadequate care for prisoners with mental disabilities.
Domestic violence; mistreatment of children; trafficking in persons;
and discrimination against racial minorities, immigrants, and
Travellers were problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, there were
reports of abuse by police officers.
In 2007, the most recent year that it published a report on the
country, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) noted that it identified cases of police verbally or
physically mistreating detainees during its 2006 monitoring visit to
the country's prisons and detention centers.
Between January and October, the Police Ombudsman Commission
received 1,781 complaints against police officers.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--While prison conditions
generally met international standards, there were some problems. Some
mentally ill prisoners were alleged to have been inappropriately held
in prisons rather than in mental health care facilities.
Prison overcrowding was a problem. According to the 2008 Irish
Prison Service annual report, prisons averaged a 99 percent occupancy
rate, with several prisons exceeding their capacity.
At times authorities held detainees awaiting trial in the same
facilities as convicts. The country maintained a facility to ensure
separation between children and young adults. However, authorities held
a small number of 17-year-olds with specific individual needs,
including the need for higher security, with young adults.
The inspector of prisons reported that overcrowding at Mountjoy
prison (the country's largest) was so severe that prisoners were held
in reception and shower blocks. A number of cells had no sanitation
facilities, and prisoners were forced to ``slop out'' their cells. The
prison was infested with mice and cockroaches.
Human rights groups continued to criticize understaffing and poor
infrastructure at the Central Mental Health Hospital in Dundrum, the
country's only secure hospital for prisoners with mental disabilities.
The government generally permitted prison visits by domestic and
international human rights observers, including the International
Committee of the Red Cross. There were no visits by such groups during
the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the national police and the army,
which was authorized to act when necessary in support of the unarmed
police. The government had effective mechanisms to investigate and
punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity
involving the security forces during the year; however, there were
isolated problems of abusive behavior, which the government
investigated.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--An arrest
requires a warrant except in situations requiring immediate action for
the protection of the public. Detainees must be promptly informed of
the charges against them and, with few exceptions, may not be held
longer than 24 hours without charge. For crimes involving firearms,
explosives, or membership in an unlawful organization, a judge may
extend detention for an additional 24 hours upon the police
superintendent's request. The law permits detention without charge for
up to seven days in cases involving suspicion of drug trafficking;
however, to hold such a suspect longer than 48 hours, police must seek
a judge's approval.
Upon their arrest, the law permits detainees and prisoners prompt
and unrestricted access to attorneys. If the detainee does not have an
attorney, the court appoints one; for indigent detainees the government
provides. The law allows detainees prompt access to family members.
The law requires that authorities bring a detainee before a
district court judge ``as soon as possible'' to determine bail status
pending a hearing. The law allows a court to refuse bail to a person
charged with a crime that carries a penalty of five years' imprisonment
or more, or when deemed necessary to prevent the commission of another
serious offense.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
The director of public prosecutions prosecutes criminal cases. The
country generally used jury trials in criminal cases, and the accused
may choose an attorney. Indigent defendants have the right to an
attorney at public expense. Defendants enjoy the presumption of
innocence and have the right to present evidence, question witnesses,
and appeal.
The law explicitly allows ``special courts'' to be created when
``ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration
of justice and the preservation of public peace and order.'' A nonjury
``special criminal court'' tries all cases the director of public
prosecutions certifies to be beyond the capabilities of an ordinary
court. The judicial branch selects the three judges making up a special
court, which usually includes one high court judge, one circuit court
judge, and one district court judge. The panel reaches its verdicts by
majority vote. The rules of evidence are generally the same as in
regular courts, but the court accepts a sworn statement of a police
chief superintendent identifying the accused as a member of an illegal
organization as prima facie evidence of such membership. Special
criminal court proceedings are generally public, but judges may exclude
certain persons other than journalists. Special criminal court
decisions may be appealed to the court of criminal appeal.
The constitution allows the parliament to create tribunals, with
limited powers, to investigate designated matters, usually cases of
government corruption. They do not try cases; however, if warranted,
their findings may be the basis for formal charges. In each instance,
the legislation creating the tribunal sets out its powers and rules of
procedure. Authorities established some tribunals to last indefinitely
and established others only for a specific task.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The independent and
impartial judicial system hears civil cases and appeals on civil
matters, including damage claims resulting from human rights
violations; such claims may be brought before all appropriate courts,
including the Supreme Court.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
The constitution provides for freedom of the press with the
qualification that it not ``undermine public order or morality or the
authority of the state.'' The constitution prohibits the publication or
utterance of ``blasphemous, seditious, or indecent'' material. A new
law, scheduled to go into effect in 2010, establishes that a person can
be found guilty of blasphemy if ``he or she publishes or utters matter
that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred
by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of
the adherents of that religion.'' The maximum penalty for this offense
is a 25,000 euros ($35,850) fine.
The law proscribes words or behaviors that are likely to generate
hatred against persons in the country or elsewhere because of their
race, nationality, religion, national origins, or sexual orientation.
There were no reports that authorities invoked these provisions during
the year.
The law empowers the government to prohibit the state-owned radio
and television network from broadcasting any material ``likely to
promote or incite to crime or which would tend to undermine the
authority of the state.'' Authorities did not invoke this prohibition
during the year.
The independent print media were active and expressed a wide
variety of views without government restriction.
Broadcasting remained mostly under state control, but private
sector broadcasting continued to thrive. There were 57 independent
radio stations and one national independent television station. Access
to cable and satellite television was widespread.
The Censorship of Publications Board has the authority to censor
books and magazines it finds indecent or obscene. The board did not
exercise this authority during the year.
On July 31, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court finding that
two journalists had to reveal their sources and answer questions
regarding their actions following their 2007 publication of details
concerning then prime minister Bertie Ahern's finances.
The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) must classify films and
videos before they can be shown or sold; it must cut or prohibit any
film that is ``indecent, obscene, or blasphemous'' or which tends to
``inculcate principles contrary to public morality or subversive of
public morality.'' During the year the IFCO did not prohibit any films
or videos.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 64 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected this right. The law allows the state to ``prevent
or control meetings'' that authorities believe would breach the peace
or to be a danger or nuisance to the general public.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
Most primary and secondary schools were confessional, and trustees
of the particular faith espoused by the school generally governed their
management boards. Under the constitution, the Department of Education
must fund schools of different religious denominations, including
Islamic and Jewish schools, on an equal basis, and did so during the
year. Although religious instruction was an integral part of the
curriculum, the law allows parents to exempt their children from such
instruction.
The Department of Education indicated that it would not issue a
formal policy recommendation on the June 2008 case of a Wexford school
that granted permission for a student to wear a hijab (headscarf),
providing the hijab met the color guidelines for school uniforms.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to the 2006 census,
the Jewish community numbered 1,930 persons.
There were no developments in the cases of the January 2008 anti-
Semitic voice message left on the answering machine of the Dublin
Hebrew Congregation or the May 2008 painting of anti-Semitic slogans
and a swastika on the home of a Jewish couple in Tuam.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and laws provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
The government operated a resettlement program that accommodates up
to 200 persons per year on referral from the UNHCR or identified
through selection missions to existing UNHCR refugee operations.
During the year the government granted leave to remain to 659
individuals who did not qualify as refugees. Of these, 623 were failed
asylum seekers.
There have been no reports of discrimination against refugees,
restrictions on their ability to work, or access to education and law
enforcement.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The country held
parliamentary elections, which observers considered to be free and
fair, in 2007. Political parties could operate without restriction or
outside interference.
On June 5, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that authorities considered free and fair.
There were 22 women in the 166-seat house of representatives (Dail
Eireann) and 13 women in the 60-seat senate (Seanad Eireann). The
president of the republic was a woman, as were three of the 15
government ministers. There were five women on the 34-member High Court
and two on the eight member Supreme Court.
There were no minorities in the lower house, the senate, or the
cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
some allegations of government corruption during the year.
During the year the investigation of former prime minister Bertie
Ahern continued for his alleged improper acceptance of financial
payments and loans from friends and business associates during his
1993-94 tenure as minister of finance.
Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Revenue Commission in the Department of Finance is responsible for
identifying and combating government corruption.
The law provides for public access to government information and
requires government agencies to publish information on their activities
and make such information available to citizens, noncitizens, and
foreign media upon request. Authorities generally granted public
information requests and did not charge prohibitive fees. There were
mechanisms for appealing denials.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The country has an ombudsman for the press and a human rights
commission.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of
gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion,
age, disability, race, and membership in the Traveller community, and
the government sought to enforce the law; however, discrimination
against racial and ethnic minorities, including immigrants and
Travellers, remained a problem.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including rape within marriage,
and the government enforced it. The law provides for free legal advice
to victims of serious sexual assault. In 2008 there were 72 rape cases
tried in court and 42 persons convicted of rape and other sexual
offenses. Most of the persons convicted received prison sentences of
between five and 12 years. However, six offenders received longer
sentences, including one life sentence.
The law criminalizes domestic violence, but such violence continued
to be a problem. The law authorizes prosecution of a violent family
member and provides victims with safety orders that prohibit a person
from engaging in violent actions or threats and orders that bar an
offender from entering the family home for up to three years. Victims
may apply for interim protection while courts process their cases.
Violations of these orders are punishable by a fine of up to 1,900
euros ($2,723). In 2008 courts received 3,328 safety order applications
and 3,096 barring applications.
The government funded centers throughout the country for victims of
domestic abuse.
Although prostitution is not a crime, any public solicitation for
prostitution is illegal. It was also illegal to keep or to manage a
brothel. Reports of, and arrests for, these crimes were rare.
The law obliges employers to prevent sexual harassment and
prohibits dismissing an employee for making a complaint of sexual
harassment. The Equality Authority investigates claims of unfair
dismissal and may require an employer to reinstate the employee or pay
the employee up to 104 weeks' pay. Authorities effectively enforced the
law in the few cases of sexual harassment that were reported.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception and
skilled attendance during childbirth. Women were diagnosed and treated
for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men.
Women enjoy the same legal rights as men, including rights under
family law, property law, and in the judicial system. However,
inequalities in pay and promotions persisted in both the public and
private sectors. Average women's earnings were 78 percent of men's.
Women constituted 43 percent of the labor force but were
underrepresented in senior management positions.
Children.--A person born on the island of Ireland in or after 2005
is automatically an Irish citizen if he/she is not entitled to the
citizenship of any other country or if at least one of his/her parents
is an Irish citizen, a British citizen, a resident of the island of
Ireland who is entitled to reside in either the Republic or in Northern
Ireland without any time limit on that residence, or a legal resident
of the island of Ireland for three out of the four years preceding the
child's birth (excluding time spent as a student or an asylum seeker).
In 2008 the Health Service Executive (HSE) reported receiving
23,268 complaints of alleged child abuse, of which 15,074 authorities
formally investigated. The law requires that organizations providing
services to children identify and report cases of physical and sexual
abuse. In 2008 the Dublin Rape Crisis Center reported that 45 percent
of the calls to its crisis line involved child sexual abuse. Fifteen
centers provided face-to-face support to 4,928 individuals. The law
requires government health boards to identify and help children who are
not receiving adequate care and gives police the authority to remove
children from the family if there is an immediate and serious risk to
their health or welfare.
Unaccompanied minors entering the country continued to be an area
of concern. Since 2000, 503 migrant children went missing from the
health care system. Through August, 40 children were reported missing
from the health care system.
Numerous NGOs offered support for victims as well as resources for
parents and professionals who work with children.
The ombudsman for children investigates complaints from children or
persons acting on their behalf against various governmental and
nongovernmental bodies and promotes child welfare.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that men, women, and children
were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and labor.
The country is a destination and, to a lesser extent, transit point
for women, men, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial
sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women from Europe, Africa and, to
a lesser extent, South America and Asia reportedly have been trafficked
to Ireland for forced prostitution. There were no reliable statistics
on the number of trafficking victims, but a 2007 joint study by the
National University of Ireland and Trinity College to establish a
baseline estimate of cases of sex trafficking into the country since
2000 concluded that the minimum number of such cases during the seven-
year period was 76.
The law prohibits the selling or purchasing of any person for any
purpose and carries penalties of up to life imprisonment. The law also
provides that if a citizen or resident is alleged to have committed a
trafficking offense abroad, Irish courts may accept jurisdiction to try
the offense and may impose similar penalties.
The government works with NGOs to combat trafficking. The
government distributed NGO-developed posters to assist victims at
airports, bus and rail stations, ports, hospitals, and police stations,
and provided funding for an NGO-run hotline for victims and potential
victims.
The government, in conjunction with the International Organization
for Migration (IOM), trained labor inspectors, health service
employees, and others likely to encounter trafficking. A professional
development course, designed by the police with the assistance of the
IOM, the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Center, and NGOs, was
provided to frontline police, immigration officers, and a number of
officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The country maintained the unit to combat human trafficking. In
2008 the Department of Justice provided 275,000 euros ($394,135) to the
NGO Ruhama, which supported victims of sexual exploitation.
The Department of Defense provided training modules to peacekeepers
on human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The country also
participated in an EU initiative to combat trafficking.
There was no evidence that government officials participated in,
facilitated, or condoned trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state
services; and the government effectively enforced these provisions. The
law requires access to buildings where possible for persons with
disabilities, and the government generally enforced these provisions.
The National Disability Authority has responsibility for setting
and implementing disability standards, as well as directing disability
policy.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits
discrimination based on language or social status, and the government
enforced the law; however, societal discrimination and violence against
immigrants and racial and ethnic minorities, including Asians, Eastern
and Baltic Europeans, and Africans, continued to be a problem. There
were racially motivated incidents involving physical violence,
intimidation, graffiti, and verbal slurs. NGOs reported an increase in
``Irish only'' job advertisements, and the Economic and Social Research
Institute noted that job candidates with typical Irish names were more
likely to be appointed than those with non-Irish names.
According to the 2006 census, 22,369 persons identified themselves
as members of a nomadic ethnic group called ``Travellers,'' with a
distinct history and culture. Travellers faced societal discrimination
and were regularly denied access to premises, goods, facilities, and
services, despite applicable antidiscrimination laws.
Despite national regulations, Travellers frequently experienced
difficulties enrolling their children in school. Of the estimated 5,000
Traveller families, approximately 1,000 lived on the roadsides or at
other temporary sites without electricity or sanitary facilities. Many
Travellers depended on social welfare for survival, and their
participation in the economy was limited by discrimination and lack of
education.
The law obliges local officials to develop accommodations for
Travellers and to solicit Traveller input into the process. Traveller
NGOs asserted, however, that many communities provided Travellers with
housing, such as government-owned apartments or townhouses, that was
inconsistent with the nomadic Traveller lifestyle or provided halting
sites that did not include basic amenities such as sanitary facilities,
electricity, and water.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
There were seven gay and lesbian resource centers in the country,
in Dublin, Cork (two centers), Limerick, Derry, Waterford, and Dundalk.
All cities and many smaller towns celebrated gay pride with parades
and festivals. The government endorsed these activities and provided
sufficient protection.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers with the
right to form and join independent unions of their choice without
previous authorization or excessive requirements, and the law was
implemented. Approximately 33 percent of workers in the private sector
and 95 percent in the public sector were union members. Among foreign-
owned firms, an estimated 80 percent of workers did not belong to
unions, although pay and benefits were usually more attractive compared
with domestic firms. Police and military personnel may form
associations, but technically not unions, to represent them in matters
of pay, working conditions, and general welfare. The law allows unions
to conduct their activities without government interference, and this
right was exercised in practice. The law provides for the right to
strike, except for police and military personnel, and workers exercised
this right in both the public and private sectors.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Labor unions
have the right to pursue collective bargaining and in most instances
did so freely; however, the law did not require employers to engage in
collective bargaining, and they did not encourage it. Unions reported
31 percent of the Irish labor force as members.
There were no reports of antiunion discrimination.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the export processing zone at the Shannon airport.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. NGOs reported that men and women
were trafficked into the country for work in the construction industry,
commercial fishing, as domestic servants in private homes, or in
agriculture; however, officials asserted that while trafficking and
labor exploitation occurred, the magnitude of the problem was small.
Trafficked women and girls were forced into prostitution on the
streets, from apartments, or as escorts. NGOs believed a number of
Romani children have been trafficked for the purpose of forced begging;
however, given the difficulty in understanding Romani family
structures, they could not confirm that the children were not with a
natural parent.
The government has partnered with the International Labor
Organization in its antitrafficking initiative and has formed a labor
exploitation working group, involving members from trade unions and
employer organizations.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government implemented laws and policies to protect children from
exploitation in the workplace, and the government effectively enforced
these laws. Children were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
and forced begging and to work in restaurants and domestic service.
Under the law employers may not employ children under the age of 16
in a regular, full-time job. Employers may hire 14- or 15-year-olds for
light work on school holidays as part of an approved work experience or
educational program. Employers may hire children over the age of 15 on
a part-time basis during the school year. The law establishes rest
intervals and maximum working hours, prohibits the employment of 18-
year-olds for late night work, and requires employers to keep more
detailed records on workers under 18 years of age. The Office of the
Labor Inspectorate at the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and
Employment is responsible for enforcement and was generally effective.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage is
8.65 euros ($12.40) per hour. Although low-income families were
entitled to such benefits as subsidized housing, medical coverage, and
children's allowances to accommodate for low wage, legally present
foreign migrant workers are eligible for this type of assistance.
During the year reports persisted that the pay of foreign migrant
workers was at times below the minimum wage, particularly in the rural
agricultural and construction sectors. The law explicitly omits foreign
migrant workers from laws regulating wages.
The government operates a labor-monitoring agency independent of
the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, which primarily
represents business interests. The agency was active and effective.
The standard workweek is 39 hours. The law limited working hours in
the industrial sector to nine hours per day and 48 hours per week. The
law limited overtime work to two hours per day, 12 hours per week, and
240 hours per year. The government effectively enforced these
standards. Although there is no statutory entitlement to premium pay
for overtime, it could be arranged between employer and employee. NGOs
and trade unions reported that these standards did not apply to agency
workers, i.e., workers supplied by third-party contractors. These
workers, who were predominantly migrant laborers, were also
specifically excluded from laws regulating pay.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment is responsible
for enforcing occupational safety laws, and these laws provided
adequate and comprehensive protection. There were no complaints from
either labor or management during the year regarding shortcomings in
enforcement. Regulations provide workers with the right to remove
themselves from dangerous work situations that present a ``serious,
imminent, and unavoidable risk'' without jeopardy to their continued
employment, and authorities effectively enforced this right.
__________
ITALY
Italy is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with a population of
approximately 59.1 million. The bicameral parliament consists of the
Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Executive authority is vested in
the Council of Ministers, headed by the president of the council (the
prime minister). The president, who is the head of state, nominates the
prime minister after consulting with the leaders of all political
forces in the parliament. International observers considered the April
2008 national parliamentary elections free and fair. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
The government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, although there were problems with lengthy pretrial detention;
excessively long court proceedings; violence against women; trafficking
in persons; and abuse of homosexuals, Roma, and other minorities.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings during the
year. Although security forces were involved in several controversial
killings, there was no apparent systematic pattern of abuse by
authorities.
On January 30, a police inspector was involved in the fatal
shooting of his neighbor, Diouf Ckeikh, a Senegalese immigrant. The
incident, which took place in Civitavecchia, was the result of a minor
dispute.
On March 20, an Algerian detained in a center for identification
and expulsion in Rome died. Red Cross physicians stated a heart attack
caused his death, while other detainees claimed that police officers
had beaten him. The Ministry of Interior ordered an internal
investigation.
On April 7, authorities charged two police officers in Milan with
the murder of Giuseppe Turrisi, a man who was living in a homeless
shelter. According to prosecutors, blows from the two officers resulted
in the man's death.
On July 14, a judge sentenced a police officer to six years'
imprisonment in the widely reported case of Gabriele Sandri. The court
found the officer guilty of manslaughter for using excessive force in
his attempt to break up a fight involving rival soccer fans in Arezzo
in 2007.
On July 6, a judge sentenced four police officers to three years
and six months in prison for the 2005 involuntary manslaughter of
Federico Aldrovandi in Ferrara. In this case, police responded to a
report of a person under the influence. The suspect later died from
injuries he sustained while he was being taken into custody.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, there were
reports that police occasionally used excessive force against persons,
particularly Roma and immigrants detained in connection with common
criminal offenses or in the course of identity checks.
On May 15, Parma prosecutors indicted local police officers for
assaulting Emmanuel Bonsu Foster, a young Ghanaian whom police
identified as a drug dealer.
On October 7, the court of Genoa acquitted Gianni De Gennaro, who
was head of the National Police during protest demonstrations at the
2001 G-8 summit. Authorities had charged him with inducing police
officers to give false testimony regarding police behavior toward the
protesters.
In July 2008 a court sentenced 15 police officers to prison terms
of five months to five years for the ``inhuman or degrading
treatment,'' including assault, of some detained protesters. In
November 2008 a Genoa court sentenced to two- to four-year prison terms
13 police officers convicted of perjury, conspiracy, or assault
stemming from their raid on a building used by the protesters.
In 2008 the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) issued judgments
that found that the country had twice violated the prohibition against
inhuman or degrading treatment in the European Convention on Human
Rights.
On March 24, the ECHR, citing the need to prevent violation of
their rights in their home countries, blocked the deportation of eight
individuals whom authorities considered terrorists.
On August 3, the Interior Ministry deported a Tunisian man, Toumi
Ali Ben Sassi, despite a May 18 request by the ECHR not to execute the
expulsion on the grounds that he risked torture and mistreatment in his
home country.
On February 24, the ECHR ruled that the June 2008 expulsion of Ben
Khemais violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, although some
prisons remained overcrowded and antiquated. The government permitted
visits by independent human rights observers. On July 26, the ECHR
determined that there had been a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of
inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human
Rights regarding treatment of Bosnian inmate Izet Sulejmanovic in
Rebibbia Prison from November 2002 to April 2003. The same court
determined there had been no violation of the Convention for the period
of detention from April to October 2003. Sulejmanovic filed suit based
on the conditions of his detention, in particular, prison overcrowding
and insufficient daily exercise outside of his cell. The court ordered
the government to pay Sulejmanovic 1,000 euros ($1,430) in
compensation.
On October 16, authorities arrested Stefano Cucchi for drug
possession. While in custody, police transferred him to Rebibbia prison
and then to a hospital, where he died on October 22. The circumstances
of his death were not clear. The Prosecutor's Office in Rome opened a
manslaughter investigation. The prisoners' rights group Antigone
claimed that authorities held Cucchi in an overcrowded prison,
resulting in failure to provide him the care due a prisoner arrested
while under the influence of drugs.
According to the Ministry of Justice, at year's end, an estimated
66,500 inmates were in a prison system designed to hold 44,066;
however, the uneven distribution of prisoners left a few institutions
particularly overcrowded. Older facilities lacked outdoor or exercise
space, and some prisons lacked adequate medical care. In September
approximately 52 percent of inmates were serving sentences; the other
47 percent were mainly detainees awaiting trial.
According to an independent research center, during the year 175
prisoners died in custody, 72 of them by suicide. There were
allegations that a small number of these deaths were the result of
abuse or negligence on the part of prison officials.
Temporary detention centers for immigrants were less overcrowded
than in the past due to a decrease in the number of persons reaching
the country illegally from North Africa. The law does not require
pretrial detainees to be held separately from convicted prisoners; they
were held together in smaller prisons.
The government permitted visits to detention facilities by
independent human rights organizations, parliamentarians, and the
media.
In November 2008 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
visited some facilities in Milan, Rome, Naples, and Sicily and
expressed concerns about detention conditions of prisoners condemned
for Mafia-related crimes. Several municipalities had permanent
independent ombudsmen to promote the rights of detainees and facilitate
access to health care and other services. The government provided
access to detention centers for representatives of the Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and these visits were in
accordance with the UNHCR's standard modalities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the Carabinieri, the national police,
the financial police, and municipal police forces. The government has
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during
the year; however, long delays by prosecutors and authorities in
completing investigations of some cases of alleged abuse undercut the
effectiveness of mechanisms to investigate and punish police abuses.
On July 14, a court sentenced two of eight Carabinieri arrested in
Milan in 2006 for graft and evidence tampering to 30 to 66 months'
imprisonment; it acquitted one of them. The eight reportedly used false
evidence to extort money from a number of previous offenders.
During the year Romani NGOs complained that many Roma lived in
constant fear of systematic and invasive searches of their living
areas, accompanied by threats of deportation.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found two violations by the
country of the right to liberty and security as provided by the
European Convention on Human Rights.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--To detain an
individual, police require a warrant issued by a public prosecutor
unless a criminal act is in progress or there is a specific and
immediate danger to which they must respond. When authorities detain a
person without a warrant, an examining magistrate must decide within 24
hours of the detention whether there is enough evidence to proceed with
an arrest. The investigating judge then has 48 hours to confirm the
arrest and recommend whether to prosecute. In terrorism cases
authorities may hold suspects 48 hours before bringing the case before
a magistrate.
Authorities generally respected the right to a prompt judicial
determination. The law entitles detainees to prompt and regular access
to lawyers of their choosing and to family members. The state provides
a lawyer to indigent persons. In exceptional circumstances, usually in
cases of organized crime figures, in which there is danger that
attorneys may attempt to tamper with evidence, the investigating judge
may take up to five days to interrogate the accused before access to an
attorney is permitted. Some human rights organizations asserted that
the terrorism law is deficient in due process and in some cases
resulted in the deportation or return of alien suspects to countries
where they had reason to fear persecution. The law allows for increased
surveillance and enhanced police powers to gather evidence in terrorism
cases, for example, DNA for purposes of identification (see section
2.d.).
Lengthy pretrial detention was a serious problem. During the first
half of the year, 47 percent of all prisoners were either in pretrial
detention or awaiting a final sentence. The maximum term of pretrial
detention is from two to six years depending on the severity of the
crime.
There is no provision for bail; however, judges may grant
provisional liberty to suspects awaiting trial. As a safeguard against
unjustified detention, detainees may request that a panel of judges
(liberty tribunal) review their cases on a regular basis and determine
whether continued detention is warranted.
Authorities may impose preventive detention as a last resort if
there is evidence of a serious felony or if the crime is associated
with the Mafia or terrorism. Except in the most extraordinary
situations, preventive detention is prohibited for pregnant women,
single parents of children under age three, persons over age 70, and
those who are seriously ill.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice; however, most court cases involved long trial
delays.
There were some reports of judicial corruption.
Pressure on the judicial system, primarily in the form of
intimidation of judges by organized crime groups, further complicated
the judicial process. On July 4, authorities arrested six members of a
criminal association in Trapani and charged them with attempted murder
of a judge who had received letters containing bullets as well as
explicit threats.
There are three levels of courts. Civil and criminal trial courts
use a single judge, a panel of judges, or a jury. There is a criminal
and a civil appellate court with juries. Both sides may appeal
decisions of the court of appeals to the highest court, the Court of
Cassation in Rome. Prosecutors may in some instances challenge
acquittals by appealing directly to the Court of Cassation, bypassing
the intermediary appellate level. Such appeals may be based on the
court's application of the law or, in some cases, on the evidence. A
separate Constitutional Court hears cases involving conflicts between
laws and the constitution or over the duties or powers of different
units of government.
Nine military tribunals and nine prosecutor's offices are in charge
of military crimes committed by members of the armed forces, such as
treason, unauthorized release of state secrets, and espionage. An
appeals court reviews challenges brought by defendants or prosecutors.
In 2008 the ECHR found six violations by the country of the right
to a fair trial as provided by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Trials are public. Defendants have access to an attorney in a timely
manner. Defendants may confront and question witnesses against them and
may present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Prosecutors
must make evidence available to defendants and their attorneys upon
request. Defendants have a presumption of innocence and the right to
appeal verdicts.
In December 2008 a Milan court acquitted and released Melchiorre
Contena, who was arrested in 1977 and found guilty of kidnapping and
homicide in 1979. He had spent more than 30 years in prison but was
released due to inconsistencies in the testimony of the three other
kidnappers involved.
Domestic and European institutions continued to criticize the slow
pace of justice and cited 51 especially egregious cases in 2008. At the
end of 2008, 4,200 petitions seeking compensation from the government
for excessively long proceedings were pending in the ECHR. In addition,
according to the Court of Cassation, about 30,000 new cases were
initiated at the national level in 2008. Also in 2008, the Court of
Cassation rendered 3,612 judgments against the government for
excessively protracted proceedings. The president of the Court of
Cassation indicated some reasons for delays, including the excessive
number of trials, the lack of nonjudicial remedies, and insufficient
and inadequate distribution of offices and resources, including an
insufficient number of judges.
In 2008 the ECHR found 51 violations by the country of the European
Convention on Human Rights with respect to length of proceedings.
Courts could determine when the statute of limitations should
apply, and defendants often took advantage of the slow pace of justice
to delay trials through extensive pleas and appeals.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Civil
remedies are determined by law, and arbitration is allowed and
regulated by contracts. Often citizens and companies turned to
arbitration because of trial delays.
In 2008 the ECHR found eight violations by the country of the right
to protection of property under the European Convention on Human
Rights.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. Searches and
electronic monitoring were generally permissible with judicial warrants
and in carefully defined circumstances. The Court of Cassation's lead
prosecutor may authorize wiretaps of terrorism suspects at the request
of the prime minister.
The media published leaked transcripts of both legal and illegal
government wiretaps during the year, including on Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi.
On June 19, the national authority for the protection of privacy
blocked the publication of photos featuring the prime minister and
guests in his private residence.
The law allows magistrates to destroy illegal wiretaps discovered
by police.
In 2008 the ECHR found 13 violations by the country of the right to
respect for private and family life as provided by the European
Convention on Human Rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for the
freedoms of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and the press.
On July 17, the ECHR determined that the country had violated
freedom of expression in a case in which a journalist had been
convicted for defamation of a local politician. In 2008 the ECHR found
that the country had violated freedom of expression as provided by the
European Convention on Human Rights. In 2002 the appeals court of
Palermo sentenced Claudio Riolo, who had censured the conduct of the
president of the province of Palermo in an article published by a local
newspaper and reprinted by a national daily.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views. However, disputes over partisanship continued to prompt frequent
political debate. The two main opposition parties and NGOs contended
that media ownership was concentrated in too few hands. Prime Minister
Berlusconi's family holding company, Fininvest, held a controlling
share in the country's largest private television company, Mediaset;
its largest magazine publisher, Mondadori; and its largest advertising
company, Publitalia. His brother owned one of the country's nationwide
dailies, Il Giornale.
The NGO Reporters without Borders and the journalists' union
criticized several judicial actions against journalists and highlighted
the threats and intimidation against journalists coming from criminal
organizations in the south.
In September 2008 police searched the home of three journalists
from the magazine L'Espresso, which had published articles on ties
between criminal organizations and politicians involved with trash
collection in Naples. They allegedly published information about the
case leaked from the prosecutor's office.
During the year the National Federation of the Italian Press
condemned what it described as excessive restrictions on freedom of
expression. In May Freedom House's Freedom of the Press report showed a
decline in the country's ranking from ``free'' to ``partly free.'' In
addition to the L'Espresso case, the National Federation of the Italian
Press (NFIP) criticized RAI television, which was under the control of
a parliamentary committee. RAI executives delayed transmission of a
news analysis program, which was often critical of the Berlusconi
government, in favor of broadcasting a special program highlighting the
government's efforts to provide housing for those displaced by the
L'Aquila earthquake in April.
During the year public officials continued to bring cases against
journalists under the country's libel laws. On August 28, Prime
Minister Berlusconi filed a libel suit against the daily La Repubblica
for the publication of a list of leading questions over a period of
months. Some of the provocative questions played off personal issues
that became public as Berlusconi's wife asked for a divorce.
On September 2, Prime Minister Berlusconi sued the daily L'Unita
for libel for printing two unfavorable articles on his private life in
July and August. Berlusconi sought three million euros ($4.3 million)
in damages.
In November 2008 a judge found journalist Marco Travaglio guilty of
libel against former minister Cesare Previti for an article published
by L'Espresso in 2002 suggesting he and his political party, Forza
Italia, had direct links with the Mafia.
In the view of most observers the risk of such suits did not affect
adversely the willingness of the press to report on politically
sensitive subjects.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
A special unit of the police monitored Web sites for crimes
involving child pornography online. The government could request other
governments to block foreign-based Internet sites if they contravened
national laws. As an antiterrorism measure, authorities required that
Internet cafe operators obtain licenses. According to Eurostat, in
2008, 47 percent of citizens had access to the Internet at home.
In October a Facebook ``community'' inciting violence against Prime
Minister Berlusconi emerged. The judiciary sought to define a balanced
approach to dealing with such overt threats.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
There is no state religion; however, the concordat between the
Roman Catholic Church and the government gives the Catholic Church
certain privileges. For example, it may select Catholic religion
teachers, whose earnings the government paid. In accordance with the
law, the government had understandings with organizations representing
non-Catholic religions pursuant to accords that allow the government to
support them (including financially), including the Confederation of
Methodist and Waldensian Churches, Adventists, Assembly of God, Jews,
Baptists, and Lutherans. At year's end, the current government had not
yet reviewed and submitted to the parliament for ratification other
accords negotiated by the previous government with the Buddhist Union,
Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
the Apostolic Church, the Orthodox Church of the Constantinople
Patriarchate, and the Hindu community.
Muslims in some locations continued to encounter difficulties in
getting permission to construct mosques and other community buildings.
In December 2008 the Islamic Center of Milan received approval for a
plan to enlarge its mosque after seeking permission for several years.
Although local officials usually cited other grounds for refusing
building permits, some Muslims asserted that hostility toward their
religion underlay the difficulties. The efforts of Northern League
members of parliament to seek legislation to restrict building
additional mosques furthered a hostile attitude toward Muslims.
There were occasional reports that government officials or the
public objected to women wearing garments that completely covered the
face and body. In August a northern town banned ``burkinis'' from its
public pool. The mayor claimed the full-body swimsuit could disturb
small children. He added that such swimwear could be a potential
violation of pool hygiene rules.
The presence of Catholic symbols, such as crucifixes, in
courtrooms, schools, and other public buildings continued to be a
source of criticism and lawsuits. In February the Ministry of Education
suspended a teacher for a month because he removed the crucifix from
his classroom in Perugia.
On November 3, the ECHR determined that the display of crucifixes
in schools in the country violated the separation of church and state.
The ruling was nonbinding and was met with wide disapproval in the
country. An appeal was pending at year's end.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Denial of the Holocaust is a
crime punishable by up to four years in prison. There were no reports
of any prosecutions under this law during the year. The country's
approximately 30,000 Jews maintained synagogues in 21 cities. No
violent anti-Semitic attacks were reported during the year, but
societal prejudices persisted, manifested largely by anti-Semitic
graffiti in a number of cities. Small extremist fringe groups were
responsible for anti-Semitic acts.
On January 23, 22 shops owned by Jews were the target of
vandalistic attacks in Rome by the fascist group Militia, which left a
banner urging a boycott of Jewish shops.
The government condemned the anti-Semitic vandalism. Prime Minister
Berlusconi, foreign minister Franco Frattini, and other politicians
across the political spectrum expressed solidarity with the victims and
their intent to fight prejudice and violence at the national and
international levels. There were no reported arrests in connection with
the attacks by year's end. Addressing the presidents of major American
Jewish associations, Berlusconi confirmed ``the commitment of Italy to
... fight all forms of anti-Semitism.''
The government continued to host an annual meeting to increase
educational awareness of the Holocaust and to combat anti-Semitism.
There were also instances of discrimination and violence against
Muslims. In June 2008 two homemade bombs thrown at the Milan Islamic
Center damaged the main gate.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 Report on
International Religious Freedom at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian
organizations to protect and assist refugees, asylum seekers, stateless
persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The country is a party to the EU's Dublin II Instruction,
whose partners generally transfer asylum applications to the first
member country in which the applicant arrived. In practice the
government provided protection against the expulsion or return of
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
The government also provided temporary protection to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention and the 1967
protocol. In 2008, 4,431 persons received such protection. Between
January and August, 1,246 immigrants were granted asylum status, and
1,387 obtained humanitarian protection. According to the UNHCR, the top
three countries of origin of persons granted temporary protection were
Eritrea, Nigeria, and Somalia.
The government provided temporary protection to refugees fleeing
hostilities or natural disasters. The government granted such refugees
temporary residence permits which had to be renewed periodically and
did not ensure future permanent residence.
Between May 1 and September 22, the Ministry of the Interior
identified 1,800 individuals who came ashore illegally from North
Africa, compared to 18,800 in the same period of 2008. Those who were
apprehended were sent to temporary detention centers for processing,
and a magistrate determined whether they would be deported (if their
identity could be ascertained), issued an order to depart (if their
identity could not be ascertained), or accepted for asylum processing.
According to Save the Children, between May 2008 and February 2009,
1,994 unaccompanied minors and 300 accompanied underage migrants came
ashore in Lampedusa; 1,680 were hosted in protected communities but
1,119 of them fled. The Interior Ministry equipped special sections of
identification centers to host minors.
On July 2, the parliament approved a law that criminalizes illegal
immigration. It is punishable by a fine and an immediate order to leave
the country. The law also permits the creation of unarmed citizen
patrol groups to help police keep order.
In August 2008 the government signed an agreement with Libya that
includes provisions for patrolling the Libyan coast by Italian and
Libyan officers using Italian boats. The controversial agreement allows
all immigrants departing from the Libyan coast, not only Libyan
nationals, to be turned back before they reach the country's soil. On
May 7, under the new agreement, the Italian coast guard escorted to
Libya 227 immigrants whom it stopped in the Strait of Sicily. Similar
operations continued over the summer and produced a dramatic decrease
in the number of immigrants who reached the country's shores.
On September 23, the minister of the interior stated that in the
first four months of cooperation with Libya, the country's authorities
stopped four boats and sent back 834 persons attempting to reach the
country. He claimed that the new measures prevented over 17,000
migrants from departing Libya in their attempt to reach the country.
There were claims from some of the persons transferred to vessels for
return to Libya that the country's officials used force in the process.
The Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights and the UNHCR
criticized the country's new policy of repatriation of immigrants to
Libya. There were concerns that authorities returned immigrants who may
have been eligible for asylum in Europe to a country that has not
signed international conventions on protection of refugees. In
addition, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International criticized the
government for its failure to screen foreigners and to identify
refugees, unaccompanied minors, and victims of trafficking.
In July the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visited
the country to examine the government's new policy of intercepting
migrants approaching by sea from the south and returning them to Libya.
By year's end, the CPT had not published its report.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--National and international
experts, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, considered the April 2008 parliamentary elections free and
fair.
On June 6 and 7, the country held elections to the European
Parliament that were considered free and fair.
Numerous political parties functioned without government
restrictions or outside interference.
There were 58 women in the 322-seat Senate and 134 women in the
630-seat Chamber of Deputies. Women held five of 23 positions in the
Council of Ministers.
The only legally defined minorities were linguistic: the French-
speaking Valdostani and the German-speaking Altoatesini/Suedtiroler.
There were four members of these groups in the Senate and three in the
Chamber of Deputies. In a largely monolithic society, immigrants
represented approximately 5 percent of the population, and fewer than
half of these qualified as ethnic/racial minorities. Two members of
immigrant groups (of Moroccan and Congolese origin) were elected to the
Chamber of Deputies.
In 2008 the ECHR found that the country had violated the right to
free elections as provided by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively.
The anticorruption and transparency office in the Ministry of
Public Administration acts as the government watchdog on corruption.
According to the national audit court (corte dei conti), courts in
2008 convicted 68 persons on corruption charges and recovered 117
million euros ($167 million). In 2008 financial and carabinieri police
found sufficient cause to refer to prosecutors 5,361 cases of public
officials suspected of such crimes as corruption, graft, abuse of
power, and embezzlement, while 68 public employees were convicted of
corruption.
There continued to be isolated reports of government corruption
during the year. According to the ministries of interior and justice,
in 2006 prosecutors charged 925 individuals with corruption; courts
convicted 130 persons of corruption. Prosecutors charged 2,725 persons
with abuse of authority; courts convicted 45 persons of abuse of
authority. Prosecutors charged 2,725 with embezzlement.
On October 9, the Constitutional Court ruled that the July 2008
legislation granting immunity from prosecution to the four highest
government officials was unconstitutional.
On June 11, Palermo prosecutors began investigating two politicians
believed to have helped a Mafia-owned company secure natural gas
distribution concessions from the regional government of Sicily.
Majority party senator Carlo Vizzini and European parliamentarian
Salvatore Cintola of one opposition party allegedly collaborated with
at least two other politicians.
In July 2008 authorities arrested Abruzzo governor Ottaviano Del
Turco and a number of other local officials and charged them with
corruption, embezzlement, fraud, and abuse of power in a case allegedly
involving 12.8 million euros ($18.3 million) in the health care sector.
Prosecutors have requested the indictment of Del Turco, and the
decision of preliminary investigation judges was expected in spring
2010.
The law gives citizens the right to access government documents and
to be informed of administrative processes. With some security-related
exceptions, the government and local authorities respected this right
in practice for citizens, noncitizens, and the foreign press.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuse, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, ethnic
background, and political opinion. It provides some protection against
discrimination based on disability, language, or social status. The
government generally enforced these prohibitions; however, some
societal discrimination continued against women, persons with
disabilities, immigrants, and Roma.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, and the
government enforced the law effectively. In 2008, according to the
Ministry of Interior, 4,637 cases of rape were reported, and police
identified 8,845 assailants.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained a
problem. In 2007 the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT)
reported that 6.7 million women aged 16 to 70, or 32 percent of all
women, had been victims of violence at least once in their lives. Five
million women were victims of sexual violence, one million of them of
rape or attempted rape. ISTAT estimated that in 2006 there were 74,000
cases of rape or attempted rape, of which 4,500 were reported to the
police. Partners reportedly committed approximately 23 percent of
sexual abuses. According to the Ministry of Interior, from June 2008
through July 2009, 5,556 cases of sexual abuses were reported to
police.
The law criminalizes the physical abuse of women, including by
family members; allows for the prosecution of perpetrators of violence
against women; and helps abused women avoid publicity. ISTAT reported
113 killings of women by their current or ex-partners in 2008. Law
enforcement and judicial authorities prosecuted perpetrators of
violence against women, but victims frequently declined to press
charges due to fear, shame, or ignorance of the law.
On July 17, the Ministry of Equal Opportunity established a hotline
for victims of stalking, in addition to the hotline for victims of
violence seeking immediate assistance and temporary shelter. From
February 23 through October, 3,247 cases of stalking were reported to
the Ministry of Equal Opportunity hotline. Police received 4,124
stalking complaints and made 723 arrests. From March 2006 through 2007,
16,700 women reported episodes of violence to this hotline, and half of
them requested assistance. The NGO Telefono Rosa assisted 1,744 victims
of violence, 287 of whom were foreigners. The NGO ACMID-Donna
established a toll-free number for abused Muslim women and received
5,500 calls from November 2008 through August 2009. Approximately 82
percent of those cases involved violence or other mistreatment by
husbands or relatives, including unwillingly being in a polygamous
marriage, a situation affecting an estimated 14,000 women.
There were occasional reports of ``honor crimes'' and forced
marriage. In June 2008 a 16-year-old Moroccan girl living in Piacenza
simulated her own kidnapping to avoid a forced marriage arranged by her
family. The intended groom was a Moroccan man over 60 years old and
living in France.
In September police in Pordenone took a 45-year-old Moroccan man
into custody on suspicion of murdering his daughter, Saana Dafani. The
father was upset over his 18-year-old daughter's relationship with a
31-year-old Italian man.
Female genital mutilation is a crime punishable by up to 10 years'
imprisonment. The government estimated that 35,000 women were victims
of genital mutilation, 1,100 of whom were age 17 and younger. An
interagency committee of the Department of Equal Opportunity in charge
of combating female genital mutilation implemented a prevention program
that included an awareness campaign for immigrants, an analysis of
risks, and training of cultural mediators. On November 9, the Ministry
of Equal Opportunity inaugurated a hotline dedicated to victims of such
mutilation.
On June 11, the NGO Arci launched a campaign against genital
mutilation in collaboration with migrant women's associations in Rome,
Florence, and Turin.
Prostitution is legal in private residences; the law prohibits
pimping, brothels, and similar commercial enterprises. The trafficking
of women for sexual exploitation remained a problem. In 2008, according
to the Ministry of Interior, 4,350 persons were charged with
trafficking in persons and pandering.
The law permits domestic courts to try citizens and permanent
residents who engage in sex tourism outside of the country, even if the
offense is not a crime in the country in which it occurred. According
to the domestic branch of End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography,
and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT Italy), in
recent years sex tourists from the country made Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Czech Republic, Northern Russia, and Brazil preferred
destinations.
The country has a code of conduct for tourist agencies to help
combat sex tourism.
Sexual harassment is illegal, and the government effectively
enforced the law. By government decree emotional abuse based on gender
discrimination is a crime.
Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number,
spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to
do so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception,
and skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were widely
available. Women and men were given equal access to diagnostic services
and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
The law gives women the same rights as men, including rights under
family law, property law, and in the judicial system.
According to an independent research center, the overall gap
between salaries for men and women was 16 percent, although a study
released in July estimated the gap between men and women with the same
jobs and qualifications was 2 percent. Women were underrepresented in
many fields, including management, entrepreneurial business, and other
professions. Although 36 percent of lawyers were women, no women were
members of the prestigious National Council of Lawyers. Although 60
percent of doctors were women, only 14 percent of the heads of local
health authorities were women.
The parliament ratified a new law ending discrimination in the
retirement age between men and women. Previously, women could retire at
60, five years earlier than men. The European Commission found the rule
illegal in 2008, and the country enacted the new law to be in
compliance.
A number of government offices worked to ensure women's rights,
including the Ministry for Equal Opportunity and the Equal Opportunity
Commission in the Prime Minister's Office. The Ministry of Labor and
Welfare has a similar commission that focuses on women's rights and
discrimination in the workplace. Many NGOs, most of them affiliated
with labor unions or political parties, actively and effectively
promoted women's rights.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). Citizenship is not derived by birth within the country's
territory. Local authorities registered all births immediately.
In 2008 Telefono Azzurro, an NGO that advocates for children's
rights, received 304,774 calls and 3,230 requests for assistance. Of
these, an estimated 6 percent involved sexual abuse, and 18 percent
physical violence. In 56 percent of the cases, the victims were female;
44 percent of the victims were younger than 10. In 2006 authorities
registered approximately 170 reports of sexual intercourse with minors,
290 reports of production of child pornography, and 180 reports of
possession of child pornography.
NGOs estimated that 10 percent of persons engaged in prostitution
were minors. An independent research center estimated that
approximately 30,000 minors entered the country illegally in 2008, of
whom about 8,000 were sheltered in protected communities. Of those, 80
percent left the communities without authorization.
On February 25, Carabinieri officers arrested 11 Bulgarian Roma
accused of trafficking minors from Bulgaria to Western European
countries. Victims were forced to marry other Roma and to commit crimes
such as shoplifting, pickpocketing, and burglary.
On May 24, the minister of interior announced the establishment of
a new hotline run by Telefono Azzuro, dedicated to helping find minors
who disappeared and assisting those who ran away. In 2008 there were
1,330 runaways, of whom 998 were not citizens of the country.
On January 21, authorities arrested an Italian in Thailand for the
third time of having had sex with minors. On May 19, authorities
arrested a 60-year-old Italian in Thailand and accused him on the same
grounds.
Illegal immigrant child laborers from North Africa, West Africa,
the Philippines, and China continued to enter the country. The flow of
children from Albania dropped dramatically, possibly due to improved
economic conditions for Albania and increased law enforcement
cooperation between the country and Albania.
Few of the country's children engaged in prostitution for survival.
However, independent research center Parsec has reported that thousands
of minors from Eastern Europe engaged in prostitution for survival.
Prostitution under the age of 18 is against the law, but no penalty is
specified.
The country, which has a statutory rape law, is not a destination
for sex tourism. The minimum age for consensual sex varies from 13 to
16 years old based on the relationship between partners. The penalty
for child pornography ranges from six to 12 years in prison, and the
penalty for violation of the law regarding the minimum age for
consensual sex ranges from two to 10 years in prison.
A special unit of the police monitored 26,600 Web sites during the
year; the unit investigated 1,155 persons for crimes involving child
pornography online and arrested 51. According to the NGO Telefono
Arcobaleno, 6.5 percent of those accessing pornographic materials
involving minors worldwide were from the country.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, trafficking in persons was a problem. Persons were
trafficked to, from, through and within the country. According to NGO
sources, the number of new victims trafficked in 2008 was an estimated
2,800.
The country was a destination and transit country for women,
children, and men trafficked internationally for the purposes of
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children
were trafficked for forced prostitution mainly from Nigeria, Romania,
Bulgaria, Moldova, Albania, Ukraine, Russia, South America, North and
East Africa, the Middle East, China, and Uzbekistan. Chinese men and
women were trafficked to the country for the purpose of forced labor.
Romani children continued to be trafficked for the purposes of sexual
exploitation and forced begging. Men were trafficked for the purpose of
forced labor, mostly in the agricultural sector in southern Italy but
also in sweatshops around the country. According to one NGO, 90 percent
of foreign seasonal workers were unregistered, and two-thirds were in
the country illegally, rendering them vulnerable to trafficking. The
top five source countries for agricultural workers, from where forced
labor victims were likely found, were Poland, Romania, Pakistan,
Albania, and Cote d'Ivoire.
Between one-quarter and one-third of women trafficked for
prostitution came from Romania, according to the Ministry for Equal
Opportunity. Parsec estimated that the large majority of persons
engaged in prostitution were immigrants primarily from Romania,
Nigeria, Bulgaria, Ukraine, China, Moldova, and Russia. A large number
of women entered the country voluntarily and were subsequently obliged
to engage in prostitution to repay smugglers. The average age of
victims declined, and an increasing number of victims were trafficked
for labor outside the sex industry, particularly in the agriculture and
service sectors. Immigrants, mostly from Nigeria, North Africa, China,
and Eastern Europe, played a major role in trafficking for the purpose
of sexual exploitation, both as traffickers and as victims, although
citizens were also involved.
On February 11, police arrested and accused three Romanians and an
Italian of trafficking, raping and abusing a Romanian girl. They
enticed the girl from her home village with the bogus offer of a
caretaker's job in Sicily. The Romanians stole her passport, isolated
her, and repeatedly raped her over a 20-day period. Then, the Italian
physically abused her as part of his successful attempt to force her
into prostitution.
NGOs and independent experts reported that traffickers became more
sophisticated in lowering the profile of their illicit activities. Due
to increased enforcement efforts, traffickers moved their victims away
from street prostitution and towards conducting their activities in
hotels, clubs, discos, and other less visible venues. This shift made
it more difficult for authorities to identify trafficking victims.
The law provides prison sentences of eight to 20 years for
trafficking or enslavement. If the victims are minors, sentences
increase by one-third to one-half. The law mandates special prison
conditions for traffickers that limit their ability to continue their
operations while incarcerated.
According to the Ministry of Justice, authorities investigated
2,738 persons for trafficking in 2008 and arrested 365; trial courts
convicted 138 persons, and appeal courts convicted 148.
The government cooperated with foreign governments, including those
of Romania, Nigeria, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Moldova, to investigate and
prosecute trafficking cases. Because police had difficulty in meeting
the law's evidentiary standards in some trafficking cases, authorities
relied on enforcement of immigration law to stop trafficking.
There were no reports during the year that government officials
participated in, facilitated, or condoned trafficking.
The law provides temporary residence or work permits to trafficked
persons seeking to escape their exploiters. Authorities and NGOs
encouraged trafficking victims to file complaints, and there were no
legal impediments to their doing so. Unlike most other illegal
immigrants, who face deportation if apprehended, persons who qualify as
trafficking victims under the law receive benefits, including legal
residence, whether or not they file a complaint. However, the UNHCR and
NGOs criticized the government for not always allowing enough time
between apprehension and deportation of illegal immigrants to screen
them as possible trafficking victims.
The government provided legal and medical assistance, access to
shelters, and job training to persons identified by authorities as
victims of trafficking. In 2006 the government assisted 7,300 women.
There were also assistance and incentive programs for those willing to
return to their native countries; in 2006, 62 victims who chose to
return to their home countries were repatriated.
The law empowers magistrates to seize convicted traffickers' assets
to finance legal assistance, vocational training, and other social
integration assistance for trafficking victims.
The government worked with foreign governments and NGOs to organize
trafficking awareness campaigns. The law directs the Foreign Ministry,
working with the Ministry of Equal Opportunity, to conclude
antitrafficking agreements with trafficking source countries.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and the provision of other state services. The government
effectively enforced these provisions, but there was some societal
discrimination.
Although the law mandates access to government buildings for
persons with disabilities, mechanical barriers, particularly in public
transport, left such persons at a disadvantage. The Ministry of Labor
and Welfare was responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. Many cities lacked infrastructure (such as elevators at
subway and funicular stations and ramps on sidewalks) for persons with
limited mobility and those in wheelchairs.
Independent research centers estimated there were approximately 2.8
million persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There continued to be reports
that authorities mistreated Roma. The NGOs International and National
Union of Roma and Sinti in Italy (UNIRSI) and Opera Nomadi reported
cases of discrimination, particularly in housing and evictions,
deportations, and government efforts to remove Romani children from
their parents for their protection. Government officials at the
national and local levels, including those from the Interior Ministry
and the Ministry of Equal Opportunity, met periodically with Roma and
their representatives.
During the year the Interior Ministry continued a campaign to crack
down on illegal immigration based on a May 2008 emergency decree on
security and immigration. Authorities arrested or expelled several
hundred foreigners and took the names of others who lived in
encampments near major cities.
On August 5, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that local
authorities were permitted to collect personal data on Roma who live in
authorized camps.
A census of Roma in authorized camps registered 7,200 inhabitants.
Authorities closed a few unauthorized encampments and sheltered
hundreds of Roma in temporary facilities.
There were no accurate statistics on the number of Roma in the
country. NGOs estimated that 140,000, including 75,000 citizens, were
concentrated on the fringes of urban areas in the central and southern
parts of the country. Romani camps were characterized by poor housing,
unhygienic sanitary conditions, limited employment prospects,
inadequate educational facilities, and inconsistent police presence.
According to the European Fundamental Rights Agency, the majority
of North African immigrants living in the country believed that they
were discriminated against and mistreated by police because of their
ethnicity.
On January 25, authorities arrested and charged three persons for
the October 2008 ``hate crime'' killing of Mohamed Chamrani, a Moroccan
who had been beaten and thrown into Lake Garda.
On June 25, near Milan, five members of a family, including a 70-
year-old woman, assaulted and injured in a dispute over a parking spot
a 64-year-old citizen of the country who had emigrated from Egypt.
Before beating him, the man's attackers shouted that he should return
to where he came from. His injuries, including broken ribs, required
hospitalization.
The government's Office to Combat Racial and Ethnic Discrimination
in the Ministry of Equal Opportunity assisted victims of
discrimination. In 2007 the office received about 8,000 calls on its
national hotline. The majority of complaints related to labor
conditions, wages, and discrimination in the provision of public
services. The office provided legal assistance and helped mediate
disputes.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no laws
criminalizing homosexuality. An official from the NGO Arcigay reported
police maintained order at several gay pride events, including a march
through Rome. Arcigay reported the group was granted permits for the
events. The Rome police department has created a special unit to
investigate reports of crimes based on sexual orientation.
There were reports of societal discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
Arcigay reported eight killings and 52 nonlethal attacks on
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) persons between January
and September, compared to nine killings and 45 other attacks in 2008.
Several of the crimes were described as domestic disputes. Between May
and September, several acts of vandalism were committed against bars
and discos catering mainly to LGBT clientele.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDs.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to
establish, join, and carry out union activities in the workplace
without previous authorization or excessive requirements, and workers
exercised these rights in practice. The law prohibits union
organization in the armed forces. Unions claimed to represent between
35 and 40 percent of the workforce.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right by conducting legal strikes. The law restricts strikes
affecting essential public services (such as transport, sanitation, and
health) by requiring longer advance notification and precluding
multiple strikes within days of each other.
In February the government approved a bill to restrict transport
strikes. Only those unions representing at least half the workforce can
call transport strikes.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the
government protected this right in practice. The law provides for the
right of workers to organize and bargain collectively, and workers
exercised this right. Approximately 35 percent of the workforce worked
under collective bargaining agreements.
Antiunion discrimination is illegal, and the government effectively
enforced labor laws. Employees fired for union activity have the right
to request their reinstatement. There were no reported cases of
discrimination.
There are no export processing zones.
The free-trade-zone law allows a company of any nationality to
employ workers of the same nationality under that country's labor laws
and social security systems.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and the government
enforced such laws; however, there were reports such practices
occurred. Women were trafficked for sexual exploitation, Romani
children for sexual exploitation and begging, and workers for
agricultural labor or to work in sweatshops manufacturing counterfeit
products.
Parsec estimated that approximately 500 victims of labor
trafficking worked outside the sex industry, mainly in domestic,
agricultural, or service labor. Forced labor occurred primarily in the
agricultural sector and mostly in the south where, according to the NGO
Doctors without Borders, a large majority of the foreign seasonal
workers were unregistered and did not hold residence permits.
On March 12, Carabinieri police announced the arrest of nine
Egyptians and one Moroccan accused of trafficking in persons for labor
exploitation. Traffickers smuggled hundreds of North Africans from
Libya, facilitated their escape from temporary centers, provided fake
documents, and forced them to work illegally in a cleaning company near
Milan.
``Operation Viola,'' coordinated by the national anti-Mafia
prosecutor, continued during the year. On April 20, police arrested 49
persons from a criminal association based mainly in Campania for
trafficking drugs and children. The minors, all from Nigeria, were
threatened and forced into prostitution in various regions of Colombia,
Turkey, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands.
Chinese men and women were trafficked to the country for forced
labor. At the end of the year, the trial was still pending of a Chinese
entrepreneur charged in March 2008 with abetting illegal immigration
and exploiting 47 Chinese victims including six minors and two pregnant
women working and living in a sweatshop near Reggio Emilia.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government sought to enforce laws and policies designed to protect
children from exploitation in the workplace; however, there were a
number of reports of child labor.
The law prohibits employment of children under age 15 with some
limited exceptions, and there are specific restrictions on employment
in hazardous or unhealthy occupations for boys under the age of 18 and
girls under the age of 21. Enforcement was generally effective in the
formal economy; however, it was difficult in the extensive informal
economy.
Illegal immigrant child laborers, mostly from 15 to 18 years of
age, continued to enter the country from North Africa, the Philippines,
and China. They worked primarily in the manufacturing and services
industries. Most arrived with their parents; however, according to the
NGO Terre des Homes there were about 24,000 unaccompanied minors.
Children were trafficked for sexual exploitation and begging. The
minister of interior estimated that minors represented 20 percent of
the total victims of trafficking and smuggling from Romania; of those,
three out of four were engaged in prostitution. In 2007 about 300
minors were trafficking victims, according to the Ministry for Equal
Opportunity. National and local authorities provide minor victims
automatic residency permits (valid until age 18) and access to
education and other assistance programs. On September 30, according to
the Ministry of Welfare, 6,587 unaccompanied minors were registered, 74
percent of whom were hosted in protected communities.
The government, employers' associations, and unions continued their
tripartite cooperation to combat child labor. The Ministry of Labor and
Welfare, working with police and Carabinieri, is responsible for
enforcement of child labor laws, but their efforts were often
ineffective.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law does not specify a
minimum wage; it provides for it to be set through collective
bargaining agreements on a sector-by-sector basis. The minimum wage in
most industries provided a decent standard of living for a worker and
family. Courts effectively enforced the wages set through collective
bargaining agreements, but workers in the informal sector often worked
for less than the analogous minimum wage in the formal sector.
The legal workweek is 40 hours. Overtime work may not exceed two
hours per day or an average of 12 hours per week. Unless limited by a
collective bargaining agreement, the law sets maximum overtime hours in
industrial sector firms at no more than 80 per quarter and 250
annually. The law requires rest periods of one day per week and 11
hours per day. Premium pay is required for overtime. These standards
were effectively enforced.
The law sets basic health and safety standards and guidelines for
compensation for on-the-job injuries. There were labor inspectors in
both the public health service and the Ministry of Labor and Welfare,
but their numbers were insufficient to ensure adequate enforcement of
health and safety standards. The standards were not enforced in the
informal economy. According to the Workmen's Compensation Institute, in
2008 there were 1,120 work-related deaths. Workers have the right to
remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardizing
their continued employment, and the government effectively enforced
this right.
__________
KOSOVO
Kosovo is a parliamentary democracy with a population of
approximately 2.2 million. Multiparty elections in 2007 for the
Assembly generally reflected the will of the voters. Kosovo declared
its independence in February 2008 and supplanted the UN Interim
Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which had previously
administered Kosovo under the authority of UN Security Council
Resolution 1244. At independence, Kosovo accepted the Ahtisaari plan,
which provided for internationally sponsored mechanisms, including an
International Civilian Office and the EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX).
The government, EULEX, and the UN-authorized North Atlantic Treaty
Organization peacekeeping force for Kosovo (KFOR) generally maintained
effective control over security forces.
During the year reported problems and abuses included the
following: deaths and injuries from unexploded ordnance or landmines;
corruption and government interference in security forces and the
judiciary; lengthy pretrial detention and lack of judicial due process;
cases of politically and ethnically motivated violence; societal
antipathy against Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church; lack of
progress in returning internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their
homes; government corruption; violence and discrimination against
women; trafficking in persons, particularly girls and women for sexual
exploitation; societal violence, abuse, and discrimination against
minority communities; societal discrimination against persons with
disabilities; abuse and discrimination against persons based on their
sexual orientation; and child labor in the informal sector.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government, EULEX, or their agents committed arbitrary
or unlawful killings.
Investigations continued into allegations that, during the 1999
Kosovo conflict, traffickers kidnapped civilians from Kosovo and
brought them to Albania, where some were killed and their organs sold.
In April, EULEX announced that it had begun a preliminary investigation
into the allegations. In August the Council of Europe special
rapporteur, Dick Marty, led a fact-finding mission to Serbia and
Albania to further investigate. Marty's report to the Council of Europe
remained pending at year's end.
There were reports of politically motivated attacks and threats
against Kosovo Albanian political and institutional figures during the
year. On November 11, a group of people stoned Prime Minister Thaci's
official vehicle during a rally for his Democratic Party of Kosovo
(PDK) in Decan/Decani. Police arrested three persons in connection with
the incident. On November 13, unknown assailants ambushed and beat
Hysni Ahmeti, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo mayoral candidate
for Mitrovica/Mitrovice. Ahmeti survived the attack and police later
charged Fadil Vallqi with attempted murder. Vallqi remained under house
arrest at year's end.
There were no new developments in the case against Milic Milicevic,
Milivoje Zdravkovic, Radojko Dunjic, and Dusan Manjolovic for
assaulting members of the security detail for the special
representative of the UN secretary-general (SRSG) and the KFOR
commander in Gorazhdec/Gorazdevac, Peje/Pec municipality, in 2007.
Although the trial was scheduled several times, it did not begin due to
court backlogs. The defendants remained free pending trial.
During the year there were reports of one death and six injuries
from landmines or unexploded ordnance from the 1998-99 conflict.
On November 20, a panel of judges sentenced Mentor Qela to 20
years, Agim Hoti to 16 years, and Driton Spahiu to 15.5 years in prison
for shooting at Anton Berisha, the head of the Telecommunications
Regulation Authority, as he traveled on the Pristina-Peje/Pec highway
in 2007. Their appeal was denied on November 26.
There were no new developments in the 2007 killing of police
officer Avni Kosumi; an investigation remained ongoing.
On March 13, the Supreme Court (consisting of a combined panel of
three international and two local judges) overturned Florim Ejupi's
June 2008 conviction and acquitted him of all charges, citing lack of
evidence. Ejupi had been sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment for the
``Nis Express'' bus bombing near Podujeve/Podujevo that killed 11
Kosovo Serbs and injured 40 others in 2001.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances; however, according to the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC), as of December there were 1,875 persons still
listed as unaccounted for since the 1998-99 conflict. Of the remaining
missing, 70 percent were Kosovo Albanians and 30 percent were Kosovo
Serbs and other minorities.
During the year the Ministry of Justice and the Office on Missing
Persons and Forensics (OMPF) continued to identify the remains of
missing persons. In 2008 EULEX joined their operations. From January to
December, the OMPF, in coordination with the Ministry of Justice,
performed 135 field operations, including 78 exhumations. One hundred
and one individuals were exhumed, and 80 sets of remains were
identified and handed over to families. By December, 443 unidentified
sets of remains were in OMPF custody (401 from Kosovo sites, and 42
from Serbian sites). During the year the International Commission on
Missing Persons (ICMP) and OMPF made 322 DNA matches (representing 106
new individuals) and reassociated 231 body parts to previously
identified sets of remains. During the year the OMPF and the ICMP
worked on the identification of six cases of missing persons for which
there were not enough blood donors to provide information for a match.
DNA information and traditional methods were combined to confirm
identification of remains.
During the year officials from Kosovo and Serbia met three times in
a working group on missing persons chaired by the ICRC and under the
auspices of the SRSG. Although a sub-working group on forensic issues
met once during the year and the parties conducted several
teleconferences on forensic issues, 423 sets of human remains in the
Pristina morgue remained unidentified.
During the year the OMPF identified and handed over 93 sets of
human remains to families, including 19 victims from ethnic minority
communities. The OMPF transferred 12 sets of remains exhumed in Kosovo
to families in Serbia and one from Kosovo to Bosnia. The remainder were
exhumed in Kosovo and handed over to families in Kosovo.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that the government, EULEX, or KFOR (which has
limited arrest and detention authority) employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons and detention
center conditions generally met international standards. The government
permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and
such visits occurred during the year. During the year there were some
allegations of abuse and mistreatment of prisoners.
The Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (KRCT), a
local NGO that visited and monitored prisons and detention centers
during the year, reported four allegations of excessive use of force at
Dubrave/Dubrava Prison by members of the KCS Special Intervention Unit.
Following a KCS investigation into these claims, one officer was
suspended; he later returned to work with a warning. In an unrelated
investigation, the KRCT reported that one officer was suspended and a
second dismissed for corruption. The KRCT also reported one allegation
of physical mistreatment, where a guard slapped a prisoner, at the
Lipjan/Lipljan Detention Center. The guard received an oral warning.
The director of the KCS received 52 complaints of abuse and
mistreatment from prisoners as of August. Two of the complaints
resulted in the suspension of two involved officers, and the KCS
demoted one of the officers.
As of September 16, there were 823 convicted prisoners and 502
pretrial detainees mixed in prison and detention centers. There were 34
females (19 convicted prisoners and 15 pretrial detainees) and 54
juveniles (29 detainees, 12 in juvenile imprisonment, and 13 in the
educational correctional program). During the year the monthly prison
population at Dubrave/Dubrava varied from 600 to 950 inmates, below its
total capacity of 1,200. The Dubrave/Dubrava Prison and five detention
centers operated during the year. The Prizren detention center was
closed for renovation.
The KRCT reported that the Kosovo Correctional Service (KCS), which
runs the country's prisons and detention centers, mixed pretrial
detainees with convicted prisoners. The KRCT also reported that it had
observed multiple cases of pretrial detainees being held for more than
12 months.
The KCS managed daily operations at the Dubrave/Dubrava Prison and
all detention centers. EULEX retained a limited monitoring, mentoring,
and advising role in the prisons. Additionally, EULEX transported
prisoners upon request.
The KCS permitted visits and monitoring of the country's prisons
and detention centers. The ombudsman and KRCT inspected Dubrave/Dubrava
Prison and detention centers during the year. The ombudsman reported
good cooperation from the KCS, including the ability to conduct private
interviews with inmates during visits. The ICRC did not conduct any
prison or detention facility inspections during the year.
The government spent 5.43 million euros ($7.76 million) during the
year to improve living conditions in prisons and detention centers in
Dubrave/Dubrava, Lipjan/Lipljan, Pristina, and Prizren.
There were no developments in the 2007 incident in which seven
prisoners incarcerated for terrorism, murder, attempted murder, and
robbery escaped from Dubrave/Dubrava Prison. Police subsequently
arrested three escapees. In 2007 Macedonian police later killed two
other escapees near Tetovo, Macedonia. Two escapees remained at large.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government, EULEX, and
KFOR generally observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Local security forces
include the police (KP) and the Kosovo Security Force (KSF). The police
function under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In
December 2008 EULEX became operational and established its mandate to
monitor, mentor, and advise local judicial and law enforcement
institutions. EULEX possesses limited executive authority in areas
including war crimes, witness protection, money laundering, terrorist
financing, and international police cooperation. In July the police
assumed primary responsibility for counterterrorism activities. The KSF
is a lightly armed security and civil defense force which functions
under the civilian authority of the Ministry of Kosovo Security Force
and is mentored by KFOR.
In December 2008 the government appointed a general director of
police to replace the international commissioner of police. Two deputy
general directors were appointed in February; one was a Kosovo Serb,
the other a Kosovo Albanian woman.
As of August members of ethnic minorities comprised an estimated 15
percent of 7,190 police officers; 10 percent of officers were Kosovo
Serbs. Following the country's February 2008 declaration of
independence, 325 Kosovo Serb officers, largely at the behest of
Serbian authorities, boycotted the police in protest of the secession.
The Internal Affairs Ministry continued to pay the officers, who were
placed on administrative leave. In April the ministry announced that it
would terminate boycotting officers who did not return to work by June
30. Prior to the deadline, 318 Kosovo Serb officers returned to KP
service. Seven officers refused to return and were terminated. An
estimated 15 percent of officers were women.
The government and EULEX shared executive authority over the police
force, although EULEX authority was limited. Police were responsible
for day-to-day police operations in all areas of the country except the
Serb majority northern municipalities of Zubin Potok, Zvecan,
Leposaviq/Leposavic, and the northern part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica. In
these Serb majority northern regions, EULEX exercised additional
executive authority to ensure security.
Specialized police units on war crimes and the witness protection
program remained staffed by international EULEX police officers and
operated independently of the KP. EULEX and the KP jointly operated
units on criminal intelligence and organized crime. Both the
international police and the judiciary have broad discretion to
intervene in any particular criminal matter. As a practical matter,
most policing duties and responsibilities were in the hands of the
local police.
Corruption and government influence remained problems in the
security forces. For example, on August 27, the police arrested fellow
police officer Lieutenant Sejdi Zeqiri, the commander of Obiliq/Obilic
police station. Zeqiri was arrested for abuse of official authority,
bribery, and sexual harassment. At year's end, Zeqiri remained under
house arrest and the investigation continued.
There was limited progress in the September 2008 arrest of six
members of the Customs Service for involvement in a ring that smuggled
pharmaceuticals into the country. The Customs Service dismissed five
officers, and the final officer remained suspended without pay.
The police inspectorate operates as an independent body under the
Internal Affairs Ministry and has a mandate to promote police
efficiency and effectiveness, hold police accountable for their
actions, and investigate alleged legal violations. The inspectorate
forwards the results of investigations revealing violations to a
disciplinary committee for possible further action.
During the year the inspectorate investigated 1,647 cases, of which
742 were citizen-initiated complaints and the remaining 905 were
initiated by the police. Of those cases, the inspectorate pursued
further investigation into 1,062 and turned 585 cases over to the
directorate for internal investigations. Court decisions were pending
in 155 cases. Of the 1,062 cases investigated, 465 were allegations of
serious police violations. Of the serious violations, 22 percent were
for serious cases of conduct unbecoming a police officer, 17 percent
involved allegations of inappropriate use of force, 9 percent involved
criminal offenses, 8 percent were for serious insubordination, and 2
percent concerned complaints of corruption. In early June the head of
the inspectorate resigned, leaving the organization without a leader.
No replacement had been appointed by year's end.
The directorate for internal investigations investigated minor
police offenses and imposed administrative penalties for infractions.
Between January and November, the unit opened 821 cases, including for
minor insubordination and damage or loss of police property. As of
November, the directorate completed 706 investigations, 438 of which
were deemed to have merit. The directorate closed five cases without
investigation due to insufficient evidence. Sanctions ranged from
decreased pay (eight cases) to verbal warnings (322 cases). One hundred
and fifteen cases remained under investigation.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police
generally made arrests openly using a warrant issued by a judge or
prosecutor and based on sufficient evidence. In some cases, masked or
undercover officers conducted arrests. By law, arrests must be based on
prosecutors' orders and arrestees must be brought before a judge within
72 hours. The majority of the year's arrests were carried out by the
police. There were no reports that the police abused the 72-hour rule,
and authorities generally charged arrestees within six to eight hours
or released them. Arrestees have the right to be informed of the reason
for their arrest in a language they understand; to remain silent and
not answer any questions except those concerning their identity; to
obtain free assistance of an interpreter; to obtain defense counsel and
to have defense counsel provided if they cannot afford one; to receive
medical and psychiatric treatment; and to notify a family member. The
police and EULEX police generally respected these rights in practice.
Under extraordinary circumstances, KFOR can arrest and detain
individuals without a warrant. The KFOR commander can detain
individuals for 72 hours, renewable for a second 72-hour period. After
144 hours, KFOR must release the detainee. There were no reports that
KFOR arrested persons without a warrant during the year. In February,
KFOR authorities closed and subsequently dismantled the detention
facility at Camp Bondsteel.
The police and EULEX police may hold individuals for up to 72 hours
without a court order. The court may hold individuals in pretrial
detention for 30 days from the day of arrest and can extend detention
up to a total of 18 months. There is a functioning bail system. The law
allows for house arrest, confiscation of travel documents, and expanded
use of bail as alternatives to pretrial detention. Defendants can also
appeal their detention on remand.
Lengthy detentions, both before and during judicial proceedings,
remained a problem. The law provides that a judge may impose pretrial
detention only when ordinary measures, such as house arrest, are
insufficient to secure the defendant's presence during criminal
proceedings and enable proper administration of the criminal
proceedings. In practice, however, judges routinely used detention on
remand without showing any evidentiary justification.
Trial delays were caused by factors including judicial inefficiency
and corruption.
Amnesty.--On February 17, President Sejdiu granted amnesty or
commuted the sentences of 62 individuals in honor of the country's
first anniversary of independence.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the local judiciary was at times
biased, subject to outside influence, and did not always provide due
process. There were credible reports of corruption in the local
judiciary, and the court system was inefficient.
The court system includes a constitutional court, a supreme court,
five district courts, a commercial court, 25 municipal courts, 25 minor
offense courts, and an appellate court for minor offenses. As of
August, there were 31 international judges and 15 international
prosecutors supporting local judges and prosecutors. The government
maintained a central public prosecutor's office, five district
prosecutors, and seven municipal prosecutors. EULEX exercised its
executive authority over a special prosecutor's office which included
five international prosecutors focused on serious crimes including
human trafficking, money laundering, war crimes, and terrorism.
In criminal cases in which EULEX international judges exercised
their jurisdiction, these judges sat on mixed panels with local judges.
EULEX judges comprised the majority on these panels, with one EULEX
judge serving as the presiding judge. The president of the Assembly of
EULEX Judges has the authority to compose a panel solely or majority of
which are local judges, or to not assign particular stages of
proceedings to EULEX judges. For civil cases, judicial panels were
composed of three judges, two of which were EULEX judges.
The courts were reviewed by the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel
(ODC) and the Judicial Audit Unit (JAU). The ODC was responsible for
investigating the activities of judges, prosecutors, and lay judges and
for prosecuting cases of misconduct before the Kosovo Judicial Council
(KJC). Following UNMIK's departure, the ODC was first transferred to
the Justice Ministry and then in June was transferred again to the KJC.
This double transfer inhibited its effectiveness. The JAU analyzed and
evaluated the functioning of the courts and public prosecutors' offices
and submitted reports and recommendations to the KJC, Justice Ministry,
and the Assembly. During the year the ODC referred 51 cases to the KJC,
which had a total of 87 cases pending as of September. The KJC convened
one disciplinary hearing before the Judicial Disciplinary Committee.
During the year the JAU completed four audit reports.
The Mitrovice/Mitrovica district court partially functioned during
the year. As of October, EULEX judges had conducted three trials and a
fourth was ongoing. During the year EULEX began a review of the court's
records and hired nine local staff.
The Serbian government continued to operate an unsanctioned
parallel judicial system in Kosovo Serb enclaves and in majority Serb
municipalities. District and municipal courts in Mitrovice/Mitrovica
and municipal courts in Leposaviq/Leposavic and Zubin Potok remained
closed following March 2008 protests against the country's
independence.
Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and defendants enjoy the
presumption of innocence, the right to be present at their trials, to
confront witnesses, to see evidence, and to have legal representation.
Representation may be provided at public expense if necessary; however,
this procedure was used rarely in practice. Defendants have the right
of appeal. Trials are heard by panels consisting of professional and
lay judges; there are no jury trials.
The Legal Aid Commission, an independent government agency,
provided free legal assistance to low-income individuals through five
district legal aid bureaus. From January to August, the commission
provided legal assistance to 1,115 persons: 618 in administrative
matters, 439 in civil matters, and 58 in criminal matters. Of those
receiving assistance, 421 (38 percent) were women and 111 (10 percent)
were minorities, including members of the Romani, Turkish, Bosniak,
Kosovo Serb, and Egyptian communities. The commission referred 268
cases (24 percent) to advocates from the national bar association for
legal aid-funded court representation while legal aid officers handled
the remaining cases. The most common types of civil legal disputes
included social assistance, pension cases, property and family law
cases, and inheritance disputes. For criminal cases, the commission
provided advice on appeals and bail hearings.
The Justice Ministry operated a judicial integration section that
continued to address judicial system problems affecting minorities. To
that end, the ministry operated 11 court liaison offices to assist
minority communities in Kosovo Serb majority areas by accompanying them
to courts, filing documents with courts on their behalf, and providing
information and legal assistance to refugees and IDPs.
The government, with the assistance of EULEX prosecutors and
judges, tried and punished perpetrators of war crimes from the 1998-99
conflict; however, many cases remained unresolved.
On March 3, the Pristina district court found Gani Gashi guilty of
war crimes in the killing the civilian Idriz Obrija in July 1998 and
sentenced him to 17 years' imprisonment.
On April 29, the Peje/Pec district court found Gjelosh Krasniqi
guilty of war crimes for taking Pashk Luli hostage and confiscating
weapons in Doblibare/Doblibare in 1998. Krasniqi received seven years'
imprisonment.
On September 23, EULEX police arrested Slobodan Martinovic, Srecko
Martinovic, and Svetlana Stojanovic for war crimes committed in 1999.
The three allegedly kidnapped and tortured eight people and were linked
to an informal detention center in the Novoberde/Novo Brdo and Gjilan/
Gnjilane area. EULEX charged them with inhuman treatment, immense
suffering or violation of bodily integrity or health, application of
measures of intimidation and terror, and illegal arrest and detention.
All three were placed on conditional release from pretrial detention on
December 23. A trial date had not been set. Two others, Dragan
Trojkovic and Sinisia Filic, were wanted on the same charges but
remained at large.
On October 2, the Pristina district court found Rrustem ``Remi''
Mustafa, Latif Gashi, and Nazif Mehmeti guilty of war crimes for the
torture of civilian detainees at three Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) run
detention facilities. The court, composed of one local and two EULEX
judges, sentenced Mustafa to four years' imprisonment, Gashi to six
years, and Mehmeti to three years. At year's end, Mustafa remained free
pending a final judgment on his appeal. During the conflict, Mustafa
had been the chief of the KLA Operational Zone of Llap and he later
became a PDK member of the Assembly and chairman of the Assembly's
Security Committee. All three were arrested in 2002 on charges of war
crimes for illegal detention, torture, and killing of suspected
collaborators of the Milosevic regime in the 1990s. Of the 26 victims
listed in the indictment, one was Serbian; five were murdered.
There were developments in the war crimes case against Momcilo
Jovanovic. On February 2, an international EULEX prosecutor at the
Peje/Pec district court issued an arrest warrant for Jovanovic after he
failed to respond to official summonses to appear in court. In October
2008 an international prosecutor had indicted Jovanovic for war crimes
for murder and other violations of the laws of war for incidents that
took place in 1998-99 in the village of Katundi i Ri/Vitomirca.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports that the
government or KFOR held political prisoners or detainees during the
year.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
for an independent judiciary in civil matters. The local judiciary was
at times biased and subject to outside influence and did not always
provide due process. There were credible reports of corruption in the
local judiciary and the court system was inefficient.
In November 2008 the European Commission reported that the
country's judicial system remained weak at all levels. The commission
cited the low public confidence in the justice system as well as the
continuing existence of three parallel sources of legislation (ex-
Yugoslav law, UNMIK regulations, and Kosovo law) as particular
problems. The commission also noted that the backlog of court cases
remained a serious problem.
According to a 2006 Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) report, interference by municipal authorities and the
UNMIK Department of Justice hampered judicial independence in civil
matters. The OSCE cited instances in which municipal authorities
plainly obstructed court proceedings, pressured judges in cases to
which authorities were party, and influenced third parties to prevent
courts from exercising their authority. In 2007 the OSCE reported that
UNMIK and municipal authorities improperly interfered with judicial
independence in the proposed sale of property in the Roma settlement in
the Mitrovice/Mitrovica region. Following the report, the OSCE justice
system monitors did not observe any further interference.
Individuals may appeal to courts in order to seek damages for, or
cessation of, human rights violations. In practice there were many such
lawsuits pending.
There were problems enforcing civil court orders. For example,
following a May 19 settlement agreement, the Decan/Decani municipality
publically stated it would not amend the municipal cadastral records
regardless of the eventual decision of the Supreme Court's special
chamber for the Kosovo Trust Agency. The case is related to a land
dispute between several defunct state-owned enterprises and Visoki
Decani Monastery.
Property Restitution.--The Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) is
responsible for the resolution of residential, commercial, and
agricultural property claims arising from the Kosovo conflict.
As of December, the KPA administered 3,583 properties. Of those,
2,855 were administered upon the request of a successful claimant, and
728 were administered based on ex officio interventions by the Housing
and Property Claims Commission (HPCC, the predecessor adjudicating
agency to the KPA). The KPA rented 932 properties on behalf of the
legitimate owners who received 1,854,291 euros ($2,651,636) in rent. As
of December, the agency had received 40,694 total claims: 36,405 for
agricultural property, 979 for commercial property, and 3,309 for
residential property. Kosovo Serbs in the northern part of Mitrovice/
Mitrovica continued to occupy Kosovo Albanian owned properties and
denied their owners access; Kosovo Albanians in the southern part of
the municipality occupied and denied Kosovo Serbs access to their
property.
The KPA remained unable to enforce the 10 HPCC decisions (of
approximately 30,000 total) for properties located in the northern part
of Mitrovice/Mitrovica, due to concern by authorities that attempts at
enforcement would lead to violence.
In May 2008 the SRSG reconstituted the HPCC under the KPA to
examine requests for reconsideration in instances where the original
claim had been denied. As of December, one HPCC request for
reconsideration remained pending. Additionally, the Kosovo Property
Claims Commission, a quasijudicial arm of the KPA acting under the KPA
mandate, adjudicated 27,954 claims by year's end.
In June 2008 the law was amended to bring the KPA under the control
of the government. The Serbian government subsequently suspended the
KPA's access to cadastral and other relevant property records located
in Serbia. The Serbian government announced that the suspension would
continue until UNMIK reasserted its authority over the KPA. The
suspension of the KPA's operations in Serbia significantly reduced the
agency's ability to fulfill its mandate, since 90 percent of the
claimants were located outside of the country. The suspension prevented
access to the relevant archives and caused delays in claims
adjudication. On August 18, the Office of UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and the KPA signed a memorandum of understanding to
allow the reopening of KPA offices in Serbia under UNHCR auspices.
The backlog of property-related claims in municipal courts remained
high, with some 21,000 outstanding at year's end, representing almost
exclusively monetary claims by Kosovo Serbs for war-related damage.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government, EULEX, and KFOR generally respected these prohibitions
in practice. KFOR forces retained the ability to assist local police
and EULEX police in conducting searches for high-risk suspects and
independently search private property for weapons without court orders,
based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244's peacekeeping authority.
During the year KFOR searched private property three times but did not
conduct any searches for high-risk suspects.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. However, there were reports that
reporters were intimidated by public officials, politicians, and
businesses. The media also encountered difficulties and obstructions in
obtaining information from the government and public institutions. The
law on broadcast media prohibits hate speech and speech that incites
ethnic violence.
Individuals generally could criticize authorities publicly or
privately without reprisal.
According to the Association of Professional Journalists of Kosovo
(APJK), media outlets' financial difficulties left the editorial
independence and journalistic professionalism of both print and
television media vulnerable to outside influence and pressure. A few
newspapers were financially self-sufficient and thus were able to
develop editorial policies independent of business and political
interests. However, other newspapers relied on funding from businesses
and political interest groups, including the government, which provided
financial support in exchange for positive coverage or absence of
critical coverage.
There was no direct censorship of print or broadcast media;
however, journalists reported pressure from politicians and organized
crime, which frequently resulted in indirect forms of censorship. Some
journalists refrained from critical investigative reporting out of fear
for their personal security. Journalists were occasionally offered
financial benefits in exchange for positive reporting or for abandoning
an investigation; some were verbally threatened by government officials
and suspected criminals for perceived negative reporting. According to
editors, government agencies and corporations withdrew regular
advertising from newspapers that had published critical coverage of
them.
Print media self-regulated through a code of conduct adopted by the
Press Council, an organization composed of print editors and
publishers, and led by an international member elected by the council.
The Council's complaint board may impose fines for breaches of the code
of conduct, including penalties of up to 2,000 euros ($2,860) for
serious violations, such as hate speech or defamation.
The Independent Media Commission (IMC) implemented regulations and
enforced codes of conduct governing broadcast media. The commission is
a permanent body overseen by a six-member governing council.
As of August, the country had 110 licensed broadcasters (42 of
which broadcast in minority languages) and these broadcasters expressed
a wide variety of views. Of the 68 broadcasters whose primary language
was Albanian, the three entities of the publicly funded Radio
Television Kosovo (RTK) group (RTK TV, Radio Kosova, and Radio Blue
Sky) also broadcast daily in minority languages.
The RTK Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing RTK, the
country's public broadcaster, and the Ministry of Finance controlled
its budget. The law provides for regulation of RTK program content and
requires that at least 15 percent of RTK program time, including prime
time, be dedicated to minority communities in their respective
languages on a proportional basis. On October 9, the Assembly selected
the nine members of the RTK Board of Directors and the Board selected
its chairman on October 27.
On October 16, the Constitutional Court suspended RTK's principal
funding mechanism, a 3.5 euro ($5) monthly RTK fee that had been added
to all electrical bills. The suspension of the fee caused the European
Broadcast Union to issue a public letter noting that this decision
endangered the broadcaster's independence, as it would increase the
likelihood that RTK would have to engage in the political process of
going to the Assembly for funding. Authorities continued to search for
a funding mechanism that would preserve RTK's independence and
operations.
There were no reports of censorship or harassment for the
publication of books, and publishing houses expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction.
There were no reports that the government used libel laws, national
or public security grounds, or publishing restrictions as vehicles to
limit the operations of print, broadcast media, or publishing houses.
During the year the APJK reported 20 instances of press freedom
abuse by government officials, business interest groups, and media
owners including verbal threats to journalists and their agencies by
individuals affected by negative media coverage, pressure not to
publish certain materials and articles, and obstruction of their work.
During the year there were several incidents of violence or
harassment directed at the media.
On January 2, a group of Kosovo Serbs threw an explosive device at
firefighters in the northern part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica and attacked a
television crew from local station TV Most, who were covering the fire.
The reporter was injured and the camera destroyed. On July 28, police
in the northern part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica passed the case to EULEX
prosecutors. No arrests were made by year's end.
On March 13, Kosovo Serb media reported that reporters of the
Kosovo Serb television production Glas Juga and Radio KIM were harassed
by the police after they covered a Kosovo Serb protest in the village
of Shillove/Silovo. Reportedly, police officers stopped the reporters,
forced cameraman Bojan Kosanin out of his vehicle, and kicked him. The
police claimed that they did not receive any complaints regarding
police mistreatment. The case was referred to police for further
investigation.
On May 3, local daily newspaper Express reported that a police
security detail detained photographer Fisnik Dobreci while he was
taking photos of President Sejdiu at lunch with the family of former
president Rugova. Express reported that police detained Dobreci in a
police vehicle until the end of the lunch and threatened him with five
years in prison. The paper filed a lawsuit against the police, without
effect. An internal police review concluded that the police had acted
appropriately.
On June 18, the Committee to Protect Journalists asked Prime
Minister Thaci to publicly condemn and investigate a recent wave of
threats against television journalist Jeta Xharra. Xharra, the director
of the Balkans Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), had aired a
video report on May 28 showing a BIRN news team being expelled from
Skenderaj/Srbica municipality's public information office and being
forced to leave town by an armed individual who confiscated some of the
film crew's footage. Following the release of the video, a series of
letters threatening Xharra appeared in Infopress, a local newspaper
supportive of the PDK party. For example, on June 5, Infopress
published a letter from a private citizen urging others to punish
Xharra. The following day, Infopress distanced itself from the letter,
noting that the opinion did not necessarily reflect the newspaper's
views. On June 22, the Press Council, responding to a complaint filed
by Xharra, concluded that the opinions published by Infopress
constituted hate speech and fined the newspaper 1,000 euros ($1,430).
On July 16, the IMC expressed concern over the arrest of a reporter
and a technician from TV Liria while they were covering a police
operation involving the arrest of dozens of municipal employees from
the Viti/Vitina municipal government. The IMC stated that the detention
of journalists constitutes a direct threat to their work and to freedom
of expression. The APJK requested that police conduct an investigation
of the incident and take measures against the policemen who arrested
journalists. Police opened an investigation but denied any wrongdoing.
There were no developments in the 2007 incident in which a group of
Kosovo Serb men attacked a four-person KTV crew filming the celebration
of Orthodox Christmas near the Kosovo Serb enclave of Gracanice/
Gracanica. No formal complaint was filed, and the police did not
investigate further.
There were no developments in the 2007 incident in which a locally
hired cameraman of Tirana-based Top Channel TV was attacked within view
of local and UNMIK police while filming an anti-independence protest in
the northern part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica. The investigation remained
officially ongoing but there was no progress in the case.
There were limited developments in the following cases: police
transferred the file on the 2007 assault on Lajm reporter Enis Veliu to
the minor offenses court, and prosecutors filed an indictment against
unknown persons pending identification of suspects for the September
2007 arson at the home of journalist Milaim Zeka, who had produced
television programs about controversial cases, including high-profile
killings and corruption.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
In August the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority reported that
approximately 25 percent of citizens used the Internet daily.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and the government, EULEX, and KFOR generally respected this right in
practice.
The law on public gatherings requires that organizers inform the
police of protests 72 hours prior to the event. Police are required to
notify the organizers within 48 hours if the protest will be allowed.
On a few occasions during the year, police used force to disperse
demonstrations and beat demonstrators while making arrests.
In April, May, and August, EULEX police repeatedly used tear gas to
disperse crowds of up to 400 Kosovo Serb protesters in Kroi i Vitakut/
Brdjani in the northern part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica who were
demonstrating against Kosovo Albanian returnees rebuilding their homes.
On various occasions, protesters attempted to break through police
lines and threw rocks at construction workers. During an incident on
August 24, five construction workers and two protesters were injured.
On May 10, in the Kosovo Serb enclave of Ranillug/Ranilug in
Kamenice/Kamenica, local Kosovo Serbs protested electrical power cuts
by electricity provider KEK when a police special operations unit
violently dispersed the crowd. Credible reports indicated that multiple
officers beat and kicked one of the protesters while he was on the
ground. At year's end, the police inspectorate was investigating the
incident.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice. The constitution includes provisions that protect
religious freedom and prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion.
There are no specific licensing regulations for religious groups;
however, religious organizations must register as NGOs with the
Ministry of Public Services in order to purchase property. Religious
groups complained that NGO status did not adequately reflect their
religious character, and the Protestant Evangelical Church refused to
register as an NGO.
The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology continued to
prohibit students from wearing headscarves at school. The ministry
based its policy on the law requiring public education institutions to
refrain from religious instruction or other activities promoting any
specific religion. The ministry enforced this prohibition despite a
2004 opinion by the ombudsman that the rule should apply only to
teachers and school officials, not students.
There were no developments in the February 2008 complaint to the
ombudsman from a student who was ordered by her principal not to attend
school with her headscarf. At year's end, the student continued
attending school with her scarf.
Protestant groups continued to report that they experienced
discrimination in media access, particularly by public television
station RTK.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of burglaries of
Protestant churches during the year. Individual Protestants alleged
there were incidents of verbal assault directed against them.
The Islamic community reported several incidents that it believed
represented violations of religious freedom, including the national
library's closure of its prayer room in 2008, the Ministry of
Education's denial of the community's request to include religious
education in school curricula, and the government's refusal to dedicate
funds to religious communities. During the year the media commissioner
informed community leadership that they could submit a new application
for a radio frequency, which the government had previously refused to
provide. The community subsequently resubmitted the request.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal violence continued to
decrease, but tensions between ethnic communities remained high,
especially in the northern part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica.
Security concerns continued to affect the Kosovo Serb community and
its freedom to worship. Some Kosovo Serbs asserted that they were
unable to travel freely to practice their faith.
On June 6, approximately 60 refugees from Suhareke/Suva Reka
attempted to visit Holy Trinity Monastery, destroyed by fire in 1999.
Police denied the group access, claiming that they lacked the proper
authorization. The group then tried to visit the remains of a second
church, but police forced the refugees to leave, citing security
reasons due to a large group of Kosovo Albanians who had gathered near
the parked bus.
On August 28, the Kosovo Albanian Association of the Families of
War Victims and Missing Persons organized a protest in Gjakove/
Djakovica municipality against the visit of 30 Kosovo Serb IDPs
attending the reconsecration of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother
of God Church, which had been burned by Kosovo Albanian rioters in
2004. Over 100 protesters reportedly threatened and threw stones at the
visitors. The visitors managed to leave the area unharmed under police
escort.
There were no reported incidents of rock throwing against Serbian
Orthodox clergy traveling outside of their monasteries. However, clergy
requested and received KFOR escorts, citing threats to their security
as impediments to their ability to visit holy sites.
The Rasko and Prizren Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church
reported that, on August 9, a Kosovo Albanian attacked Deacon Stevo
Mitric, who was traveling from Mitrovice/Mitrovica to the village of
Velika Hoxha in Rahovec/Orahovac. According to the diocese, Mitric was
traveling through Gllogovc/Glogovac municipality when another car
stopped in front of him and one of the passengers attempted to pull him
from his vehicle.
On September 14, a Serbian Orthodox monk returning to Visoki Decani
Monastery encountered what appeared to be a bomb on the only road
leading from Devic Monastery, which he had been visiting. Police
examined the device, which turned out to be a nonlethal smoke bomb.
Monks and nuns at some monasteries reportedly did not use parts of
monastery property--often land outside the monastery walls--due to
safety concerns.
Criminal charges remained pending against a Kosovo Albanian man
from Zvecan municipality who threatened a Serbian Orthodox nun from the
Sokolica monastery in 2007. The case was before the Mitrovice/Mitrovica
district court but could not proceed until the court resumed full
operation.
Police refined their operating procedures to provide greater
protection for Serbian Orthodox religious and cultural sites, requiring
each regional headquarters to create a protection plan for such sites.
There were cases of vandalism and harassment directed against
Serbian Orthodox Church property.
On July 2, unknown persons vandalized the Desanka Maksimovic School
in Kostadince. Vandals broke windows, destroyed a picture of Saint Sava
and a map of Serbia, and wrote ``UCK'' (the Albanian language initials
of the KLA) on the school's outer wall. Police were investigating the
incident at year's end.
On August 20, a Serbian Orthodox Church parish house in Prizren was
targeted by unknown persons who allegedly banged on the door and
disturbed the peace. Members of the parish did not file a complaint
with the police, who guarded the parish house.
On August 22, Kosovo Serb residents of the ethnically mixed Bince/
Binac village in Viti/Vitina reported to police that unknown persons
had damaged four gravestones in the village's Orthodox cemetery.
There were developments in some cases of Serbian Orthodox property
destruction from 2008. Prosecutors filed charges against four
individuals who stole the bell from a Serbian Orthodox church in
Novake, Prizren; the bell was recovered and subsequently returned to
the church. Police identified four minors suspected of involvement of
the vandalism of a church door in Kacanik, Ferizaj/Urosevac. The case
was sent to prosecutors in Ferizaj/Urosevac, and charges were pending
against them at year's end.
There were no developments in the 2007 incident in which unknown
persons damaged the interior of the Orthodox church in Mire/Lepi
village and stole approximately 30,000 Serbian dinars ($466).
Prosecutors filed an indictment against unknown persons pending
identification of suspects in a 2007 case in which unknown persons
vandalized the Church of St. John in Peje/Pec.
The Serbian Orthodox Church continued to express concern about the
status of the green space in the main park in Gjakove/Djakovica, a part
of which the church considered its property, and upon which a church
had been located prior to 1999. The mayor of Gjakove/Djakovica
publically stated that the church would not be rebuilt, and there was
no progress in resolving the dispute during the year.
The government-funded Reconstruction Implementation Commission
(RIC) continued to work on Serbian Orthodox religious sites in the
country that were damaged or destroyed during the March 2004 riots. The
RIC launched five projects in July (one each in Gjakove/Djakovica,
Vushtrri/Vucitrn, and Pristina, and two in Prizren) and three other
projects (in Peje/Pec, Skenderaj/Strpce, and Prizren) in November. The
RIC invested 432,161 euros ($617,990) during the year. Funds pledged by
the government in 2008 had not yet been released.
The local Islamic community reported assaults on Islamic leaders
during the year. On January 9, Mullah Osman Musliu from the Drenice/
Drenica region was assaulted while preaching in one of the mosques in
Zabel village in Gllogovc/Glogovac. The victim said that he was
assaulted by a group of Wahhabi religious extremists. Police arrested
four persons in connection with the assault, and an investigation
continued. The community also reported incidents of theft and vandalism
at mosques but stated that not all were motivated by religious
intolerance.
Prosecutors filed criminal charges against two persons suspected of
vandalizing approximately 30 Muslim gravestones in a cemetery in
Gjilan/Gnjilane in April 2008. The case remained pending at year's end.
No agreement was reached regarding the construction of a mosque in
the ethnically mixed village of Berivojce in Kamenice/ Kamenica. Kosovo
Albanians and Serbs had clashed over the proposed mosque in June 2008.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts during the year.
Approximately 40 individuals from two families in Prizren had some
Jewish roots. The Albanian-Jewish Solidarity Association, an
organization dedicated to promoting relations between ethnic Albanians
and Jews, was active during the year. No synagogues existed in the
country, but there was a small cemetery in Pristina.
In April the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, in
consultation with experts from Israel and the Kosovo Israel Friendship
Association, restored the 14 Jewish gravestones that had been
vandalized in 2007.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government and EULEX generally respected these
rights; however, interethnic tensions and real and perceived security
concerns restricted freedom of movement in practice.
During the year the government and EULEX generally maintained the
protection of these rights for minority communities. The government
cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees, returning
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other vulnerable
groups.
Police continued to assess the security situation as stable but
fragile. No crimes related to freedom of movement were reported to
police. Nevertheless, members of all ethnic communities continued to
remain largely within or travel between areas where their group
comprised the majority. Rock throwing and other forms of intimidation
continued to affect Kosovo Serbs when traveling outside Kosovo Serb
majority areas.
There were attacks during the year on vehicles carrying Serbs and
other ethnic minorities. For example, on January 4, a Kosovo Serb man
in Suhodoll/Suvi Do reported to police that unknown persons threw
stones at his car while he was driving, causing damage to his
windshield. Police continued to investigate the incident.
On January 5, a Kosovo Serb man in Mitrovice/Mitrovica reported to
police that unknown persons threw stones at his van, causing
approximately 250 euros ($358) worth of damage. Police were
investigating.
On June 7, a Kosovo Serb man from Gjilan/Gnjilane reported that
rocks were thrown at his vehicle while driving. The glass on the left
side of the car was broken. No further information was available
regarding this case.
There were developments in the following cases from 2008: suspects
were arrested and charged in the January case in which Kosovo Albanian
youths threw stones at a car driven by a Kosovo Serb living in Gjilan/
Gnjilane. Five suspects were also arrested in the February incident in
which masked, armed men stopped a bus that routinely carried Kosovo
Serbs to Serbia near Podujeve/Podujevo and demanded 20,000 euros
($28,600).
No further information was available on a July 2008 case in which
five or six Kosovo Albanian youths in Suhodoll/Suvi Do village in
Mitrovice/Mitrovica threw stones at a vehicle operated by a Kosovo
Serb.
During the year police arrested and charged a suspect in the 2007
stoning of a bus carrying a group of ethnic Serbs from Kosovo and
Serbia on the way to the Visoki Decani monastery.
There were no developments in the 2007 incident in which unknown
persons threw stones at a bus carrying professors and students from the
Warsaw Theological Seminary to Zociste Monastery.
Sporadic incidents of violence and intimidation targeting
minorities continued to limit freedom of movement for Kosovo Albanians
in northern Kosovo. The government enhanced efforts to facilitate
minority travel, but real and perceived risks deterred many minorities
from traveling outside their neighborhoods.
Police arrested and filed charges against three suspects in the
March 2008 demolition of a bridge in a Kosovo Serb village.
There were no new developments in the June and July 2008 incidents
in which pedestrians discovered explosive devices along the railway in
Old Kacanik village in Ferizaj/Urosevac and beneath a railway bridge in
Mitrovice/Mitrovica.
There was no further information available in 2007 cases involving
the placement of explosive devices or unexploded ordnance near roads or
infrastructure in Mitrovice/Mitrovica, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Vrbovc/Vrbovac
and Leposaviq/Leposavic. The cases remained under investigation at
year's end.
The government regulated movement in and out of the country. The
law provides that the central civil registry may issue travel documents
to any person registered as a habitual resident of the country, and the
registry routinely issued such documents in practice.
The law prohibits forced exile and authorities did not use it.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the UNHCR, at
year's end there were 19,695 persons displaced within Kosovo, 52
percent of whom were Kosovo Serbs and 38 percent were Kosovo Albanians.
Of the 4,100 persons displaced by riots in 2004, approximately 1,200
remained IDPs.
According to UNHCR estimates, the largest number of Kosovo IDPs
were concentrated in the Mitrovice/Mitrovica region. Of the 19,695 IDPs
within Kosovo, 15,181 were in Mitrovice/Mitrovica; roughly half of IDPs
were Kosovo Serbs and half were Kosovo Albanians. In Mitrovice/
Mitrovica municipality, Kosovo Serbs in the northern part and Kosovo
Albanians in the southern part of the municipality continued to
illegally occupy each others' properties, hindering potential returns.
On April 1, the ombudsman urged the prime minister to immediately
relocate Roma living on polluted land to a new, safer location
regardless of whether they were able to demonstrate their property
rights in Mitrovice/Mitrovica or any other municipality. As of August,
42 Roma families (191 persons) remained at the lead-polluted Cesmin Lug
IDP camp located in the northern part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica. Osterode,
an adjacent IDP camp on the grounds of a former KFOR military barracks,
housed 89 families (390 persons) who had been relocated from Cesmin Lug
and two other polluted camps in 2006.
Progress was slow in rebuilding the original Roma settlement in the
southern part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica that was destroyed during riots in
1999. Displaced persons began returning to the neighborhood in 2006; by
July, 645 inhabitants, all Roma, had returned.
During the year the Ministry of Communities and Returns budgeted
4.9 million euros ($7 million) for the protection and assistance of
IDPs. The funds were spent on housing reconstruction, food and nonfood
assistance, income generation grants, and basic support infrastructure
like roads and water systems.
The government allowed IDPs access to domestic and international
humanitarian organizations and permitted them to accept assistance
provided by these groups.
The government did not attack, target, forcibly return, or resettle
IDPs under dangerous conditions.
On September 7, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
reported a series of physical attacks and verbal harassment against
Roma returnees living in Gjilan/Gnjilane. Roma in the Abdullah Preseva
neighborhood reported that six such incidents took place between July
30 and August 2. Police were investigating at year's end.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws are based on and refer to
the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol and provide for the granting of
asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a system
for providing protection to refugees.
The asylum law entered into effect in June 2008. Administrative
instructions remained unimplemented pending legal review and
promulgation. During the year the UNHCR assisted the newly formed
Department of Citizenship, Asylum, and Migration in building its
capacity to adjudicate claims, to provide training to border police to
help identify and process individuals requesting asylum at ports of
entry, and to prevent the return of persons to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group , or political
opinion. As of August, the country hosted 281 refugees, mostly from
neighboring countries.
The government did not provide temporary protection to individuals
who did not qualify as refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide residents with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage.
Since the country's declaration of independence in February 2008,
local authorities assumed authority and responsibilities in most areas
of governance. Under the constitution, the 120-member Assembly has the
authority to select a president, a prime minister, and other ministers
and government officials.
Elections and Political Participation.--On November 15, the country
held the first round of local elections for municipal assemblies and
mayors. International observers assessed the elections as generally
free and fair, although they noted some technical violations of
elections laws. Three of the second round mayoral run-off elections
held on December 13 were marred by credible allegations of
irregularities and electoral fraud. In response, election officials
ordered new run-off elections in two municipalities and a recount and
investigation of the allegations in the third. Observers noted that the
country's election laws require revision to improve their efficacy, and
electoral institutions suffered from a lack of capacity and political
interference.
International and domestic observers determined that the 2007
Assembly elections generally reflected the will of the voters, although
few Kosovo Serbs participated, due largely to Serbian government
pressure to boycott. No significant irregularities were reported. The
country had a multiparty system dominated by five Kosovo Albanian
parties with several minority parties and coalitions.
The law provides that individuals may nominate themselves as
candidates to their parties, which must hold open and transparent
internal elections to select candidate lists. Political parties could
operate without restriction or outside interference, but party
affiliation played an important role in access to government services
and social and employment opportunities. Traditional social
arrangements and clan loyalties also played an important, although
unofficial, role in political organizations.
There were 37 women in the 120-seat Assembly. The electoral law
requires a 30 percent quota for female parliamentarians. There was one
woman on the eight-member Assembly presidency, two female ministers,
and three female deputy ministers. While no women were elected in the
November mayoral elections, women represented 31 percent of elected
municipal representatives.
Following the 2007 elections, there were 24 ethnic minority members
in the 120-seat Assembly, including 10 Kosovo Serbs and 14 members of
other groups, including ethnic Turks, Bosniaks, Gorani, Roma, Ashkali,
and Egyptians. There were three minority government ministers--two
Kosovo Serbs and one Kosovo Bosniak--and two Serb and two Bosniak
deputy ministers. One Kosovo Bosniak, one Kosovo Turk, and one
representative of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities shared a
rotating seat on the Assembly presidency. Kosovo Serbs from several
political parties won the 10 set-aside Assembly seats in the 2007
election. Before that election, the holders of those seats did not
claim their set-aside cabinet posts and continued to boycott Assembly
votes, although they did participate in committees. A Kosovo Serb led
the Ministry of Communities and Returns.
The constitution requires that the Assembly reserve 10 seats for
Kosovo Serbs and 10 for members of other ethnic groups, but ethnic
minorities were underrepresented at the municipal level where there
were no similar quotas. In the three northern municipalities of
Leposaviq/Leposavic, Zubin Potok, and Zvecan, Kosovo Serb voters
responded to calls from Serbian authorities not to participate in the
November 15 municipal elections, and as a result, Kosovo Serbs were not
represented in those municipal assemblies. Kosovo Serb representation
in municipal assemblies in the southern part of the country was
significantly higher than in previous years due to increased Serb
participation in the elections.
In June 2008 the government implemented a new election law to
create a single, multimember electoral district throughout the country.
Under the law, elections are to be held with open lists according to a
proportional majority system; a quota system is supposed to ensure
adequate representation for women and minorities in the Assembly; and a
political party must receive 5 percent of the vote in order to enter
the Assembly.
The Serbian government continued to run parallel government
structures in Kosovo Serb enclaves. In April 2008 UNMIK stated that
organizing elections for these parallel structures was a violation of
UN Security Council Resolution 1244. In May 2008 UNMIK declared the
parallel municipal structures arising from these elections were
illegitimate.
On April 3, the Serbian government dissolved two municipal parallel
governments in Peje/Pec and Pristina due to allegations of corruption.
The Serbian government sponsored parallel municipal elections in these
two municipalities on August 16. The Kosovo government and
international community continued to emphasize that the parallel
institutions were illegal and invalid.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. According to the
World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, corruption was a serious
problem.
There was widespread public perception of corruption in the
government. International organizations and NGOs continued to report
that corruption was a serious problem. A lack of effective judicial
oversight and general weakness in the rule of law contributed to
corruption in the government.
The law provides that public officials are subject to financial
disclosure laws. During the year the Assembly passed new anti-
corruption legislation and amended an existing conflict-of-interest
law. The anticorruption law creates a government agency to investigate
public corruption and forward suspected cases of corruption to
prosecutors. The amended conflict-of-interest law tightens rules
forbidding public officials from exercising their responsibilities in
circumstances where family members or close associates would have a
financial or other personal interest at stake; a new anticorruption
agency will administer the amended conflict of interest law.
The Kosovo Anticorruption Agency (KAA) and the Office of the
Auditor General are the two major agencies responsible for combating
corruption in the government.
During the year the KAA stated that it had received 150 reports of
corruption and estimated that that corruption during the year had cost
the government at least 30 million euros ($43 million).
On August 18, the KAA issued warning letters to six local officials
from the Leposaviq/Leposavic municipal court, the Peje/Pec district
court, the Gjilan/Gnjilane municipal court, and the Ministry of Health
for not declaring their wealth within the deadline set by law. The
warning letters indicated that the officials were subject to dismissal
from their positions if they failed to comply with the regulation.
Following issuance of the letters, four of the officials declared their
assets. The remaining two claimed that because they did not receive
salaries for their work, they were not required to declare.
The independent Office of the Auditor General (OAG) reviewed fiscal
management and accountability in the central government, municipal
authorities, and publicly owned enterprises. During the year the OAG
audited most ministries, the president's office, and the Assembly. At a
September press conference, the OAG noted that government institutions
were failing to respect fiscal management laws and regulations due to a
lack of understanding of their responsibilities and of basic
accounting. The OAG specifically identified flaws at the ministries of
health, economy and finance, education, transportation, labor and
social welfare, as well as customs, the Assembly, the prime minister's
office, and the president's office.
In a report released during the year, Freedom House noted that
corruption was widespread and remained a major problem due to
insufficient laws, a lack of political will, and the weakness of the
judicial system. The report also notes the anticorruption law and the
provisional penal code each define corruption differently. In 2008 the
European Commission reported that the existing institutional
legislative framework addressing corruption was unclear and noted that
the weak judicial system inhibited progress in combating corruption.
On June 25, the police arrested Ardian Hasanaj, a senior official
at government-owned national telecommunications provider PTK. Hasanaj
allegedly took bribes from two persons to help them find jobs.
The June 2008 trial of six former UNMIK international officials and
one local citizen on suspicion of misusing 230,000 euros ($328,900)
meant for humanitarian projects was suspended due to lack of evidence.
During the year the Pristina district court transferred the case of
Elez Hoxha to the Prizren district court to avoid a conflict of
interest. Hoxha, a former Pristina district court judge, was arrested
in June 2008 on suspicion of bribery. A trial date remained pending at
year's end.
EULEX suspended its investigation into the conduct of 11
international and eight local employees of Radoniqi Hydro-System in its
dealings with the Kosovo Electric Company for lack of evidence. The
investigation began in 2007.
There was no information available concerning the previously
scheduled trial of former assembly speaker Nexhat Daci. In 2007 the
Pristina district court indicted Daci on three counts of embezzlement
after a 2006 audit of Daci's tenure as Assembly speaker uncovered
serious mismanagement, misuse of public funds, and procurement
irregularities. In March 2008 an international judge confirmed the
indictment. The case remained pending at year's end.
The trial of Ahmet Alishani, Daci's senior advisor continued during
the year. Alishani was indicted in March 2008 on charges of fraud and
bribery.
There were developments in the case of former PTK director Leme
Xhema, former director of Norway Invest Mustafa Neziri, and Ove
Johansen. The three, together with Roger Reynolds, former divisional
manager at Kosovo Trust Agency, and Ronnen Sorensen, former managing
director and chairman of Norway Invest, were charged in connection with
the alleged misuse of 300,000 euros ($429,000). Johansen allegedly
arranged the fraudulent transfer of these funds from PTK to a phantom
company headquartered in Norway. In May 2008 the Pristina district
court sentenced Xhema to four years imprisonment. She appealed the
sentence. On June 22, the Supreme Court reduced her sentence to three
years. The Supreme Court also cleared Mustafa Neziri of all charges on
the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. On July 8, Ove
Johansen was arrested in Montenegro and extradited to Kosovo; he was
awaiting trial at year's end. Roger Reynolds and Ronnen Sorenson
remained at large.
During the year EULEX prosecutors took over the case of Sabajdin
Llonqari and Fitim Maksutaj, two former finance officers at Dubrave/
Dubrava Prison, who were arrested in 2006 for abusing their official
position and falsifying documents. The trial was pending at year's end.
The Law on Access to Official Documents provides for access to
official government documents but does not include penalties for
failure to comply; in practice, ministries rarely granted access during
the year and the media complained frequently about lack of access to
official documents.
On February 14, the APJK organized a protest to urge the government
to reconsider the administrative instructions guiding the Law on Access
to Official Documents. The APJK and journalists complained that the
instructions prevent journalists from accessing official documents.
Several days after the protest, the minister of public services invited
the APJK to present its recommendations for changes to the
administrative instructions. The process was continuing at year's end.
A test conducted by the NGO Youth Initiative for Human Rights,
covering the period from October 2008 to June 2009, indicated that only
about 20 percent of requests for access to official documents (sent
randomly to local and central authorities) received positive responses.
The International Exchanges and Research Board's (IREX) Media
Sustainability Index noted that the administrative instruction
implementing the 2003 Law on Access to Official Documents extended the
time limit beyond 15 days and was overly specific about when a document
can be accessed, thus limiting access to official documents.
In 2007 the APJK reported that a survey measuring the
responsiveness of government and public institutions to media requests
for official documents indicated that only 23 percent of requests were
successfully completed. The survey also indicated that none of the
institutions approached by journalists provided the petitioner with a
register of available documents.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. The government and
KFOR were occasionally cooperative and responsive to their views.
Following the 1998-99 conflict, many domestic NGOs, covering a wide
array of issues, developed throughout the country. The government
occasionally met with domestic NGO monitors, responded to their
inquiries, or took action in response to their reports or
recommendations. There were no reports that the government harassed,
targeted, or prosecuted NGOs for their activities.
The government cooperated with international organizations,
including UN representatives and the ICRC. The UN maintained a large
presence in the country and covered a wide range of issues. The ICRC
maintained a constant presence in the country.
Police continued to investigate the March 2008 incident in which
unknown assailants in Mitrovice/Mitrovica threw a Molotov cocktail at
the headquarters of the humanitarian organization Norwegian Church Aid.
The ombudsman investigates allegations of human rights violations
and abuse of government authority. In June the Assembly approved the
selection of a new ombudsman after four failed attempts since 2006. The
ombudsman's office reported that it had good cooperation with the
government and political parties.
The ombudsman was considered moderately effective, but was
restricted by funding problems. The OSCE reported that, because donor
funding ended in 2008, the ombudsman's office in the Serb village of
Vidanje/Videje in Peje/Pec municipality closed in March. Additionally,
the staff numbers were reduced at the ombudsman's office in Gracanice/
Gracanica in March for the same reason.
The ombudsman continued to assert that the courts and ministries
were the most frequent violators of human rights in the country. The
ombudsman also noted that recent reforms in the judiciary were
insufficient, and the system still suffered from grave defects.
While the ombudsman actively issued intervention letters, reports,
and recommendations, his recommendations were not always followed by
the government, local courts, or the police. The ombudsman investigated
cases concerning property rights, abuse of official authority,
administrative acts or omissions by public authorities, lack of proper
investigations into criminal acts, issues involving the length of court
proceedings and the execution of court decisions, and employment-
related disputes and discrimination cases.
The Assembly maintains a committee on human rights, gender
equality, missing persons, and petitions; which must review all laws
that affect human rights. The committee was controlled by governing
coalition parties and had only limited independence. The committee did
not issue any reports or recommendations during the year.
The government and KFOR generally cooperated with the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). On October 28, ICTY
prosecutors appealed the acquittal of former prime minister Ramush
Haradinaj and codefendant Idriz Balaj. The Appeals Chamber's decision
remained pending at year's end. In April 2008 the court acquitted both
men of all charges stemming from the alleged murder, persecution, rape,
and torture of Kosovo Serb civilians in 1998. Lahi Brahimaj, convicted
of torture and mistreatment of prisoners and sentenced to six years in
prison in April 2008, also filed an appeal.
On July 23, the ICTY overturned the conviction of former culture
minister Astrit Haraqija, who had been sentenced to five months'
imprisonment in December 2008. Haraqija and his political advisor,
Bajrush Morina, were charged with threatening a witness who planned to
testify against Ramush Haradinaj. The court upheld Morina's three-month
sentence.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
gender, ethnic origin, disability, or language. The government did not
effectively enforce these prohibitions.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape; however, spousal rape is not
specifically addressed. Under the criminal code, rape is punishable by
two to 10 years in prison; statutory rape (sexual intercourse with a
child under 18) is punishable by five to 20 years in prison. Rape
involving homicide is punishable by up to 40 years' imprisonment.
Observers believed that rape was significantly underreported due to
the cultural stigma attached to victims and their families. Police rape
units around the country received 42 reports of rape during the year.
According to the Justice Ministry, victim advocates provided services
to victims in approximately 31 cases of rape during the year.
Domestic violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained
a serious and persistent problem. The law prohibits domestic violence,
and convictions carry prison terms of six months to five years. The law
treats domestic violence cases as civil cases unless the victim suffers
bodily harm. Failure to comply with a civil court's judgment relating
to a domestic violence case is a criminal offense and can be
prosecuted. When victims did press charges, police domestic violence
units conducted investigations and transferred cases to prosecutors.
According to the special prosecutor's office, family loyalties,
poverty, and the backlog of cases in both civil and criminal courts
contributed to the low rate of prosecution.
In 2007 the OSCE issued a report on domestic violence that
highlighted problems in the adjudication of domestic violence cases,
including unlawful delays in reviewing applications for protection
orders. The OSCE also expressed concern over appellate procedures in
domestic violence cases; in some cases, courts unlawfully noted in
their decisions that an appeal by the defendant would stay the
execution of a protection order.
Between January and November, police reported 856 victims of
domestic violence. Of the victims, 681 were female, 175 male. Only 16
sought refuge in shelters. Children also suffered from domestic
violence. During the year police reported 125 child victims of domestic
violence: 74 girls and 51 boys. Only 12 were placed in shelters. During
the same period, the Center for Protection of Women and Children
provided assistance to 144 victims of domestic and sexual violence and
three victims of trafficking. The Justice Ministry's victim advocate
and assistance unit was involved in 636 domestic violence cases during
the year.
Convictions for domestic violence were rare, and sentences ranged
from judicial reprimands to imprisonment. Traditional social attitudes
towards women in the male-dominated society contributed to the high
level of domestic abuse and low number of reported cases.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare's protection for families
section had a unit solely dedicated to dealing with family violence.
The ministry provided some financial support to NGOs running shelters
for domestic violence victims, which also accommodated some trafficking
victims. The ministry also provided social services through social
welfare centers. Several domestic and international NGOs pursued
activities to assist women; however, they were constrained by a
tradition of silence concerning domestic violence, sexual abuse, and
rape.
The police training school offered special courses on domestic
violence and rape. There were no reports that the police responded
inappropriately to rape or domestic abuse allegations.
Although the law prohibits prostitution, it remained prevalent.
EULEX continued to monitor, mentor, and advise the police trafficking
section.
There is no specific law against sexual harassment, which was a
common problem. Women's rights organizations indicated that sexual
harassment commonly occurred on the job but went unreported due to fear
of expulsion or physical retaliation. Public awareness of sexual
harassment remained low, and few cases were reported.
The reproductive health law protects the reproductive rights of
individuals and couples, including the right to information and access
to appropriate services. In practice, the government respected
reproductive rights. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reported that
access to reproductive health information and treatment was widespread
and equitable, regardless of income level, age, sex, ethnicity,
residence, and HIV/AIDS or other status. The UNFPA noted that
counseling on reproductive rights, although available, was generally of
poor quality.
Women possess the same legal rights as men but traditionally have a
lower social status, which affected their treatment within the legal
system. The Agency for Gender Equality under the Prime Minister's
Office has the mandate to implement and monitor the gender equality
law.
Despite a lack of legal impediments, relatively few women obtained
upper-level management positions in business, the police, or
government. Women represented less than 30 percent of the government
workforce. According to the Business Registration Agency, women owned
fewer than 5 percent of registered businesses. Female unemployment
remained at around 80 percent, 25 to 30 percentage points higher than
the rate for men. During the year the Agency for Gender Equality
supported a local NGO providing training for women in small businesses
and also sponsored the third annual ``women in business'' fair in June.
According to the OSCE, women belonging to nonmajority communities
were at risk of suffering multiple forms of discrimination due to
gender, ethnicity, or social origin. Traditional societal attitudes
toward women resulted in discrimination. In rural areas, women
frequently had little ability to make decisions involving their
children or to exercise control over property. While the law makes no
gender distinction in the right to inherit property, family property
customarily passes only to men. In rare cases, Kosovo Albanian widows,
particularly in rural areas, risked losing custody of their children
due to a custom calling for children and property to pass to the
deceased father's family while the widow returns to her birth family.
Children.--Children acquire Kosovo citizenship from their parents
or by virtue of birth in the country. According to a July 2008 UN
Children's Fund (UNICEF) study, 14 percent of Roma, Ashkali, and
Egyptian children in Kosovo Albanian-majority areas were not registered
at birth. In Kosovo Serb-majority areas, 5 percent of Roma, Ashkali,
and Egyptian children were not properly registered. UNICEF reported
that as a rule, a lack of registration did not impact the child's
ability to receive elementary education or health care but could
adversely affect access to social assistance.
While education is free and compulsory up to age 15, statistics
from 2005, the most recent year for which data was available, indicated
that only 77 percent of children between the ages of seven and 14 from
non-Serb minority communities (Ashkali, Bosniak, Egyptian, Gorani,
Roma, Turkish, and others) attended school. Girls from non-Serb
minorities attended school at a rate of 69 percent. In contrast, 97.5
percent of Kosovo Albanian and 99 percent of Kosovo Serb children were
enrolled in primary school. Since 2008 the government has purchased
books for pupils through the fifth grade. Fewer than 10 percent of two-
to five-year-old children attended preschool.
UNICEF estimated that less than 75 percent of children who
completed compulsory basic education enrolled in secondary school and
that the continuation rate for Kosovo Albanian girls was less than 55
percent. Among girls from non-Serb minority communities, only about 40
percent enrolled in secondary schools.
The law requires equal conditions for schoolchildren regardless of
mother tongue and provides the right to native-language public
education for minority students through secondary school. Schools
teaching in Serbian, Bosnian, and Turkish operated during the year.
Both Kosovo Serb and Kosovo Albanian children attended schools with
inadequate facilities that lacked basic equipment. A few schools housed
both Kosovo Serb and Kosovo Albanian pupils, who studied different
curricula and rotated class schedules.
Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian children attended mixed schools with
Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serb children and reportedly faced
intimidation and bullying in some majority Albanian areas. Roma
children tended to be disadvantaged by poverty, leading many to start
work both at home and in the streets at an early age in order to
contribute to family income. Roma children were also disadvantaged by
having to learn another language to attend school, since many spoke
Romani at home. International NGOs funded and administered various
preschool programs for Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian children to learn
Albanian and Romani languages. Some Kosovo Bosniak children in
predominantly Bosniak areas occasionally were able to obtain Bosnian-
language primary education, but those outside such areas received
instruction only in Albanian.
The extent of child abuse in the country was unknown, but UNICEF
believed it was significantly underreported due to lack of awareness,
victim services, and limited capacity to identify, report, and refer
cases of abuse. The Justice Ministry's unit for victim advocacy and
assistance reported 38 cases of child abuse between January and
September. A 2006 study by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education on the
prevalence of violence in schools found that violence against children
was condoned and that corporal punishment was an accepted practice in
homes and schools. Some students who lived far from school reported
they were afraid to travel the distance due to the threat of peer
violence. Children reported that persons close to them were
perpetrators of violence, that boys were at higher risk for physical
violence, and that girls were at higher risk of verbal abuse.
There was anecdotal evidence of child marriage, particularly in the
Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian, and Kosovo Albanian communities. The
government and NGOs did not compile statistics on child marriage, so
the extent of the problem was unclear.
Statutory rape is a criminal offense punishable by five to 20 years
in prison, depending on circumstances and the age of the victim.
The law prohibits possession, production, and distribution of child
pornography. Anyone who produces, uses, or involves a child in making
or producing pornography is subject to one to five years' imprisonment.
Distribution of child pornography is punishable by six months' to five
years' imprisonment. Possession of child pornography is punishable by
fine or imprisonment of up to three years.
During the year the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare operated
35 centers that assisted 1,497 orphans and 811 delinquent children. The
ministry also managed foster homes and coordinated with NGOs to place
children in temporary shelters. During the year a total of 86 children
were living in foster homes and government-funded community homes under
24-hour care, including 35 children who were placed into protective
care this year. The Pristina Clinical and University Hospital had
previously been home to seven children; during the year one child died.
The remaining six were placed in foster homes.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare reported that there were
19 abandoned children with disabilities, ranging in age from three to
18 years, living in two government-funded community homes receiving 24-
hour care.
Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution and law prohibit
trafficking in persons for all purposes; however, there were reports
that persons were trafficked to, from, through, and within the country.
Trafficking of women and children remained a serious problem, although
limited statistics made it difficult to estimate the magnitude of
trafficking in children.
The country was a source, transit, and destination point for
trafficked persons, and internal trafficking remained a problem.
Victims were women and children trafficked internally or from Eastern
Europe and other Balkan countries into the country. Children were
exploited most commonly for labor--primarily begging--while adults were
trafficked mostly for commercial sexual exploitation in illegal
brothels or through call girl services. Victims were trafficked through
the country to Albania and Macedonia.
According to police and the International Organization for
Migration (IOM), there were more identified victims of trafficking
during the year compared with previous years. During the year police
identified 22 adult trafficking victims: 11 Kosovo Albanian women and
11 foreign female victims. Of the foreign victims, six were from
Moldova, two were from Albania, one was Bulgarian, one was Serbian, and
one refused to reveal her country of origin. Police also identified
seven trafficking victims who were minors: five Kosovo Albanians, one
Kosovo Serb, and one Albanian. According to police statistics, the
number of internally trafficked adults remained the same during the
year as compared to 2008. In both years, 11 of the identified victims
were from the country. IOM data also showed a year-on-year increase in
the total number of trafficking victims. In 2008 the IOM assisted 20
trafficking victims: eight foreign citizens and 12 from Kosovo. From
January to October, the IOM assisted 29 victims: 21 from Kosovo and
eight foreigners. Of the seven, six were from Moldova, one was from
Albania, and one was from Serbia.
Trafficking in children remained a problem. The NGO Terre des
Hommes reported that during the year it identified 15 child victims of
trafficking. Seven were from Kosovo, eight from Albania; all were Roma.
Six were girls and nine were boys, and their ages ranged from six
months to 16 years. All were exploited for labor, typically begging.
The six-month-old child was used to aid others in begging. Police
identified one minor victim of trafficking, a sexually exploited 17-
year-old girl from Albania. The IOM assisted three minor trafficking
victims, two internally trafficked and one foreign, also from Albania.
All three were sexually exploited.
Children from backgrounds with a high level of poverty,
unemployment, family abuse, and poor education were particularly at
risk of being trafficked. The IOM reported that of local victims
identified since 1999, 10 percent were not enrolled in school; 32
percent had only finished primary school (fifth grade); 41 percent had
finished elementary school (ninth grade); 10 percent had completed
secondary education (high school); and fewer than 1 percent had
attended university.
Since 1999, of the foreign victims IOM assisted, over 50 percent
were from Moldova, 18 percent were from Romania, 12 percent were from
Ukraine, and the rest from Albania, Bulgaria, Russia, Serbia,
Montenegro, Slovakia, and Nigeria. The majority of these victims were
women between the ages of 18 and 25. IOM data show that, historically,
82 percent of Kosovo's victims were internally trafficked; 7 percent
were trafficked to Macedonia, 3 percent each to Albania and Italy, and
fewer than 1 percent to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany,
Belgium, and Montenegro. The IOM reported that during the year all the
Kosovo victims it assisted were internally trafficked.
Police reported that sex trafficking victims were generally not
aware they would be working in the sex industry when they left their
homes. However, IOM data indicated that most sex trafficking victims
were trafficked by friends or acquaintances with the victim's full
knowledge.
Methods of trafficking continued to increase in sophistication.
Police reported that most women were trafficked into the country
through the Pristina airport. Bar and brothel owners purchased victims
from recruitment rings, often composed of friends of the victim.
Police and Terre des Hommes reported that recruiters were slightly
more likely to be men than women. The IOM and police reported that
trafficked persons often had work contracts that enabled them to enter
the country legally and obtain residence permits. This made it
difficult to detect and prove trafficking.
The IOM reported that, of the 473 international victims it assisted
since 1999, close to 73 percent fell prey to traffickers after
accepting a fraudulent job offer abroad, 8 percent were deceived by
false travel arrangements, and fewer than 2 percent were promised
marriage. For internally trafficked victims, 64 percent received a
false job promise, nearly 21 percent were given a false promise of
marriage, and 4 percent were kidnapped.
Police reported great difficulty in identifying trafficking victims
due to their reluctance to come forward and report the crimes to
police. Unlike in previous years, where traffickers shifted their
operations into private homes, all the trafficking victims identified
by police were discovered in public bars and clubs. Traffickers
continued to use financial incentives to encourage victims to refuse
assistance. Additionally, police reported that cultural taboos and the
threat of social ostracism caused most internally trafficked victims to
remain silent about their experiences. The IOM disagreed with the
police assessment and noted that the victims it assisted were typically
forthcoming about their experiences. Trafficking victims reported that
they were regularly subjected to beatings, denied access to health
care, and occasionally had their travel and identity documents
confiscated. Police reported that victims were often found in poor
psychological condition.
Police continued to experience difficulty in recruiting Kosovo Serb
officers for their antitrafficking unit, which prevented undercover
operations from taking place in northern parts of the country and in
Kosovo Serb enclaves.
The country's laws and police procedures provide a defense for
trafficking victims against criminal charges of prostitution, illegal
entry, presence, or work in the country. According to the criminal law,
trafficking is punishable by a maximum of 20 years' imprisonment.
Engaging in trafficking is punishable by two to 12 years' imprisonment,
or up to 15 years if the victim is a minor; organizing a group to
engage in trafficking is punishable by seven to 20 years' imprisonment
and a fine up to 500,000 euros ($715,000); facilitating trafficking
through negligence is punishable by six months' to five years'
imprisonment. A person convicted of engaging in sex with a person known
to be a trafficking victim may be imprisoned from three months to five
years, while sex with a minor known to be a trafficking victim carries
a penalty of two to 10 years' imprisonment. When trafficking is
committed by an official in the exercise of their duties, the
perpetrator may be imprisoned for five to 15 years.
Facilitating prostitution is punishable by a fine or imprisonment
up to three years, and up to five years if it occurs within a 350-meter
radius of a school or other location used by children. When the crime
of prostitution involves minors as victims, the term of imprisonment
can be up to 12 years. Prostitution is punished as a minor offense;
prostitutes can be punished, but not clients, unless the police can
prove that a client knowingly used the services of a trafficking
victim. Prostitution constitutes grounds for deportation unless the
individual is a victim of trafficking.
During the year police conducted 63 surveillance operations, 23
undercover operations, and closed 70 business establishments used for
trafficking and prostitution. Police arrested 32 men and women for
trafficking, and an additional 13 women on prostitution charges. Police
identified 29 trafficking victims, 22 of whom received needed
assistance, including safe accommodation, counseling, and professional
training for return and social reintegration. The remaining seven
declined treatment. At least one shelter provided medical care pursuant
to its agreements with health care providers. From January to November,
the Prosecutor's Office filed 31 criminal trafficking and smuggling
charges; 54 additional cases from previous years remained open.
Eighteen cases were completed, resulting in 12 convictions with prison
sentences, four fines, three suspended sentences, and one acquittal.
Factors that contributed to a low number of prosecutions included
the increasing sophistication of organized crime to avoid direct links
between the victims and senior crime figures, reluctance of victims to
cooperate with authorities, inadequate training for judicial personnel,
and failure of police to adapt to new techniques employed by
traffickers.
Police and border police shared responsibility for combating
trafficking with the ministries of internal affairs; justice; health,
education, and public services; and labor and social welfare. NGOs and
international organizations offered the majority of protection and
prevention-related antitrafficking activities.
There were a number of arrests and police actions against
traffickers during the year.
On February 23, border police arrested four Kosovo Albanian men for
trafficking an Albanian minor. The victim was sent to a shelter and
then returned to Albania. The men were detained for one month and then
released. No further information on the case was available.
On March 3, authorities suspended five police officers with pay on
suspicion of abuse of authority, trafficking, and facilitating
prostitution. Two of the officers worked at Pristina airport in
coordination with the border police. The others worked at the Office
for Immigration and Foreigners; all were in regular contact with known
traffickers through text messages. At year's end, the Special
Prosecutor's Office had completed its investigation and was preparing
final indictments, but no arrests had been made.
On April 25, police arrested an Albanian woman and charged her with
trafficking. The case was transferred to the Pristina district court,
where the accused received 30 days detention. An investigation is
ongoing.
Following the January 2008 police searches of six locations in
Gjakove/Djakovica on suspicion of involvement in trafficking, police
arrested five persons and sent four women to shelters. During the year
two of those arrested were convicted and sentenced to four years
imprisonment for trafficking-related offenses.
During the year a prosecutor was assigned to the case of the Kosovo
Ashkali man arrested in April 2008 for trafficking a 14-year-old girl
and pimping her. Charges remained pending at year's end.
During the year Aleksander and Pal Pitaqi, Veronica Dragan, and
Elena Pislaru were convicted on charges of human trafficking, money
laundering, and facilitating prostitution. The court found that the
traffickers led an organized criminal group that recruited and held
women from Moldova for sexual exploitation. Aleksander Pitaqi received
six years' imprisonment and an 86,874 euro ($124,230) fine; Pal Pitaqi
received five years' imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 euros ($2,860);
Veronica Dragan received four years' imprisonment, and fine of 85,794
euros ($122,685); and Elena Pislaru received three years' imprisonment
and a fine of 2,000 euros ($2,860).
There was no additional information available in the 2007 arrest of
two Kosovo Albanian men who ran the Suka and Suka 1 cafes in Prizren.
The government and international and local NGOs provided assistance
to trafficking victims. Local NGOs, such as the Center for Protection
of Victims and Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings, operated
shelters that provided medical care and psychological counseling
services to trafficking victims. The NGO Hope and Homes for Children
operated a shelter for child victims of trafficking and domestic
violence. The Justice Ministry ran a high security shelter for high-
risk victims while they recovered.
During the year the Ministry of Education initiated a two-month
outreach program to 113 primary and secondary schools urging students
to report cases of trafficking and domestic violence. The ministry also
ran an awareness campaign in 10 schools to warn students of the dangers
of trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and in the provision of other state
services; however, the situation of persons with disabilities remained
difficult. Although the law mandates access to official buildings, it
was not enforced and such access was rarely available in practice.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is the government agency
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. By
law, protection and provision of services is offered to all citizens;
however, there was considerable discrimination in practice, and
ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities was not a government
priority.
According to local disability rights NGO HandiKos, existing laws
relating to persons with disabilities were not adequately implemented.
As a result, children with disabilities were often excluded from
educational opportunities, were not professionally evaluated, and
lacked sufficient health and social services.
According to the Ministry of Education, there were seven special
residential schools for children with disabilities and 73 special needs
classrooms attached to regular schools. The ministry reported that, as
of December, 1,179 pupils were receiving special education.
There were no special legal protections for children with
disabilities. A new Law on Material Support for Families of Children
with Permanent Disability entered into force in June 2008. The law
provides a definition of children with disabilities and permits the
legal guardians of such children to apply to the Ministry of Labor and
Social Welfare for material support. However, the ministry lacked both
the funds and personnel to implement the law.
According to the NGO Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI),
patients with mental disabilities continued to be detained without
legal basis in isolated conditions. In 2003 MDRI noted that there is no
law to regulate the process of committing persons to psychiatric or
social care facilities or to protect their rights within institutions.
On occasion individuals in need of mental health treatment were
convicted of fabricated or petty crimes and sent to prisons that lacked
resources for adequate treatment. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), there were an estimated 14,000 persons with mental
disabilities; MDRI reported an estimated 50,000 persons with mental
disabilities living outside institutions. According to MDRI, such
persons lived isolated and stigmatized lives.
The government-operated Shtime/Stimlje Institute maintained a
facility for persons with developmental disabilities with 60 residents
and a separate psychiatric facility with 62 residents. The majority of
residents at the institute were Kosovo Serbs and members of other
minorities. The total number of residents in these facilities decreased
from 2008, addressing in part MDRI's concerns about overcrowding. Both
facilities continued to admit new patients through the year.
During the year the Ministry of Health operated eight integration
and community homes across the country, each hosting 10 patients with
mental illnesses. In addition, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare
ran another seven community homes with approximately 10 residents in
each facility. MDRI reported that, while these homes were intended to
be transitional, most residents spent years there with little prospect
of integration into the community. According to the WHO, there were not
enough facilities to provide care for persons with mental disabilities
and employment opportunities for persons with mental disabilities were
limited.
The National Council on Disabled Persons, an advisory organization
to government authorities and the Assembly, met twice during the year.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Official and societal
discrimination persisted against Kosovo Serb, Roma, Ashkali, and
Egyptian communities in employment, education, social services,
language use, freedom of movement, the right to return, and other basic
rights. Members of the Kosovo Bosniak and Gorani communities also
complained of discrimination. Reports of violence and other crimes
directed at minorities and their property persisted. According to a
draft report prepared by the prime minister's Office of Community
Affairs, minority employment in public institutions fell during the
year and was generally confined to lower levels of the government. The
report recommended that the government more actively reach out to
minorities and implement reporting, recruiting, training, equal
opportunity, and language procedures.
A 2007 ombudsman's report concluded that ethnic discrimination was
a widespread problem. The ombudsman highlighted discrimination in the
delivery of public services and freedom of movement.
Between January 1 and August 31, EULEX police reported 116 cases of
interethnic crime; 86 involved Kosovo Serbs as either victims or
suspects. During the same period in 2008, UNMIK police reported 798
cases of interethnic crime, 617 involved Serbs as victims or suspects.
Underreporting of interethnic incidents persisted as a consequence of
the local police policy of assigning low priority to them and
persistent mistrust between minorities and the Kosovo Albanian
majority.
There were reports of violence against Kosovo Serbs during the year
which were usually investigated by police. For example, on January 5, a
Kosovo Serb informed the police that his son had been threatened by a
Kosovo Albanian male. The Kosovo Serb was threatened in retaliation for
the burning of the Kosovo Albanian's store. The victim chose not to
file a formal complaint and police closed the case.
On June 13, three Kosovo Serb teenagers were reportedly beaten by a
group of Kosovo Albanians in Lipjan/Lipljan while passing a
construction site. On June 16, police filed assault charges of against
Atdhe Qerkini, Kosove Kelmendi, Bunjamin Jashanica, Gezim Xhemajli,
Gazmend Bleta, and Qendrim Veseli. On June 17, the Lipjan/Lipljan
municipal court ordered the six suspects to be detained for 30 days,
with the exception of Veseli, a minor.
There were no developments in the April 2008 incident in Gjilan/
Gnjilane in which a Kosovo Albanian man assaulted a Kosovo Serb man,
who sustained slight bodily injuries.
In June 2008 the OSCE reported that a Kosovo Serb man attempted to
visit his property in Decan/Decani with members of a UNDP team planning
to help reconstruct his home. When the man arrived at his property, a
Kosovo Albanian neighbor, who was unlawfully using the property in the
owner's absence, prevented the group from entering. According to the
OSCE, the Kosovo Serb owner did not attempt to visit his property
again. Municipal authorities attempted to mediate the dispute but were
unable to contact the property owner.
In July 2008 three unidentified Kosovo Albanian women physically
assaulted and injured a Kosovo Serb woman in Gjilan/Gnjilane. The
victim declined to press charges or file a complaint, and police closed
the case.
There were no developments in the July 2008 case in Istog/Istok,
where an unidentified Kosovo Albanian man punched and kicked Zarko
Orovic, a prospective Kosovo Serb returnee visiting from Montenegro,
and robbed him of 350 euros ($500). The case was subsequently sent to
prosecutors, but no suspects were identified and no arrests were made.
During the year police forwarded to prosecutors the December 2008
case in which two Kosovo Albanian youths from the southern part of
Mitrovice/Mitrovica stabbed a 16-year-old Kosovo Serb in the northern
part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica during a confrontation with Serbian youths.
The defendants claimed they were acting in self-defense.
There were no developments during the year on investigations into
the 2007 stabbing of a Kosovo Serb woman behind a cafe in Mitrovice/
Mitrovica or the 2007 indictment of Sabri Haziri, who was accused of
assisting in planting a bomb on a railway bridge in 2003 near the
village of Llozishte/Loziste in Zvecan.
During the year there were occasional reports of Kosovo Albanians
destroying private property belonging to Kosovo Serbs. Some of these
attacks may have been attempts to force Kosovo Serbs to sell their
property. Regulations prevent the wholesale buy-out of Kosovo Serb
communities in an effort to prevent the intimidation of minority
property owners in certain areas; however, these were rarely enforced.
There were numerous reports that Kosovo Serbs had difficulty accessing
their property, which was sometimes occupied or used by Kosovo
Albanians. The KPA reported that it faced frequent cases of illegal
occupation and reoccupation of properties in its eviction activities,
with many properties vandalized or destroyed.
There were no developments in the April 2008 case in Kline/Klina in
which a Kosovo Serb reported that his property had been taken over by a
Kosovo Albanian man.
The OSCE reported 70 cases of the fraudulent sale of Kosovo Serb
property by persons falsely claiming to have the right and presenting
forged documents in court. In situations where the rightful owners did
not live in the country, such fraud went undiscovered for long periods
of time.
There were clashes between groups of Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo
Serbs during the year.
In April, May, and August, EULEX police repeatedly used tear gas to
disperse crowds of up to 400 Kosovo Serb protesters in Kroi i Vitakut/
Brdjani in the northern part of Mitrovice/Mitrovica, who were
demonstrating against Kosovo Albanian returnees rebuilding their homes.
On various occasions, protesters attempted to break through police
lines and threw rocks at construction workers. During the August 24
incident, five construction workers and two protesters were injured.
In October 2008 police charged Blasko Lazar Simic, Tihomer Radivoje
Milosevic, Miodrag Vladimir Nikolic, and Bozo Zivojin Stanojevic with
assaulting a public official and inflicting minor bodily injuries
during a June 2008 clash between Kosovo Serbs protesting the
construction of a mosque and Kosovo Albanians in the ethnically mixed
village of Berivojce in Kamenice/Kamenica municipality. Two police
officers and a number of protesters were injured. A trial date was
pending at year's end.
During the year the OSCE reported that the criminal justice system
continued to exhibit serious shortcomings in handling cases from the
2004 riots. The OSCE noted the failure of courts and prosecutors to
secure witness statements and cooperation; the failure of police to
transmit reports, to appear when summoned as witnesses, or, in some
cases, to cooperate with investigations; the widespread failure by
prosecutors to charge alleged perpetrators with suitable crimes; the
failure of judges to sentence those convicted to appropriate sentences;
and long delays in proceedings. In many cases the courts did not
properly account for ethnic motives as an aggravating factor and
imposed mild or even suspended sentences for serious crimes.
Incidents of ethnically motivated violence against members of non-
Kosovo Serb minority communities reportedly took place during the year.
Between July 30 and August 2, Roma returnees alleged they were
attacked and beaten in six incidents in the village of Abdullah Preseva
in Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality. Likewise, 20 Roma, Ashkali, and
Egyptian families from the Halit Ibishi neighborhood in Ferizaj/
Urosevac municipality reported they sought protection from the police
due to continuous harassment and intimidation by unidentified persons.
Police were investigating these incidents at year's end.
There were no developments in the 2007 Peje/Pec incident in which
two Kosovo Albanian men assaulted and seriously injured a Kosovo
Egyptian man or in the 2007 assault by a Kosovo Albanian on a Kosovo
Bosniak. In the second case, the victim was hospitalized with serious
injuries and police apprehended a suspect.
Roma were subject to pervasive social and economic discrimination;
often lacked access to basic hygiene, medical care, and education; and
were heavily dependent on humanitarian aid for survival. Although there
were some successful efforts to resettle Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians
in the homes they occupied prior to the 1999 conflict in Vushtrri/
Vucitrn, security concerns remained.
Kosovo Bosniak leaders continued to complain that thousands of
their community members had left the country as a result of
discrimination and lack of economic opportunities, noting that
departures had increased due to economic circumstances in the country.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on sexual
orientation; however, there were reports of violence and discrimination
directed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
individuals.
Traditional societal attitudes about homosexuality intimidated most
gays and lesbians into concealing their sexual orientation. LGBT
individuals generally felt insecure, with many reporting threats to
their personal safety. There were fewer threats reported than in
previous years. This diminished reporting may have been due to greater
caution taken by LGBT persons in their public activities. The print
media at times reinforced negative attitudes by publishing articles
about homosexuality that characterized LGBT persons as mentally ill. At
least one political party, the Islamic-oriented Justice Party, included
a condemnation of homosexuality in its political platform.
There were few NGOs in the country that focused on LGBT issues. The
Center for Social Group Development, a local NGO addressing LGBT
issues, stated that there were a number of other cases of
discrimination against LGBT individuals during the year, but that
victims refused to allow the center to present their cases publicly out
of fear of discrimination. There were no overt impediments to the
center's operation; however, social pressure and traditional attitudes
had the effect of limiting its activities.
There were no developments in the 2007 incident in which police
officers harassed four men, three of whom were wearing dresses.
The center reported that police had failed to follow up on the
alleged May 2008 murder of a 32-year-old man from Gjilan/Gnjilane
municipality in the Pristina city park in an area known as a gathering
point for gay men.
There was no official discrimination in employment, housing,
statelessness, access to education or health care; however, societal
pressure persuaded virtually all LGBT persons to conceal their sexual
orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of official discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS during the
year; however, anecdotal reports of such discrimination did occur.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Regulations allow workers to form and
join independent unions of their choice without previous authorization
or excessive requirements, but this right was sometimes impeded by
companies that threatened their employees when they joined or
established unions. Regulations do not recognize the right to strike;
however, strikes were generally permitted in practice, and few strikes
occurred during the year. The government did not pass new labor laws
during the year, so older UNMIK regulations remained in force.
The only significant unions were the Association of Independent
Trade Unions of Kosovo (BSPK) and the Confederation of Free Unions
(CFU). However, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare reported that
the influence of both groups was declining as former members split off
to form their own smaller unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Government
regulations provide for the right to organize and bargain collectively
without interference or restriction, and the government did not
restrict this right in practice; however, no collective bargaining took
place during the year. The law allows unions to conduct their
activities without interference, and the government protected this
right in practice.
Regulations prohibit antiunion discrimination; however, some union
officials reported discrimination in practice. The BSPK and CFU
reported that only a small number of companies respected regulations
preventing antiunion discrimination and claimed that worker rights were
abused in every sector, including in international organizations, where
staff did not receive pensions.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Regulations prohibit
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation,
and forced labor in bars and restaurants and that that children were
trafficked for labor exploitation (see Section 6, Trafficking in
Persons).
There were no reports of the government requiring work without pay
or the imposition of prison labor by administrative or legislative
authority.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Regulations prohibit exploitation of children in the workplace,
including a prohibition of forced or compulsory labor; however, with
the exception of trafficking, the government rarely challenged these
practices. Trafficking of children, primarily for labor exploitation,
was a serious problem, although a lack of statistical data made it
difficult to estimate its magnitude.
Regulations set the age of 16 as the minimum for employment and the
age of 18 as the minimum for any work likely to jeopardize the health,
safety, or morals of a young person. Regulations permit children to
work at the age 15, provided the employment is not harmful or
prejudicial to school attendance. The law requires children between
ages six and 15 to attend school.
Child labor remained a serious problem. According to UNICEF, in
recent years the number of children working on the streets of towns and
cities rose, although the overall number of working children remained
unknown. Poverty was the most common reason children entered the
workforce. While most children were not their families' main income
earners, child labor served as a major contribution to many families'
income. Problems with the education system, including low quality and
inaccessibility of schools, contributed to the problem of child labor.
In rural areas, young children typically assisted their families in
agricultural labor. Urban children often worked in a variety of
unofficial retail jobs, such as selling newspapers, cigarettes, and
phone cards on the street. According to the Ministry of Labor and
Social Welfare, the numbers of such children grew relative to 2008,
although no statistics were available. Some children were also engaged
in physical labor, such as transporting goods. International NGOs
active in the country continued to report serious labor violations
during the year, including child labor.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare coordinated child
protection policies for the government, however, the police had the
lead on enforcing child labor laws. The ministry reported that limited
progress had been made in reducing the number of children working on
the streets. The ministry and local NGOs, with funding provided by the
International Labor Organization, worked to identify and remove working
children from the streets. Since 2007, 452 children were identified, of
whom 369 returned to school.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no law establishing a
minimum wage, and the Assembly did not adopt any labor laws during the
year. The average monthly salary in the country was 230 euros ($329) in
the public sector and 280 euros ($400) in the private sector. The
unofficial minimum wage was 80 euros ($114). Regulations provide for a
standard 40-hour workweek; require rest periods; limit the number of
regular hours worked to 12 hours per day; limit overtime to 20 hours
per week and 40 hours per month; require payment of a premium for
overtime work; and prohibit excessive compulsory overtime.
During the year employers often failed to abide by official labor
standards due to a lack of government enforcement, particularly with
regard to the standard work week and compulsory and unpaid overtime.
Employees often did not report such violations due to fear of
reprisals. According to the BSPK, many individuals worked long hours in
the private sector as at-will employees without employment contracts,
regular pay, or pension contributions paid on their behalf. Employees
reported being fired without cause and in violation of existing laws,
and being denied holidays. Women's rights organizations indicated that
sexual abuse occurred on the job but went unreported due to fear of
expulsion or physical retaliation. According to union officials,
workers in the public sector commonly faced similar mistreatment,
including sexual abuse and the loss of employment due to political
party affiliation.
The Labor Inspectorate within the Ministry of Labor and Social
Welfare is responsible for enforcing labor, health, and safety
standards. However, the inspectorate primarily advised employers, and
although it issued over 5,444 citations during the year for various
labor standard violations, fines remained unpaid pending litigation.
The inspectorate lacked trained staff and did not enforce health and
safety standards effectively. The law does not permit employees to
remove themselves from dangerous workplaces without jeopardizing their
continued employment.
Although there is a law to protect employees' health and working
conditions, many private and public institutions continued to violate
it. Labor inspectorate officials reported difficulties in obtaining
accurate information since workers rarely disclosed the problems
themselves, in spite of legal protections.
__________
LATVIA
The Republic of Latvia, with a population of approximately 2.2
million, is a parliamentary, multiparty democracy. Legislative
authority is vested in the unicameral Saeima (parliament). Elections in
2006 for the 100-seat parliament were considered free and fair.
Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
Human rights problems included: serious police abuse of detainees
and arrestees; poor conditions at police detention facilities; poor
conditions and overcrowding in prisons; judicial corruption; violence
against women; child abuse; trafficking in persons; and abusive
behavior targeting ethnic and racial minorities that involved hate
speech on the Internet.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings.
In previous years individuals were alleged to have died in custody
because of mistreatment by security forces. For example, in 2007 two
police officers were dismissed from duty for their alleged involvement
in the killing of a businessman in a detention cell of the Sigulda
police station. Their trial on charges of exceeding authority, failure
of duty, and intentionally causing serious bodily harm was pending at
year's end.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
there were reports that government officials employed them.
Independent local and international organizations continued to
voice concerns about police behavior, and there were reports that
police severely abused persons in custody. The ombudsman's office
stated it received eight complaints regarding mistreatment by police
and five about mistreatment by prison officials. According to internal
police statistics, there were 169 complaints of police violence in the
first eight months of the year, compared with 289 during same period in
2008. Of these complaints five resulted in criminal investigations.
Authorities dismissed the remaining complaints without an
investigation, transferred them to other government agencies, or were
considering whether to open an official investigation.
There were no developments during the year in the investigation of
the alleged mistreatment in 2007 of former security officer Edgars
Gulbis. He was released in July pending trial for involvement in a car
bomb attack against a senior antismuggling officer. In 2007 Gulbis was
arrested, released, and then rearrested for the attack. Following his
rearrest and while in police custody, Gulbis either fell, jumped, or
was pushed off a bridge into a river. According to the ombudsman's
office, a police internal investigation of the incident failed to
provide an adequate explanation of the incident due to shortcomings in
investigation procedures.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in prisons and
detention centers remained poor and overcrowded and did not meet
international standards. The government permitted monitoring visits by
independent human rights observers, and such visits occurred during the
year.
There were four deaths in custody during the first eight months of
the year, compared with 10 deaths during the same time in 2008.
Authorities stated that two deaths were suicides and opened
investigations into the other two.
During the year the Prison Administration completed its
investigation into the September 2008 death of Sergey Danilin. He was
found dead in his cell in Daugavpils prison, having reportedly
asphyxiated on his vomit. Prison administrators indicated that guards
may have pushed Danilin as he was being transported, and a prison
chaplain stated that Danilin's death may have resulted from a severe
beating by a prison guard. The Prison Administration found sufficient
evidence to forward the case to the prosecutor's office, which
continued to investigate the case at year's end.
The government reported that there were 7,061 persons held in
prisons. Of these 392 were women, held in a separate women's prison.
There were 141 juveniles in prisons. The majority was held at a
separate juvenile facility, but some juveniles were held in designated
juvenile areas at regular detention centers. The government has
acknowledged that prison conditions are poor and has made some efforts
to improve facilities, including closing one prison with the worst
conditions and improving medical and recreation facilities. However,
there were no major improvements during the year.
Human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to
criticize prison conditions and suggested that budget cuts had reduced
maintenance below acceptable standards. Prison administrators
complained that, as a result of budget cuts, they could not provide for
the safety and health of prisoners. Although expenditures for food for
prisoners were reduced significantly, officials maintained that food
still met nutritional requirements.
On December 15, the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture (CPT) released its report on a 2007 visit to the
country. It noted the following: lack of attention to life-threatening
health conditions of prisoners; credible allegations by prisoners of
mistreatment, including excessive use of force by guards and violence
among prisoners; insufficient food or access to outdoor exercise; and
prison conditions that were unsanitary, lacked ventilation or natural
light, and which ``could in some cases be considered inhuman and
degrading.''
The Latvian Center on Human Rights (LCHR) also reported poor
conditions at the Olaine detention center for illegal immigrants in
Riga. In February the UN Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees
visited the detention center but did not issued a report by year's end.
The ombudsman's office stated that it received 76 complaints during
the first eight months of the year about poor conditions in detention
facilities, compared with 42 complaints during the same period in 2008.
The complaints primarily concerned inadequate light, heat, or
ventilation in cells; the condition of sanitary facilities; and
insufficient exercise areas. Of the 76 complaints, 26 were accepted for
further investigation. The state police received five complaints about
poor conditions in detention centers; all were dismissed after
investigation.
The government generally permitted independent monitoring of
prisons and detention centers by international and local human rights
groups. In December a CPT delegation inspected detention centers in
Daugavpils and Jekabpils.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police,
security police, special immigration police, border guards, and other
services are subordinate to the Interior Ministry (MOI). Municipal
police are under local government control. The Military
Counterintelligence Service and a protective service, as well as the
National Guard, are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense. The
national police and municipal police share responsibility for
maintaining public order, but only the national police are responsible
for carrying out criminal investigations. The security police are
responsible for combating terrorism and other internal threats.
The military service and National Guard are primarily responsible
for external security.
The internal security office of the national police investigates
and disciplines national police officers that commit crimes or abuses
of power, including corruption. Citizens may also report police
corruption to the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB).
Allegations of corruption and bribery within law enforcement
agencies continued to hurt the public's perception of police
effectiveness.
In June following an extensive investigation, authorities indicted
Vladimirs Vaskevics, the former head of the criminal investigative
service of the customs service, for failure to comply with financial
disclosure laws.
In August the KNAB began criminal proceedings against two state
police inspectors accused of demanding a bribe from a suspect in
exchange for not reporting a robbery.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires that persons be arrested openly and with warrants issued by an
authorized judicial official, and the government generally respected
this requirement in practice. The law provides a person in detention
the right to a prompt judicial determination of the legality of the
detention, and authorities generally respected this right in practice.
Detainees were promptly informed of charges against them. The law
requires the prosecutor's office to make a decision whether to charge
or release an individual under arrest within 48 hours. There is a bail
system; however, it was used infrequently and applied most often in
cases of economic crimes.
Detainees have the right to have an attorney present at any time;
however, authorities did not always respect this right in practice.
Investigators conducted unscheduled interrogations of detainees without
legal counsel. During the year the government did not respond to a 2008
report by the human rights ombudsman that noted so-called unscheduled
``talks'' with detainees.
The government provides an attorney for indigent defendants, and
authorities permit detainees prompt access to family members. These
rights are subject to judicial review but only at the time of trial.
The law limits pretrial detention to no more than 18 months from
the first filing of the case for the most serious crimes and less for
minor offenses. However, in practice long pretrial detention remained a
problem despite some improvement.
During the year, as in 2008, the European Court on Human Rights
issued a judgment that found one violation by the country of the right
to liberty and security, as provided under Article 5 of the European
Convention on Human Rights.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
this provision in practice; however, there were significant problems,
including inefficiency and corruption.
The judicial system is composed of district (city) courts; regional
courts, which hear appeals from district courts and can also serve as
courts of first instance; a separate administrative court, which
adjudicates administrative violations; the Supreme Court, which is the
highest appeals court; and the seven-member Constitutional Court, which
hears cases involving constitutional issues at the request of state
institutions or individuals who believe that their constitutional
rights were violated.
On February 7, the Riga regional court sentenced two district court
judges, Irena Polikarpova and Beatrise Talere, to eight years'
imprisonment for bribery. Polikarpova and Talere appealed the sentence
to the Supreme Court, which postponed hearing the case until 2010 at
Talere's request.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and most judges enforced this right; however, the
fairness of individual court decisions, of judges and of the judicial
system in general remained a concern. During the first eight months of
the year, the ombudsman's office reported 196 complaints about the
fairness of trials and courts.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are generally
public; however, some may be closed to protect government secrets or
the interests of minors. A single trial judge hears most cases,
although for more serious criminal cases, at the district and regional
levels, two lay assessors join the professional judge on the bench. In
some criminal cases, modified juries consisting of randomly selected
members of the public participate in the tribunal in a limited way.
Defendants have the right to be present at their trials. At closed
trials, defendants are subject to criminal sanction if they reveal any
details of the case outside the courtroom. Defendants have the right to
consult with an attorney in a timely manner, at government expense if
they are indigent. Defendants have the right to read charges and
confront witnesses against them and may call witnesses and offer
evidence to support their cases. Defendants and their attorneys have
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases and may
appeal to the highest levels in the judicial system.
In February a new law on judicial transparency went into force,
requiring information on court decisions to be published on the
Internet.
On May 20, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights
heard the government's appeal of the July 2008 ECHR judgment that found
the country had violated Article 7(no punishment without law) of the
European Convention on Human Rights by convicting Vassili Kononov of
war crimes committed during World War II. Kononov was a member of a Red
Partisans unit that attacked the village of Mazie Bati in the eastern
part of the country in 1944, killing nine villagers, three of them
women.
In its original judgment, the ECHR found, in a four to three
decision, that Kononov could not reasonably have foreseen that his acts
amounted to a war crime under the law of war applicable at the time and
that there was no plausible legal basis in international law on which
to convict him. The court held that the government should pay Kononov
30,000 euros ($45,000) for nonpecuniary damages within three months of
the final decision. The Grand Chamber had not ruled on the appeal by
year's end.
In June the special parliamentary commission formed in 2008 to
investigate allegations of judicial corruption released its final
report. It concluded that courts must be independent from outside
authority or influence, and ongoing improvements to the legal system
will take time to implement fully. The commission was established in
response to the 2007 publication of the book Litigation Kitchen by
journalist Lato Lapsa, which included transcripts of allegedly
wiretapped telephone conversations between prominent figures in the
judiciary between 1998 and 2000. The book's publication led to
allegations of unethical and illegal behavior by some judges, including
discussing cases outside of court and inappropriate influence on judges
from politicians and businesses. Three judges resigned because of the
allegations, but none were charged with crimes.
During the year an independent judicial ethics committee
established by parliament in April 2008 continued to operate. Its
principal objectives are to clarify and highlight judicial ethical
standards and to comment on any violations of those standards.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access
to a court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a
human rights violation. The government generally upheld the law
concerning civil procedures, and civil court orders were generally
enforced.
Property Restitution.--Property restitution was substantially
completed, although most religious groups--including the Lutheran,
Orthodox Christian, and Jewish communities--continued to wait for the
return of some properties. The status of these remaining properties was
the subject of complicated legal and bureaucratic processes concerning
ambiguous ownership, competing claims, and the destruction of the
Jewish communities to whom properties belonged before World War II.
During the year the government and the Jewish community continued
to consider a legislative solution to outstanding claims on communal
property and heirless private property last owned by members of the
Jewish community that could not be regained earlier under the
denationalization laws, since there were no identifiable heirs to the
property. As of year's end, a government task force established in
September 2008 to study outstanding claims for the restitution of
Jewish communal property had not released its findings. The Jewish
community also sought compensation for heirless private property last
owned by Jews before the Holocaust.
Members of the international Jewish community continued to complain
that national and local authorities delayed or ignored claims by Jews
regarding property restitution.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
In contrast with 2008, there were no reports of police detaining
persons for publically suggesting that the country's banking system or
currency were unstable. In 2008 police detained and questioned an
economist for two days after a newspaper published his comments on the
stability of the country's banks and currency. Police also detained a
popular musician for questioning after he commented on bank stability
during a concert. Under the law spreading false information about the
financial system is a crime. Both individuals were released without
charge.
Human rights groups criticized the government for attempting to
enforce national spirit, including the April prosecution of one
individual in Riga for ``blasphemy against a state symbol'' after he
disposed of a hand-held Latvian flag in a dumpster. The case resulted
in acquittal. The law imposes fines on property owners who fail to
display the national flag on designated holidays.
The law criminalizes incitement to racial or ethnic hatred.
The country has one state owned television station, Latvian
National Television (LTV), and one radio station, Latvian National
Radio. Privately owned television and radio outlets also operated in
the country.
Independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views
without government restriction. All prominent newspapers were privately
owned. In July the largest-circulation newspaper, Diena, was sold to a
foreign owner. Both employees and outside observers expressed concerns
that the new owner would limit the editorial independence of the
newspaper. Russian language print and electronic media were also
prevalent and active. There was one government-owned newspaper, which
primarily published official records of government actions and
decisions. Other newspapers were widely believed to be associated with
political or economic interests; complete information on media
ownership was not publicly available
The law governing broadcast media contains a number of restrictive
provisions regulating the content and language of broadcasts. Primary
broadcast radio and television stations are required to use the state
language (Latvian), and secondary broadcasters are allotted up to 20
percent of total broadcast time for non-Latvian language programming.
Non-Latvian television broadcasts are required to have Latvian
subtitles. However, these laws only apply to terrestrial broadcasts, as
opposed to satellite or cable television. Extensive Russian-language
programming was available on both traditional channels and cable
networks.
In December a court postponed until February 2010 its hearing of
the government's appeal of a 100,000 lat ($200,000) civil award for
invading the privacy of LTV journalist Ilze Jaunalksne. The case
included a review of possible criminal conduct by financial police
involved in the case.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 60 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and authorities may not prohibit public gatherings except in very
limited cases related to public safety. Organizers of demonstrations
must provide advance notice to local authorities, who may change the
time and place of public gatherings for such reasons as to prevent
public disorder.
Numerous demonstrations took place peacefully and without
government interference during the year. However, some observers
continued to criticize the law that requires 10-day advance
notification of a planned protest and what they characterized as vague
procedures for holding a protest without prior notice.
On January 13, an estimated 10,000 persons gathered in Dome Square
in central Riga for a peaceful rally to protest the country's worsening
economic situation and express dissatisfaction over government
corruption and mismanagement. The rally turned violent after most
protesters had left, and a crowd of several hundred persons threw
stones at government buildings and smashed police vehicles and windows.
Police used mace and truncheons to disperse them. According to the MOI,
more than 30 persons were injured in the riot, including three police
officers who were seriously wounded. Police detained approximately 120
protesters, many of whom were reportedly intoxicated.
In March Riga city officials denied a permit to a group seeking to
commemorate the service of Latvian soldiers in German Waffen SS units
during World War II. Opposition groups had planned
counterdemonstrations, and the government cited security concerns in
denying the permit. A scaled-back event occurred, along with
counterdemonstrations. Several prominent counterdemonstrators were
detained, a move criticized as unjustified by some observers.
In May Riga city officials revoked a permit for a Baltic gay pride
parade two days before the event was to take place. Officials asserted
that the parade posed a security risk; however, gay rights groups
claimed political motives prompted the move. A court restored the
permit, and the parade took place.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice; however, the law bars the registration of Communist,
Nazi, or other organizations whose activities could contravene the
constitution, for example, by advocating the overthrow of the
government. Nevertheless, some nationalist organizations using neo-Nazi
slogans and rhetoric operated openly.
Under the law members of the country's large noncitizen community
are prohibited from joining and participating in any political party of
400 or more members in which less than half the members are citizens.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice. However, bureaucratic problems persisted for some minority
religious groups.
There is no state religion, however, the government distinguished
between ``traditiona.''--Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox Christian, Old
Believers, Baptist, Methodist, Adventist, and Jewish--and ``new''
religious groups. In practice this distinction resulted in increased
bureaucratic regulations and requirements for new religious groups that
were not applicable to traditional ones.
Traditional religious groups may teach their faith to public school
students, conduct official marriages, provide religious services for
the army, and have representation in the National Ecclesiastical
Council, which provides advice on religious matters to the government.
Although the government does not require religious groups to
register, the law accords religious organizations certain rights and
privileges if they register, including tax benefits for donors, and
separate legal status to own property or for other financial
transactions. Registration also eases the rules for holding public
gatherings. Any 20 citizens over 18 years of age may apply to register
a religious group. Asylum seekers, foreign diplomats, and other persons
residing in the country temporarily may not register a religious group.
Single congregations that do not belong to a registered religious
organization must reregister each year for 10 years. Ten or more
congregations of the same denomination and with permanent registration
status may form a religious association. Only churches with religious
association status may establish theological schools or monasteries.
According to Ministry of Justice (MOJ) officials, most registration
applications were approved once proper documents were submitted.
However, one request for registration from a Scientologist organization
was denied during the year. The MOJ concluded that the practice of
Scientology included elements of medicine and, therefore, it could not
register as a religious organization.
The law does not permit simultaneous registration of more than one
religious group (church) in a single denomination or of a church that
admits its connection to a previously existing confession. Eight
congregations appealed this limitation in 2008. During the year these
cases were forwarded to the Constitutional Court for review and were
awaiting trial at year's end.
The law stipulates that foreign missionaries may hold meetings and
proselytize only if invited by domestic religious organizations to
conduct such activities. Foreign religious denominations criticized
this provision.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Jewish community numbers
approximately 10,000 and is largely secular and Russian-speaking. There
were no reports of anti-Semitic attacks or vandalism during the year.
However, anti-Semitic sentiments persisted in some segments of society,
manifested on the Internet and in occasional public comments and
resistance to laws and memorials designed to foster Holocaust
remembrance.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. There were continued reports that authorities turned away
persons attempting to enter the country at border checkpoints without
establishing whether they may have been refugees or asylum seekers; the
government disputed these claims.
By November 1, the government received 43 applications for asylum,
compared with 51 during the first eight months of 2008. Five
individuals were granted refugee status.
In practice the government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
In June a new law was passed on the treatment of asylum seekers in
response to a 2007 LCHR report on detention facilities for illegal
immigrants. The report noted, among other problems, the failure of
authorities to provide information to migrants and asylum seekers
concerning their rights and government procedures. The new law, which
was being implemented at year's end, included provisions on detention
procedures, appeals, and the rights of detainees. The government
claimed that it provided written explanation of the reasons for the
denial to all immigrants denied entry.
There were no developments in a police criminal investigation
following a violent attack in 2007 by unidentified persons on two
Somali refugees. The case remained under investigation at year's end.
The government also provided temporary protection .''alternative
statu.'') to individuals who might not qualify as refugees. During the
first 10 months of the year, the government granted alternative status
to two persons.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). According to UNHCR data, there were 365,417 stateless
persons at the end of 2008, which included 365,151 stateless persons
who were considered resident noncitizens and 266 other stateless
persons who did not have rights available to resident noncitizens. The
government recognized as stateless only those individuals who did not
have a claim to foreign citizenship and were not eligible to apply for
naturalization in the country. The number of stateless persons
reflected in the UNHCR total consisted primarily of individuals of
Slavic origin who moved to the country during the Soviet occupation and
their descendents. They were not given automatic citizenship when the
country regained sovereignty in 1991. There are laws and procedures for
granting citizenship to the noncitizen population.
The UNHCR noted that the country's laws grant a transitional legal
status to permanently residing persons (noncitizens). This status
entitles them to a set of rights and obligations beyond the minimum
rights prescribed by the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of
Stateless Persons and identical to those attached to the possession of
nationality, with the exception of certain limited civil and political
rights.
At year's end most of the remaining 365,000 noncitizens were
legally eligible for citizenship but had not applied for it.
Noncitizens most frequently stated their reason for not applying was
the perceived ``unfairness'' of the requirements and resentment at
having to apply for citizenship rather than having it automatically
granted when the country's independence was restored in 1991. The
citizenship exam included a Latvian language test and an examination on
various aspects of the constitution and history of the country.
Resident noncitizens have permanent residence status, consular
protection abroad, and the right to return to the country.
Resident noncitizens have full rights to employment, except for
some government jobs and private-sector positions deemed related to
national security, and to most government social benefits; however,
they cannot vote in local or national elections and cannot organize a
political party without the participation of an equal number of
citizens. Authorities reported that the number of naturalizations
dropped significantly in 2007 after the EU granted noncitizen residents
visa-free travel and work rights within the EU. The government claimed
that Russia's decision in June 2008 to allow these individuals to visit
Russia without a visa would similarly depress the rate of
naturalization. During the year there were 3,470 applications for
naturalization, compared with 2,601 during 2008. During the year 2,080
persons were granted citizenship, compared with 3,004 during 2008.
In its 2008 report the European Commission against Racism and
Intolerance noted that the naturalization process remained slow and
there was an urgent need to solve the problems linked to the status of
noncitizens, which made the persons concerned feel like second-class
citizens. The government response, included as an appendix to the
report, stated that it provides a path to citizenship for almost all
noncitizen residents, but many noncitizens had chosen not to pursue
citizenship for personal or ideological reasons. The government
asserted that granting additional rights to noncitizens would only
diminish the incentive to naturalize.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic and generally free and fair elections based
on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Free and fair elections for
parliament were held in 2006; parliament elected a new president in
2007.
Citizens can organize political parties without restriction;
however, the law prohibits the country's approximately 365,000
noncitizen residents from organizing political parties without the
participation of an equal number of citizens in the party. The election
law prohibits persons who remained active in the Communist Party or
various other pro-Soviet organizations after 1991 or who worked for
such institutions as the former Soviet Committee for State Security
from holding office.
At year's end there were 22 women in the 100-member parliament, and
two women in the 15-member Cabinet of Ministers. Two of seven judges at
the Constitutional Court were women, 22 of 43 judges at the Supreme
Court were women, and in lower courts, 328 of 428 judges were women.
Members of minorities, including ethnic Russians and Poles, served
in various elected bodies. However, parliament no longer tracks the
ethnicity of its members. On June 6, an ethnic Russian was elected
mayor of Riga.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices. According to World
Bank governance indicators for 2008, corruption was a problem.
There was a widespread perception that corruption existed at all
levels of government. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau
(KNAB) is responsible for fighting corruption. During the first half of
the year, the KNAB initiated 14 criminal cases, and other legal
institutions initiated three criminal cases, against government
officials, including members of the judiciary. The KNAB also forwarded
14 criminal cases involving 62 individuals to the prosecutor's office.
On February 2, two former KNAB officials were found guilty on
charges related to theft from the bureau's vault. One official pleaded
guilty to embezzlement and was sentenced to seven years in prison. The
second was acquitted of embezzlement but sentenced to five years in
prison for lack of proper oversight.
In May the KNAB requested that the prosecutor general bring charges
against 31 persons, including 17 current and former government
employees, for their involvement in a long-running corruption scheme at
the Riga vehicle inspection station. Inspectors allegedly agreed to
allow vehicles to pass inspections in exchange for payments.
In June the prosecutor general forwarded to the Jurmala Court a
case against Jurmala's city prosecutor for extorting bribes from a
criminal defendant in exchange for favorably resolving the case against
the defendant.
In August the KNAB began criminal proceedings against two state
police inspectors accused of demanding a bribe from a suspect in
exchange for not reporting a robbery.
Several high-profile corruption cases from 2007 continued in court
at year's end. The first involved Aivars Lembergs, the mayor of
Ventspils, who was charged in Riga Regional Court with large-scale
money laundering, bribery, abuse of office, and failure to declare
property for tax purposes. Prosecutors also brought related charges
against a Lembergs business associate and his son. In the second case,
charges were filed against 20 persons, including Jurgis Liepnieks
(former head of Prime Minister Kalvitis' office), for alleged
participation in a fraudulent scheme to secure an agreement with a
foreign company to introduce digital television.
The law requires public officials to file income declarations
annually, and irregularities are investigated. The state auditor
annually reviews all governmental agency financial records, both
classified and unclassified, and documents irregularities. Reports are
forwarded to the prime minister.
To combat corruption the KNAB arranged training and seminars for
approximately 500 persons during the year on various aspects of
conflict of interest and internal controls against corruption. In
addition, the KNAB counseled 150 persons by telephone regarding
potential conflicts of interest.
A Cabinet of Ministers' regulation provides a mechanism for public
access to government information, and the government generally provided
access to citizens in practice. There were no reports that noncitizens
and the foreign press were denied access.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
met with domestic NGO monitors and responded to their inquiries;
however, the government often lacked the political will or resources to
act on NGO reports or recommendations.
Only a few domestic NGOs claimed to address the broad range of
human rights problems. Among the most visible was the LCHR. Other NGOs
dealt with specific issues. For example, Apeirons was concerned with
persons with physical disabilities; Marta focused on protecting women's
rights; Providus (the Center for Public Policy) and Delna (the national
branch of Transparency International) worked to combat corruption; and
Zelda focused on persons with mental disability. None of these
organizations closely aligned with the government or political parties.
The government cooperated with international organizations and
permitted visits by their representatives. During the year a few
international organizations issued reports on the country or visited.
In February the UN assistant high commissioner for refugees visited the
Olaine detention center for illegal immigrants.
The parliament's Human Rights Committee was responsible for
legislation and oversight concerning human rights issues. Human rights
NGOs criticized the committee for its relative lack of activity.
Human rights groups also continued to voice concern over the
limited response of the ombudsman's office to human rights problems.
During the year employees of the office petitioned the president and
prime minister to dismiss the ombudsman, claiming that he was
ineffective and susceptible to outside pressure to overrule
recommendations from office staff. The ombudsman characterized the
situation as an internal management dispute. Human rights NGOs and the
parliament's Human Rights Committee expressed concern that the conflict
was distracting the ombudsman's office from its work to protect human
rights.
During the year the ombudsman's office faced severe budget
reductions. In particular the office's budget for the year was reduced
more than 30 percent compared with 2008. For 2010 parliament further
reduced the ombudsman's budget by 38 percent of its budget for this
year.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, language,
disability, or social status; and the government generally enforced
these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--The law specifically criminalizes rape but does not
recognize spousal rape, although authorities can prosecute spousal rape
under other sections of the law. Criminal penalties vary depending on
the nature of the crime, the age of the victim, and the criminal
history of the offender. Such penalties range from probation to life
imprisonment.
During the year there were 39 convictions on rape charges, compared
with 44 convictions in 2008. A local NGO, the Skalbes Crisis Center,
reported that rape laws were ineffective and that rapes were
underreported due to a tendency by police to blame victims. Police
reported that the number of criminal cases involving rape had remained
stable in recent years, and few rapes were committed by strangers to
the victims.
Violence against women is against the law; however, there are no
laws that deal specifically with spousal abuse. Violence against women
is prosecuted under general laws against intentional bodily harm. NGOs
and police agreed that domestic violence was a significant problem;
however, the law was not effectively enforced. Victims were often
uninformed about their rights and were reluctant to seek redress
through the justice system. Human rights groups asserted that the legal
system, including the courts, did not always take domestic violence
cases seriously. Police stated they could only make arrests if either
the victim or a witness agreed to file charges or if police caught
someone in the act of committing the abuse.
There were no shelters designed specifically for battered or abused
women. Women who experienced violence could seek help in family crisis
centers; however, these centers had limited capacity and gave priority
to women with children. There were no dedicated rape or assault
hotlines; however, NGOs managed approximately five general crisis
hotlines. The NGO Marta Center operated Web sites that provided
information and legal assistance for female victims of violence.
Prostitution is legal, although procurement is not. Prostitution
was widespread and at times linked to organized crime. Riga continued
to be a destination for sex tourism.
Sexual harassment is illegal; however, there was no record of
complaints due in part to procedures to register incidents. The human
rights ombudsman's office was the only designated location to file
complaints. In addition, cultural factors tended to discourage women
from filing sexual harassment complaints. Sexual harassment of women in
the workplace reportedly was common. However, in the absence of
complaints, the government was not able to enforce the law.
Women enjoy the same rights as men, including rights under family
law, property law, and in the judicial system. The law prohibits
employment discrimination; however, in practice women frequently faced
hiring and pay discrimination, particularly in the private sector.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Health clinics and local health NGOs operated
freely in disseminating information on family planning under the
guidance of the Ministry of Health. There were no restrictions on the
right to access contraceptives. According to Papardes Zieds, a local
NGO focused on maternal health and family planning, approximately 70
percent of the population used these measures. The government provided
free childbirth services but lack of sufficient doctors meant most
women used nurses or midwives during childbirth. Women also used nurses
and midwives for prenatal and postnatal care unless the mother or child
suffered more serious health complications.
According to statistics compiled by the World Health Organization
in 2005, there were approximately 10 maternal deaths per 100,000 live
births in the country. Men and women received equal access to diagnosis
and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, but
local health NGOs and clinics reported that women were more likely than
men to seek treatment and refer their partners for treatment.
The law prohibits work and wage discrimination based on gender and
requires employers to set equal pay for equal work; however, government
regulatory agencies lacked the skills and resources to implement the
law fully. According to the country's Central Statistics Bureau, in the
first quarter of the year, the average female worker earned 16 percent
less than the average male worker.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). However, children of noncitizen parents born in the country
are registered immediately and are eligible to apply for citizenship.
There were no reports of systematic or widespread failure to register
births immediately.
A local NGO working with abused children, the Dardedze Center
Against Violence, stated that the number of reported instances of child
abuse, including sexual abuse, had increased in the past several years.
The center attributed this increase largely to better reporting due to
increased awareness of the problem. Laws against child abuse were
enforced effectively, although the center observed that coordination
among agencies involved in the protection of children's rights was
weak. Children from families that were unable to care for them had
access to government-funded boarding schools that provided adequate
living conditions; however, these schools had lower educational
standards than regular state schools.
Statutory rape and child pornography are illegal. The minimum age
for consensual sex is 16 years. Statutory rape is punishable by four
years imprisonment, or six years for particularly young victims.
Purchase, display, reproduction, or distribution of child pornography
is punishable by up to three years in prison. Involving a minor in the
production of pornography is punishable by up to 12 years in prison,
depending on the age of the child.
A special police unit in Riga worked to prevent sexual abuse of
minors and eradicate sex tourism through aggressive prosecution of
pedophiles and other child abusers. The unit also publicized the
potential dangers posed to minors by Internet chat rooms, and worked
closely with local social networking sites to identify potential
Internet predator cases. In one recent high-profile case, the courts
sentenced a British citizen to more than eight years imprisonment for
having sex with eight underage boys between 2005 and 2008.
In July the UN special rapporteur on the sale of children, child
prostitution, and child pornography released a report on a 2008 visit
to the country. The report noted a low number of reported incidents,
but expressed concern regarding an increase in pornography and child
sex tourism--at times facilitated by the Internet and potentially
exacerbated by the country's economic downturn. The report also noted
the government's efforts to address the problem and recommended a
holistic approach to the fundamental rights of children. In particular
it encouraged the government to clarify legally that children under age
18 cannot consent to exploitation , to avoid stigmatization or
criminalization of child victims, and to provide adequate resources to
protect children.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons.
However, there were widespread reports that women were trafficked from
the country for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced
labor; during the year there were no new reports that persons were
trafficked to, through, or within the country.
In particular the country was a source for women destined for the
commercial sex trade in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium,
and Cyprus. At least one case of trafficking of men and women to the
United Kingdom for agricultural work was still being prosecuted at
year's end. During the year the Prosecutor General sought indictments
in a case involving forced labor trafficking abroad facilitated by a
local modeling agency.
The number of trafficking victims, including possible underage
trafficking victims, was difficult to ascertain. While the number of
trafficking instances reported to law enforcement officials remained
low, neither the government nor any local NGO conducted a large-scale
survey to establish the extent of the problem in the country. Relaxed
travel regulations within the EU and the Schengen Area allowed
traffickers to target nationals of the country more easily. The
unemployment rate rose during the year, and tens of thousands of men
and women departed the country in search of economic opportunities.
Some might have become victims of labor traffickers. Those most at risk
were unemployed or marginally employed women and girls with little
education that were between 17 and 25 years old.
Police believed that most traffickers were small-scale criminal
groups with well-established contacts in destination countries. Law
enforcement agencies reported that, because of the country's strict law
enforcement since 2006, trafficking organizers started sending
trafficking victims to recruit their family and friends, rather than
risking themselves by attempting to recruit directly.
Recruitment over the Internet and through marriage brokers was also
common. The country's antitrafficking squad reported that traffickers
usually avoided threats or force when recruiting their victims.
Although trafficking victims often consented to being transported
abroad, they were generally misled by recruiters with offers of
marriage or employment opportunities.
The law provides for prison sentences of up to 15 years for
trafficking. Most perpetrators continued to be prosecuted under a
statute that prohibits persons being sent abroad or domestically for
sexual exploitation. This law, like the antitrafficking statute,
carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years. The legal definition of
trafficking in persons includes internal trafficking and trafficking
for labor exploitation.
During the year police carried out two investigations under the
antitrafficking section of the law and 30 investigations of cases of
sending persons abroad for sexual exploitation. Thirty-two traffickers,
nine of them women, were detained during the investigative process. The
Prosecutor's Office sought indictment in at least 10 trafficking cases.
During the year 15 traffickers, including five women, were
convicted by the courts. Four were sentenced to prison terms ranging
from three to 10 years.
Under a four-year program adopted in August, the MOI is the
government's lead agency in combating human trafficking. It gathers
information and coordinates the antitrafficking activities of other
ministries, government agencies, and NGOs. The government
systematically monitors antitrafficking efforts and generally focuses
its efforts on prosecution, victim protection, and prevention. In
particular the MOI worked with local NGOs and international
organizations to develop and implement a new five-year antitrafficking
program for 2009-13. The government also maintained an antitrafficking
Internet portal to educate the public and provide informational
resources to specialists, such as law enforcement staff, educators, and
social workers. Trafficking victims and witnesses can also use the
portal to report instances of trafficking.
There were several facilities in the country that cared for
domestic and foreign victims of trafficking. However, the Shelter
Association Safe Home (SASH) was the only provider of state-funded
assistance to trafficking victims. During the year the government
allocated approximately 40,000 lats (approximately $78,000) to assist
and shelter trafficking victims in 2009-10. In the first eight months
of the year, SASH identified and provided services to 17 trafficking
victims, including trafficking victims who were identified in previous
years.
Law enforcement agencies in cooperation with NGO partners and local
mass media participated in trafficking prevention campaigns to raise
public awareness about brokered marriages as a form of human
trafficking. Trafficking prevention was also part of the curricula at
the primary and secondary schools and some institutions of higher
education.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care and other state services, and the government generally
enforced these provisions. The law mandates access to buildings for
persons with disabilities; however, most buildings were not accessible.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Attacks against racial
minorities continued to be a problem, although fewer cases were
reported than in previous years. However, NGOs representing minority
groups claimed that official statistics underreported the actual number
of incidents, including physical assaults.
In February unknown persons attacked two Armenians with apparent
racial intent in Riga. Police classified the incident as
``hooliganism'' rather than a racially motivated attack.
During the first eight months of the year, police registered six
complaints of abusive behavior targeting ethnic or racial minorities,
the same number as during the same period in 2008. All the complaints
involved hate speech on the Internet. During the first eight months of
the year, the ombudsman's office received 85 written complaints of
discrimination, compared with 31 in 2008.
In February the Riga Regional Court convicted four young men of a
racially motivated crime in the beating of two Romani girls in 2007.
The attackers were ordered to pay 20,000 lats ($40,000) to the victims
and given suspended sentences and probation.
The Romani community faced widespread societal discrimination as
well as high levels of unemployment and illiteracy. In 2007 the
government began implementing a national action plan to address
problems affecting the country's estimated 8,000 Roma with respect to
employment, education, and human rights. However, the plan was
criticized for lacking adequate funding to substantially improve
conditions for Roma. In 2008 28 members of the Romani community were
trained as teacher's assistants to improve access and participation in
the educational system. During the 2009-10 school year, eight of these
assistants were working in schools.
In 2008 the government eliminated the position of special
assignment minister for integration and transferred responsibility for
some of the functions formerly conducted by the secretariat to the
Ministry for Child and Family Affairs. However, the Ministry for Child
and Family Affairs was eliminated during the year and responsibility
for some integration issues was transferred to the MOJ. The staff
dedicated to integration issues was significantly smaller than in
previous years.
In its August 2008 annual report, the European Agency for
Fundamental Rights criticized the country's ``limited'' capacity to
collect data on incidents of racial crime or discrimination.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no official reports
of societal violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation or
gender identity; however, leaders of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) organizations complained of widespread intolerance
and underreporting of physical attacks.
Mozaika was the most prominent LGBT organization in the country. It
worked on legal issues surrounding LGBT rights and organized the annual
gay pride march.
On May 16, after first revoking a previously approved permit on
security grounds, the city of Riga respected a court order to grant a
permit and allowed a Baltic gay pride march to take place in the city
center under heavy police protection. An estimated 300 persons took
part in the parade. Approximately 500 demonstrators behind police
barricades jeered the marchers and carried signs accusing LGBT persons
of being linked to AIDS and pedophilia. In contrast to previous years,
there were no physical attacks but only minor violations of public
order.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law entitles workers, except for
the uniformed military, to form and join independent unions of their
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements, and
workers exercised this right in practice. Approximately 15 percent of
the workforce was unionized during the year.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the government protected this right in practice. The
law recognizes the right to strike, subject to limitations that include
obligatory, prolonged prestrike procedures and the prohibition of some
types of solidarity strikes and political strikes. While most workers
were free to exercise the right to strike within these parameters,
labor regulations prohibit judges, prosecutors, police, fire fighters,
border guards, employees of state security institutions, prison guards,
and military personnel from striking. The law identifies arbitration
mechanisms that unions and members of professions that are forbidden
from striking may use in lieu of striking.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining, and workers exercised this right in
practice. Approximately 18 percent of workers were covered by
collective bargaining agreements.
The law also prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer
interference in union functions, and the government effectively
protected this right throughout the year.
There are four export processing zones; regular labor laws applied
in all of them.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. However, women were
trafficked from the country for commercial sexual exploitation and
forced labor.
Trafficking cases for forced labor are addressed by Section 154-1
of the criminal law, which criminalizes all forms of trafficking and
provides a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for traffickers.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law and policies protect children from exploitation in the workplace,
including policies regarding acceptable working conditions, and the
government generally implemented these laws and policies in practice.
During the year there were no reports of new trafficking cases
involving minors. In previous years there were reports of some
incidents involving trafficking of 16- and 17-year-old girls for
prostitution.
The law restricts employment of those under the age of 18 years by
prohibiting nighttime- or overtime work. The statutory minimum age for
employment is 15 years, although children who are 13 years old or older
may work in certain jobs outside school hours with written permission
from a parent.
Inspectors from the Ministry of Welfare's State Labor Inspectorate
are responsible for enforcing the child labor laws, and they did so
effectively.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legally mandated monthly
minimum wage of 160 lats (approximately $317) did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. The average monthly wage
was approximately 180 lats (approximately $360). The Ministry of
Welfare was responsible for establishing the minimum wage annually,
based on consultations with employers' associations and labor unions.
The State Revenue Service is responsible for enforcing minimum wage
regulations and did so effectively.
The law provides for a mandatory 40-hour maximum workweek with at
least one 42-hour rest period weekly. The maximum permitted overtime is
144 hours in a four-month period. Excessive compulsory overtime is
forbidden. The law requires premium pay in compensation for overtime,
unless other forms of compensation are agreed in a contract. By law an
employee working overtime receives premium pay that is at least equal
to the regular pay rate. These standards were generally respected for
both citizens and noncitizen workers.
The law establishes minimum occupational health and safety
standards for the workplace, which were effectively enforced. Workers
have the legal right to remove themselves from situations that
endangered health or safety without endangering their continued
employment; however, authorities did not enforce this right.
__________
LIECHTENSTEIN
The Principality of Liechtenstein, with a population of
approximately 35,400, is a multiparty constitutional monarchy with a
parliamentary government. The unicameral Landtag (parliament)
nominates, and the monarch appoints, the members of the government. A
two-party coalition government was formed after free and fair
parliamentary elections on February 8. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
The government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, and the law and judiciary provided effective means of
addressing individual instances of abuse. There were isolated reports
of excessive force by police, societal discrimination against
minorities, violence against women, including spousal abuse, and child
abuse.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
In September 2008 a member of a special police unit was accused of
injuring one person during a raid on an illegal gambling establishment.
The state prosecutor reviewed the case and, on February 18, dismissed
the accusation as lacking credibility in light of evidence supporting
the statements of the police officer.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
The government has established an independent body to monitor
prison conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the regular and auxiliary police, and
the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse
and corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the
security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police arrest
a suspect based on an arrest warrant issued by the national court.
Within 48 hours of arrest, police must bring suspects before an
examining magistrate who must either file formal charges or order
release; authorities respected this right in practice. Release on
personal recognizance or bail is permitted unless the examining
magistrate has reason to believe that the suspect is a danger to
society or would not appear for trial. The law grants suspects the
right to legal counsel of their own choosing during pretrial detention,
and counsel was provided at government expense to indigent persons.
According to the criminal procedure code, every detainee has to be
informed at the moment of detention or immediately thereafter of the
reasons for the detention. The detainee also has to be told that he has
the right to contact legal counsel and a relative. During investigative
detention, visits can be monitored to prevent tampering with evidence.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Defendants are presumed innocent. Trials involving minor
offenses are heard by a single judge, more serious or complex cases by
a panel of judges, and the most serious cases, including murder, by a
public jury. The law grants defendants the right during trial to legal
counsel of their own choosing; counsel is provided at government
expense for indigent persons. Defendants may challenge witnesses or
evidence and present witnesses or evidence on their own behalf. They
have access to government held evidence relevant to their cases. Those
convicted have the right to appeal, ultimately to the Supreme Court.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and access to a court to
bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights
violation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. However, the law prohibits public
insult directed against a race, people, or ethnic group, with a
possible prison sentence of up to two years. During the year no one was
charged under the law. Independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 65 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
The criminal code prohibits any form of discrimination or
debasement of any religion or its adherents. The constitution makes the
Roman Catholic Church the ``national church'' of the country.
Funding for religious institutions comes from municipalities and
from the general budget, as decided by parliament, and is not a direct
``tithe'' paid by citizens. The government gives money to non-Catholic
churches as well. Catholic and Protestant churches receive regular
annual contributions from the government in proportion to their
membership, as determined in the census of 2000. Smaller religious
groups are eligible to apply for grants for associations of foreigners
or specific projects. All religious groups are exempt from taxes.
Roman Catholic or Protestant religious education was compulsory in
all primary schools, but authorities routinely granted exemptions for
children whose parents requested them. At the secondary school level,
parents and pupils chose between traditional confessional religious
education organized by their religious community and the
nonconfessional subject, ``religious education and culture.'' The
government sponsored Islamic education classes in public primary
schools in five municipalities.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In its third country report
released in April 2008, the European Commission against Racism and
Intolerance noted that it had received reports of instances of verbal
and physical abuse against Muslims, particularly women wearing
headscarves. There were no such reports during the year. The report
also recorded complaints of Muslim community leaders about the lack of
an adequate mosque and Islamic cemetery, as well as about difficulties
in finding suitable premises for their cultural activities. The
government maintained that its working group on Islamic integration
dealt intensively with the issue of a cemetery but that the Muslim
members of the group had not always treated the issue as a priority.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts against persons or
property. The Jewish community in the country is too small to have an
organizational structure.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law does not prohibit forced exile, but the government did not
employ it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
According to the law, persons entering the country from another
safe country are not eligible for asylum.
In practice, the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. The government reported a considerable increase in asylum
applications. While there were 26 asylum applications in 2008, the
number increased to 227 during the year. According to government
officials, 68 of the 227 asylum applicants had withdrawn their
application as of year's end since they already had submitted an
application to another European country, 75 had absconded, and 42 were
transferred to Switzerland. The remaining 42 asylum applicants were
awaiting adjudication. The government granted residency permits on
humanitarian grounds to two applicants.
The government also has a system for providing temporary protection
to individuals who may not qualify as refugees. There were no such
cases during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
The monarchy is hereditary in the male line. Prince Hans Adam II is
the head of state. Since 2004 Hereditary Prince Alois has taken on the
duties of head of state, exercising the rights of office on behalf of
the reigning prince. All legislation enacted by the parliament must
have the concurrence of the monarch and the prime minister.
Elections and Political Participation.--On February 8, the country
held parliamentary elections that were considered free and fair.
Individuals and parties freely declared their candidacy and stood for
election.
There were six women in the 25-member parliament and two women in
the five-seat cabinet. There were no known members of minorities in the
government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no reports of government corruption during the year.
The law prohibits public officials from requesting or accepting
gifts or benefits in connection with their duties and places
restrictions on public officials engaging in private commercial
activities. The police and the prosecutor's office, respectively, are
responsible for investigating and prosecuting official corruption. The
police have an organizationally independent special investigative unit
for corruption cases. An interdepartmental working group chaired by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated measures to prevent and combat
corruption.
Public officials are not subject to comprehensive financial
disclosure laws.
The law requires the government to inform the public of its
activities, and government information was freely available to all
persons living in the country, including domestic and foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A few domestic and international human rights groups generally
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
disability, language, or social status. The law also prohibits public
incitement to violence or public agitation or insult directed against a
race, people, or ethnic group. The government generally enforced these
prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense, and
the government effectively prosecuted those accused of such crimes.
Spousal rape has the same penalties as rape under other circumstances.
The sentence may be reduced if the victim decides to remain with the
abusive spouse. There was one investigation for spousal rape during the
year.
The law prohibits all forms of domestic violence and provides for
restraining orders against violent family members. However, there were
reports of violence against women, including spousal abuse. According
to police, there were 32 police interventions in cases of domestic
violence during the year. During the year, 21 women and 22 children
received counseling and refuge at Frauenhaus, a women's shelter. The
government has established centers that provide single-stop financial,
administrative, legal, and psychological assistance to victims of
domestic violence.
Prostitution is illegal; however, police tolerated it in the
country's few nightclubs as long as it did not cause public offense.
Leading a person into prostitution is punishable by up to six months in
prison, heavy fines, or both, and up to three years in prison if the
victim was under 18. There were no reported arrests or prosecutions
during the year.
Stalking is a criminal offense. Sexual harassment is illegal and
punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine, and the government
effectively enforced these prohibitions. Employers are required to take
reasonable measures to prevent sexual harassment; failing to do so may
entail damages to a victim of up to 40,000 Swiss francs (approximately
$38,600). No cases were reported during the year.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception and
skilled attendance during childbirth. Women and men were diagnosed and
treated for sexually transmitted infections equally, including for HIV.
Women enjoy the same legal rights as men, including rights under
family law, property law, and in the judicial system. The Equal
Opportunity Office and the Commission on Equality between Women and Men
worked to eliminate all forms of gender discrimination. However,
societal discrimination continued to limit opportunities for women in
fields traditionally dominated by men. Generally, women earned 80
percent of men's earnings for equal work. The labor contract law and
the equal opportunity law contain provisions to combat gender
discrimination in the workplace.
Children.--Citizenship is generally derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). Every child born in the country, who otherwise would be
stateless, can acquire citizenship.
There were some reports of abuse of children. During the year the
commission for the coordination of professionals in cases of sexual
offenses against children reported that it was contacted concerning 10
cases of suspected sexual abuse. Possession of child pornographic
material is a criminal offense. The code of criminal procedure
specifies that children affected by sexual crimes are to be questioned
in a sensitive manner, separate from the suspect.
A new law on Children and Youth, which was developed with the
participation of children and adolescents, entered into force on
February 1 and improves the protection of children. The new law
mandates that a special ombudsperson be available for children and
adolescents.
The government also created a working group to make specific
proposals for revising the sexual criminal law to conform to provisions
of relevant international conventions.
The government supported programs to protect the rights of children
and made financial contributions to three NGOs that monitored
children's rights. The Office for Social Services oversaw the
implementation of government-supported programs for children and youth.
On March 10, a 21-year-old man was convicted for having downloaded
video and audio recordings of sexual acts with minors from the
Internet, fined 3,300 Swiss francs ($3,180), and sentenced to undergo
psychotherapeutic treatment.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes and provides for extraterritorial jurisdiction. There
were no reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the
country; however, some observers believed that trafficking in women
occurred but was not reported.
Trafficking in persons is punishable by a prison sentence of up to
three years; the maximum sentence is increased to five years if the
trafficker used or threatened violence. If the victim is a minor or the
trafficker belongs to a criminal organization, uses excessive violence,
or jeopardizes the life of the victim, the sentence may be up to 10
years. No arrests or prosecutions for trafficking offenses were
reported during the year.
The government's law enforcement, immigration, foreign affairs, and
social welfare authorities, together with the NGO Frauenhaus, have
established a consultation process and referral mechanism for victims
of trafficking.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The 2007 Equal Opportunity Law for
Persons with Disabilities prohibits discrimination against persons with
physical or mental disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or the provision of other state services or other areas;
the government effectively enforced these provisions. The law mandates
that all public kindergartens and schools as well as public
transportation systems must be accessible to persons with disabilities
by 2012. Recently constructed public buildings must become barrier-free
by 2027; older public buildings by 2019.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--In September 2008, at a public
festival in the town of Mauren, a group of about 20 Swiss and
Liechtenstein skinheads carrying stones and sticks had a violent
confrontation with Turkish visitors. The clashes ultimately involved
several dozen persons. The local police intervened to stop the
violence; a police officer and a festival visitor required emergency
medical treatment for injuries sustained in the violence. Ten right-
wing extremists were detained, eight of whom were released from custody
soon thereafter. On November 19, a court convicted a Swiss skinhead and
gave him to a suspended prison sentence of four months and a fine of
1,800 Swiss francs (approximately $1,740). The court reduced the prison
sentence of a second Swiss skinhead from 10 months in prison to a
suspended sentence of six months and ordered him to pay a fine of 5,400
Swiss francs ($5,210). Three Liechtenstein skinheads also were
convicted and had to pay fines.
Police estimated the number of violent right-wing extremists,
including skinheads, to be not more than 30 to 40 persons. The
government continued to monitor right-wing groups.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--A government-contracted study
published in December 2007 found evidence of discrimination based on
sexual orientation.
In October the Office of Equal Opportunity launched a awareness
campaign using posters to reduce discrimination and stigmatization of
homosexual activity.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that all workers,
including foreigners, are free to form and join independent unions of
their choice and select their own union representatives, and workers
exercised these rights in practice. The law allows unions to conduct
their activities without government interference, and the government
protected this right in practice. There was only one trade union, which
represented approximately 3 percent of the workforce. The law does not
prohibit antiunion discrimination, but there were no reports that
antiunion discrimination occurred. The right to strike is not
recognized explicitly in the constitution and labor law. A new Civil
Servants Law came into force in July 2008, lifting the ban on strikes
for civil servants. No strikes occurred during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively.
Approximately 25 percent of workers were covered by collective
bargaining agreements.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no
reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, and the government effectively enforced these laws. The
law prohibits the employment of children younger than 16; exceptions
may be made for the limited employment of children who are 14 and older
and of those who leave school after completing nine years of compulsory
education. Children who are 14 and older may be employed in light
duties for not more than nine hours per week during the school year and
15 hours per week at other times.
The law prohibits labor that subjects children to physical,
psychological, moral, or sexual abuse. There were no reports that any
cases were brought under these provisions during the year.
The government devoted adequate resources and oversight to child
labor policies, and the Department for Worker Safety of the Office of
the National Economy effectively supervised compliance with the law.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage. The Liechtenstein Workers Association negotiates minimum wages
annually with the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber for Economic
Affairs. The average daily wage provided a decent standard of living
for a worker and family.
The law sets the maximum workweek at 45 hours for white-collar
workers and employees of industrial firms and sales personnel, and 48
hours for other workers. The law provides for a daily mandatory one-
hour break and an 11-hour rest period for full-time workers; with few
exceptions, Sunday work is not allowed. Pay for overtime is required to
be at least 25 percent higher than the standard rate, and overtime is
generally restricted to two hours per day. The average workweek,
including overtime, may not exceed 48 hours over a period of four
months. Thousands of workers commuted from neighboring countries daily
and were covered by the same standards.
The law sets occupational health and safety standards, and the
Department for Worker Safety generally enforced these provisions
effectively. The law provides for the right of workers to remove
themselves from work situations that endanger health or safety
__________
LITHUANIA
The Republic of Lithuania, population approximately 3.2 million, is
a constitutional, multiparty, parliamentary democracy; legislative
authority is vested in the unicameral Seimas (parliament). On May 18,
Dalia Grybauskaite was elected as the country's first female president,
and on September 17, Irena Degutiene was chosen as the first female
speaker of the Seimas. Parliamentary elections in October 2008 led to
the formation of a center-right coalition government. Both elections
were free and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of the security forces.
There were reports that police physically mistreated detainees to
obtain confessions. Prison conditions were poor, and physical
mistreatment of prisoners and overcrowding were reported. Detention
center conditions were poor. There was continued corruption in the
police and government. Domestic violence and child abuse, trafficking
in women and children, and intolerance of sexual and ethnic minorities
were problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
As of December 1, prosecutors had forwarded five cases involving
alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity during the periods of
German or Soviet occupation to the courts for trial and opened eight
new investigations. At year's end the Prosecutor's Office was reviewing
65 cases relating to those periods.
By December military police opened six cases related to military
hazing, compared with 10 in 2008. They forwarded three of the cases to
the courts and terminated three due to lack of evidence. According to
the national courts administration, three persons were convicted during
the first six months of the year. The minimum sentence was three months
(suspended sentence) and the maximum sentence was 22 months (suspended
sentence). Most reports of hazing alleged that draftees physically
abused each other or subjected each other to psychological pressure.
Three persons were convicted during the first six months, compared with
six persons throughout 2008.
In 2008 the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) issued a judgment
that found one violation by the country of the right to life involving
the deprivation of life as provided under the European Convention on
Human Rights. The case involved the 1998 deaths of two persons in a car
being chased by police. The court ordered the government to pay each
applicant 30,000 euros ($43,000) in damages.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment; however, there were reports that police physically
mistreated detainees.
As of December 1, the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office had received
13 complaints that officials used force and psychological pressure to
obtain evidence in an investigation. The Ombudsman's Office found eight
complaints to be groundless, terminated four complaints because they
did not fall within the competence of the ombudsman and found one
complaint to be justified.
On June 25, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) released a report on the April 2008 visit of a CPT
delegation to the country. The report noted that, while the majority of
individuals interviewed indicated they had been treated correctly, the
delegation received a number of allegations of recent mistreatment by
police officers during questioning, often apparently intended to obtain
confessions. It noted that juveniles appeared to be particularly at
risk. The report described the mistreatment as mainly consisting of
``kicks, punches, slaps, and blows with truncheons or other hard
objects (such as wooden bats or chair legs).'' The delegation also
heard allegations of extensive beating and asphyxiation using a plastic
bag or gas mask. The delegation indicated that, in some cases, it was
able to provide evidence consistent with the allegations. During the
visit the delegation also received a number of allegations that
prosecutors and judges did not act on claims of mistreatment when these
were brought to their attention. Authorities responded that training of
police to observe human rights of prisoners was a continuing policy.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions did not meet international standards. The government
permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and
such visits occurred during the year. Although government measures to
upgrade prisons brought them closer to meeting international standards,
domestic human rights advocates reported that conditions remained poor
in some prisons.
According to Prison Department data, as of mid-December there were
8,562 prisoners, including 363 women and 114 juveniles.
In its June 25 report, the CPT delegation noted that at the
Lukiskes Prison it received several allegations from prisoners of
physical mistreatment by staff, consisting of punches, baton blows, and
blows with books. In some cases the mistreatment was said to have been
inflicted by drunken prison officers. Physical mistreatment was also
alleged at the Pravieniskes-2 Correction Home No. 3 and at the Kaunas
Juvenile Remand Prison and Correction Home.
Four correctional institutions remained overcrowded. For example,
the facility in Siauliai had a capacity of 382 inmates after a recent
remodeling but held 544. The CPT report noted that recently renovated
cells at the Lukiskes Prison were overcrowded, sometimes to ``an
outrageous degree,'' with six prisoners in a cell measuring eight
square meters (approximately 86 square feet).
In 2008 the ECHR issued a judgment that found one violation by the
country involving the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment as
provided under the European Convention on Human Rights. The case
related to detention conditions at Lukiskes Remand Prison and in the
Rasu prison.
As of December 1, the parliamentary ombudsman had received 267
prisoner complaints, compared with 309 during 2008. Most related to the
failure of administrators to give proper attention to prisoners'
grievances, which included poor prison conditions; mistreatment by
prison department personnel; restrictions on prisoners' rights, such as
by censoring their correspondence or failing to allow family visitors;
inadequate medical services; and poor working conditions. The
ombudsman's investigators found 18 complaints to be justified, while
the others were outside the ombudsman's purview. As of December 1, the
ombudsman had received two complaints alleging that working inmates
received less than they were supposed to be paid; the ombudsman found
both complaints to be groundless.
The CPT report noted that the material conditions in police
detention centers it visited in Jonava, Rokiskis, Kupiskis, Siaulai,
and Trakai displayed a number of major shortcomings and could in some
cases be considered inhuman and degrading. The majority of cells were
filthy and in a poor state of repair, with little or no access to
natural light, only dim artificial light, and poor ventilation. At
Siaulai city police headquarters, the delegation observed that a
juvenile detainee had been kept in a cell with two adults for over a
week.
In their September response to the CPT report, authorities
acknowledged that only 10 of the country's 39 police detention centers
were in good condition and the others did not meet international
standards. They indicated they were in the process of closing several
of them. Authorities noted that a number of new detention centers were
under construction.
As of December 1, authorities had not taken action in response to a
2006 ECHR ruling that the country should amend its regulations to
eliminate inappropriate monitoring of inmate correspondence.
The government permitted independent human rights observers and
researchers to visit prisons. Representatives of the Office of the
Parliamentary Ombudsman made two visits to prisons. Media
representatives also visited prisons. Neither the International
Committee of the Red Cross nor other international or intergovernmental
organizations visited the country's prisons during the year.
During the year the government allocated 7.2 million litas (three
million dollars) for renovation of the prison in Vilnius and two other
facilities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions. Nevertheless, there were complaints of illegally
prolonged pretrial detention.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--A unified national
police force is responsible for law enforcement and operates under the
authority of the Ministry of the Interior. Police officers and other
government officials who exceed their official authority are subject to
prosecution or punishment. The State Security Department is responsible
for internal security, intelligence operations, and investigating some
economic crimes. It reports to parliament and the president.
Corruption in the police force remained a problem. There is a broad
legal and institutional anticorruption framework and a system for
investigating public corruption; however, media outlets and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) indicated that corruption was a
lingering problem.
In the first six months of the year, authorities accused seven
police officers of abuse of power, compared with 11 throughout 2008. In
the first eleven months of the year, the ombudsman investigated 123
complaints about police activities, compared with 146 during 2008, and
determined 44 to be valid, compared with 51 during 2008. In all cases
where complaints were found to be valid, authorities disciplined the
officers involved. In most cases police officers faced administrative
disciplinary actions, such as demotion or reprimand.
The 2008 appeal by a mother and daughter who contended that police
violated their dignity with unnecessary physical force and by requiring
the daughter to undress in front of neighbors and strangers, was
pending in the ECHR.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants are
generally required for arrest and must be granted by judges upon the
presentation of reliable evidence of criminal activity. Police may
detain suspects for up to 48 hours before charging them.
Detainees have the right to be informed of the charges against
them, and there were no complaints of failure to comply with this
requirement. Bail was available and was widely used. Detainees were
allowed prompt access to family members. The law provides the right to
an attorney from the moment of detention and, if the detainee is
indigent, to one provided at state expense; however, these rights were
not always respected in practice. The law entitles a detained person to
a prompt judicial determination of the legality of the detention, and
authorities respected this right in practice.
In its report the CPT delegation noted that several detained
persons it interviewed claimed they had been informed of their right of
access to an attorney only at the time a ``protocol of apprehension''
was drawn up, i.e. several hours after apprehension. The CPT also found
that most of the persons who had applied for legal aid complained that
they had had no contact with state-appointed lawyers before their first
interrogation or even before their first court hearing.
Judges may order pretrial detention only for persons suspected of a
felony and only to prevent flight or the commission of new crimes, to
allow unhindered investigation, or to comply with extradition requests.
The pretrial judge may order a suspect's detention for up to three
months. In some cases the detention may be extended to 18 months (12
months for juveniles), subject to appeal to a higher court. Such
extensions were frequent. The law provides for civil liability for
damage caused by the unlawful actions of investigating officials,
prosecutors, judges, and courts. As of September the average length of
pretrial detention was seven months and 13 days; approximately 10
percent of the incarcerated population consisted of pretrial detainees.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government respected this provision in
practice.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy the presumption of innocence.
The law provides for public trials; juries are not used. While
defendants have the right to be present, the law permits trials in
absentia when a defendant is outside the country. The law establishes
the right to legal counsel for defendants upon arrest. It provides for
legal assistance for indigent persons; however, as of December 1, the
human rights ombudsman had received eight complaints that authorities
failed to provide such counsel. Defendants have access to government
evidence and the right to present evidence and witnesses and confront
or question witnesses against them. Defendants have the right to
appeal. The law extends these rights to all citizens. Local human
rights experts criticized the practice of holding trials in absentia,
because defendants could not cross-examine witnesses or present
evidence in their own defense.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found four violations by the
country of the right to a fair trial as provided under the European
Convention on Human Rights. For example, the applicant in one case
alleged, inter alia, that he had been denied the opportunity to examine
a key witness, who remained anonymous in criminal proceedings against
him.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Plaintiffs may sue for legal
or injunctive relief based on human rights violations. Apart from
redress in the court system, victims of human rights abuses may appeal
to the parliamentary ombudsman for a determination on the merits of
their claims. Although the ombudsman may only make recommendations to
the offending institution, his findings are commonly honored in
practice.
On a number of occasions, the government did not pay damages
awarded by the ECHR within the period stipulated in the court's final
judgments.
Property Restitution.--The law on restitution places significant
restrictions on claims for communal property, and as a result the
Jewish community has regained only a fraction of the communal property
owned by the country's prewar Jewish population of more than 200,000.
Fewer than 30 properties have been returned to the Jewish community
under the law, which applies only to the restitution of religious
properties. The government introduced a bill that would provide more
than 113 million litas ($48 million) in compensation for some
expropriated properties, but the Jewish community rejected the bill as
inadequate. The parliament had not acted on the bill by the end of the
year.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits arbitrary interference in
an individual's personal correspondence or private and family life;
however, there were reports that the government did not respect these
prohibitions in practice.
The law requires a judge's authorization to search an individual's
premises and prohibits indiscriminate monitoring of the correspondence
or communications of citizens. However, local human rights groups
alleged that the government did not properly enforce the law. As of
October 1, the State Data Protection Inspectorate had investigated 108
allegations of arbitrary interference by officials with privacy,
compared with 97 investigated complaints during the same period in
2008. Most complaints involved claims by individuals that government
agencies were collecting or using their personal data, such as personal
identity numbers, without a legal basis or justification. The
inspectorate also conducted 122 preventive investigations, unrelated to
specific complaints, of companies, enterprises, and government
agencies, compared with 102 such audits during 2008.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found five violations by the
country of the right to respect for private and family life as provided
under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
A June 2008 law prohibiting the distribution or display in public
gatherings of Soviet or Nazi-related symbols led to a court ruling in
September 2008 that fined a woman in Vilnius 500 litas ($209) for
selling souvenirs containing Soviet symbols. On March 17, parliament
amended the law to safeguard other salesmen from such fines in the
future. The amended law permits the ``collection and trade of antique
and flea market items,'' that contain Soviet and Nazi symbols, as well
as their use in museums and for purposes of education, science, and the
arts. There would no longer be punishment for persons using the
official symbols of an existing state or the wearing of uniforms by
participants of World War II.
Incitement to hatred and discriminatory speech are crimes
punishable by up to two years' imprisonment. As of December 1, the
Prosecutor's Office had opened 39 investigations of incitement to
hatred (most of them over the Internet). There were no new
investigations involving discriminatory speech. In the same period the
Prosecutor's Office forwarded 10 cases to the courts for trial. Courts
completed seven of these and convicted six persons, imposing fines of
650 to 5,000 litas ($271 to $2,085). Another 37 investigations
(including some from previous years) were terminated during the year
for lack of evidence. A number of investigations and court cases
(including some from previous years) were ongoing. Most of the
allegations of incitement to hatred involved racist, anti-Semitic, or
homophobic expression.
In July the parliament passed, over the president's veto,
amendments to the Law on the Protection of Minors against the
Detrimental Effect of Public Information. The amendments, which were to
take effect in March 2010, would prohibit the dissemination of
information that promoted hypnosis, ``bad eating habits,'' paranormal
phenomena, gambling, lotteries, physical passivity, and other subjects
considered ``detrimental'' to minors' bodies or thought processes, or
which would promote homosexual, bisexual, and polygamous relations. The
law specifically stated that it was to apply to movies and Web sites.
Following complaints from human-rights organizations and the EU, the
parliament in December passed another set of amendments to the law,
which replaced the prohibition on promoting homosexual, bisexual and
polygamous relations with a ban on information ``which promotes sexual
abuse and harassment of minors and sexual relations by minors'' as well
as information ``which promotes sexual relations'' in general. Human
rights organizations remained skeptical, noting that the amendment bars
the promotion of any concept of the family other than that set down in
the constitution, which stipulates that marriage is between a man and a
woman.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately
without reprisal, and the government did not attempt to impede
criticism. Independent media were active and expressed a wide variety
of views. Radio and television broadcasting included a mix of
independent and public stations. International media generally operated
without restriction.
The law prohibits the dissemination of information that is both
untrue and damaging to an individual's honor and dignity. Libel is
punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to one year, or up to two
years for dissemination of libelous material through the mass media. No
cases were reported during the year.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could generally engage in
the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail;
however, authorities initiated criminal prosecutions against persons
posting material they deemed incitement to hatred.
According to the Department of Statistics, 58 percent of the
country's residents between the ages of 16 and 74 had access to the
Internet in the first quarter of the year, an increase from 47 percent
in the same period in 2008. According to International Telegraphic
Union statistics for 2008, approximately 54 percent of the country's
inhabitants used the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law and constitution provide for the right to assemble
peacefully, and the government generally respected this right in
practice for most groups; however, the government denied assembly
permits to certain groups.
On March 4, the Human Rights Monitoring Institute and the Center
for Equality Advancement asked the Vilnius Municipality for a permit to
hold a rally and march supporting democracy, human rights, and
tolerance, on the country's Independence Day, March 11. However, city
officials refused to issue the permit. At the same time, municipal
officials issued a certificate for a march, scheduled the same day,
organized by the Lithuanian National Center, a group that espoused and
demonstrated intolerance toward other racial, ethnic, and religious
groups, claimed that human rights and antifascism were examples of
extremism, and openly sympathized with neo-Nazi groups. Local human
rights organizations appealed to the Vilnius First District Court,
claiming that the denial was discriminatory. On September 21, the court
dismissed the complaint on the grounds that the police would not have
been able to preserve public order if the two events had taken place on
the same day.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice; however, the government continued to ban the Communist Party
and other organizations associated with the former Soviet regime.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and the law provide for
the free practice of religion, and the government generally respected
this right in practice. There is no state religion; however, some
religious groups enjoyed government benefits not available to others.
To have legal status, religious communities must receive official
recognition in the form of registration. However, there were no reports
that the government prevented unregistered groups from worshiping or
seeking new members. There was no action during the year on pending
applications for recognition from the United Methodist Church of
Lithuania (applied in 2001), the New Apostolic Church (applied in
2003), or the Evangelical Belief Christian Union (Pentecostal, applied
in 2002).
The law stipulates that only traditional and other state-recognized
religions may offer religious instruction in public educational
institutions. Student participation in religious classes was not
mandatory; parents could choose either religious instruction or secular
ethics classes for their children.
In June 2008 parliament approved amendments to the Law on Equal
Rights adding prohibitions against discrimination based on ethnicity,
religion, sexual orientation, age, and disability to the already
existing prohibitions of discrimination based on gender, race,
nationality, language, origin, social status, beliefs, or creed.
However, these prohibitions do not prevent religious schools from
discriminating in favor of their believers in admissions policies or
teaching their faith.
In 2008 construction of a residential and commercial complex
located on or near the site of a historic Jewish cemetery in Vilnius
was completed. In May the government declared most of the cemetery site
to be permanently protected from future development, but did not order
any demolition or changes to buildings already built. The government
continued to work with local and international Jewish communities and
the developer to agree on final regulations concerning development of
areas near the cemetery borders.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Jewish community consists
of about 4,000 members. No violent anti-Semitic attacks against
individuals were reported during the year; however, anti-Semitism was
widely manifested on the Internet.
On August 20, a Jewish cemetery in Klaipeda region was vandalized
with anti-Semitic symbols and language. Police started an
investigation.
Courts continued to hear cases against participants in a skinhead
march in Vilnius in March 2008. On January 27, a court acquitted one
participant of provoking ethnic hatred. The court reviewed video of the
suspect singing and shouting ``Lithuania for Lithuanians!'' but not
shouting ``Juden raus!'' .''Jews out!'' in German), as initially
charged. On March 4, another participant in the march was sentenced to
house arrest, although the court concluded that video recordings did
not show him shouting nationalist and anti-Semitic slogans as charged.
Three other participants, all 18 to 29 years old, were fined in June
2008.
There were no reports of new developments in connection with a
number of other anti-Semitic acts that took place in 2008, including
the defacing with anti-Semitic symbols and phrases of buildings
belonging to the Jewish community centers in Vilnius and Panevezys.
In October 2008 a forest ranger in the Kelme Region, near the
village of Pluskiai, reported that vandals broke stones and painted
anti-Semitic graffiti on a Holocaust memorial. An investigation of the
incident continued.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
Authorities did not permit asylum seekers coming from ``safe''
countries of transit to enter the country; they returned them to the
country of transit without reviewing the substantive merits of their
applications. According to the Migration Department, authorities did
not have a list of safe third countries, but defined such countries as
ones in which the person's life or liberty would not be threatened on
account of membership in one of the categories specified in the 1951
Convention and its 1967 Protocol and from which the individual would
not be sent to another country in contravention of his rights under
these agreements.
The government can grant ``temporary protection'' in the event of
mass influx of aliens, but an individual alien has no right to apply
for this protection. No persons were granted temporary protection
during the year. The government also employs an additional form of
protection, ``subsidiary protection,'' available to individuals who do
not qualify as a refugee but who cannot return to their countries of
origin because of fear of torture or inhuman treatment, prevailing
violence or military conflict, or systematic violation of human rights
in that country would endanger their basic rights or fundamental
freedoms. In the first six months of the year, the government granted
subsidiary protection to 59 persons.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship can be acquired either by birth in
the country's territory or from one's parents. The government registers
all births immediately. According to UNHCR statistics, there were
approximately 8,700 stateless persons in the country at the end of
2008. Of these, approximately 7,500 had permanent residence permits.
Virtually all stateless persons were individuals who resided in the
country at the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union but did not
qualify for automatic citizenship. According to the director of the
Lithuanian Migration Department, persons in this category were entitled
to apply for citizenship but these individuals did not do so.
The law permits the naturalization of an individual living in the
country for at least 10 years who has an unlimited residence permit,
passes an official language test and an examination on the basic
provisions of the constitution, takes an oath of allegiance, and is
able to defray his living costs.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Presidential elections held
on May 18 that resulted in the election of Dalia Grybauskaite, former
European budget commissioner and former minister of finance, as the
country's first female president, were considered free and fair, as
were parliamentary elections held in October 2008.
Elections to the European Parliament held on June 7 were also
considered free and fair.
The government continued to ban the Communist Party; other
political parties could operate without restriction or outside
interference.
In 2007 the Constitutional Court announced that the Law on
Municipal Elections, which allowed election to municipal councils only
by party lists, contradicted the constitution. The decision did not
affect the 2007 municipal elections, but it obliged parliament to
prepare a law that would allow citizens not on party lists to run for
municipal councils. Parliament did not pass such a law during the year.
At year's end there were 27 women in the 141-seat parliament and
two women in the 15-member cabinet of ministers. Women accounted for 5
percent of mayors, 21 percent of municipal council members, and 5
percent of local administration directors.
There were three members of ethnic minorities in parliament and no
members of ethnic minorities in the cabinet of ministers.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government often did not implement the law effectively,
and corruption was a problem. Although courts convicted and punished
some officials for corruption, the penalties were usually minor, and
many investigations did not result in convictions. The World Bank's
worldwide governance indicators reflected that corruption was a
problem.
A number of government officials were under investigation, facing
trial, or convicted and sentenced for corruption during the year. The
Special Investigation Service continued its investigation of the mayor,
deputy mayor, and head of administration of the Trakai municipality on
suspicion of receiving bribes of 200,000 litas ($83,400) in connection
with the development of a shopping and entertainment center. The
officials were dismissed from their posts pending the outcome of the
investigation.
In November a Vilnius court vacated the conviction of Vilnius City
Council member and former mayor Arturas Zuokas, who had been convicted
and fined for bribing a city council member while he was mayor.
An investigation continued of former parliamentary speaker Viktoras
Muntianas, who resigned his post in March 2008 amid allegations that he
bribed a deputy governor of Kaunas County to obtain assistance with a
relative's business.
On April 24, a deputy mayor of Vilnius and two other city council
members were questioned by the Special Investigations Service on
corruption charges. The investigation continued at year's end.
Viktor Uspaskich, leader of the Labor Party continued to face legal
charges for fraudulent accounting for party funds and providing false
information to election commission officials. He initially fled to
Russia but returned and was placed under house arrest. He acquired
immunity from prosecution by being elected to parliament in October
2008. Parliament voted to lift his immunity, but it was restored again
on June 7 when he was elected to the European Parliament. On July 14,
the prosecutor general appealed to the Office of the President of the
European Parliament to revoke Uspaskich's immunity; he had announced no
response by year's end.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
government institutions generally provided access in practice. As of
December 1, the parliamentary ombudsman had received 88 complaints of
delays by government offices in providing information and found 45 of
them to be valid. The ombudsman recommended disciplinary action against
the officials involved. Although the ombudsman's recommendations are
not binding, officials took disciplinary action in all of the cases
forwarded by the ombudsman in the first eight months of the year.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The government cooperated with UN and other international
organizations. The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's Human
Rights Commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg, visited the country in October
and participated in a seminar on discrimination issues. He discussed
with President Grybauskaite the controversial Law on the Protection of
Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information, as well as
additional amendments the president submitted to the Seimas aimed at
countering some of the criticisms (see section 2.a).
The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman is an independent
public institution with responsibility for implementing and enforcing
rights under the 2005 Law of Equal Treatment, and investigates
individual complaints. A Children's Rights Ombudsman Institution
oversees observance of children's rights and their legal interests. The
ombudsman may initiate an investigation on a possible violation of
children's rights upon receipt of a complaint or on his own initiative.
A parliamentary ombudsman investigates complaints about the abuse of
office or other violations of human rights and freedoms in the sphere
of public administration.
The human rights committee of the parliament prepares and reviews
draft laws and other legal acts related to civil rights and presents
recommendations to state institutions and other organizations on issues
concerning the protection of civil rights. It also has oversight of the
Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits and penalizes discrimination based on race,
gender, social status, ethnic background, age, sexual orientation,
disability, and religion or beliefs. Despite government programs and
efforts at enforcement, discrimination against women and against ethnic
and sexual minorities persisted.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape.
Convicted rapists generally received three- to five-year prison
sentences. In the first eleven months of the year, 144 rapes were
reported compared with 149 during 2008. Societal violence against
women, particularly alcohol-related domestic violence, remained a
serious problem. There is no law specifically prohibiting domestic
violence; however authorities prosecuted domestic violence under
general assault laws. To initiate an investigation into cases of
domestic abuse, the victim must file a complaint. Surveys showed that
56 percent of divorced women and 15 percent of married women had
suffered domestic violence. In 2008, according to the Ministry of
Interior, 359 women were abused by spouses and 96 by their children. In
that year police registered 8,066 violent acts against women and
initiated 680 investigations. Fines were imposed on 1,276 persons.
In 2008, as part of the National Strategy for Reduction of Domestic
Violence against Women for 2007-09, the government funded 29 projects
aimed at prevention, education, and victim assistance. NGOs, which also
received assistance from EU structural funds, implemented most of the
projects. The government operated a specialized Web site aimed at
preventing domestic violence.
Municipal governments and NGOs funded and operated 39 shelters that
provided assistance to victims of domestic violence. The government
provides full funding for two shelters. One of them, the Shelter for
Children and Mothers in Vilnius provided assistance to more than 80
victims of domestic violence, forced prostitution, and human
trafficking during the first nine months of the year.
Prostitution is illegal but remained a problem. The penalty is a
fine of 300 to 500 litas ($125 to $209) for a single offense and up to
1,000 litas ($417) for repeat offenses. In the first six months of the
year, police charged 42 women with administrative violations for
prostitution. In 2008 police charged 11 men for using prostitution
services.
The law prohibits sexual harassment. According to the Ombudsman's
Office, women remained reluctant to approach police or other
institutions in cases of sexual harassment. According to the Office of
the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman, approximately 20 percent of women
had experienced sexual harassment. As of December 1, the opportunity
ombudsman had received one complaint of sexual harassment, but found it
groundless.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Health clinics and local NGOs are permitted
to operate freely in disseminating information on family planning under
the guidance of the Ministry of Public Health. There were no
restrictions on access to contraceptives. According to United Nations
data and the Kaunas Institute of Medicine, 47 percent of women used
these measures. The government provided free childbirth services. Men
and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV.
Men and women have the same legal rights in the judicial system,
including family and property law. Women nevertheless continued to face
discrimination. Government policy requires equal pay for equal work;
however, women often earned less than their male counterparts. In 2008
women earned an average of 80 percent of what men earned in comparable
jobs; the figure was 78 percent in the public sector. Women were
significantly underrepresented at the managerial level.
Children.--Citizenship can be acquired either by birth in the
country's territory or from one's parents. The government registers all
births immediately.
Child abuse, particularly in connection with parental alcohol
abuse, continued to be a problem. According to the Department of
Statistics, in 2007 approximately 36,500 children lived in 16,400
abusive or dysfunctional families. Media sources reported that
incidents of cruelty to children, including sexual abuse, intentional
starvation, and beatings, were common. As of December 1, there had been
11 deaths from child abuse. The children's rights ombudsman reported
257 complaints during the same period, compared with 382 during 2008,
and 387 in 2007; authorities initiated 209 investigations, compared
with 199 during 2008.
The penalty for violence or cruelty against minors is a one- to
two-year prison sentence. Authorities may also remove abused children
from their families and place them in foster care. Despite efforts to
combat child abuse and aid abused children, the ombudsman reported that
insufficient assistance was provided. In 2008 the Child Line (a
children's hotline) and Youth Line received more than 175,000 calls and
2,000 letters from children about problems ranging from relations with
their parents and friends to violence in their families and sexual
abuse.
The law provides for up to 13 years' imprisonment for sexual abuse
of a child; however, sexual abuse of children remained a problem. As of
July 1, the Interior Ministry had registered 26 cases of child sexual
abuse (excluding child rape), compared with 55 cases during 2008. The
government operated a children's rehabilitation center to provide
special care for sexually abused children.
There were no reports that children engaged in prostitution for
survival, nor were there reports of child sex tourism. Laws against
child pornography were enforced. Anyone involving a child in
pornographic events or using a child in production of pornographic
material can be imprisoned for up to five years. As of December 1, the
children's rights ombudsman received 18 complaints and initiated 13
investigations regarding sexual exploitation of children.
Complete statistics on street children were not available.
According to the ombudsman for children's rights, during 2008 there
were reports of 202 children living on the streets; 27 children were
found begging in public areas. They were widely scattered among the
country's cities. Most of the street children were runaways or from
dysfunctional families. They had full access to free, government-
sponsored services.
Sixty children's rights protection agencies administered by
regional governments, other institutions, and numerous NGOs routinely
assisted vulnerable children. There were 105 orphanages and 36 foster
homes. Orphanages still housed the vast majority of orphans and other
children in need of care. In the first eight months of the year, the
children's rights ombudsman initiated ten investigations of possible
violations of children's rights in orphanages. One complaint was
received about a foster home.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that women and girls were
trafficked to, within, and from the country for purposes of sexual
exploitation.
The principal overseas destinations of trafficking victims were the
United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and
Norway. According to NGOs that focus on trafficking, source countries
for women and girls trafficked to and through Lithuania for sexual
exploitation included Russia and Belarus. During the year the press
cited a British detective as stating that in recent years authorities
rescued hundreds of Lithuanian women, some underage, who had become
trafficking victims. A British Web site described the apprehension and
subsequent conviction in the United Kingdom, of two Albanians in the
process of selling a Lithuanian woman for 3,000 pounds ($4,860) to a
brothel owner.
Within the country trafficked women and girls in forced
prostitution worked on streets, in illegal brothels, and as call girls.
Individuals and organized groups, some belonging to international
trafficking rings, engaged in trafficking. Traffickers approach women
through advertising in newspapers, magazines and, increasingly, through
the Internet. These advertisements often promised employment abroad in
restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and hotels or invited women to work as
nannies, nurses, or models. Other advertisements sought women to
provide intimate services, such as massage and escort services. Police
reported that nearly half of traffickers were linked to organized
crime, including international groups.
In many cases close relatives or friends of victims initiated the
trafficking process. Victims' compliance was ensured through threats
and the withholding of their personal documents. Families often were
unaware of the victims' predicament and believed that they had been
kidnapped.
The law provides penalties for trafficking in persons of two to 12
years' imprisonment and two to 15 years for trafficking in children
(minors or juveniles). Through December 1, the government opened seven
criminal trafficking cases and referred three of these to the criminal
court system. Courts handed down guilty verdicts in three cases in the
same period with 11 persons sentenced to prison terms ranging from 24
months to nine years.
In the first 11 months of the year, police identified 13 persons as
victims of trafficking; investigations of cases from earlier years
continued.
The Ministries of Interior, Justice, Social Security and Labor, and
Education and Science, along with the police department, the State
Border Guard Service, the General Prosecutor's Office, and the National
Courts Administration, are responsible for enforcement of trafficking
laws. In March 2008 the government appointed an undersecretary-level
official at the Interior Ministry to coordinate government
antitrafficking activities.
Police cooperated regularly with their British, German, Italian,
Latvian, and Scandinavian counterparts in the fight against trafficking
in persons. They cooperated with other European governments on several
specific trafficking cases during the year. London police reported they
often received help from Lithuania's judicial system and law
enforcement officials in their efforts to accumulate evidence in
trafficking cases involving Lithuanian victims. No persons were
extradited from the country on trafficking offenses in the first eight
months of the year.
During the year prosecutors investigated 12 suspects in an
organized crime gang charged with transporting nearly 100 young women
to the United Kingdom. Charges were brought against seven suspects.
The courts continued to deal with appeals stemming from a December
2008 conviction of five persons on trafficking charges. The Siauliai
Regional Court sentenced Jolanta Razmiene, the head of a modeling
agency, to five years in prison for selling 11 young women and gave
four others prison terms of at least 21 months. The sentences also
required the traffickers to pay 50,000 litas ($20,850) to 10 of the
victims (the other victim would not accept any money). The prosecutor
appealed the acquittal of one of those charged. The four persons who
were convicted also filed appeals, but the victims failed to appear at
the court hearing on their appeal. The court planned further hearings
for 2010.
The government partially funded 15 day centers that assisted
various groups at risk, including trafficking victims. In contrast with
previous years, it did not provide grants to NGOs that offered
temporary shelter or other assistance to trafficking victims.
Authorities implemented formal screening and referral procedures for
trafficking victims.
The government continued implementing a prevention campaign that
included an educational presentation, Truth and Myths about Trafficking
in Persons, that was posted on the Internet Web sites of 90 schools and
also utilized posters, television and radio public service
announcements, and antitrafficking brochures.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or the provision of other state services. Through December
1, the equal opportunities ombudsman investigated 14 cases of alleged
discrimination against persons with disabilities. The law mandates
access to buildings for persons with disabilities; however, according
to official data from 2008, 48 percent of housing was inaccessible.
Individuals involuntarily declared incapacitated have no right to
appeal the decision in court.
The Ministry of Social Security and Labor and the Lithuanian
Council for the Affairs of the Disabled are the two primary
governmental organizations responsible for developing equal
opportunities in the labor market and improving government
effectiveness in meeting the needs of and augmenting the social
security net for persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Health is
responsible for making health services equally accessible to all
inhabitants of the country.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits
discrimination against ethnic or national minorities; however,
intolerance and societal discrimination persisted. Minority ethnic
groups, including Russians, Poles, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Tatars, and
Karaites, constituted approximately 16.5 percent of the population.
On September 8, Valdemar Tomasevski, the representative in the
European Parliament of Lithuanian Polish Electoral Action, complained
to European Commission president Barroso about alleged discrimination
against the Polish minority. Tomasevski claimed that Poles were not
allowed to conduct official business in Polish, even in settlements
with as many as 80 percent Polish-speaking inhabitants and could not
have street signs in their language. He asserted that the country's
laws regulating the use of language in public life were contradictory
and conflicted with EU law and international conventions.
Through December 1 the Prosecutor's Office initiated 39
investigations of alleged discrimination or incitement to racial or
ethnic hatred (most of the instances investigated involved the
Internet), compared with 84 during 2008 and 37 in 2007.
There were no reports of racially motivated incidents during the
year. However, there were developments related to earlier incidents. On
May 27, a court convicted Violeta Iljinych for her part in an April
2008 assault against a South African singer of Indian descent.
Iljinych's appeal was pending at year's end. A police investigation of
posters with the slogan ``no to the culture of black people'' displayed
in a Klaipeda city park in 2008 was inconclusive. No developments were
reported in the verbal assault of two black athletes by an inebriated
man in Kaunas in April 2008.
No developments were reported in connection with a number of
incidents that occurred in 2007, including: assaults on several foreign
students of the Lithuanian Christian College in Klaipeda; a fight in
Vilnius between Lithuanian and Nigerian youths; an attack on a man from
Ghana two days later, also in Vilnius; an August attack on an Italian
exchange student by assailants who apparently thought he was a Muslim;
and the December death in Vilnius of a former Somali student at Kaunas
Medical University after he was beaten in October, allegedly because he
spoke on television about racial violence he had experienced in the
country.
The small Romani community (approximately 3,000 persons) continued
to experience problems, including discrimination in access to services
such as education, housing, and healthcare; in employment (the
unemployment rate was 50 percent); and in relations with police,
although there were no official charges of police abuse. Minority
advocates continued to criticize the Vilnius city government for
focusing on law enforcement in the Romani community but doing little to
integrate Roma into the broader community.
At year's end the Vilnius Regional Court had not reached a decision
on its reconsideration of claims for compensation by the residents of a
Romani neighborhood for the destruction of their housing in 2004. The
court initially awarded 100,000 litas ($41,700) to the inhabitants, but
following appeals, the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the case to
be reheard.
On September 2, the government established a Commission for Affairs
of Ethnic Minorities to make proposals for coordinating government
actions to integrate ethnic minorities into the country's political,
public, and cultural life, and to provide expertise on the preparation
and expediency of draft legal acts relating to ethnic minorities. The
commission will be headed by the prime minister and will include
ministers of culture, finance, foreign affairs, social security and
labor, education and science, and internal affairs, the chairman of the
Council of Ethnic Communities and six representatives of ethnic
communities.
A 2007 study by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights concluded that
governmental responses to cases of ethnic discrimination were
ineffective and that insufficient attention was given to the problem.
According to the agency's research, the law provides possibilities to
complain about ethnic discrimination, but the penalties usually applied
in such cases were insufficient, and victims received insufficient or
no compensation. On April 15, the government approved a new National
Antidiscrimination Program for 2009-11. The government allocated no
funds for the program during the year, but allocated 30,000 litas
($12,510) for 2010. The EU allocated 500,000 litas ($208,500) for the
year, 1.9 million litas ($ 792,300) for 2010, and 2.1 million litas
($875,700) for 2011.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexual acts are not
criminal, and there was no official discrimination against lesbian,
gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) persons, but society's attitude
towards homosexuality remained negative. NGOs focusing on LGBT issues
faced no legal impediments, but the few that functioned kept a low
profile because of public hostility to their aims. The Lithuanian Gay
League (LGL) is an advocacy organization dedicated to fighting
homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity. Through education, support, and representation of the LGBT
community, LGL promotes an inclusive social environment for LGBT
persons.
Local human rights organizations and members of the LGBT community
reported that discrimination and persistent social exclusion of LGBT
persons were problems. In November a court upheld the refusal of the
Vilnius municipality to allow two NGOs that support gay rights and
other human rights causes to organize a tolerance march on Independence
Day, March 11 (see section 2.b.).
In July 2008 the government paid 40,000 euros ($57,200) to a
transsexual woman after the ECHR ruled in 2007 that authorities had
violated her privacy rights.
Amendments to a law protecting minors against certain public
information were enacted in July over the president's veto. They were
criticized by many human rights proponents on the grounds that they
discriminated against homosexual persons. The law was amended again in
December in response to those objections, but some human-rights
activists remained skeptical of its possible use (see section 2.a.).
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDs.
Through December 1, the equal opportunity ombudsman investigated 21
cases of age discrimination, compared with 12 in 2008. Most complaints
concerned discrimination in obtaining employment, insurance, loans, or
leases.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers, including
members of the police and armed forces, to form and join independent
unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements, and workers exercised this right in practice.
Unions represented approximately 10 percent of the workforce. To
register, company level unions must have at least 30 founding members
in large enterprises or a membership of one-fifth of all employees in
small enterprises.
The law provides for the right to strike, except for government
employees involved in law enforcement or other security-related
activities; however, labor code procedures made it difficult for some
to exercise this right. The law provides that only a union or a union's
strike committee may call a strike, leaving nonunion employees unable
to legally call a strike. However, in June the labor code was amended
to relax strike ballot rules. A strike may be called if approved by
half of the employees of a unit or enterprise in a secret ballot.
According to the Department of Statistics, there were 112 strikes
and warning strikes in 2008.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
protects collective bargaining for all workers except government
employees involved in law enforcement and other security-related work.
A Tripartite Council, consisting of representatives of labor, business,
and government, estimated that between 5 and 25 percent of workers were
covered under collective bargaining agreements.
The law prohibits employer discrimination against union organizers
and members; however, this prohibition was often ineffective in
practice, and there were instances when employees were punished for
attempting to organize. According to the International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC), the judicial system was slow in responding to
cases of unfair dismissal, and no employer has ever faced the penal
sanctions foreseen by law for antiunion discrimination. There are no
labor courts or judges who specialize in labor disputes. Some large
retail stores hired short-term contract labor and sometimes did not
renew contracts of union members.
Managers often determined wages without regard to union
preferences, except in large factories with well-organized unions. The
government periodically issued guidelines for state enterprise
management in setting wage scales. The ITUC reported during the year
that Svyturys Brewery, owned by Baltic Beverages Holding, intimidated
and harassed female trade union leaders after workers complained of
exhausting work schedules. The ITUC reported that management requested
employees to make written statements of no confidence in the union. The
union approached the Prosecutor's Office regarding the alleged
interference into union affairs; prosecutors started an investigation
but terminated it later because of a lack of evidence. At year's end
the case was under review by the General Prosecutor's Office.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that women and
children were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficked
women and girls in forced prostitution worked on streets, in illegal
brothels, or as call girls (see section 6).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits exploitation of children in the workplace, and the
government generally enforced these prohibitions effectively; however,
statistics from 2007 indicated that 8 percent of children working did
so illegally, mostly in the agricultural sector, where children
sometimes received unlawfully low compensation. There were reports that
children 15 to 17 years old were trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation.
The law sets the minimum employment age at 16, but allows
employment of persons as young as 14 years old for light labor with the
written consent of the child's parents and school. The law mandates
reduced work hours for children, allowing up to two hours per day or 12
hours per week during the school year and up to seven hours per day or
32 hours per week when school is not in session. Authorities generally
enforced these laws.
The State Labor Inspection is responsible for receiving complaints
related to employment of persons under 18. By December, the
inspectorate found seven cases of illegal child labor. However, unlike
in 2008, there were no reports that school-age children performed farm
fieldwork without contracts for little or no payment.
The Ministries of Social Security and Labor, Education and Science,
Health, and the Interior administered programs to protect children's
rights.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum wage of 800
litas ($334) per month did not provide a decent standard of living for
a worker and family. The minimum wage is set by the government with the
involvement of the Tripartite Council and is based on social and
economic indicators. The poverty income level was 1,095 litas ($457).
The law provides that the maximum time worked in any seven-day
period, including overtime, may not exceed 40 hours for white-collar
work and 48 hours for blue-collar work. Overtime is allowed only in
cases stipulated by law, and both overtime and night work must be
compensated by at least 1.5 times the hourly wage. The labor laws apply
to both local and foreign workers.
The State Labor Inspection is responsible for implementing labor
laws. In the first 11 months of the year, it reported conducting nearly
15,000 company inspections. The most numerous abuses related to wage
arrears, illegal employment, violation of labor contracts, faulty
accounting for time off and hours worked, inadequate worker safety, and
unsatisfactory investigation of accidents. Training provided by the
State Labor Inspection helped reduce the scope of some of these abuses
during the year. Workers dissatisfied with the result of an
investigation could appeal to the court system.
The law gives workers the right to safe and healthy working
conditions, and this was generally enforced. As of the beginning of
December the state labor inspection service recorded 44 fatal accidents
at work, compared with 82 during 2008. These occurred mostly in
construction work. To address the problem the state labor inspection
service provided training, various prevention materials, and best
practice examples to construction companies. Workers have the legal
right to remove themselves from dangerous work environments without
jeopardizing their continued employment and did so in practice.
__________
LUXEMBOURG
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with a population of approximately
494,000, is a constitutional monarchy with a democratic, parliamentary
form of government. The role of the grand duke is mainly ceremonial and
administrative. Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral
Chamber of Deputies. The prime minister is the leader of the dominant
party in the popularly elected parliament. On June 7, the country held
parliamentary elections that were considered free and fair. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
Some prison overcrowding and domestic violence were reported, as
well as cases of human trafficking
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights
observers. Between April 22 and 27, a delegation from the Council of
Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture visited the country,
where it examined safeguards afforded persons deprived of their liberty
by the police, and reviewed conditions at the country's Schrassig
Prison, the State Socio-Educational Center at Dreiborn, and the
Neuropsychiatric hospital at Ettelbruck. The results of the visit had
not been made public by year's end.
According to press reports, overcrowding in the Schrassig Prison
remained a problem despite a reduction of approximately 100 in the
number of detainees. Legislation adopted in 2007 appropriated funding
for the construction of a detention center for refused asylum seekers
to relieve prison overcrowding. (Refused asylum seekers are imprisoned
if they fail to depart the country voluntarily within a specified time
period. They may be imprisoned for a maximum of four months while
arrangements are made to deport them.) The construction of a new
detention center began during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the Grand Ducal Police and the
judiciary police, and the government has effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of
impunity involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants
issued by a duly authorized official are required for arrests in most
cases. Within 24 hours of arrest, police must inform detainees of
charges against them and bring them before a judge for determination of
the legality of the detention. There is a functioning bail system,
which judges freely employ. Detainees are given immediate access to an
attorney, at government expense for indigents. Detainees are allowed
prompt access to family members.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are public except
for those involving sexual or child abuse. There are no jury trials.
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney
in a timely manner. Defendants may confront or question witnesses
against them or present witnesses and evidence on their behalf.
Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence
relevant to their cases. Defendants have the right of appeal.
A legal basis exists for the establishment of religious and
military courts under special circumstances, but no such action has
occurred in the last 60 years.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The magistrate courts
serve as an independent and impartial judiciary in civil and commercial
matters and provide access to individuals who bring lawsuits seeking
damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. A
majority of the population had connections to the Internet. According
to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 80 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
There is no state religion, but the government paid the salaries
and pensions of clergy of those religious groups that have signed
conventions with the government: Roman Catholic; Greek, Russian,
Romanian, and Serbian Orthodox; Anglican; some Protestant
denominations; and Jewish congregations. Several local governments also
maintained sectarian religious facilities. In an effort to receive
similar government funding, the Muslim community named a national
representative and single interlocutor for negotiations with the
government. He resigned but was not replaced by year's end.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reported acts of
violence or discrimination against religious minorities during the
year. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The Jewish community
numbered approximately 1,000 persons.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the government
provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account
of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion. There are no laws that deny asylum based
on an applicant's country of origin. There is no ``black list'' for
repatriation; each dossier is examined on its merits.
In November the government conducted a repatriation flight to
Kosovo with 22 refused asylum seekers.
The law provides for the possibility of granting protection to
individuals who may not qualify as refugees; the government did not
grant such protection during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--On June 7, the country held
elections for the 60 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The elections
were considered free and fair. Also on June 7, the country held
elections to the European Parliament that were considered free and
fair.
Political parties operated without restrictions or outside
interference.
There were 12 women in the 60-member Chamber of Deputies and four
women in the 15-member cabinet. There were 15 women in the 32-member
Supreme Court.
There was one member of a minority group in the Chamber of Deputies
and one member of a minority group in the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no reports of government corruption during the year. The Ministry of
Justice is responsible for combating government corruption. Public
officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws.
There is no law providing public access to government information;
in practice the government sometimes granted access to government
information to members of the public.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government effectively enforced it.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape, and the
government enforced the law effectively. The legal penalties range from
five to 10 years' imprisonment.
The law prohibits domestic violence, and the government effectively
enforced it. The law is gender neutral and provides that abusers will
be removed from their residences for 10 days; this can be extended an
additional three months. Penalties may include fines and imprisonment.
If a person approaches a nongovernmental organization (NGO) for
assistance, the police are required to investigate. In 2008 there were
approximately 565 cases of police intervention relating to spousal
abuse and 263 police expulsions of the abusing spouse.
The government funded organizations that provided shelter,
counseling, and hotlines. There are three hotlines for abused women. In
2008 government-sponsored NGO shelters provided refuge to approximately
385 women and 559 children. The government also provided financial
assistance to domestic violence victims.
Prostitution is legal and was common, but the activities associated
with organized prostitution, such as profiting from, aiding, or
trafficking prostitutes are punishable by law.
The law prohibits sexual harassment and requires employers to
protect employees from sexual harassment. The law prohibits gender-
based job discrimination and harassment of subordinates by superiors.
Disciplinary measures against offenders are available, including
dismissal. An employer's failure to take measures to protect employees
from sexual harassment is considered a breach of contract, and an
affected employee has the right to paid leave until the situation is
rectified. Sexual harassment in the workplace was not widely considered
a problem.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception and
skilled attendance during childbirth. Women and men were equally
diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV.
Women enjoy the same legal rights as men, including rights under
family law, property law, and in the judicial system. The law mandates
equal pay for equal work; however, according to government reports,
women were paid 14 to 16 percent less than men for comparable work. The
Ministry of Equal Opportunity is responsible for protecting the legal
and social rights of women. In 2008 the government launched the Gender
Mainstreaming Center and continued a media campaign with NGOs, public
administrations, and the press, including posters promoting equal
rights for men and women. This campaign continued during the year.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). The government registered all births immediately.
A special police unit is responsible for the protection of minors,
and two call centers--one government-run, the other NGO-administered--
are available to child victims of abuse. Neither the government nor
NGOs compiled statistics on child abuse during the year.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, there were reports that persons were
trafficked for sexual exploitation.
The country is a destination for women trafficked for sexual
exploitation. Primary source countries during the year were Ukraine,
France, and Belgium. During the year the government identified 21
victims of trafficking.
Most traffickers were independent individuals involved in
trafficking human beings and sometimes also in drug trafficking. They
recruited their victims abroad directly or through agents. They
generally arranged the travel and promised lucrative jobs in the
country's cabarets. In most cases, the women were escorted to their
destinations and the agents or procurers remained in the country or in
one of the neighboring countries.
The law criminalizes trafficking in human beings for sexual
exploitation, but does not offer a comprehensive and workable
definition of the offense and omits some forms of exploitation, such as
forced labor. The law clearly differentiates human trafficking from
human smuggling or illegal immigration and defines higher sanctions for
traffickers.
During the year the Chamber of Deputies enacted trafficking in
persons legislation that provides fines of 50,000 to 100,000 euros
($73,000 to $146,000) and prison terms of five to 10 years for
trafficking. In addition, the penal code provides for fines of 500 to
125,000 euros ($715 to $179,000) and prison terms of one month to three
years for facilitating a foreigner's illegal entry and residence
through direct or indirect assistance. Authorities may apply this law
in cases of trafficking for purposes other than sexual exploitation.
Prior to the new legislation, the law provided penalties of from six
months' to three years' imprisonment and monetary fines for trafficking
and, if there were aggravating circumstances, prison sentences of up to
10 years. Authorities indicated that laws against organized crime may
also be used in trafficking cases. The penal code provides for fines of
500 to 125,000 euros ($715 to $179,000) and prison terms of six month
to three years' imprisonment for trafficking. The new law provides
fines of 50,000 to 100,000 euros ($71,500 to $143,000) and prison terms
of five to 10 years for trafficking.
There were several trafficking cases during the year. For example,
in April an Italian and a French procurer were charged with procuring
prostitution and human trafficking. The Italian was sentenced to four
years' imprisonment and a 15,000 euro ($21,500) fine while the
Frenchman was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and a 5,000 euro
($7,150) fine. In May two Belgians were charged with procuring
prostitution and human trafficking. Both were sentenced to two years'
imprisonment and a 10,000 euro ($14,300) fine. In March an Italian and
a Romanian citizen were charged with procuring prostitution and human
trafficking. The Italian was sentenced to pay a 4,000 euro ($5,700)
fine. The Romanian was sentenced to three years imprisonment and fined
4,000 euros ($5,720).
There are no government services specifically for victims of
trafficking; however, two NGOs which were fully financed by the
government provided shelter and counseling assistance to women in
distress. Although the country has no formal witness protection
program, the government took substantial measures to protect victims'
physical safety and identities. After the court proceedings had
finished, a criminal investigative unit specialized in trafficking in
persons' investigations assisted victims in creating new identities and
settling them abroad.
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the government's
antitrafficking efforts, in cooperation with the ministries of foreign
affairs and equal opportunity as well as NGOs. There is no evidence
that government officials participated in, facilitated, or condoned
trafficking.
In June the government and ECPAT, an NGO that combats the
commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children, coordinated
to launch a public outreach campaign against commercial sexual
exploitation of children. ECPAT worked with travel agencies, tour
operators, hotels, airlines, and the media to inform the public
concerning the sexual exploitation of children.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or in the provision of other state services or other
areas, and the government effectively enforced these provisions. The
law does not require government or privately owned buildings to be
accessible to persons with disabilities, but the government subsidized
builders to construct ``disabled friendly'' structures. Despite these
incentives, only a small proportion of buildings and public
transportation vehicles had been modified to accommodate persons with
disabilities. The NGO Aid for Handicapped Children advocated for the
protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
The law establishes quotas requiring businesses that employ more
than 25 persons to hire workers with disabilities and pay them
prevailing wages, but the government acknowledged that these laws were
not applied or enforced consistently.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws
criminalizing homosexual conduct.
There is one lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenders (LGBT)
organization and there were no impediments to its operation. In May the
annual gay gathering celebrated 10 years in the country. The government
authorized the event, and the police provided sufficient protection.
There were no reported incidents of discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of official or societal discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join independent unions of their choice without previous authorization
or excessive requirements, and workers exercised these rights.
Approximately 50 percent of the workforce (including transborder
workers) was unionized. There are no exclusions of non-EU foreign
workers to the unionization rate. The law allows unions to conduct
their activities without interference, and the government protected
this right in practice. The law provides for the right to strike,
except for government workers who provide essential services. Legal
strikes may occur only after a lengthy conciliation procedure between
the parties. For a strike to be legal, the government's national
conciliation office must certify that conciliation efforts have ended.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to collective bargaining, and workers exercised
this right freely. Approximately 66 percent of workers were under
collective bargaining agreements. There were no reported examples of
antiunion discrimination.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports of trafficking
in women for sexual exploitation.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace
and the government effectively enforced these laws. Child labor did not
exist.
The law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16.
Apprentices who are 16 years old must attend school in addition to
their job training. Workers under the age of 18 have additional legal
protection, including limits on overtime and the number of hours that
can be worked continuously. The ministries of labor and education
effectively enforced the child labor laws.
The Ombuds-committee for Children's Rights (a different institution
from the ombudsman) carries out a series of inspections including
inspections for child labor. There were no cases of child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage for a
single worker over the age of 18 was 1,642 euros ($2,380) per month for
unskilled workers and 1,970 euros ($2,860) for skilled workers. The
minimum wage was not sufficient to provide a decent standard of living
for a worker and family; however, most employees earned more than the
minimum wage.
The law mandates a maximum workweek of 40 hours. Premium pay is
required for overtime or unusual hours. Sunday employment is permitted
in continuous-process industries (steel, glass, and chemicals) and for
certain maintenance and security personnel; other industries must
request permission for Sunday work, which the government granted on a
case-by-case basis. Work on Sunday, allowed for some retail employees,
must be entirely voluntary and compensated at double the normal wage or
with compensatory time off on another day, equal to the number of hours
worked on Sunday. The law requires rest breaks for shift workers and
limits all workers to a maximum of 10 hours per day, including
overtime. The labor inspection court and the Superior Court of Justice
are responsible for enforcing these laws.
The law mandates a safe working environment. An inspection system
provided penalties for infractions. The labor inspectorate of the
Ministry of Labor and the accident insurance agency of the Social
Security Ministry carried out effective inspections. No laws or
regulations specifically provided workers with the right to remove
themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to their
continued employment; however, every worker has the right to ask the
labor inspectorate to make a determination regarding workplace safety,
and the inspectorate usually did so expeditiously.
__________
MACEDONIA
The Republic of Macedonia is a parliamentary democracy with a
population of approximately 2.1 million. The president, who is
popularly elected, is head of state and commander in chief of the armed
forces. A unicameral parliament (Sobranie) exercises legislative
authority. On March 22 and April 5, the country held presidential and
municipal elections (with additional rounds in some municipalities on
April 19 and May 3), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) assessed them as meeting most international standards
for democratic elections. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
There were reports that law enforcement officers and prison
officials beat detainees and prisoners and that authorities did not
adequately investigate or prosecute allegations of abuse. Prisons were
overcrowded and conditions were reported to be inhuman and degrading;
observers reported widespread corruption among prison staff.
Implementation of judicial reforms continued to be delayed, and
political pressure and intimidation hindered the effectiveness of the
judiciary. A dispute over government support for an Orthodox church in
the main square in Skopje contributed to interethnic tensions and
raised questions about government involvement in religious affairs.
Lack of effective police protection for protestors raised concerns
about freedom of assembly. There were reports of discrimination against
persons with disabilities and Roma. Tensions between the ethnic
Macedonian and ethnic Albanian populations continued to impact areas
including education, employment, and political participation.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
or other disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, there were
credible reports that police at times used excessive force during the
apprehension of criminal suspects and that they abused detainees and
prisoners.
In November 2008 the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture (CPT) released a report on its June-July 2008
visit to the country's prisons and detention centers. The report noted
that a number of detained persons alleged mistreatment by law
enforcement officials, consisting mostly of kicks, punches, and blows
with batons or the butts of pistols or various other objects,
apparently often administered prior to or during questioning, either
with a view to obtaining a confession or information or as punishment.
Other allegations also referred to the use of excessive force at time
of arrest. The CPT report noted that its delegation corroborated
several allegations through interviews with inmates and, in one case,
through medical evidence consistent with mistreatment. In many cases,
the allegations concerned nonuniformed police officers, in particular
members of the Special Mobile Police Units, commonly known as ``Alfa''
units.
After the CPT visit, the Ministry of Interior disbanded the
country's Alfa units, except for the one in Skopje. According to the
European Commission's (EC) 2009 Progress Report on the country,
released on October 17, the disbanding of the Alfa units significantly
reduced complaints of mistreatment.
The CPT also reported receiving allegations of mistreatment of
prisoners by staff at the prisons it visited. The allegations mainly
consisted of prisoners being beaten with truncheons as well as being
kicked and punched. In addition, several juveniles at the Educational-
Correctional Institution, located since 2001 at the Skopje Prison,
alleged that prison officers hit them with truncheons, and many asked
the CPT delegation to ensure that truncheons were removed from the
institution's premises.
During the first half of the year, the Professional Standards Unit
(PSU) reported receiving received 33 complaints against police officers
for use of excessive force, and it found grounds for investigation in
two cases.
In its November 2008 report, the CPT delegation stated that it
received many allegations that prosecutors and judges did not act on
claims of mistreatment when they were brought to their attention. The
October 17 EC progress report stated that the country's procedures for
dealing with allegations of prisoner mistreatment were still not
effective and that allegations of mistreatment were not sufficiently
investigated or prosecuted. The November 2008 CPT report also concluded
that authorities had taken no action to strengthen protection against
mistreatment by police and mistreatment of inmates (including
juveniles) by prison officers.
On May 27, the Skopje prosecutor opened an investigation of four
prison guards accused of using excessive force against several
detainees in the state detention center in Skopje's Shuto Orizari
municipality on March 17. The Ombudsman's Office reported that video
and medical evidence showed that guards tied the inmates to radiators
and beat them until they gave statements. The Ministry of Justice
initially suspended them, and later fined and reprimanded them, but
then allowed them to resume their duties. The ombudsman submitted the
prisoners' petition to the prosecutor for investigation and possible
torture charges. The case was pending at year's end.
During the year the PSU followed up on a report from Macedonia's
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of an October 2008 case of a Tetovo
police officer using excessive force against a detained person. The PSU
reported a lack of evidence and cited unwillingness on the part of the
alleged victim to cooperate with the PSU. The PSU submitted a special
report to the Tetovo Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, and the Tetovo
Basic Court convicted the officer and issued a suspended sentence on
July 2. On October 7, the appellate court overturned the suspended
sentence and convicted the officer to eight months in prison.
On September 24, PSU investigators determined that three Skopje
officers committed a criminal act--mistreatment in performing a duty--
when they used coercive force in November 2008 against a person in an
underground garage. The PSU submitted a special report to the Public
Prosecutor's Office but did not follow up with an internal disciplinary
action because the 90-day period to do so had expired. After reviewing
the case, the Skopje Public Prosecutor's Office filed a request to open
a criminal investigation. The investigation was ongoing at year's end.
During the year the Ministry of Interior decreased an officer's
salary by 15 percent for a period of three months following a PSU
investigation into an August 2008 case of a Tetovo police inspector
found to have used excessive force against a citizen.
In its November 2008 report, the CPT noted receiving a credible
allegation that a police officer sexually abused a person held
overnight in a police station, after which two junior police officers
reportedly hosed down the detained person in his cell.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Both the October 17 EC
progress report and the November 2008 CPT report described conditions
in several units at Idrizovo Prison as ``inhuman and degrading.''
The EC report noted that prison overcrowding remained a major
problem and that the health-care system in the country's prisons was
inadequate. During its June-July 2008 visit, the CPT observed few
visible improvements in the prisons and found that, in general, the
situation continued to deteriorate. At the Idrizovo Prison, the CPT
found that the majority of living quarters were squalid, unsafe, and
unhygienic. At the Skopje Prison, the CPT found pervasive dampness,
dilapidation, and unhygienic conditions and stated that overcrowding
had ``become more acute'' since the previous CPT visit on 2007. In one
case, the CPT noted seven prisoners sharing a crowded, four-bed cell
for 23 hours and 40 minutes a day. The CPT found prisoners being held
in ``totally unacceptable'' conditions at both the Izdrizovo and Skopje
prisons.
Official reports indicated that three prisoners committed suicide
in Idrizovo prison during the year and one prisoner committed suicide
in Tetovo prison. The ombudsman noted a lack of appropriate security in
the prisons for persons with mental health problems.
On February 2, the Judicial Council removed investigative judge
Miroslav Trifunovski from office for unprofessional and negligent
conduct in the investigation into the suspicious 2008 prison death of
journalist Vlado Tanevski, who was said to have drowned in a bucket of
water in his cell. Tanevski's cell was occupied at the time by three
other inmates, one of whom was a convicted murderer. The CPT delegation
questioned why authorities placed Tanevski in a cell with three
convicted prisoners when there were empty cells available for pretrial
detainees who were remanded into custody, why following Tanevski's
death the other prisoners were not separated and placed in different
cells, and why Tanevski's three cellmates requested to clean the cell
before the cause of death was determined, thereby rendering impossible
an effective forensic examination of the scene of the death.
The Ministry of Justice reported that, at the beginning of the
year, the country housed a total of 2,379 detainees and prisoners,
including juveniles, although the total capacity of all facilities was
only 2,175.
The ombudsman reported that although juvenile prisoners were
separated from adult prisoners, there were opportunities for the two
groups to associate during free-time activities in the yard of the
prison. Both the EC and CPT reports cited problems with association of
minors and adult prisoners, with the CPT report calling the arrangement
``totally unacceptable.''
The government usually granted independent humanitarian
organizations and the ombudsman access to convicted prisoners. The law
allows family members, physicians, diplomatic representatives, and
representatives from the CPT and the International Committee of the Red
Cross access to pretrial detainees with the approval of the
investigative judge. Judges usually granted permission. However, the
CPT highlighted ``unreliable information'' provided by authorities
regarding use of means of restraint in prisons, screening of new prison
arrivals, and access to outdoor exercise as ``clear examples'' of
authorities' lack of cooperation with its visit.
In its October 17 report, the EC noted that some progress was made
in the prison systems, specifically that refurbishment work for the
section for chronically ill detainees and detainees with disabilities
in the Izdrivo Prison was finalized and a new remand wing in the Skopje
Prison was completed. The ombudsman also reported that a system of
anonymous complaint boxes in the prisons allowed them better access to
concerns of prisoners.
During the year the government continued refurbishment of several
prison and detention facilities begun in 2008 and expanded capacity to
accommodate an additional 420 prisoners/detainees.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, arbitrary arrest and detention were
problems.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police are
a centralized force, under the Ministry of the Interior, consisting of
uniformed police, criminal (civilian) police, and border police. By
midyear, 20.3 percent of the force were minorities, short of the
government's 25 percent quota for minority officers. Ethnic Albanians
made up 25.2 percent of the population and an estimated 16 percent of
the police force.
International observers and local nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) cited corruption, lack of transparency, and political pressure
within the Ministry of the Interior as hindering efforts to fight
crime, particularly organized crime.
Police impunity remained a problem, although there were
improvements with aggressive internal investigations and an active
ombudsman.
Corruption was reported among prison staff. According to the
October 17 EC progress report, there were no effective mechanisms in
place to prevent and combat corruption among prison staff. Following
its June-July 2008 visit, the CPT reported receiving allegations from
nearly every prisoner with whom it spoke at Idrozovo Prison concerning
the involvement of staff in the trafficking in mobile telephones,
drugs, and other illicit goods, while the director of the Skopje Prison
acknowledged to the CPT the involvement of prison staff in the
trafficking in mobile phones. The EC report also noted that political
interference in appointments to some prison management positions
persisted, disrupting the continuity and sustainability of strategic
planning.
In December 2008 the ombudsman opened an investigation into charges
of discriminatory treatment favoring female prisoners in the Idrizivo
facility. The media reported that a number of female prisoners,
including those recently convicted of serious crimes, quickly earned a
special status of more lenient treatment, including weekends away from
the prison. The ombudsman was investigating to determine whether
corruption or discrimination played any part in the lenient treatment.
The PSU conducted all internal investigations into allegations of
police misconduct. In its November 2008 report, the CPT noted that it
was ``not convinced'' that the PSU could be considered as an authority
independent from the police and that, when it came to investigating
alleged mistreatment by law enforcement officials, the PSU ``cannot be
considered as an independent body which is able to carry out prompt,
thorough and effective investigations.'' Since the CPT visit,
international observers noted increased independence of the PSU from
police functions, an expansion of the unit, and enhanced training of
PSU staff to improve investigative capacity. The October 17 EC progress
report noted that ``control over the police in general, and special
units in particular, was more effective, partly because of increased
internal audits to ensure that professional standards were respected.''
The report further noted that ``investigations were carried out in
accordance with international standards.'' The report stated that,
although an independent external mechanism was lacking, oversight of
police work was improved by strengthening the powers of the public
prosecutor in the investigative phase.
Although unit officials showed some improvement in efficiently
conducting internal investigations, concerns remained about the low
number of completed investigations and the lack of charges in
outstanding human rights cases from previous years.
During the year citizens filed 252 complaints related to police
conduct with the ombudsman.
During the first six months of the year, the Ministry of Interior,
following PSU recommendations, reduced the pay of 101 employees,
dismissed 12 from the police force, and reassigned 12. During the year
the PSU filed charges against 26 employees. Representatives from a
number of international organizations, including the OSCE, the EU, and
foreign missions continued to monitor police operations and advise the
Ministry of Interior on police reforms.
Arrest and Detention.--The law requires warrants issued by an
investigative judge for arrest and detention, and police generally
followed this requirement in practice.
The law states that prosecutors must arraign a detainee within 24
hours of arrest. An investigative judge, at the request of a
prosecutor, may order detention of suspects for up to 72 hours. Police
generally adhered to these procedures in practice.
The law permits a detainee to have a lawyer present during police
and court proceedings. Previously, an administrative requirement that
visits be approved by the investigative judge and comply with general
visitation hours rules of the detention facilities hindered detainees'
access to their lawyers. In July the government took action to provide
for defense attorneys' free access to clients in detention during
normal business hours, with no court order requirement or other
systematic requirement of government approval. The law requires that
authorities give indigent defendants access to attorneys, and
authorities generally respected this requirement in practice.
The law permits immediate family members access to detainees and
access was generally provided, although it was not always prompt. The
law states that an investigative judge must approve access.
There were reports that police continued to call suspects and
witnesses to police stations for ``informative talks'' without
informing them of their rights. Most allegations of this practice
involved accusations that police targeted the individuals for political
reasons. Police did not arrest the individuals, nor hold them for
extended periods of time.
In response to concerns about irregularities in the registration
data and lack of respect for the rights of detained persons, the
Ministry of Interior conducted inspections of the registers of detained
persons and prepared standard operating procedures for their detention
and the treatment. These procedures included designating officers
responsible for proper processing and treatment of detained persons.
There was a functioning bail system. The law sets the initial
length of pretrial detention at 30 days, with possible extension to 180
days if a council of three judges orders a 60-day extension for further
investigation and a superior court orders an additional 90-day
extension. The 90-day extension is allowed only in cases for which the
crime under investigation is subject to a sentencing guideline of at
least five years. Following indictment, the maximum pretrial detention
is two years depending on the crime. Data from the first half of the
year showed a drop in the number of pretrial detention cases, as judges
increased the use of home confinement and bail.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and laws provide
for an independent judiciary; however, the government, political
pressure, intimidation, and corruption influenced the judicial branch.
A number of judicial officials accused the government of using its
budgetary authority to exert control over the judiciary. The annual
judiciary budget as a portion of the national budget has declined from
approximately 2 percent in 2004 to 1.2 percent in 2009. During the year
the judiciary budget was reduced by 4.5 percent, which resulted in cuts
in the capital investments and salaries and allowances categories,
making it difficult for the courts to carry out some of the projected
facilities refurbishments and to fill vacant staff positions. Political
pressure also influenced the election of new judges and work of the
Judicial Council, the body responsible for election, discipline, and
removal of judges.
During the year the European Court for Human Rights issued 16
judgments that found two violations of the right to liberty and
security, two violations of the right to fair trial, one violation of
freedom of movement, one violation of right to association, and 10
violations of length of proceedings.
The country has a three-tiered court system composed of trial
courts, appellate courts, and an administrative court and the Supreme
Court. The Constitutional Court, which is not considered part of the
judicial branch, deals with matters of constitutional interpretation
and certain human rights protection issues.
On June 1, seven ethnic-Albanians were each sentenced to 15 years
in prison for planting an explosive device along the Kumanovo-Sopot
road in 2003; the explosion killed two Polish NATO soldiers and one
civilian, and seriously injured two others. One of the seven began
serving his sentence; the other six had been tried in absentia. Four
other ethnic-Albanians were convicted in 2004 and 2006 and were serving
sentences of 10 to 14 years. In August a ``Sopot'' working group was
formed in the parliament to determine whether there were human rights
violations in the case and to make recommendations. The working group
concluded that human rights violations did occur and presented its
report to the parliamentary Standing Inquiry Committee on Human Rights
in December. The committee tabled the discussion on adoption of the
conclusions until early 2010.
The government continued to delay the implementation of a number of
judicial reform laws resulting in reduced efficiency of the courts.
There was a serious backlog of cases, the majority of which were cases
involving the enforcement of civil judgments. Based on unofficial
reports from government authorities, through June, trial courts decided
only 29.9 percent of the cases on their dockets. On June 30, the
parliament moved the date for the transfer of enforcement cases to a
private bailiff system from January 1, 2009, to July 1, 2010, leaving
the responsibility for these backlogged cases with the courts.
Trial Procedures.--Suspects are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Trials are generally open to the public. The country does not
use juries. Less serious cases are heard by a single judge, and more
serious cases are heard by a panel of one or two professional judges
and two to three lay judges. The judicial panels determine guilt and
impose sentences. The panel usually follows the recommendations of the
presiding judge. Defendants have the right to an attorney in pretrial
and trial proceedings. The law requires that courts provide indigent
defendants an attorney at public expense, and authorities generally
respected this requirement in practice. Defendants may question
witnesses and present evidence on their own behalf. Defendants and
their attorneys are entitled to government-held evidence, but this did
not always occur in practice. Both the prosecution and defendants have
the right to appeal verdicts.
The law provides that courts may try defendants in absentia as long
as they repeat the trials if convicted individuals later become
accessible to justice officials.
During the year the courts started selectively publishing civil and
criminal judgments online, but public access to judgments and court
decisions remained limited. During the year courts rejected at least
seven separate requests for copies of certain more high-profile
judgments.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens had access to
courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human
rights violations. Individuals may file human rights cases in criminal
or civil courts or the administrative court, depending upon the type of
human rights violation in question or the perpetrator of the alleged
violation. Individuals may also appeal adverse decisions. The law
provides the right to timely adjudication of cases and a legal basis
for raising excessive judicial delays to the Supreme Court.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. However, the law prohibits speech
that incites national, religious, or ethnic hatred, and the law
provides penalties for broadcasters who violate these laws.
There were reports that government and businesses indirectly
pressured the media and that journalists practiced self-censorship. The
government was one of the largest purchasers of advertising in the
country and favored outlets and journalists it perceived as friendly.
On January 26, the head of the NGO Transparency Macedonia criticized
the government for nontransparent expenditures and for advertising in
selected media.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately
without reprisal, and the government did not attempt to impede
criticism.
Media institutions and reporting were divided along ethnic and
political lines, with the most striking divisions visible in reporting
on controversial political issues. There were complaints and
allegations of government pressure and even threats against media
outlets that did not report favorably on the government.
In December 2008, following criticism from the media, the ruling
political party, VMRO-DPMNE, announced that it was dropping slander
charges that were then pending against 12 journalists in connection
with their political reporting. On June 28, the Association of
Macedonian Journalists stated at a news conference that the government
had actually changed the criminal charges into civil charges, instead
of dropping them entirely as suggested by the original VMRO-DPMNE
announcement.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction. However, several commentaries and editorials
on International Press Freedom Day (May 3) noted that pressure from
political and business interests was impeding the development of a more
independent press. On June 30, the Center for Civil Communications
reported that the country's media lacked a professional approach
towards reporting on corruption.
There were six major private daily newspapers in Macedonian and
three in Albanian. International newspapers and magazines were
available throughout the country. Macedonian Radio and Television
(MRTV), which generally favored the government's views on political
issues, was the country's sole public broadcaster.
There were five private television broadcasters with national
coverage, 16 national television stations broadcasting via satellite,
and 57 private local and regional television stations. Most of them
broadcast news programs and reflected a variety of viewpoints. There
were 70 independent radio stations. All major broadcast and print media
offered up-to-date web editions. Blogs and Internet-based social
networks also contributed to developing freedom of speech.
On June 16, parliamentarian Amdi Bajram verbally attacked
journalists reporting from the parliament. Following numerous
criticisms of his harsh attack, Bajram apologized to the press.
On May 4, the Association of Macedonian Journalists announced that
there were more than 160 ongoing defamation, libel, and slander suits.
The law allows only fines as penalties in such cases. The association
stated that courts had ordered journalists to pay over 250,000 euros
($358,000) for cases that were filed in 2007 and 2008. In several
cases, the court did not fine accused offenders who apologized before
the court.
In October 2008 the appellate court granted the appeal of a
journalist of a Bitola court decision to fine the journalist 720,000
denars ($14,400) for publishing a report on a judge being fined by
police for driving under the influence of alcohol. The appellate court
returned the case to the basic court for retrial. The retrial was
ongoing at year's end.
On May 28, the Skopje Appellate Court rejected Ljubomir Frckoski's
appeal of a December 2008 judgment against him for slandering Prime
Minister Nikola Gruevski in a 2007 column he published. Subsequently,
Frckoski requested the prosecutor's office file a special motion for
protection of legality before the Supreme Court on his behalf. At
year's end, the prosecutor's office had not responded to his request,
although the 30-day deadline for such a motion had expired. NGO
Reporters without Borders criticized the decision as harmful to freedom
of the press. The European Court of Human Rights has accepted
Frckoski's application to hear the case.
On March 25, the Supreme Court overturned the appellate court's
acquittal of three defendants, including the owner of a cable
television station, accused of the January 2008 assault and attempted
murder of Goran Gavrilov, the owner of the national radio station Kanal
77. Gavirlov believed that the crimes were related to his reporting on
the conditions at cable station Telekabel, as well as his efforts to
regulate relations between cable operators and private broadcast media.
Although the Supreme Court found violations of law in the earlier
trials, it did not order a retrial.
On February 11, a Skopje court acquitted one officer and sentenced
two others to prison terms of seven months and one year, respectively,
in the 2007 attack by police officers on Alsat Television cameraman
Igor Ljubocevski while he was filming police stopping a member of
parliament.
During the year the prosecution dropped criminal charges against a
security guard for the political party Democratic Union for Integration
who in 2007 slapped a television journalist covering developments in
the parliament. A civil case was still pending at year's end.
There was no progress in the May 2008 theft of six television
transmitters belonging to Alsat Television and the local television
station Art outside of Tetovo during the parliamentary campaign. Media
observers considered the theft an attempt to silence the media and deny
citizens information about elections.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The
government tried to increase Internet use and operated Internet cafes
throughout the country that provided free Internet access to persons
under the age of 27 and to senior citizens. In October the State
Statistical Office released data on Internet penetration indicating
that 41.8 percent of homes had Internet access and that a full half of
the population had used the Internet during the first quarter of the
year, up 8.5 percent over the first quarter of 2008.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected this right in practice. For public gatherings of
any kind, organizers must notify the Ministry of Interior so that the
venue can be made secure.
On March 28, a group of approximately 100 protestors, who opposed
government plans to construct an Orthodox Church in Skopje, gathered on
the center square. They were countered by a group of several thousand
protestors who supported the construction. Police tried to separate the
two groups but did not fully succeed, and subsequent violence,
including assaults and shouting, effectively prevented the protest from
proceeding. The Ministry of Interior charged 23 participants from both
sides, mainly for violating public order. Trials were ongoing at year's
end.
The March 28 incident fueled interest by a broad range of NGOs and
civil society groups in the rights to assemble peaceably and to
protest. On April 11, a group of several hundred protestors gathered in
the city square under the motto ``protest for the right to protest.''
Considerable additional police forces were present for the second
protest, which occurred without incident.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right. However,
during the year the court charged with registering religious
organizations failed to meet registration deadlines and rejected the
applications of more than ten communities, effectively blocking their
ability to gain legal status. The law does not require a group or
individual be part of a legally registered religious community in order
to practice religion in public or in private.
During the year a dispute over government support for the
construction of an Orthodox church in the main square of Skopje
increased interethnic tensions and raised questions about the
separation of church and state.
During the year nuns and clergy of the Orthodox Archbishopric of
Ohrid, a group recognized by the Serbian Orthodox Church but without
legal status, continued to claim undue monitoring and harassment based
on its religious beliefs, especially at border crossing points, where
they reported that border guards instructed them to take off their
monastic clothes in order to facilitate border crossing formalities.
The law requires that the State Commission for Relations with
Religious Communities and Groups approve foreigners entering the
country to carry out religious work or perform religious rites. Persons
planning to perform religious work must submit a letter of invitation
from representatives of a registered religious group in the country
when applying for visas. The commission normally issued approvals
within one week.
The restitution of religious properties expropriated by the former
Yugoslav government was not fully resolved. Members of the Islamic
Community of Macedonia (ICM) continued to point to a higher rate of
restitution of properties belonging to the Macedonian Orthodox Church
than those belonging to the Islamic Community. The Bektashi Community,
a Sufi order whose application for registration as an Islamic
organization separate from the ICM was rejected in September, filed
suit against the government in 2002 for failure to restitute the
Arabati Baba Tekke to the community. There were no developments in the
suit.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were isolated reports of
societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation,
belief, or practice.
On August 31, local residents informed police in Struga that
several graves in a Muslim cemetery had been desecrated. There were
several reports of damage to gravestones in Orthodox cemeteries near
the predominantly ethnic Albanian cities of Tetovo and Aracinovo during
the year, although the damage was reported to be minimal and it was not
clear if the vandalism was religiously motivated.
In June serious tensions developed between the ICM and the Bektashi
community over the burial of a community member on the grounds of the
disputed Arabati Baba Tekke in Tetovo. The ICM threatened to exhume the
body and move it to another location. The international community and
local police became involved in an effort to prevent violence between
the two groups. Although tensions lessened during the year, the two
groups continued to debate the legality of the burial.
The Jewish community estimated that approximately 250 to 300 Jews
lived in the country. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not use
forced exile, internal or external.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The government reported 644
persons remained displaced from the 2001 internal conflict. Of these,
265 persons lived in collective centers, and 379 were lodged with host
families.
IDPs received basic assistance, mostly from the Ministry of Labor
and Social Policy, but had few opportunities for work due to the
country's high unemployment rate. The UNHCR assisted 39 IDPs to
regulate their civil status and identity documents.
During the year the government encouraged IDPs to return to their
homes of origin in areas the authorities considered safe. Some IDPs
continued to assert that the government was not providing adequate
support for the return process. Roma IDPs faced additional challenges
due to lack of documentation of tenancy for properties where they
previously resided.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum both to those individuals meeting the criteria for refugee
status and those meeting the criteria for subsidiary protection. The
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
The law provides for protection of refugees and persons under
subsidiary protection in accordance with EU standards. During the year
the government continued to transform the mechanism of protection for
asylum seekers who were not granted refugee status in the country from
``asylum for humanitarian protection'' to ``asylum for subsidiary
protection'' in line with EU directives. Although the UNHCR assessed
that there was some improvement in the refugee status determination
mechanism, the government did not grant refugee status to any asylum
seekers during the year.
During the year the speed of adjudication of asylum claims improved
considerably, but nearly all decisions were negative. The government
did not deport any individuals from Kosovo whose asylum applications
were rejected. The Ministry of Interior issued identification documents
and temporary residence permits to those whose applications for asylum
were rejected. The temporary residence permits are subject to extension
as individual circumstances warrant. For the first time, the
Administrative Court, the only appeals body that can address the asylum
cases, accepted the appeals of 15 individuals and returned the cases
for readjudication.
On December 15, a new law entered into force that amended the law
on asylum and temporary protection, significantly improving the quality
of national asylum legislation. The working group that drafted the law
consulted closely with the UNHCR.
The country experienced a significant increase in arrivals of new
asylum seekers from outside the region, including 50 Afghans. Nearly
all departed to unknown destinations after applying for asylum. By the
end of November, the number of registered asylum seekers decreased from
100 to 81.
The government issued identity documents to all asylum seekers,
recognized refugees, and other persons under humanitarian protection.
There were some delays noted issuing identity documents to new asylum
seekers.
By the end of November, 31 asylum seekers, refugees, and other
persons of concern from Kosovo, including Roma whose asylum
applications were rejected, obtained Macedonian citizenship.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion, or in which they would be subjected to torture or inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. A total of 1,643 asylum seekers,
refugees, persons under humanitarian/subsidiary protection, and other
persons of concern remained in the country from the 1999 conflict in
Kosovo, most of them Roma. The UNHCR noted progress in the return
process of Roma to Kosovo, which it has been facilitating on the basis
of individual voluntary requests.
In early November the country adopted the new National Plan for
Integration of Refugees and Foreigners that focuses on housing,
education, health, social protection, employment, and community
development.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, generally free and fair elections held on the basis
of universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--On March 22 and April 5,
the country held national presidential and municipal elections. In
contrast to the 2008 parliamentary elections, the elections were
peaceful, and the OSCE stated that police provided a secure
environment. The OSCE characterized the elections as meeting most
commitments and other international standards, and noted that the
overall administration of the elections was professional and
transparent. However, the OSCE and other observers noted that
intimidation of voters was a problem. Public sector employees were
particularly vulnerable to threats that their jobs would be in danger
if they did not support the governing party. Some citizens receiving
pensions or social services were also threatened with the loss of this
income if they did not vote as instructed. In October the Ministry of
Justice began a pilot project in two municipalities, Gostivar and
Vinica, aimed at updating the voters' lists.
Political parties could operate without restriction or outside
interference.
There were 39 women in the 120-seat parliament and two women in the
22-member Council of Ministers. The law requires gender diversity in
each political party's candidate list; at least one in every three
candidates must be of the gender opposite of the majority gender on the
list. None of the country's 85 mayors were female.
There were 29 ethnic Albanians, four ethnic Serbs, two ethnic
Vlachs, one ethnic Turk, one ethnic Roma, one ethnic Bosniak, and one
person formally declared as being of ``other'' nationality in the 120-
seat parliament. There were eight members of minorities in the 22-
member Council of Ministers.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials often engaged in corruption with impunity.
There were several claims during the year of government
interference in high profile cases of ``abuse of office'' or ``misuse
of official position'' in order to threaten noncompliant government
officials or party members or to intimidate key opposition leaders. A
number of current and former government officials faced charges of
misuse of position or abuse of office, while other officials and
opposition leaders reported threats that they would face such charges.
Former manager of the Health Fund, Georgi Trenkoski was arrested,
detained, and charged in November with malpractice of official duty
after resigning his position in August, reportedly over disagreements
with government policy. Supporters claim that the media was tipped off
ahead of his arrest to ensure a ``perp walk.'' Media coverage of his
case was derogatory, implying guilt ahead of his trial.
Police and judicial corruption were problems. During the year the
Judicial Council removed 11 judges for unprofessional and unethical
conduct.
On July 16, the Judicial Council suspended Judge Liljana Jankova,
pending the outcome of a corruption-related investigation. During the
year three judges from Struga along with 10 other persons went on trial
for embezzlement and defrauding investors.
On January 28, the Ministry of Interior initiated an investigation
into corruption by police and customs officials accused of taking
bribes at the country's border crossings. In August and September, the
Ministry of Interior arrested 61 border police and three customs
officers and filed criminal charges against them with the Public
Prosecutors Office. Trials for 45 defendants were underway at year's
end. Trials for the remaining 16 are scheduled for January 2010. The
investigation was ongoing at year's end.
On December 16, the former governor of the National Bank of
Macedonia, Ljube Trpeski, began serving his sentence of 4.5 years,
after being convicted in February 2008 of embezzling approximately 950
million denars ($22 million).
On December 9, the appellate court annulled the decisions of a
first instance court in the cases of Vasil Tupurkovski, a former deputy
prime minister and director of the Agency for Reconstruction and
Development, and former prime minister and minister of defense Vlado
Buckovski, charged with corruption and abuse of office respectively.
The appellate court found procedural flaws with both trials and sent
them back to the first instance court for retrial. There was no retrial
date at year's end.
In April court hearings began in the case of the former director
general of the electric company, Pande Lazarov, on trial for taking
kickbacks and money laundering. Lazarov was released on bond into home
detention pending the outcome of the trial. The trial was ongoing at
year's end.
In April the Supreme Court granted the appeal of the former
director of the Public Revenue Office, Petra Miteva, convicted and
sentenced to three years in prison on charges of misuse of official
position for improperly purchasing office space. The Supreme Court
ruled that the case should have been tried as a civil case and that
there was no basis for a criminal complaint.
The State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption was
responsible for investigating charges of corruption as well as
complaints submitted by citizens. From January to September, the
commission received 298 complaints.
Members of parliament and high-ranking public officials were
subject to financial disclosure laws.
The law provides for public access to government information.
Implementation lagged, especially in respect to citizens' access to
court judgments and other court decisions. However, there were notable
improvements in public access to court judgments during the year.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings. The government was generally cooperative and
responsive to their views.
Approximately 500 domestic and internationally registered NGOs
operated in the country, including a number focused on human rights and
civil society issues including women's rights, interethnic dialogue,
LGBT rights, children's issues, and concerns of disabled persons.
The international community also engaged the government on human
rights issues, and many foreign and multilateral missions implemented
projects on a range of human rights and civil society issues, including
projects related to free and fair elections and improved relations
between ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians.
The ombudsman worked to protect citizens against infringement of
their rights by public institutions, to reduce discrimination against
minority communities and persons with special needs and to promote
their equitable representation in public life, and to address issues of
children's rights. The ombudsman has the right to visit all detained
persons and to report findings to the UN. Most cases concerned
violations of judicial procedures, police abuse, and labor, consumer,
or property rights. The ombudsman reported good cooperation and
communication with the government but noted that while government
responses to its inquiries were usually timely, they were often not
substantive and at times lacked requested information.
The government cooperated with international governmental
organizations and permitted visits by representatives of the UN and
other organizations, including a January visit by the OSCE high
commissioner on national minorities and an April visit by the UN
special rapporteur for freedom of religion or belief.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on gender,
race, disability, religion, or national, social, or political
affiliation, and the government generally enforced these prohibitions.
A number of NGOs criticized the piecemeal nature of legal prohibitions
against discrimination and raised concerns about the lack of clear
systems for legal remedies for victims of discrimination. A coalition
of NGOs representing a broad range of interest groups called for
comprehensive antidiscrimination legislation, and a number of
international organizations supported efforts to develop such
legislation.
Women.--The law specifically prohibits rape, including spousal
rape; however, legal sanctions were not a significant deterrent. The
penalties for rape or forcible sexual assault range from one to 15
years' imprisonment. As with domestic violence, police and judicial
officials were reluctant to prosecute spousal rape, and many victims
did not come forward due to social stigma.
Domestic and other violence against women was a persistent and
common problem. An NGO that maintained centers for victims of domestic
violence reported increased use of their facilities by victims of
domestic violence. Ministry of Interior statistics for the first six
months of the year indicated that there were 271 reports of physical
violence against women and 194 reports of psychological violence
against women.
Cultural norms, including victims' concerns over possible shame to
the family, discouraged the reporting of violence against women,
including filing criminal charges. Domestic violence is illegal, but
authorities rarely enforced the law in practice. There were reports
that police officers were unaware of provisions of the law that allowed
them to act to protect victims of family violence.
There was one NGO-operated and six limited-capacity government
shelters for women at risk, a national NGO-operated hotline, and a
crisis center for temporary (24- to 48-hour) shelter for victims of
domestic violence. Local NGOs combating domestic violence relied
largely on international donors. Some women's groups worked to raise
awareness of the problem. The government sponsored a public campaign
against domestic violence, using well-known athletes.
Prostitution is illegal; however, authorities did not always
enforce the law. The government deported some foreign women accused of
prostitution and prosecuted some men for ``mediating'' in prostitution.
Those deported were screened by qualified antitrafficking professionals
prior to deportation to assure they were not victims of trafficking in
persons.
Sexual harassment of women in the workplace was a problem,
particularly in the private sector. Sexual harassment in the workplace
is prohibited under the Law on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women,
and is addressed specifically in the criminal code with a sentencing
guideline of three months to three years. Authorities could prosecute
sexual harassment under antidiscrimination provisions under Macedonian
law, but victims have generally not brought cases forward due to lack
of clarity of antidiscrimination provisions in the absence of
comprehensive legislation. Although women remained underrepresented in
the higher levels of the government and the private sector, there were
several prominent professional women in the public sector, including
the interior and culture ministers.
The rights of women to make reproductive decisions are not
infringed. Contraceptives were very widely available and affordable.
Obstetric and postpartum care was available at hospitals throughout the
country and was accessible to expectant/new mothers through medical
coverage provided to employed persons through their employers and to
unemployed persons through the national welfare systems. Women and men
were equally diagnosed with and treated for sexually transmitted
infections.
The Department of Gender Equality in the Ministry of Labor and
Social Policy was responsible for ensuring the legal rights of women.
There were gender commissions at the municipal council level.
Women from ethnic Albanian and Romani communities did not have
equal opportunities for employment and education due to traditional or
religious restrictions on their education and role in society. In some
Albanian communities, the practice of men voting on behalf of female
family members disenfranchised women.
Children.--Citizenship is derived primarily by citizenship of
parents, but the law allows for acquisition of citizenship by birth in
the country's territory (jus soli)for a child found in the territory of
Macedonia with unknown parents, in the case that his/her parents are
not discovered to be foreigners before the child reaches the age of 18.
Births of all children in hospitals and medical institutions are
registered automatically, and law requires that all children, including
those born at home or elsewhere, be registered at magistrate offices
within 15 days of birth. Some Roma families delayed registration of
newborns, but NGOs provided free legal assistance to ensure that
families could register children even after the administrative
deadline.
As in previous years, poor physical conditions of schools and
insufficient classroom space were common complaints, with many schools
offering classes in shifts as a result. In many places these shifts
were along ethnic lines. Boys and girls generally had equal access to
education, although there were isolated instances of discrimination
against girls in educational institutions in some ethnic Albanian
areas.
Child abuse was a problem in some areas. The Center for Social Work
of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Department for
Juvenile Delinquency of the Ministry of Interior were responsible for
addressing child abuse. NGOs were also active in this area. There were
reports that Roma often organized their children into groups to beg for
money in public places.
Child marriage occurred in the Romani community and, to a lesser
extent, in the ethnic Albanian community, but it was difficult to
estimate the number because child marriages were rarely registered.
According to 2005-06 UNICEF data, there were between 500 and 1,000
street children in the country; most of them were Roma. With
international support, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy operated
a day center for street children, although Romani leaders reported that
the center was not effective in providing long-term assistance to
street children.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked
to, through, within, and from the country.
The prevalence of trafficking in persons in the country was minor.
Women and children were trafficked internally for the purpose of sexual
exploitation and forced labor. Roma children were internally trafficked
for the purpose of forced begging. Victims were trafficked into the
country from Kosovo and Albania, and to South-Central and Western
Europe. During the year eight trafficking victims were identified.
Seven of those were minors, and all were Macedonian citizens. Police
raids and testimony by victims confirmed that traffickers subjected a
small number of trafficking victims to threats and physical or
psychological abuse. However, NGOs and international community
representatives reported that, to ensure that they did not identify
themselves as trafficked victims if police questioned them, traffickers
increasingly arranged for their victims to reside in the country
legally, paid them some money for their services, and granted them
limited freedom of movement. Traffickers' modus operandi continued to
evolve in response to law enforcement tactics, including increased use
of more hidden, private sectors, such as beauty salons and massage
parlors. The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the
International Organization for Migration (IOM), began a training
program in November for 250 local and border police to focus on
indentifying the new, more discreet, victim profile and adapting police
methods to the changing methods of traffickers.
Victims were trafficked both by large, international trafficking
and smuggling organizations and smaller, one-off traffickers. Most
traffickers had previous criminal backgrounds. The traffickers used
coercion tactics more often than outright kidnapping or abduction.
Traffickers used devices such as false marriage proposals and enticing
job offers to lure their victims. There were also reports of the
involvement of friends and family members in the recruitment phase and
eventual trafficking of the victims, especially in cases that involved
minors.
The law specifies a minimum sentence of four years for trafficking
through the use of force, fraud or coercion, and a minimum of 10 years
for trafficking minors. The government's National Commission for
Combatting of Trafficking and Illegal Migration coordinated
antitrafficking efforts. The Ministry of Interior led law enforcement
efforts, while the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy coordinated
victim protection. A total of eight ministries, the Chief Public
Prosecutor's Office, NGOs and international organizations, and court
representatives also participated.
The government's increased enforcement of trafficking and the
courts' aggressive prosecution resulted in increased sentences for
traffickers, although one organization reported that basic courts
sometimes still prosecuted traffickers under smuggling laws.
Authorities discovered most victims of trafficking during police raids
on bars and nightclubs. Reports indicated that corruption continued to
directly hamper the country's antitrafficking efforts. For example,
local brothel owners were occasionally tipped off prior to raids,
allowing traffickers to elude law enforcement and brothel owners to
hide potential trafficking victims. During the year police conducted 59
raids of suspicious bars and nightclubs. Local NGOs and international
organizations trained police on the proper identification and treatment
of trafficking victims and participated in postraid interviews.
By the end of the year, the police brought six cases of trafficking
of minors to the Office of the Chief Prosecutor. Of those six, two were
indicted and the trials were ongoing; one was under judicial
investigation, pending indictment; two were sent back to the police for
further evidence gathering; and one was rejected for lack of evidence.
The total number of individuals charged with trafficking in persons was
18. The average sentence for traffickers was more than five years.
NGOs, international organizations such as the OSCE and the IOM, and
a number of foreign embassies in Skopje participated in an
antitrafficking steering committee led by the government's
antitrafficking commission.
The government offered assistance to potential victims, including
shelter, legal and medical assistance, witness protection,
psychological assistance, and vocational training. The law provides for
a residency permit of up to six months and a reflection period for
foreign victims to allow them more time to receive assistance and
decide whether to testify against their traffickers. To date, no
foreign trafficking victims requested the residency permit. The
government continued to improve implementation of its victim-centered
standard operating procedures for victim identification. In order to
ensure consistent use of standard operating procedures by local police,
the government, in partnership with the international community, began
extensive trainings during the year that focused on the continued
implementation of the standard operating procedures.
The government continued to operate a reception center for foreign
migrants and foreign trafficking victims; victims' freedom of movement
in this center is limited. The government continued to conduct
trafficking prevention and awareness campaigns and provided
antitrafficking training to its military forces deployed abroad.
The Ministry of Interior conducted two major operations to root out
police and border officers who facilitated smuggling and illegal
migration. On July 1, authorities arrested 13 people, including one
senior police officer, and charged them with human smuggling for the
smuggling of Asian migrants from Serbia, through Macedonia, to Greece.
On August 25, the Organized Crime Unit began arresting border police
and customs officers for allegedly taking and/or soliciting bribes at
border entry points. While there was no direct evidence linking either
case to trafficking crimes, authorities noted that both operations
aided in securing the borders against vulnerabilities to international
trafficking crimes.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Persons with disabilities faced
discrimination in employment, education, access to health care, and
other state services. The law requires persons with physical or mental
disabilities to get approval from a medical commission of the
government to serve in supervisory positions in both the private sector
and the government. The law also offers incentives to certain ``shelter
companies'' to provide employment for persons with disabilities, but
NGOs reported that restrictions on which companies qualified limited
employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Laws require only that new buildings be made accessible to persons
with disabilities. Many public buildings remained inaccessible.
Inconsistent inspection resulted in construction of new facilities that
were not accessible for persons with disabilities.
Advocates stated that employers were reluctant to hire persons with
disabilities and that the difficulty of accessing educational and other
opportunities prevented the full integration into society of persons
with disabilities.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is responsible for
integrating persons with disabilities into economic life and for the
payment of benefits. In practice, disability benefits did not cover the
cost of living. Advocates indicated that employment and life-skills
training programs for persons with mental and physical disabilities
were very limited and did not contribute significantly to economic
integration.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to the 2002 census,
the population was 64.2 percent ethnic Macedonian, 25.2 percent ethnic
Albanian, 3.9 percent ethnic Turkish, 2.7 percent ethnic Romani, 1.8
percent ethnic Serb, 0.8 percent ethnic Bosniak, and 0.5 percent ethnic
Vlach.
According to a Roma NGO, societal hostility toward Roma continued,
but instances of direct attacks on Roma diminished.
Relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and the ethnic
Albanian minority were strained.
From late March until the end of the 2008-09 school year, ethnic
Macedonian students who sought ethnically separated shifts boycotted a
secondary school in Struga. During the summer, construction began on
two new schools in Struga to alleviate overcrowding, but those projects
were not scheduled to be completed during the year. The 2009-10 school
year started with ethnically separated shifts and an expectation that
the separation would continue for the foreseeable future.
In other locations as well, students from different ethnic groups
sometimes studied in separate shifts or at separate facilities, either
due to linguistic differences or at their parents' request.
On August 16, there were violent clashes between a group of ethnic
Macedonian soccer fans and ethnic Albanian residents following a soccer
game in Skopje. The local police were criticized for failing to respond
quickly to the incident; however, the Ministry of Interior launched an
investigation and arrested eight persons in connection with the
incident.
Ethnic Albanians continued to complain of unequal representation in
government ministries. Ethnic Macedonians often claimed that employers
targeted them for reverse discrimination in downsizing, regardless of
performance. Some ethnic Albanians claimed that discrimination in
citizenship decisions by the Ministry of Interior, which has authority
to grant, revoke, interrupt, or confirm a person's citizenship,
effectively disenfranchised them.
Following the adoption of the Ohrid Framework Agreement in 2001,
the law provides for protection of minority rights and integration of
all sectors of society. The government has a secretariat for
implementation of the Agreement to hold accountable those state
institutions that do not comply with the strategy for equitable
minority representation. According to the secretariat, there were 800
new public administration jobs advertised and 360 new jobs offered to
ethnic minorities during the year under the equitable representation
requirements of the Agreement. Data from September showed that ethnic
minorities accounted for 23.9 percent of employees of state
institutions. Seventy-two percent of the budgeted 220 million denars
($4.4 million) was used by the secretariat during the year. The
government adopted a budget of 436 million denars ($8.7 million) for
the secretariat for 2010.
Ethnic Albanians remained underrepresented in the military and
police, despite efforts to recruit qualified minority candidates.
The law provides for primary and secondary education in Macedonian,
Albanian, Turkish, and Serbian. The number of minority students who
received secondary education in their native languages continued to
increase, especially after secondary education became mandatory.
Ethnic Turks complained of discrimination. Their main concerns were
slow progress in achieving equitable representation in government
institutions, the absence of ethnic Turkish majority municipalities in
the 2004 municipal redistricting, and the inadequacy of Turkish-
language education and media.
Roma complained of widespread societal discrimination. NGOs and
international experts reported that employers often denied Roma job
opportunities, and some Roma complained of lack of access to public
welfare funds. Romani NGOs also reported that proprietors occasionally
denied Roma entrance to their establishments.
The government funded implementation of the national strategy for
the Roma Decade, including assistance with education, housing,
employment, and infrastructure development. The government also
continued to fund Roma information centers that directed Roma to
educational, health care, and social welfare resources. Increased NGO
and government funding to eliminate barriers to education for Romani
students resulted in continued increases in school attendance rates.
For the 2009-10 school year, there were 13.4 percent more Romani
students enrolled in primary education and 26 percent more in secondary
education versus during the previous school year.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were two registered NGOs
addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues,
including one dedicated to gay health issues. Activists representing
the rights of LGBT individuals reported incidents of societal
prejudice, including harassment and use of derogatory language,
including in the media. LGBT activists joined a coalition of NGOs
called ``Macedonia without Discrimination'' and were subjected to
derogatory language when they participated in protests against the
construction of an Orthodox church in Skopje's main square. LGBT
organizations also reported societal discrimination and violence
against transgender persons in the Skopje municipality of Shuto
Orizari, noting that victims felt unsafe to report violence against
them to authorities.
On November 16, an NGO coalition led a march through the city
center for LGBT tolerance under the motto ``Love is love.'' In contrast
to a 2007 denial of a permit to an LBGT NGO to organize an event in the
Skopje city center, organizers were issued a permit and reported
excellent cooperation with the Ministry of Interior. Police coverage of
the march was very substantial, allowing the event to occur without
incident. Nearly all media outlets covered the event and the reporting
was largely fact-based and straightforward.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence and isolated reports of discrimination, in the
form of employment discrimination and impeded access to health care,
against persons with HIV or AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to
form and join independent unions without previous authorization or
excessive requirements and workers did so in practice.
Unions may freely register with the Ministry of Labor and Social
Policy. More than 50 percent of the legal workforce was unionized, and
unions were particularly well represented in the public sector. There
were two major union federations, the Confederation of Trade Unions of
Macedonia (SSM) and the Confederation of Free Trade Unions (KSS).
Several unions were not affiliated with either of the two
confederations, including unions of journalists, police officers,
farmers, financial sector workers, and health care workers.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers, including
civil servants, exercised this right in practice. The law grants
members of the military and police a restricted right to strike. During
a strike, the law allows employers to ``exclude'' or temporarily
release up to 2 percent of workers whom they believe are potentially
violent. These workers would be rehired after the strike. The unions
maintained that this provision allows employers to exclude union
leaders from negotiations during a strike. If a strike is declared
illegal, participants may be dismissed or sued for damages.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to operate without interference; however, the government did not
always enforce these laws in practice. The law protects the right to
bargain collectively, and most unions had collective bargaining
agreements. The law, however, requires that trade unions represent at
least 33 percent of workers or employers in order to negotiate these
agreements. All legally employed workers were covered by collective
bargaining agreements for the public or private sectors. Although
collective bargaining took place, employees had very little practical
negotiating leverage due to the country's weak economic environment,
and many agreements failed to keep pace with changes in the environment
and workplace.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination; however, it existed in
practice. In some cases former employees accused private companies of
firing workers for participation in union activities, although the
companies usually had other justifications. Because of the delays in
the court system, it could take a worker who was unjustly fired two to
three years to regain employment through legal action.
Employers were rumored at times to have interfered in the internal
affairs of unions by dominating union election campaigns or running
their own candidates in union elections.
There is one export processing zone where two foreign-owned
companies began operating this year and where several other companies
were in the process of building factories. There were no special laws
or exemptions from regular labor laws in the zone.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, forced
labor still occurred. Criminal convictions for forced labor were handed
down in several cases. Women and children were trafficked for
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor in the service sector.
Roma children were especially vulnerable to trafficking for forced
begging which often took place at busy intersections, on street
corners, and in restaurants.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, including a prohibition of forced or compulsory labor.
The law mandates a prison sentence of at least eight years for anyone
who buys, sells, keeps, or takes children or minors for the purpose of
exploitation.
The minimum age for employment is 15 years. Children 14 years of
age can work as apprentices or as part of an official education
program. The law prohibits employing minors under the age of 18 in work
that is detrimental to their physical or psychological health and
morality. The law also prohibits minors from working nights or more
than 40 hours per week.
There were no official reports of illegal child labor during the
year; however, there was evidence that such labor was used in the gray
economy, primarily involving children who begged and sold cigarettes
and other small items at open markets, in the streets, and in bars or
restaurants, sometimes at night. The children involved in these
activities were primarily Roma and most often worked for their parents.
Officials did not punish such violations, and children remained
vulnerable to exploitation. A 2005-06 report funded by the UN
Children's Fund estimated that approximately 500-1000 children worked
in such activities.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy was responsible for
enforcing laws regulating the employment of children. Government
efforts to eliminate forced begging by children have been largely
ineffective; while the necessary laws are in place, there has been
little practical implementation of them.
During the year the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy funded two
centers in Skopje that provided education, medical, and psychological
services to children who beg on the street. NGOs funded two additional
centers for children in Skopje with support from the government.
International donors supported programs to prevent children from
begging on the street and to increase school enrollment of children at
risk for such work.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The country does not have a
national minimum wage established by law. According to official
statistics, the average monthly net wage by September was 20,044 denars
($400), which did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker
and family. The government statistics office estimated that
approximately 28.7 percent of the population lived below the poverty
line in 2008, the most recent year for which data were available.
The law establishes a 40-hour workweek with a minimum 24-hour- rest
period and vacation and sick leave benefits. Employees may not legally
work more than 10 hours of overtime per week, 20 hours per month, or
190 hours per year. According to the collective agreement between the
government and the SSM, employees have a right to overtime pay of 135
percent of regular pay. In addition, employees who work more than 150
hours of overtime per year are entitled to a bonus of one month's
salary. However, high unemployment and difficult economic conditions
allowed many employers to hire workers without complying with the law.
In particular, small retail businesses often required employees to work
well beyond the legal limits. During the year the Labor Inspectorate of
the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy filed complaints against
several private businesses for forcing workers to work long hours
without the breaks required by law and for not legally registering all
employees. In the case of such violations, labor inspectors have the
legal authority to close an establishment until the violations are
corrected. In cases of repeated violations, the owners can be fined.
During the year authorities temporarily closed more than 1,000
companies due to labor violations and nonregistered workers. No record
of the number of employers fined was available.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy did not strictly enforce
laws and regulations on worker safety. While workers have the legal
right to remove themselves from situations that endanger their health
or safety without jeopardy to their future employment, employers did
not always respect this right in practice.
__________
MALTA
Malta is a constitutional republic and parliamentary democracy with
a population of approximately 400,000. The president is the head of
state and is appointed by the unicameral parliament (House of
Representatives). The president appoints as prime minister the leader
of the party that gains a majority of seats in parliamentary elections.
General elections held in March 2008 were free and fair. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
There were reports that the government detained irregular migrants
under harsh conditions; there were some restrictions on free speech.
Societal problems included child abuse, trafficking in persons, and
substandard work conditions for irregular migrants.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
authorities detained irregular immigrants under poor conditions for up
to 18 months during review for protected status.
In August 2008 authorities charged four prison wardens with
assaulting and seriously injuring a prisoner following his attempt to
escape from a government correctional facility. The case was ongoing at
year's end.
During the year the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) continued to provide training for authorities in handling
detainees.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in most prisons
and detention centers for domestic detainees generally met
international standards; however, there continued to be reports of poor
conditions in government-run detention centers for irregular migrants.
The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human
rights observers, and such visits occurred during the year.
As of December the prison population of 556 inmates consisted of
489 men, 32 women, and 35 juveniles (30 boys and five girls). Male and
female prisoners were held separately.
Several European and international organizations, including the
Council of Europe's (COE's) Committee for the Prevention of Torture
(CPT), the UNHCR, and the EU, criticized conditions in the country's
detention centers for irregular migrants. Problems included overcrowded
and unsanitary prison space, guards who were insensitive to the need
for separating men and women in confined spaces, the absence of
meaningful vocational or recreational activity within the centers, and
lack of access to legal counsel.
There were no reports that the government took any specific action
during the year in response to the CPT's criticism (in its 2007 report)
that authorities detained some unsuccessful asylum seekers for up to 40
days in airport facilities appropriate only for 20-hour detention.
However, during the year the problem was resolved as a result of a
decline in the number of asylum seekers and faster processing of asylum
applications by an enlarged staff in the Refugee Commissioner's Office.
The government permitted occasional visits to its detention centers
by independent human rights observers, including foreign diplomats. In
January a mission of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
concluded a visit to the country undertaken at the government's
request. Authorities granted the mission access to the Safi and Lyster
Barracks, the Corradino Correctional Facility, the closed wards at
Mount Carmel Hospital, and to detention facilities at the Police
General Headquarters, the Valletta Police Station, and the Armed Forces
of Malta. While noting a number of positive features of the
institutions and laws in place to prevent arbitrary detention, the
delegation observed that the detention regime imposed on irregular
migrants arriving by sea was not in line with international human
rights law. It noted that such detainees remained for long periods in
substandard conditions which, in the case of the Safi and Lyster
Barracks, it described as adversely affecting the health, including the
mental health, of some of the detainees. It expressed particular
concern over the detention of migrants deemed vulnerable, e.g., minors,
pregnant women, and families with children.
In March Doctors without Borders (MSF) suspended activities at
three detention centers for migrants on the grounds that it could not
``offer adequate medical care'' in what it referred to as ``appalling''
living conditions. In July the organization resumed its activities at
the Ta'Kandja ``closed center'' after discussions with authorities.
Following MSF's departure, authorities removed tent housing from the
camps mentioned in its report and replaced them with trailer-type
living facilities. They rehabilitated the facilities at Lyster Barracks
to include upgraded toilet and kitchen facilities. The government was
also receptive to donations of clothing and other materials, and to
provision of educational assistance by outside groups, including
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and a foreign embassy.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the police force, the security
service, and the armed forces, and the government has effective
mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were
no reported problems related to impunity within the police force or
security service.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--With the
exception of irregular migrants, whom authorities almost always
detained for six to 18 months pending adjudication of any asylum
requests, an arrest warrant issued by a magistrate is generally
necessary to detain a person for questioning and may be issued on the
basis of reasonable suspicion. According to the constitution, police
must either file charges or release a suspect within 48 hours; in all
cases authorities must inform detainees of the grounds for their
arrest. Police generally respected these requirements in practice.
During the 48-hour detention period, which generally included initial
interrogation by police, arrested persons have neither the right to
legal counsel nor to meetings with family members. Once authorities
file charges, they give pretrial detainees access to counsel and
family. Authorities adjudicated applications for bail on a case-by-case
basis but normally granted them.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair and public jury trial, and an independent judiciary generally
enforced this right. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence.
Trials are public and juries are used. Defendants have the right to
counsel of their choice or, if they cannot afford counsel, to court-
appointed counsel at public expense. Defendants and their lawyers have
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants
may confront witnesses and present evidence; defendants enjoy a
presumption of innocence and have the right to appeal. All citizens
enjoy these rights.
Lengthy delays in both criminal and civil trials were frequently
reported. During 2008 the European Court of Human Rights issued
judgments that found one violation by the country of the right to a
fair trial and one violation involving length of proceedings.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
for an independent and impartial court in civil matters, including for
the determination of civil rights or obligations, and for access to a
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human
rights violation. Persons who have exhausted their right to appeal in
the national court system could apply to bring an alleged breach of
human rights covered by the European Convention on Human Rights before
the European Court of Human Rights. Civil and judicial procedures for
the exercise of this right exist, and citizens regularly made use of
them.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected this prohibition in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law generally
provide for freedom of speech and of the press; however, there are
restrictions on ``vilification'' of, or ``giving offense'' to, the
Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion, the country's official church. Also
illegal, but carrying a lesser punishment, is vilification of, or
giving offense to, any ``cult tolerated by law.'' It is an offense to
publicly utter any obscene or indecent words or make obscene acts or
gestures, or in any other way offend public ``morality, propriety, or
decency. According to the Times of Malta, the home affairs minister
told parliament in October that in the first three months of the year,
authorities initiated criminal proceedings against 162 persons for
blaspheming in public; they began similar proceedings against 621
persons during 2008.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction. International media operated freely, and
there was no indication of reprisals against individuals for either
public or private criticism of the government.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Internet use was widespread; an estimated 59 percent of households and
90 percent of schools (state, church, and private) had Internet access.
Numerous Internet cafes and many blogs operated freely throughout the
islands. According to International Telecommunication Union statistics
for 2008, approximately 49 percent of the country's inhabitants used
the Internet; however, a November Eurostat study showed that 64 percent
of households had Internet access (up from 53 percent in 2006).
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom.
The law restricts cultural activities that publicly vilify the
Catholic Church. In March authorities arrested, tried, and gave a
suspended one-month prison sentence to a man convicted of giving
offense to the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion by dressing up as
Jesus Christ during February carnival festivities in the village of
Nadur.
In February the Board of Film and Stage Classification prohibited
production of the Anthony Neilson play, Stitching, on the basis that it
was blasphemous and obscene. The production company, Unifaun Theatre
Company, instituted legal proceedings against the prohibition; at
year's end the case was before the courts.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. The constitution establishes Roman Catholicism as the state
religion; however, numerous non-Catholic religious groups, including an
Islamic community, various Protestant and evangelical denominations,
and a small Jewish community, practiced their faiths freely. Religious
instruction in Catholicism is included as part of compulsory primary
education in all state schools; however, both the constitution and law
establish the right not to receive this instruction if the student,
parent, or guardian objects.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts during the year. The Jewish community numbered
approximately 120 persons.
There was some hostile speech toward Muslims in blogs, letters to
the editor, and comments associated with Internet-based articles on
migration problems; the focus was primarily on the irregular immigrant
status of many Muslims rather than on their religion. There were no
reports that the government instituted any steps to prevent or punish
such hostile speech under this or other provisions of law.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government generally cooperated with the UNHCR and other
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern. However, irregular migrants were subject to mandatory
incarceration while their immigration status was under review.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the government did not
employ it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
In practice the government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would potentially be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
Authorities detained irregular migrants for up to 18 months after
they arrived in the country, in most cases in closed detention centers.
Such migrants could file asylum claims within two months of their
detention and remained in detention while their cases were processed.
Detainees also included persons who did not apply for asylum and those
whose asylum applications and appeals were rejected or were under
review. Individuals awaiting decisions on their cases occasionally
protested their detention or attempted to escape from detention
centers.
Shortly after their initial detention, authorities usually moved
``vulnerable individuals'' such as children, pregnant women, elderly
persons, and parents with infants to ``open centers,'' where they were
free to come and go. The armed forces are responsible for the
management of the closed detention centers and report directly to the
Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, while the Agency for the Welfare
of Asylum Seekers (AWAS), a part of the Ministry of Justice and Home
Affairs, has responsibility for the welfare and accommodation of
persons transferred from detention centers to open centers.
Authorities released all detainees whose cases were not resolved
within 18 months, whether or not police had arranged to repatriate
them. They were permitted to remain in the country, allowed to stay in
``open centers,'' and given work permits. EU law prohibited them from
travelling to other EU countries, and they were not eligible to bring
family members to the EU. They were eligible for voluntary repatriation
programs, but most did not choose to participate.
For some applicants not legally entitled to asylum, the government
provides ``subsidiary protection,'' and provided it to 1,030 persons
from January through August. Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection,
introduced in 2008 with the implementation into domestic law of an EU
Council directive, were entitled to remain in the country; move freely;
be granted personal identification documents, including a one-year
renewable residence permit; and obtain travel documents, especially in
emergency situations. They could be employed, subject to labor market
considerations; receive core social welfare benefits; seek appropriate
accommodations; and could benefit from integration programs, public
education and training, and essential medical care, especially in the
case of vulnerable persons. Their dependents, if in the country when
the status is conferred, enjoy the same rights and benefits. However,
this status does not provide family reunification, a path to
citizenship, or other benefits of refugee status under the 1951
convention.
The government also provides ``temporary humanitarian protection''
as an administrative procedure granted in special and extraordinary
cases in which applicants are found not to be eligible for asylum or
subsidiary protection but are considered to be in need of protection
for special humanitarian reasons. This protection was provided to six
persons from January through August.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In March 2008 the country
held parliamentary elections that observers considered to free and
fair. On June 6, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
Political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference.
There were six women in the 65-seat parliament and two in the 14-
member Cabinet of Ministers. Approximately 13 percent of senior
government officials were women, and two women held ambassadorial rank.
There were two female judges and six female magistrates. None of the
country's five members of the European Parliament was a woman.
There were no members of minorities in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
In November a court found former chief justice Noel Arrigo guilty
of accepting money to reduce the sentence of a drug trafficker, of
trading in influence, and of revealing official secrets. On November
26, he received a sentence of two years and nine months in prison. One
of his colleagues on the three-member Criminal Court of Appeals pleaded
guilty to related charges in 2007, apologized, and served a two-year
sentence. Arrigo indicated he would appeal the verdict and the
sentence. In October the COE's Group of States against Corruption
issued a report indicating their judgment that penalties for judicial
corruption were too low.
Government officials are subject to financial disclosure laws; the
court has the right to order financial disclosure, depending on its
judgment of the circumstances. The police and the Permanent Commission
against Corruption were responsible for combating official corruption.
Laws relating to certain sectors of the economy give the press and
public access to certain government-held information relating to those
sectors. For government activities in areas not specified in these
laws, there was no legal entitlement to government-held information;
however, authorities generally provided access. A freedom of
information law enacted in 2008 was scheduled to enter into full force
in 2010. A newly established Information and Data Protections
Commission, the regulatory agency responsible for implementing the act,
began to issue initial directives establishing the scope of its
jurisdiction.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating human
rights cases. Government officials were cooperative and generally
responsive to their views. The government cooperated with UN and other
international bodies. The Standing Committee on Foreign and European
Affairs and the Standing Committee on Social Affairs of the parliament
have responsibilities for human rights issues.
The president appoints an ombudsman with the consent of two thirds
of the members of parliament. The ombudsman is empowered to investigate
complaints about the activities of governmental bodies, including
activities that affect human rights. The ombudsman only investigates
complaints when administrative or judicial remedies are not available.
When the ombudsman concludes that a complaint is wholly or partly
justified, he submits recommendations to the public entity concerned
with the aim of undoing the harm the complainant suffered. The
ombudsman has no power to force acceptance of any recommended remedy;
however, most of his recommendations were accepted.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the government generally
enforced these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense, and
the government effectively prosecuted such crimes. The crimes of rape,
spousal rape, and indecent assault carry sentences of up to 10 years in
prison. Rape was not perceived to be a widespread problem. However,
there were convictions for rape during the year.
From January through October, the police domestic violence unit
received 467 reports of domestic violence. The law makes domestic
violence a criminal offense, and the government effectively enforced
the laws prohibiting it. Penalties ranged from three months to 20 years
in prison. Some NGOs and victims' assistance advocates asserted that
domestic violence was underreported, primarily because of concerns by
women that they would not be believed or protected by law enforcement
personnel.
A special police unit and several voluntary organizations provided
support to victims of domestic violence. There was a hotline to assist
victims of abuse through counseling and shelter referrals. The
government also supported victims through the Ministry for Social
Policy. A government-supported shelter for women and children was in
operation throughout the year; the government also provided financial
support to other shelters, including one operated by the Catholic
Church.
The law prohibits prostitution, and the government effectively
enforced it. The law provides for sentences of several months to two
years in prison and fines. From January through October, police
recorded 71 separate cases of prostitution. There were a number of
prosecutions during the year.
There were no reports that police or other security forces
participated in or tolerated prostitution or targeted persons in
prostitution for abuse.
Sexual harassment is unlawful and punishable by a 2,329 euro
($3,260) fine, six months' imprisonment, or both.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Health clinics and local health NGOs operated
freely in disseminating information on family planning. There were no
restrictions on access to contraceptives. There was a free and
effective government health program which provides for prenatal and
postnatal care and delivery, as well as other related medical services.
Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Women have the same legal rights as men, including, but not limited
to, family and property law. Redress in the courts for sexual
discrimination was available. The Ministry for Social Policy and the
National Commission for the Promotion of Equality were responsible for
gender equality and focused on broader integration of women into
society and advising the government on the implementation of policies
promoting equality of women and men.
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on gender. This
prohibition was generally enforced in practice.
Although women constituted a growing proportion of higher education
graduates and of the workforce, they were underrepresented in
management and their earnings were generally less than those of their
male counterparts. According to second quarter statistics, the
unemployment rate for women was 6.9 percent compared with 7.0 percent
for men. Figures on the wage disparity between women and men differed
moderately; the National Statistical Office indicated that for 2008,
men were paid 17 percent more than women in comparable jobs, and the
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working
Conditions (Eurofound) reported in January that the pay gap was 23
percent. Between the end of 2007 and the end of 2008 (the latest period
for which statistics are available), the female employment rate rose
from 36.3 percent to 38.5 percent, while the male employment rate
decreased from 73.5 percent to 71.6 percent.
Children.--Citizenship is generally derived from one's parents,
although some specific applications of the law can be complex.
In 2008 the Child Protection Service of Appogg, the social welfare
services arm of the Ministry for Social Policy, received 854 referrals
of possibly abused children, down from 1,060 in 2007. The case turnover
total was 1,256, down from 1,512 the prior year. There were 464 new
cases, down from 716 in 2007. Courts convicted a number of persons for
the sexual abuse of minors during the year. Some observers speculated
that part of the decline was due to an increase in the legal drinking
age from 16 to 17, resulting in significantly fewer minors in
potentially predatory situations.
A number of sources consistently claimed that authorities did not
pursue cases of alleged sexual abuse of children by Catholic clerics
unless a parent or adult filed a formal complaint but instead allowed
the church to handle the matter internally. Once a complaint was filed,
however, authorities followed the same police investigative and
judicial processes as for other such complaints.
Statutory rape is punishable by three to six years in prison. The
minimum age of consent is 18. Rape committed by violence carries a
penalty of imprisonment for three to nine years, with or without
solitary confinement. Creation of child pornography is prohibited and
punishable by imprisonment from one to five years (up to eight years in
special circumstances). Possession of child pornography is also
prohibited and punishable by imprisonment not exceeding two years.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, there were rare reports that persons were
trafficked to the country for sexual exploitation.
The number of cases was too small to constitute a pattern, but the
country has been a destination for women trafficked from Russia,
Ukraine, Romania, Sweden, and other European countries. In addition
irregular migrants from African countries who arrived en route to Italy
and elsewhere may be vulnerable to human trafficking.
Most traffickers appeared to be Maltese nationals acting
independently. In some earlier cases, traffickers appear to have
identified vulnerable targets for sexual exploitation after the
potential victims arrived in the country. In other cases traffickers
recruited their victims abroad, telling them they would be performing
legitimate work in Malta, and later forcing them into prostitution.
The law makes trafficking an offense punishable by two to nine
years in prison. Punishment is more severe for offenses which are
accompanied by grievous bodily harm, generate proceeds of more than
11,646 euros ($16,654), or are organized by a criminal network.
Authorities may prosecute alleged traffickers regardless of citizenship
if the suspected offense took place within the country.
The law states that a person who uses violence, deceit, or threats
to force a person to depart, or come to, the country for the purpose of
prostitution is subject to imprisonment for up to two years with or
without solitary confinement. The maximum sentence increases to five
years if victims are less than 21 years of age and may be as high as 10
years if there are aggravating circumstances.
There were no reports of new prosecutions for trafficking during
the year. A case in which four persons were apprehended in 2006 for
trafficking a Romanian woman for commercial sexual exploitation was not
concluded; the judge heard the case in March 2007 but delayed further
proceedings pending resolution of a related case that was on appeal.
There were no reports that authorities condoned or facilitated
trafficking in persons during the year; however, a police officer
convicted of complicity in trafficking in 2005 remained free on appeal.
No domestic NGOs specialized in assisting human trafficking
victims; the government assisted foreign victims through government-
funded shelters used primarily for victims of domestic violence.
Authorities also offered assistance through the social welfare system.
Authorities developed a formal system for referring all women in
prostitution apprehended by police to government social workers and
began proactively seeking to identify trafficking victims among asylum
seekers. However, authorities did not identify any trafficking victims
during the first 11 months of the year. There were no reports that
authorities punished trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as
a direct result of their being trafficked.
Authorities arrested suspected traffickers and offered protection
to victims. They also provided protection to witnesses and encouraged
victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers;
victims were willing to testify only in closed hearings. Once victims
provided evidence, authorities returned them to the care of social
services, at which time they typically requested repatriation to their
countries of origin.
In March 2008 police and the Ministry for Social Policy signed a
memorandum of understanding to formalize a screening process for all
persons arrested for engaging in prostitution to determine whether they
were victims of trafficking or other abuses. NGOs interviewed all
migrants in an effort to determine whether they might be potential
victims of trafficking.
Authorities may issue residence permits to nonnationals who have
been trafficking victims or were implicated in facilitating
trafficking, provided that they cooperate with the competent
authorities.
The government cooperated with other governments in the
investigation of trafficking. In 2008 police cooperated with the
International Criminal Police Organization-INTERPOL and Russian
authorities to arrest individuals in Moscow based on information
gathered through local trafficking investigations.
Authorities also improved efforts to protect victims of
trafficking. In February Appogg conducted a training session on victim
assistance for government social workers, including those who work with
the irregular migrant population. Also in February more than 80 police
personnel and social workers participated in training to prevent
trafficking and identify and protect trafficking victims.
The government boosted prevention activities during the last year.
To raise awareness, Appogg produced detailed brochures that included
information to help identify possible and potential victims and
described sources of assistance. They were distributed at health
clinics, community centers, churches, and, to target potential clients
of the sex trade, at entertainment centers. In January police provided
training in identifying and assisting trafficking victims to 60
officers. The government publishes brochures and supports a Web site
with links to a hotline to educate the public on prevention of
trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits both the public and
private sectors from discriminating against persons with disabilities
in employment, education, health care, access to goods and services,
housing, and insurance, and the government effectively enforced these
provisions. As of the end of September, the National Commission for
Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), the agency responsible for
enforcement of this law, was working on 113 discrimination complaints
pending from previous years. During the year ending in September, the
NCPD opened investigations into 130 new cases and satisfactorily
concluded 137.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The population included more
than 10,000 persons of Arab, African, and eastern European origin.
There continued to be isolated reports that owners of some bars and
discos periodically discouraged or prohibited darker-skinned persons,
particularly of African or Arab origin, from entering their
establishments.
In June authorities charged a bouncer at a popular entertainment
area with causing a serious injury followed by death after a Sudanese
migrant, whom he allegedly hit in the face, died of head trauma. The
case was ongoing at year's end.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
From October 29 to November 1, the Malta Gay Rights Movement hosted
the International Lesbian and Gay Association-Europe Conference with an
estimated 300 participants from 48 countries. It also freely carried
out other public activities.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution allows workers to
form and join unions of their choice without previous authorization or
excessive requirements, and workers did so in practice. The law does
not allow uniformed military and police personnel to join unions.
Approximately 55 percent of the workforce was unionized. The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the
government protected this right in practice. Workers, with the
exception of uniformed military and police personnel, have the right to
strike, and during the year they exercised this right by conducting
legal strikes. The government did not respond to urging by the
International Labor Organization that it amend the labor law to
eliminate compulsory arbitration; however, this provision was not
employed during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining, and it was freely practiced. Many
employees without the right to strike or join unions participated in
associations, such as the police association, through which they sought
to protect their interests.
The law protects collective bargaining. During the year there were
no reports of antiunion discrimination or other forms of employer
interference in union activities.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the country's one export processing zone.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however,
there were reports that women were trafficked, primarily from abroad,
for purposes of forced commercial sexual exploitation (see section 6,
Trafficking in Persons).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, and the government generally implemented them
effectively; however, there were reports that underage children worked
as domestic laborers, restaurant kitchen help, or vendors, and during
the summer in family-owned businesses.
The law prohibits the employment of children younger than 16. The
director general of the directorate for educational services may grant
an exemption for employment only after determining that it would not
harm the health or normal development of the minor.
The Employment Training Corporation (ETC), a government entity
under the Ministry for Social Policy, is responsible for labor and
employment issues. It generally enforced the law effectively in most
formal sectors of the economy but allowed summer employment of underage
youth in businesses operated by their families.
No assessment was available of the effectiveness with which the ETC
monitored the often unregistered employment of children as domestic
employees, restaurant workers, and street vendors.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national weekly minimum wage
of 146.47 euros ($209), combined with an annual mandatory bonus of 270
euros ($386) and a cost-of-living increase of 242 euros ($346)
(automatically adjusted annually), provided a decent standard of living
for a worker and family. Following consultations with workers and
employers, the government established the minimum wage, which it
revised annually based on changes in the cost of living.
Irregular migrant workers from Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, and other
sub-Saharan African countries, who comprised a small but unquantifiable
percentage of the workforce, sometimes worked under conditions that did
not meet the government's minimum standards for employment. In
September 2008, according to press accounts, the General Workers' Union
(GWU) issued a report documenting what it called the ``exploitation''
of migrant workers. The general secretary of the GWU told a press
conference that such workers were often employed in the most hazardous
of occupations, such as road construction and highway refuse cleanup,
where traffic and environmental conditions pose a danger, and in the
building trades, where accidents such as collapses may occur. In many
cases, migrants received less than the minimum wage. In November 2008
AWAS (then called the Organization for the Integration and Welfare of
Asylum Seekers), in coordination with the ETC, established
informational programs to help individuals understand how to pursue
employment and obtain work permits. The GWU and AWAS believed that the
programs were beneficial, but there was no data to validate this
assessment.
During the year the government ended an assisted voluntary return
program called ``Dar'' (Maltese and Arabic for ``Hom.''), through which
irregular migrants who volunteered to leave the country could receive
free rail or air fare to their country of origin, plus 5,000 euros
($7,350). At year's end the program had successfully repatriated 112
immigrants, the majority from Ghana, Nigeria, and Sudan. The Dar
program was replaced by an 80-percent EU-funded program called
``Restart I,'' administered for the government by the International
Office of Migration. Restart provided 200 euros ($288) cash, and up to
2,000 euros ($2,880) toward education or business start-up costs, as
well as additional educational preparation toward a migrant's return.
By year's end Restart I had repatriated 29 migrants to their countries
of origin. This program was scheduled to continue under the name
``Restart II'' in 2010.
The standard workweek was 40 hours, but in some occupations, such
as health care providers, airport workers, and civil protection
services, it was 43 or 45 hours. Government regulations provided for a
daily rest period, which is normally one hour, and one day of rest per
week. Premium pay is required for overtime. Excessive compulsory
overtime is prohibited, and workers cannot be obligated to work more
than 48 hours, inclusive of overtime. The Ministry of Social Policy
generally enforced these requirements effectively in the formal
economy.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA), a government
entity composed of representatives of the government, unions, and
employers, conducted regular inspections at work sites and cited a
number of offenders. Enforcement of health and safety standards
continued to be uneven; industrial accidents remained frequent,
particularly in the manufacturing and building and construction
sectors. Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations
that endangered health or safety without jeopardizing their employment,
and OHSA generally enforced this right.
__________
MOLDOVA
Moldova is a republic with a form of parliamentary democracy. The
country has an estimated total population of 3.95 million, including
532,000 in the secessionist-controlled region of Transnistria.\1\ An
estimated 900,000 citizens, including approximately 250,000
Transnistrians, lived outside the country. The constitution provides
for a multiparty democracy with legislative and executive branches, as
well as an independent judiciary and a clear separation of powers
between them; however, under the previous government led by the Party
of Communists (PCRM), which was in power until September 25, the three
branches of government were heavily influenced by the president. On
April 5, the country held parliamentary elections that failed to fully
comply with international standards. In that election the ruling PCRM
increased its previous majority in parliament. Following that
parliament's failure to elect a president, as prescribed by law, new
parliamentary elections took place on July 29, and the four opposition
parties won enough seats to establish a governing coalition, known as
the Alliance for European Integration, which entered office on
September 25. International observers noted some of the same problems
in the July elections as in April but also reported improvement in the
electoral process. On September 11, parliament appointed Mihai Ghimpu
interim president. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of the security forces.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Unless otherwise noted, all references in this report exclude
the secessionist region of Transnistria.
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Security forces committed killings and engaged in widespread
beatings and unlawful detentions during and after the April 7-8
election-related protests. Security forces beat persons in custody and
while apprehending them, and they held some persons in incommunicado
detention. Prison conditions remained harsh. Under the previous
government, security forces occasionally harassed and intimidated the
political opposition and media. There were reports of police
corruption, arbitrary detention by police, and occasional illegal
searches. The government attempted to influence the media and
intimidate journalists, maintained some restrictions on freedom of
assembly, and refused official registration to some religious groups.
Judicial corruption was a problem. Persistent societal violence and
discrimination against women and children, trafficking of women and
girls for sexual exploitation and men for labor, discrimination against
Roma, difficulties registering minority religious groups, limits on
workers' rights, and child labor were also reported.
Following the April 5 parliamentary election and announcement that
the PCRM had increased its majority, a group of between 10,000 and
15,000 persons gathered in Chisinau on April 7 to protest the election
results. Protesters initially demonstrated peacefully, and police
largely stood by and did not intervene. During the course of the day, a
small group of demonstrators began to throw rocks at the police.
Violence intensified as protestors set fire to the parliament building
and severely damaged the presidential building. Several protesters and
approximately 200 police officers were injured. After midnight, as
police used force in an attempt to disperse the remaining
demonstrators; human rights groups alleged that security forces killed
as many as three persons. That night and during the days that followed,
police arrested more than 300 demonstrators; many reported being beaten
and abused while being taken into custody and while in detention.
During the days that followed, security forces conducted a campaign of
harassment and intimidation against members of the political
opposition, journalists, and others assumed to be opponents of the PCRM
government. Plainclothes police abducted and detained persons suspected
of involvement in the protests. Security forces beat journalists and
destroyed cameras; plainclothes police abducted and detained the editor
of an independent newspaper. Police visited high schools and
universities, seeking the identities of protesters and threatening
students with expulsion if they participated in protests. Following the
disturbances on the night of April 7-8, crowds declined rapidly, and
demonstrations ceased within a few days. The arbitrary arrests also
ceased.
In 1990 separatists supported by Soviet military forces declared a
``Transdniester Moldovan Republic'' (Transnistria) in the area along
the eastern border with Ukraine. The central government had very
limited authority in the region, and Transnistrian authorities governed
through parallel administrative structures. The most commonly spoken
language in the region was Russian, although many Transnistrians spoke
Romanian and Ukrainian as their mother tongue. A 1992 ceasefire
agreement established a tripartite peacekeeping force composed of
Moldovan, Russian, and Transnistrian units. Transnistrian residents
were prevented from voting in both rounds of Moldova's parliamentary
elections in April and July. Transnistrian authorities held
``legislative'' elections in 2005 and ``presidential'' elections in
2006. Transnistrian elections were neither recognized nor monitored by
international organizations.
In Transnistria authorities restricted the ability of residents to
freely change their government and interfered with the ability of
Moldovan citizens living in Transnistria to vote in Moldovan elections.
Transnistrian residents were expected to vote in the 2005 and 2006
Transnistrian elections, but some individuals were unable to freely run
as candidates, while authorities prevented the media from reporting
freely on candidates or issues. Torture and arbitrary arrest and
detention continued to be reported, and prison conditions remained
harsh. Transnistrian authorities continued to harass independent media
and opposition lawmakers; restrict freedom of association, movement,
and religion; and discriminate against Romanian speakers. Trafficking
in persons was a problem.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) alleged that government agents committed unlawful
killings in connection with the postelection violence on April 7-8. The
Council of Europe (COE) commissioner for human rights noted that three
persons were found dead in Chisinau shortly after the postelection
violence.
NGOs accused police of beating to death Valeriu Boboc, age 23,
during demonstrations at the parliament building and presidency on the
night of April 7-8. Witnesses reported seeing police beat Boboc in
front of the main government building with truncheons and rifle butts.
A British forensics expert examined Boboc's body after it was exhumed
on June 15 and concluded that Boboc was killed by severe blows to his
head, which provoked a ``diffuse injury of the brain'' shortly before
his death. Experts working for the PCRM government, however, concluded
that Boboc's head and facial injuries could not have led to his death
and at first attributed his death to poisoning by an unknown gas. The
COE commissioner for human rights noted that the injuries revealed in
the autopsy ``clearly indicate that the person was beaten'' but
concluded that ``it was not certain whether the beating alone was the
cause of death.'' Ion Matiusenco, the prosecutor investigating Boboc's
case, resigned on July 31 and was replaced by another prosecutor. At
year's end there were no further developments in the case.
On April 8, the body of Ion Tabuleac was found on a road
approximately a mile and a half outside the Chisinau city center.
According to the autopsy report, the body showed evidence of internal
and external injuries, including multiple bone fractures. The local
medical expert concluded that the injuries to the body were consistent
with a fall from a height. While there was no evidence directly linking
Tabuleac to the previous night's protests, the timing of the death and
nature of his injuries led observers to speculate that his death was
likely connected to the protests and related violence.
Eugen Tapu was also found dead shortly after the April 7 protests.
On April 16, Tapu's father was summoned by police to Chisinau to
retrieve his son's body, which was severely decayed and showed signs of
beating. The elder Tapu was told at the morgue that his son had hanged
himself with shoestrings. Oleg Rusu, the prosecutor investigating the
case, stated that the dead body was found on April 15, but that the
death occurred approximately two weeks before that date. Following the
determination of suicide, prosecutors did not initiate court
proceedings.
b. Disappearance.--There was one report of a potentially
politically motivated disappearance. Gheorghe Ionel, mayor of Vorniceni
village and member of the then-opposition party, Our Moldova Alliance
(AMN), was arrested by police on February 27 on charges of abusing his
authority, but was acquitted by Straseni District Court. While the
judge was reading the judgment of acquittal, police surrounded the
courthouse and forced their way into the courtroom. During the
commotion Ionel disappeared and remained incommunicado through year's
end. It was not clear whether he was taken into custody or was
sequestered by friends or AMN officials for his own protection. At
year's end, Ionel's whereabouts remained unknown.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices and criminalizes inhuman
treatment and torture; however, police used cruel and degrading arrest
and interrogation methods and guards beat prison inmates. Under the
law, inhuman treatment carries a sentence of eight to 15 years'
imprisonment; torture carries a sentence of 16 to 25 years. Coercing an
individual to testify is punishable by up to three years' imprisonment
and if such coercion involves cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,
it is punishable by three to eight years' imprisonment. Torture
inflicted by an official in order to punish, intimidate, or obtain
information from a person is punishable by two to five years'
imprisonment.
Although the law provides torture victims the right to file
complaints, in practice they had little chance of being heard under the
previous government. At times courts declined to hear their complaints,
and long delays in legal process caused petitioners to abandon their
claims. Victims carried the burden of proving that they had been
mistreated, which was difficult since prisoners often remained in
detention for months before having access to courts. By the time they
were able to appear in court, the physical evidence of abuse had
disappeared. Following the change in power, the new government
established an April 7 commission which heard the cases of those
detained after the demonstrations; police were prosecuted for related
abuses.
Local and international NGOs reported widespread incidents of abuse
and torture of persons detained after the April 7-8 demonstrations. The
Moldovan Institute for Human Rights, which interviewed detainees,
reported that nearly all who were arrested were abused. According to
local NGOs, 81 percent of persons detained following the April 7-8
demonstrations alleged that they were beaten while being apprehended,
and 64 percent claimed that they were subsequently beaten and abused in
police custody.
According to a December 14 report by the COE Committee for the
Prevention of Torture (CPT), members of the ``Fulger'' special purpose
police force figured prominently in reports of excessive force and
mistreatment during the demonstrations. During the afternoon of April
7, Fulger members threw approximately three stun grenades into crowds
of protesters, causing injuries that included burns and ear and brain
trauma. At approximately 1:00 a.m. the following morning, Fulger
members, allegedly wearing ski masks in addition to their police
helmets, initiated mass arrests of all persons remaining in or near the
square in front of the government building. Officers from the Chisinau
General Police Directorate assisted the Fulger officers. During these
arrests officers allegedly kicked demonstrators and struck them with
batons and the butts of firearms.
Once in police custody, methods of physical abuse included beatings
by multiple persons, burning with cigarettes, exposure to cold, and
deprivation of food and sleep. Methods of psychological abuse included
threats of death or long-term imprisonment, restriction of
communication with the outside world, forced signing of false
confessions, and being forced to strip in front of interrogators. Local
NGO Memoria reported approximately seven cases of rape and sexual abuse
by police officers. Memoria also reported that women and girls were
subjected to other types of degrading treatment, including being forced
to do push-ups and sit-ups while naked. These abuses were not widely
publicized because of victims' embarrassment and reluctance to come
forward. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, most abuses
occurred at the time of apprehension; during transport to a detention
facility; and within detention facilities, including during questioning
designed to extract a confession. The abuse did not continue after
sentencing.
The COE commissioner for human rights visited the country on April
25-28. The majority of persons interviewed by the commissioner's
delegation reported that police physically abused them on the night of
April 7-8. In most cases the victims of abuse were under the age of 25.
In his report on the visit, the commissioner noted claims that prisoner
abuse led to loss of consciousness and permanent nerve damage; he also
noted claims by female prisoners that male officers forced them to
squat naked and stand up repeatedly to verify that they were not
concealing objects inside their bodies. The commissioner also noted
that, in the period following the riots, 115 persons sought medical
attention at the Chisinau Emergency Hospital for injuries caused by the
police. Of those, 24 were severe enough to require hospitalization,
including concussions, kidney contusions, and multiple fractures.
According to the minister of justice, 28 of the 111 persons brought by
police to Prison Number 13 in Chisinau displayed signs of physical
injuries.
In several cases the medical expert accompanying the COE
commissioner for human rights directly observed physical marks
consistent with allegations of abuse, although more than two weeks had
elapsed since the time the alleged abuses occurred. The files studied
by the commissioner's medical expert contained records of injuries that
were consistent with the accounts of physical abuse given by the
alleged victims.
For example, a person interviewed by the commissioner's delegation
alleged that he was beaten at the time of his arrest on April 7 and
subsequently during his detention in the General Police Directorate,
where he reportedly lost consciousness. The person claimed that he
sustained multiple injuries as a result of the mistreatment, including
a fractured finger from a blow with the butt of a gun and being
trampled or kicked by combat boots. The person was admitted to the
Emergency Medical Hospital on April 20; his hospital records indicated
that he had a concussion, contusion of the rear of his head and thorax,
fracture of the index finger of the right hand, and contusions of the
right leg and both arms. In the view of the expert, those injuries were
consistent with the person having sustained a heavy beating in the
manner that he described.
In another case a parliamentarian indicated that she was present
near the parliament building when, following what appeared to have been
a verbal dispute, two police officers grabbed her left arm and twisted
it, causing her great pain. According to her account, the officers
dragged her by her hair along the asphalt pavement, and one of them
kicked her in the right buttock while the other struck her in the back
of the neck. She reportedly lost consciousness as she was thrown to the
ground by the officers. The parliamentarian was hospitalized in the
Emergency Hospital from April 9 to 24; hospital records indicated that
she had a fracture of the left forearm in the area of the wrist and a
concussion.
Another person apprehended on April 7 claimed that he was beaten at
the time of apprehension and again upon reaching the Central District
police station. On the way from the police vehicle to the station he
was allegedly forced to pass through a ``corridor'' of police officers,
who punched, kicked, and beat him with batons. On April 21, he was
examined by a doctor, who found that his nose was fractured and that he
had a concussion and trauma of the sternum and ribs.
Local authorities in Chisinau, led by the city's mayor, strongly
condemned police abuses during and after the April protests, and
demanded that the Ministry of Interior fully investigate these cases.
Between April 12 and September 10, the Prosecutor General's Office
reported that it had initiated 25 cases involving police mistreatment
of citizens and registered 76 additional citizen-initiated complaints
in connection with events of April 7-8. Of these 101 cases, 51 involved
complaints of violence by police at the point of arrest and 50 related
to abuses committed by police at local police stations. As of September
10, the Prosecutor General's Office had initiated 14 criminal cases and
declined to refer 54 cases for criminal prosecution. Four of the 14
criminal cases involved allegations of torture, eight involved
excessive use of authority, one involved police theft of a news camera,
and one involved intentional infliction of nonthreatening injuries.
The Prosecutor General's Office and official forensic examiners
concluded that, out of 90 persons examined, 32 had no injuries, 14 had
light injuries, 33 had injuries that did not affect general health,
seven had medium injuries, and four cases required additional
investigation. Officials concluded that the majority of injuries
occurred when police tried to restrain protestors or stop scuffles
between protestors and police. Some arrestees complained that they were
unable to identify those who beat them, because members of security
forces were masked or hidden from their view at the time of arrest.
According to the CPT, during its late-April visit, authorities were
investigating 99 cases of alleged police abuse related to the April 7-8
demonstrations. At the time of the CPT's return visit in July,
prosecutors had not initiated criminal charges against any members of
the police. After the new government came to power, prosecutors
initiated 106 investigations of alleged police torture and other
abuses. Through these investigations, prosecutors pursued 46 criminal
cases against members of the police, including 26 cases involving
torture, 12 cases of abuse of power, and other cases involving murder,
attempted murder, and attempted kidnapping. At year's end prosecutors
had forwarded eight cases to the courts. These cases involved a total
of 15 officers, four facing torture charges and 11 facing abuse of
power charges.
In a September 16 report, the Prosecutor General's Office stated
that between January and September, it had examined 554 complaints of
mistreatment; opened 33 cases alleging torture; and opened 31 cases
alleging excessive use of authority by the police officers. The office
forwarded 20 of these cases to court, 16 of which led to convictions
and one to a prison sentence. Between April 12 and September 10, the
Prosecutor General's Office received 101 complaints regarding use of
force and physical violence by police against protestors: 51
allegations of abuse at the time of arrest and 50 allegations of abuse
while in police stations.
In July 2008 the UN special rapporteur on torture stated that
police abuses remained common, and prosecutors, judges, medical staff,
and staff at penitentiaries failed to investigate allegations of
mistreatment and torture promptly. Alleged torture methods included
severe beatings, electroshock, asphyxiation through oxygen deprivation
while wearing gas masks, and putting needles under fingernails. In his
February 12 report, the rapporteur acknowledged some improvements by
the government but also noted the widespread prevalence of mistreatment
of prisoners in preventive detention and the continued use of torture
by some police. The rapporteur also noted that complaint mechanisms
were inefficient, that a statute of limitations impedes justice in
torture cases, and that in a majority of cases prosecutors refused to
allow independent medical examinations.
On January 29, the Chisinau Court of Appeals reinstated charges
against penitentiary officer Sergiu Perdeleanu for allegedly torturing
prison inmates in October 2008. The court downgraded the charges from a
criminal to an administrative offense. On May 19, the Supreme Court of
Justice annulled the decision of the Appeals Court, and requested
reconsideration by a different judge in the same court. The case
remained under reconsideration at year's end.
On September 14, during a visit to Prison No. 13, the ombudsman
reported that detainees complained of suffering continuous
psychological pressure from other detainees and intimidation from
prison authorities--including the imposition of unjustified
disciplinary sanctions to force them to withdraw their testimony in the
criminal case against Perdeleanu. The ombudsman requested that the
Ministry of Justice and prosecutors take all legal measures necessary
to protect the witnesses.
There were developments in the April 2008 case of Serghei Bezman, a
prisoner at the Taraclia penitentiary who reported to the local
Helsinki Committee that Alexander Ivanovich Malina, an employee at the
penitentiary, insulted, threatened, and beat him. Bezman also claimed
that guards kicked him in the chest for writing complaints to officials
and then forced him to eat his written complaint. During the year
Bezman alleged that he was visited in prison by former deputy justice
minister Nicolae Esanu, who threatened to make his ``life more
difficult'' if Bezman continued to accept legal assistance from the
Helsinki Committee and did not abandon his case against Malina. In July
Bezman's attorney received a letter from prosecutors stating that the
case was closed for lack of evidence. Bezman's legal representative
reported that he was denied access both to the Taraclia penitentiary
and the Department of Penitentiaries. Following the change in
government, Bezman's attorney again contacted the prosecutor's office,
which replied on November 19 that the opportunity to file appeals had
lapsed.
There was no information available on the German citizen prisoner
who was reported by the Helsinki Committee in 2008 to be suffering
malnutrition and was reportedly forced to repair his cell in four
different prisons from his own funds.
Between December 2008 and July, the European Court of Human Rights
(ECHR) issued judgments that found three violations of the prohibition
against torture and six violations involving inhuman or degrading under
Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In December 2008 the ECHR ruled that brothers Pavel and Vitalie
Levinta had been tortured after they were extradited to the country
from Russia in 2000. Mistreatment included beating the soles of their
feet and the interruption of oxygen supply to gas masks the two were
forced to wear. Following this abuse the brothers confessed to charges
of membership in criminal organizations and were sentenced to 20 years
in prison. The ECHR ruled that the two had been subjected to torture
and denied proper medical care and access to lawyers, that the
government had failed to explain their injuries, and that their
convictions were based on illegally obtained evidence. The brothers
were awarded 8,000 euros (approximately $11,440) for nonpecuniary
damage. During the year the ombudsman's office reported that the two
brothers remained in prison pending the completion of their sentence.
The government maintained that since the ECHR ruled only on the torture
and not on the underlying criminal charges, there was nothing improper
about the brothers continuing to serve their sentences.
On June 16, the ECHR ruled that Sergei Gurgurov, arrested in 2005
on allegations of theft of a mobile phone, was tortured by authorities.
Gurgurov accused police of suspending him from a metal bar (by his
hands and legs, which were tied behind his back), forcing him to wear a
gas mask and then interrupting the oxygen supply, and applying
electrical shocks to his ears. After his release on bail in 2005, he
was diagnosed with fracture of his cranial bones, cerebral contusion,
injury to his spine, paralysis of his legs, and posttraumatic deafness.
In its judgment the ECHR criticized the Office of the Prosecutor
General for failing to seriously investigate the case and for
pressuring Gurgurov's lawyer not to appeal the case to international
human rights bodies. The court awarded Gurgurov 45,000 euros
(approximately $64,350) in damages.
On June 23, the ECHR ruled that Petru Buzilov, arrested in May 2002
on suspicion of racketeering, was tortured shortly after his arrest.
Buzilov was doused in cold water while receiving electrical shocks and
forced to wear a gas mask, then deprived of oxygen. The court ruled
that authorities failed to carry out an adequate investigation into the
incident and awarded Buzilov 30,000 euros (approximately $42,900) in
damages.
In the separatist region of Transnistria, former detainees alleged
they had been subject to torture and mistreatment in detention centers.
According to NGO Promo-LEX, approximately 90 detainees in a Tiraspol
pretrial detention center began a hunger strike on October 10 to
protest ``cruel, degrading, and inhuman treatment,'' that included
arbitrary detention, torture, and denial of medical care and legal
assistance. Promo-Lex reported that many of the detainees had been held
for more than six months without a court hearing, and some relatives
claimed that they had not been able to visit detainees or deliver food
packages.
There were continued reports of mistreatment of military conscripts
in Transnistria. NGOs and international bodies working in the region
reported that local ``prosecutor's offices'' failed to examine detainee
complaints of torture and did not initiate criminal cases against
police officers accused of torture. An independent torture monitoring
mechanism did not exist in the region.
In Transnistria the closed military court system regularly ignored
reports of alleged hazing and abuse of conscripts in the Transnistrian
``army.'' According to NGOs the treatment of conscripts improved
slightly during the year: food was reported to be better and parents
were allowed to visit their conscripted sons. In contrast with previous
years, there were no reports of conscripts being forced to march and
run in boots that were several sizes too small. There were unconfirmed
reports that Transnistrian authorities drafted men who had already
completed mandatory military service in the Moldovan armed forces.
However, reports of hazing continued, and officers warned conscripts
not to report it and harm the army's reputation.
Transnistrian military authorities continued to restrict
information on deaths of conscripts, although there were reports of at
least two such deaths during the year. One conscript allegedly killed
himself by jumping from a third-floor window. On January 21, Serghei
Verbitskii was found dead in a trailer used by Transnistrian soldiers
working in the kitchen facilities of a military unit. Verbitskii died
as a result of a fire reportedly caused by a short circuit. On January
30, the Transnistrian Military Prosecutor's Office stated that military
commanders violated local legislation that forbids housing soldiers in
facilities other than barracks. The Military Prosecutor's Office
mentioned that similar violations occurred very often in Transnistria.
No further developments in this case were reported by year's end.
No further developments were reported in the case of Eugen
Kolobyshko, a 19-year-old Ukrainian citizen who served in a
Transnistrian military unit. In February 2008 Kolobyshko's body was
found in the Dniester River. Kolobyshko's relatives reported that his
body bore signs of violent injuries, and he had complained that others
in his military unit were humiliating, insulting, and extorting money
from him. Following the death the military unit offered Kolobyshko's
parents 7,000 euros (approximately $10,000) in compensation. After
Kolobyshko's father declared that he intended to emigrate, his phones
were allegedly tapped and Transnistrian authorities refused to allow
him to cross checkpoints and subjected him to regular ``preventive
discussions.'' Because Kolobyshko held Ukrainian citizenship, his
father appealed for help from the Ukrainian Embassy in Chisinau. At
year's end there were no further developments in the case.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in most
prisons, including those in Transnistria, remained harsh, dangerously
overcrowded, and in some instances life threatening, notably in the
Balti and Tiraspol prisons. Prisons and pretrial detention facilities
fell far short of meeting international standards.
Conditions were particularly harsh in pretrial and presentencing
facilities, where suspects were sometimes held for months or years
awaiting trial. Convicted prisoners were frequently held in pretrial
detention facilities. Pretrial detention facilities remained dark and
overcrowded. Inmates' access to healthcare was also inadequate.
Juveniles were routinely held with adults, and prisoners suffered from
insufficient ventilation and low quality food. Prisons did not provide
for recreational activities. Cell sizes did not conform to local law or
international standards. The incidence of malnutrition and disease,
particularly tuberculosis, was high in all prisons.
During the year parliamentary ombudsmen noted that the government
had completed renovations in two of the country's 18 penitentiaries;
the renovations reduced overcrowding and improved medical facilities.
However, the ombudsmen reported that overcrowding in unventilated
spaces, lack of timely access to healthcare, and poor sanitation
continued to be the norm in the other 16 penitentiaries. In all
penitentiaries they noted poor relations between prison authorities and
prisoners.
In a February report, the UN special rapporteur on torture noted
that police kept most detainees in custody for several weeks or months;
they often returned to pretrial detention facilities only when physical
signs of torture were no longer visible. In the Transnistrian region,
prisoners transferred by police were packed together in poorly
ventilated vans and were often held in such conditions for hours.
Prisoners with diseases, such as tuberculosis, were routinely held with
healthy prisoners.
Local NGOs reported that persons arrested following the April 7-8
demonstrations were kept in cramped conditions (15to 20 persons in a
108 square foot cell) and moved from location to location in
overcrowded vehicles with no ventilation. The Ministry of Interior
reported that it apprehended 166 persons, including 17 minors, who were
released to their parents by April 9. However, local NGOs and Chisinau
municipal authorities estimated that the accurate number of persons
apprehended was as high as 700.
According to the COE commissioner for human rights, persons
arrested in the aftermath of the April 7-8 demonstrations were brought
to several police facilities in Chisinau. Those initially detained in
one of the district police stations were then transferred to the
detention facility at the General Police Directorate. Because of the
large number of persons detained in Chisinau, some detainees were
transferred to police facilities in other parts of the country,
including Drochia, Taraclia, and Vulcanesti. Police transferred 111
persons from police facilities under the authority of the Interior
Ministry to Prison No. 13 in Chisinau (under the Ministry of Justice).
The commissioner did not receive any complaints regarding the treatment
of protesters held in Prison No. 13.
Most persons interviewed by the commissioner claimed that they had
been stopped (and assaulted) on the street by plainclothes officers,
who allegedly did not identify themselves, and then taken away in
unmarked cars; many said that they were not certain whether they were
being apprehended by law enforcement officials or being kidnapped. On
April 11, representatives of the Consultative Council for the
Prevention of Torture (the National Preventive Mechanism under the UN
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture) were reportedly
prevented from visiting some Chisinau police establishments where
persons were being held. The commissioner received many complaints
about the conditions of detention in police establishments following
the large-scale arrests; most of these involved reports of serious
overcrowding, very poor hygiene, lighting, and ventilation, as well as
the lack of provision of food, clean bedding, and personal hygiene or
sanitary items.
Some detainees reported that they were subjected to severe or
prolonged abuse that made them lose consciousness at least once or
caused bone fractures or nerve damage. Many victims also reported that
they had been threatened with physical violence or summary execution,
verbally abused, and subjected to other forms of humiliating treatment.
Senior police officers confirmed to the commissioner that no female
police officers were assigned to the detention facility at the General
Police Directorate in Chisinau. According to the minister of justice,
28 of the 111 persons admitted to Prison No. 13 following detention by
the police displayed injury.
The commissioner's medical expert observed that the records of
injuries kept in the detention facility at the General Police
Directorate in Chisinau were extremely cursory and superficial, in
contrast to the prison and hospital medical records. A CPT delegation
also noted deficiencies in the recording of injuries at police
establishments in a report on its 2007 visit to the country.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights observers, and
prison officials generally allowed observers to interview inmates in
private. Representatives of international organizations and embassies
were allowed to make visits to detainees arrested after the April 7-8
demonstrations but only several days after the arrests. The government
cooperated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and
permitted visits to prisoners in accordance with the ICRC's standard
practices. On July 27-31, a delegation of the COE Committee for the
Prevention of Torture carried out an unplanned visit to the country.
In July 2008 Transnistrian authorities allowed the UN special
rapporteur on torture to visit detention facilities. The rapporteur
expressed concern about the practice of permanent solitary confinement
for persons sentenced to life imprisonment or execution.
Transnistrian civil society representatives complained that it was
extremely difficult to gain access to Transnistrian detention
facilities. Conditions in those facilities were grave, particularly in
the Tiraspol prison. Sick and contagious prisoners shared quarters with
healthy prisoners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--While the law prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, authorities did not observe these
prohibitions in practice.
A parliamentary ombudsman employed by the government regularly
visited various places of detention, including police stations and
detention rooms at psychiatric hospitals, railway stations, and the
Chisinau airport. The ombudsman found that many arrestees were not
registered in log books and railway police arbitrarily arrested
citizens before their trains departed and released them after their
trains left the station. Police at the airport often detained travelers
for document checks and then released them without explanation. Most of
the persons placed in detention at police stations were arrested for
petty crimes, insulting police, or for document checks, although they
were carrying valid documents.
In May 2008 Moldovan police allegedly detained and verbally
harassed the chairperson of the Transnistrian youth organization Proryv
as she traveled to the Transnistrian region; she was held for two hours
at a Moldovan checkpoint near the city of Bender.
In May 2008 in the government-controlled village of Dorotcaia,
Transnistrian authorities arrested 26-year-old Stefan Berzan for
allegedly passing counterfeit currency. Berzan had earlier reported the
counterfeit currency to Transnistrian police, who directed him to
accompany them to the separatist-controlled city of Grigoriopol,
denying his request that Moldovan police also accompany him. According
to NGO reports, Transnistrian police mistreated Berzan during detention
and forced him to confess to the crime. In August 2008 the Grigoriopol
court in Transnistria convicted Berzan and sentenced him to six years
in prison, but released him to five years' probation. In September 2008
the Moldovan interior ministry dismissed Berzan from his job as a
fireman because of the criminal conviction. On June 24, the Chisinau
Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Berzan and ordered him to be
reinstated.
In its February report, parliamentary ombudsmen noted several cases
in which police record books contained no mention of the arrest of
prisoners who were in jail, thus allowing authorities to extend custody
beyond the 72-hour limit prescribed by law.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
force is the primary law enforcement body. It is subdivided into
regional and city police commissariats, which are subordinated to the
interior ministry. Police corruption remained a problem.
The Prosecutor General's Office is responsible for investigating
police activities. According to the office's staff, the interior
ministry often ignored, or only superficially examined, their reports
of violations by police. An internal affairs unit that reported to the
ministry investigated incidents of impunity and corruption.
A Transparency International survey conducted between February and
March reported that 51 percent of the persons interviewed said they
paid bribes to the police. According to the latest available
statistics, 600 citizens lodged complaints with prosecutors' offices in
2007 regarding abusive police behavior. Following the complaints 258
criminal cases were opened, 32 police officers were dismissed, 12 were
prosecuted for bribery, and 24 former officers were imprisoned.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law allows
judges to issue arrest warrants based on evidence from prosecutors.
Authorities must promptly inform detainees why they were arrested and
describe the charges against them. Suspects may be detained without
charge for 72 hours. Although the law provides the right to appear
before a judge to challenge the lawfulness of the arrest and detention,
this right was not always respected in practice, particularly in the
case of those arrested after the April 7-8 demonstrations.
Once charged, a detainee may be released on personal recognizance
pending trial. The law provides for bail, but it was rarely permitted,
and the bail system did not function well. Authorities generally did
not authorize bail for detainees accused of violent or serious crimes.
Detainees have the right to a defense attorney; at times this right
was restricted. Authorities generally did not grant detainees access to
a lawyer until 24 hours after being detained. Police often told persons
that they were witnesses in a case, questioned them without a lawyer
present, and subsequently detained them as suspects. Detainees were
often informed of the charges against them without a lawyer being
present. The government required the local bar association to provide
representation to indigent defendants but did not pay legal fees; such
defendants often did not have adequate counsel.
The large-scale arrests following the April 7-8 demonstrations were
characterized by a failure to implement some fundamental rights of
persons in custody, including their right to notify a third party (e.g.
a family member), to have access to a lawyer and to a doctor, and to
receive clear information about these basic rights. The parliamentary
ombudsman visited police stations and the prison in Chisinau on April
13 and stated that he found a number of ``irregularities'' in the
implementation of fundamental safeguards; in particular, the rights of
notification of custody and access to a lawyer were not fully respected
or were subject to delays.
The law permits pretrial detention for up to 30 days. The courts
may extend pretrial detention for up to 12 months, depending on the
severity of the charges. Pretrial detentions lasting several months
were common.
Amnesty.--The government generally granted amnesty to persons
sentenced to less than four years in prison, with the result that such
persons rarely served jail time.
On April 15, then-president Voronin announced a ``total amnesty''
for all persons facing administrative charges related to the events of
April 7-8 in an effort to ``bring society together.'' The gesture was
complicated by the fact that several high-profile arrestees remained in
custody after the ``amnesty'' was announced and most other detainees
released. The law provides for amnesty only after a person is convicted
of a crime, so some legal experts questioned the effect of Voronin's
announcement.
Seven persons facing criminal charges for organizing the April 7-8
protests were excluded from the ``amnesty.'' These persons remained
under investigation until the new government entered office. At that
time the Prosecutor General's Office announced that it was closing
these investigations without charges.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, official pressure and corruption
remained problems. There continued to be credible reports that local
prosecutors and judges occasionally asked for bribes in return for
reducing charges or sentences, and observers asserted that judges were
sometimes politically influenced.
Political factors played a role in the reappointment of judges.
According to Freedom House, judges were appointed and promoted on the
basis of subjective and nontransparent factors. Younger judges, who
held initial five-year appointments, were particularly vulnerable to
influence by the executive branch.
In April 2008 national bar association president Gheorghe
Amihalachioaie stated that lawyers, particularly those involved in
actions against the government and those representing opposition
parties, were politicized and discriminated against. Amihalachioaie
also claimed that the judicial system favored the prosecution and
judges favored the ruling authorities.
Some politicians claimed judicial harassment by the PCRM
government. Before the April 5 elections, authorities brought charges,
some of them a decade old, against opposition party leaders. On June
12, prosecutors charged Chisinau mayor and Liberal Party Deputy
Chairman Dorin Chirtoaca with organizing mass disorder and attempting a
coup on April 7. On November 16, after the new government was in place,
the Prosecutor General's Office announced that it was dropping its
criminal investigation of Chirtoaca because investigators could not
find elements of a crime in the mayor's actions.
After the April 7-8 demonstrations, the Prosecutor General's Office
published a list of politicians whom it planned to investigate in
connection with the riots. As of year's end, no further development had
been reported. After the new government assumed office, all outstanding
charges were dropped.
During the year the case against Serafim Urechean, leader of the
Our Moldova Alliance (AMN) for abusing his position as Chisinau mayor
for personal gain remained active. Urechean had also been charged with
attempted murder of the then-deputy speaker Iurie Rosca, but in October
after the new government assumed power, the Prosecutor General's Office
sent a letter of apology to Urechean, stating that the attempted murder
charges had been dropped. At the time the charges were initially filed,
the AMN was one of the largest opposition political parties.
In 2008 prosecutors resurrected charges against Nicolae Andronic,
leader of the Popular Republican Party, at the court in Buiucani.
Prosecutors alleged that Andronic authorized the withdrawal of 200 tons
of wheat from the state reserve as a loan to a private company during
his term as deputy prime minister in 1998-99. Andronic claimed that the
case was politically motivated and aimed at eliminating his party from
the parliamentary election. On November 11, after the new government
was in place, the Buiucani court acquitted Andronic of all charges.
During 2008 the ECHR issued judgments which found 15 violations by
the country of the right to a fair trial and three violation involving
length of proceedings; both were violations of Article 6 of the
European Convention on Human Rights. Of the 16 cases that the
government lost during the year, 10 concerned--in part or in whole--
denial of a fair public trial.
On July 28, the ECHR ruled against the government in the case Olaru
v. Moldova. The court found that the authorities' failure to comply
with final local court judgments in the applicants' favor delivered by
domestic courts represented a violation of their right to a fair trial.
The court invited the parties to reach an agreement.
On July 16, the ECHR found that local courts had violated an
applicant's property rights in the case of Baroul Partners v. Moldova.
The ECHR ruled that a domestic court had acted improperly when it
annulled the privatization of the applicant's quarry and had denied the
applicant his right to a fair trial.
According to an April 2008 EU report, the government was lacking in
its implementation of a judicial code of conduct, developed in 2007,
and establishment, in January 2008, of a Department for Judicial
Administration to monitor the organizational, administrative, and
fiscal effectiveness of the courts and propose improvements.
The judiciary consists of lower courts, courts of appeal, and the
Supreme Court of Justice. A separate Constitutional Court has exclusive
authority in cases relating to the constitutionality of draft and final
legislation, decrees, and other governmental acts. The Constitutional
Court was the only court generally regarded as reasonably fair and
objective. By law the Prosecutor General's Office is autonomous and
answers to parliament. It is responsible for overseeing criminal
investigations, filing charges, and protecting the rule of law and
civil freedoms. Prosecutors have discretion to close cases before they
reach trial for lack of sufficient evidence. However, the injured party
can appeal this decision to the investigative judge. This discretion
gives prosecutors considerable influence over the judicial process.
Many NGOs and opposition politicians asserted that the Prosecutor
General's Office was under the political control of the PCRM during its
eight-year rule.
The military court system is separate but generally experienced
problems with corruption and inefficiency similar to those of the
civilian courts. The jurisdiction of military courts extends to crimes
committed by active duty, reserve, and retired military personnel.
Military courts can also try civilians for crimes committed against
military personnel.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides that defendants in criminal
cases are presumed innocent; however, in practice this presumption had
little effect. On some occasions judges' remarks jeopardized the
presumption of innocence. NGOs expressed concern that the practice of
keeping defendants in handcuffs and metal cages during court
proceedings went beyond what was necessary to secure public order and
failed to ensure the presumption of innocence.
Cases are presented to a judge or to panel of judges. Defendants
have the right to a lawyer, to attend proceedings, to confront
witnesses, and to present evidence. The law requires the local bar
association to provide an attorney to indigent defendants. The practice
of appointing ex officio defense lawyers without allowing them to
prepare adequately was common and infringed upon the right to legal
assistance. Prosecutors occasionally used bureaucratic maneuvers to
restrict lawyers' access to clients. Defense attorneys were able to
review evidence against their clients when preparing cases. The law
provides a right to appeal convictions to a higher court.
According to a May 2008 Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) report, based on a six-month project that monitored
thousands of hearings in hundreds of criminal cases at all levels of
the justice system, legal guarantees of a fair trial functioned only
partially. While legal reforms in recent years helped provide an
improved framework for guaranteeing a fair trial, implementation
remained a problem.
Although the law provides for defendants to have an interpreter,
the OSCE observed a shortage of interpreters, a lack of knowledge of
legal terminology, and a tendency to mix Romanian and Russian terms.
Nearly 40 percent of court interpreters did not translate in a fully
satisfactory manner. The OSCE also noted that judges at times ordered
proceedings to be conducted in Russian, even though some participants
complained they could not understand the language.
The OSCE noted that proceedings were often not open to the public;
court facilities were inadequate; and a large number of judges,
prosecutors, and defense lawyers failed to treat victims and witnesses
with respect.
In September 2008 a witness protection law entered into force to
ensure the protection of persons whose life and property are threatened
as a result of their participation in trial proceedings. However,
implementation of the law was inconsistent.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Three persons arrested in
connection with the April 7 disturbances were considered to be
political prisoners.
On April 8, Sergiu Mocanu, leader of the People's Action Movement
and former advisor to former president Voronin, was detained by persons
in plain clothes who claimed to be police but refused to show any
identification. Mocanu was arrested on charges of plotting and
participating in activities of mass disorder. The Court of Appeals
refused to hear his appeals, and he was subsequently released without
being charged on July 31.
On April 8, in Odessa, Ukraine, police arrested businessman Gabriel
Stati and subsequently extradited him to Moldova at the request of
Moldovan police. Stati was charged with fomenting and financing the
April 7 unrest. On June 18, the Court of Appeals changed his status to
house arrest for 30 days. He was freed without charge on July 8, but
was forbidden to leave the country for 30 days.
On April 8, police arrested Anatol Matasaru and accused him of
organizing and participating in mass disorder on April 7. Matasaru had
been arrested in other incidents earlier in the year, in which he
protested while wearing a pig suit. Matasaru's lawyers stated that
police used excessive force in arresting him and tried to compel him to
sign confessions that he had received money from opposition leaders to
organize the April 7 protests. On June 6, authorities released Matasaru
to house arrest. On August 6, he was freed from house arrest but
forbidden to leave the country for 90 days. The Biuiucani District
Court rejected the prosecutor's request to extend the arrest warrant
for another 90 days. On July 10, police arrested Matasaru again in
Orhei on charges of committing a theft in November 2007. On July 22,
the Orhei District Court reviewed the theft charges and the charges of
hooliganism in connection with the April 7 demonstrations, and ordered
him to be held in custody until August 9. On November 12, the
Prosecutor General's Office stated that it had dropped all charges
against Matasaru.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for
citizens to seek damages in civil courts for human rights violations.
Under the constitution the government is liable in cases where
authorities violate a person's rights by administrative means; fail to
reply in a timely manner to an application for relief; or commit
misconduct during prosecution. Judgments awarded in such cases were
small and frequently not enforced. Citizens may also seek damages in
the ECHR for violations of the European Convention of Human Rights.
From January 1 through August 16, the ECHR issued 16 judgments that
found at least one violation of the convention. In 2008 the ECHR issued
28 judgments that found at least one violation by the country.
A mediation law, which entered into force in July 2008, establishes
an alternative mechanism for resolving civil and criminal cases
voluntarily between parties and establishes rules for the status of
professional mediators. However, the country still lacked an
implementation mechanism. Observers noted that a lack of financial
resources and institutional capacity were the main impediments to
implementation of the law.
Property Restitution.--While the law provides for restitution of
property and compensation for victims of political repression,
commissions established to receive petitions were not funded to make
payments. In Chisinau, where six million lei (approximately $576,823)
of funding was allocated for compensation, no commission existed to
make payments. Applicants must prove a direct causal connection between
political repression and the seizure of their properties to receive
restitution.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the
government did not respect these prohibitions in practice.
It was widely believed that law enforcement authorities, including
the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor General's Office, and the
Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), continued to conduct illegal
searches and wiretaps. Under the law the SIS is the only institution
that can legally conduct wiretaps, including those made at the request
of prosecutors or police. Judges may authorize legal wiretaps only in
course of investigation a serious crime. The ECHR has ruled that the
country's criminal procedure law fails to provide a clear and detailed
interpretation of reasonable suspicion required to authorize a wiretap.
The ECHR also noted that the law does not contain safeguards against
the overuse of wiretaps and does not provide adequate protection
against the abuse of power by the government as a result of
wiretapping. Courts continued to accept illegally obtained evidence.
Opposition leaders reported that they observed vehicles following
them during the election campaigns and noted their belief that
authorities monitored and intercepted their conversations.
On February 10, in the case Iordachi and Others v. Moldova, the
ECHR issued a judgment that found a violation by the country of the
right to respect for private and family life, as provided under Article
8 the European Convention on Human Rights. In its judgment the court
noted that the country's law did not clearly define the offences for
which wiretapping may be sought or the categories of persons who may be
liable to have their telephones monitored. The law also did not provide
a clear time limit on interception warrants and on what constitutes a
reasonable suspicion that could justify telephone interception. The
court observed that, when the tapping takes place, the investigating
judge played a limited role, and no clear rules existed regarding the
screening, preserving, and destroying of data collected. Since the
country's courts authorized virtually all requests by authorities in
2007 for interception, the ECHR concluded that the system of secret
surveillance was largely overused.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press; however, the government did not respect these
rights in practice. Individuals could criticize the government publicly
and privately without reprisal, although authorities attempted to
impede criticism by limiting the access of some media to government
information and events and by repressing media outlets deemed
``nonloyal'' during and after the April parliamentary elections. In
addition, individuals and organizations critical of the government
risked being monitored and subjected to abusive tax and registration
inspections. According to Freedom House, media independence in the
country was at its lowest point in 10 years.
During 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found three violations
by the country of freedom of expression, as provided by Article 10 of
the European Convention on Human Rights.
The print media expressed diverse political views and commentary.
There were approximately 260 newspapers and magazines in the country.
The government owned the Moldpress News Agency; local and city
governments subsidized approximately 25 newspapers. Political parties
and professional organizations also published newspapers.
Formerly government-owned newspapers, Moldova Suverana and
Nezavisimaia Moldova, continued to favor the PCRM in their coverage.
These papers often used inflammatory language and photo-edited
portrayals of opponents as Nazis in articles criticizing the
opposition. The newspaper Flux, a mouthpiece for the Christian
Democratic Party, published articles in favor of the party and against
its opponents,but sometimes critical of both. Newspapers such as
Timpul, Jurnal de Chisinau, Ziarul de Garda, and Moldavskie Vedomosti
published more diverse views and articles critical of the PCRM
government and its policies. At times these outlets sensationalized
coverage, including by using graphic images to denigrate opponents,
such as photo-editing heads of public figures onto naked bodies and
superimposing images with photos of Nazis.
The government did not restrict foreign publications, but most were
not widely circulated because of high cost. Newspapers from Russia were
available; some published special weekly local editions.
The broadcast media were weaker with regard to diversity of
expression because local private broadcasting was limited. The
government continued to influence the media through its role in
distributing broadcast licenses and its financial support for
privatized media outlets, including the public radio and television
broadcaster Teleradio Moldova (TRM), which covered most of the country.
According to the Audiovisual Coordinating Council (ACC), 46 radio
stations, 38 television stations, and 166 cable providers operated in
the country. Most stations rebroadcast programs from Romania, Russia,
and Ukraine and offered limited locally produced programming. Other
foreign programs, including a range of international news broadcasts,
were available by subscription from private cable television operators.
Some local governments, including that of Gagauzia, operated television
and radio stations and newspapers.
The law requires TRM to be a genuine public institution, although
it remained financially dependent on the government. While the PCRM was
in power, TRM was widely viewed as strongly progovernment in its
programming and rarely aired opposing viewpoints; following the change
in power, coverage became more balanced. Reports from local and
international election observing missions during the year noted that
the public broadcaster failed to cover the election campaigns in a
balanced and impartial manner. Observers noted that public national
television channel Moldova 1 (part of TRM) provided coverage of the
July 29 repeat elections that mostly favored the PCRM.
The broadcasting code regulates the activity of private television
and radio stations, public broadcaster TRM, and the government's main
regulatory authority for broadcasting, the ACC.
In December 2008 the ACC announced that it would not automatically
extend the expiring license of the private television channel PRO TV,
along with those of other broadcasters, although the law provides for
automatic extension if no major violations have occurred. The ACC
announced that it would offer all of PRO TV's frequencies for
competitive bid. Media observers criticized the ACC decision, while
noting that ambiguities in the law allowed for such political actions,
and PRO TV initiated a court challenge of the ACC ruling. In June the
ACC placed a moratorium on the competition for PRO TV's frequencies
during the electoral campaign. On November 12, the Supreme Court of
Justice ruled that the ACC should automatically extend PRO TV's license
and those of other broadcasters.
NGOs and media representatives criticized the ACC for
disproportionately allocating radio and television frequencies to
progovernment stations. In May 2008 the ACC distributed 40 provincial
television frequencies to two progovernment stations, significantly
expanding their coverage; the ACC did not consider other applications.
In September 2008 the Gagauz People's Assembly dissolved the
supervisory board of the public company Teleradio Gagauzia, raising
concerns among the company's journalists, who feared that Gagauz
authorities were attempting to control regional public television.
According to NGOs one of the major television channels was owned by
business persons affiliated with the PCRM, and several displayed a
political bias towards the party. As a result, there were fewer outlets
for opposing viewpoints. However, certain television channels owned by
persons affiliated with the opposition aired alternative views. After
the new government assumed power, analysts noted a shift in coverage;
although some outlets still displayed political bias toward the PCRM
party, other outlets expressed pro-Alliance views.
In 2008 opposition members of the Balti municipal council
criticized the nontransparent manner in which the public broadcaster
Teleradio Balti was being privatized, noting that the privatization
commission was staffed exclusively by councilors belonging to the
majority PCRM. On November 14, Teleradio Balti suspended broadcasting
following a ruling by the ACC that the station did not have the right
to broadcast until it was privatized. At the end of November, the ACC
revised its earlier decision and allowed Teleradio Balti to continue
broadcasting under the condition that it complete its privatization by
February 1, 2010.
Journalists and NGOs reported that the government denied
independent media access to various official events. On May 26 and
August 18, the interior ministry prevented journalists from Internet-
based Jurnal TV from covering its press conferences. On July 9, a
television crew from TV-Prim was prevented from covering a public
meeting of the prime minister in Glodeni. On July 14, police in
Donduseni expelled two journalists from the Moldavskie Vedomosti
newspaper from a hall where the prime minister had been meeting with
local residents.
During the protests that followed the parliamentary elections on
April 5, government harassment and aggression against journalists
dramatically increased. The government frequently denied access to its
public events to media representatives it considered disloyal. On
occasion journalists were intimidated into practicing self-censorship.
During and after the protests following the April 5 elections, law
enforcement bodies launched a campaign of intimidation and aggression
against the media. Police and security forces illegally detained and
interrogated many journalists. On April 7-8, more than 20 Romanian
journalists were denied entry to the country, as the government
publicly accused Romania of playing a role in organizing the April 7-8
violence. On April 8, several plainclothes police officers severely
beat a cameraman from Jurnal TV, who was filming in public and also
seized and destroyed his video equipment. On April 9, police detained a
Realitatea TV crew from Romania, held them in custody for several
hours, and then expelled them from the country. Members of the
television crew reported that they were intimidated by police officers
while in custody. On April 10, several plainclothes police abducted the
editor in chief of the Jurnal de Chisinau newspaper on the street and
took her to an unknown destination. She told the media that, after
several hours of detention, she was taken to the Special Mission
Department of the Interior Ministry and was accused of assessing and
collecting information to help attack the government buildings.
Media observers voiced numerous concerns about the postelection
restrictions on the media and on reporting. These included the assault
and detention of local and foreign journalists reporting on the
postelection violence; the refusal of entry to the country to certain
foreign journalists; the requirement that some journalists leave the
country despite having valid press accreditation; and restrictions on
access to Internet services or particular Web sites. On April 14, the
OSCE representative on freedom of the media called on authorities to
ensure journalists' access and to investigate cases of obstruction and
intimidation.
During his visit to the country on April 25-28, the COE
commissioner for human rights was shown a copy of a letter sent by the
Ministry of the Interior on April 21 to several newspapers. The letter
expressed concern about the content of articles published in those
newspapers and stated that the articles ``do not represent the truth
and are misleading to the public.'' The letter further stated that the
information published ``contains unjustified serious accusations
against the police affecting the reputation of the police officers, who
exercise their duties correctly and according to the law for
maintaining public order and security.'' The letter asked the
newspapers to present, within 10 days, ``any specific information and
solid evidence which served as a basis for the articles.'' If no such
information was available, the letter instructed the newspapers to
publish retractions of the articles. The COE commissioner for human
rights characterized such pressure on media as unacceptable. Instead of
requesting media outlets to justify their critical reporting, he noted,
authorities should encourage victims and witnesses to come forward and
contribute to the investigations.
In March Interior Ministry representatives searched the Nisporeni-
based Albasat television station and failed to present a warrant.
Ministry investigators later told the media that Albasat TV was
suspected of failing to report revenue in its 2007 financial reports.
The International Federation of Journalists expressed concern regarding
the incident and urged the government to respect freedom of the press.
Although libel is not a criminal offense, and the law limits the
amount of fines that can be claimed for slander, some newspapers
continued to practice self-censorship and avoid controversial issues
out of concern that government officials and other public figures could
use civil defamation laws to retaliate against critical news coverage.
In April 2008 a district court in Chisinau froze the bank account
of the Jurnal de Chisinau newspaper to sequester funds in a libel case.
The case was filed against the newspaper by a former prosecutor, who
sued for alleged damages inflicted on him by articles published in 2003
and 2004. The newspaper appealed, and in May 2008 the Court of Appeals
unblocked the bank account. At year's end the case was before the
Chisinau Court of Appeals for reconsideration.
In June 2008 parliament passed amendments to the editing law,
making it illegal to edit and publish literature that contains ``denial
and defamation of the state and the people; calls to war or aggression,
to ethnic, racial or religious hatred; [or] incitement of
discrimination, territorial separatism, or public violence.'' Several
private publishing houses opposed the new law, claiming that it imposed
censorship.
The law decriminalizing defamation was widely viewed as allowing
progovernment media even greater latitude to insult opposition leaders,
while at the same time not being clear enough to eliminate the
perceived need for self-censorship by independent media or to prevent
spurious lawsuits and investigations against opposition activists and
media. Both pro-PCRM government and pro-opposition media at times used
graphically insulting political cartoons, particularly during the
electoral campaign.
On September 17, in the case of Manole v. Moldova, the ECHR
unanimously ruled in favor of a group of TRM journalists who filed a
case in 2002 accusing TRM of severe censorship and violating their
freedom of expression after the PCRM came to power.
In Transnistria authorities greatly limited freedom of speech and
of the press. Alternative viewpoints were subject to widespread
censorship, and residents were wary of voicing alternative opinions and
engaging in meaningful debate over key issues affecting the separatist
region.
It was difficult to register, maintain, and financially sustain
independent newspapers, radio stations, or television stations in
Transnistria, although several existed. Most newspapers from
government-controlled areas did not circulate widely in Transnistria,
although they were available in Tiraspol. Foreign publications,
including publications edited in Chisinau, were difficult to obtain, as
separatist authorities imposed a 100 percent customs duty.
Both of Transnistria's major newspapers, Pridnestrovie and
Dnestrovskaya Pravda, were official publications of the separatist
administration. Separatist authorities harassed independent newspapers
for critical reporting of the regime. Independent newspapers such as
Novaia Gazeta and Chelovek i yevo Prava were published, but had a
limited circulation of about 3,000. Authorities controlled all printing
houses and, at times, threatened to stop the printing of independent
newspapers. One independent weekly newspaper was published in Bender
and another in the northern city of Ribnita. According to a study by a
western academic researcher, the Ribnita-based Dobryi Den newspaper did
not publish any articles critical of Transnistria or separatist
authorities.
Other Transnistrian media that printed reports critical of
secessionist authorities also had small circulations and appeared
either weekly or monthly. There were few Romanian and Ukrainian
language publications available to the ethnic Ukrainians and Moldovans
in the region. Apart from the publicly financed Gomin (Ukrainian),
Adevarul Nistrean (Romanian in Cyrillic script), and the political
party-controlled newspaper Drujba (Romanian in Cyrillic script), most
publications were in the Russian language.
The authorities controlled the majority of television and radio
stations in Transnistria and largely dictated editorial policies and
financial operations. Some broadcast networks, such as the TSV
television station and the INTER-FM radio station, were owned by
Transnistria's largest commercial entity, Sheriff Enterprises. The
company also effectively controlled the Obnovlenie Party, which held a
majority of seats in the region's legislature and represented a voice
other than that of the executive branch. Transnistrian authorities
operated the other major television station, Transnistrian Moldovan
Republic Television. While these outlets on occasion expressed
alternative views on social and economic policy, Transnistrian
authorities sharply criticized any mention of compromise with the
central government or any questioning of the Transnistrian goal of
``independence.''
Internet Freedom.--During and after the April protests, the
government restricted use of the Internet. Internet users complained
that state-owned Moldtelecom blocked access to the most popular news
portals and social networking websites on April 9 and 10.
At the end of June, the state company MoldData, the official
registrar of the .md domain, sent a letter to the UNIMEDIA news portal
saying that the prosecutor's office noticed that UNIMEDIA had published
readers' comments calling for violence and overthrow of the government.
In the letter MoldData threatened that it could withdraw UNIMEDIA's
domain name for such violations of regulations. Nonetheless, UNIMEDIA
continued to function. On June 29, MoldData suspended the domain of
faces.md, one of the largest social networking Web sites in the
country. At year's end, faces.md was back online.
There were 41 Internet service providers (ISPs) in the country.
While most citizens could not afford computers and private access to
the Internet, public access at cafes in major cities was readily
available. In August a local ISP created public Wi-Fi hot spots in
several public parks in Chisinau. According to International
Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008, approximately 23 percent
of the country's inhabitants used the Internet.
Between January and September, the number of broadband Internet
users increased by 43.5 percent, reaching 165,200. The number of mobile
broadband Internet users reached 62,000. During the same period, the
number of dial-up Internet users decreased 50 percent to 20,000.
In Transnistria Internet connections were available in most parts
of the region, and most residents accessed the Internet through
publicly available computers at cafes. One company, Sherriff
Enterprises, was the sole ISP in the region.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--During 2008 the
ECHR issued a judgment that found a violation by the country of freedom
of assembly and association, as provided by Article 11 of the European
Convention on Human Rights.
Freedom of Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly;
however, at times the government limited this right in practice.
In spite of various changes to the law on public assembly in 2008,
NGOs continued to express concern that the government limited freedom
of assembly.
Liberal Democratic Party supporters from outside Chisinau reported
that they were prevented from traveling to Chisinau to protest against
incumbent PCRM authorities during the election campaigns in March and
April and again in July. Law enforcement instructed bus and taxi
drivers not to transport persons to Chisinau. In some cases traffic
police detained buses full of persons heading to Chisinaufor hours; the
police used various pretexts to hold the buses until the protests
concluded.
On January 29, three police officers arrested Anatol Matasaru, who
was protesting in front of the prosecutor general dressed as a pig and
wearing a sign which punned on the word ``pig'' and ``prosecutor'' in
Romanian. On February 11, the Interior Ministry reprimanded the
officers for failing to explain to Matasaru why they arrested him.
In Transnistria authorities generally discouraged free assembly. On
those occasions when they issued permits for demonstrations,
authorities often harassed organizers and participants and ordered that
the demonstrations take place in obscure locations away from city
centers. Permits for demonstrations and public meetings were issued
predominantly to organizations and groups loyal to the authorities.
In November authorities granted the Transnistrian Communist Party a
permit to organize a rally in Dubasari to protest the government's
social and economic policies and to request the resignation of the
region's leader, Igor Smirnov. Two days before the demonstration, local
authorities prohibited all public meetings and events because of the
pandemic flu threat, although no cases of the H1N1 flu had been
reported in the region. Authorities also revoked the permit they had
issued earlier. Party activists attempted to hold their demonstration
despite the prohibition, but they were dispersed by police. Police
arrested and fined some demonstrators.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association and states that citizens are free to form parties and other
social and political organizations. However, the constitution prohibits
organizations that are ``engaged in fighting against political
pluralism, the principles of the rule of law, or the sovereignty and
independence or territorial integrity'' of the country.
Some political parties accused the government of restricting their
freedom of association in advance of the April 5 parliamentary
elections.
In Transnistria separatist authorities granted the legal right of
association only to those they recognized as citizens of Transnistria.
However, separatist authorities restricted freedom of association in
practice, either by intimidation and prosecution for alleged offenses
or based on fabricated charges. All associations favoring reintegration
with the Moldovan national government were strictly prohibited.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice; however, the law includes restrictions that inhibit the
activities of unregistered religious groups.
Although there is no state religion, the religion law notes the
special status of the Moldovan Orthodox Church in the country's history
and culture and, in practice, the government gave favorable treatment
to the Moldovan Orthodox Church. For example, the Metropolitan of
Chisinau and all Moldova held a diplomatic passport, a privilege not
accorded to any other religious leader.
The law on religion, adopted in 2007, requires religious groups to
register with the justice ministry. Unregistered religious groups may
not buy land or obtain construction permits to build houses of worship
or seminaries. Under the law groups must obtain signatures from 100
citizens to register as a new national religious organization. The law
allows religious groups access to public places and permits
congregations to switch denominational allegiance. The religion law
also prohibits ``abusive proselytizing,'' which is defined as including
psychological manipulation and subliminal techniques.
Of the 24 groups that submitted applications since the law entered
into force, only the Unification Church (in May 2008), Armenian
Christian Apostolic Denomination (on March 31), and Ukrainian Orthodox
Patriarchate (on October 22), successfully registered. In its decision
to reject the remaining applications, the ministry cited various
provisions of the civil code, which normally applies to the conduct of
businesses. Several religious groups declined to appeal the rejections,
arguing that the religion law, rather than the civil code, should
govern their activities. The Central Muslim Spiritual Board of Moldova,
a variety of Protestant congregations, and the Spiritual Organization
of Muslims in Moldova continued to encounter bureaucratic obstacles to
their repeated attempts to register, and many simply abandoned their
registration efforts in the face of what they perceived to be bias
disguised as excessive application of the rules.
On August 15, several hundred Moldovan Orthodox protestors, led by
priests, demonstrated against a decision by the mayor of Chisinau to
grant Seventh-day Adventists a permit to hold a concert on the public
square between the main government building and the Moldovan Orthodox
cathedral. The protestors asserted that other religions should not be
allowed to hold public displays on the site. Seeking to avoid a
confrontation, concert organizers moved the event to a Seventh-day
Adventist church on the outskirts of the city.
In Transnistria separatist authorities continued to deny
registration to a number of minority religious groups and harassed
their members. Jehovah's Witnesses faced significant difficulties
operating, and only two of more than 30 Jehovah's Witnesses'
congregations had legal status in the region. Court cases brought by
Jehovah's Witnesses were prolonged by the Transnistrian officials;
occasional court victories were overturned and new trials ordered. The
Transnistrian religion law, which entered into force on March 4,
requires religious communities to submit documents proving that they
have existed continuously for the past decade. Local authorities
refused to certify the documents submitted by Jehovah's Witnesses, and
the community submitted numerous appeals that remained pending with
local authorities.
On December 10, following a five-year effort by the Tiraspol
Community of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Transnistrian finance ministry
granted the community a fiscal code which allowed it to maintain bank
accounts and pay employees.
Despite a 2007 Tiraspol court decision stating that Jehovah's
Witnesses should be accredited and permitted to import literature,
Transnistrian authorities attacked the legal status of Jehovah's
Witnesses. Authorities challenged the Witnesses' 1994 registration in
Tiraspol; refused to accredit the leaders of the Tiraspol community;
refused to register new Jehovah's Witnesses charters in Tiraspol,
Ribnita, Grigoriopol, and Tighina; sought to cancel their tax
identification number; confiscated religious literature; illegally
confiscated the Ribnita community's registration certificate;
interfered with a religious ceremony in Parcani; and fined and
sentenced members to one-year probation terms.
On May 12, the ECHR ruled in favor of Talgat Masaev, a Muslim
leader who was arrested in January 2004 for organizing prayers in a
private home. The court ruled that his arrest amounted to the exclusion
of minority religious beliefs not formally registered with the state,
and awarded him 1,500 euros (approximately $2,150) in damages.
On May 31, a new contraventions code (formerly known as the code of
administrative offenses) entered into force. Article 54 of the code
provides for expulsion of foreign religious believers who hold
religious activities in public places without first notifying the local
mayor's office. Because the article was in conflict with ECHR rulings,
the government commission charged with implementing ECHR decisions
urged the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor General's Office, and the
Supreme Court to take steps to prevent expulsion of foreign religious
believers who violated this provision. As a result, on February 23, the
Interior Ministry issued an order stating that Article 54 was not to be
applied. At year's end, there were no reports that Article 54 sanctions
had been applied.
On December 22, an opposition Communist parliamentarian accused the
government of backing extremism by registering the National Christian
Movement (NCM) as an NGO on November 12. The member of parliament
pointed out that NCM members display photographs of Corneliu Codreanu,
who founded the anti-Semitic Legion of the Archangel Michael in Romania
in the 1930s. The minister of justice responded that the ministry
registered all groups that presented the correct paperwork, and the
parliamentarian needed to provide proof of the group's extremism for
the ministry to take further action.
Foreign missionaries, like other foreigners, may enter the country
for 90 days on a tourist visa. Although the law prohibits ``abusive
proselytizing,'' the government did not take legal action against
individuals or organizations for proselytizing. Police and other local
authorities frequently called visiting foreign missionaries into police
stations for extensive questioning about the religious and charitable
services they offered.
The law provides for restitution of property confiscated from
religious communities during the Nazi and Soviet regimes. Claims by the
Moldovan Orthodox Church were frequently favored over those of other
religious groups, and the church had recovered nearly all of its
property. In cases where property was destroyed, the government offered
alternative compensation. Property disputes between the majority
Moldovan and minority Bessarabian branches of the Orthodox Church
remained unresolved; representatives of the Bessarabian Orthodox Church
claimed that their property rights were still being violated. While the
Lutheran Church reported that authorities had not returned or provided
compensation for any of its pre-World War II properties, the Jewish
community had several of its properties restored.
In Transnistria the Jewish community in Bender continued to
actively seek restoration of its synagogue building which was being
used as a boxing school. At year's end the case remained unresolved.
Transnistria has no law that would provide a civilian service
alternative to military conscription. On December 11, the Ribnita city
court sentenced Oleksandr Iakovlev to one year in prison for refusing
to serve in the Transnistrian military. On December 15, Iakovlev
appealed to the Transnistrian Supreme Court; his appeal was pending at
year's end.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--During the year leaders of the
Orthodox Church spoke out against public religious displays by other
faiths, including the Jewish community.
From January through August, Jehovah's Witnesses reported 23
incidents of violence or harassment against its members, 11 of which
involved Orthodox priests physically or verbally attacking a member of
Jehovah's Witness. One additional incident involved the wife of a
priest and another involved an assistant to a priest. In 2008 the group
reported 15 cases of violence or harassment against its members,
compared with 18 such cases in 2007.
Members of Jehovah's Witnesses complained that local town councils,
Orthodox priests, and laypersons continued to impede their ability to
freely practice their faith. While the group reported numerous
successes in court cases against local authorities seeking to block
construction of houses of worship, members noted that social prejudices
remained strong.
Between December 15 and 21, residents of the Chisinau district of
Riscani blocked the clearing of a site for construction of a Jehovah's
Witness Kingdom Hall, for which the religious organization had permits.
On several occasions, the protestors assaulted workers. On December 22,
the Chisinau mayor's office ordered a revocation of the permits and a
halt to construction ``until the situation improves.''
In Transnistria non-Orthodox groups reported that they were
generally not allowed to rent property and were often harassed during
religious services. They also complained that authorities refused them
permission to construct religious buildings.
The Jewish community had approximately 25,000 members, including
2,600 living in Transnistria. In March after one of Chisinau's
synagogues received a shipment of kosher food from abroad for the
upcoming Passover holiday, police officers made several visits to the
synagogue to search the food parcels.
On December 11, the Chisinau Jewish community organized the
dedication of a five-foot-high menorah in the city's central park. On
December 13, Moldovan Orthodox priest Anatolie Cibric gathered a crowd
of supporters at the site of the menorah, and in a speech denounced
Jews as ``enemies'' and ``Yids.'' Following the speech Cibric's
followers dismantled and removed the menorah from its base, and placed
it upside down at the feet of a nearby statue of Stephen the Great, the
medieval Moldovan king who is also a Moldovan Orthodox saint. Later
that day members of the Jewish community reassembled the menorah and
placed it at the Holocaust memorial, approximately half a mile from its
original location. The menorah remained in that location without
further incident.
On December 14, the official press service denounced ``hatred,
intolerance, and xenophobia'' and the prime minister and acting
president condemned the incident. The justice minister condemned the
demonstrators' actions as a ``xenophobic and barbaric act.'' Later in
the day, the minister met representatives of the Jewish community and
demanded that law-enforcement authorities ensure their religious
freedom. Cibric faced administrative charges and was ultimately fined
for his role in the incident.
On December 17, the Moldovan Orthodox Church issued a statement
condemning the ``methods'' used by the protestors in removing the
menorah, but it also criticized city authorities for allowing a Jewish
symbol to be displayed in a public place important to the faith and
history of ``Moldovans.''
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Transnistrian authorities at times restricted travel of
Transnistrian residents and other Moldovans to and from the separatist
region.
On July 13, customs officials at Cahul stopped 160 students and
teachers from Transnistrian Latin-script Romanian-language schools, who
were returning from a summer camp in Romania. School officials reported
that customs officers interrogated them for two hours regarding reasons
for their visit to Romania and confiscated Romanian-language
dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Transnistrian authorities often stopped and searched vehicles
traveling between the region and the government-controlled area.
According to the local Helsinki Committee, waits of up to two hours at
Transnistrian checkpoints occasionally occurred, as did arbitrary fines
and seizures of goods from persons entering or exiting the region.
Short-term visitors from government-controlled areas to
Transnistria were permitted to remain for 10 hours. A longer stay
required an official letter of invitation and registration at a local
passport office. Transnistrian authorities allowed farmers from
government-controlled villages in the Dubasari region of Transnistria
to travel to areas outside Transnistria to sell their produce. On
several occasions during the year, Transnistrian authorities denied
western diplomats stationed in Chisinau entry into the region for
routine visits but at other times allowed them entry.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it. There were no reports that Transnistrian authorities exiled persons
from their territory during the year.
Although citizens generally were able to depart from and return to
the country freely, there were some limitations on emigration. Before
persons are allowed to emigrate, the law requires that they satisfy all
outstanding financial obligations to other persons or legal entities.
This requirement was not strictly enforced in practice. The law also
provides that close relatives who are financially dependent on a
potential emigrant must give their concurrence before the emigrant is
allowed to depart the country; however, this law was not enforced in
practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
On May 14, local refugee advocates complained that the government
had not issued an identity card to any of the more than 300 refugees
living in the country. Without the identity card, refugees were unable
to seek employment.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the
country's territory and from one's parents. According to UNHCR
statistics, there were 1,752 stateless persons in the country at the
end of September. At year's end the government and the UNHCR reported
that there were no stateless persons with permanent or temporary
residence in the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice in most of
the country through periodic elections based on universal suffrage.
However, during the year authorities harassed and intimidated the
political opposition, misused administrative resources in favor of
government-supported candidates, and restricted opposition access to
public media.
In Transnistria authorities restricted the right of residents to
vote in elections and interfered with the right of Moldovan citizens to
vote in Moldovan elections.
The constitution provides for a form of parliamentary government.
The parliament is elected by popular vote; it then elects the president
by a three-fifths majority vote. The president nominates the prime
minister, who in turn names a cabinet. Parliament must then approve
both the prime minister and the cabinet.
Citizens and party representatives reported interference with their
political activities during the year. All political parties in
opposition to the incumbent PCRM complained of intimidation and
pressure against local party representatives during the March and July
campaigns. Reported abuses included threats of physical mistreatment,
job loss and blackmail to discourage political campaigning and
attendance at rallies. Opposition party leaders also accused PCRM
authorities of cutting off heat and electricity to public buildings
where political meetings were scheduled.
There were no developments in the June 2008 case of Mihai Tarsa, an
opposition party official, who claimed that he was assaulted by the
mayor of Criva for leading the signature collection effort in the
village for the constitutional amendment.
Elections and Political Participation.--International and local
observers noted that, while the April 5 parliamentary elections
complied with many international standards, they were not entirely free
and not fully in accordance with many international norms. Local and
international NGOs reported complaints of intimidation of voters during
the campaign; misuse of administrative resources by government
officials; requirements that civil servants, including doctors and
teachers, attend PCRM rallies; harassment of voters and opposition
party candidates; barriers to the right to vote for students in the
country and by citizens living overseas; and limitations on opposition
parties' access to public media. Opposition parties and domestic NGOs
also reported faulty voter lists, instances of multiple voting, and
misuse of mobile ballot boxes to the benefit of the PCRM.
International observers, including the OSCE and Council of Europe,
noted a number of shortcomings in the election process, including
credible and verified allegations of police intimidation of voters and
candidates; misuse of administrative resources; lack of uniformity in
compilation of voter lists; an imbalance in media coverage that favored
the ruling PCRM and the failure of the ACC to address the problem; and
Central Election Commission regulations on media coverage that
conflicted with constitutional rights of freedom of expression and
access to information.
In the April 5 election, the PCRM increased its parliamentary
majority from 56 to 60, leaving it one seat short of the 61 votes
needed to elect a president. Following two failed attempts to elect a
president, parliament was dissolved on June 15, and the government
scheduled repeat elections for July 29.
International observers noted that, while the same problems existed
in the repeat election as in the March-April campaign, there were some
improvements in voter-list management, training of election officials
and observers, and access of opposition parties to public media. On
election day observers noted improvements in the efficiency of polling
place management, both in the country and at polling stations at
consulates and embassies abroad; in the willingness of NGO and
political-party observers to challenge voter list entries; and in the
publication of figures showing turnout and preliminary results.
Prior to the July 29 election, the Central Election Commission
denied accreditation to many international election observers from the
European Network of Election Monitoring Observers (ENEMO), including
the head of the mission. After first admitting a reduced number of
ENEMO observers to the country, police detained, harassed, and deported
members of the ENEMO mission.
The July 29 election resulted in the PCRM losing 12 parliamentary
seats. Four former opposition parties with a combined strength of 53
seats joined to create a majority coalition known as the Alliance for
European Integration.
There were 25 women in the 101-seat parliament. Members of ethnic
Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Azeri, Jewish, and Gagauz communities
were represented in parliament, and a Gagauz was elected as deputy
speaker.
Under the election code, parties are prohibited from forming
electoral blocs before an election and must have 6 percent of the
popular vote to enter parliament, making it difficult for small parties
to gain seats. The law also requires holders of dual nationality to
declare their non-Moldovan citizenship before running and to give it up
if they win election. The new parliament lifted the citizenship
restriction on September 17.
During the country's parliamentary elections on April 5 and July
29, Transnistrian authorities aggressively blocked a polling station at
the Transnistrian town of Corjova, which was technically under central
government administration, thereby preventing local residents from
voting.
In Transnistria authorities interfered with citizens' ability to
vote. Lack of education about voting rights, lack of transparency
regarding the location of polling places, restrictions on media,
widespread progovernment propaganda, and complex rules for transferring
one's right to vote to one's district of residence interfered with
residents exercising their right to vote. Since most election
monitoring organizations did not recognize Transnistria or its
elections, international monitoring was conducted only on an informal
basis by Russian NGOs, and it was difficult to determine whether
Transnistrian elections met international standards.
During the 2006 Transnistrian ``presidential'' elections,
authorities interfered with the electoral process and there were
indications of voting irregularities. Igor Smirnov was reelected
``president'' after receiving 82.4 percent of the vote according to
official results, while exit polls indicated that he received 63.3
percent of the vote. Transnistrian residents were expected to vote in
Transnistrian elections, but in one case an individual was unable to
stand freely as a candidate, while authorities prevented the tightly
controlled media from reporting freely on candidates or issues.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement these laws effectively, and
various NGOs and international organizations reported corruption was
pervasive throughout government and society. An April 2008 Transparency
International survey revealed that 39 percent of rural citizens and 53
percent of businesspersons said they gave bribes to customs officers,
police, medical and educational institutions, fiscal inspectors,
courts, or utility meter readers.
Corruption in the educational system was widespread. The law
provides for punishing university rectors, deans, and chairs for
corrupt acts, including grade buying and influence peddling, with fines
or imprisonment of two to seven years. However, the law does not apply
to professors and lecturers. Ministry of Education and Youth
regulations do not address corruption explicitly, and the bylaws of the
major universities do not provide sanctions for cheating or bribery.
The PCRM government acknowledged that corruption was a major
problem and established special law enforcement agencies, such as the
Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption (CCECC), and
judicial units to fight corruption. However, NGOs and political party
representatives asserted that authorities used these units to harass
political opponents.
Although the government dismissed 140 police officers in 2007, the
CCECC opened only five criminal cases against officers regarded as
suspects in cases of corruption.
The law provides free public access to official information;
however, the government did not fully implement the law. According to
Freedom House, access to information remained limited, and laws adopted
in February 2008 barred civil servants other than press officers from
speaking to the media. A bill on state secrets approved by parliament
in November 2008 drew criticism for its broad scope and potential
conflicts with the existing law on access to information.
NGOs complained that gaining access to information required
repeated, often unsuccessful, requests to authorities. Court decisions
ordering release of information were not implemented fully or in a
timely manner. According to the NGO Access-Info Center, between January
and August public officials frequently denied the media access to
information in violation of law and procedures. Since coming into
office, the new government made some improvements; however, Access-Info
Center noted that full responses to information access requests
remained low, averaging 24 percent, because of a lack of information
management policies.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated
in the country without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government agencies
were frequently cooperative and responsive to their views. However, in
the aftermath of the April 7-8 violence, many human rights
organizations reported consistent monitoring of their activities,
telephone interception, abusive fiscal checks, and intimidation by law
enforcement bodies.
On February 3, masked men attacked representatives of several human
rights organizations, including Amnesty International (AI) and Hyde
Park, while they were protesting in front of the Prosecutor General's
Office, punching them and spraying them with paint. Several
demonstrators were injured. Despite the location of the attack, police
did not intervene. After the protestors filed a complaint with police
on February 4, the Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case
and subsequently detained five persons who allegedly attacked the
protestors. At year's end no further details on the incident had
emerged.
On April 16, AI reported that six human rights NGOs had received
letters from the Ministry of Justice requesting their position on the
April 7-8 events and a description of measures they had taken to stop
the violence. AI also stated that tax inspectors visited its offices on
April 28 and demanded a list of persons who had paid membership fees.
On April 11, human rights NGO CREDO reported that police
intimidated its members and those of several other groups that comprise
the National Mechanism for Preventing Torture at the Chisinau center
district police headquarters, when they attempted to visit youths
arrested after the events of April 7-8. According to CREDO the deputy
police commissar warned them to stop their activities, while police
officials filmed the encounter.
A member of the Institute for Human Rights, an NGO that assisted
victims of torture in the aftermath of the April 7-8 events, reported
that he was followed by unmarked cars and persons sitting in unmarked
cars parked outside the NGO's headquarters appeared to be monitoring
visitors. The activist also noted technical difficulties with the
organization's phones and faxes and reported evidence that his phone
was tapped. For example, one day after he had called a London-based
pathologist seeking assistance in investigating the death of Valeriu
Boboc, the prosecutor's office called Boboc's father and promised to
bring in the same pathologist to investigate the case.
In Transnistria authorities continued to impede activities of human
rights groups. For example, the migration service of the ``ministry of
interior'' frequently blocked entry into the region by NGOs seeking to
meet human rights counterparts and contacts.
In February 2008 Transnistrian police arrested and interrogated
Igor Gavrilov, director of the NGO Accord Travel, for illegally
downloading NGO-related documents. Although Transnistrian authorities
registered the organization in 2007, they warned it to halt its
activities on various occasions.
Transnistrian authorities frequently limited OSCE access to the
separatist region, including to the four- to eight-mile security zone
dividing Transnistria from the rest of the country. The former OSCE
regional office in Transnistrian-controlled Bender remained closed, and
the OSCE continued to operate from an office near Bender in a
government-controlled area.
The law provides for four parliamentary ombudsmen who make up the
independent Moldovan Human Rights Center (MHRC). Parliament appoints
the ombudsmen to examine claims of human rights violations, advise
parliament on human rights problems, submit legislation to the
Constitutional Court for review, and oversee MHRC operations. MHRC
personnel also provided training for lawyers and journalists, visited
prisons, made recommendations on legislation, and organized roundtable
discussions.
During the year the ombudsmen released a report on prison and
police station visits conducted in 2008, which noted violations of the
procedural rights of detainees and prisoners and violations of living
and health standards in prisons.
In March 2008 parliament criticized the MHRC for its failure to act
more vigorously on human rights violations. According to NGOs,
cumbersome and nontransparent procedures for appointing new ombudsmen
created uncertainty and impeded the MHRC's ability to function
effectively after one ombudsman died and the terms of two others
expired. The government appointed a new ombudsman in October 2008.
Between his appointment and November, the ombudsman initiated 154
complaints against the government. Members of the ombudsman's office
made 115 visits to detention centers during the first nine months of
the year and persuaded prosecutors to initiate cases against four
prison officers allegedly involved in torture.
In Transnistria authorities continued to control and intimidate
NGOs by ``inviting'' NGO representatives to meetings with security
officials and pressuring landlords not to renew leases for office
space. Authorities restricted NGOs to providing legal advice and other
assistance on apolitical programs, such as domestic disputes, access
for the handicapped, and pension rights. Transnistrian authorities
encouraged NGOs operating in Transnistria to cooperate with Russian,
Abkhazian, and South Ossetian organizations rather than western NGOs
and those operating in the rest of Moldova.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
ethnicity, or social status; however, the government did not always
enforce these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape or forcible sexual assault;
penalties range from three years to life in prison. The law also
addresses spousal rape.
Rape remained a problem, and there were no specific government
activities to combat rape. During the year prosecutors opened 260
criminal cases of rape. Of these cases, 66 were dismissed and 115 were
forwarded to courts for trial. In 11 of these cases, prosecutors sought
prison sentences. NGOs believed that many rapes were not reported.
The law defines domestic violence as a criminal offense, provides
for punishment of perpetrators, defines mechanisms to obtain
restraining orders against abusive individuals, and extends protection
to unmarried individuals and children of unmarried individuals. The law
also allows the possibility of granting protective orders obliging the
perpetrator to stay away from the victim; provides for cooperation
between public administration and civil society organizations;
establishes the protection of the victim as a human rights principle;
and allows the possibility for third parties to file complaints.
According to the local NGO La Strada, there are no government standards
for the quality of services or for the identification, assessment, or
monitoring of domestic violence cases.
Domestic violence against women and spousal abuse remained
widespread problems. A 2008 survey indicated that at least 40 percent
of women in the country had been victims of a violent act at least once
in their life. Domestic violence was closely linked to human
trafficking. According to local NGOs, at least 80 percent of
trafficking victims had previously been victims of domestic violence.
Victims of domestic violence generally endured in silence, as the
problem received little recognition from government, society, or women
themselves. Unless such violence resulted in serious injuries, it was
accepted as a normal aspect of private life by both men and women and
not considered a problem warranting legal intervention.
Women's groups continued to assert credibly that incidents of
spousal abuse were underreported. According to the Interior Ministry,
2,519 cases of spousal abuse were reported in 2007; in 2006, 2,855
domestic violence complaints were reported. The actual numbers were
believed to be much higher.
The government supported education efforts, usually undertaken with
foreign assistance, to increase public awareness of domestic violence
and to instruct the public and law enforcement officials in ways to
address the problem. The city of Chisinau operated a women's shelter
for victims of domestic violence. Private organizations operated
services for abused spouses, including a hotline for battered women.
Access to such assistance remained difficult for some. La Strada
reported that, because of cultural concerns, a large majority of
domestic violence victims it interviewed did not request assistance for
specialized services.
Following a July 2008 visit, the UN special rapporteur on violence
against women noted that government officials and public authorities
did not recognize violence against women as a systemic problem; rather,
they treated such assaults as a single law enforcement event. Police
failed to intervene effectively in cases of violence against women.
There was insufficient care available for victims and only one shelter
where victims and their children could seek refuge.
In Transnistria there is no law prohibiting violence against women.
Prostitution is punishable by a fine of 50 to 75 euros
(approximately $72 to $107) or administrative arrest for up to 20 days.
Pimping is a crime with penalties ranging from two to seven years in
prison. Advertising prostitution in the media is punished with a fine
of 150 euros (approximately $215).
Sex tourism existed, and the government failed to implement laws or
programs to prevent it. The International Organization for Migration
(IOM) worked to raise awareness of the problem among hotel staff and
owners.
The NGO La Strada reported that during the year authorities
attempted to reduce demand for prostitution by raiding saunas and
hotels and by checking the identification and purpose of visit of
foreigners, particularly those observed accompanying women after 10:00
p.m.
Trafficking in women for commercial sexual exploitation continued
to be a problem, although according to IOM, there were fewer identified
victims during the year than in previous years, and the average period
of exploitation for victims had also declined. Both law enforcement
agencies and NGOs reported that over the last decade, the number of
identified trafficking victims steadily declined, so that the number of
identified victims during the year was approximately half of what it
was in 2000. Greater awareness on the part of potential victims as a
result of public awareness programs could have led some to be more
prudent, while simultaneously, remittances from abroad may have
decreased the economic necessity driving some potential victims to
leave home. Additionally, with so many persons already abroad, the pool
of potential victims may have declined. According to IOM the average
time victims were trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation,
decreased from one to two years to four months.
According to IOM the pattern of trafficking has also changed, so
that many victims were believed to be more frequently recruited abroad,
paid small amounts of money, allowed to contact their families and are
given greater freedom of movement.
The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, but it was a common
problem.
The government adopted laws and implemented policies to increase
the birthrate by ensuring free obstetric and postpartum care to all
citizens and also by paying child benefits (approximately $120 for
first child in a family, and approximately $150 for each subsequent
child). Applying to receive child benefits was sometimes difficult
because of excessive bureaucracy, but no cases of denial of payment
have been reported. The mandatory (state) medical insurance program
covered all expenses related to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care.
During pregnancy the government provided essential medicines free of
charge.
Most medical institutions, both state and private, had free-of-
charge booklets and leaflets about family planning and contraception.
There were no reports of women discriminated against when diagnosed
with or treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
There were reports that some employers failed to provide women with
paid maternity leave or threatened pregnant women with termination of
employment.
There were no reports of Romani women being denied obstetrical,
childbirth or postpartum care. However, many Romani women failed to
take advantage of free government-administered medical care during
pregnancy. There was no reliable information on Romani access to
contraception.
The law provides for full gender equality. The National Bureau of
Statistics reported women experienced higher levels of employment than
men. Women earned approximately 85 percent of what men earned for equal
work. According to an EU report released in April 2008, the country's
implementation of a 2006 law on equal opportunities for men and women
was slow. In some cases especially in rural areas, women encountered
strong patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes that served to
perpetuate the subordinate position of women in the family and in
society.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parent(s).
Registration of birth is free of charge for all citizens. In April the
government began enforcing a new law that simplified birth registration
procedures by establishing civil registration offices within maternity
hospitals which issue birth certificates before the mother and newborn
are discharged from the hospital. Prior to its abolition of the
practice on November 25, the government issued optional free-of-charge
identity cards for newborns if parents requested them.
Primary education was free and compulsory until the ninth grade,
although many inadequately funded schools, particularly in rural areas,
charged parents for school supplies and textbooks. Although they were
not illegal, such fees contradicted the government's policies and
resulted in some parents keeping their children home. Government and
local authorities provided 300 lei ($29) for school supplies annually
to children from vulnerable families.
The Romani organization Vocea Romilor reported that 2,800 Romani
children were unable to attend school because of poverty.
The law prohibits child neglect and specific forms of abuse, such
as forced begging; however, child abuse was believed to be widespread.
By December 1, law enforcement agencies opened 405 cases for crimes
against children, including 97 cases of sexual abuse, 20 cases of
serious bodily injuries to children, and 10 cases of premeditated
murder. The Interior Ministry is responsible for investigating and
prosecuting child sexual abuse cases, but declined to release
statistics on the scope of the problem.
According to the Ministry of Social Protection, Family, and the
Child, efforts to protect children from abuse were hampered by
inadequate victims' services, lack of reliable methods to track cases,
and insufficient legal mechanisms to prevent such abuse or to provide
special protection to victims. According to the ministry, more than 25
percent of minors admitted to being beaten by their parents, 20 percent
said they experienced parental verbal abuse, and 15 percent said they
lacked food and care. Approximately 10 percent of parents admitted to
emotionally or physically abusing their children.
During the year there were reports of cases of child prostitution.
Commercial sex with minors is punished as statutory rape. The minimum
age for consensual sex is 16. The law prohibits production,
distribution, broadcasting, import, export, sale, exchange, use, or
possession of child pornography, and violators face one to three years'
imprisonment.
Trafficking of children for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation and begging remained a serious problem. According to the
Center for Combating Trafficking in Persons (CCTIP), 19 cases of
trafficking of minors were opened during the first 11 months of the
year. Police forwarded 16 cases to prosecutors, and prosecutors
referred nine to courts for trial. The Justice Ministry reported that
five persons (in eight criminal cases) were sentenced to imprisonment
for child trafficking during the year.
Conditions for children in orphanages and other institutions
remained generally very poor. Underfunding caused major problems such
as inadequate food, ``warehousing'' of children, lack of heat in
winter, and disease. NGOs estimated that some 25 percent of the
children in orphanages actually had one or two living parents, but they
were abandoned when parents left the country in search of employment.
Observers estimated that approximately one third of children lived in
households where one or both parents had left the country in search of
work. Such children often lived in poverty and were particularly
vulnerable to trafficking and labor exploitation.
Various government ministries ran their own orphanages and boarding
schools. The Ministry of Labor, Social Protection, and Family
maintained two boarding schools with a population of 675 children with
disabilities and three asylums providing temporary shelter (for up to
one year), counseling, and other assistance to up to 110 children from
socially vulnerable families. The Ministry of Education oversaw 19
boarding schools with 5,932 students and two orphanages with 137
children. The ministry reported that 35 percent of the children in its
care were orphans or abandoned. The other 65 percent came from socially
vulnerable families in which parents were unable to maintain even basic
living conditions. The Education Ministry also supervised 42
institutions for children with disabilities, housing up to 5,487
children.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes and provides for criminal penalties; however,
trafficking was a serious problem, and the country remained a source,
and to a lesser extent, a transit and destination point for trafficked
persons, particularly women and girls trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation and men trafficked for forced labor.
Women and children were trafficked for sexual exploitation to
Turkey, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Russia, Cyprus,
Greece, Albania, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic,
Austria, France, Italy, and Portugal. Men and children were trafficked
to Russia and neighboring countries for forced labor and begging. The
trafficking of men for work in the construction, agriculture, and
service sectors was an increasing problem. Of the approximately 900,000
citizens working abroad, slightly less than 1 percent were believed to
be victims of trafficking.
The country was to a lesser extent also a transit point for
trafficked victims from Ukraine. There were reports of some internal
trafficking of girls from rural areas to Chisinau.
Some traffickers used false newspaper advertisements promising
well-paying jobs abroad to attract victims. NGOs working with
trafficking victims noted that, in recent years, face-to-face contact,
most frequently with friends or relatives who have worked abroad, had
become the leading means of recruitment. Anecdotal evidence indicated
that traffickers offered some female victims their freedom if they
recruited a friend or relative to work in the sex trade. The
International Labor Organization (ILO) reported that, in many cases,
traffickers of children were Roma.
Victims were transported across borders by car, van, train, or on
foot. Sometimes false documents were used, but increasingly victims
traveled willingly by plane with valid documents, believing that they
were headed for legitimate jobs. Travel and employment agencies
remained some of the principal channels for trafficking and other forms
of illegal migration.
In the first nine months of the year, IOM reported that it had
assisted 102 victims of trafficking, of whom 43 were victims of sexual
exploitation and 37 were victims of labor exploitation. This compared
to 158 victims assisted in 2008. The Ministry of Labor, Social
Protection, and Family reported that it had assisted 59 victims and 118
potential victims through the national referral system during the same
period.
CCTIP reported a growing number of victims willing to cooperate in
criminal proceedings and an overall decrease in number of victims,
declining from 271 in 2008 to 189 during the year.
During the year the Interior Ministry reported that it conducted 15
raids to inspect 16 travel and employment agencies; it suspended the
licenses of five agencies and withdrew the licenses of nine agencies
for suspected trafficking. Authorities opened eight criminal cases
against travel agencies, eight cases against employment agencies, and
one case against a sports club.
In the first 11 months of the year, CCTIP reported that authorities
had opened 179 trafficking-related cases and 19 additional cases
involving trafficking in children. Of these 94 cases of trafficked
adults and nine cases involving children were forwarded to courts.
During the year the Justice Ministry reported 60 persons sentenced to
imprisonment for trafficking in 57 criminal cases.
For example, in February a Cantemir court sentenced Violeta Gorceag
and Cristian Botusneanu to 10 years' imprisonment for trafficking a
woman to Turkey. In March a Chisinau court sentenced Brian Deacon, a
United Kingdom citizen, to seven and a half years' imprisonment for
sexual molestation of children. In March the Chisinau Court of Appeals
sentenced a young woman to six years and eight months' imprisonment for
trafficking a woman to Turkey.
In June a Chisinau court sentenced a young woman to 10 years'
imprisonment for trafficking two minors to Turkey. In July the Court of
Appeals sentenced Marin Cernei to seven years' imprisonment for
trafficking two young women to the Russian Federation. Following an
intervention by prosecutors, the court of appeals upgraded this case
from conviction for pimping to conviction for trafficking in persons.
In October a Chisinau court sentenced Alexandr Plohotniuc, residing
in Transnistria, to seven years' imprisonment for attempting, as part
of a criminal network, to traffic a Ukrainian woman to Turkey for
sexual exploitation under the pretense that she would work there as a
shop assistant.
The law provides criminal penalties for trafficking ranging from
seven years to life imprisonment, depending on the circumstances and
severity of the offense. During the year the government reduced the
length of all trafficking-related criminal penalties in an effort to
harmonize local law with EU standards. For example, the government
reduced the punishment for trafficking from seven to 15 years to five
to 12 years; for repeat or aggravated trafficking, the punishment was
reduced from 10 to 20 to seven to 15 years. Penalties for child
trafficking in were reduced from 10 to 15 to eight to 12 years.
There were continued anecdotal reports that both low- and high-
ranking government officials, as well as border guards and police
officers, were involved in trafficking. International organizations and
foreign governments criticized the government for making insufficient
efforts to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence complicit
officials. In 2008 prosecutors began criminal investigations into
allegations that former Interior Ministry antitrafficking employees
protected some criminal networks under investigation; those
investigations continued during the year. While there were no new cases
opened during the year, in October CCTIP requested that prosecutors
reopen their investigation into a former head of the CCTIP.
In June 2008 then-president Voronin accused the CCTIP of having a
poor record, stating that some employees protected criminal schemes
that trafficked citizens abroad and failed to file or close cases in
exchange for monetary compensation. In July 2008 the president
appointed a new CCTIP director and temporarily suspended CCTIP staff,
pending reinvestigation of employees. Of the 63 staff members
investigated, only 18 elected to stay or were retained. One of the
staff members who departed was under investigation for possible
corruption. In September 2008 the government announced the
restructuring of the center, increasing its staffing.
The Interior Ministry reported that, during the first 11 months of
the year, it investigated and closed 40 illegal migration and
trafficking networks. Of that number nine networks trafficked for
sexual and labor exploitation; seven for external pimping; six for
illegal movement of children out of the country; and 18 for organizing
illegal migration.
In 2008 the National Referral System for Protection and Assistance
of Victims and Potential Victims of Trafficking (NRS) began operating
in 16 regions and two municipalities, offering protection and
assistance to victims and potential victims of trafficking. The NRS
trained local specialists in skills such as direct contact with the
victims, their reintegration into their family and society, and the
prevention of societal stigmatization. During the year the NRS was
expanded to include 23 regions, two municipalities and one town. During
the first 11 months of the year, NRS referred 59 victims (compared to
24 in 2008) and 118 potential victims (compared to 34 in 2008) to
assistance providers.
Antitrafficking NGOs noted that no special protection measures were
available to child trafficking victims; there were no special
interviewing rooms, and children were often interviewed as many as 10
times, often being confronted by the alleged trafficker.
The government did not provide any funding to antitrafficking NGOs;
such NGOs were supported by grants from foreign institutions and
governments.
According to the IOM, the government increased its financing of the
Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Trafficking from 512,000 lei
(approximately $46,500) in 2008 to 680,000 lei (approximately $61,800)
during the year. The government provided free national identity and
health insurance cards and free access to vocational training programs
to victims of trafficking.
There is a government regulation on the repatriation of trafficked
persons and victims of illegal migration that has special provisions
for minors, victim protection, rehabilitation, and monitoring.
According to antitrafficking NGOs, the government had in some cases
provided free passports to trafficking victims abroad, repatriation,
police protection, reception by social workers at the point of entry
into the country, and rehabilitation and vocational assistance.
The role of government in victim assistance increased during the
year because of the consolidation and extension of the NRS, but it
continued to rely on NGOs and international organizations for victim
assistance and actively cooperated with NGOs. Several NGOs offered
repatriation assistance, temporary housing, medical care, and job
training for victims. The NGO Save the Children worked with trafficking
victims, particularly repatriated girls. Local NGO La Strada provided
informational and educational services as well as a national toll free
hotline. IOM continued a public information program aimed at helping
citizens going abroad to avoid exploitation. Local NGOs also operated
public school programs to educate young women about the dangers of
prostitution.
The government participated in international conferences designed
to increase multilateral effectiveness in dealing with trafficking,
frequently in collaboration with law enforcement officials from
neighboring countries and other European governments.
There were continued reports of trafficking from and through the
separatist region of Transnistria. The only major effort in the region
to combat trafficking and provide assistance to victims was by the
Transnistrian NGO Interaction, which maintained a trafficking hotline.
According to Interaction Transnistrian authorities did not take any
action to combat trafficking in persons. In contrast to previous years,
Interaction reported a drop in trafficking in the region.
On April 1, Interaction opened a second hotline to assist victims
of domestic violence in Transnistria. Through year's end the hotline
received nearly 1,000 calls, including calls for information, 206
emergency calls from trafficking victims or their relatives, and calls
from international organizations dealing with trafficking problems.
Interaction also provided emergency assistance, help in resettlement,
and psychological counseling to victims, close to half of whom were 16
to 18 years old. Transnistrian authorities neither helped nor hindered
Interaction's activities.
On November 9, the new government convened its first meeting of the
National Committee for Preventing Trafficking in Persons, chaired by
Prime Minister Filat, who appointed Foreign Minister Iurie Leanca to
lead the committee.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to public facilities, healthcare, or the provision of
other state services; however, the government generally did not enforce
the law. The local NGO Gaudeamus reported continued widespread
discrimination against students with disabilities.
The government has national strategies for reforming the
residential childcare system and rehabilitating and integrating persons
with disabilities, but it did not provide funding to implement them.
Government regulations mandate access to buildings for persons with
disabilities; with few exceptions most government buildings provided
such access. While most newly built or reconstructed buildings had such
access, few older buildings provided it. The government also provided
few resources to training persons with disabilities. The Social
Assistance Division in the Ministry of Social Protection, Family, and
Child, and the National Labor Force Agency are responsible for
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
In June 2008 officials estimated that the number of persons with
disabilities in the country was more than 170,000 and growing and noted
that government assistance did not satisfy their needs. The ILO
attributed this increase to greater public awareness. The director of
the Center for Services for Students with Disabilities stated that the
structure of educational institutions and the lack of materials for
teaching persons who are deaf or blind exemplified the government's
failure to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.
In Transnistria children with disabilities and special educational
requirements rarely attended school and lacked access to specialized
resources.
Although the law provides for equal employment opportunities and
prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities (with the
exception of jobs where certain health conditions are required), in
practice many employers failed to provide accommodation to persons with
disabilities and avoided employing persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Roma were subject to violence,
harassment, and discrimination. Romani NGOs reported that Roma were
denied medical services, told that promised jobs were already filled
when they reported to employment centers, and subjected to arbitrary
arrests. Roma were the country's poorest minority group and continued
to live in unsanitary conditions in segregated communities lacking
basic infrastructure. These conditions often led to segregated
education and schools with even fewer resources than existed elsewhere
in the country. Many Romani children did not attend school, very few
received a secondary or higher education, and the government did not
provide education in the Romani language. Romani NGOs estimated that 80
percent of Romani children were illiterate. According to a 2007 UNDP
report, 43 percent of Romani children between the ages of seven to 15
did not attend school, compared with approximately 6 percent of non-
Romani children. On March 24, the Roma Association reported that 2,800
Romani children were unable to attend school because of poverty.
Official statistics put the number of Roma at 11,600. However,
Romani NGOs estimated it to be 250,000, including 100,000 persons of
voting age. NGOs asserted that government census forms allowed persons
to identify only with one ethnic group, and that many Roma declined to
identify themselves as Roma.
In Transnistria authorities continued to discriminate against
Romanian speakers. Under a temporary arrangement, the Transnistrian
authorities allowed eight Latin-script schools under the Moldovan
Ministry of Education to operate in Transnistria. School employees
complained that authorities could arbitrarily rescind the arrangement--
which applied to all Latin-script schools--at any time. Approximately
7,700 children in the region attended these eight Latin-script schools.
The situation was more difficult for approximately 26 ``Moldovan
language'' Cyrillic-script schools that operated under the
Transnistrian Ministry of Education. Authorities failed to fund those
schools sufficiently, and did not supply them with sufficient numbers
of Cyrillic-language books. Although lacking books and other supplies,
school principals declined to accept donations of books from the
Moldovan government because of pressure and threats from Transnistrian
authorities.
In August 2008 Transnistrian police in Dubasari summoned the
director of the Romanian-language (Latin script) Harmatca school after
an NGO initiated a fundraising drive to repair the building and prepare
it for the upcoming school year. Police interrogated him about the July
fundraising events and prohibited him from participating in the
campaign to collect funds and equipment. Police also threatened and
intimidated other school officials. As a result of the intimidation and
threats, school authorities refused further contacts with NGOs.
At year's end negotiations between the central government and local
Transnistrian educational authorities on the operation of Romanian-
language schools had not resumed, nor was there progress on returning
the confiscated school buildings of the Evrica high school in Ribnita
and the Stefan cel Mare high school in Grigoriopol. The Evrica high
school continued to meet in temporary rented quarters after authorities
confiscated its building after the central government finished its
construction in 2004. During the year three parents complained of
intimidation and threats that they would be dismissed from their jobs
if they sent their children to Evrica. Classes were often interrupted
by unknown persons who broke windows. Transnistrian authorities and
police repeatedly failed to identify the perpetrators. The central
government provided Grigoriopol students with transportation and
facilities in the government-controlled town of Dorotcaia.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were reports of
governmental and societal discrimination based on sexual orientation.
According to the gay rights NGO GenderDoc-M, lack of community
recognition, negative media portrayals, and condemnation by the
Orthodox Church often led to public ostracism of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) persons, and their families.
In recent years public officials spoke out against homosexual
conduct. In a speech before parliament in May 2008, then-deputy speaker
Iurie Rosca stated that citizens should respect personal privacy and
the freedom to choose sexual orientation, but reject ``public
displays'' of homosexual behavior. He noted that parades and such
``public displays'' have a negative effect on children's psychological
and moral development.
During a May 2008 pride parade organized by GenderDoc-M, security
forces observed from a distance as hundreds of persons aggressively
blocked the bus carrying GenderDoc-M participants. Police failed to
address emergency calls from the participants. According to one
participant who called the police emergency line, a police officer
stated, ``Yes, we know you are being attacked; what do you want us to
do about it?'' Although the Chisinau mayor's office initially approved
the group's plan for the march, Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca withdrew
permission, claiming that he did so to avoid violence.
In May 2008 Chisinau municipal authorities prohibited GenderDoc-M
from holding a protolerance, antidiscrimination rally. Authorities
based the denial on the need to avoid societal tensions and religious
organizations' disapproval of homosexual conduct.
In light of the problems in 2008 and the heightened tensions
following the April elections, the LGBT community canceled plans for a
public demonstration on May 7 and instead held a festival at a local
nightclub without incident.
In Transnistria homosexual activity is illegal, and LGBT persons
were subject to governmental and societal discrimination.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Several NGOs reported
instances of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, particularly
in rural villages.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to
form and join independent unions and conduct their activities without
government interference; however, this right was not always respected
in practice. Some unions were unable to register to gain full legal
status since by law, only national, sectoral, and intersectoral level
trade unions may acquire status as a legal entity. Approximately 50
percent of the workforce was unionized. Civil servants, police, and
members of the military, are forbidden by law from joining unions.
In February 2008 delegates from 30 workplace organizations convened
in Chisinau to establish the Trade Union Association of Public
Administration and the Civil Service. However, the Ministry of Justice
refused to register the new trade union, asserting that the district
organizations of the 30 entities had not been registered. Labor rights
groups noted that the law requires only national registration and makes
no provision for registration of district trade union associations. In
November 2008 the Supreme Court upheld the denial of registration. This
decision was criticized by the International Trade Union Confederation
and other international and domestic labor rights organizations.
The law does not provide sanctions for violations of freedom of
association, and labor organizations reported that labor inspectorates
and prosecutors' offices failed to monitor and enforce the right to
organize effectively.
The law provides for the right to strike, except for government
workers and workers in essential services such as law enforcement.
Healthcare providers and public utility employees were not allowed to
strike during duty hours. Political strikes are prohibited. Compulsory
arbitration may be imposed at the request of only one party to the
conflict. Workers exercised this right by conducting legal strikes
during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining and the right to organize; however,
the government did not always respect these rights in practice.
The law does not stipulate penalties for violating trade union
rights. As a result prosecutors may reject appeals by trade unions
alleging antiunion behavior by employers and the government; violations
of the trade union law remained unpunished.
In March 2008 the government ignored a request by the Education and
Science Trade Union (ESTU) to enter into collective bargaining in favor
of a salary increase. In September 2008 ESTU organized a picket line in
front of government buildings in protest. Since coming into office, the
new government announced that teachers would be the only government
employees to receive a scheduled annual salary increase.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, with exceptions. The law and a government
decision allow central and local authorities as well as military bodies
to mobilize the adult population under certain conditions and employ
such labor to develop the national economy. However, the government did
not invoke this provision during the year. Men, women, and children
were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities were trafficked
for begging, primarily to Moscow and other large cities in Russia.
The NGO Pacifists without Borders accused military centers and
conscription commissions of violating the rights of the persons who
have reached the age of conscription for military service (18 years).
The NGO stated that, to reach conscription targets, military centers
and conscription commissions declared some men to be physically and
mentally fit for conscription without medical examinations and without
taking into account their beliefs and values.
The law prohibits forced or compulsory child labor. On several
occasions during the autumn harvest, the ombudsman responsible for
children investigated reports of children working in fields and
vineyards; she sent the children back to their schools, and threatened
school authorities with fines.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for
Employment.--The law sets standards for child labor, including the
minimum age for employment, hours of work, and working conditions, and
prohibits the worst forms of child labor; however, the government did
not effectively enforce these protections, and child labor was a
problem. Parents often sent children to work in fields or to find other
work, and those children living in rural areas often assisted in the
agricultural sector. According to a 2007 ILO report, two-thirds of
rural children were engaged in farm work by the age of 14. There were
also reports that farms and agricultural cooperatives signed contracts
with school directors to have students help with harvesting during the
high season in autumn; the children were paid for the work.
The minimum age for unrestricted employment is 18. Persons between
the ages of 16 and 18 are permitted to work under special conditions,
including shorter workdays; no night, weekend, or holiday shifts; no
overtime; and longer vacations. Fifteen-year-old children are permitted
to work if they obtain written permission from a parent or guardian.
There were reports that children were trafficked within and to
points outside the country for commercial sexual exploitation, labor,
and begging. The law provides for 10 to 15 years' imprisonment for
persons involving children in the worst forms of child labor; under
aggravated circumstances the sentence could be life imprisonment.
Efforts by the Labor Inspectorate Office (LIO) to enforce child
labor laws did not deter violations. In 2008 labor inspectors
discovered violations at 26 enterprises involving 184 cases of
employees under the age of 18. At 10 businesses inspectors found 89
persons without work contracts, employment orders, or records of
working hours.
The most common violations involving persons under age 18 concerned
failure to issue work contracts, illegal overtime, scheduling work
during school hours, and underpayment or nonpayment of wages. In 2007
the LIO reported that of 371 child labor cases it investigated, 298
cases concerned hazardous work conditions. Fifteen of these cases were
deemed abusive and involved children working cultivating mushrooms,
assembling boxes for agricultural goods, and smoking fish. The cases
classified as nonabusive but hazardous involved children working
without medical checks; children working evenings, late, or extended
hours; and children under the age of 16 years working without parental
consent. According to the LIO, during the first six months of 2008, it
had investigated 96 child labor cases out of 4,061 inspections.
Children also worked illegally in the production of factory goods such
as clothing, toys, and automobile electrical parts. Children also
commonly worked in theaters, car washes, and in carpentry, agriculture,
trade, and transportation.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum monthly wage
was 400 lei ($38) per month. The minimum wage was set by the government
in yearly consultations with trade unions and employer associations. If
the government takes a decision to revise the minimum wage, it sets a
new minimum wage taking into account basic macroeconomic indicators,
the consumer price index, and average wages. According to the law, no
employer (whether state or private) may pay wages below the official
minimum salary. The minimum salary set by the government is the basic
pay rate and cannot include premium pay. According to the National
Bureau of Statistics, the average gross salary was 2,686 lei ($243) per
month. The government estimated that the minimum living wage was 1,315
lei ($126). Average disposable income was only 1,094 lei ($105) per
month. The LIO is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage, but it
did not do so effectively during the year. The government as well as
private sector employers often did not pay wages on time.
The law sets the maximum workweek at 40 hours with extra
compensation for overtime and provides for at least one day off per
week. LIO field visits led to the sanctioning of violations when
discovered, but staff and funding deficiencies limited the frequency of
such visits. While the country had few foreign or migrant workers, the
law provides them equal status to domestic workers.
A thriving informal economy and black market accounted for a
majority of the country's economic activity, which helped explain
unrealistically low income statistics. In 2008 analyst Veaceslav Ionita
estimated that there was a turnover of an estimated 50 billion lei
(approximately $4.8 billion) in the informal economy and that, while
official statistics indicated only 620,000 persons of the 2.3 million
person labor force were officially employed, more than 1.2 million
persons were actually working.
Under the labor code, work contracts must be concluded even by
private farmers, who have to register them with the mayor's office and
send copies to the local labor inspectorate. However, there were no
reports of such contracts being concluded, and the central government
did not have a mechanism to monitor compliance with this requirement.
The government is required to establish and monitor safety
standards in the workplace, and the LIO was responsible for enforcing
health and safety standards. During the first four months of 2008, the
LIO conducted 4,061 health and safety inspections. The Prosecutor
General's Office accused the LIO of limiting its activity to finding
violations, while failing to undertake measures necessary to ensure
future compliance. Monitoring carried out by prosecutors revealed that
the most frequent violations were related to citizens' rights to work
(including reasonable conditions of work and right to a paid vacation),
payment and labor protection, and social and medical assistance.
According to a September report by the National Bureau of
Statistics, during 2008, 21,750 workers, including more than 6,000
teachers, were working in unsanitary conditions, an increase of
approximately 3,000 over 2007. Examples of unsanitary conditions
include lack of heating in winter and lack of water supplies in some
rural areas. Women represented 50 percent of the persons working in
unsanitary conditions. The number of employees engaged in hard labor
fell from 1,692 in 2006 to 1,371 in 2008.
In September the National Bureau of Statistics reported that the
number of workplace accidents decreased from 1,946 in 1996 to 540 in
2008.
The law provides workers the right to refuse work if conditions
represent a serious health or safety threat; there were no reports that
workers exercised this right in practice. Poor economic conditions led
enterprises to economize on safety equipment and provide inadequate
attention to worker safety.
__________
MONACO
The Principality of Monaco has a resident population of 35,000, of
whom approximately 7,000 have Monegasque citizenship. It is a
constitutional monarchy in which the sovereign prince plays the leading
governmental role. The prince appoints the government consisting of a
minister of state chosen from a list proposed by the French government
and five counselors responsible for finance, interior, health and
social affairs, environment and city planning, and external affairs.
The prince shares the country's legislative power with the popularly
elected 24-member National Council. In February 2008 the principality
held multiparty elections for the National Council; they were
considered free and fair. The National Council meets at least twice a
year to consider bills proposed by the prince's government. The prince
may dissolve the National Council at any time provided that new
elections are held within three months. The Crown Council must also be
consulted before ratification of international treaties or substantive
changes in the principality's citizenship laws. The Crown Council has
seven members, three chosen directly by the prince and four chosen by
the prince from nominees put forward by the National Council.
The electoral system allows citizens to change many aspects of
their government, but there is no constitutional provision to allow the
citizens to change the monarchical nature of the government.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
centers meet or exceed international standards. The government permits
monitoring by human rights observers.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the national police force and the
Carbiniers du Prince, the ceremonial military unit that guards the
prince's palace. The government has effective mechanisms to investigate
and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity
involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arrest
warrants are required, except when a suspect is arrested while
committing an offense. Police must bring a detainee before an
investigating magistrate within 24 hours to inform the detainee of the
charges against him and of his rights under the law. Most detainees
were released without bail, but the investigating magistrate may order
detention on grounds that the suspect might flee or interfere with the
investigation of the case. The government works with the French to
return any fugitive who flees the principality into France. The
investigating magistrate may extend the initial two-month detention for
additional two-month periods indefinitely. The investigating magistrate
customarily permits family members to see detainees.
On July 16, the European Court of Human Rights upheld in part a
complaint against excessive pretrial detention by the defendant in a
criminal bank embezzlement case.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice. Under the law, the prince delegates
his judicial powers to the judiciary.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides the right to a fair, public
trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. As
under French law, in criminal cases a three-judge tribunal considers
the evidence collected by the investigating magistrate and hears the
arguments made by prosecuting attorney/s and defense attorney/s. Juries
are not used. The defendant enjoys a presumption of innocence and the
right of appeal. The defendant has the right to be present and the
right to counsel, at public expense if necessary. Defendants have the
right to question witnesses against them and to present their own
witnesses. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-
held evidence relevant to their cases. After being found guilty and
receiving a definitive sentence, convicts are transferred to a French
prison to serve out their terms.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The principality has an
independent and impartial judiciary for civil matters, and residents
have access to a court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, a human rights violation. Plaintiffs regularly use
available administrative remedies to seek redress for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights. Articles 58 and 60 of the Penal Code prohibit
public denunciations of the ruling family, provisions that the media
followed in practice. The law provides for imprisonment of between six
months to five years for violation of Articles 58 and 60. No one was
charged with violation of these statutes during the year.
As limited by the provisions of Articles 58 and 60, an independent
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 67 percent of the principality's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the government generally respected this right in practice. Roman
Catholicism is the state religion. Churches serving several Christian
denominations and synagogues operate freely. There are no mosques. The
government denies permission to operate to religious organizations
found on the French Interministerial Monitoring Mission against
Sectarian Abuses (MIVILUDES) ``cult'' list. During the year the
government neither received nor denied any registration applications.
There is no law against proselytizing by religious organizations
formally registered by the Ministry of State. However, proselytizing in
public, which the authorities deem to be detrimental to the public
order, is not allowed. There were no such incidents during the year.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of any
religious group. The Jewish community is extremely small. There were no
reports of anti-Semitic incidents.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the principality, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The principality is party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, but not to the 1967
Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the
granting of refuge and asylum status. In theory, the government is
committed to following international norms regarding protection against
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. In practice, the principality depends on bilateral
arrangements with France in all matters relating to refugees and
asylum. During the year there were no reported cases of the government
granting refugee status or political asylum.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The authority to change the government and to initiate laws rests
solely with the prince. The constitution can be revised by common
agreement between the prince and the elected National Council.
Elections and Political Participation.--As head of state, the
prince names the minister of state, in effect the prime minister,
frequently a French citizen chosen in coordination with the government
of France. The prince also names the five other counselors who make up
the government.
Only the prince may formally initiate legislation, but the 24-
member National Council may propose legislation to the government. All
legislation and the adoption of the budget require the National
Council's assent.
Elections for the National Council are held every five years and
are based on universal adult suffrage and a secret ballot. The National
Council elections in February 2008 were considered free and fair.
Several political parties exist, operate freely, and are active on both
the national and municipal level.
There were six women in the 24-member National Council, and two
women in the seven-member Crown Council.
There were no members of minorities in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of governmental corruption alleged during the year,
but no formal proceedings against government officials for corruption.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access in practice for citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Although the government did not restrict the establishment or
operation of groups devoted to monitoring human rights, none currently
exists in the principality, nor does the government have an ombudsman
for human rights issues. The government has pledged full cooperation
with any UN or other international human rights organization, but no
monitoring visits by international human rights organizations took
place during the year.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides that all nationals are equal before the
law. It differentiates between rights accorded to nationals (including
preference in employment, free education, and assistance to the ill or
unemployed) and those accorded to all residents (including
inviolability of the home). The law prohibits discrimination based on
race, gender, disability, language, or social status, and the
government generally enforced it.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense. There
were no arrests or prosecutions for any form of rape during the year.
Instances of violence against women were rarely reported. Spousal
abuse is prohibited by law, and victims may bring criminal charges
against their spouses.
Prostitution is illegal, and overt prostitution is uncommon,
although it exists in a well-hidden form. There were no prosecutions
for prostitution during the year.
Sexual harassment is illegal, and the government effectively
enforced the law. There were no reports of sexual harassment during the
year.
Although the law provides for the equality of men and women, there
is no institution with a mandate to monitor gender inequalities. The
law governing transmission of citizenship provides for equality of
treatment between men and women.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception and
skilled attendance during childbirth, and women were diagnosed and
treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally
with men.
Women were represented well in the professions, but less well in
business and financial fields. While no data was available, observers
believe that there was a small and gradually diminishing gender pay
discrepancy.
Children.--Citizenship may be transmitted through either parent
(jus sanguinis). Citizenship is not derived from birth within the
territory. The government registers all births immediately.
During the year there were few reports of child abuse. The
government sponsors public service programs against child abuse, and
the government hotline service provides a means of reporting and
addressing child abuse.
Statistics estimate that 2 percent of minors (under 18), either
those with disabilities or considered in danger, need assistance from
the Social Welfare Services.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit trafficking in
persons, and there were no reports that persons were trafficked to,
from, or within the principality. There was no evidence of forced
prostitution.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and the law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of
other state services. The government effectively enforced these
provisions. There was no reported governmental or societal
discrimination against persons with disabilities. The government has
largely fulfilled the legal requirement to provide access to public
buildings for persons with disabilities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no specific laws
protecting lesbians, gays, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) persons from
discrimination. There were no reports of official or societal
discrimination against LGBT persons during the year.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--By law, workers are free to form and
join independent unions of their choice, but fewer than five percent of
workers were unionized. Non-Monegasque workers, about 97 percent of the
work force, have the right to join unions. Of the larger foreign work
force, nearly 70 percent are French or Italian citizens. Unions were
independent of both the government and political parties.
The constitution and law provide for the right to strike, but
government workers may not strike. There have been no reported
instances of retaliation against strikers.
The law protects workers' rights in terms of trade union
membership. Nonrespect of workers' rights related to trade unions can
subject employers to a fine or in some cases to imprisonment from three
months to a year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the free exercise of union activity, and workers exercise
this right in practice. In reality, strike actions are infrequent.
Employer organizations and trade unions negotiate agreements on working
conditions. Collective bargaining is protected by law; however, it was
rarely used because of the widespread use of individual contracts.
Contracts are individual contracts; they are negotiated between
employers and workers and are subject to work law and regulations. The
law determines all regulations and specific dispositions related to
work contracts and describes both parties' (employer and worker)
commitments.
Antiunion discrimination is prohibited. Union representatives may
be fired only with the agreement of a national commission that includes
two members from the employers' association and two from the labor
movement. During the year no cases were brought before this commission.
Allegations of dismissal for union activity may be brought before the
labor court, which can order redress, such as the payment of damages
with interest.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and
there were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum age for employment is 16 years; those employing children under
that age may be subject to a fine under criminal law. Workers between
the ages of 16 to 18 years old may not perform nighttime work. The
counselor of government for the interior is responsible for enforcing
the child labor laws and regulations, and they were effectively
enforced.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum wage for full-
time work is the French minimum wage, 8.82 euros per hour
(approximately $12.61), plus a 5 percent adjustment to compensate for
the travel costs of the three-quarters of the workforce who commute
daily. The minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. Most workers received more than the minimum wage.
The legal workweek is 39 hours. The government allows companies to
reduce the workweek to 35 hours if they so choose. Regulations provide
for a minimum number of rest periods and premium pay for overtime. Law
and government decree fix health and safety standards, which were
enforced by health and safety committees in the workplace and by the
government labor inspector.
Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work
situations without jeopardy to their employment, and authorities
effectively enforced this right.
__________
MONTENEGRO
Montenegro is a mixed parliamentary and presidential republic with
a population of approximately 670,000. Both the unicameral parliament
(the Assembly) and the president are elected by popular vote.
International observers reported that parliamentary elections held in
March met almost all international standards, but problems, such as the
use of offices for both government and political party purposes,
underscored the need for further democratic development. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of security forces.
Human rights problems included: police mistreatment of suspects in
detention, substandard prison conditions, abusive and arbitrary
arrests, police impunity, lengthy pretrial detention, delayed and
inefficient trials, widespread perception of corruption in law
enforcement agencies and the judiciary, physical assaults on
journalists, excessive monetary judgments against the media for
slander, denial of public and press access to information, mistreatment
and discrimination against the large number of refugees and internally
displaced persons, sectarian intolerance and homophobia, discrimination
against women, trafficking in persons, and discrimination against
ethnic minorities, particularly Roma.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. On the night of June 9 in Gornja Polja, Mojkovac
municipality, off-duty policeman Rade Popovic reportedly punched
Danijel Dedeic in the face. On June 14, Dedeic died. The High Court
opened an investigation of Popovic and detained him. The case was
ongoing at year's end.
Authorities pursued several cases of alleged war crimes during the
year. On March 19, after the suspects had engaged in hunger strikes and
made complaints regarding their prolonged detention, the trial began of
eight officers and soldiers of the Podgorica Corps of the former
Yugoslav Army on charges of killing 23 Albanian civilians in
Kaludjerski Laz near Rozaje in 1999. The killings occurred as the
Albanians were trying to escape from the war in Kosovo during the NATO
intervention. The trial continued, following interruptions, at year's
end. All of the alleged victims' families also filed civil suits. On
December 7, the Podgorica Basic Court decided one civil case, requiring
the government to pay 15,000 euros ($21,450) to Hadzija Ahmeti from
Novo Selo (near Pec, in Kosovo) for mental anguish.
During the year the Bijelo Polje Superior Court completed an
investigation of allegations that seven former military and police
personnel committed war crimes against Muslims in 1992 and 1993 in the
Bukovica region. The court forwarded the case for further action to the
special prosecutor for suppression of organized crime, corruption,
terrorism, and war crimes. Several families whose members were victims
of the alleged crimes filed civil suits with the Podgorica Basic Court.
On January 19, the deputy special prosecutor charged nine
defendants in connection with the deportation of Muslims and Serbs who
fled Bosnia in 1992 to the Republika Srpska; he ordered that they be
detained. While four defendants were taken into custody immediately,
five remained at large at year's end. A trial of all of those charged
began on November 26. The deported Bosnians reportedly were killed by
Republika Srpska forces, and the deported Serbs, mostly deserters from
the Republika Srpska army, were turned over to that army. During the
year the private vehicle of Slobodan Pejovic, a witness in the case and
a former police inspector from Herceg Novi, was vandalized three times.
The perpetrators were not found. Pejovic said that he had received
information that he could be killed by some members of the Agency for
National Security to keep him from appearing at trial. Police officials
described Pejovic's statements as exaggerated and called on him to
identify the persons who threatened him. Pejovic refused formal witness
protection but agreed that police should look after his house, car, and
other property. Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) appealed to
authorities to give Pejovic adequate protection.
On March 12, in the Podgorica Superior Court, the trial began of
six former Yugoslav People's Army soldiers and reservists accused of
war crimes in the Morinj prisoner of war camp; it continued during the
year. Five defendents pled not quilty, while one remained at large and
was being tried in absentia.
In May an investigating judge of the Podgorica Superior Court
acquitted three Yugoslav Army pilots of war crimes in Metkovic,
On November 20, the police in Podgorica arrested Stanko Kovacevic,
based on a 2001 Interpol arrest warrant issued in Zagreb alleging that
he committed war crimes in Croatia during the 1990s. At year's end he
was awaiting extradition.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
police at times beat and harassed suspects while arresting them or
detaining them for questioning.
On December 22, the NGO Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR)
asserted that the number of cases of police misconduct decreased during
the year.
Authorities informed the Council of Europe's (COE's) Committee for
the Prevention of Torture (CPT) that in 2007 district attorneys
received 92 cases involving allegations of torture and abuse.
Prosecutors pressed charges against 30 persons and declined to press
charges against 34. Including held-over cases, prosecutors reviewed a
total of 157 and indicted a total of 96 persons. During the same year,
the courts resolved 46 cases of torture and mistreatment and rendered
25 guilty verdicts, nine acquittals, and 12 dismissals for lack of
evidence. Two of the guilty verdicts resulted in prison sentences, five
in fines, and 18 in suspended sentences.
A CPT visit took place in September 2008, but the CPT did not
publish its report during the year. The NGO Human Rights Action
appealed to the government to make its findings public, as the NGO
believed the report's findings might disclose some human rights
violations.
Although there is a legally mandated agency, the Council for
Civilian Control of Police Operations, to which citizens could address
complaints of abuse, it could only make recommendations. Since its
establishment in 2004, the council has reviewed and forwarded
approximately 350 citizen complaints. In some cases police failed to
respond to these recommendations.
During the year the Department for Internal Control of Police
Administration received 137 complaints about police conduct and found
113 justified and 23 unjustified (one case was pending). Police stated
that they took disciplinary actions in response to those complaints
they considered justified. There were 65 (32.5 percent) fewer
complaints during the year than in 2008.
There were reports that police often filed countercharges against
individuals who reported police abuse. Partly as a result, there was a
widespread belief that citizens often failed to report mistreatment.
During the year there were a number of incidents in which
authorities were charged with, or convicted of, mistreating persons in
their custody. For example, on May 10, police officer Kenan Osmankadic
wounded mental patient Batric Knezevic in the lower leg as police were
escorting Knezevic to the mental hospital in Kotor. Authorities
acknowledged that Osmanakadic made some professional mistakes and
pressed charges against him.
On June 18, Mladen Stevic received serious body injuries when he
allegedly jumped with tied hands from the second floor of the police
station in Bar. Police stated that Stevic tried to escape from the
police station while he was talking with his attorney. Police internal
control officials concluded that police officers on duty acted in
accordance with their responsibilities.
On September 14, the Podgorica prosecutor filed charges against six
police officers accused of beating Aleksandar Pejanovic while he was in
custody. On December 15, during the trial, one of the indicted police
officers, Goran Stankovic, alleged that several of his colleagues,
mostly supervising and higher-ranking officers, committed a series of
offenses related to ordering, enabling, and covering up the torture of
Pejanovic, including forging official records. Stankovic's statements
fully corresponded to Pejanovic's allegations, including the claim that
several masked men in police uniforms beat him on several occasions in
police detention. Authorities had arrested Pejanovic for allegedly
assaulting a police officer during a protest against the government's
decision to recognize the independence of Kosovo in October 2008.
On November 10, the Podgorica Superior Court overturned a verdict
by a court of first instance that had found five members of the
government's special antiterrorist unit guilty of exceeding their
authority. The alleged abuses occurred during a 2006 raid in which
members of the unit arrested 17 persons, who were subsequently
convicted of participation in a terrorist plot. The initial court
finding concluded that the five had acted as ``coexecutioners'' of the
torture and abuse of the father of two of the plotters.
Trials were underway or pending in a number of cases involving
earlier alleged police misconduct, including six police officers in Bar
(Nesko Jaredic, Veselin Buskovic, Rifat Ramusovic, Ivica Raicevic, and
Jagos Pivljanin) charged with beating Predrag Djukic and Ivan Abramovic
in a police station in 2007, and two former police officers charged
with abuse of power, extortion, and mistreatment of a flower seller in
Herceg Novi.
No new information was available concerning the investigation of
former Podgorica police chief Milan Vujanovic, who reportedly ordered
the beating of prisoners during a raid on Spuz prison in 2005.
During the year the Berane Basic Court charged police officers Ivan
Bojovic, Nebojsa Veljic, and Zeljko Devic with abusing four Kosovo
Albanians detained in 2007. The trial was pending with the Berane Basic
Court at year's end.
On December 22, YIHR reported that the number of cases of
politically motivated violence, including physical and verbal assaults
against journalists, NGO activists, professors, and public figures,
increased during the year.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons, and especially
facilities for pretrial detainees, did not meet international standards
and were dilapidated, overcrowded, and poorly maintained, although
there were some improvements. The government permitted monitoring
visits by independent human rights observers, and such visits occurred
during the year.
The law permits inmates to serve their sentences through voluntary
service in a state institution or agency, but this alternative, which
observers have noted could reduce overcrowding, was used only in a few
cases.
In June detainees in the pretrial detention unit of the Spuz prison
carried out two strikes protesting prison conditions. During the year
one prisoner tried to commit suicide.
Although the Spuz prison hospital contains a department for
treating alcoholics and drug addicts, it was overcrowded, and such
prisoners, along with mentally ill prisoners, were often treated in the
Kotor psychiatric hospital, which lacked the facilities and personnel
to house mentally ill patients together with dangerous convicts.
On October 30, inmate Alen Harovic was found dead in his cell at
the Spuz prison. An investigation showed that he died of a heroin
overdose. The Podgorica Superior Court opened an investigation of four
persons for distributing heroin inside the prison. Disciplinary
procedures were initiated against five prison wardens, and the prison
director resigned.
Inmates Dalibor Nikezic and Igor Milic claimed that on October 27,
wardens in the Spuz prison brutally beat them. Their families filed
legal charges against prison officials for mistreatment, and the case
was pending in the basic court in Danilovgrad. The prison director
stated that wardens acted in line with their authorities. Deputy
ombudsman Marijana Lakovic, who visited Dalibor Nikezic in prison, said
that he had visible injuries on his body and wanted to have the right
to file a legal suit with the competent authorities.
An investigation continued during the year of two female prison
guards accused of beating and injuring detainee Vladana Kljajic in the
women's detention unit in the Spuz Prison. Prison authorities claimed
that Kljajic broke prison rules and was appropriately disciplined but
not beaten. Prison authorities filed charges against Kljajic for
assaulting an official, while Kljajic's mother filed charges against
the prison wardens.
In October the Ministry of Justice reported that officials at the
Spuz Prison had fired a prison employee for stealing money from
prisoners.
In September the total prison population was 1,395, of whom 795
were convicts and 600 were detainees.
In contrast to previous years, there were no reports of juveniles
held in the same cells with adult prisoners.
The government permitted human rights observers, including the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and local NGOs, to
visit the prisons and detention units and to speak with the prisoners
without the presence of a guard. The ICRC and the Helsinki Committee of
Montenegro made several visits during the year. Representatives of the
human rights ombudsman's office routinely visited prisons without prior
notice, meeting with detainees and inmates.
Authorities completed a project to equip detention units in all
police stations with video surveillance equipment in an effort to
reduce police abuse. The main prison in Spuz opened a new pavilion to
house 144 minors, women, foreigners, and inmates serving sentences of
less than six months. The government renovated existing facilities and
installed a permanent water supply to the prison; however, adequate
facilities for treating mentally ill prisoners or those with special
needs were lacking.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national and border
police were responsible for law and order. They worked under the
supervision of the Ministry of Interior and Public Administration and
were generally effective. By the end of the year, internal control
responsibility was moved from the Police Directorate to the Ministry of
Interior and Public Administration in an effort to improve control of
the police force. The country's security organization, the National
Security Agency, is a separate entity within the Ministry of Interior
and Public Administration. Its responsibilities include intelligence
and counterintelligence. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for
military and security matters.
The Assembly's Committee for Defense and Security held regular
meetings with the directors of police and the National Security Agency.
Parliament is responsible for overseeing the democratic and civilian
control of the army and security services; however, there is no
specific law to regulate parliamentary oversight of defense and
security. Pursuant to the amendments to the Law on Secrecy of
Information, Assembly members sitting on the Committee for Defense and
Security have access to classified documents without prior approval or
security clearances.
Police corruption and inappropriate government influence on police
behavior remained problems; the small, close-knit society discouraged
the reporting of corruption and made criminal's access to law
enforcement officers easy.
According to the COE's Commissioner for Human Rights, who visited
the country in June 2008, ``criminal proceedings against law
enforcement officers for extortion of evidence, mistreatment, torture,
or abuse of office seldom occurred and were not conducted efficiently.
Courts rendered verdicts in a small number of reported cases but only
issued admonitions, suspended sentences, and fines.'' During the first
eight months of the year, authorities dismissed one officer and fined
eight for abuse of office and exceeding authority.
During the year the Interior Ministry's Internal Affairs Unit took
disciplinary measures to address those problems. Internal
investigations, combined with the work of the ombudsman and human
rights activists, reduced impunity. In response to reports of police
misconduct, authorities usually reacted more rapidly to discipline the
officers responsible. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) and foreign donor governments provided training for
police, security, and border and customs officers on combating
terrorism, corruption, and money laundering.
According to a report by the European Commission, there was ``some
progress'' in the area of policing and police reform in the year that
ended in August, and a ``track record'' was being established in this
regard. The commission reported that disciplinary measures were imposed
on 124 police officers in this period, while from February to July
criminal charges were brought against 27.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arrests
require a judicial warrant or a ``strong suspicion that the suspect
committed an offense.'' Authorities may detain suspects for up to 48
hours before bringing them before a judge and charging them. At
arraignment the judge makes an initial determination about the legality
of the detention. In practice arraignment generally occurred within the
prescribed period. The law permits a detainee to have an attorney
present during police and court proceedings. Detainees generally had
prompt access to family members. There is a system of bail; however, it
was not widely used because citizens could rarely raise money for bail.
The law sets the initial length of pretrial detention at 30 days with a
possible extension to five months. These time limits were generally
respected.
Police continued to summon suspects and witnesses to police
stations for ``informative talks'' without holding them for extended
period of times in most cases. In principle, those who have been
summoned have the right not to respond.
The law forbids use of force, threats, and coercion by police to
obtain evidence; however, there were a few allegations that police
sometimes used those methods to obtain evidence.
Long trial delays, combined with difficulties faced by detainees in
meeting bail conditions, frequently led to lengthy pretrial detention.
The law prohibits excessive delays by authorities in filing formal
charges against suspects and in opening investigations; however such
delays occurred regularly. Due to the inefficiency of the courts, cases
often took an excessively long time to come to trial without any
apparent reason, and trials themselves were subject to frequent
interruptions. Pretrial detainees on average accounted for 50 percent
of the prison population. The average length of pretrial detention was
approximately six months.
Amnesty.--Officials pardoned 28 inmates under the country's amnesty
law.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary; however, some observers asserted that the
judiciary was not always independent and that government officials at
times influenced prosecutors for political and personal reasons. Some
observers contended that the executive and legislative branches,
through the process of proposing and adopting the budget for the
courts, could influence the independence of the judiciary. Some
contended that the regulation of housing allocations for judges, who
receive state-funded housing, should be more transparent in order to
eliminate any concerns about inappropriate influence. Some observers
also asserted that the system of appointing judicial and prosecutorial
officials contained inadequate protections against political influence
on the judiciary.
Insufficient cooperation between police and prosecutors, a large
backlog of cases, frequently primitive courtroom facilities, and
judicial corruption also remained problems. Many cases took years to
resolve; however, courts made progress in reducing the backlogs of
civil and criminal cases.
The court system consists of basic courts (courts of first
instance), superior (district) courts, commercial courts, a Court of
Appeals, an Administrative Court, the Supreme Court, and the
Constitutional Court. On July 27, a new criminal procedures code was
adopted that transfers investigative powers, previously vested in
courts, to prosecutors and introduces plea-bargaining for all cases
with punishment up to 10 years.
The Judicial Council is responsible for the election, discipline,
and removal of judges. Since the existing Judicial Council was
established in 2008, several judges have been fired, suspended, or
sanctioned for unprofessional behavior. On June 1, the Judicial Council
prohibited judges from sitting on various commissions (for restitution,
election, etc.), due to the incompatibility of such service with the
judicial function.
Authorities generally respected and implemented court decisions,
although often with delays.
On July 30, the Court of Appeals confirmed the August 2008
conviction of 17 persons, including four foreign citizens, of planning
a rebellion against the government in 2006 with a view to creating an
autonomous region for ethnic Albanians. During the year five of those
convicted completed their sentences and were released from prison.
In July the Assembly enacted a Law on Cooperation with the
International Criminal Court (ICC), which provides for an immediate
response of domestic courts and state institutions to requests from the
ICC and asserts the competency of domestic courts to try war crimes
committed on its territory by its nationals.
On October 23, Judge Lazar Akovic of the Superior Court resigned
after the Judicial Council agreed to Superior Court President Musika
Dujovic's proposal that dismissal proceedings be initiated against him.
He was accused of improperly carrying out a judicial function in the
case of the 2005 killing of police officer Slavoljub Scekic (see
section 2.a.). The press reported that Akovic accused Dujovic of
initiating the dismissal proceedings because of personal animosity and
pressure from ``high circles.'' A number of human rights activists and
media sources expressed respect for Akovic and regret over his
departure.
On March 6, police arrested Arif Spahic, a judge of the Bijelo
Polje Superior Court, on suspicion of taking a bribe to reduce a
sentence and release a man convicted of vehicular homicide. Police also
arrested the secretary of the municipality of Bijelo Polje, Dzemal
Ljuca, and accused him of brokering the deal. They were also seeking
Nenad Brcvak, who was accused of offering and paying the bribe. The
investigative judge ordered 30 days' detention for Spahic and Ljuca.
Trial Procedures.--Criminal trials are generally public, but
sessions may be closed during the testimony of a state-protected
witness. Juries are not used. Professional judges preside over trials.
Lay judges assisted them in determining verdicts but the judges
generally make the sentencing decision on their own. Defendants have
the right to be present at their trials and to consult with an attorney
in a timely manner in pretrial and trial proceedings. Defendants have a
right to an attorney; an attorney is generally provided at public
expense when a defendant is destitute or following indictment on a
charge carrying a possible sentence greater than 10 years in prison.
Defendants and their attorneys have the right to access government-held
evidence relevant to their cases; defendants enjoy a legal presumption
of innocence. Courts may try defendants in absentia as long as they
repeat the trials if convicted individuals are later apprehended. Both
the defense and the prosecution have the right of appeal. The
government at times influenced the judiciary--for example, in some
trials for slander or corruption involving prominent persons or senior
officials--and such influence contributed to continued public distrust
of the judiciary; however, defendants' rights were generally respected
and extended to all citizens.
A report on a two-year OSCE-sponsored trial-monitoring project,
completed in June, indicated that progress was made in prosecuting
cases but also noted problems with the duration of trials, their
fairness, and the insufficient capacity of the judiciary. However,
backlogs in civil and criminal cases have been reduced, and the
Judicial Council continued to redistribute cases to courts that were
less burdened to meet increasing caseloads. The courts gave priority to
cases related to corruption, organized crime, and war crimes. A COE
report issued in September described the country's progress in reducing
backlogs court cases as ``impressive.''
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and law
provide for an independent judiciary in civil matters, and citizens had
access to courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation
of, human rights violations. Although parties have brought suits
alleging human rights violations and at times prevailed, there was high
public distrust in the independence of the judiciary, which discouraged
some citizens from making use of these procedures.
Citizens may also appeal violations of their human rights to the
Constitutional Court and, after national remedies are exhausted, to the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). At year's end 300 cases
involving the country were pending before the ECHR. Most related to
property restitution, property rights, length of pretrial detention,
media freedom, treatment of citizens by police, the right to a timely
trial, and slander. On April 28, the ECHR issued its first ruling
against the country for a violation of the European Convention on Human
Rights. It related to a disputed eviction. Authorities immediately
implemented the ruling.
In July an attorney filed a claim for 1.1 million euros ($1.6
million) in eight cases (involving 46 plaintiffs), related to the 1992
deportation of Muslims and Bosniaks to Republika Srpska in Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BiH), where they subsequently were killed or disappeared.
These cases were in addition to earlier ones in which 196 plaintiffs
were awarded 4.1 million euros ($5.9 million). Litigation over one of
the eight new cases was underway at year's end.
Property Restitution.--There was no reported progress on the
restitution of church property; most claims involved property taken
after 1918 and 1945. The Montenegrin Orthodox Church and the Serbian
Orthodox Church had outstanding property restitution claims. The Roman
Catholic Church and Islamic community also asserted claims to property
in several locations. The Jewish community from Belgrade, Serbia, asked
for the return of a rest and rehabilitation center for women in Pr?anj,
in the municipality of Kotor.
The Law on Restitution provides specific remedies for seeking
restitution of private property but envisages that separate
legislation, not yet adopted, would govern property confiscated from
religious communities. Consequently, religious communities could file
restitution claims, but authorities could not take action on them. The
number of unresolved restitution claims related to religious property
was unknown, but the Ministry of Finance confirmed that all three
primary religious communities (Orthodox, Catholic, and Muslim) had
submitted claims.
The restitution of private property seized since 1945 continued
during the year. Of the 11,200 applications filed with the competent
commissions since the process began in 2004, the commissions had
approved 969 by the end of August.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. The
law requires the National Security Agency (NSA) to obtain court
authorization for a wiretap; however, some observers believed that
authorities selectively used wiretapping and surveillance against
opposition parties and other groups without court authorization. Many
individuals and organizations operated on the assumption that they
were, or could be, under surveillance. An opposition party leader and a
member of the Parliamentary Council for Defense and Security claimed
that a group of operatives within the Defense Ministry abused the
technical devices alleging that they illegally performed some
intelligence activities. The Ministry of Defense denied those claims.
In his reply to questions from members of parliament, the interior
minister said that during the year different forms of secret
surveillance were employed in 24 cases.
During the first nine months of the year, one citizen requested
permission to inspect secret files kept by security services from 1945
to 1989. The NSA responded that there was no information concerning
that person.
During the year the Constitutional Court did not respond to a
complaint filed by the Network for Affirmation of the NGO Sector
(MANS), challenging the law giving police direct access to the
databases of mobile telephone providers without judicial oversight for
the purpose of monitoring potential criminal activity. MANS asserted
that this violated citizens' rights to privacy. Police responded that
all communications monitoring had to be approved by the competent
prosecutor's office.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press; however, there were some
restrictions of freedom of the press in practice.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately
without reprisal, and there were no reports that the authorities
monitored political meetings or otherwise attempted to impede
criticism.
The print media consisted of private newspapers and a state-owned
newspaper with a national circulation. The independent media were
active and generally expressed a wide variety of political and social
views without government restriction. The government did not restrict
the distribution of foreign publications.
A 2008 attempt by the government to sell off 51 percent of its
shares in the public company that publishes the state-owned newspaper
failed. The only bidder withdrew after lengthy negotiations. A previous
tender in 2007 also failed when no company placed a bid. No tender was
offered during the year, leaving the legal requirement to privatize the
state-owned newspaper unfulfilled at year's end.
Opposition politicians criticized the government's September 11
decision to name the political director of the ruling Democratic Party
of Socialists (DPS) and three more members of the ruling coalition as
the government's representatives to the five-member board of the state-
owned newspaper. They asserted that the newspaper clearly favored the
government in its reporting.
A wide variety of public and private broadcast media included a
national public radio and a television broadcaster; 14 local public
radio and four local public television stations; and 41 private radio
and 19 private television stations. According to a law on electronic
communications that took effect in August 2008, a new Agency for
Electronic Communication and Postal Activity (AECPA) was authorized to
take responsibility for issuing licenses to broadcasters. AECPA
published its first tender for 20 television frequencies on November
26. It blamed the delay on gaps in the law. On December 28, the bids
received for the new television frequencies were opened publicly. AECPA
promised to announce its decision within 30 days. The private
television broadcaster Vijesti, often seen as a strong critic of the
government and the prime minister, had accused the government of
blocking its access to a wider market for political reasons by delaying
the tender process. Foreign governments and international organizations
had also expressed concerns over this delay.
Physical attacks on journalists continued to be a problem. On
August 3, Mayor Miomir Mugosa of Podgorica, who is also a member of the
Assembly and a high official of the ruling DPS, together with his son,
Miljan, allegedly attacked Deputy Editor in Chief Mihailo Jovovic and
photo-reporter Boris Pejovic of the Podgorica-based daily Vijesti. The
incident reportedly began while Pejovic was photographing the mayor's
official car, which allegedly was parked illegally. Jovovic and Pejovic
further claimed that Miljan Mugosa drew a gun during the encounter and
that Jovovic suffered a ruptured eardrum. On October 5, the Podgorica
prosecutor pressed charges against both the mayor's son and Vijesti's
deputy editor in chief for committing criminal acts resulting in severe
injuries. The investigation also focused on an allegation made two days
after the incident that Jovovic injured the mayor's driver, Dragan
Radonjic. On November 19, the Podgorica Basic Court returned the
indictment against Jovovic to the prosecution service because it was
not corroborated by evidence that Jovovic inflicted heavy corporal
injury to the mayor's driver. Following that, the court expert repeated
her findings that the driver's injuries contradicted facts alleged in
the indictment. Court proceedings continued at year's end.
There were no developments in investigations of several earlier
physical attacks on journalists.
Police reported no progress during the year in identifying the
perpetrators or the motives behind the May 2008 attack on Mladen
Stojovic, a journalist of the Serbian daily Danas and former stringer
for Podgorica-based daily Vijesti. Stojovic suffered head and body
trauma. He quit journalism in the aftermath of the assault. Police also
had not identified the perpetrators or the motives behind the 2007
physical assault on Republika correspondent Tufik Softic.
On August 7, the Podgorica Superior Court convicted five members of
a criminal gang of murdering senior police officer Slavoljub Scekic in
front of his home in Podgorica in 2005. Three of those charged received
30-year sentences; one received 20 years and one received two years. A
sixth defendant, Milan Scekic, who was charged with being the shooter,
was acquitted for lack of evidence. Slavoljub Scekic was killed while
he was investigating a series of bomb attacks at Hotel Splendid on the
country's coast. He had also investigated the 2004 killing of Dan
editor Dusko Jovanovic and other killings that were unresolved at the
time. The trial of 10 persons indicted for his murder lasted for more
than two years.
On December 23, the Court of Appeals reduced the superior court
sentence of Damir Mandic, an accessory in Jovanovic's murder, from 30
to 19 years of imprisonment. The Podgorica Superior Court had
previously, on April 27, reversed a lower court acquittal of Mandic.
Officials frequently brought, or threatened to bring, libel suits
against media organizations that accused them of wrongdoing. Some NGOs
warned that criminal libel charges against journalists could deter them
from reporting candidly on events. Criminal libel charges could carry
fines of up to 14,000 euros ($20,000).
On June 28, the Podgorica Basic Court fined the daily newspaper Dan
30,000 euros ($42,900) for defaming Veselin Barovic, Branko Vujosevic,
and Danilo Mitrovic, by reprinting articles that originally appeared in
the Croatian newspaper Nacional in 2001, in which the three were named
as members of the country's ``tobacco mafia.'' The court found that Dan
caused mental pain and damaged the dignity of the plaintiffs.
On September 7, the Podgorica Basic Court fined Vijesti, along with
Nebojsa Medojevic, the leader of the opposition Movement for Change
political party, 33,000 euros ($47,290) for tarnishing the reputation
of the firm MNSS BV, owner of the Niksic Steelworks. The case involved
an opinion piece, written by Medojevic and published in February 2008,
warning of the potential for money laundering following MNSS BV's
purchase of the steelworks. The court dismissed Vijesti's argument
that, since the article in question was published as an opinion piece
by a presidential candidate (Medojevic was running for president at the
time) the newspaper could not be held accountable for any damage the
article may have caused.
On September 8, the Supreme Court upheld a 2008 superior court
ruling ordering the weekly newspaper Monitor and its journalist, Andrej
Nikolaidis, to pay 12,000 euros ($17,000) in libel damages to Serbian
movie director Emir Kusturica. In a 2004 commentary entitled
``Hangman's Apprentice,'' Nikolaidis claimed that Kusturica was a
supporter of former Serbian/Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in
the 1990s. The OSCE voiced concerns over the judgment against Monitor
and Nikolaidis, noting among other things that public figures should
demonstrate a greater degree of tolerance of criticism than ordinary
citizens and that fines for libel cases should be proportionate to the
economic power of the media company and the damage caused.
On October 7, the Podgorica Basic Court fined Petar Komnenic, a
journalist for the weekly newspaper Monitor, 3,000 euros ($4,200) for
libeling the then president of the Podgorica Superior Court, Ivica
Stankovic, in a 2007 article. The article claimed police secretly had
wiretapped Stankovic at the request of the special prosecutor for
organized crime because of Stankovic's alleged connections with
criminals. A former judge of the court, Radovan Mandic, testified
during the trial that he and a majority of the other Podgorica Superior
Court judges were illegally wiretapped for more than two months in
2005. At year's end a defamation lawsuit Stankovic brought against the
Vijesti editor in chief was pending. He sued over an article alleging
that in a closed session of the Assembly's security committee, the
director of police named Stankovic as one of the judges who obstructed
several police investigations.
On October 21, the Podgorica Superior Court fined Vijesti's
director Zeljko Ivanovic and the newspaper's publisher, Daily Press,
10,000 euros ($14,300) for defaming Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic.
Djukanovic sued in 2007 after Ivanovic told reporters he thought
Djukanovic had arranged a physical attack on him in retaliation for
press coverage of alleged corruption and mafia influence in the
government. The Podgorica Basic Court ruled in 2008 that Ivanovic and
Daily Press were guilty of defaming Djukanovic and fined them 20,000
euros ($28,600). Vijesti's owners claimed that the conviction and the
lawsuit represented an attempt to suppress freedom of expression.
Milan Popovic, a professor at the law faculty in Podgorica, was
interrogated by Supreme State Prosecutor Ranka Carapic about issues he
raised in a January 26 opinion piece, ``Revolutionaries,'' published in
Vijesti. In the piece, Popovic alleged that the major problems of the
country were corruption, conflicts of interest, and organized crime and
referred to allegations that the prime minister was involved in such
activities. Popovic claimed that Carapic asked him for evidence to
support the allegations. A group of intellectuals protested against the
prosecutor's actions, calling it a violation of Popovic's right to
freedom of speech.
Despite these developments, observers noted a modest increase in
the willingness of the media to criticize the government. The
prominence of articles and television programs critical of the
authorities during the year suggested that self-censorship was not a
major problem; however, observers noted that some journalists were
susceptible to various political and business influences due to their
lack of expertise and to their political affiliations.
Government opponents continued to criticize the Assembly's 2008
passage of legal amendments regulating the functioning of the country's
public radio and television broadcaster, Radio and Television of
Montenegro (RTCG). They alleged that the change in the method of
funding of the public broadcaster, substituting government subsidies
for user fees, made it more dependent on the government. They also
criticized changes in the method of selection of the members of the
governing board of the public outlets, increasing the role of the
Assembly at the expense of civil society. During the year the Assembly
elected all nine members of the RTCG council. Some observers noted that
a majority of the nine entities authorized to nominate candidates for
the RTCG council were state-funded institutions or organizations and
that the public broadcaster favored the government in its programming
and reporting.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to data published by the International Telecommunication
Union, there were 294,000 Internet users in the country in 2008;
government data showed 44 percent of the population using the Internet
in December, up from 36 percent in October 2008.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
Citing the organizer's noncompliance with a legal requirement to
announce a public gathering in advance, police in May banned a series
of assemblies of workers of the Podgorica Aluminum Plant who wanted to
demonstrate against the company's management for failing to pay
salaries. The workers complained to the Ministry of Interior and Public
Administration, asserting that this requirement violated the
constitution.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice. Religious communities are separate from the state, equal
under the law, and were free to perform their rituals and services.
Religious institutions, organizations, and communities may be
formed with prior notification to a local police station. The law
forbids the abuse of religious institutions and activities for
political purposes. It also forbids actions to prevent or hinder
religious services, the expression of religious beliefs, or forced
induction into a religious community. However, the law fails to address
a number of issues regarding the relations between the state and
religious communities. Critics asserted that the law, dating from 1977,
contained outdated terms, lacked provisions to prohibit discrimination
on the basis of religious affiliation, and failed to set some generally
accepted OSCE and COE standards.
On September 2, the Ministry of Economic Development announced the
execution of a decision of the former Urban Planning Ministry to remove
a Serbian Orthodox church from the top of Rumija Mountain in the
southern part of the country. However, the church was not removed by
the end of the year.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Religion and ethnicity were
closely intertwined, and in many cases it was difficult to determine
whether discriminatory acts were primarily religious or ethnic in
nature. There continued to be friction between adherents of the Serbian
Orthodox Church and Montenegrin Orthodox Church over official
recognition and property ownership.
On August 23, Sultan Nurkovic from Rozaje attacked Imam Asmir
Kujevic on his apartment doorstep. Nurkovic injured Kujevic with a
knife, and when police arrived and tried to arrest him, he wounded two
of them as well. Nurkovic was believed to be a fundamentalist Muslim
who was protesting the imam's method of praying.
On September 23, in the community of Zagoric in Podgorica
municipality, the apartment of Rizo Alkovic was spray painted with
anti-Islamic graffiti on the second day of the Ramadan Bayram holiday.
Police took a statement but initiated no further action. Alkovic
accused his immediate neighbors of religious intolerance.
During the year the Serbian Orthodox Church continued to report
vandalism of its cemeteries and other religious sites. There were no
reports of efforts to apprehend the culprits.
On August 19, followers of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church and
Serbian Orthodox Church clashed in Ivanova Korita, near Cetinje, where
both groups had gathered to celebrate the holy day of Transfiguration.
Media reported that some Serbian Orthodox Church followers locked
themselves inside the local church and prevented Montenegrin Orthodox
Church Metropolitan Mihailo from serving the liturgy. The incident left
three police officers with light injuries.
No new information was available in the case of Miodrag Baletic,
head of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church chapter in Niksic, whose car
was set on fire in October 2008; or on the 2007 planting of a bomb in
Podgorica's New Martyrs' Church belonging to the Serbian Orthodox
Church; or on the 2007 removal of a plaque that identified the Islamic
community's offices in Bar.
The country's Jewish population was small and widely distributed
across the country. A 2004 survey by the government statistics office
concluded that there was no organized Jewish community; an
international Jewish NGO reached a similar conclusion. There were no
reports of anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to displaced persons, refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--IDPs included the 16,197
persons who fled Kosovo when Montenegro was a part of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, mainly ethnic Montenegrins, Serbs, Roma,
Ashkali, Balkan Egyptians, Muslims, Bosniaks, and ethnic Albanians, and
a number of Albanian citizens, mostly ethnic Serbs and Montenegrins who
were granted refugee status under the federal laws of the former
Yugoslavia. In addition, the government recognized a separate category
of 7,820 ``displaced persons'' (DPs) that included individuals from
Croatia and BiH who fled to Montenegro in 1991 and 1992.
In the view of many observers and the UNHCR, the legal status
accorded to IDPs and DPs does not meet the standards of the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees in terms of access to
rights. The temporary nature and less protected status of these groups
has left the futures of such persons uncertain and limited their access
to important economic and social rights, directly leading to increasing
the economic and social vulnerability of the country's refugees.
Treatment of these categories of displaced persons was not equal.
The law recognizes DPs as lawful residents, a designation that could
lead to citizenship through refugee status or through marriage with a
citizen. However, the law omits IDPs from Kosovo from the description
of persons meeting the required criteria for lawful residence.
During the year the government completed a program of
reregistration of DPs from Bosnia and Croatia and reported that 5,700
of the initial 8,023 successfully registered. IDPs from Kosovo also
were reregistered, and their numbers decreased from 16,197 to 10,950,
but the government left the registration period open until February
2010 for IDPs who were unable to register for justified medical reasons
during the campaign. The reregistration was intended to help
authorities decide on the future status of these persons--those who did
not register or were not entitled to reregister would not be eligible
for ``permanent residence'' status, while their present status would be
terminated.
On September 17, the government adopted a new mechanism for
resolving the status of displaced persons from the former Yugoslav
republics and IDPs from Kosovo in order to meet the benchmark for visa
liberalization with the EU. The new provisions would give such persons
the opportunity to seek the status of foreigners with permanent
residence, while exempting them from the minimum income and some other
requirements usually required of foreigners with permanent residence.
In the UNHCR's view, this mechanism involved many difficult hurdles.
They would be required to provide valid travel documents from their
countries of origin and have no criminal records. The requirement to
prove citizenship was of particular concern in regard to the Roma,
Ashkali, and Egyptian (RAE) communities, due either to their never
having been registered at birth or having their records destroyed
during the conflict. However, related legislation permits refugees
unable to present a valid travel documents to obtain ``temporary''
residence for foreigners, with all the rights accorded to the
permanently residing foreigner. They will then have three years to
obtain valid travel documents and have their status made permanent.
Although UNHCR considers all persons from Croatia, BiH, and Kosovo
who sought refuge in Montenegro during the 1990s due to regional
conflict to have been ``refugees,'' at the time of their arrival, they
had not crossed an international border. However, Montenegrin
authorities never recognized these persons as refugees or granted them
the same rights as refugees under the Law on Asylum or the 1951 Refugee
Convention and its 1967 protocol.
Many IDPs and refugees continued to live in generally deplorable
conditions in unofficial collective centers and other accommodations.
However, authorities gave them access to domestic and international
humanitarian organizations and permitted them to accept assistance
provided by these groups. The government did not attack or target IDPs
or forcibly return or resettle them under dangerous conditions.
A law governing the employment of aliens entered into force in
January. It removes the right of IDPs or DPs to engage in seasonal
work, a provision whose implementation was delayed until 2010 after
intervention by the UNHCR. However, in 2010 and beyond, IDPs and DPs
who have not applied for or received permanent residence will no longer
be permitted to work.
During the year the government continued to encourage IDPs to
return to their places of origin. Some continued to assert that the
government was not providing adequate support to enable them to do so.
However, after many years in the country, the numbers participating in
voluntary repatriation have declined. During the reregistration 9,949
IDPs expressed their will to remain in the country. Some 1,600 IDPs,
mostly RAE, have returned to Kosovo since 2001; 161 returned during the
year. Among DPs, only 35 refugees returned to BiH and Croatia in 2006,
nine returned in 2007, five in 2008, and 10 in 2009.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. A path to citizenship was effectively accessible to refugees.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. At the beginning of 2008, the government assumed
responsibility for refugee status determination, although the UNHCR,
which previously exercised this responsibility, continued to provide
technical support.
Conditions for refugees varied; those with relatives or property in
the country were able to find housing and, in some cases, to rejoin
family members. However, between 2,000 and 3,000 refugees remained in
barely habitable facilities (mainly on the coast) that had been
privatized.
Although the 2007 law that governs asylum affords a number of
protections, the failure of the government to harmonize other
legislation with this law deprived asylum seekers rights to identity
documents, the right to employment, and access to health care.
Construction continued on a reception center designed to house
approximately 100 asylum seekers. During the year authorities processed
21 asylum applications; no person was granted asylum during the year.
Stateless Persons.--The biggest problem related to statelessness
was the lack of personal documentation for many inhabitants, primarily
in the RAE communities, both those of local origin and those who
entered the country from Kosovo. Government data published in May
reported a total of 9,934 RAE, of whom 4,476 were RAE refugees from
Kosovo. The UNHCR estimated that approximately 1,500 local RAE and
2,200 RAE refugees from Kosovo were at risk of statelessness due to
lack of personal documentation, as they were either never registered at
birth or lacked proof of registration.
As of year's end, the government had not developed a procedure for
systematically identifying, documenting, and registering stateless
persons or persons at risk of statelessness. UNHCR experience showed
that lack of documentation is the most significant factor leading to
statelessness or the loss of an effective citizenship.
The UNHCR continued a regional project, in cooperation with partner
NGOs, to register RAE community members and assist them to obtain
personal identity documents. In addition, during the year the UNHCR and
Legal Center helped approximately 1,800 displaced persons from Bosnia,
Croatia, and Kosovo, as well as asylum seekers from Montenegro, to
obtain personal documents for submission to various administrative and
judicial entities in an effort to obtain access to basic rights.
A further 1,500 persons were at risk of statelessness because they
faced difficulties proving citizenship. These were mostly RAE from
within the country or Kosovo, and were either never registered at birth
or lacked proof of such registration.
The prospect of acquiring citizenship remained problematic for IDPs
from other areas of the former Yugoslavia.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The OSCE Election
Observation Mission stated that the March 29 parliamentary elections
met almost all OSCE and COE commitments, although the process again
underscored the need for further democratic development. The statement
indicated achieving public confidence was a key challenge; it noted
frequent allegations of electoral fraud and a blurring of state and
party structures that created a negative atmosphere among many voters.
As in previous elections, most opposition parties raised issues
regarding campaign and party financing and the overlap of state and
political party structures. Allegations of pressure on voters and the
purchase of voter identification documents again were reported by some
opposition parties, the media, and certain individuals.
The March 29 Assembly elections and several local elections were
held according to electoral legislation that has not been reconciled
with the constitution adopted in 2007. The deadline for reconciliation
had been extended three times. The Assembly established a special
working group to change the electoral framework to meet constitutional
requirements.
Political parties generally operated without restrictions or
outside interference.
The simultaneous use of the same office space by political parties
and government entities created the potential for a blurring of their
respective roles.
No new information was available on the case of Suad Muratbasic, a
former police officer from Rozaje, who filed a civil suit against the
Police Directorate. Muratbasic sought compensation on the grounds that
he was suspended and then terminated because of his refusal to
influence his Muslim neighbors to vote for the DPS during the 2006
Assembly elections.
A teacher in the Dragisa Ivanovic primary school in Podgorica, Aila
Soskic, reported to the media that Niko Raicevic, the principal,
exerted pressure on teachers to vote for the ruling party in the March
29 Assembly elections. Following a lawsuit filed by Soskic on October
9, the basic court fined Raicevic 2,000 euros ($2,860) for defamation.
There were nine women in the 81-seat Assembly and one in the
cabinet. There was one female mayor in the country's 21 municipalities.
Four of the 11 parties in the Assembly had female Assembly members in
their respective caucuses.
There were 18 members of ethnic minorities in the 81-seat Assembly
and three members of ethnic minorities in the cabinet. The law reserves
five Assembly seats for ethnic Albanians. No Roma ran for, or held, a
seat in the Assembly, and Roma were significantly underrepresented in
the government; only one person of Romani ethnicity held elective
office at any level in the country.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials at times engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There
was a widespread perception of public sector corruption, particularly
in the executive and judicial branches.
While many prerequisites for effective anticorruption policies were
in place, implementataion lagged. The World Bank's worldwide governance
indicators reflected that corruption was a serious problem. In the
first six months of the year, police forwarded 887 corruption cases
involving 1,420 persons to prosecutors. In the same period, courts
convicted 206 defendants in 151 cases. Local NGOs, media, and
opposition political parties accused the government of not taking
sufficient measures against corruption and organized crime. No
convictions for serious or high-level corruption were handed down by
any court during the year, nor were there any reports of investigations
of alleged high-level corruption.
Public officials were subject to financial disclosure under a
conflict of interest law that requires state officials, including
members of the legislature, to disclose their salaries and property. In
line with the Law on Prevention of the Conflict of Interest, adopted in
December 2008, a Commission for Determining Conflicts of Interest
initiated legal proceedings against the 313 state officials (13 percent
of all state officials) who failed to comply in 2008 and against 52
during the year. Many observers noted that the law had significant
loopholes and that it was weakly implemented in practice.
During the year there was one case of apparent retaliation against
a whistleblower for exposing official abuse. On September 22, a
veterinarian inspector with 28 years of experience was fired after she
made public statements about irregularities in the work of the
Veterinarian Directorate and Ministry of Agriculture. According to
press reports, in June inspector Mirjana Draskovic filed charges with
the Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime against the minister of
agriculture, Milutin Simovic, the head of the Veterinarian Directorate,
Ivan Popovic, and the chief veterinarian inspector, Biljana Blecic.
Draskovic accused them of abusing their positions and disregarding the
norms regulating the work of the veterinarian service. On July 21, she
filed additional charges alleging that authorities gave illegal
authorization for the import of 55 tons of frozen chicken meat from
Brazil. The head of the Veterinarian Directorate Ivan Popovic told the
press that Draskovic was fired in accordance with the law.
The Center for Development of NGOs called on the president of the
National Commission for the Fight against Corruption to review
protections for persons who report on corruption.
While open bidding was the most commonly used procedure for public
procurement, many auditing reports identified inconsistent or irregular
application of legal provisions or circumvention of the law in
practice. The Commission for the Control of Public Procurement
Procedures received 270 complaints during the year involving violation
of procurement procedures. The commission found 86 complaints to be
valid and rejected 184.
There was an Office for Reporting Corruption in the Judiciary in
the Judicial Council, where citizens can report judicial corruption.
However, the authorities claimed that citizens tended to object to the
outcome of court decisions, rather than complain about any corruption
that might have led to an adverse outcome.
The constitution and law provide for public access to government
information; however, overall implementation of the law was weak and
inconsistent. Some ministries were supportive, while others at times
publicly criticized information requests. The level of access was not
different for noncitizens and the foreign and domestic press. On
December 10, the government classified as ``secret'' its answers to a
questionnaire that countries seeking admission to the EU must complete.
The questionnaire contained responses to detailed questions about
reforms being made on the country's road towards integration with the
EU. The government stated that publishing this information would
jeopardize national political and economic interests.
NGOs reported that their requests for government-held information
frequently went unanswered. The NGO MANS reported that competent
authorities provided timely responses to information requests in
approximately 40 percent of cases, citing as the least timely the
ministries of Interior, Health, Finance and Education as well as the
Privatization Council. MANS claimed that agencies usually provided
general information but nothing that could compromise anyone in the
government or judiciary and asserted that the government did not have
the political will to publish major privatization agreements. The law
requires a ministry or agency to respond to a request within eight days
of receiving a request for information. Authorities usually provided
reasons for denials, and these could be appealed to the higher-level
state bodies or courts. While the courts usually supported access to
information, their orders to the ministries concerning compliance were
often ambiguous and, consequently, sometimes ignored.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
A number of NGOs and international organizations investigated human
rights cases. According to its January 2008 report, the UN Human Rights
Council Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance and
Missing Persons forwarded 16 cases involving disappearances that took
place in 1992 and 1993 to the government for their response; the
government provided an explanation in one case; 15 cases remained
outstanding.
Almost 4,000 domestic registered NGOs operated in the country,
including those specializing in human and minority rights and women's
rights. Authorities provided nominal, rather than substantive,
cooperation. The OSCE and EU led international community efforts to
engage the government on human rights issues.
The government cooperated with international human rights and
humanitarian NGOs. Amnesty International visited the country in
November.
There is an ombudsman for human rights, which operated without
government or party interference, and received adequate resources. Upon
finding a violation of human rights or freedoms, the ombudsman could
initiate disciplinary procedures against the violator, including
dismissal. In addition to 111 unresolved cases from earlier years, the
office received 430 complaints in 2008. The largest number involved the
work of the courts, followed by the public administration, public
services, police and prison, local governments, and the prosecutors'
offices. The government and the courts generally implemented the
ombudsman's recommendations.
Failure to comply with the ombudsman's request for access to
official data, documents, or premises, or with the ombudsman's request
to testify at a hearing, is punishable by fines of 10 to 20 times the
minimum monthly wage, or 550 to 1,100 euros ($786 to $1,573). The
ombudsman's office generally did not have to resort to these measures;
however, on April 11, the ombudsman sought assistance from the speaker
of the Assembly when Chief State Prosecutor Ranka Carapic refused to
provide documentation regarding one case.
On April 23, a group of 30 NGOs requested that the chief state
prosecutor provide an update on the 2006 case of an alleged physical
assault by the bodyguard of Police Director Mirko Banovic against
independent human rights researcher Aleksandar Zekovic. As of year's
end the state prosecutor's office had neither responded nor taken any
action in the case.
During the year the Assembly's Committee for Human Rights and
Freedoms met several times, but its contribution was perceived by many
observers as insignificant.
Authorities cooperated with the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court, of which
the country is a member.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status; however, the government
did not enforce effectively these prohibitions in practice.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal; however,
enforcement remained a serious problem. Instances of rape were
significantly underreported due to the cultural stigma that attaches to
victims and even their families. There were no arrests or convictions
for spousal rape during the year. Deeply ingrained societal attitudes
hampered prosecutions; judges frequently allowed aspersions on a
victim's character to be entered into court proceedings. As a result,
victims were reluctant to report rape. Punishment for rape, including
spousal rape, is one to 10 years in prison; however, authorities can
only prosecute the crime if the victim brings charges. According to
police and judiciary statistics, 19 cases of rape were reported in 2008
compared with seven in 2007.
Domestic and other violence against women was a persistent and
common problem. According to NGO estimates, one out of four women has
been a victim of some form of domestic violence. The NGO SOS, which
operated a hotline for victims of domestic violence, reported that,
during the first six months of the year, it worked with 87 persons
(including 25 men). None of the cases reported by men involved physical
violence against them, but rather were requests for support in family
conflicts. Monitors of domestic violence reported a high level of
violence against women and children. There is no law on protection
against family violence; instead, authorities employed a provision of
the law prohibiting physical violence in a family setting but this
provision does not cover psychological violence.
The press reported that during the first 10 months of the year,
police investigated 395 instances of possible domestic violence. They
pressed charges in 394 cases against 406 persons. In 95 percent of
cases, the perpetrators were men. The NGO Safe Woman's House, which ran
a shelter for victims of family violence, claimed that the number of
calls during the year significantly decreased in comparison with the
corresponding period the preceding year. Financial dependence,
multifamily living arrangements, and the lack of support from extended
family discouraged victims from reporting abuses.
Domestic violence is a crime punishable by a fine or a prison
sentence, depending on the seriousness of the offense. Local NGOs
working to combat domestic violence relied to a large extent on
international donor assistance. During the year official agencies,
including police, and to some extent the judiciary, improved their
response to domestic violence; however, efforts remained inadequate.
According to NGOs, many female victims of domestic violence complained
about the inadequate response of social welfare centers to their
appeals for help.
On September 30, the Administrative Court overruled a decision of
the Judicial Council to suspend Milorad Marotic, a superior court judge
from Niksic, who was indicted by the Niksic district attorney on
charges of domestic violence. The court found that the Judicial Council
was not competent to determine the existence of a criminal offense and
had deprived Marotic of an opportunity to defend himself.
NGOs operated two shelters for victims of domestic violence.
Prostitution and offering sexual services are crimes, but using the
services of a prostituted person is not a criminal offense.
Prostitution existed but was not widespread.
Sexual harassment in the workplace was a problem, but public
awareness of it remained low. Although it is illegal, society at large
tolerated harassment. While victims were hesitant to report harassment,
police were usually effective in intervening when asked to do so.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Health clinics and local health NGOs operated
freely in disseminating information on family planning under the
guidance of the Ministry of Health. There are no restrictions on access
to contraceptives. The government guaranteed free childbirth services.
Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Women have the same rights as men in property law, family law, and
the judicial system; however, in practice women did not enjoy equal
social status with men. However, traditional patriarchal ideas of
gender, which maintain that women should be subservient to male members
of their families, persisted and resulted in continued discrimination
against women in the home. For example, 84 percent of illiterate
persons were women. In rural areas women could not always exercise
their right to control property, and husbands occasionally directed
wives' voting.
Representation of women in government was low. They constituted 6.3
percent of central government employees and 11.4 percent of employees
of local governments.
There were no official statistics about women in managerial
positions. Some job announcements openly advertised discriminatory
criteria, such as age and physical appearance, for female applicants.
Few women held senior management positions in government or commerce.
There were, however, some signs of improvement; an increasing number of
women served as judges, and there were many women in professional
fields such as law, science, and medicine. NGOs pointed out that it was
difficult for women to achieve the property rights in divorce suits.
One emerging trend involved husbands in divorce proceedings titling
their property in the name of other family members or friends rather
than their wives.
Women from Romani communities did not have equal opportunities for
education due to traditional values and restrictions on their
participation in society. Due to low education and harsh living
conditions, Romani women seldom visited gynecologists, with negative
consequences for their health and for infant mortality rates.
Although the law incorporates the general principle of
nondiscrimination against women, it does not explicitly address the
principle of equal pay for equal work; in practice, women's wages were
lower than those of men for comparable work. There remained a deeply
rooted division between male and female professions. On April 16, the
government transformed its Office for Gender Equality into a department
within the Ministry for Protection of Human and Minority Rights.
Women's advocacy groups worked to combat domestic violence through
awareness campaigns and sought to improve women's access to legal
services and workshops.
Children.--Citizenship is based on family ties (jus sanguinis). RAE
often are not aware of the importance of civil registration. Many gave
birth to their children at home and failed to comply with the 30-day
deadline to properly register their child's birth. While this lack of
awareness was probably the main reason for the lack of registration,
human rights observers noted other causes. The phased separation of
Montenegro from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and subsequently
from the state of Serbia and Montenegro, together with changes in
citizenship legislation, made it almost impossible for some of the RAE
who were born outside the country to prove a link to Montenegro for the
purpose of obtaining citizenship. There were also instances where
authorities required marriage certificates from RAE to register the
birth of their children, leaving those born of common law marriages
unregistered.
By law education was compulsory and free; however, according to
Romani community leaders, nearly one-third of Romani children never
enrolled in school. Of Roma who complete primary school, the proportion
continuing for secondary and higher education was much smaller than
that of non-Romani children. The government did not undertake adequate
efforts to monitor or encourage continued school attendance of Roma,
and there were instances in which schools failed to enroll Romani
children because of insufficient classroom space. There was some
progress; the proportion of RAE children who enrolled in the first
grade of secondary school increased from 50 percent in the 2008-09
school year to 55 percent in 2009-10.
On September 9, two teachers of the Drago Milovic elementary school
in Tivat refused to permit six Romani children to attend classes
because they supposedly had lice. The teachers subsequently apologized,
and the 'father returned his children to classes, but his car was then
vandalized in front of the school.
Some ethnic Albanians criticized the government for not providing
textbooks on history, music, and visual arts oriented to Albanian
primary school children. The first privately funded Muslim religious
secondary school opened in Malesija near Podgorica in 2007; by year's
end, the authorities had not given it full accreditation. There was one
fully accredited Albanian-language private school.
While tuition for primary education was free, students had to
provide their own books and stationary, except for families who
benefited from social welfare. NGO programs and grants helped provide
books and other school resources for Romani students.
In an effort to reduce dropouts among Romani children, the UNHCR
and the local NGO Foundation for Providing Scholarships to Roma started
a pilot project for 15 pupils of the sixth and seventh grades of the
school in the refugee camp in Konik.
A deputy ombudsman investigated complaints of violations of
children's rights. His office received 53 complaints during the year,
mainly involving the educational rights of children with disabilities,
children's freedom of expression, and contacts with parents after
divorce.
According to survey by the NGO Center for Children's Rights,
children whose rights were most often violated included children
without parents, children living in institutions, and refugee and
Romani children. The survey showed that physical, emotional, and sexual
mistreatment and violence against and serious negligence of children
were common but not widely discussed.
During the first six months of the year, social welfare centers
received complaints about the mistreatment of 30 children from 19
families; 40 children were accommodated in the shelter for victims of
family violence run by the NGO Safe Woman's House.
Child abuse was an underreported problem that the government took
little action to address. The country lacked proper facilities for
children who suffered family violence. In May the NGO Children Above
All introduced a hotline through which children could report violence
or mistreatment or ask for advice or assistance. The law does not allow
a juvenile to make an allegation of a crime without a parent or
guardian present. Consequently, there was almost no reporting of incest
or other child abuse to authorities. In 2007 the police reported four
cases of child sexual abuse.
Child marriage was a problem, particularly in Romani communities,
where boys and girls generally married around age 14. It was difficult
to estimate the extent of underage marriage in the Romani community
because the Roma frequently did not register such marriages. Romani
children were disadvantaged by poverty, leading many to start work both
at home and in the streets at an early age, typically around age seven,
in order to contribute to the family income. Romani children were also
disadvantaged by having to attend school in a nonnative language, since
many spoke Romani at home. The government generally ignored the
problem.
There is a statutory rape law. The penalties for rape are higher if
the victim was a minor. Child pornography is illegal, with penalties
ranging from six months in prison for displays of child pornography, to
a maximum of five years imprisonment for using a child in the
production of child pornography.
Street children, most of them Roma, were organized into groups to
beg at busy intersections, on street corners, and in restaurants and
cafes. During the year police charged 10 persons with organizing the
begging and removed 76 children from the streets; the children were
temporarily accommodated in the Center for Children and Youth and then
sent back to their places of origin in Serbia, BiH, and Montenegro.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked
through, within, and to a lesser extent, to the country.
The country was primarily a transit point, and to a lesser extent,
a destination, for trafficked persons, mostly women and girls from
Eastern Europe, other Balkan countries, and the former USSR. Most
victims were trafficked for commercial sexual and labor exploitation.
There was anecdotal evidence that foreign children, mainly Roma, were
also trafficked through the country for forced begging. Western Europe
was the primary destination of victims trafficked through the country.
Authorities reported identifying one trafficking victim during the
year. Traffickers increasingly avoided holding their victims in such
public locales as bars and nightclubs, using more hidden locales like
private apartments to avoid detection. Government officials reported
that the number of identified victims continued to decrease, stressing
their belief that trafficking was not widespread but remained confined
to individual cases. The International Organization for Migration (IOM)
reported in September that the overall level of trafficking remained
the same as in 2008.
Persons were trafficked primarily for commercial sexual
exploitation, but many observers believed that trafficking for labor
existed as well, particularly within the construction sector.
Trafficking victims were generally women and girls with less-than-
average education and were usually poor. Traffickers were often
citizens, sometimes working with foreign partners, and were often
affiliated with organized crime. They usually used fraud (false
advertisements for travel or employment) to entice their victims and
resorted to force and coercion to keep victims from escaping.
The maximum sentence for trafficking in persons is 10 years.
Police raids of nightclubs, bars, and hotels were frequent. During
the year police filed criminal charges against four persons in two
separate cases for trafficking. During the year courts convicted 10
persons in three separate cases; they acquitted three persons.
On May 15, the basic court in Rozaje sentenced Sead Kurpejovic to
15 months in prison, also sentencing Senad Kurpejovic and Mirsad Dacic
to one year in prison each on charges of human trafficking and of
having forced a waitress from Belgrade into prostitution. Hazbija Demic
was also found guilty in the case for violating labor regulations.
On July 2, the superior court in Podgorica sentenced three
traffickers, members of the Matovic family, to five years in prison
each. On October 5, the family appealed to the Court of Appeals and the
case was pending at year's end.
On July 21, the superior court in Podgorica opened an investigation
of a doctor from Tivat, arrested on suspicion of involvement in
trafficking. Police alleged that the doctor asked a patient for sexual
services instead of normal payment. The patient pressed charges against
the doctor, indicating that she had been providing him sexual services
in lieu of payment since June 2008. Police suspected that the doctor
had been pimping the woman to his friends as well. Authorities also
detained two of the doctor's associates. During the year the state
prosecutor pressed charges against three additional persons.
An antitrafficking working group, including representatives of
several ministries, the Office of the State Prosecutor, two NGOs, the
IOM, and the OSCE, coordinated government efforts to combat
trafficking. The working group reports to the deputy prime minister.
The appointment of a new national antitrafficking coordinator in
February led to more energetic efforts to deter, identify, and
prosecute traffickers. The new coordinator focused on the trafficking
of children, particularly Romani children and orphans. He also met with
his Albanian, Serbian, and Croatian counterparts to discuss
transnational border cooperation. The government assisted in
international investigations of human trafficking.
Observers and NGOs viewed the police force as generally well
trained and active in combating trafficking, although some claimed that
retaining trained antitrafficking police personnel was a problem.
The government continued its policy of making temporary visas and
shelter available to trafficking victims who agreed to testify against
traffickers, giving them protection and refraining from prosecuting
them for their activities. They offered such protections to one
individual during the year.
Police antitrafficking efforts were led by the organized crime
department of the criminal police.
During the year international organizations, with the cooperation
of local authorities, sponsored training on trafficking problems for
police (including border police), prosecutors, and judges. In April the
coordinator's office reported that it had successfully implemented four
phases of a regional project to develop a transnational referral
mechanism and was working on the fifth phase, compiling a database of
victims and perpetrators.
On March 9, the coordinator announced that those receiving new
passports would also receive an information card on how to identify
trafficking victims and situations.
There were no reports of official involvement in trafficking during
the year.
The law provided some protection to trafficking victims,
distinguishing trafficked individuals from others engaged in
prostitution, who were subject to fines, and distinguishing
undocumented migrants who were victims of trafficking from other
undocumented migrants, who were subject to deportation. Authorities
generally observed these distinctions, establishing procedures for
referring trafficking victims to social service agencies and
repatriating them with IOM assistance. The government funded one
shelter in Podgorica, which was operated by a local NGO. According to
the coordinator, in the period from January 25 to May 4, one
trafficking victim was housed in the shelter.
Public awareness campaigns, sponsored by the government with OSCE
and IOM support, continued throughout the country. They included
conferences on trafficking, public service announcements, and campaigns
in schools. NGOs continued to organize public information campaigns.
The coordinator's office held a series of workshops at primary and
secondary schools to improve public information and also polled
students on their awareness of trafficking. The government implemented
an existing antitrafficking action plan that, in addition to specifying
measures to be taken, allotting agency responsibilities, and setting
deadlines, included financial support for NGOs conducting trafficking
prevention and awareness campaigns. It also adopted a new action plan
for 2010-11.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at: www.state.gov/j/tip
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, pensions, allowances, family care and
support, rights to be placed in an adequate residential institution,
and right to foster care and support or other state services; however,
societal discrimination against persons with disabilities effectively
limited their access to these benefits, and authorities did not
actively prosecute infractions. While laws mandating that new public
buildings have access for persons with disabilities were generally
enforced, lack of access to older public buildings and public
transportation was a problem. Facilities for persons with disabilities
were inadequate at polling stations, although authorities provided
mobile voting for voters who could not come to polling stations because
of illness or disability.
Society often stigmatized persons with disabilities, and such
persons depended greatly on disability allowances, which were not
adequate.
The ministries of Health, Labor and Social Welfare, Education, and
Culture, Sports, and Media were responsible for protecting the rights
of persons with disabilities.
Unemployment remained a serious problem for persons with
disabilities, although employers usually gave other reasons for not
hiring them. Only 2 percent of the approximately 63,000 persons with
disabilities were employed during the year. At midyear estimates of the
number of children with special needs ranged between 6,000 and 7,000.
A study conducted in 2008 by the UN Development Program (UNDP) with
the Strategic Studies and Prognosis Institute, cited estimates of the
number of persons with disabilities in the education system that varied
from 2 to 10 percent. Although they were entitled to healthcare from
the state, the numerous obstacles they faced, including the physical
inaccessibility of most health institutions, unequal access to various
medical treatment, and the limited availability of prosthetic tools,
blocked full access to adequate health care.
Mental health care was inadequate. Facilities for treating persons
with mental disorders were out of date and underfunded. Institutional
isolation perpetuated stigmatization and discrimination against the
mentally ill. Institutionalized persons often became the sole
responsibility of the state and often lived in isolation.
On July 27, the Podgorica Basic Court ruled that Marijana Mugosa
was entitled to enter her office with a guide dog. The local government
of Podgorica lodged an appeal against the decision. Mugosa filed a
lawsuit against the city of Podgorica for mental anguish asking for
130,000 euros ($185,900) compensation. The case went to trial on
December 5. On November 10, the country adopted a law allowing guide
dogs in business premises.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution provides both
individual and collective rights for minorities, and for most groups
these rights were generally observed in practice; however, Roma were
disadvantaged in access to social services and experienced societal
discrimination. The leaders of ethnic Serbians, Albanians, and
Bosniaks, and of Muslims continued to complain of their
underrepresentation in government, the judiciary, and state-owned
economic enterprises.
During the year there were reports of physical attacks against
persons for what appeared to be ethnic reasons. On September 22,
Vladimir Medovic, president of the Bar municipal board of the Croatian
Civic Initiative, was attacked in the municipality of Bar. Medovic, who
was wearing a Croatian checkerboard shirt at the time, told the press
that two unknown young men, dressed in black, attacked him during his
walk through the town of Sutomore, near his home. Police pressed
charges against two persons of Serbian ethnicity.
In an incident that appeared to reflect animosity based on ethnic
differences, police detained Milan Dobrovic, Mladen Cadjenovic, and an
unnamed minor (all from Podgorica) for throwing stones at a convoy of
buses from Kosovo, Bosnia, and Macedonia on June 28, in Zeta, near
Podgorica. Police believed that Dobrovic and Cadjenovic also stoned
buses from Kosovo on June 7 and April 21 at the same place.
A survey by the NGO Human Rights Initiative indicated that, despite
the existence of a satisfactory legal framework, the availability of
information in minority languages and the protection of minority
culture and tradition needed improvement.
According to a joint survey conducted in October 2008 by the
National Statistics Office, the Roma National Council, and the local
NGO Roma Circle, there were approximately 11,000 Roma in the country,
of whom 4,500 were IDPs or DPs and 6,500 were long-term residents. Many
Roma, including IDPs from Kosovo, lived illegally in squatter
settlements, often far apart from each other and lacking such basic
services as public utilities, medical care, and sewage facilities.
Social prejudice and negative stereotypes strongly impacted the RAE
populations. They did not have political representatives and generally
stayed out of politics. They often lacked identity documents and
therefore did not have access to basic social services. Some
settlements were located on property whose owners wanted to reassume
control or on the premises of companies due to be privatized, and their
residents were at risk of eviction; however, no evictions were reported
during the year.
The RAE population faced many challenges related to social
inclusion, including access to secondary medical protection (such as
surgeries and specialist doctors) afforded to other residents.
A well-known human rights researcher, Aleksandar Sasa Zekovic,
alleged that the relevant social and health institutions failed to
prevent and report the death of two Romani children in Niksic in
October 2008 and on July 7.
According to the latest UN data, approximately 40 percent of the
RAE population in the country, 70 percent of them children, lacked
birth or citizenship certificates. Seven percent of the population held
citizenship, and 11 percent applied for it. The Law on Citizenship and
its accompanying regulations posed numerous obstacles for RAE members
in obtaining citizenship, as many lacked personal identity documents
(see section 6, Children).
Prejudice against Roma, who comprised 0.42 percent of the
population, was widespread, and local authorities often ignored or
tacitly condoned their intimidation or mistreatment. According to the
UNDP, approximately 70 percent of Roma were illiterate, 50 percent were
unemployed, and 36 percent lived below the poverty level.
During the year authorities appropriated approximately 600,000
euros ($858,000) to improve conditions for Roma under the ``Strategy
for Improvement of the Roma Position in Montenegro 2008-12.''
Priorities included better housing, a database of the RAE population,
clarification of their legal status, improved education, the
preservation of their culture, the protection of Romani children, and
enhanced Romani participation in social and political life. The
government also appointed a new national coordinator and established a
commission for monitoring the implementation of the strategy including
the representatives of Roma and NGOs; however, the coordinator, who
operated within the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights lacked basic
logistical and informational resources, and was relatively unsuccessful
in accomplishing the goals set by the strategy. Overall, government
efforts did not result in significant improvements during the year.
During the year the government continued to fund the operating
costs of national councils, elected bodies established in 2007 and 2008
to represent the interests of minority groups. It also provided 900,000
euros ($1,287,000) to the councils for implementation of projects,
apportioned according to the size of each group, i.e., Serbs, Bosniaks,
Albanians, Muslims, Croats, and Roma.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The constitution calls for
respect for human rights on all grounds and prohibits the instigation
of hatred or intolerance on any grounds.
Nevertheless, antipathy toward homosexual persons existed, and at
times it was mirrored in the views of leaders. On November 6, Ferhat
Dinosa, the minister of human and minority rights, told television
Vijesti that, ``I would be unhappy'' if homosexuality were present in
Montenegro. The remarks provoked a public reaction, particularly from
NGO activists, some of whom demanded his immediate resignation.
However, at a November 18 meeting on human rights organized by the
European Commission, Dinosa continued to express these views. The
Ombudsman's office noted that the country should be devoted to the
protection of human rights guaranteed by the constitution.
There were infrequent reports of violence and discrimination
directed against gay men; there were no reports that the government
condoned such actions. There were no reports that persons were denied
equal opportunities in education and employment on the basis of gender
orientation. Societal antipathy towards homosexual persons led most of
them to conceal their orientation. The print media at times reinforced
these attitudes by publishing articles with negative overtones about
homosexual conduct.
On March 1, the NGO Juventas opened the country's first Web portal
for homosexual persons. In August the Serbian Orthodox Church issued a
statement calling for equal treatment for transgender believers.
During the year the NGO Human Rights Action estimated that there
were between 30,000 and 62,000 homosexual persons in the country. A
group of 14 NGOs wrote to the president requesting that he use his
authority to explain to people that homosexual conduct is not a
disease.
Other Societal Discrimination.--There were no reports of violence
against persons with HIV/AIDs; however, the NGO ``Juventas'' stated
that persons with HIV/AIDS were stigmatized and experienced
discrimination. Observers believed that fear of discrimination
prevented many persons from seeking HIV testing.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law entitles workers, except for
uniformed military and police personnel, to form and join independent
unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements, and authorities effectively applied them. Approximately
95 percent of the workforce in the formal economy was unionized. The
law allows unions to conduct their activities without interference, and
the government protected this right in practice. The law provides for
the right to strike, and workers exercised this right by conducting
legal strikes; however, the law prohibits strikes by military and
police personnel and public servants.
According to some trade union activists, during the year there were
cases of dismissal and suspension for suspected union activity.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right of collective bargaining; however, collective
bargaining remained at a rudimentary level. By law collective
bargaining agreements covered the registered workforce. The law
prohibits antiunion discrimination; however, there were press reports
of discrimination. Because of delays in the court system, it could take
a worker who claimed to have been unjustly fired several years to
regain employment through legal action.
There were some reports of antiunion discrimination. Janko Vucinic,
president of the trade union at the foundry in Niksic, filed suit
against the management alleging that they fired him in November 2008
for criticizing foundry management. The basic court in Niksic ruled in
November that Vucinic should be returned to work. A 2006 collective
agreement regulating the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of
employers and employees is revised annually. The agreement applies to
large state and former state companies, and the state administration
and private sector employers usually used it as a framework for
employer-employee relations.
As reported in the 2009 International Trade Union Confederation
Survey, the Montenegrin Trade Union Confederation accused employers of
bullying trade unionists. Members of the Trade Union of Leather, Shoes,
and Chemical Industry at the Lenka factory (in the town of Bijelo
Polje) went on a hunger strike to protest the harassment.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports
that individuals were trafficked from abroad and within the country for
exploitation in the sex industry and possibly for labor, particularly
in construction (see Section 6, Trafficking in Persons).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, including those prohibiting forced or compulsory labor
and those establishing acceptable working conditions. The government
generally enforced these laws and regulations effectively in the formal
economy. The official minimum age for employment is 15 years; however,
in farming communities it was common to find younger children assisting
their families. Romani children also worked in a variety of unofficial
retail jobs, typically washing car windows, collecting items such as
scrap metal, or selling old newspapers.
Many Romani children also engaged in begging (see Section 6,
Trafficking in Persons). In Podgorica and the coastal areas, police
continued an initiative aimed at suppressing begging. They arrested and
charged several adults with organizing and forcing their relatives--
young Romani children--to beg. Most of these children were temporarily
accommodated in the Center for Children and Youth. Police asserted that
the practice constituted family begging rather than organized begging.
Police pressed charges against the perpetrators while children were
sent to their families.
Inspectors from the State Labor Inspector's Office were responsible
for enforcing the child labor laws within the formal economy.
Inspectors reported no violations of the child labor laws during the
year. The ministry has 40 inspectors covering labor issues, although
there were no resources devoted exclusively to investigating child
labor. The government has not provided awareness training for officials
charged with enforcing child labor laws.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of 55
euros ($79) per month did not provide a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. According to statistics released at the end of
August, the average salary was approximately 461 euros ($658) per month
and was also not adequate for a worker and family to live comfortably.
The minimum wage was fixed through negotiations between the government,
labor unions, and employers' associations, which represented a
significant number of entrepreneurs. Significant portions of the
workforce, particularly in rural areas and the informal sector, were
not covered by the minimum wage. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Welfare enforced the minimum wage; there were no reports during the
year of employers failing to pay it.
The law requires a 30-minute rest period daily, limits hours worked
to 40 per week except in specified unusual circumstances, and requires
an unspecified premium for work in excess of 40 hours per week.
However, seasonal workers often worked much longer hours. There is no
specific prohibition of excessive compulsory overtime. The Ministry of
Labor and Social Welfare effectively enforced the regulations on hours
of work.
Many workers from privatized or bankrupt companies had outstanding
claims for back payment of salaries and severance pay. The law provides
some recourse, and the parties have reached settlements involving some
compensation in the past; however, these were the exception. The law
requires employers to make substantial contributions to pension and
health care funds. To avoid these payments, employers often did not
officially register their employees.
During the first nine months of the year, the employment agency
granted licenses for the employment of 14,647 foreigners, 90 percent of
them seasonal workers (in tourism, catering, and construction). The
quota for nonresident employees for the year was 39,450.
Labor law provisions governing temporary employment places no
limitation on extending the temporary employment of a worker, putting
employers in a position to considerable leverage over workers,
particularly women, older workers, and those with disabilities.
The government establishes mandatory health and safety regulations.
The employer is obliged to report any serious injury or death at work;
however, authorities did not strictly enforce laws and regulations on
worker safety; in practice workers often lacked safety equipment.
During the first eight months of the year, there were 28 serious
injuries and seven deaths from injuries at work. Burdened by the
deadlines imposed by investors, construction workers (mostly
foreigners) usually exceeded eight hours a day; sometimes, to offset
low wages, they worked additional hours in second jobs.
During the first eight months of the year, authorities conducted
7,746 inspections and found 4,489 violations of labor standards. Labor
inspectors have legal authority to close an establishment until
violations are corrected. In cases of repeated violations, the owners
can be fined.
Workers did not have the right to remove themselves from situations
that endanger health and safety without jeopardy to their employment.
As a part of the agreement with the European Agency for Protection and
Health at Work, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Welfare
distributed 18,000 fliers to raise awareness about the potential
hazards.
__________
THE NETHERLANDS
The Kingdom of the Netherlands includes the Netherlands (population
approximately 16.5 million), the Netherlands Antilles (230,000), and
Aruba (103,000). The Netherlands (the term used to designate the
European part of the Kingdom) is a constitutional monarchy with a
bicameral parliamentary legislative system. The country's 12 provincial
councils elect a First Chamber; citizens directly elect a Second
Chamber. The most recent general elections, held in 2006, were
considered free and fair. A prime minister and a cabinet representing
the governing political parties (traditionally a coalition of at least
two major parties) exercise executive authority. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control over the security forces.
The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba are largely autonomous, except
for foreign policy and defense, which are ``Kingdom matters.'' They
have unicameral parliamentary systems. The Netherlands Antilles held
free and fair parliamentary elections in 2006, and Aruba did so on
September 25, 2009. The Kingdom (the term commonly used to designate
the governance of all of the territories) is required, according to its
charter, to safeguard fundamental human rights and freedoms, good
governance, legal certainty, and the soundness of administration in all
of the territories.
In the Netherlands, conflict between the values of free speech and
the protection of religious and ethnic minorities was a continuing
subject of debate; there were reports of societal discrimination and
violence against some religious and ethnic minorities, of violence
against women and children, and of trafficking in persons for sexual
exploitation.
In Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, prison conditions remained
substandard in some respects and lengthy pretrial detention was a
problem, although authorities took a number of measures to reduce it.
Trafficking was a problem in the Netherlands Antilles.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and in the Netherlands,
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
In the Netherlands Antilles, the St. Maarten court on September 9
ordered the immediate release of a prisoner, D.S. Armstrong, whom
authorities in 2007 forced to serve seven months of a 10-year sentence
sleeping on the concrete floors of unhygienic and overcrowded jail
cells in Philipsburg before transferring him to Pointe Blanche Prison.
Authorities appealed the verdict.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--In the Netherlands, prison
and detention conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
In the Netherlands, almost 12,000 persons were held in detention as
of September 2008, approximately 7 percent of them women. The total
included 5,450 persons in provisional detention awaiting judicial
disposition, 4,400 serving prison sentences, approximately 500 in
detention for not paying a fine, and approximately 500 in detention for
failing to meet their community service obligations. During 2008 an
average of 490 juveniles were housed in separate institutions, of whom
fewer than 100 were serving sentences; 320 were in provisional
detention awaiting judicial disposition.
In the Netherlands Antilles, authorities have not increased prison
capacity sufficiently to allow separate facilities for juvenile
offenders, and judges may sentence juveniles under the age of 16 who
have committed serious offenses to prisons where they serve time
together with adults. A pilot project, begun in 2007, that replaced
prison with house arrest for selected inmates continued.
At Bon Futuro Prison on Curacao, there were several escapes, and
several altercations resulting in injured inmates. Prison guards went
on strike in March and September in Curacao over labor conditions.
In 2008 researchers from the government of the Netherlands
investigated detention facilities in Curacao and St. Maarten and found
them to be unacceptable. The government of the Netherlands made eight
million euros ($11.4 million) available to the Netherlands Antilles for
improving prison and detention facilities, based on recommendations by
the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).
Authorities completed the renovation of the Bonaire detention center
during the year in accordance with CPT standards. During the year the
Netherlands government deployed prison guards and management staff from
the Netherlands to the Bon Futuro Prison in Curacao, based upon
recommendations following a visit by the Crisis Investigation Team at
the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations.
Work began on a construction and renovation project for separate
holding facilities for undocumented foreign nationals in Curacao and
St. Maarten.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the regional police forces, and the
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security
forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police
officers, acting under the authority of the public prosecutor, conduct
criminal investigations. A prosecutor or senior police officer must
order any arrests. Authorities must promptly inform detainees of the
charges against them. Police may question suspects for a maximum of 12
hours (six hours in Aruba and Netherlands Antilles) and detain them for
up to three days (two days in Aruba and Netherlands Antilles), with the
possibility of an additional three days' extension in cases of ``urgent
necessity,'' by order of the public prosecutor without the permission
of a magistrate. However, by the fourth day (the third day in Aruba and
Netherlands Antilles), the prosecutor must bring detainees before an
examining magistrate for questioning and a decision whether to extend
detention for another 14 days, and the court subsequently reviews the
validity of continued detention every 90 days. Extension depends on
progress in the preliminary investigation.
In the Netherlands, in terrorist-related cases, the examining
magistrate may order detention for the first 14 days on the lesser
charge of ``reasonable suspicion'' rather than ``serious suspicion''
required for other crimes.
By law defendants have the right to have access to an attorney
during questioning; however, after a 2007 visit, the CPT expressed
concern that authorities in the Netherlands did not always permit
attorneys to be present during the initial period of detention, which
may last up to 12 hours. Accordingly, pilot projects initiated in
several towns in 2008 allow suspects to consult an attorney prior to
questioning by the police and to inform suspects of their right to an
attorney.
In Aruba authorities indicated that if a detainee requested a
lawyer, no interrogation would take place without one unless the
severity of the case dictated otherwise. A legal aid system existed to
provide indigent detainees with legal aid, but such lawyers did not
always appear before questioning began. In the Netherlands Antilles,
beginning in mid-November, authorities reportedly instituted procedures
requiring that police inform defendants of their right to have a family
member or other person informed of their arrest and that police
document this procedure.
There is no provision for bail, but in the Netherlands authorities
avoided lengthy detention before trial unless there were compelling
reasons to keep a person in custody.
In Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, the Convention Against
Torture in 2007 criticized the excessive length of pretrial detention
and the high number of detainees not convicted of a crime. The
governments of the two territories have sought to correct this problem
by reducing the number of crimes requiring pretrial detention and
implementing other policies aimed at reducing the case backlog,
particularly more expeditious processing of cases involving illegal
drugs.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Trials are
public. Juries are not used. The law requires that authorities fully
inform defendants about the proceedings at every stage. In criminal
trials the law provides for prompt access to counsel (inexpensively,
for persons with low incomes), the presumption of innocence, and the
right to appeal. In most instances, defendants and their attorneys have
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases; however, in
certain cases involving national security, special procedures permit an
examining judge to assess the reliability of official intelligence
reports without exposing the identities of intelligence officers or
releasing confidential intelligence information to the public or the
defendant. The defense has the right to submit written questions to
these witnesses through the examining judge.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Individuals may bring
lawsuits for damages related to a possible human rights violation
before the regular court system or specific appeal boards, and once
individuals exhaust national remedies, they may appeal to the European
Court for Human Rights (ECHR).
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected this prohibition in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these
freedoms in practice.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately
without reprisals.
It is a crime to engage in public speech that incites hatred,
discrimination, or violence against persons because of their race,
religion, convictions, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
During the year the government successfully prosecuted several cases,
notably cases in which judges considered the language in question to be
``unnecessarily offensive.'' The government urged prosecutors and
police to give proper attention to incidents of ``discrimination,''
which in the country's jurisprudence includes racially offensive
speech. Convictions for these offenses were rare because courts were
reluctant to restrict freedom of expression, especially when it took
place within the context of a public debate.
However, on January 21, the Amsterdam Court of Appeals ordered the
Amsterdam Prosecutor's Office to prosecute politician and Islam critic
Geert Wilders for incitement. The prosecutor earlier declined to indict
despite dozens of complaints filed by several organizations and private
persons about his anti-Islamic statements in the press and his
``Fitna'' movie, which many considered offensive to Muslims. The
appeals court found that his anti-Islamic statements yielded ``a
reasonable suspicion of guilt,'' thus requiring review by a criminal
judge. The court recognized the paramount importance of the right to
freedom of opinion, but noted that this right was not unlimited. It
also stated that such a prosecution would serve the general interest in
drawing a clear boundary as to what was permissible in public debate.
On August 18, the Amsterdam Prosecutor's Office dismissed
complaints over the dissemination of a series of controversial
cartoons, including those of a Danish artist depicting the Prophet
Mohammed, determining that they were not offensive to Muslims as a
group, nor that they incited hatred, discrimination, or violence
against Muslims. The prosecutor's office found one cartoon, which the
Arabic European League (AEL) had put on its Web site in reaction to the
Danish cartoons, punishable because it offended Jews as a group on
grounds of their race or religion. The cartoon expressed the idea that
Jews deliberately invented or exaggerated the Holocaust. The AEL
accused the prosecutor's office of double standards.
The Amsterdam Prosecutor's Office did not decide by year's end
whether to prosecute Gregorius Nekschot .''Deathblo.'') for some
cartoons that the prosecutor believed violated the law on intentional
discrimination and incitement to hatred.
Internet Freedom.--There were no governmental restrictions on
access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail
or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
More than 90 percent of the population had access to the Internet.
During the year the government took legal action against four
right-wing Web sites. On February 2, a judge convicted the former
leader of the National Alliance for not removing discriminatory texts
deemed offensive to Jews and Muslims from the organization's Web site.
During the year authorities took measures to deal more effectively with
incitement to discrimination on the Internet. Despite the priority
given to such cases, there were only three convictions in 2007, the
latest year for which data were available.
The police maintained a list of Web sites they have judged to be
purveyors of child pornography and reviewed the list periodically. All
major Internet service providers in the Netherlands have agreed not to
permit access to those sites.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the government generally respected this right in practice. There
were no reports that the government attempted to limit the freedom or
exercise of religion during the year.
Rulings of the courts and the Equal Opportunities Committee
generally held that any restriction on wearing headscarves in schools
or places of employment should be limited and based on security or
other narrow grounds. The government banned clothing covering the full
face in the administrative and educational sectors.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were some reports of
societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation,
belief, or practice. Jews and Muslims faced instances of abuse during
the year, although the experiences of the two communities differed. The
government repeatedly criticized any form of anti-Semitism or anti-
Islamic activity and worked with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
to combat such abuses.
Muslims, who numbered approximately 850,000, faced societal
resentment, attributable to perceptions that Islam is incompatible with
Western values, that Muslim immigrants have failed to integrate, and
that levels of criminal activity among Muslim youth are higher than the
national average. Major incidents of violence against Muslims were
rare, but minor incidents, including intimidation, brawls, vandalism,
and graffiti with abusive language, were common. The Registration
Center for Discrimination on the Internet (MDI) noted that the highest
instance of reported offensive expressions (346) in 2008 concerned
hatred of Muslims.
Some right-wing politicians depicted Islam as incompatible with the
country's traditions and social values; however, the government
continued a comprehensive outreach campaign to counter anti-Muslim
sentiments and right-wing nationalism, including a 25 million euro (35
million dollar) grant for programs in neighborhoods and schools in
2008-11. These efforts raised public awareness and triggered debate,
but concerns about the policy's effectiveness remained. The government
made clear that it would combat groups espousing violence in support of
an Islamist extremist agenda.
It is a crime to engage in public speech that incites hatred,
discrimination, or violence against persons because of their race,
religion, convictions, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
During the year the government successfully prosecuted several cases,
notably cases in which judges considered the language in question to be
``unnecessarily offensive.'' The government urged prosecutors and
police to give proper attention to incidents of ``discrimination,''
which in the country's jurisprudence includes racially offensive
speech. Convictions for these offenses were rare because courts were
reluctant to restrict freedom of expression, especially when it took
place within the context of a public debate.
However, on January 21, the Amsterdam Court of Appeals ordered the
Amsterdam Prosecutor's Office to prosecute politician and Islam critic
Geert Wilders, for incitement. The prosecutor earlier declined to
indict despite dozens of complaints filed by several organizations and
private persons about his anti-Islamic statements in the press and his
movie, Fitna, which many considered offensive to Muslims. The appeals
court found that his anti-Islamic statements yielded ``a reasonable
suspicion of guilt,'' thus requiring review by a criminal judge. The
court recognized the paramount importance of the right to freedom of
opinion, but noted that this right was not unlimited. It also stated
that such a prosecution would serve the general interest in drawing a
clear boundary as to what was permissible in public debate.
On August 18, the Amsterdam Prosecutor's Office dismissed
complaints over the dissemination of a series of controversial
cartoons, including those of a Danish artist depicting the prophet
Mohammed, determining that they were not offensive to Muslims as a
group, nor did they incite hatred, discrimination, or violence against
Muslims. The prosecutor's office found one cartoon that the Arabic
European League (AEL) had put on its Web site in reaction to the Danish
cartoons, punishable because it offended Jews as a group on grounds of
their race or religion. The cartoon expressed the idea that Jews
deliberately invented or exaggerated the Holocaust. The AEL accused the
prosecutor's office of double standards.
The Amsterdam Prosecutor's Office has not yet decided whether or
not to prosecute Gregorius Nekschot .''Deathblo.'') for some cartoons
that the prosecutor believed violated the law on intentional
discrimination and incitement to hatred.
The population included approximately 45,000 Jews.
Anti-Semitic incidents, including verbal threats, cursing, and
desecration of monuments and cemeteries, continued to occur. For
example, at the time of the Israeli incursion into Gaza, three Moroccan
boys in Amsterdam harassed and beat a 16-year-old girl wearing a Star
of David pendant. Certain groups opposed to Israeli policies in the
Occupied Territories, such as the Arab European League and the Stop the
Occupation Movement, frequently used anti-Semitic language and images
to express political views. Explicitly anti-Semitic sentiments also
prevailed among certain segments of the Muslim community and among
fringe nationalist and neo-Nazi groups.
During the year the frequency of incidents appeared to be
correlated with the political situation in the Middle East. For
example, incidents sharply increased during the December 2008-January
2009 Israeli intervention in Gaza. During subsequent anti-Israel
demonstrations in various cities, some individuals chanted the slogan
``Hamas, Hamas, Jews should be gassed.'' Police made several arrests,
and courts convicted a dozen persons, including four minors whom they
ordered to visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
MDI received 296 reports of expressions of hostility toward Jews in
2008. MDI noted that whereas anti-Semitic sentiments on the Internet
used to be confined to extremist Web sites, they also appeared more
recently on mainstream, interactive sites. MDI also stressed the
correlation with the situation in the Middle East. The Center for
Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) called for stronger
government action against anti-Semitic Web sites, describing the
Internet as one of the main sources for dissemination of anti-Semitic
and racist ideologies.
Anti-Semitism was the subject of 123 of the 4,808 complaints
received by a network of antidiscrimination bureaus across the country
in 2008.
Authorities continued to work with NGOs to combat anti-Semitism.
The government urged prosecutors and police to give proper attention to
incidents of discrimination, including discrimination on religious
grounds. It maintained a cyber crime Web site through which citizens
could report radical statements and hate e-mail.
The government took legal action against four right-wing Web sites.
On February 2, a judge convicted the former leader of the National
Alliance for not removing discriminatory texts offensive to Jews and
Muslims from the organization's Web site.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic incidents in the Netherlands
Antilles or Aruba.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The laws provide for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
Authorities denied asylum to persons who came from so-called safe
countries of origin or who resided for some time in safe countries of
transit. They used EU guidelines to define such countries.
In practice, authorities generally provided protection against the
expulsion or return of asylum seekers to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. However, some observers contended that some of the
government's procedures were inadequate to avoid this risk. Authorities
provided economic assistance to persons who were denied asylum and who
chose to return home voluntarily.
The UNHCR and NGOs, including Amnesty International (AI), raised
cases in which the right of persons to protection from return to
countries where they might be at risk appeared to have been violated
and called for stricter policies to prevent future instances. The
authorities promised to investigate the allegations. The charges drew
intense political scrutiny and resulted in pressure to maintain the
temporary protection granted to asylum seekers from Somalia, Iraq,
Sudan, and Ivory Coast, as well as homosexuals and Christian converts
from Iran.
During the year, however, the government ended its policy of
granting automatic temporary protection to certain categories of asylum
seekers based on country of origin or other established criteria--a
policy favored by the UNHCR and many NGOs. Instead, it adopted a policy
of investigating individual asylum applications and determining on a
case-by-case basis whether the individuals concerned would face
mistreatment if returned to their countries of origin.
Several organizations, including AI and the Council for the
Administration of Criminal Law, criticized the manner of detention of
aliens prior to deportation. They maintained that since the aliens were
not criminals, authorities should not subject them to a criminal regime
or keep them in detention for extended periods of time, especially if
there was little or no prospect of actual deportation. Courts have
ordered the aliens' release if there was no prospect of actual
deportation. The state secretary for justice noted that there was no
evidence of structural abuse in the treatment of aliens in detention
centers. Some NGOs continued to argue that the government did not
always keep families with children out of detention. The state
secretary countered that it was at times unfair and inhumane to
separate families awaiting deportation.
Authorities did not permit asylum seekers still awaiting decisions
on their applications, or whose asylum applications had been rejected,
to work and denied them many social services; however, they were
provided with basic sustenance and health care, and their children were
permitted to attend schools.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is primarily based on the mother's
citizenship (jus sanguinis). According to UNHCR statistics, there were
4,591 stateless persons in the country at the end of 2008.
Parliament has revised the law governing citizenship repeatedly to
counter and prevent statelessness, including by providing the
opportunity to gain Dutch citizenship. Immigrants may naturalize after
five years of legal residence, or three years if they are married to a
citizen. Migrants who are not naturalized are allowed to work,
including in the civil service, with the exception of the police force
and the army. After five years of legal residence, nonnationals have
the right to vote in local elections. To become citizens, they must
complete a written naturalization examination that tests both their
Dutch language proficiency and their knowledge of the country's culture
and society.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage. These constitutional rights also apply to the Netherlands
Antilles and Aruba, where they were also exercised in practice.
Elections and Political Participation.--Parliamentary elections in
the Netherlands held in 2006 were considered free and fair.
On June 4, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
Political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference. One of the oldest political parties, the Protestant
Political Reformed Party (SGP), continued to deny women the right to
run for office, despite a 2007 ruling by The Hague Appellate Court
that, by doing so, it was in violation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Discrimination against Women. The same court ruling
ordered the government to take action to force the SGP to change its
policy. At year's end both the SGP and the government had appeals
pending with the Supreme Court against the ruling.
There were 63 women in the 150-seat Second Chamber of parliament,
four female ministers in the 15-member cabinet, and six women among the
11 junior ministers. Women also held positions in the parliaments and
cabinets of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, including the position
of prime minister of the Netherlands Antilles.
Approximately 15 members of ethnic minorities--Turkish, Moroccan,
and Surinamese--served in the 150-seat Second Chamber of parliament.
One junior minister in the cabinet was a Muslim of Turkish background.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented the law effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
In 2008, the most recent year for which information was available,
authorities imposed disciplinary sanctions on 399 central government
employees for abusing their positions.
There were no laws requiring officials to make financial
disclosures. The government pursued an active anticorruption policy
coordinated by the Internal Affairs Ministry's Bureau for Promotion of
Integrity of the Public Sector. The National Criminal Investigation
Service coordinated investigations under the supervision of the
national prosecutor for corruption.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
authorities generally respected that right for both citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media. Whenever information is denied,
authorities provide reasons based on the law. Those seeking information
could appeal any refusal to the regular courts. Disputes occasionally
arose in court over the scope of the government's right to withhold
information based on the public interest. For example, there were
disputes over whether to release certain classified internal memos.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Several domestic and international human rights groups generally
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials were
cooperative and responsive to their views.
A delegation representing the UN Children's Fund visited St.
Maarten in March and met with government agencies and NGOs for
preliminary discussions regarding the implementation and monitoring of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In the Netherlands there are no ombudsmen or parliamentary
committees dealing exclusively with human rights. However, a citizen
may bring any complaint before the civil and criminal courts, the Equal
Opportunity Commission (CGB), the national ombudsman, the Commercial
Code Council, the Council of Journalism, the European Court of Justice,
or the ECHR, depending on the circumstances.
On April 20, the government reacted to the recommendations made by
the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights following his
visit to the Netherlands in September 2008. It noted that a number of
his recommendations were in the process of implementation.
The government has a long tradition of hosting international legal
tribunals, including the International Court of Justice, the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the
International Criminal Court, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on age, race, gender,
disability, language, political preference, sexual orientation, and
social status, and the government generally enforced these
prohibitions.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime and the government
effectively prosecuted such crimes. The penalty for rape is
imprisonment not exceeding 15 years or a fine. The maximum sentence for
marital rape is eight years' imprisonment.
Domestic violence was the most prevalent form of violence in
society. A fact sheet issued by the Ministry of Justice in May
indicated that there were approximately 500,000 incidents of household
violence annually. Approximately 40 percent of the population
experienced some form of domestic violence during their lives; 10
percent of these reported experiencing some form of physical, sexual,
or mental abuse at least weekly; and 4 percent had been raped.
According to police records, approximately 85 percent of victims were
women. Police estimated that victims reported approximately 12 percent
of all cases. The government was implementing a 2008-11 national action
plan to intensify the fight against household violence that included a
national survey on its scope.
Spousal abuse carries a penalty one third more severe than ordinary
battery. Police records indicated that approximately 3 percent of
spousal abuse cases reported to police resulted in arrests. The
government provided support to the national organization Movisie
(formerly TransAct), which assisted victims of domestic violence and
those investigating and prosecuting related crimes. The government
subsidized shelters for battered women. In January legislation became
effective that enabled mayors to impose temporary restraining orders on
perpetrators of household violence. In September the government
repeated a public information campaign against domestic violence.
In June the Justice Ministry, together with several NGOs, started a
national information campaign to combat both forced marriages and the
abandonment by immigrants of their spouses in their country of origin.
The campaign used informational programs to inform young persons of the
risks of these forms of mistreatment.
There were no recent statistics on so-called honor killings or
honor-related violence. In 2006 there were 279 and 158 reports of
honor-related violence in The Hague and Amsterdam respectively. The
government continued a 2006 program to combat honor-related violence;
authorities allocated approximately 13 million euros ($18.6 million) to
the program, which focused on prevention, protection, and criminal
prosecution. In November 2008 authorities set up a National Expertise
Center for Honor-Related Violence (LEC) with the regional police
department in The Hague. The Justice Ministry commissioned the LEC to
develop and exchange expertise among Dutch police forces about honor
cases.
In the Netherlands, prostitution is legal for persons age 18 or
older who engage in the practice voluntarily. It is also legal in the
Netherlands Antilles. In Aruba prostitution was not a criminal offense
but soliciting in public places was prohibited.
The law provides penalties for Dutch nationals and legal residents
who abuse minor children abroad, even if the offense is not a crime in
the country where the abuse occurs.
Sexual harassment was a problem. In July an NGO (the Rutgers Nisso
Group) published a study on sexual violence in the Netherlands
indicating that one in three women and one in 20 men had been victims
of physical sexual aggression at some point in their lives. The law
requires employers to take measures to protect workers from sexual
harassment. The government continued a public awareness campaign and
continued to take measures to counter harassment among civil servants,
but no information was available on their effectiveness.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children, and to have the information and means to do
so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. There were no
restrictions on the right to access contraceptives. The government
provided skilled attendance during childbirth, including essential
obstetric and postpartum care. Men and women received equal access to
diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV.
Under the law women have the same rights as men, including rights
under family law, property law, and in the judicial system.
In the Netherlands, approximately 65 percent of women were
employed, nearly 75 percent of them part time. Female and male
unemployment rates were 5.2 and 4.2 percent, respectively. The Ministry
of Social Affairs and Employment reported that the higher rate of
unemployment among women, their reduced chances for promotion, and
their generally lower-ranking positions than men resulted primarily
from their part-time employment. According to the ministry, the
disparity between men's and women's earnings in the private sector
narrowed from 23 percent in 2006 to 18 percent in 2007; adjusted for
level of experience and expertise required for the jobs, the
differential was 7 percent.
The government provided affirmative action programs for women, and
collective labor agreements usually included provisions to strengthen
the position of women. In 2008 the Netherlands' Equal Treatment
Commission received 432 complaints of discrimination, 13 percent of
which related to gender.
Children.--Children obtain citizenship through their parents (jus
sanguinis). Birth registration is mandatory.
Child abuse was a problem. In a study conducted in 2007, Leiden
University concluded that more than 100,000 children were victims of
abuse. Many of them were physically or emotionally neglected. The study
estimated that 4,700 children were victims of sexual abuse and 19,000
experienced physical abuse. Experts estimated that approximately 50 to
80 children died each year from some form of abuse. In 2008 the Child
Abuse Reporting Center received almost 53,000 reports of possible child
abuse, 5 percent more than in 2007. In March the government launched a
two-year publicity campaign to encourage the population to report signs
of possible child abuse. In September 2008 the government began to
require physicians to report child abuse, overriding professional
confidentiality. Despite increased government funding for the Council
for the Protection of Children, there still were long waiting lists for
assistance.
The law prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM). In May the
Ministry of Health published an FGM prevalence study showing that, of
the 1,200 pregnant women and girls from high-risk countries (Somalia,
Ethiopia, and Egypt) examined by Dutch midwives in 2008, a total of 470
had undergone FGM. In 2007 the government's National Public Health
Council estimated that at least 50 girls a year underwent FGM; the FGM
committee established by the Ministry of Health estimated the number of
girls and women at risk at 16,000 and 34,000 respectively. In 2006 the
government launched a long-term program to combat FGM through primary
prevention and early identification. Through 2008 authorities committed
more than one million euros (approximately $1.5 million) per year to
combat FGM. The maximum penalty for FGM is six to nine years in prison.
The country has a statutory rape law. The penalty for rape is
imprisonment not exceeding 15 years, a fine, or both. The minimum age
for consensual sex is 16. The law prohibits production, possession, and
distribution of child pornography for which there is a maximum penalty
of eight years' imprisonment. In November parliament approved
legislation to ratify the Lanzarote Treaty, which makes gaining access
to child pornography on the Internet a crime with a maximum penalty of
four years' imprisonment. In Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, this
treaty awaited ratification.
Trafficking in Persons.--Trafficking in persons occurred in the
Netherlands, in Aruba, and in the Netherlands Antilles. The laws, the
trafficking patterns, and the responses of the authorities differed in
the three territories.
In the Netherlands, the law prohibits all forms of trafficking in
persons; however, trafficking in persons was a problem. The country was
a destination and country of transit for trafficked persons, and
trafficking within the country was also a problem. NGOs and police
estimated that the number of women and girls trafficked for commercial
sexual exploitation ranged from 1,000 to 3,600. The antitrafficking NGO
Comensha registered 826 victims in 2008, an increase from 716 in 2007.
The top five countries of origin were the Netherlands (320 victims),
China (78), Nigeria (64), Hungary (45), and Sierra Leone (44). Men and
boys accounted for 46 of the victims, and 169 were girls and boys
younger than 18. According to Comensha, most female victims were
exploited through prostitution. In addition, 13 of them worked in
massage parlors, six as domestic servants, and three in the catering
sector. Of the male victims, seven were exploited through prostitution,
four in catering, one in the cleaning sector, and one in the illegal
drug trade.
Girls seduced and coerced into prostitution by ``pimp boys,''
primarily young men and boys of Moroccan or Turkish ethnicity,
accounted for 180 of the Dutch trafficking victims registered by
Comensha in 2008. Most traffickers used threats of violence towards
victims or their families to control their victims. Underage girls and
young women of Moroccan and Turkish descent, underage asylum seekers,
women with dependent residence status obtained through fraudulent
marriages, and women recruited in Africa were the most vulnerable.
In July Dutch authorities increased the maximum sentences for
trafficking in persons from six to eight years' imprisonment for a
single offense, from 12 to 15 years in case of serious physical injury,
and from 15 to 18 years in case of death. Longer sentences for
trafficking also allowed the public prosecutor to try traffickers for
certain punishable preparatory acts of human trafficking, such as
creating a Web site for the purpose of recruiting trafficking victims.
In 2007 the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office prosecuted 221
traffickers, compared with 216 in 2006; courts rendered decisions in
120 cases, convicting 97 suspects, acquitting 14, and dismissing nine.
In July 2008 the court sentenced six members of a Turkish-German
trafficking gang to prison terms ranging from eight months to seven-
and-a-half years. The considered the sentences too low and appealed the
verdict; the appeal was pending at year's end. In 2008 there was only
one conviction for labor trafficking. In two other cases that resulted
in acquittals, the Public Prosecutor's Office exercised its right to
appeal in hope of obtaining a guilty verdict. In one case involving
Chinese workers in a restaurant, the Supreme Court in October annulled
the verdict by the appellate court and referred the case back to the
appellate court for re-trial.
In the Netherlands, the Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs,
Foreign Affairs, Welfare and Health, and Social Affairs are the
principal government agencies for combating trafficking in persons.
Local police forces established special units to deal with trafficking,
and the National Crime Squad's Expertise Center on People Trafficking
and Smuggling (EMM) brought together experts from the National Police
Criminal Investigation Service, military border police, regional police
forces, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Social
Information and Investigation Service. The national prosecutor for
trafficking in persons supervised investigations conducted by the EMM,
which also provided specialized training to police in the
identification and protection of trafficking victims. The national
rapporteur on trafficking in human beings headed an independent,
publicly funded agency that reported annually to the government on the
nature, extent, and mechanisms of trafficking as well as on the effects
of national policies.
Authorities participated in international investigations and
cooperated closely with other governments on trafficking. In February
2008 a human trafficking task force was set up that included the chief
public prosecutor in Amsterdam, the national rapporteur, senior
officials of various ministries, police, and local government and
judicial officials.
The central government provides a temporary residence mechanism
that gives trafficking victims three months to consider pressing
charges against their traffickers. A victim who does so may remain in
the country until the legal process has been completed. During this
period the victim receives legal, financial, and psychological
assistance, and may work or receive vocational training. Victims may
request a permanent residence permit on humanitarian grounds.
Specially trained police conducted regular inspections of brothels
and other commercial sex establishments to verify that individuals in
the sector were working voluntarily and to identify any potential
trafficking victims.
The central government subsidized NGOs working with trafficking
victims. For example, Comensha offered victims social support, legal
advice, medical aid, shelters, and counseling. The Justice Ministry
cofinanced the La Strada program, which focused on preventing
trafficking in women from Central and East European countries.
The Justice Ministry continued to fund the Anonymous Crime
Reporting Center to extend and expand its multiyear campaign against
trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Reports suggested that the five Antillean islands were transit and
destination points for the trafficking of men, women, and possibly
children for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude, as well as
forced labor in the construction and agriculture sectors. According to
local observers, the Antillean islands of Curacao and Dutch St. Maarten
were destinations for women trafficked for the sex trade from Peru,
Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. Over the course of
a year, an estimated 500 foreign women, some of whom had been
trafficked, were reportedly involved for part of that time in
prostitution. Groups vulnerable to labor trafficking included Haitian
men in the agriculture and gardening sectors and Latin American and
Caribbean men in construction. Concern continued that debt bondage
could be taking place, especially among some Asian migrants in
restaurants and local businesses; accordingly, authorities monitored
the situation closely.
There is no specific antitrafficking law in the Netherlands
Antilles; however, authorities successfully used existing criminal
statutes, including those penalizing smuggling, slavery, abduction, and
coercion to prosecute traffickers.
Antilles authorities gave training to government and service
providers that provided counseling and protection to victims of
trafficking. The Web site of the Antillean Ministry of Justice provided
information on trafficking. The national coordinator on trafficking
gave lectures to the public at large, to teachers, and to groups
considered vulnerable (e.g. scouts, other youth groups). The ministry
funded public service announcements, including the telephone number of
a trafficking hotline, that were broadcast over a six-week period. The
national coordinator on trafficking maintained a personal Facebook page
for outreach, from which she regularly updated key officials and others
with information pertaining to the prevention of trafficking.
In Aruba the law prohibits all forms of trafficking. During the
year authorities in Aruba investigated several cases of suspected
trafficking, including that of a 15-year-old girl and 12 Haitian youths
who may have been trafficked. The foreign victims were almost
immediately repatriated and the offenders were arrested pending
prosecution.
In January the justice ministers of the Netherlands Antilles, the
Netherlands, and Aruba signed a memorandum of understanding to promote
increased anti-trafficking cooperation. With the help and expertise of
the Netherlands, organizational changes were begun, including in the
areas of prevention of trafficking, prosecution of traffickers and
protection of victims. A joint team of Antillean, Aruban, and
Netherlands representatives was created to investigate trafficking
cases with the participation of Netherlands experts to provide greater
expertise to police and prosecutors.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Discrimination against persons with
disabilities is prohibited in all three territories, but government
enforcement was inadequate, and there were some reports that such
discrimination occurred. The penal code provides penalties for
discrimination in employment, education, access to health care, and the
provision of state services. In the Netherlands, the CGB received
several dozen complaints, mostly labor related, of such discrimination.
Although CGB rulings are not binding, they were usually implemented.
The law requires access to public buildings for persons with
disabilities, but public buildings and public transport often were not
easily accessible in practice.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Constitution of the Kingdom
of the Netherlands prohibits racial, national, or ethnic discrimination
in all three territories.
In the Netherlands, incidents of physical assault against
minorities were rare, but members of minority groups experienced verbal
abuse and intimidation and were at times denied access to public
venues, such as discotheques.
A Muslim community of approximately 850,000 persons faced frequent
discrimination. Members of immigrant groups also faced discrimination
in housing and employment. According to Statistics Netherlands, in 2008
the minority unemployment rate (9 percent) remained roughly three times
that of the ethnic Dutch workforce (3.2 percent), while the
unemployment rate among minority youth was 17 percent compared to 6
percent for native Dutch youth.
A February 2008 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI) report asserted that a number of government practices both
stigmatized and discriminated against members of minority groups. As an
example, the ECRI cited reports that Netherlands police singled out
individuals from the Netherlands Antilles living in the Netherlands for
searches without apparent reason.
The Dutch government pursued an active campaign to increase public
awareness of racism and discrimination. In June, following a pilot
project in two police regions, the government initiated a national
campaign to counter discrimination and to improve the reporting of hate
crimes, including hate speech, by using a special Web site. Depending
on circumstances, persons could file complaints of racism or
discrimination with the civil and criminal courts, the CGB, the
national ombudsman, the Commercial Code Council, the Council for
Journalism, the European Court of Justice, or the ECHR.
Within the police, a National Discrimination Expertise Center
(LECD) dealt with discrimination. The LECD worked closely with the
prosecutor's offices, local antidiscrimination units, and the MDI.
These organizations also registered incidents and issued reports. Data
from the LECD, the CGB, and the Monitor on Racism and Extremism of the
Anne Frank Foundation provided insights into the extent of incidents of
discrimination. These organizations voiced concern about the reluctance
of victims to report incidents.
In each region a Discrimination Consultation Body, which includes
police, the prosecutor's office, and antidiscrimination units,
discussed incidents of discrimination. In the spring the LECD analyzed
2,240 recorded incidents from 2008 and found that the most frequent
form of discrimination was verbal. Defamation was involved in 16
percent of the incidents, threats in 19 percent, right-wing symbols in
18 percent, physical violence in 13 percent, and vandalism in 8
percent. Discrimination on ethnic or racial grounds occurred in 40
percent of the incidents.
The MDI registered more than 1,000 instances of Internet
discrimination in 2008 that it asserted were punishable, a 10 percent
increase over 2007. Jews, Muslims, Moroccans, and Africans were the
main target groups. Those responsible removed most (90 percent) of
offending sites voluntarily when the MDI asked them to do so. The MDI
reported seven cases to the prosecutor's office; cases brought before a
court produced several convictions.
Most defamation cases filed in criminal courts concerned racial
defamation. Civil lawsuits often alleged discrimination against persons
who were not ethnically Dutch in the supply of such services as cell
phones and access to clubs. The CGB focused on discrimination in the
labor market, including discrimination in the workplace, unequal pay,
termination of labor contracts, and preferential treatment of
ethnically Dutch employees.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--In the Netherlands, there are
no government impediments to the organization of gay events. However,
the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities were not well
organized. There were no gay pride marches.
During the year the Justice Ministry reported a rise in harassment
of homosexuals. Most incidents consisted of verbal epithets and abuse.
Police placed a high priority on combating antigay violence.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no specific
reports of societal violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. However,
the government sponsored a national campaign against societal
stigmatization of persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form or
join independent unions of their own choosing without prior government
authorization or excessive requirements, and workers exercised this
right in practice. Approximately 25 percent of the legally employed
workforce was unionized. The law allows unions to conduct their
activities without interference, and the government protected this
right in practice. The right to strike is based on the European Social
Charter, and workers exercised this right by conducting legal strikes.
Requirements for conducting a legal strike were not excessively lengthy
or cumbersome. Regulations prohibit retaliation against legal strikers.
Public sector workers generally have the right to strike, but a
magistrate may forbid a strike that threatens the public welfare or
safety. For example, magistrates have often prohibited police actions
because of the essential services they perform.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to organize, and specific laws provide for the
right to collective bargaining; workers exercised these rights in
practice. According to the Christian Trade Union Federation, collective
bargaining agreements covered approximately 85 percent of the workforce
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination.
There were no special laws or exemption from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that adults and
children were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and adults
for labor exploitation. According to the Dutch national rapporteur for
trafficking in persons, the highest risk sectors for labor exploitation
included domestic employment, temporary employment agencies,
agriculture and horticulture, restaurants, hotels, and construction
(see section 6, Trafficking in Persons). In 2008 the Labor Inspectorate
conducted approximately 11,000 inspections at many of these high-risk
workplaces.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government enforced laws and policies to protect children from
exploitation in the workplace; however, children were trafficked for
commercial sexual exploitation. In 2008 the Dutch Coordination Center
against Trafficking in Persons registered 103 trafficking victims under
the age of 18.
The minimum age for employment is 16 years. Sixteen-year-old
schoolchildren may not work more than eight hours per week. The law
prohibits persons under the age of 18 from working overtime, at night,
or in activities dangerous to their physical or mental well-being. A
tripartite labor commission composed of representatives of government,
enterprises, and unions monitored hiring practices and conducted
inspections. The commission enforced the laws effectively.
Holiday work and after-school employment are subject to very strict
rules set by law. The Ministry of Labor's inspection office, which is
responsible for enforcement, found during the year that 70 percent of
companies employing holiday workers and children under 18 complied with
regulations.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In the Netherlands, the minimum
wage for adults is 1,398.60 euros ($2,000) per month, which provides an
adequate standard of living for a worker and family. The Labor Ministry
establishes the minimum wage. The minimum wage in the Netherlands
Antilles was 7.30 Netherlands Antillean Guilders ($4.10) per hour and
that of Aruba was similar. Dutch law establishes a 40-hour workweek.
The average workweek was 30.6 hours (38.7 hours for full-time and 20
hours for part-time workers). Persons working more than five hours per
day were entitled to a 30-minute rest period. Overtime is regulated.
There are no exceptions for legal foreign workers. The Labor
Inspectorate effectively enforced the labor laws.
A tripartite labor commission actively monitored and effectively
enforced working conditions, including comprehensive occupational
safety and health standards set by law. The Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs also monitored standards. Workers could remove
themselves from dangerous working conditions without jeopardizing their
continued employment, and they exercised this right in practice.
Workers in the significant underground economy enjoyed neither the
minimum wage nor any of the other legal, administrative, or safety
protections available to other workers.
__________
NORWAY
Norway is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.
The population is approximately 4.82 million. The country is governed
by a prime minister, a cabinet, and the 169-seat parliament (Storting)
that is elected every four years and cannot be dissolved. Free and fair
elections to the multiparty parliament were held in September. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
During the year, racial profiling, violence against women, and
trafficking of men, women, and children were continuing problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and there were
no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions mostly
met international standards; however, there were reports of juveniles
held with adults and prison overcrowding. In September the police
disclosed that, due to prison overcrowding, they had already detained
approximately 1,500 arrestees during the year in temporary holding
cells for longer than the 48 hours allowed by law. The police holding
cells are austere and designed for short stays and a transient inmate
population.
There were reports that juveniles were imprisoned in cells with
adults and often exposed to drug use. One nongovernmental organization
(NGO) documented a case of a 16-year-old boy who was held in a prison
cell with adult males. Prison officials told him not to disclose his
age to the adult prisoners for his own protection. He was isolated 23
hours a day for seven days, did not receive his prescribed medication,
and was not informed of his right to parental and attorney visitation.
The prison system was considered transparent; prisoners were
represented by an ombudsman who could visit at a prisoner's request or
at the ombudsman's own initiative. The government permitted monitoring
visits by independent human rights groups, the media, and the
International Committee of the Red Cross; however, no such visits took
place during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
have primary responsibility for internal security; the police may call
on the armed forces for assistance in crises. In such circumstances,
the armed forces are under police authority. The Ministry of Justice
and Police oversees the police force.
The police force was generally effective, and corruption was not
generally a problem. Adequate measures were in place to investigate
police abuses. An independent police complaint commission investigated
reports of corruption within the police force.
NGOs reported that public security officials used discriminatory
racial profiling techniques to stop and search members of ethnic
minorities. Evidence of racial profiling was anecdotal, since police
did not keep records of stop and search activities. NGOs also reported
that customs officials routinely and disproportionally targeted
nonwhite travelers for search; officials could not verify the reports,
since no records are kept of the ethnicity of individuals stopped at
the border.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires warrants for arrests except when the perpetrator is caught in
the act of committing a crime, and police generally arrested a person
based on a warrant authorized by a prosecutor. Police are required to
file a justification to hold detained persons in custody within four
hours of their arrest, and detainees must be informed of the charges
against them within three days. An arrested suspect is required to be
arraigned within 24 hours (not including Saturday and Sunday), at which
time the arraigning judge determines whether the accused should be held
in custody or released pending trial. Nonresident foreigners were not
released pending trial. There is no bail system. Defendants accused of
minor crimes were routinely released pending trial. Defendants accused
of serious or violent crimes generally remained in custody until trial.
Arrested persons were allowed access to a lawyer of their choosing
prior to being interrogated or, if they could not afford one, to an
attorney appointed by the government. Arrested persons were generally
allowed access to family members. The law mandates that detainees be
transferred from a temporary police holding cell to a regular prison
cell within 48 hours.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
During 2008 the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) issued
judgments which found one violation of the right to a fair trial and
one violation involving length of proceedings; both violations were of
Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence.
Trials are public. Juries are used only in criminal cases heard by the
court of appeals. Defendants have the right to be present, to have
counsel, at public expense if necessary, to confront and question
witnesses, to present evidence and witnesses, and to appeal. Defendants
and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to
their cases. The law extends the above rights to all citizens.
There are no military courts; military crimes are tried in a
civilian court, with the addition of a military judge to assist the
civilian judges in trying the case.
The constitution and law provide for the right to a fair trial, and
an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters that can adjudicate cases
involving human rights violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
In December 2008 the ECHR ruled that the prohibition on paid
advertising on television by political parties barred the Pensioners
Party from its only access to television and interfered with the right
of free expression. The government changed the governing statutes of
the public broadcaster NRK to give smaller parties greater access to
free media.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 83 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
The state church is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway,
which the government supported financially. The constitution requires
that the king and at least half of the cabinet belong to this church.
Other denominations operated freely.
A religious community is required to register with the government
if it desires government financial support, which is provided to all
registered denominations on a proportional basis in accordance with
their membership.
The law permits private or religious schools and day care centers
to ask persons seeking employment whether they will respect and teach
the denomination's beliefs and principles. Employers may reject
applicants on the basis of their responses.
Classes about religion in general are mandatory for children in
public schools from grades one through 10, and several major religions
and philosophies are covered in an objective manner. Parents may seek
an exemption for their children from ``activities'' connected with the
class (such as field trips) but not from the class itself.
The city of Oslo prohibits the wearing of burkas and niqabs in
public schools; however, there were no reports that the prohibition was
enforced during the year.
In November 2008 and January 2009, the country's appellate and
supreme courts denied appeals by Lawrence Keffer of his Oslo district
court conviction for engaging in a demonstration. In May 2008, during
public celebration of the country's constitution day, Keffer and Petar
Keseljevic were arrested as they attempted to evangelize on the streets
of Oslo. The police asked them to move, and, when they refused, they
were arrested. Keseljevic claimed that his right to free speech had
been violated, but the Oslo district court found that the two
evangelists were effectively engaged in a demonstration and the police
were therefore justified in asking them to move. Each was fined 10,500
kroner ($1,800), plus legal fees of 1,500 kroner ($260).
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Jewish population is
relatively small, with approximately 850 registered members and up to
1,200 total members. A number of anti-Semitic incidents occurred during
the year, and there was extensive public criticism of Israel that some
observers linked to societal anti-Semitism.
During Israeli military operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip
in January, there were violent anti-Israeli disturbances on several
occasions in Oslo, as hundreds of rioters emerged from protest marches
that began peacefully. While 139 of the 194 persons arrested by police
were of immigrant background, the vast majority were Norwegian
citizens. A pro-Israeli march in Bergen was cancelled after police
stated that they could not guarantee the participants' safety.
The general atmosphere for Jews in the country worsened early in
the year. On January 18, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere visited the
Oslo synagogue to show solidarity with Jewish citizens, who, he stated,
``feel alienated'' and were ``experiencing growing anti-Semitism.'' A
leading newspaper reported that it had difficulty finding Jews who were
willing to be interviewed about anti-Semitism, as they felt they might
be targeted for violence or harassment. During the Israeli military
operations in Gaza, the chief rabbi of the Oslo Synagogue reportedly
received large amounts of anti-Semitic mail daily.
The location of the line between criticism of Israeli policy and
anti-Semitism was frequently discussed in the media. During January
both a former prime minister and a high-profile commentator on foreign
policy were accused of making anti-Semitic comments. Their statements,
which questioned the ability of the United States to be objective in
its Middle East policy because of high-ranking Jews in the U.S.
government, were criticized as blurring the line between being Jewish
and support for Israeli government policy.
In mid-January, a first secretary at the country's embassy in Saudi
Arabia used a government system to e-mail a chain message with images
likening Israeli soldiers to soldiers of Nazi Germany. Some politicians
urged the government to fire the employee; the government did not
release information on whether it took disciplinary action, citing
privacy rules.
On May 14, the cemetery of the Mosaic Religious Community in Oslo
(the Jewish community) was vandalized. Several gravestones were defaced
with Nazi symbols; on one, ``the war is not over'' was written.
The government continued to support organizations working to combat
discrimination; it supported the foundation The White Buses, which took
students from the country to Auschwitz to educate them about the
Holocaust. In March the country assumed the rotating chairmanship of
the International Task Force for Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and
Research, which it will hold for a year.
On August 5, the government officially initiated a ``Hamsun Year''
observing the sesquicentenary of the birth of Knut Hamsun, the 1920
Nobel laureate in literature, who was a prominent Nazi sympathizer and
collaborator during World War II. The government emphasized the
celebration paid tribute to Hamsun's literary achievements; however,
the observance led to a public debate about the darker side of his
legacy. Two prominent international Jewish organizations strongly
criticized the observance and called on the country to relinquish its
chairmanship of the international task force for Holocaust education,
remembrance, and research.
On November 12, the board of the Norwegian Technical University in
Trondheim unanimously rejected a proposed academic boycott of Israel.
The minister of higher education spoke out against the boycott before
the board's vote both in parliament and to the media, and then saluted
the decision on the grounds that the proposed boycott was inconsistent
with academic freedom.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
The country is party to the Dublin II regulation, which allows for
the return of refugees and asylum seekers to the first country they
entered that is also party to the regulation. In February 2008 the
country's authorities ceased return of asylum seekers to a certain
Dublin II regulation country except when in receipt of a written
guarantee from that country's authorities concerning how the case would
be handled. In August the returns to that country resumed on a case-by-
case basis, and the authorities no longer demanded a guarantee letter.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. The government granted refugee status or asylum and accepted
refugees for resettlement.
The government also provided temporary protection to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees and provided it to 2,580 persons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--On September 14, the
country held parliamentary elections that were considered free and
fair. The elections resulted in the formation of a coalition government
of the Labor, Socialist Left, and Center parties.
Political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference.
Following the September elections, there were 67 women in the 169-
seat parliament. There were eight women among the 19 Supreme Court
justices, and women headed 10 of the 19 government ministries. There
was one member of an ethnic minority in parliament. There were no
minority ministers or Supreme Court justices.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no confirmed reports of government corruption during the year.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Ministry of Justice and Police and the Ministry of Finance are
responsible for combating corruption.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access in practice to both citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The country has parliamentary ombudsmen for public administration,
for children, and for equality and antidiscrimination. All of the
ombudsmen enjoyed the government's cooperation and operated without
government interference. The ombudsmen hear complaints on actions by
government officials, but their offices did not issue any reports
specifically on human rights issues. Although the ombudsmen's
recommendations are not legally binding, in practice government
authorities generally complied with them.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government generally enforced this
prohibition in practice, although racial profiling, violence against
women, and trafficking in persons were problems.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and the
government generally enforced the law. There were reports of 1,084
rapes and attempted rapes reported during 2008 and 1,126 rapes and
attempted rapes during 2009.
The penalty for rape is generally one to 10 years in prison,
depending on the severity of the assault, the age of the victim, and
the circumstances under which the crime occurred. Very few cases,
however, have ever resulted in a maximum sentence. Ninety percent of
rape cases reported to police during the year never reached the courts,
usually due to reluctance on the part of the victim to press charges.
Approximately 35 percent of rape trials during the year ended in
acquittal. In 2007 a government task force examining the high rate of
acquittals in rape cases identified gender bias as a factor that
affected judicial assessments of the credibility of rape victims and
suspected assailants. The Ministry of Defense separately identified a
gap in the reporting and investigation of sexual assaults against
female enlistees.
In January 2008 a government-appointed public committee released a
white paper on ways to prevent and combat rape. Its main conclusion was
that the lack of proper police investigations, due to a structural
failure to prioritize rape cases, led to the low percentage of cases
prosecuted and offenders convicted. A prominent NGO criticized the
government's failure to follow up the conclusions of the white paper
with an action plan on rape by which the government could be held
accountable for results. By the end of the year, many of the
recommendations in the report had not been implemented, including the
recommendation that the police set up an independent sexual violence
unit.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a problem. The
law provides higher penalties for domestic violence than for simple
assault--generally one to six years in prison--with an increased term
in more severe cases. The government enforced the law in practice. In
2008, the latest period for which data was available, 1,457 cases of
domestic violence were registered, an increase over 2007.
The government generally and police agencies in particular had
programs to prevent rape and domestic violence and to counsel victims.
Each of the country's 27 police districts had a domestic violence
coordinator to assist victims. Public and private organizations ran 50
government-funded shelters and managed five 24-hour crisis hotlines.
The shelters provided support and counseling for victims and helped
them gain access to social services, doctors, lawyers, and housing
authorities.
It is illegal for citizens to purchase, but not to sell, sexual
services. The prohibition applies to citizens regardless of where in
the world the purchase takes place. Organized prostitution and pimping
are also prohibited. NGOs and the government estimated that
approximately 3,000 persons sold sexual services in the country during
the year. Girls were trafficked in the country for commercial sexual
exploitation. An NGO that worked directly with prostitutes estimated
that 60 percent of the persons engaged in prostitution during the year
were foreign women.
The law provides that ``employees shall not be subjected to
harassment or other unseemly behavior,'' and the government effectively
enforced this provision. Employers who violate this law are subject to
fines or prison sentences of up to two years, depending on the
seriousness of the offense.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception and
skilled attendance during childbirth; women were diagnosed and treated
for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men.
Women have the same legal status as men and enjoy identical rights
under family and property laws and in the judicial system. The office
of the equality and antidiscrimination ombudsman generally was
effective in processing and investigating complaints of sexual
discrimination. In 2008, the latest year for which data were available,
the office received 597 complaints. In response to 539, it gave
guidance to one of the parties without finding an illegal practice; the
remaining 58 cases were pending at year's end. Ombudsman statements can
conclude in a finding of illegality.
The law provides that women and men engaged in the same activity
shall receive equal wages for work of equal value. According to the
office of the equality and antidiscrimination ombudsman, which monitors
enforcement, women received an average of 10 to 15 percent less pay and
benefits than men for equal work.
The law mandates that 40 percent of the directors of publicly
listed companies be women; virtually all public companies complied with
the law.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis); children born in the country do not automatically become
citizens. All birth clinics in the country reported childbirths to a
central birth register. Names, birth certificates, and social security
numbers, including those of the parents, were reported.
In 2008 childcare services investigated 27,850 allegations of abuse
and intervened in 6,512 cases that authorities considered to constitute
child abuse or failure to care for a child. An independent children's
ombudsman office within the Ministry of Children and Families is
responsible for the protection of children under the law. The
directorate for children, youth, and family affairs provides assistance
and support services. With five regional offices and 26 professional
teams, the directorate is the government's principal agency for the
welfare and protection of children and families.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal. During the year there
were several criminal investigations for FGM involving families
originally from countries where the practice is customary. None of the
cases involved FGM performed in the country. In 2008 a government
report on FGM estimated the total number of cases to be a few dozen and
the practice to be declining.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons, but there were reports that women and girls were trafficked
to and in the country for commercial sexual exploitation and that men
and children were trafficked for labor.
In 2008 the country was a destination for women, men and children
trafficked from Nigeria (115), Romania (40), Eritrea (18), Lithuania
(15), Ethiopia (12), China (11), Bulgaria (10), Kenya (10), Russia
(10), and Sri Lanka (10). Another 40 countries in Africa, Europe, Latin
America, and Asia were source countries for 10 or fewer victims each.
Victims were sometimes trafficked to the country through Sweden,
Denmark, Spain, Italy, and the Baltic and Balkan countries. Six cases
of trafficking for labor were reported in the first 11 months of the
year, four of which remained under investigation at the end of the
year. In 2008 the government identified 256 possible trafficking
victims, including both persons trafficked for prostitution and persons
trafficked for labor. Of these victims, 94 were under the age of 18.
Traffickers used a variety of methods to recruit, transport,
harbor, and obtain victims. Methods ranged from falsely promising
victims legitimate jobs in other countries, legally marrying them and
coercing them into prostitution to help with family finances, and
outright intimidation and abuse. Government officials believed that
organized crime groups were responsible for most trafficking and
identified a number of possible victims trafficked by organized
criminals for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The maximum sentence for trafficking in persons is five years or up
to 10 years for aggravated cases. Sentences are determined by several
factors, including the victim's age, the use of violence or coercion,
and any proceeds derived from exploitation. Traffickers can also be
charged with violating laws against pimping, immigration, and slavery.
Victims may sue their traffickers for compensation without impediment.
Suspected victims were often reluctant to press charges, making it
difficult for police to identify and assist victims and to prosecute
traffickers.
During 2008 there were 46 trafficking investigations, 41 of which
involved trafficking for sexual exploitation, four for labor
exploitation, and one for removal of organs. There were six
prosecutions of accused traffickers and six convictions. During the
year there were 43 trafficking investigations, 38 for sexual
exploitation, four for labor exploitation, and one for removal of
organs. The Ministry of Justice and Police, specifically the police
coordinator for human trafficking was responsible for combating
trafficking. The government assisted other European governments in
combating trafficking and pursuing investigations and prosecutions of
traffickers residing outside the country.
Trafficking victims are given immunity from prosecution for
violating immigration laws and may not be deported if they cooperate in
the investigation of their trafficker. Decisions to deport victims of
trafficking may be suspended for a 90-day reflection period in order to
provide the victim time to receive assistance and counseling.
The government assisted trafficking victims, providing safe housing
in shelters through the ROSA project, a government-funded program
specifically to help victims of sexual exploitation. Through ROSA and
the welfare system, victims received a variety of assistance, including
housing, legal aid, access to the police (if they wished to press
charges against their traffickers), money for food, health care,
Norwegian language classes, and other support. If victims chose to stay
in the country legally, they received complete and full aid from the
social welfare system.
The government had programs to prevent and to identify trafficking
and used a guide to identify possible victims of trafficking and to
provide government employees who might encounter trafficking victims
information on contacts for assistance. The government also conducted
an information campaign on the Internet designed to make purchasers of
sex aware of the relationship between trafficking and prostitution.
Advertisements in airports alerted possible sex tourists to the
potential legal consequences of their actions.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and in the provision of other state services. The law
mandates access to public buildings for persons with disabilities, and
the government generally enforced this provision in practice. The
office for disabled persons in the Ministry of Labor and social
inclusion is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. The office coordinated national policy and managed the
social benefits system for persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Immigrants and their children
sometimes had more difficulty finding employment than equally qualified
ethnic Norwegians. There were also stark differences in the overall
unemployment rate. As of August, the unemployment rate among immigrants
of African background was 14.2 percent and the unemployment rate among
immigrants of Asian background was 9 percent, compared with just 2.5
percent among nonimmigrants, according to government statistics.
In what officials described as an effort to control female genital
mutilation (FGM), the national government initiated a pilot project
under which it designated several local governments to focus on girls
whose parents originated in African countries where more than 30
percent of women were victims of FGM. The project involved requesting
parents of such children to submit their child to a ``voluntary''
physical checkup to see that she has not been subject to FGM. The
minister for children and equality stated that, if the parents did not
acquiesce, they may be referred to the department of child protective
services. NGOs reported that parents who are of African ancestry felt
stigmatized.
Indigenous People.--To protect the rights of the indigenous Sami,
the government provided Sami language instruction at schools in their
areas, radio and television programs broadcast or subtitled in Sami,
and subsidies for Sami-oriented newspapers and books. A deputy minister
in the Ministry of Labor and Social Inclusion dealt specifically with
Sami issues.
In addition to participating freely in the national political
process, the country's Sami elect their own parliament, the Samediggi.
The law establishing the Sami parliament stipulates that this 39-seat
consultative group meet regularly to deal with ``all matters, which in
[its] opinion are of special importance to the Sami people.''
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Several lesbian, gay,
bisexual, or transgender organizations operated freely in the country.
Gay pride marches were authorized and registered. On June 22, the main
march during the year took place in Oslo.
On August 9, an unknown assailant attacked two gay men who were
holding hands while walking in a majority Muslim neighborhood of Oslo.
The assailant stated that he did not condone the men's lifestyle and
that they were in a Muslim neighborhood, and then kicked one of the
men. The other man called the police while the attacker ran away. The
attack was under police investigation at year's end.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no media
reports of societal violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. However, an
NGO reported that, in some cases, dentists and other medical personnel
refused to treat persons with HIV/AIDS and that medical staff forced
HIV/AIDS patients to change their own hospital bedding, refused them
access to hospital cafeterias, and allowed them to eat using disposable
utensils only. In some case, medical personnel entered HIV/AIDS patient
hospital rooms only when wearing biohazard suits.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join independent unions of their choice without previous authorization
or excessive requirements, and workers exercised these rights in
practice. Approximately 53 percent of the workforce was unionized. The
law allows unions to conduct their activities without government
interference, and workers exercised this right in practice.
The law provides for the right to strike, except for military
forces and senior civil servants, and workers exercised this right in
practice. However, the government may, with the approval of parliament,
compel arbitration in all industrial sectors under certain
circumstances, as when a strike threatens the quality of health care or
implicates public safety. The government did not invoke compulsory
arbitration during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--All workers,
including government employees and military personnel, have the right
to organize and bargain collectively, and they exercised this right in
practice.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and the government
enforced these provisions in practice. However, there were reports that
women and children were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
and that persons were trafficked for labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace,
and the government effectively enforced these laws; however, children
were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Children 13 to 15 years of age may be employed up to 12 hours per
week in light work that does not adversely affect their health,
development, or schooling. Between the ages of 15 and 18, persons not
in school may work up to 40 hours per week, while persons who remain in
school may work only a number of hours that does not adversely affect
their schooling, which in practice is substantially less than 40 hours.
Minimum age rules were observed in practice and enforced by the
Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority (NLIA).
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no legislated or
specified minimum wage. Wages are set in collective bargaining
agreements negotiated by labor unions, employers, and the government.
The average daily wage provided a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. In March unions and employers agreed to raise wages
by one krone ($0.17) per hour for those low-income workers earning less
than 90 percent of the average industrial wage.
The law limits the normal workweek to 37.5 hours and provides for
25 working days of paid leave per year (31 days for workers over age
60). The law mandates a 28-hour rest period on weekends and holidays.
The law provides for premium pay of 40 percent of salary for overtime
and prohibits compulsory overtime in excess of 10 hours per week.
Although the law provides the same benefits for citizens and foreign or
migrant workers, there were reports, especially in the construction
industry, of foreign workers' being underpaid or overworked beyond what
is legally permissible.
The law provides for safe and physically acceptable working
conditions for all employed persons. The NLIA, in consultation with
nongovernment experts, set specific standards. Under the law,
environment committees composed of representatives of management,
workers, and health personnel must be established in enterprises with
50 or more workers and safety delegates must be elected in all
enterprises. Workers have the right to remove themselves from
situations that endanger their health, but no data was available on
whether they exercised this right in practice. The directorate of labor
inspections effectively monitored compliance with labor legislation and
standards.
__________
POLAND
Poland is a republic with a multiparty democracy and a population
of approximately 38.5 million. The bicameral National Assembly consists
of an upper house, the Senate (Senat), and a lower house (Sejm).
Executive power is shared among the prime minister, the Council of
Ministers, the president, and the Sejm. The 2007 preterm National
Assembly elections and the 2005 presidential election were both
considered free and fair. The prime minister governs in a coalition
with a smaller political party. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
The government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens. Prison conditions, however, remained poor and overcrowded;
the judicial system was inefficient and resulted in lengthy pretrial
detentions. There were occasional nonviolent incidents of anti-
Semitism, police misconduct, and corruption in the government and
society. There was discrimination against women in the labor market,
sexual exploitation of children, trafficking in women and children, and
societal discrimination and violence against ethnic minorities and gays
and lesbians. Violations of workers' rights and antiunion
discrimination were also problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
On April 22, the Supreme Court rejected the final appeal of 12
Communist-era police officers found guilty in 2007 of firing on
striking coal miners in 1981. Nine persons were killed and 25 others
wounded in the incident at the Wujek coal mine. Commander Romuald
Cieslak was sentenced to 11 years in prison; 14 officers under his
command received sentences of from two and one-half to three years.
On October 29, the Warsaw Appeals Court overturned a July 2008
district court decision to dismiss the case against Communist-era
general Czeslaw Kiszczak, who was accused of ordering militia to fire
on striking Wujek miners in 1986.
On December 22, the Lodz District Court found three police officers
guilty for failure to fulfill their duties and creating unintentional
danger in mistakenly using live ammunition instead of rubber bullets to
quell a riot after a 2004 soccer game. Two persons were killed and 70
were injured. The convicted officers included a highway police officer
who was on duty the night of the incident, his assistant who issued
live ammunition, and a Lodz city police officer who coordinated the
operation. The officers received suspended prison sentences ranging
from 12 to 20 months.
A trial begun in September 2008 continued against eight Communist-
era officials who imposed martial law in 1981, including generals
Wojciech Jaruzelski and Czeslaw Kiszczak. If convicted on charges of
violating the constitution, abuse of power, and leading an organized
criminal group, the defendants could be sentenced to up to 10 years in
jail.
In December 2008, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued
a judgment that found the country in violation of Article 2 (right to
life and deprivation of life) of the European Convention on Human
Rights. The ruling came in response to a suit filed on behalf of
Zbigniew Dzieciak, who spent four years in pretrial detention from
1997-2001. Dzieciak suffered from a serious illness, which led to his
death in 2001. The court concluded that the low quality of the medical
care provided during his detention and delays in treatment had
endangered his life. The court ordered the government to pay 20,000
euro ($28,800) in compensation to Dzieciak's widow.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and the
government generally respected these provisions. There were problems,
however, with police misconduct and abuse of prisoners. While the
criminal code prohibits torture and cruel or degrading treatment, it
lacks a clear, legal definition of torture, which is not reported as a
separate crime.
On January 15, the ECHR ruled in favor of the parents of Pawel
Lewandowski, who accused police of using excessive force against their
son. In 2000 Pawel Lewandowski filed a legal complaint with local
prosecutors that police had beaten him, but the case was dismissed
because of insufficient evidence. Lewandowski lost on appeal and
committed suicide three days after the court's decision. The ECHR
awarded Lewandowski's parents 10,000 euro ($14,400).
On October 30, two police officers in Prabuty were suspended on
charges of taking intoxicated persons to a forest between August 2007
and September 2008 where they were beaten and abandoned. One of the
police officers was also charged with beating two teenagers at a police
station. Following an internal investigation, the regional police
commander and deputy commander were dismissed.
In November 2008 the country's human rights ombudsman issued a
formal statement of concern to the chief of the National Police about
the excessive use of force by police, such as beatings that resulted in
injuries, and unauthorized arrest in some cases. The ombudsman
requested information on a plan to address the problem; however, at
year's end police had not responded.
The law on police misconduct outlines disciplinary actions, which
include reprimands, demotion in rank, and dismissal.
Although the number of officers disciplined by internal police
proceedings has decreased in recent years, the number of misconduct
investigations has increased due to procedures that require all
misconduct complaints be reviewed by the police internal affairs
office. For example, according to the most recent statistics available,
in 2008, 6,361 cases of police misconduct were reviewed. Of that
number, 620 officers were disciplined, including 27 who were dismissed.
In 2007 authorities investigated 6,184 cases of misconduct; 761
officers were disciplined, including 77 who were dismissed.
On November 27, the president signed into law a revision to the
criminal code allowing for forced chemical castration of convicted
pedophiles. Under the law, which will take effect June 2010, courts
will decide whether the offender should undergo such treatment six
months before an expected parole. In the case of the rape of a person
under 15 years of age, chemical castration will be obligatory.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions remained poor and did not meet international
standards. Overcrowding eased somewhat during the year, but inadequate
medical treatment continued to be a problem. The government permitted
monitoring visits by independent human rights observers.
During the year the Central Prison Authority reported 40 suicides
committed in prison as compared with 39 prison suicides in 2008.
At year's end, 83,625 persons were held in prisons and detention
facilities, according to government statistics. Total capacity compared
to the previous year increased by approximately 4,602 and was estimated
at 87,714 persons, leaving prison populations at 95 percent of
capacity.
As of November 2,729 inmates were women, constituting approximately
3 percent of the prison population. Women prisoners were either held in
dedicated detention facilities or in joint facilities where they were
separated by gender. While juveniles were generally separated from
adults, in exceptional cases the law allows juveniles and adults to be
housed together in prisons and detention centers. Juveniles (17- to 21-
year-olds) accused of serious crimes were usually sent to pretrial
detention.
Individuals charged with crimes were often held in prisons pending
trial, but in separate areas. Conditions for pretrial detainees were
generally similar to those for prisoners but, on occasion, were notably
worse due to greater overcrowding and poorer facilities.
Under the country's criminal code, the minimum cell size is three
square meters (32 square feet); however, in practice this standard was
often not met. According to the criminal code, prison directors may
place prisoners for a limited time in cells smaller than 32 square feet
per person. In practice, however, prisoners generally remained in small
cells for the duration of their sentence. At year's end 2,185 detainees
were in cells smaller than the legally mandated minimum, according to
government statistics.
In May 2008 the Constitutional Court ruled that a provision in the
criminal code, which allows the Justice Ministry (MOJ) to keep
prisoners in overcrowded cells for unlimited periods of time, is
unconstitutional and amounts to cruel and degrading treatment. On
December 6, a new provision took effect that provides mechanisms to
prevent prison overcrowding, including deferring sentences if the total
number of prisoners would exceed prison capacity. In an effort to meet
this requirement, prison officials converted many common areas, such as
activity rooms and libraries, into cells.
During the year the human rights ombudsman received 7,158
complaints, compared with 5,718 in 2008, mainly regarding poor prison
conditions, such as inadequate medical care, abuse by prison
authorities, inadequate living conditions, and violations of mail and
visiting rights. The ombudsman partly attributed the increase in cases
to a greater awareness among prisoners of the option to file a
complaint and obtain a nonbinding opinion.
The government allowed independent monitoring of prison conditions
and detention centers on a regular basis by the human rights ombudsman.
During the year the ombudsman visited 106 prison and detention
facilities. Between November 26 and December 8, a delegation from the
Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)
conducted its fourth periodic visit to the country. The CPT visited
prison facilities, border guard detention centers, and police
departments. The findings were not available at year's end.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police force is a
national law enforcement body with regional and municipal units
overseen by the minister of interior. The government continued to take
steps to address corruption within the 100,000-member police force by
instituting harsher penalties and eliminating collection of cash
penalties by police officers. Instead, penalties are now paid at post
offices or via electronic funds transfers. The National Police's
Internal Affairs Office investigated instances of corruption and
serious criminal misconduct.
There were no reports of arrests, trials, or other developments in
connection with a major corruption investigation of senior officials
for malfeasance in public tenders. In 2007 a total of 17 persons,
including five senior employees at National Police headquarters, were
charged in the case with abuse of power, failure to fulfill duties, and
perjury.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law
authorities must obtain a court warrant based on evidence to make an
arrest, and authorities generally complied with the law in practice.
Pretrial detention was a serious problem that contributed to
overcrowding and deterioration of detention facilities. The law allows
a 48-hour detention period before authorities must file charges and an
additional 24 hours for the court to decide whether to order pretrial
detention. Detainees must be informed promptly of the charges. There
was a functioning bail system, and most detainees were released on
bail. Detainees have the right to counsel; the government provides free
counsel to the indigent. Defendants and detainees have the right to
consult an attorney at any time.
Detainees may be held in pretrial detention for up to three months
and may appeal the legality of their arrest. A court may extend
pretrial detention every six to 12 months, but the total time in
detention may not exceed two years. However, in practice detention
frequently extended beyond two years. In certain complex cases, the
court may petition the Supreme Court for an extension beyond two years.
As of November 30, according to the Central Prison Authority, there
were 9,874 pretrial detainees, approximately the same number as in
November 2008.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found 47 violations by the
country of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the
right to liberty and security). The ECHR included violations involving
lengthy pretrial detentions in this category.
On February 20, the Katowice appeals court ordered Marek Dochnal's
release after almost four years in pretrial detention. The court
required Dochnal to pay three million zloty ($1.1 million) in bail to
secure his release. Dochnal was first arrested in 2004 on charges of
bribing public officials; he remained in pretrial detention for more
than three years during the investigation. In January 2008 a Warsaw
court independently released Dochnal following notification by the ECHR
that it had accepted Dochnal's case. His trial began in July 2008;
however, Dochnal was rearrested a month later by the Internal Security
Agency because authorities suspected he was a flight risk.
In a 2007 report, the UN Committee against Torture expressed
concern about the length of pretrial detention. It noted that the
country's law does not provide a time limit for pretrial detention at
the start of court proceedings.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice; however, the judiciary remained inefficient
and lacked public confidence.
Military courts, which are supervised by the minister of justice
and the prosecutor general, have jurisdiction over crimes committed by
members of the military while on duty. Defendants enjoy the same rights
as civilians.
The Supreme Court handles appeals of lower court decisions and
ensures that laws are applied uniformly. The 15-member Constitutional
Court is nominated and approved by the lower house of parliament. It
reviews the constitutionality of laws, adjudicates disputes between
government entities, and monitors the constitutionality of actions by
political parties.
The court system remained cumbersome, poorly administered, and
inadequately staffed. Most notably there were more criminal judges than
prosecutors in many districts. Court decisions frequently were not
implemented. Although there was some progress reported on the
computerization of the court system, a continuing backlog of cases and
the high cost of legal action deterred many citizens from using the
justice system.
In 2007 a system of ``24-hour courts'' was implemented to expedite
trials for minor offenses and petty crimes. Under the system the
accused must be tried within 72 hours of arrest. Police and prosecutors
have 48 hours to collect evidence and file a case; courts must issue a
decision within 24 hours. However, the system was considered costly and
ineffective.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants, who must be present during trial,
enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are usually public; however,
the courts reserve the right to close a trial in some circumstances,
including divorce proceedings, cases involving state secrets, or cases
with content that may offend public morality. The law provides for
juries, usually composed of two or three individuals appointed by local
officials. Cases are tried in regional and provincial courts by a panel
composed of a judge and two lay assessors. Defendants are allowed to
consult an attorney, may confront and question witnesses, have access
to government-held evidence, and may present evidence and witnesses.
Prosecutors can grant witnesses anonymity if they express fear of
retribution from defendants.
After a court issues a verdict, a defendant has seven days to
request a written statement of the judgment; courts must respond within
seven days. A defendant has the right to appeal a verdict within 14
days of the response. A two-level appeal process is available in most
civil and criminal matters.
Individuals continued to file complaints against the government
with the ECHR regarding trial delays, the right to a fair trial, and
the lack of due process.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found 72 violations by the
country of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights; nine
involving the right to a fair trial and 63 involving length of
proceedings. In one of the decisions, the ECHR awarded 7,000 euro
($10,080) in compensation for a divorce case that local courts took 19
years to resolve.
In 2007 the Constitutional Court declared many provisions of the
1997 ``lustration'' (vetting) law unconstitutional, which limited its
scope but still allowed researchers and journalists to review results
of past vetting and investigations. The law is intended to expose
officials and individuals now serving in positions of public trust who
may have collaborated with Communist-era secret police. Under the law
the National Institute of Public Remembrance could vet an estimated
700,000 persons.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary system is
generally independent and impartial in civil cases, and there is access
to courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for or cessation of human
rights violations. The constitution and law provide for the sovereignty
of and public access to the judiciary. However, implementation of court
orders, particularly payment of damages, remained slow, cumbersome, and
ineffective. Court decisions are poorly enforced. Recent changes to
civil procedures place speed and efficiency ahead of individual rights,
and the limited number of attorneys makes it expensive to exercise the
right to legal counsel.
On November 30, the justice ministry created a Human Rights
Department with the primary objective of creating an effective and
comprehensive system to assist crime victims. The department will also
respond to identified cases of human rights violations, including
lengthy trials, excessive use of pretrial detention, and prison
overcrowding.
Property Restitution.--The law provides for restitution of communal
property seized during the Communist and Nazi eras. However, there is
no comprehensive law on returning or compensating for privately held
real property confiscated during these periods.
Despite the lack of specific legislation, some illegally
nationalized private property has been restored. Between 2001 and the
first eight months of the year, approximately 471 million zloty ($165
million) was paid in compensation for illegally nationalized private
property. Compensation from the State Treasury Reprivatization Fund was
distributed to 2,068 individuals and 43 businesses. Compensation
payments were also made to persons who lost private property as a
result of state persecution.
Pursuant to a 2005 law concerning properties lost because of border
changes after World War II, the government continued to pay
compensation on 20 percent of the value of such property. As of
November the state treasury paid cumulative compensation in 23,266
cases of approximately 1 billion zloty ($351 million). According to the
government, the 2005 law could affect approximately 80,000 claimants
for property that is now located in Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine.
The law also requires the state treasury to create registers of all
claimants who have the right to compensation. The deadline for
submitting applications for claims was December 2008.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the
government did not always respect these prohibitions in practice.
Controversy continued over the Internal Security Agency's
installation of scanning and handwriting analysis equipment at mail-
sorting facilities. The equipment, which was installed in Poznan,
screens all incoming and outgoing mail and reports results to the
security agency.
On May 5, the General Inspector for the Protection of Personal Data
released the results of an inquiry into the controversy, concluding
that the Polish Postal Service's actions did not contravene its
responsibility to safeguard personal information. In December 2008 the
head of Internal Security Agency defended the program, stating it
obtained information legally and only from selected persons of
interest.
The law allows electronic surveillance for crime prevention and
investigations. However, there was neither independent judicial review
of surveillance activities nor any control over the use of information
obtained by monitoring private communications. A number of government
agencies had access to wiretap information.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found 17 violations by the
country of the right to respect private and family life under Article 8
of the European Convention on Human Rights. In one case the ECHR
awarded 6,000 euro ($8,640) in compensation to a person who was placed
under parole for almost 12 years, to include appearing at a police
station once a week. The court ruled that the police supervision
infringed on the individual's private and family life.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, in practice there were
laws that restricted these freedoms. Since the collapse of the
Communist government in 1989, the government and courts have either
upheld or instituted laws that criminalize defamation by individuals
and the media, and limit editorial independence.
Individuals could not publicly criticize government officials
without risk of reprisal; public criticism of government policies and
private criticism of the government was not restricted.
Defamation is a criminal offense punishable by up to two years'
imprisonment and includes publicly insulting, defaming, or libeling
members of parliament, government ministers, and other public
officials. For publicly insulting the president, the maximum sentence
is three years' imprisonment. Maximum penalties were rarely applied;
persons found guilty of defamation were generally only fined. The law
also prohibits hate speech, including dissemination of anti-Semitic
literature.
On November 27, the president signed a revision to the criminal
code lowering the penalties for defamation. Under the revised law,
which will take effect in June 2010, defamation will carry a maximum
penalty of one-year imprisonment.
On August 6, the Warsaw District Court ordered an investigation
regarding whether the deputy speaker of the Sejm, Stefan Niesiolowski,
should be charged for publicly insulting the president. In March
Niesiolowski allegedly called the president a ``small man with a
complex.''
On August 26, Krakow police detained a man for insulting the
president by singing an offensive song in public. Although charges were
not filed, police placed the man in ``dozor policyjny,'' a type of
pretrial parole in which persons are required to report regularly to
local police, provide notification of any address changes, and not
travel outside of a certain area. Dozor policyjny is sometimes used
instead of pretrial detention when a criminal investigation is ongoing.
On September 15, the Lublin Regional Court overturned the
prosecutor's decision not to pursue charges against Sejm deputy Janusz
Palikot, who in his Internet blog referred to the president as a
``dwarf.'' The court ruling was in response to the president's July 16
appeal of the prosecutor's decision.
The law also prohibits hate speech, including dissemination of
anti-Semitic literature and the public promotion of fascist or other
totalitarian systems. On November 27, the president signed into law a
revision to the criminal code adding communist systems to the
prohibited list.
Independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views. Private television, satellite, and cable subscription services
were available across most of the country. Electronic media operated on
frequencies selected by the Ministry of Communications and auctioned by
KRRiTV, the National Radio and Television Broadcasting Council, a five-
member body appointed by the National Assembly and the president.
The KRRiTV, which is responsible for protecting freedom of speech,
has broad power to monitor and regulate programming, allocate
broadcasting frequencies and licenses, apportion subscription revenues
to public media, and impose financial penalties on broadcasters. While
council members are required to suspend their membership in political
parties or public associations, critics asserted that the council
continued to be politicized. The president selects two members, the
Sejm two members, and the Senate selects one member.
The Catholic nationalist radio station Radio Maryja was designated
a ``public broadcaster'' and is exempt from paying licensing fees of up
to 1.4 million zloty ($491,000). The station, founded in 1991, featured
conservative Catholic call-in shows that occasionally have included
anti-Semitic and racist statements. Radio Maryja was operated by a
prominent priest, Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, on behalf of the Polish
province of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. Rydzyk also
operated a television channel and a cell phone network, among other
foundations and projects on behalf of the Redemptorists.
Content restrictions on the media include a law that prohibits the
promotion of activities that are against government policy, morality,
or the common good and requires that all broadcasts ``respect the
religious feelings of the audiences and, in particular, respect the
Christian system of values.'' The government enforced this provision in
practice, levying fines on programs deemed offensive. The press code
also places some limits on editorial independence, for example, by
specifying that journalists must verify quotes and statements with the
person who made them before publication.
On August 26, the Warsaw Economic Court overturned KRRiTV's April
2008 decision to fine private television station TVN 471,000 zloty
($165,000) for broadcasting a talk show during which participants stuck
a national flag into dog excrement. The court ruled that the talk show
did not intend to promote the desecration of the national flag, but
rather to speak out against public littering.
On June 18, the Bielsko Biala District Court ordered Krzysztof
Oremus, former editor in chief of local newspaper Super-Nowa, to
apologize to Mayor Jacek Krywult for publishing his photo alongside a
photo of the president of Belarus, thus suggesting a similarity in
Krywult's manner of governing. The court also ordered Oremus to pay a
5,000 zloty ($1,750) fine to the Polish Red Cross.
On June 30, the Zielona Gora district court upheld a lower court
decision to fine former Gazeta Wyborcza journalist, Robert Rewinski,
for his 2004 article accusing a local businessman of collusion with the
state-owned Environment Protection Fund. The court ordered Rewinski to
pay a 3,000 zloty ($1,050) fine and a donation of 1,000 zloty ($350) to
the Polish Red Cross.
On July 16, the ECHR ruled the country violated the right to
freedom of expression (Article 10) of a former reporter at public
television station TVP. In 1999 Helena Wojtas-Kaleta received an
official reprimand for publicly criticizing TVP's decision to eliminate
certain cultural programs from its broadcasting.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for
2008, approximately 49 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the government generally respected this right in practice.
Under the criminal code, offending religious sentiment through
public speech is punishable by a fine or a prison term of up to three
years. More than 94 percent of the population was Roman Catholic.
Citizens have the right to sue the government for constitutional
violations of religious freedom and legal protections cover
discrimination or persecution of religious freedom.
Religious education classes were taught in public schools. Parents
could request instruction in any registered religion, including
Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Children may
choose between religious instruction and ethics. Catholic Church
representatives were included on a commission that determined whether
books were acceptable for school use.
On December 2, the Constitutional Court ruled that an education
ministry directive, which stated that grades for religious education
should be included in students' overall grade point averages, did not
violate the constitution. The directive was challenged in 2007 as
unconstitutional and discriminatory against students who do not take
religious instruction.
The government continued to work with local and international
religious groups to address property claims and other sensitive issues
stemming from persecution and confiscation during World War II and the
Communist era. There are five commissions, one each for the Catholic
Church, Jewish community, Lutheran Church, and Orthodox Church--plus
one for all other denominations. They are supervised by the interior
minister and oversee religious property claims. Of the approximately
10,000 claims filed for restitution of communal religious property,
more than 5,200 had been resolved and more than 1,200 properties had
been returned by year's end. However, concerns remained with the slow
pace of Jewish communal property restitution.
As of August 31, a total of 1,483 of the 3,063 claims filed by the
Catholic Church were settled between the church and the party in
possession of the property, which was primarily the national or local
government. The deadline for filing claims ended in 1992.
There were 5,504 property claims submitted by the Jewish community.
As of August 31, the commission either partially or entirely concluded
1,722 cases. The deadline for filing claims under a 1997 law ended in
2002.
The Lutheran Church filed claims for 1,200 properties. As of
September 18, 905 cases were closed. The deadline for filing claims
ended in 1996.
As of August 31, the Orthodox Church filed 472 claims with its
commission. Of these cases 354 were closed. The deadline for filing
claims ended in 2006.
The fifth property commission, for claims by all other
denominations, received 168 claims. As of August 31, a total of 68
cases had been closed. The deadline for filing a claim ended in 2006.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports of
occasional, nonviolent anti-Semitic incidents and occasional
desecrations of Jewish and Roman Catholic cemeteries. According to the
Union of Jewish Communities, the Jewish community was estimated at
20,000 persons, including 4,000 registered members. The government
publicly criticized anti-Semitic acts, prosecuted offenders, and
supported tolerance education.
The country has made considerable progress in relations with its
Jewish communities. The government consistently supported efforts to
promote interfaith dialogue and tolerance, as well as initiatives to
combat anti-Semitism. Members of marginal populist and nationalist
parties and organizations, however, continued to make some extremist,
intolerant, and anti-Semitic statements.
On February 27, the Media Ethics Council urged Radio Maryja to take
all necessary steps to prevent the broadcast of anti-Semitic comments.
On January 31, former Warsaw University professor Bogulsaw Wolniewicz
said on air that he can no longer ``tolerate the brazen promotion of
Jewish perspectives and culture in Poland.'' The council stated that
using the right to freedom of speech to permit anti-Semitic comments,
without any disclaimer by Radio Maryja, violated the law and basic
ethical norms.
On December 15, the Warsaw prosecutor's office indicted three
Polish administrators of Red Watch for promoting a totalitarian regime,
and inciting hatred and violence. The charges stem from a Web site
maintained by the anti-Semitic and homophobic Blood and Honor group.
The Web site published names and personal information of persons from
minority groups, human rights NGOs, and local media, resulting in
threats and harassment to at least 385 persons.
In February 2008, Leszek Bubel, a self-proclaimed anti-Semite and
leader of a far-right political party, posted a video on a popular
Internet site in which he boasted about his anti-Semitism and urged
Jews to leave the country. Several criminal and civil cases against
Bubel for inciting hatred and disseminating anti-Semitic literature
have been resolved in courts in Lublin, Wrzenia, and Warsaw. Another
case begun in May 2008 in Bialystok was ongoing. Bubel has previously
served six months in jail for inciting racial hostility and defaming
Jews.
On March 5, the Education Ministry in cooperation with the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) introduced a
curriculum for middle school students aimed at combating anti-Semitism.
In particular the materials promoted tolerance by addressing problems
of stereotypes and prejudice.
On June 30, construction began in Warsaw of the Museum of the
History of Polish Jews; the joint public-private initiative is
scheduled to be completed in 2012.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
The law on protecting aliens permits denial of refugee status based
on safe country of origin or safe country of transit, providing the
applicant is a citizen or a permanent resident of that country;
however, the law includes provisions to consider the protection needs
of individuals with exceptional cases.
In practice the government provided protection against expulsion or
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion. During the year the
government granted refugee status or asylum to 133 persons. The
government denied refugee status in 4,056 cases.
Persons granted asylum or refugee status had the right to work, to
receive social assistance and education, and to have access to a state
integration program for 12 months. The program provides participants
with contacts in the local community, assistance with accommodations,
and help with job searches. Refugees receive monetary assistance for
living expenses and language training and are registered in the
national health-care system.
However, according to Amnesty International, asylum seekers and
recognized refugees continued to face difficulties finding jobs and
obtaining health care due in part to poor integration program
conditions. Persons with temporary status also had the right to work,
received social assistance, and participated in the government's
integration programs.
There were occasional reports of problems in the country's 19
refugee detention centers, which were located in the Warsaw, Bialystok,
and Lublin areas and had a capacity of 4,000 persons. Refugees
experienced language and cultural barriers; they had limited access to
higher education. There was discrimination against refugee children by
their peers.
The government provided temporary protection to individuals who may
not qualify as refugees, and it provided temporary protection to 2,458
persons during the year, compared with 1,507 persons in 2008.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Both the October 2007
preterm parliamentary elections and the 2005 presidential election were
considered free and fair.
Multiple candidates from various political parties freely declared
their candidacy to stand for election and had access to the media. OSCE
election observers noted a lack of independent oversight of public
broadcast media, which allowed for an imbalance in coverage of
candidates.
On June 7, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that observers considered to be free and fair. Eleven of the 50
national members elected were women.
There were 94 women in the 460-seat Sejm and eight women in the
100-seat Senat. There were five women in the 20-member Council of
Ministers. An additional 24 women held ministerial-level positions.
There was one minority member in the Sejm (representing the German
minority in Silesia) and no minorities in the upper house. There were
no minorities in the cabinet. The law exempts ethnic minority parties
from the requirement to win 5 percent of the vote nationwide to qualify
for seats in individual districts.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not always implement these laws
effectively, and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices.
According to World Bank governance indicators for 2008, corruption
was a problem in the country. There was a widespread public perception
of corruption throughout the government. Citizens continued to believe
that political parties and members of the legislative branch, the
health care system, and the judiciary were the most corrupt.
On March 11, the Dziennik newspaper alleged that Deputy Prime
Minister and Economy Minister Waldemar Pawlak had engaged in a conflict
of interest for failing to resign as head of the Volunteer Fire Brigade
and for steering contracts to friends and family without a competitive
bid process. Pawlak denied any wrongdoing; he noted the independent
Supreme Chamber of Audits cleared the contracts in question during an
audit.
On March 17, Prime Minister Tusk expelled Senator Tomasz Misiak
from the Civic Platform party in response to allegations that Misiak's
private company profited from the passage of a new law dealing with the
country's shipyards. Misiak chaired the committee that passed the
legislation. After the legislation entered into force, Misiak's company
won a 48 million zloty ($17 million) contract, without a tender, to
provide job retraining for recently fired shipyard workers.
On September 8, the Internal Security Agency arrested Sylwester
Rypinski, the president of the state-owned Social Insurance Agency, and
three other employees on corruption charges. If convicted Rypinski
would face up to 10 years' imprisonment.
On October 1, the national daily Rzeczpospolita published phone
transcripts of conversations between high-level politicians and
businessmen who were allegedly lobbying for a revision of a draft law
on gambling. The publication led to a major government reshuffling in
which six minister-level officials resigned, including sports minister,
Miroslaw Drzewiecki. The chairman of the ruling party's parliamentary
caucus, Zbigniew Chlebowski, also resigned. The Central Anticorruption
Bureau (CBA) obtained the transcripts through wiretaps. On November 5,
the Sejm established a special committee to investigate alleged
corruption in connection with the so-called ``gamble-gate'' scandal.
The CBA has broad powers to audit the financial holdings of public
officials and to fight corruption in public procurement. It also is
authorized to conduct searches and secret videotaping, wiretap
telephone conversations, and make arrests.
During the year the CBA continued to examine numerous high-profile
and controversial investigations begun earlier.
For example, on April 1, the Poznan District Court began the trial
of billionaire Henryk Stoklosa on 21 charges in connection with a major
finance ministry corruption case. Three ministry officials were
arrested in 2006 as part of the CBA investigation. According to the
prosecutor, the officials canceled fiscal liabilities and issued tax
exemptions over a 10-year period in exchange for bribes from organized
criminals and businessmen. Stoklosa was also charged with bribing a
Poznan judge. He has been held in pretrial detention since 2007 and
could face up to 10 years' imprisonment.
On October 5, the Warsaw District Court began the trial of Beata
Sawicka, a former member of parliament and the mayor of Hel, on
corruption charges related to a real estate scandal. The CBA accused
Sawicka of corruption for accepting a bribe to influence a public
tender in Hel in the run up to the 2007 parliamentary elections. In her
defense Sawicka said she was seduced and manipulated into accepting the
bribe by a CBA officer. In a related development, in October 2008 a
Warsaw court ordered the prosecution to investigate the CBA's
involvement in the case.
On August 18, the Warsaw Circuit Court sentenced one person to 30
months' imprisonment for attempting to bribe former agricultural
minister and deputy prime minister Andrzej Lepper. A second person in
the case was fined. The two were detained in 2007 by the CBA based on
reports that they had connections with persons in the agriculture
ministry who could issue favorable land-use decisions in exchange for a
bribe of three million zloty ($1.1 million). Lepper was subsequently
dismissed as minister.
The law provides for public access to government information; in
practice the government generally provided access to citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media. Government refusals of requests
for information must be based on exceptions provided in the law related
to government secrets, personal privacy restrictions, and proprietary
business data. Refusals may be appealed.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
During the year, UN Special Rapporteurs on Health Issues and
Trafficking in Persons visited the country and reported their initial
findings (see section 6).
The country's human rights ombudsman presents an annual report to
the Sejm on the state of human rights and civic freedom in the country.
The ombudsman generally had adequate resources, although in 2008 the
office requested more funding to deal with increased responsibilities.
The ombudsman enjoyed the government's cooperation and was considered
effective. During the first nine months of the year, the human rights
ombudsman reported that 49,979 cases were filed with the office, an
increase of 2,829 from the same period in 2008.
The office of the ombudsman is independent; however, the ombudsman
is selected by the parliament and, at times, was criticized by the
media for being influenced by party politics. Women and minority groups
criticized the incumbent for making controversial statements about
feminists.
Both chambers of parliament have committees on human rights and the
rule of law. The committees serve a primarily legislative function and
comprise representatives from multiple political parties.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government generally enforced these
prohibitions.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal and punishable by
up to 12 years in prison. According to National Police statistics,
during the first six months of the year, there were 754 reported cases
of rape, compared with 764 during the same period in 2008. However,
NGOs estimated that the actual number of rapes was much higher because
women often were unwilling to report rape due to social stigma. During
the same period, police forwarded 568 rape cases to prosecutors and 67
to family court (for underage offenders) for indictment.
Domestic violence against women continued to be a serious problem.
The number of reported cases was attributed to heightened police
awareness, particularly in urban areas, as a result of media campaigns
and NGO efforts. Under the law a person convicted of domestic violence
may be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison; however, most
convictions resulted in suspended sentences. The law provides for
restraining orders on spouses to protect against abuse, but police do
not have the authority to issue immediate restraining orders at the
scene.
During the first six months of the year, police identified 10,302
domestic violence offenses compared with 10,506 during the same period
in 2008. Of the cases identified thus far, 9,427 were forwarded for
prosecution. In 2008 police reported that officers conducted 86,455
interventions related to domestic violence. According to the justice
ministry, in 2008 there were 15,127 domestic violence convictions. At
year's end according to prison authorities, 4,383 individuals were
serving prison sentences for domestic violence crimes.
Women's organizations believed the number of women affected by
domestic abuse was underreported, particularly in small towns and
villages. The NGO Women's Rights Center reported that police were
occasionally reluctant to intervene in domestic violence incidents if
the perpetrator was a member of the police or if victims were unwilling
to cooperate.
NGO-operated centers for domestic violence victims provided
counseling for offenders and training for personnel who worked with
victims. The government also provided victims and families with legal
and psychological assistance and operated 184 crisis centers and 16
shelters for pregnant women and mothers with small children. In
addition, local governments operated 36 specialized centers funded by
the central government for victims of domestic violence. The centers
provided social, medical, psychological, and legal assistance to
victims and ``corrective educational'' programs for abusers. In 2008,
the last year for which statistics were available, the government
allocated approximately 12.7 million zloty ($4.5 million) for the
centers' operating costs. The government also spent 3.2 million zloty
($1.1 million) during the year on public awareness programs to
counteract domestic violence, which were implemented by local NGOs and
governments.
In 2008 the total amount allocated to implement the National
Program for Combating Domestic Violence was 20.5 million zloty ($7.2
million), which included funding for specialized centers; education and
correction programs for offenders; and training for social workers,
police officers, and specialists who are the first contact for victims
of domestic violence.
On April 16, the newly formed Council for Victims of Crime held its
first meeting. The council was established as an advisory body on
proposed policy changes and legislative initiatives to support victims.
Prostitution is legal, but pimping, forced prostitution, and
prostitution of minors are prohibited. According to police there were
an estimated 3,300 prostitutes in the country; however, NGOs estimated
that there were 18,000 to 20,000 women involved in all aspects of the
sex industry. Women were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation.
The law prohibits sexual harassment. Under the criminal code,
persons convicted of sexual harassment may be sentenced to up to three
years in prison. The labor code defines sexual harassment as
discriminatory behavior in the workplace that violates an employee's
dignity, including physical, verbal, and nonverbal acts.
The NGO Center for Women's Rights stated that sexual harassment was
a serious and underreported problem. Many victims do not report abuse
or withdraw harassment claims in the course of police investigations
out of shame or fear of losing their job. However, social awareness of
the problem continued to increase due in part to reporting by the
media. During the first six months of the year, police reported 58
cases of sexual harassment, compared with 143 cases during 2008.
During the year legal proceedings continued against two former
members of parliament charged with extorting sex from female employees.
On December 31, the Lodz Appeals Court extended until March 31, 2010,
the pretrial detention of former Samoobrona party member Stanislaw
Lyzwinski. He has been in detention since 2007. Lyzwinski was also
charged with rape, repeatedly forcing four women to have sex, abetting
a kidnapping, and extortion. If convicted of all charges, he could be
sentenced to up to 18 years in prison. Andrzej Lepper, another
Samoobrona member and former deputy prime minister and agricultural
minister, was also charged with extorting sex from a female party
worker and with forcing another woman to have sex. Lepper was free on
bail. On January 13, an appeals court upheld the 28-month jail sentence
for Jacek Popecki for inducing an employee to have an abortion. Popecki
was a former assistant to Lyzwinski and Lepper.
On December 28, the Olsztyn Prosecutor's Office suspended its
investigation of former mayor Czeslaw Malkowski pending a psychological
analysis. In March 2008 Malkowski was charged with sexual harassment of
two female employees and the rape of a third pregnant employee. He was
released from pretrial detention in September 2008.
The government generally recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. However, some restrictions exist. For
example, while there were no restrictions on the right to obtain
contraceptives, social and economic factors limited their use,
according to a local NGO, the Federation for Women and Family Planning.
Prescription contraceptives are not included on the government list of
subsidized medicines, which makes the cost prohibitive relative to
average household income. The law does not permit voluntary
sterilization. Health clinics and local health NGOs operated freely in
disseminating information on family planning under the guidance of the
Ministry of Health, although counseling on the use of contraceptives is
not integrated in the primary healthcare system.
The government provided free childbirth services, and there were
sufficient doctors available to provide this service. Women also used
nurses and midwives for prenatal and postnatal care unless the mother
or child suffered more serious health complications. According to
statistics compiled by the World Health Organization in 2005, there
were approximately eight maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the
country. Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment
for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
On May 11, Anand Grover, the UN special rapporteur on health
issues, presented preliminary findings following a six-day visit to the
country to assess sexual and reproductive health rights. Among his
findings he cited a serious impediment to women's access to certain
reproductive health services, such as contraception and prenatal
testing. Grover also called for providing unbiased sexual education and
better funding for contraceptives.
The constitution provides for equal rights for men and women in
family law, property law, and in the judicial system; however, in
practice there were few laws to implement this provision. Women held
lower-level positions and frequently were paid less than men for
equivalent work, were fired more readily, and were less likely to be
promoted.
On February 9, 32 NGOs in the country that promote women's rights
sent a complaint to the European Commission noting a lack of government
action to combat discrimination against women. On May 14, the European
Commission referred the country to the EU Court of Justice for not
codifying European Community rules prohibiting gender discrimination in
access to and supply of goods and services.
In April the independent research company wynagrodzenia.pl
published a survey reporting a large discrepancy in the average
starting salaries of men and women university graduates. Women's
starting salaries were on average approximately 30 percent lower than
men's salaries in technology and economic professions and up to 60
percent lower in artistic professions.
On August 13, the private Center for Economic Information reported
that the number of women working in senior positions in small to
medium-sized businesses had doubled over the preceding three years.
Women were on the boards of approximately 70,000 companies,
representing 30 percent of all companies in the country.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is responsible for
combating gender discrimination, incorporating gender equality into
governmental policy, and monitoring implementation of government
programs to promote gender equality. The ministry continued to
implement projects to combat gender discrimination in the workplace,
including an EU program that involved local NGOs to fight
discrimination based on gender, race, religion, disability, age, or
sexual orientation.
In March 2008 the prime minister appointed a senior government
official for gender equality with the rank of minister. However, some
women's rights groups complained that the position was neither
sufficiently resourced nor sufficiently independent from government
influence to fulfill its mandate.
In its November 20 report, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights expressed concern that despite the existence of a
minister-level position for equal treatment, discrimination continued
against women and minorities, including ethnic minorities, persons with
disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
persons. The report criticized a draft bill to implement certain EU
directives in the area of equal treatment as not protecting against all
forms of discrimination.
Children.--Citizenship is acquired by birth when at least one
parent is a citizen, regardless of where the birth took place (jus
sanguinis). Citizenship is also granted to children born, or found, on
the territory of the country from parents of unknown origin. The
government has in place a system of universal birth registration,
implemented immediately after birth.
Incidents of child abuse were reported; however, convictions for
abuse were rare. The law prohibits violence against children and
provides for prison sentences ranging from three months to five years.
A government ombudsman for children's rights issued periodic
reports on problems affecting children, such as pedophilia on the
Internet, improving access to public schools for children with
disabilities, and providing better medical care for children with
chronic diseases. The ombudsman's office also operated a 24-hour
hotline for abused children. In 2008, the last year for which
statistics were available, the ombudsman received 10,578 complaints, an
increase of 2,597 in comparison with 2007. Of that number 26 percent
referred to the right to be brought up in a family, 15 percent to
protection against abuse and exploitation, 12.5 percent to the right to
education, and 7 percent to the right to adequate social conditions.
In February the Warsaw-based Helsinki Human Rights Foundation
published a report which asserted that child prostitution was a problem
although its extent was difficult to measure due to a lack of data.
According to the government and the Nobody's Children Foundation, a
leading NGO dealing with trafficking in children, child sex tourism was
not significant in the country, although trafficking in children for
sexual exploitation remained a problem.
The law prohibits sexual intercourse with minors less than 15 years
of age. The penalty for a conviction of statutory rape ranges from two
to 12 years imprisonment. Child pornography is also prohibited by law.
The production, possession, storage, or importation of child
pornography results in a sentence of three months to 10 years
imprisonment.
In 2008, according to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), 742 persons
were convicted of sexual intercourse with persons under 15 years of age
and 26 persons were convicted of with the involvement of a minor.
During the year police conducted seven large, nationwide operations
against child pornography and pedophiles, which led to the arrest of
379 persons and confiscation of computers and pornographic materials.
In 2008 police conducted similar operations that led to the arrest of
330 persons. Charges were filed against 84 persons. However, no reports
were available on the outcome of the charges filed.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, there were numerous reports that persons
were trafficked to, from, through, or within the country.
The country was a source, transit, and destination country for
victims of trafficking in persons, primarily women and girls for sexual
exploitation. There were reports that the country was increasingly
becoming a destination country for forced labor. Internal trafficking
for sexual exploitation also occurred.
Persons were trafficked to and through the country, primarily from
Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova. Ukraine continued to
be the largest source of persons trafficked through the country, with
Belarus also serving as a substantial source. There were reports of
small numbers of Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Djiboutians, Ugandans,
Chinese, and Mongolians being trafficked to, within, and through the
country. Citizens and foreigners were trafficked to other EU countries,
particularly to Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and
Sweden. NGOs noted a trend towards a higher percentage of victims being
trafficked for labor in agriculture and other economic sectors.
On May 29, following a five-day visit to the country, Joy Ezeilo,
the UN special rapporteur on trafficking in persons stated that human
trafficking had increased in the country since it joined the EU's
Schengen zone in 2007. The special rapporteur noted that the government
had made progress to combat human trafficking. However, she also said
that the lack of a clear legal definition of trafficking and judicial
inefficiencies continued to hamper the government's efforts. The
special rapporteur criticized the fact that courts do not award
trafficking victims compensation for the loss of earnings and personal
suffering.
Traffickers continued to target young, unemployed, and poorly paid
women and men, particularly those with weak family ties and support
networks. Traffickers attracted victims with false promises of
lucrative jobs, arranged marriages, fraud, and coercion. In some cases
traffickers threatened victims with violence or legal prosecution,
counting on the victims' ignorance of their rights.
Authorities believed that large, organized crime groups and
individuals controlled the trafficking business, and victims were
frequently trafficked by nationals of their own country, who collected
a fee to allow passage to or through the country. According to arrest
statistics, approximately 25 percent of traffickers were noncitizens.
Authorities also believed that employment and talent agencies were
sometimes used as fronts for trafficking operations.
Penalties for trafficking in persons range from three to 15 years'
imprisonment. While prostitution is not criminalized, pimping,
recruiting, or luring persons into prostitution carry penalties of up
to 10 years in prison. Individuals convicted of trafficking in children
and luring women into prostitution abroad received the most severe
sentences. Traffickers could also be prosecuted under laws
criminalizing statutory rape and forced prostitution.
While the criminal code prohibits trafficking, it lacks a clear
legal definition of trafficking, which limits effective prosecutions.
During the first six months of the year, police identified 32 cases
of human trafficking and forwarded 31 cases to prosecutors for
indictment. In 2008 according to final MOJ statistics, 53 traffickers
were convicted for forced prostitution and trafficking, compared with
42 convictions in 2007.
In January the Lublin prosecutor's office suspended the
investigation into the 2007 case of a female trafficking victim, who
was nearly deported despite her critical medical condition. The case
became public following media reports that border guards had detained a
Nigerian woman who was a suspected trafficking victim. Authorities
subsequently granted the woman status as a trafficking victim and
accepted her into the Interior Ministry's (MOI) witness protection
program.
In February 2008 an Italian court sentenced 16 Poles to serve
sentences of from four to 10 years in prison for recruiting more than
300 Poles to work in agricultural camps in southern Italy under forced
labor conditions. In a parallel case, a court in Krakow continued a
trial begun in 2007 of 23 persons who were allegedly involved in
trafficking persons to labor camps in Italy. The workers were forced to
work up to 15 hours a day for one euro ($1.44) per hour, slept on the
ground, and were watched by armed guards.
The Ministries of Interior and Justice have primary responsibility
for antitrafficking efforts; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
coordinated trafficking programs with foreign governments and
international organizations. The National Police have 17 regional teams
to combat trafficking in persons and child pornography.
There continued to be unconfirmed reports that low-ranking local
police took bribes to ignore trafficking activity.
Trafficking victims often did not ask officials for help from fear
that border guards and police would deport them. There were concerns
that border guards unwittingly deported some unidentified trafficking
victims. This action prevented the government from providing them with
assistance or benefiting from their cooperation as potential witnesses.
NGOs attributed this to a lack of knowledge and failure of police and
border guards to adhere to national guidelines on how to identify and
approach suspected trafficking victims. Victims were often prosecuted
for carrying false travel documents, working illegally, and violating
the terms of their visas. In some cases deported victims were met at
the border or elsewhere in their country of origin by their
traffickers, who provided them with new travel documents and returned
them to the country.
The MOI funded NGOs to conduct regional training on identification
of trafficking victims and victim assistance in all provinces; several
hundred law enforcement officials were trained in trafficking issues by
the NGOs La Strada and the Nobody's Children Foundation and also by the
ministry.
During the year the government allocated approximately 150,000
zloty ($52,630) for victim assistance and 100,000 zloty ($35,090) to
implement the National Antitrafficking Action Plan. The government also
allocated an additional 700,000 zloty ($245,600) to establish and
operate the National Intervention and Consultation Center for Victims
of Trafficking. The center, which began operation in April, included a
shelter, a 24-hour hotline, and crisis intervention programs. The
center also advised government authorities working with trafficking
victims, and conducted preventive activities.
The government worked extensively with antitrafficking NGOs, such
as La Strada. While the government provided space and funds for NGOs to
operate shelters for trafficking victims, the number of shelters
remained inadequate, and NGOs frequently resorted to temporary
arrangements to provide medical, psychological, and legal assistance to
victims. NGOs conducted trafficking training courses at police and
border guard academies; provided counseling for victims and their
families; developed training and prevention materials; and conducted
public awareness campaigns on trafficking dangers.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care or the provision of other state services. The government
effectively enforced these provisions; however, there were reports of
some societal discrimination against persons with disabilities.
The law states that buildings should be accessible for persons with
disabilities, and at least three laws require retrofitting of existing
buildings to provide accessibility. Public buildings and transportation
generally were accessible.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is responsible for
disability-related matters. During the year the government
plenipotentiary for persons with disabilities organized training
sessions for central and local government officials to encourage them
to hire persons with disabilities. The state fund for rehabilitation of
persons with disabilities continued a nationwide campaign encouraging
companies to employ persons with disabilities. The fund granted money
to NGOs to organize media campaigns on the rights of persons with
disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution provides
ethnic and national minorities the right to preserve their own
language, customs, and culture. The law contains several provisions
against hate crimes and incitement to violence based on ethnic origin;
however, government enforcement efforts were sometimes ineffective.
There were isolated incidents of racially motivated violence and
verbal and physical abuse directed at Roma and persons of African,
Asian, or Arab descent. The Ukrainian and Belarusian minorities also
continued to experience petty harassment and discrimination.
On September 25, a man attacked two Chechen women in the town of
Lomza. The man beat the women and sprayed them with a chemical while
shouting racial epithets. Earlier, Lech Kolakowski, a member of
parliament from the Law and Justice party, had called for a Lomza
refugee center, which housed Chechen and other refugees, to be closed.
At year's end police had made no arrests in the case.
On October 12, the Opole District Court banned the Brzeg branch of
the National Radical Camp, a neo-Nazi organization, from operating
determining that its ideology and behavior promoted racial hatred. This
was the first neo-Nazi group banned in the country. The decision
stemmed from the December 2008 suspended sentencing of three members of
the National-Radical Camp for making Nazi gestures during the group's
gatherings in 2006 and 2007. In May 2008 the National-Radical Camp and
a neopagan organization, Zadruga, disturbed the celebration of the 87th
anniversary of the Silesian uprising by making Nazi gestures, carrying
flags with swastikas, and distributing anti-Semitic leaflets.
On October 20, the Bialystok Appeals Court suspended the sentences
of three skinheads convicted of drawing swastikas and racist slogans on
apartment buildings and a Jewish cemetery in Bialystok in 2007. On
January 30, a Bialystok lower court had sentenced the three to 12 to 20
months imprisonment.
During the year there were periodic incidents of racist behavior.
For example, in April the radical group Socio-National Option
distributed leaflets on Wroclaw public transportation system conveying
racist slogans. Passengers intervened and the leaflets were removed.
On July 12, Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, who operates the Catholic
nationalist radio station Radio Maryja, made a racial slur about an
African missionary during a pilgrimage to Czestochowa. On August 20,
following widespread criticism from government and Redemptorist
officials, Rydzyk publicly apologized for the remark.
On October 15, a court in Bialystok started the trial against four
persons charged with physically and verbally assaulting a dark-skinned
French citizen on April 30. On October 23, a court in Bialystok started
another trial against three persons charged with physically and
verbally assaulting a dark-skinned female student of Cuban origin on
March 10 in a shopping mall.
On November 11, several hundred members of the National-Radical
Camp marched through Warsaw shouting neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic slogans,
and using Nazi gestures. On November 16, police launched an
investigation into the case.
On January 21, the Sejm ethics committee reprimanded Artur Gorski,
a member of parliament from the Law and Justice Party, for making
racist remarks during a parliamentary hearing in November 2008.
Gorski's remarks were widely criticized by government officials, NGOs,
and the media. In December 2008 the ethics committee ordered Gorski to
issue an official, on-the-record apology. However, he refused, saying
that he had already apologized in a letter to the speaker of the Sejm.
During the year there also were displays of racist behavior at
sporting events. The Sports Ministry and the soccer union announced a
number of projects underway to fight racism, including educational and
awareness raising campaigns. In April 2008 the human rights ombudsman
sent a letter to the president of the Polish Soccer Union expressing
concern about racist and anti-Semitic incidents at soccer matches. He
suggested assessing penalties and tolerance programs to educate soccer
fans about cultural or racial differences.
On July 21, a Gdansk court sentenced a soccer fan to six months'
imprisonment and a fine for throwing bananas and shouting racial
epithets at African soccer players in 2006. The fan's soccer team was
also fined.
On September 26, the Polish League of American Football suspended
the Crew Wroclaw team president Marek Wyszkowski until the end of 2010
for making racist remarks to two football players of African descent.
The league also imposed a 1,000 zloty ($350) fine and ordered
Wyszkowski to make a public apology.
On December 8, a Krakow court upheld a request by a deputy justice
minister to the Krakow Prosecutor's Office to reopen the investigation
into the case of racist and anti-Semitic fan behavior at a match in
November 2008. During the match fans of the Cracovia team allegedly
imitated monkey noises and shouted anti-Semitic slogans when African
players came on the field. In June the prosecutor had suspended the
investigation, deeming it a case of fan rivalry.
Societal discrimination against Roma continued. There were reports
that some local officials discriminated against Roma by not providing
adequate social services. Romani leaders complained of widespread
discrimination in employment, housing, banking, the justice system, the
media, and education.
In its November 20 report, the UN Committee on Economic, Social,
and Cultural Rights expressed concern about continued widespread
discrimination against Roma in the country in areas such as employment,
education, land tenure, access to welfare benefits, housing, and health
care.
On September 9, an appeals court in Wroclaw upheld the conviction
and sentencing of a streetcar driver for insulting and threatening a
Romani man with violence on the Internet. The driver had used abusive
language and said he would kill the man were he to visit Wroclaw.
The government allocated approximately 10 million zloty ($3.5
million) annually to a special program for Roma that included
educational and other projects to improve health and living conditions
and reduce unemployment. The program also focused on civic education
and provided grants for university and high school students.
According to the Roma Association, more than 50 percent of Romani
children did not attend public school out of fear that teachers would
encourage assimilation and uproot them from their traditions. In 2008
according to the MOI, there were approximately 3,100 Roma under the age
of 18 years living in the country. Of that number 2,700 (87 percent)
were enrolled during the 2007-08 school year.
The Roma Association stated that gaps in Romani children's
education made it impossible for Roma to end their poverty.
Approximately 90 percent of Roma were unemployed. A 2002 national
census recorded approximately 12,700 Roma living in the country.
According to the Ministry of Education, the number of segregated
classes for Romani children has been substantially reduced. In August
2008 the news daily Dziennik reported that in six cities with a large
Roma population, Romani children were taught in segregated classes,
ostensibly because they did not speak fluent Polish. The education
level in such classes was reportedly lower than in mainstream classes.
Following the reports the education minister inspected all district
offices with oversight of separate classes for Roma and ordered that
Romani children be fully integrated with other children.
On October 1, a separate class for Romani children was started in a
Poznan preschool. The idea originated with a local Roma foundation to
improve education for Romani children and to ease their transition to
public schools. Opponents of the project asserted that any type of
segregation of Romani children would be detrimental; however,
proponents claimed that many Romani children did not feel comfortable
attending integrated schools.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The constitution guarantees
all persons the right to equal treatment and prohibits all forms of
discrimination in the political, social, and economic spheres. There
are no laws that criminalize sexual orientation or behavior.
However, organizations representing LGBT persons reported that
discrimination is common in schools, the workplace, hospitals, and
clinics. For example, LGBT persons are sometimes prevented from
donating blood due to the perception that HIV/AIDS is prevalent in the
LGBT community. During the year there were some reports of skinhead
violence and societal discrimination against LGBT persons. There are
several LGBT organizations operating in the country, with a focus on
preventing discrimination of LGBT persons and promoting tolerance.
In May the NGO Campaign Against Homophobia reported that the level
of hate speech against persons based on their sexual orientation was
still high in the country. The NGO called for revisions to the
antidiscrimination law to include sexual orientation among the
categories of punishable offenses.
On July 15, the human rights ombudsman intervened in a legal
dispute on behalf of a local branch of LAMBDA, an NGO that combats
discrimination based on sexual orientation. In June a district court in
Bydgoszcz and city authorities had blocked the group's registration.
LAMBDA filed a formal complaint against the ruling. In a letter to the
court, the ombudsman stated that it had violated rules on registering
organizations, and all citizens are equally entitled to participate in
public life and to express their views freely. In November the LAMDA
branch received its registration.
On August 4, in an unprecedented decision, the Szczecin District
Court imposed a 15,000 zloty ($5,260) fine on a woman who repeatedly
harassed a neighbor over his sexual orientation. Her public comments
prompted other neighbors to harass the plaintiff verbally and
physically. The court also prohibited the woman from making further
disparaging public comments about her neighbor's sexual orientation.
On May 16, an estimated 500 persons took part in Krakow's fifth
annual gay March for Tolerance to call for an end to prejudice against
homosexuals. The event took place without major incident, due in part
to the presence of 450 police officers. A small counterdemonstration
was organized by the All Youth and National Rebirth of Poland
activists. Some counterdemonstrators threw eggs, tomatoes, and chairs
at march participants and shouted antigay and anti-Europe slogans; 15
persons were detained by police. The Krakow Archdiocese issued a
statement criticizing the march as immoral, but distanced itself from
violence against homosexuals.
On June 13, Warsaw authorities allowed the annual Equality Parade
to take place in the city center for a fourth consecutive year.
Approximately 2,000 local and international gay rights advocates
participated in the march without serious incident. Some 30 members of
the All Poland's Youth and National Radical Camp staged a
counterdemonstration, but there was no direct confrontation between the
two groups due to police protection.
Other Societal Discrimination.--There were few reports of
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. According to the
government's AIDS Center, there was one incident of discrimination
reported during the first six months of the year. The case involved
discrimination by neighbors against a person with HIV/AIDS.
On November 23, the Constitutional Court ruled that a 1991 Interior
Ministry regulation requiring immediate dismissal of an HIV positive
police officer was unconstitutional. The court's ruling came in
response to a March 2008 question submitted by an administrative court
in Gdansk, which was reviewing a police officer's appeal against his
dismissal in 2007 for being HIV positive.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that all workers,
including civilian employees of the armed forces, police, and frontier
guard, have the right to establish and join independent trade unions
without previous authorization or excessive requirements. Foreign and
migrant workers also have the right to unionize.
While many workers exercised this right, in practice many small and
medium-sized firms discriminated against those who attempted to
organize labor. Newly established small and medium-sized firms were
generally nonunion, while privatized, formerly state-owned enterprises
frequently continued union activity.
Under the law, 10 persons are required to form a local union and 30
persons for a national union. Unions must be registered with the
courts, and organizations are required to give employers quarterly
updates on the total number of trade union members. A court decision
refusing registration may be appealed. The law does not give trade
unions the freedom to exercise their right to organize all workers. For
example, workers on individual contracts cannot form or join a trade
union. According to a December 2008 survey, 16 percent of the workforce
was unionized, primarily in the education, science, healthcare,
transportation, communication, mining and other industrial sectors.
All workers have the right to strike except those in essential
services, such as security forces, the Supreme Chamber of Audit,
police, border guards, and fire brigades. These workers had the right
to protest and seek resolution of their grievances through mediation
and the court system. Cumbersome procedures made it difficult to meet
all of the legal technical requirements for strikes in many cases.
Labor courts acted slowly in deciding the legality of strikes,
while sanctions against unions for calling illegal strikes and against
employers for provoking them were minimal. Unions alleged that laws
prohibiting retribution against strikers were not enforced consistently
and that the small fines imposed as punishment were ineffective
deterrents to employers.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions to conduct their activities without interference; however, in
practice the government failed to protect this right at small and
medium-sized companies. The law provides for and protects enterprise-
level collective bargaining over wages and working conditions. A
tripartite commission composed of unions, employers, and government
representatives was the main forum that determined minimum national
wage and benefit increases in areas such as the social services sector.
Key public sector employers could not negotiate with labor without
the extensive involvement of the ministries to which they were
subordinate. The law provides for parties to take group disputes to
formal mediation, then to the Board of Social Arbitration in either the
district court or Supreme Court depending on the number of employers
involved, and, as a last resort, to strike. By law employers are
obligated to notify a district inspection office in the region about a
group dispute in the workplace. During 2008 the State Inspection Office
registered 5,433 disputes, compared with 2,869 disputes in 2007.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination; however, labor leaders
reported that employers frequently discriminated against workers who
attempted to organize or join unions, particularly in the private
sector.
On December 17, a labor court in Torun ruled in favor of Officina
Labor in a wrongful termination dispute. A local trade union claimed
that Officina Labor illegally fired representatives of the newly formed
union's board. The company argued that they received notification of
the union's formation after the firings had taken place. The court
ruled that the company was not required to rehire the employees, but
suggested the employees could claim compensation for discrimination. A
related case addressing the termination of the trade union chairman was
pending.
In April a newly formed local trade union accused the firm DAD
Poland in Poznan of harassment and wrongful termination. A few days
after employees joined the union, the company fired four members. Other
unionists claimed that DAD Poland's director threatened members with
dismissal.
Discrimination typically took the forms of intimidation,
termination of work contracts without notice, and closing the
workplace. The law did not prevent employer harassment of union members
for trade union activity; there were unconfirmed reports that some
employers sanctioned employees who tried to organize unions. Managers
also asked workers in the presence of a notary public to declare
whether they were union members.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
On April 22, a labor court in Ciechanow issued its first ruling in
the case of union employees that claimed they were harassed and
wrongfully terminated from Dong Yang Electronics. The court ordered the
company to rehire one employee and pay compensation for court costs and
one month's salary. Workers claimed company officials intimidated them
during a 2008 strike ballot and then refused to acknowledge the
validity of a second, secret ballot, in which employees unanimously
approved the strike. Dong Yang subsequently gave a raise to employees
who did not strike and dismissed 200 other employees, including three
unionists, replacing them with fixed-contract workers. There were an
additional 180 cases pending before the court.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women and children were trafficked to the country for
commercial sexual exploitation and that men and boys were increasingly
trafficked for labor in the agricultural sector.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, including
forced or compulsory labor, and the government generally enforced the
law in practice; however, there were reports that children were
trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.
The law prohibits the employment of children under age 16, with the
exception of cultural, artistic, sporting, and advertising fields, but
only with permission of the parents or guardians and the local labor
inspector. Persons between the ages of 16 and 18 may be employed only
if they have completed middle school, the proposed employment
constitutes vocational training, and the work is not harmful to their
health.
The State Labor Inspectorate reported that increasing numbers of
minors worked, and many employers underpaid them or paid them late.
During the first six months of the year, the inspectorate conducted 514
investigations involving 2,581 underage employees (16 to 18 years of
age), compared with 259 inspections involving 1,796 underage employees
during the same period in 2008. Fines totaling 182,650 zloty ($64,090)
were levied in 159 cases.
Of the 2,581 underage employees, the majority worked in the
processing industry, in commerce and repairs, and other service
industries such as hotels, restaurants, construction, and
transportation. According to a 2008 annual report by the labor
inspectorate, the majority of underage employees worked during summer
school holidays.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national monthly minimum
wage of 1,276 zloty (approximately $448) that took effect in January
did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
Wages are set by an annual tripartite process involving representatives
from the government, employers, and employees. If the committee fails
to agree on a figure by the September 15 deadline, the Council of
Ministers sets the minimum wage. The large size of the informal economy
and the low number of government labor inspectors made enforcement of
the minimum wage difficult. A large percentage of construction workers
and seasonal agricultural laborers from Ukraine and Belarus earned less
than the minimum wage.
The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours, with an upper
limit of 48 hours per week, including overtime. The law requires
premium pay for overtime hours, but there were reports that this
regulation was often ignored. The law provided for workers to receive
at least 11 hours of uninterrupted rest per day and 35 hours of
uninterrupted rest per week.
The law defines strict and extensive minimum conditions to protect
worker health and safety. It empowers the State Labor Inspectorate to
supervise and monitor implementation of worker health and safety laws
and to close workplaces with unsafe conditions. However, the
inspectorate was unable to monitor workplace safety sufficiently. In
2008 the government reported more than 100,000 workplace accidents, an
increase of 5,000 over 2007. The inspectorate investigated 2,703
accidents in which there were 3,298 casualties, including 615 workers
killed and 1,131 persons seriously injured. Employers routinely
exceeded standards for exposure to chemicals, dust, and noise.
According to the inspectorate, lack of professional experience,
necessary safety precautions, and organization were the leading causes
of workplace accidents. The majority of accidents occur in mining,
trade, and services.
The law permits workers to remove themselves from dangerous working
conditions without losing their jobs; however, they were unable to do
so in practice without jeopardizing their employment.
__________
PORTUGAL
Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira islands, has a
population of approximately 10.7 million and is a constitutional
democracy with a president, a prime minister, and a parliament elected
in multiparty elections. National parliamentary elections in September
were free and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of the security forces.
There were human rights problems in several areas. Police and
prison guards occasionally beat or otherwise abused detainees and
prisoners, incarcerated minors were not held separately from adults,
prison conditions were poor, and persons detained by police did not
have an effective right to an attorney. Other problems included
violence against women and children, discrimination against women, and
trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation and forced labor.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
according to media reports, security forces shot and killed at least
two persons during the year.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
there were credible reports of excessive use of force by police and of
mistreatment and other forms of abuse of detainees by prison guards.
On March 19, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture (CPT) released a report documenting findings of the CPT
delegation that visited the country in January 2008. According to the
report, the delegation received numerous allegations of mistreatment of
detainees by law enforcement officials, consisting of slaps, punches,
and blows with objects such as batons and telephone books; verbal
intimidation; and a specific threat made with a firearm. The CPT
reported finding a large number of nonstandard objects, such as
baseball bats, a plastic pistol, telescopic batons, and cudgels, in
rooms used for interrogations. The report noted that there was no
legitimate reason for prison authorities to keep such objects in
interrogation areas. The CPT found that authorities had not maintained
the positive trend noted by the CPT after its visits in 1999 and 2003,
when the delegation received declining numbers of mistreatment
allegations.
There were credible reports, including in the media, of excessive
use of force by members of the security forces. During the year the
Inspectorate General of Internal Administration (IGAI) investigated
reports of mistreatment and abuse by police and prison guards.
Complaints included physical abuse, threatening use of firearms,
excessive use of force, illegal detention, and abuse of power. The
majority of complaints were against the Public Security Police (PSP)
and the Republican National Guard (GNR)--411 and 482 complaints,
respectively, in 2008, the most recent year for which statistics were
available. The IGAI investigated each complaint, and punishment for
officers found to have committed abuses ranged from temporary
suspension to prison sentences. During 2008 there were 1,018
investigations involving all security forces. Punishment included
letters of reprimand, temporary suspension from duty, prison sentences,
mandatory retirement with wage cuts, and discharge from the security
forces.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
poor, and there were reports that guards mistreated prisoners. Other
problems included overcrowding, inadequate facilities, poor health
conditions, and violence among inmates.
In its March 19 report, the CPT noted that it received a number of
allegations of physical mistreatment of prisoners by custodial staff at
the Monsanto High Security and Coimbra Central Prisons and somewhat
fewer allegations of mistreatment at the Oporto Central Prison. The
allegations involved punches, kicks, and blows with batons administered
to prisoners after they had been brought under control. In some cases,
injuries inflicted reportedly required medical treatment. In one case,
a prisoner at the Monsanto High Security Prison alleged that he was
assaulted in 2007 by four prison officers, who repeatedly hit his head
against a wall until he was semiconscious. The CPT reported that notes
by the prison doctor recorded injuries that were consistent with the
prisoner's allegations.
There were high rates of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C in the country's
prisons.
According to the Directorate-General of Prison Services, on
September 30, there were 10,916 prisoners and detainees in the
country's prisons (94.4 percent men and 5.6 percent women), 90 of whom
were between 16 and 18 years old (88 men and two women). The maximum
number of prisoners that facilities could accommodate was 11,921. The
prison system was operating at 91.6 percent of capacity. There was a
youth prison in Leiria, but elsewhere juveniles were held at times with
adults. In its March 19 report, the CPT stated that a minor had been
held for eight months with adults in a dormitory at the Funchal
Regional Prison on Madeira. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted
criminals.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers, and prisons were visited during the year by the CPT, the
Human Rights Committee of the Portuguese Bar Association, and news
media.
Most of the guidelines and legislative proposals that the
government adopted in 2004 to reform the prison system were not applied
in practice. However, some improvements were made during the year,
including a decrease in prison overcrowding and continued personnel
training.
During the year, as part of a five-year prison reform plan adopted
in August 2008, the government approved construction of five new
prisons throughout the country and started construction of a new prison
in the Azores. The goal of the reform is to increase security, improve
detainee conditions, rationalize financial and human resources, and
improve working conditions of prison staff. On September 24, the
government announced that all prisons now have in-cell toilet
facilities.
On October 12, the new law for the enforcement of sentences went
into effect. The law increases prisoners' rights, establishes an ``open
regime'' where prisoners may earn the right to work outside of the
prison and see their families on a regular basis, and reinforces the
role of the Enforcement of Sentences Court (the court that oversees the
enforcement of penal sanctions and is responsible for rehabilitation of
prisoners).
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--There were
approximately 50,000 law enforcement officials, including police and
prison guards. The Ministry of Internal Administration and the Ministry
of Justice are primarily responsible for internal security. The
Ministry of Internal Administration oversees the GNR, the Foreigners
and Borders Service (SEF), and PSP. The SEF has jurisdiction over
immigration and border problems. The PSP has jurisdiction in cities,
and the GNR has jurisdiction outside cities. The Judiciary Police are
responsible for criminal investigations and report to the Ministry of
Justice.
An independent ombudsman chosen by parliament and the IGAI
investigate complaints of abuse or mistreatment by police. However,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) criticized the slow pace of
investigations and the lack of an independent oversight agency to
monitor the IGAI and the Ministry of Internal Administration. Police
corruption was an isolated problem.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution and law provide detailed guidelines covering all aspects
of arrest and custody, and authorities generally followed the
guidelines. Persons can be arrested only based on a judicial warrant,
except that law enforcement officials and citizens may make warrantless
arrests when there is probable cause that a crime has just been or is
being committed or that the person to be arrested is an escaped convict
or a suspect who escaped from police custody.
The investigating, or examining, judge is a central figure in the
country's legal system. Investigating judges direct inquiries into
severe crimes or complex cases. As members of the judiciary, they are
independent and outside the domain of the executive branch. They are
separate from the prosecutors of the Public Prosecutor's Office, who
are supervised by the Ministry of Justice. Under the law, an
investigating judge determines whether an arrested person should be
detained, released on bail, or released outright. A suspect may not be
held for more than 48 hours without appearing before an investigating
judge. Investigative detention for most crimes is for a maximum of four
months; if a formal charge is not filed within that period, the
detainee must be released. In cases of serious crimes, such as murder,
armed robbery, terrorism, violent or organized crime, and of crimes
involving more than one suspect, the investigating judge may decide to
hold a suspect in detention while the investigation is underway for up
to 18 months and up to three years in extraordinary circumstances. A
suspect in investigative detention must be brought to trial within 14
months of being formally charged. If a suspect is not in detention,
there is no specified deadline for going to trial. Detainees have the
legal right to access to lawyers from time of arrest, but police did
not always inform detainees of their rights. The government assumes
legal costs for indigent detainees.
Bail exists, but detainees are not released on their own
recognizance. Depending on the severity of the crime, a detainee's
release may be subject to various legal conditions.
In its March 19 report, the CPT stated that few detained persons
have an effective right of access to a lawyer during police custody.
While police registers seen by the CPT delegation indicated that
detainees were informed of their right to an attorney, a considerable
number of detained persons complained that they had not been informed
of their rights. In some police stations, the delegation found a
``striking discrepancy'' between the number of detainees who were
recorded as having been informed of their rights and the number who
actually exercised their rights. At the Andre Resende PSP station in
Benfica (Lisbon), the delegation found that, of 438 persons detained in
2007, eight contacted a lawyer and 50 percent contacted a family member
or third party.
Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem. As of September,
2,126 individuals (19 percent of the prison population) were in
preventive detention, an increase from the previous year. The average
detention time was eight months; approximately 20 percent of preventive
detainees spent more than one year in incarceration. Lengthy pretrial
detention was usually due to lengthy investigations and legal
procedures, judicial inefficiency, or staff shortages. If a detainee is
found guilty, pretrial detention counts against a prison sentence. If
found innocent, a detainee has the right to request compensation for
detention.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Critics, including the media, business corporations, and legal
observers, estimated the backlog of cases awaiting trial to be at least
a year.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Jury trials are rare in criminal cases. When the crime in question is
punishable by a prison sentence of more than eight years, either the
public prosecutor or the defendant may request a jury trial. Juries
consist of three judges and four public members. Civil cases do not
have jury trials.
All defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to consult
an attorney upon arrest, at government expense if necessary. They have
the right of appeal. They can confront and question witnesses against
them, present evidence on their own behalf, and have access to
government-held evidence. Trials are public. These rights were
generally respected in practice.
In 2008 the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) found four
violations by the country of the right to a fair trial and one
violation concerning length of proceedings, as provided under Article 6
of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. All persons in the country
have access to a court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, a human rights violation. There are administrative as
well as judicial remedies for alleged wrongs.
In 2008 the ECHR found one violation by the country of the right to
an effective remedy, as provided under Article 13 of the European
Convention on Human Rights.
Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press. According to the European
Federation of Journalists, the Journalist Statute requires journalists
to hand over confidential information and disclose sources in criminal
cases. Thus far, however, the statute has not been invoked and tested.
In 2008 the ECHR found two violations by the country of freedom of
expression, as provided under Article 10 of the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 42 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice.
The law provides a legislative framework for religious groups
either established in the country for at least 30 years or recognized
internationally for at least 60 years. Religious groups that meet at
least one of these tests receive benefits, including full tax-exempt
status, legal recognition to perform marriages and other rites,
permission for chaplain visits to prisons and hospitals, and
recognition of their traditional holidays.
Under an agreement with the Roman Catholic Church, the government
recognizes the legal status of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference and
allows citizens to donate 0.5 percent of their annual income taxes to
the Roman Catholic Church.
On September 23, a new law went into effect allowing all religions
to provide chaplains for the military, prisons, and hospitals.
Previously these state-funded positions were open to Catholics only.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Jewish community in the
country was estimated at 3,000 persons. There were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts during the year, in part because the government claimed
not to collect such statistics.
Youths arrested in 2007 after allegedly vandalizing tombstones in
Lisbon's Jewish cemetery were awaiting trial at year's end.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status pf Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. The government granted refugee status or asylum.
In addition to refugees and applicants for political asylum, the
government also provided temporary protection to individuals who may
not qualify as refugees. The country granted humanitarian protection to
73 persons in 2008 and to 36 persons in the first half of 2009. In 2008
the country granted asylum to 14 persons and, during the first half of
2009, to three persons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--On September 27, the
country held national parliamentary elections that were considered free
and fair. Political parties could operate without restriction or
outside interference.
On June 7, the country also held elections to the European
Parliament that were considered free and fair.
There were 56 women in the 230-member parliament and five women in
the 17-seat cabinet. There was one member of a minority group in the
parliament; there were none in the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no reports of corruption in the executive or legislative branches of
the central government during the year. However, there were media
reports of corruption involving local government officials.
The highest profile corruption cases involved three city mayors,
Fatima Felgueiras, Valentim Loureiro, and Isaltino Morais. In November
2008 Felgueiras (Socialist Party) received a 39-month suspended prison
sentence and lost her mandate as mayor of Felgueiras (name of mayor and
city are, coincidentally, the same). She ran again for mayor in the
October 11 municipal elections and lost. Loureiro, the Social
Democratic Party (PSD) mayor of Gondomar and chairman of the board of
the country's professional soccer league, was accused of corruption and
influencing soccer referees. On July 18, he was sentenced to a
suspended prison term of three years and two months. His appeal was
pending at year's end. He was reelected mayor of Gondomar on October
11. On August 3, Morais (PSD), mayor of Oeiras, was sentenced to seven
years in prison for tax evasion, abuse of power, corruption, and money
laundering. His appeal was pending at year's end. On October 11, he was
reelected mayor of Oeiras.
Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Central Directorate for Combating Corruption, Fraud, and Economic and
Financial Crime is the government agency responsible for combating
corruption.
The constitution and law provide for public access to government
information, and the government provided access in practice for
citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
The country has an independent human rights ombudsman who is
responsible for defending the human rights, freedom, and legal rights
of all citizens. The ombudsman's office operated independently and with
the cooperation of the government.
The ombudsman had adequate resources and published mandatory annual
reports as well as special reports on such problems as women's rights,
prisons, health, and the rights of children and senior citizens.
The parliament's First Committee for Constitutional Issues, Rights,
and Liberties and Privileges exercises oversight over human rights
problems. It drafts and submits bills and petitions for parliamentary
approval. During the year new laws went into effect in areas including
reinforcement of protection to crime victims, measures to combat
discrimination against homosexual and bisexual blood donors, and
amendments to the penal code regarding corruption.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, and social status, and the government
effectively enforced these prohibitions.
Women.--The law makes rape, including spousal rape, illegal, and
the government generally enforced these laws when the victim chose to
press charges and the cases were not settled out of court through
mediation by both parties' lawyers. During 2008, 193 cases of rape were
reported to the Association for Victim Support (APAV), a nonprofit
organization that provides confidential and free services nationwide to
victims of any type of crime; 132 of the cases were linked to domestic
violence. In 2007, 212 such cases were reported (160 linked to domestic
violence).
Violence against women, including domestic violence, continued to
be a problem. Penalties for violence against women range up to 10
years' imprisonment. The government-sponsored Mission against Domestic
Violence conducted an awareness campaign against domestic violence,
trained health professionals, proposed legislation to improve legal
assistance to victims, increased the number of safe houses for victims
of domestic violence, and signed protocols with local authorities to
assist victims. The government encouraged abused women to file
complaints with the appropriate authorities and offered the victim
protection against the abuser. Legislation also allows third parties to
file domestic violence reports.
During 2008 APAV received 16,832 cases of violence against women,
90 percent of which involved domestic violence. For the first six
months of the year, APAV reported 8,496 domestic violence cases.
According to NGOs and media reports, there were 25 deaths in the first
eleven months of the year, compared with 43 deaths in the first eleven
months of 2008.
The law provides for criminal penalties in cases of violence by a
spouse, and the judicial system prosecuted persons accused of abusing
women; however, traditional societal attitudes effectively discouraged
many abused women from using the judicial system. According to the
Ministry of Justice, 1,157 individuals were convicted of domestic
violence crimes in 2008, in a total of 2,430 domestic violence court
cases.
The government's Commission for Equality and Women's Rights
operated 14 safe houses for victims of domestic violence and maintained
an around-the-clock telephone service. Safe house services included
food, shelter, and health and legal assistance.
Prostitution was legal and common; there were reports of violence
against prostitutes. Pimping and running brothels are felonies
punishable by prison sentences of up to five years or up to eight years
if the crime is aggravated by violence or a number of other offenses
stipulated in the penal code.
Sexual harassment is a crime if perpetrated by a superior in the
workplace. The penalty is two to three years in prison. Penalties for
sexual harassment in the workplace range up to eight years in prison.
The Commission on Equality in the Workplace and in Employment,
composed of representatives of the government, employers'
organizations, and labor unions, is empowered to examine, but not to
adjudicate, complaints of sexual harassment. During the year reporting
of sexual harassment rose. During 2007 more than 300 cases of sexual
harassment were reported to the Authority for Labor Conditions (ACT) of
the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity; three of these resulted in
the dismissal of the perpetrator.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, or violence. There was easy access to contraception, skilled
attendance during childbirth, and women were diagnosed and treated for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men.
According to international organization estimates, there were 11
maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the country in 2005, the
most recent year for which this data was available.
The law gives women full legal equality with men; however, in
practice women experienced economic and other forms of discrimination.
According to National Statistics Institute data for the second quarter
of the year, women made up 47 percent of the working population and
were increasingly represented in business, science, academia, and the
professions, but their average salaries were about 23 percent lower
than men's.
The new government resulting from the September parliamentary
elections created the new cabinet-level position of State Secretary for
Equality to address, among others, problems such as economic
discrimination and the integration of women into the mainstream of
society.
Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's
territory (jus soli) and from one's parents (jus sanguinis).
Child abuse was a problem. APAV reported 622 crimes against
children under the age of 18 during 2008. Approximately 88 percent of
the cases involved domestic violence.
The high-profile trial that began in 2004 of persons accused of
involvement in a pedophilia operation at the Casa Pia children's home
in Lisbon was still pending final deliberations and a ruling at year's
end.
There were reports that Romani parents used minor children for
street begging.
The minimum age for consensual sex is 16. The penalty for sex with
minors between the ages of 14 and 16 is up to two years' imprisonment
or, if committed by a legal guardian of the minor, up to eight years'
imprisonment. The penalty for sex with minors under 14 years of age is
up to 10 years in prison. The law prohibits child pornography, and the
penalty is up to three years' imprisonment.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked
to, from, and within the country.
The country is a destination, transit, and source country for
women, men, and children trafficked from Brazil and, to a lesser
extent, from Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Romania, and Africa for
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. The country is
primarily a destination and transit country for women, men, and
children trafficked from Brazil. The majority of victims from Brazil
were trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. These were
typically women with a low educational level, between the ages of 18
and 24; the majority were legal immigrants, with their documents in
order and valid visas. Traffickers of these women often used the
country as a transit point to other EU destinations. Men from East
European countries were reportedly trafficked for labor exploitation.
According to a 2008 International Labor Organization (ILO) report,
Portuguese men were trafficked to Western Europe for forced labor. Many
of the trafficked minors were children of Romani parents who were used
for street begging. Since 2008 authorities received 231 trafficking
cases; 41 were confirmed, and the remaining cases were under
investigation.
Moldovan, Russian, and Ukrainian organized-crime groups reportedly
conducted most of the trafficking of East Europeans. Traffickers
frequently demanded additional payments and a share of earnings
following their victims' arrival in the country, usually under threat
of physical harm. Other methods of controlling victims included
stealing the victims' identification documents and threatening to harm
family members who remained in the country of origin.
The law explicitly criminalizes labor and sex trafficking. The
penalty for trafficking is up to 12 years in prison.
The government continued to cooperate with other European law
enforcement agencies in trafficking investigations.
The government provided subsidies for victims to obtain shelter,
employment, education, access to medical services, and assistance in
family reunification. The government also provided legal residency to
many trafficking victims, although most victims were repatriated
voluntarily. Some NGOs assisted the government in tracking and
providing legal, economic, and social assistance to trafficking
victims. Victims who initially were detained were later transferred to
NGOs for protection and assistance. Trafficking victims had access to
government-operated national immigrant support centers in Lisbon and
Oporto and to 78 local centers throughout the country, where they could
obtain multilingual information and assistance.
The government sponsored antitrafficking information campaigns and
public service announcements throughout the year. It broadcast various
programs on state-run channels to educate and inform the general
public, including potential trafficking victims and consumers. A
statistics-gathering unit within the Ministry of Internal
Administration assisted the government's antitrafficking efforts by
monitoring trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state
services. The government effectively enforced the law. The law also
mandates access to public buildings for persons with disabilities, and
the government enforced these provisions in practice; however, no such
legislation covers private businesses or other facilities.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity oversees the National
Bureau for the Rehabilitation and Integration of Persons with
Disabilities, which is responsible for the protection, professional
training, rehabilitation, and social integration of persons with
disabilities as well as for the enforcement of related legislation.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of
official or societal discrimination based on sexual orientation in
employment, housing, access to citizenship, or access to education or
health care.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law recognizes workers' right to
form and join independent unions of their choice without previous
authorization or excessive requirements, and the workers exercised this
right in practice; however, members of the armed forced and some police
forces are exempt from this provision. Approximately 35 percent of the
workforce was unionized. The law allows unions to conduct their
activities without interference, and the government protected this
right in practice.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice. If a long strike occurs in an essential sector
such as justice, health, energy, or transportation, the government may
order strikers back to work for a specified period. The government has
rarely invoked this power. Police and members of the armed forces have
unions and recourse within the legal system, but they may not strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The
constitution and the law recognize and protect the right to bargain
collectively and these laws were effectively enforced. Collective
bargaining was freely practiced. There were no reports of antiunion
discrimination.
There are two foreign trade zones in the island autonomous regions
of Madeira and the Azores. There are no special laws or exemptions from
regular labor laws in these zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced and compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women, men, and children were trafficked for commercial
sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women, many from Brazil, were
subjected to conditions of forced prostitution. Although many of them
originally consented to working as prostitutes and entered the country
legally, upon arrival they were harbored in rooms or apartments and
their passports and travel documents were stolen. Men from Eastern
Europe (typically from Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, and Romania) and
African lusophone countries were, through fraud, coercion, and debt
bondage, subjected to conditions of forced labor in the farming and
construction industries. Police and NGOs have also reported that family
networks brought approximately 50 to 100 Romani children to the country
and forced them to work as street beggars.
The law provides for punishment of five to 15 years in prison for
enslavement and one to eight years for prostitution by force, fraud, or
coercion. Trafficking for purposes of labor exploitation is punishable
by a sentence of three to 12 years. Employers who confiscate passports
or travel documents are subject to up to 15 years imprisonment, while
those who switch contracts without a worker's consent or withhold
salaries in order to keep a person in a state of servitude are liable
for up to 12 years in prison.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect children
from exploitation in the workplace.
The minimum working age is 16 years. The ACT registered four cases
of child labor during the first six months of the year and six cases in
2008. In recent years there has been a greater social consciousness of
child labor problems, increased awareness through government campaigns,
and a reinforcement of investigations. However, there were reports that
Romani parents used minor children for street begging. In 2008 the
Committee of Experts of the ILO also noted that children who worked on
streets were particularly vulnerable to other worst forms of child
labor and that, although rare, cases of child pornography occurred.
The government's principal entity to investigate and respond to
reports of illegal child labor is the ACT. The ACT sponsored and
financed the Integrated Program for Education and Professional
Training, whose goal was to return minors who were victims or at risk
of child labor to school. During the year the program worked with 2,500
students, mainly boys (70.3 percent) aged 16-17 (51.2 percent) and 13-
15 (45.8 percent). The Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity is
responsible for enforcing child labor laws and generally did so
effectively.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--A national collective bargaining
agreement between the government, employers' associations, and labor
unions sets the monthly minimum wage. This minimum, which covers full-
time workers, rural workers, and domestic employees who are 18 and
older, was 450 euros ($644) and did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. However, widespread rent controls and
subsidies on basic food and utility raised the standard of living. Most
workers received higher wages; the Ministry of Labor and Social
Solidarity calculated the average monthly salary of workers, excluding
public servants, to be 1,063 euros (approximately $1,520).
The legal workday may not exceed 10 hours, and the maximum workweek
is 40 hours. There is a maximum of two hours of paid overtime per day
and 200 hours of overtime per year, with a minimum of 12 hours between
workdays. Premium pay for overtime worked on a rest day or public
holiday is 100 percent; overtime performed on a normal working day is
paid at a premium of 50 percent for the first hour and 75 percent for
subsequent hours or partial hours. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Solidarity effectively monitored compliance through its regional
inspectors. Excessive compulsory overtime is not a problem.
Employers are legally responsible for accidents at work and are
required by law to carry accident insurance. The ACT develops safety
standards in line with EU standards and is responsible for their
enforcement. The ACT's inspectors sufficiently and regularly monitored
these standards, both proactively according to regulations/advanced
scheduling and reactively in response to complaints. Inspection
findings were generally effectively enforced. Problems found were
resolved, prosecuted, or fined. According to ACT, there were 53 deaths
from work-related accidents in the first seven months of the year.
Workers injured on the job rarely initiated lawsuits, as insurance
policies covering medical and compensation costs covered the majority
of workers. Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations
that endanger their health or safety without jeopardy to their
employment, and authorities effectively enforced this right.
__________
ROMANIA
Romania is a constitutional democracy with a multiparty,
parliamentary system and a population of approximately 21.4 million.
The bicameral parliament (Parlament) consists of the Senate (Senat) and
the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputatilor); both are elected by
popular vote. The June European parliamentary (EP) elections and
November-December presidential elections were judged generally free and
fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of
the security forces.
There were reports that police and gendarmes mistreated and
harassed detainees and Roma. Prison conditions remained poor. The
judiciary lacked impartiality and was sometimes subject to political
influence. A restrictive religion law continued to limit freedom of
religion. Property restitution remained extremely slow, and the
government failed to take effective action to return Greek Catholic
churches confiscated by the former communist government in 1948.
Government corruption remained a widespread problem. There were
continued reports of violence and discrimination against women as well
as child abuse. Persons were trafficked for labor, sexual exploitation,
and forced begging. Neglect of and inadequate assistance for persons
with disabilities was also reported. Extensive discrimination and
occasional violence against Roma continued to be a problem. Gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons continued to suffer societal
discrimination. Discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS,
particularly children, remained a problem.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
there were reports that police officers shot and killed two men.
On August 2, a police officer shot a 28-year-old man, Ciprian
Musat, in the village of Oancea, Galati County, reportedly because the
latter was listening to loud music. According to witnesses, after the
officer warned him that he was disturbing public order, the victim
answered with offensive language. The officer went home, returned 10
minutes later, and shot the man, who died a day later. The police
officer was arrested.
On September 26, a police officer of the Bucharest police shot a
31-year-old man, Sorin Parvu, in Braila, having mistaken him for an
individual who had committed a murder. Parvu died following day. The
police officer was under investigation.
There were no developments in the May 2008 case of Vasile Manole,
who was shot and killed by a transportation police agent while he was
allegedly stealing railroad copper parts in Cernavoda.
The Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Romania-
Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH) asserted in previous years that police
made excessive use of firearms in cases of minor crimes. The Romani
Center for Social Intervention and Surveys (Romani CRISS) criticized
the disproportionate use of force in Roma neighborhoods, including the
use of firearms. There were no reports during the year of deaths or
injuries in Roma neighborhoods from police use of firearms.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
there were numerous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and media
reports of police mistreatment and abuse of detainees and Roma,
primarily through excessive force and beatings by police. There were
also reports of mistreatment of abandoned children with physical
disabilities in state institutions and of prolonged incarceration for
misbehavior within state orphanages.
Pretrial detainees complained to human rights NGOs of police
beatings during pretrial investigations.
Romani CRISS and other NGOs continued to claim that police used
excessive force against Roma and subjected them to maltreatment and
harassment. Romani CRISS also criticized the police raids in Roma
communities, which involved large numbers of policemen, often
accompanied by special intervention police.
In some instances of police violence against Roma, police claimed
they used force in self-defense, responding to alleged hostility by
Romani communities during police raids in search of criminal offenders.
APADOR-CH reported that an individual, Emil Baboi, alleged that
during the night of January 5, he was taken to Bucharest precinct 9,
where the police officers on duty handcuffed and beat him for several
hours and then released him in the morning. Some days later, one of the
police officers declared that Baboi had been beaten by somebody else
before being brought to the police headquarters. Baboi filed a
complaint in the court of Bucharest Sector 2.
Romani CRISS reported that, on July 26, police raided a Roma
neighborhood in Piatra Neamt, injuring six Roma. In addition, 20 Romani
persons, most of them children, women, and elderly, were affected by
the tear gas used by the police during the raid. Romani CRISS contacted
a lawyer to represent the victims in court.
NGOs, including Amnesty International, stated that laws on police
use of firearms had not been brought into line with international
standards.
There were no developments in the following 2008 cases of alleged
police beatings: an individual in Campulung Muscel in April; a group of
Roma in Satu Mare in May and July; and an individual in Bucharest in
August. There also were no developments reported pertaining to violence
during police raids on Romani communities in Liesti, Galati County, and
in Ciurea, Iasi County, in 2007.
There were no developments in the 2007 case of three police
officers who allegedly assaulted a university lecturer, Serban
Marinescu.
There was no further development in the 2007 case of a police
officer from Bucharest police precinct 22 who allegedly beat two
persons.
ACCEPT, an NGO fostering rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) persons, complained that police singled out LGBT
community members for violence and harassment (see section 6).
In 2008 the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) issued judgments
that found seven violations by the country of the prohibition of
inhuman or degrading treatment under the European Convention on Human
Rights.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
harsh and generally did not meet international standards. The
government permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights
observers and such visits occurred during the year. During the year
authorities improved conditions in some prisons.
At the end of December, according to the Ministry of Justice,
National Administration of Penitentiaries, there were 26,750 persons,
including 470 minors, in prison or juvenile detention facilities in a
system with a stated capacity of 33,951. Although overcrowding did not
represent a serious problem overall, there were prisons where the
standard of 43 square feet per prisoner, recommended by the Council of
Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), was not
observed. APADOR-CH called for the adoption of legislation to make this
recommendation mandatory.
During the year APADOR-CH visited several prisons, including some
it had visited in previous years, and noted that, despite some
improvements, in many cases conditions continued to be poor. Sanitation
and hygiene in prisons did not meet international standards. Medical
facilities were not sufficient to care for all prisoners and detainees,
and access to health care was limited by a lack of doctors. Heating and
hot water were not available in several facilities, mattresses were old
and rotten, and lighting was poor. In many penitentiaries prisoners
complained about the insufficient availability of medications and
medical treatment.
APADOR-CH reported that prison meals did not provide the minimum
necessary calories, water at some prisons was unsuitable for drinking
and in many facilities the kitchens were infested with mold. APADOR-CH
also stated that daily activities, work opportunities, and educational
programs continued to be insufficient. The government continued
efforts, including partnerships with NGOs, to alleviate harsh
conditions, improve the condition of detention rooms, provide more
daily activities, training courses, and educational programs available
to prisoners, and deter the spread of HIV and tuberculosis. However,
programs to prevent the spread of HIV, sexually-transmitted and
infectious diseases were scarce. In September the representative for
Romania of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the
tuberculosis control program was successfully implemented in
penitentiaries, and the percentage of prisoners suffering from
tuberculosis decreased to 2 percent. Most of the prisons visited by
APADOR-CH had improved the conditions of confidentiality of discussions
between prisoners and their lawyers.
Media and human rights organizations reported that the abuse of
prisoners by authorities and other prisoners continued to be a problem.
According to media and NGO reports, prisoners frequently assaulted and
abused their fellow inmates, and prison authorities tried to cover up
such incidents. During the year media reported such cases in the
penitentiaries in Codlea, where fights among prisoners took place and a
prisoner was killed by his cellmate in May, and Poarta Alba, where a
prisoner was killed by another prisoner in April. There were media
reports that two prison guards stole meat from the prisoners' rations
in Jilava prison.
There were no developments reported regarding a June 2008 visit by
APADOR-CH and the Center for Legal Resources (CRJ) representatives and
a 2007 visit by the justice minister to the Aiud penitentiary, which
revealed low food quality, poor hygiene in detention areas, inadequate
medical assistance, and inmates who were not aware of the educational
programs available to them in prison.
There were no developments in the 2007 death of a prisoner in the
Rahova prison hospital in which APADOR-CH asserted that medical
negligence may have played a role.
APADOR-CH continued to call for the establishment of a joint
medical commission of the Ministries of Justice and Health to
investigate the causes of deaths in prisons.
According to APADOR-CH, the practice of labeling certain prisoners
as ``dangerous'' remained a problem in the absence of clear standards
for such classification. Prisoners labeled dangerous were subjected to
a variety of restrictions beyond those experienced by the general
prison population and had no right to appeal that determination. NGOs
also criticized the practice of subjecting prisoners to multiple
punishments for a single act of misbehavior.
APADOR-CH continued to criticize the conditions in police detention
facilities, noting poor sanitation conditions, surveillance equipment
in detention rooms, lack of natural light, and the absence of
activities for those detained.
Many police detention facilities and some prisons did not provide
for the confidentiality of discussions between prisoners or detainees
and their lawyers in person or via telephone.
The government permitted prison visits by human rights observers,
foreign government officials, and media representatives, and such
visits took place during the year.
Regulations for religious assistance in prisons allow unrestricted
access of all religious groups to prisoners. Orthodox priests no longer
attended meetings between representatives of other faiths and
prisoners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
respected these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the
Interior and Administration is responsible for the national police, the
gendarmerie, and the border police; the Office for Immigration; the
General Directorate of Information and Internal Protection, which
oversees the collection of intelligence on organized crime and
corruption; and the General Anticorruption Directorate. The national
police agency is the Inspectorate General of Police, which is divided
into specialized directorates and has 42 regional directorates for
counties and the city of Bucharest. The internal intelligence service
also collects information on major organized crime, major economic
crimes, and corruption. As of March the Special Protection and
Intervention Group is subordinated to the Gendarmerie.
While police generally followed the law and internal procedures,
police corruption remained a significant reason for citizens' lack of
respect for the police and led to a corresponding disregard for police
authority. Low salaries and the absence of incentives and bonuses led
to personnel shortages and contributed to the susceptibility of
individual law enforcement officials to bribes. Instances of high-level
corruption were referred to the National Anticorruption Directorate,
which continued to publicize its anticorruption telephone hot line to
generate prosecutorial leads for corruption within the police.
Police impunity remained a problem. Complaints of police misconduct
were handled by the internal disciplinary councils of the units where
the reported officers worked.
During the first 11 months of year, there were 131 complaints
against the police for human rights violations, of which 80 were
submitted to the prosecutor's office and 51 to the police. Of the
latter, 29 cases were submitted to the prosecutor's office for further
investigation, 14 were closed for lack of evidence, and eight cases
were under investigation for misconduct. During the same period, 167
police officers were under investigation for human rights violations:
83 for abuse in the line of duty; 69 for abusive behavior; 13 for
illegal arrest and abusive investigation, two for causing fatal
injuries. During the same period, there were 13 complaints of human
rights violations against the gendarmerie: nine were under criminal
investigation, two cases were closed and the gendarmes were cleared of
criminal charges, and in two cases the gendarmes were cleared of
criminal charges but received administrative fines.
Police reform continued during the year. The police increased
hiring of women and minorities. According to police statistics, 10.5
percent of the 59,195 total police force were female police officers
and 1.1 percent represented members of ethnic minorities as of January.
Police also used Romani mediators to facilitate communication between
Roma and the authorities and assist in crisis situations.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
provides that only judges may issue detention and search warrants, and
the government generally respected this provision in practice. The law
requires authorities to inform detainees at the time of arrest of the
charges against them and their legal rights. Police must notify
detainees of their rights in a language they understand before
obtaining a statement. Detainees must be brought before a court within
24 hours of arrest. The law provides for pretrial release at the
discretion of the court. A bail system also exists; however, it was
seldom used in practice. Detainees have a right to counsel and
generally had prompt access to counsel and to their families. Indigent
detainees were provided legal counsel at public expense.
The law allows police to take any person who endangers the public,
other persons, or the social order to a police station. There were
allegations that police often used this provision to detain persons for
up to 24 hours. APADOR-CH repeatedly criticized this provision, stating
that it leaves room for abuse. Human rights NGOs complained that the
authorities were frequently able to listen to discussions between
detainees and their attorneys in police detention facilities
A judge may order pretrial detention for periods of up to 30 days,
depending upon the status of the case. The court may extend these time
periods; however, pretrial detention may not exceed 180 days. Courts
and prosecutors may be held liable for unjustifiable, illegal, or
abusive measures.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found 17 violations by the
country of the right to liberty and security as provided by the
European Convention on Human Rights.
Amnesty.--During the year President Basescu issued pardons to six
mothers (each with four to nine children) and to four persons for
medical or age-related reasons.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice. However, the judiciary lacked the public's
trust that judges were accountable and did not serve political or
financial interests. There was a widespread public perception that the
judiciary was corrupt, slow, and often unfair.
The law establishes a four-tier legal system composed of lower
courts (judecatorie), intermediate courts (tribunals), appellate
courts, and the High Court of Cassation and Justice. There is a
separate Constitutional Court composed of nine members who are limited
to a single nine-year term. The president, the Senate, and the Chamber
of Deputies appoint three members each. The Constitutional Court
validates electoral results and makes decisions regarding the
constitutionality of laws, treaties, ordinances, and internal rules of
the parliament. A prosecutor's office is associated with each court.
The court having original jurisdiction over a case is determined by the
nature of the offense and by the position a defendant may hold in
public service. According to a European Commission report released in
July, judicial reforms ``have not yet taken firmly root and
shortcomings persist.'' The commission also criticized the fact that
``the jurisprudence of the Romanian judiciary is contradictory,
generating undue delays.''
NGOs and public officials frequently criticized the judicial system
during the year. One cause was the failure of the judiciary's oversight
body, the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM), to create procedures
for addressing potential conflicts of interest among its members. The
CSM's practice of delegating magistrates to nonjudicial positions
within the judiciary and appointing them to various government agencies
also contributed to depleting the already understaffed courts and
prosecutors' offices. The European Commission report mentioned the
adoption of a new human resource strategy for the judiciary and that
``some steps have been taken as regards the staffing situation in
courts and prosecutors' offices at local level,'' stressing, however,
that ``further improvements'' were necessary. The general prosecutor
criticized the High Court of Cassation and Justice for frequently
returning case files to prosecutors for additional investigation rather
than ruling on the case as presented. Such requests contributed to
frequent delays in court procedures, increasing the chances of
political interference. Observers also expressed concern over a lack of
judicial impartiality, since some members of parliament continued to
practice as defense attorneys, both personally and through their law
firm associates.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found 77 violations by the
country of the right to a fair trial, 25 violations by the country
involving length of proceedings, and two violations of the right to an
effective remedy as provided by the European Convention on Human
Rights.
Trial Procedures.--Trials are open to the public. The law does not
provide for trial by jury. The law provides for the right to counsel
and a presumption of innocence until a final judgment by a court. The
law requires that the government provide an attorney to juveniles in
criminal cases; in practice, local bar associations provided attorneys
to indigents and were compensated by the Ministry of Justice.
Defendants have the right to be present at trial, to consult with an
attorney in a timely manner, to confront or question witnesses against
them, to have a court-appointed interpreter, and to present witnesses
and evidence on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Both
prosecutors and defendants have a right of appeal.
The law provides for the investigation by civilian prosecutors of
crimes by the national police and prison employees. Military
prosecutors continued to try cases that involved ``state security''
involving military personnel. Other cases involving ``state security''
but not military personnel were tried by civilian prosecutors; military
courts do not try civilians according to the law. Crimes by the
gendarmerie continued to fall under military jurisdiction. In previous
years, local and international human rights groups criticized the
handling of cases by military courts, claiming that military
prosecutors' investigations were unnecessarily lengthy, biased, and
often inconclusive. Some lawyers claimed that these investigations only
served to discredit the reputations of their clients rather than hold
them accountable for any actual wrongdoing. The law extends the rights
to a fair trial to all citizens.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil courts functioned in
every jurisdiction. Civil courts do not use a jury and function in a
similar fashion as the criminal courts. Crime victims can assert civil
remedies in either civil courts or criminal courts if they choose,
which could result in a combined civil/criminal trial to resolve all
issues arising from the criminal case. The Ministry of Justice
administers civil courts and the CSM oversees the magistrates. Civil
courts operated with the same degree of judicial independence as
criminal courts.
Litigants sometimes encountered difficulties enforcing civil
verdicts because the procedures for enforcement of judgment orders were
impractical and caused delays.
Administrative and judicial remedies were available for violations
of civil rights by government agencies.
Property Restitution.--The law allows for property restitution and
establishes fines for officials who hinder the process. The law
provides for a Property Fund of approximately 14 billion lei ($4.8
billion) to compensate owners of properties that cannot be returned in
kind. Because of this delay, the Fund was not yet listed on the stock
exchange, meaning shares were not traded on the stock exchange, but on
the gray market at artificially low prices. A government ordinance
provides for cash payments in lieu of restitution of up to about
500,000 lei ($173,000), paid over a two-year period. Claims in excess
of this amount are to be paid with shares in the property fund. The
restitution process continued to be very slow during the year, and the
large majority of restitution cases remained unresolved.
Former owners' organizations continued to assert that inertia
hindered property restitution at the local level. In some cases local
government officials continued to delay or refuse to provide necessary
documents to former owners filing claims. They also refused to return
properties in which county or municipal governments had an interest.
In February a law came into effect that amended the nationalized
houses law so as to bar the restitution of houses that were bought by
tenants in good faith.
The ECHR ruled in favor of the former owners in a large number of
restitution cases, which represented the majority of applications to
the ECHR from the country. In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found
129 violations by the country involving the protection of property
under the European Convention on Human Rights. In April the Council of
Europe released a report which noted that the country does not observe
the three-month deadline for paying compensation ordered by the ECHR.
According to the report, in 2008 only 5 percent of ECHR-ordered
compensation was paid within the three-month time period provided in
the court's final judgments.
Of the 201,750 claims filed between 2001 and 2003 for restitution
of buildings, by the end of the year 117,442 were resolved: 43,047 were
rejected; 7,898 claims qualified for combined measures (i.e.,
restitution in kind plus compensation in stock from the property fund
or in other assets or services); 49,637 claims qualified for
restitution in equivalent; and 16,860 claims were resolved by return of
the properties in kind.
There were numerous disputes over many churches that the Orthodox
Church did not return to the Greek Catholic Church despite court orders
to do so.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Nevertheless, there was a widespread perception that illegal
surveillance still existed.
The law permits the use of electronic interception both in criminal
cases and for national security purposes. A judge has to issue a
warrant upon request from the prosecutor investigating the case. In
exceptional circumstances, when delays in getting the warrant would
seriously affect the criminal investigation, prosecutors may begin
interception without a judicial warrant. Following this, however, a
request for authorization must be submitted within 48 hours. Some human
rights NGOs have noted that, under the national security law, a
prosecutor may authorize the issuance of a warrant for an initial
period of six months, which can be extended indefinitely in three-month
increments without judicial approval. There were media reports of
electronic interception used outside of these legal parameters.
The lawsuit filed by businessman Dinu Patriciu against the Romanian
Intelligence Service (SRI) for illegally tapping his telephones
continued. In 2007 the Bucharest Tribunal ordered the SRI to pay
Patriciu 50,000 lei ($17,300) in compensation, and the ruling was
upheld on appeal. The SRI appealed the ruling to the High Court of
Cassation and Justice and a decision was pending at the year's end.
According to Romani CRISS and media reports, evictions of members
of the Romani community continued to occur in Bucharest, Cluj, and
other localities during the year.
On June 25, 13 Romani families were evicted by gendarmes from a
building in Cluj that was restituted to the rightful owner.
On August 26, the mayor's office of Bucharest Sector 2 evicted 42
Romani who were illegally living in a building in the sector.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found seven violations by
the country of the right to respect for family and private life as
provided by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these
rights in practice. Journalists and private citizens could criticize
government authorities, including those at senior levels. There were
isolated cases of authorities intimidating or censoring the press or
attacking journalists.
Laws restricting freedom of speech continued to cause concern among
the media and NGOs. Insulting state insignia (the coat of arms,
national flag, or national anthem) is also an offense punishable by
imprisonment; however, there were no reports of prosecutions or
convictions under these provisions during the year. The religion law
includes a provision that forbids acts of ``religious defamation'' and
``public offense to religious symbol.''; there were no reports of
prosecutions or convictions under this law's provisions during the
year.
The law prohibits denial of the Holocaust in public; however, there
were no prosecutions under this statute during the year.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found two violations by the
country of freedom of expression as provided under the European
Convention on Human Rights.
The independent media was active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction. However, politicians and others with close
ties to various politicians and political groups either owned or
indirectly controlled numerous media outlets outside of the capital,
and the news and editorial tone of these outlets frequently reflected
the views of the owners. The tendency towards the concentration of
national news outlets in the hands of a few wealthy individuals
continued.
During the year there were a number of instances when public
officials and politicians insulted or harassed journalists.
Starting April 6, the press distribution company owned by the mayor
of Constanta, Radu Mazare, and the local president of the County
Council, Nicusor Constantinescu, blocked the distribution of Ziua de
Constanta newspaper, which had criticized local authorities.
On June 6, Madalina Radulescu, news director of the state-owned
public television channel, TVR 1, threatened producer Doina Georgescu
and editor Adriana Gulea with salary cuts and dismissal for refusing to
sign off on a news bulletin featuring an election-related interview
with a vice president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). The
interview was aired right before the European Parliament elections, in
violation of regulations against campaigning the day before elections.
TVR's ethics committee found that Radulescu made an incorrect editorial
decision and had improperly pressured the two journalists. TVR 1's
president--a former PSD secretary general--did not pursue disciplinary
action against Radulescu.
On July 28, Tourism Minister Elena Udrea used a threatening tone
when she told the editor in chief of the sports daily Gazeta
Sporturilor that she would ``personally take care of him.'' The editor
had disclosed controversial expenses made by the former youth and
sports minister who was a member of the same political party as Udrea.
In February the ECHR ruled that the country should pay Petre Mihai
Bacanu, the honorary director of the newspaper Romania Libera, 8,000
euros ($11,000) because his rights to freedom of speech and to a fair
trial were violated. Domestic courts had ordered in 2003 that Bacanu
and Romania Libera pay compensation to a former prime minister
following Romania Libera's publication of several articles critical of
a contract he negotiated with a controversial businessman to set up the
Romanian Investment Bank.
Internet Freedom.--There were no reported government restrictions
on access to the Internet or substantiated reports that the government
monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could
engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including
by e-mail.
The Internet was widely available in the country, and costs
decreased due to competition. Internet cafes were widely available
nationwide. According to International Telecommunication Union
statistics for 2008, approximately 29 percent of the country's
inhabitants used the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events; however there were
reports that a few local officials interfered with these activities.
In August the mayor of Onesti, Emil Lemnaru, stopped a conference
launching a book called Biometric Dictatorship, which claimed that the
data storage on chips was dangerous for humankind. Human rights NGOs
protested, stating that the move violated freedom of expression.
In August a local counselor in Oradea canceled a concert by the
rock band God Dethroned, citing citizens' complaints that it would be a
Satanic concert.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected this right in practice. The law provides that
unarmed citizens can assemble peacefully but states that meetings must
not interfere with other economic or social activities and may not be
held near locations such as hospitals, airports, or military
installations. Organizers of public assemblies must request permits
three days in advance, in writing, from the mayor's office of the
locality where the gathering would occur.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. The law prohibits fascist, communist, racist, or xenophobic
ideologies, organizations, and symbols (such as statues of war
criminals on public land). Political parties are required to have at
least 25,000 members to have legal status, a number some NGOs
criticized as excessively high.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice; however, there were some restrictions, and several
minority religious groups continued to claim credibly that government
officials and Orthodox clergy impeded their proselytizing and
interfered with other religious activities.
Under the religion law, the government implemented a discriminatory
three-tiered system of recognition: ``grupari religioase'' (religious
groups that are not legal entities), religious associations, and
religions. Gruparile religioase are groups of individuals who share the
same faith but do not receive any support from the state or tax
exemptions. Religious associations are legal entities that do not
receive government funding, have to be registered as such in a
religious association registry, and are exempted from taxes only for
places of worship. Religious associations must have 300 members from
the country and are required to submit members' personal data to
register, in contrast to nonreligious associations that can register
with only three members. To receive religion status, a religious
association must demonstrate 12 years of continuous religious activity
and meet a membership threshold of 0.1 percent of the total population
(approximately 22,000 members).
The law does not prohibit or punish assembly for peaceful religious
activities and, unlike in previous years, minority religious groups did
not complain that local authorities or Orthodox priests prevented
religious activities from taking place.
Some minority religious groups continued to allege that local
authorities in some cases delayed or opposed granting construction
permits for unjustified reasons. A Greek Catholic community in
Pesteana, established in 2005, continued to claim that it faced
discrimination and harassment. Tensions also continued over a lawsuit
between the Orthodox and the Greek Catholic Churches regarding the
latter's access to the local cemetery. At the end of February, the
Appellate Court in Pitesti ruled that the Greek Catholic priest could
celebrate religious services in the cemetery only for those who die as
Greek Catholic believers and not for any of their relatives who died as
members of the Orthodox faith. The Greek Catholic community expressed
dissatisfaction with the ruling.
In contrast with previous years, minority religious groups did not
report difficulties in obtaining approval to use public halls for
religious activities. Minority religious groups reported a reduced
number of instances of Orthodox clergy harassing members of other
faiths. Several minority religious groups made credible complaints that
local police and administrative authorities in some instances appeared
to tacitly support societal campaigns against proselytizing. Members of
various minority religions continued to report that their charitable
programs in children's homes and shelters were perceived as
proselytizing directed at adherents of the Orthodox Church.
A Roman Catholic Csango community, an ethnic group that speaks a
Hungarian dialect, continued to complain that its members were unable
to hold regular religious services in their mother tongue because of
the opposition of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Iasi. On October 17,
however, there was progress in addressing these complaints when a mass
in the village of Vladnic, Bacau County, was held in three languages
(Romanian, Hungarian, and Latin).
Although the religion law entitles religious denominations to bury
their believers in other denominations' cemeteries if they lack their
own cemetery or a communal (public) cemetery, in numerous communities
Orthodox priests reportedly continued to deny permission to the Greek
Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, and the Adventist Church to bury
their members in either confessional or even some communal cemeteries.
Several religious groups reported that the access of religious
groups to detention facilities continued to improve. Regulations for
religious activity in prisons provide for unrestricted access of
recognized religions and religious associations to any place of
detention, even if their assistance is not specifically requested.
There were no reports by religious groups of problems with access to
detention facilities during the reporting period.
Only the 18 recognized religious groups have the right to teach
religion in public schools. To opt out of religion classes, students
must submit a request in writing. Some minority recognized religions
continued to complain that public schools sometimes refused to offer
classes in their religious beliefs and that there were cases of
children who were pressured to attend Orthodox religion classes.
A 2006 National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD)
decision to ask the Ministry of Education to remove religious symbols
from school classrooms except where religious classes were taught was
not enforced because of several ongoing lawsuits. The Ministry of
Education, the Orthodox Church, and several NGOs challenged the CNCD
decision. On June 11, the High Court of Cassation ruled in favor of
their challenge.
The restitution law permits religious denominations to reclaim
previously nationalized properties that housed schools, hospitals, or
cultural institutions; however, implementation of the law was slow
during the year. Of the 14,716 claims for restitution of religious
property since its establishment in 2003, the National Authority for
Property Restitution (ANRP) returned 1,417 properties by the end of the
year; another 407 cases were approved to receive compensation; 403
claims were rejected.
Property restitution was particularly important for the Greek
Catholic Church, whose properties, including churches, were confiscated
during the Communist regime. Greek Catholic churches were given to the
Orthodox Church after their forced merger in 1948, and many other Greek
Catholic Church properties were taken over by the government. Since
2003 the government returned 128 out of 6,723 total properties claimed
by the Greek Catholic Church.
The Orthodox Church continued to resist the return of churches it
acquired from the Greek Catholic Church. While the law permits the
Greek Catholic Church to take court action whenever its dialogue with
the Orthodox Church over church restitution fails, lawsuits were
lengthy because of delayed hearings and repeated appeals. However, as
in recent years, the number of rulings during the year in favor of the
Greek Catholic Church reportedly increased.
By year's end the Orthodox Church had returned fewer than 200 of
approximately 2,600 churches and monasteries claimed by the Greek
Catholic Church. The Orthodox metropolitan of Banat and bishops of
Caransebes and Oradea continued to maintain positive relations with the
Greek Catholic Church on restitution issues; however, most other
Orthodox Church representatives refused to return properties, even when
ordered to do so by a court, generating tension in many localities.
Because of the failure to get back its churches, the Greek Catholic
Church continued in some localities to hold religious services in the
open, for example, in Sisesti, Maramures County, where a lawsuit over
the former Greek Catholic church has been underway for 16 years.
In April in Sapanta, Maramures County, the Orthodox Church
demolished the steeple of a formerly Greek Catholic church now in
Orthodox hands. The Orthodox Church announced it was rebuilding the
steeple as part of a renovation project partially funded by the
Ministry of Culture. A lower court injunction to suspend the demolition
and construction works was issued in April and then rejected by the
Maramures County tribunal in July.
On October 3, an Orthodox priest set fire to an historic formerly
Greek Catholic wooden church built in 1777, in Soconzel, Satu Mare
County, allegedly by accidentally throwing a cigarette butt in the dry
grass in the church yard.
In Zalau, Salaj County, the Orthodox Bishopric of Salaj refused to
hold alternate services with the Greek Catholic Church in the chapel of
a hospital. Eventually, the hospital manager offered a separate room to
the Greek Catholic Church.
The Orthodox Church continued to demolish Greek Catholic churches
under various pretexts and also used other methods to shield churches
from restitution. In May 2008 in Ungheni, Mures County, the Orthodox
Church began to demolish an 18th-century Greek Catholic church after
constructing a new Orthodox structure around the old church. A court
injunction obtained by the Greek Catholic Church stopped the
demolition, but construction work around the old church continued.
Similar demolition cases occurred in Badon, Salaj County, in 2007.
In September the Orthodox Church resumed pressure for the adoption
of legislation that would resolve patrimonial disputes between the
Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches in line with the ``confessional
reality in the country,'' i.e., by distributing the former Greek
Catholic properties based on the percentage of Orthodox versus Greek
believers in the particular locality in question. The Greek Catholic
Church complained in a communique, released on October 5, about the
Orthodox Church's hostile attitude over the past 20 years, arguing that
the so-called ``confessional reality in the country,'' is the result of
over 40 years of communist persecutions and of 20 years of attempts to
eliminate the Greek Catholic Church from the religious life. It also
accused the Orthodox Church of harassment and misinforming public
opinion.
The Greek Catholic Church complained that in Cluj County the
authorities delayed the restitution of its land in the localities of
Feleacu and Morlaca. Other places where local authorities did not
restore former Greek Catholic land include Chiheru de Jos, Maramures
County, Rozavlea, Maramures County, Sapanta, Maramures County, Ungheni,
Maramures County, Valcau de Sus and Valcau de Jos, Salaj County,
Rozavlea, Maramures County, Haieu, Bihor County, Moisei, Maramures
County, Tasnad, Satu-Mare County, Nadar, Bihor County, Salistea de Sus,
Maramures County and Borsa , Maramures county. According to members of
the Greek Catholic Church, in Budesti, Maramures County, local
authorities refused to return farm and forest land to the Greek
Catholic Church and proposed instead to give the church land that had
belonged to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The Greek Catholic Church
rejected the proposal.
The historical Hungarian churches, including the Hungarian Roman
Catholic and the Hungarian Protestant Reformed, Evangelical, and
Unitarian churches, received a small number of their confiscated
properties from the government. By the end of the year, Hungarian
churches had received 870 of the approximately 2,700 properties they
claimed under the law on return of religious property. During the year
the Hungarian Churches received 64 properties.
In December responsibility for oversight of the Religious Affairs
Department was shifted from the Ministry of Culture to the prime
minister. Media alleged that the move was the result of the Orthodox
Patriarch's direct intervention, following the appointment of an ethnic
Hungarian with a different religious affiliation at the helm of the
culture ministry. The Orthodox Church denied these assertions.
According to Roman Catholic authorities and media reports, the
issue of the 19-story building to be constructed within the protection
zone around the Roman Catholic Saint Joseph Cathedral in Bucharest, a
designated historical monument, remained unresolved. The church
asserted that construction of the building could damage the cathedral's
foundation. In 2007 a court in Dolj County suspended this construction.
On June 25, a court of appeal in Ploiesti overturned the ruling,
thereby allowing the construction to continue. The decision of the
appeals court generated widespread protests by the Roman Catholic
Church, which urged authorities to find a solution. In July, the church
filed a request at the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) to
review the case, and the ICCJ sent it to the Ploiesti Court of Appeal.
In October the Mayor-General of Bucharest urged the developer to stop
construction work and filed a complaint with the Bucharest court,
challenging the legality of the concession contracts for the land on
which the 19-story building was erected.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to the 2002 census,
the Jewish population numbered 5,785. Acts of anti-Semitism, including
vandalism against Jewish sites, continued during the year. In most
cases the Federation of Jewish Communities notified authorities, but
perpetrators were often not identified.
The NGO Center for Monitoring Anti-Semitism in Romania (MCA
Romania) noted that authorities tended to play down anti-Semitic
vandalism, usually attributing the acts to children, drunks, or persons
with mental disorders. MCA Romania noted that Jewish establishments
appeared to be targets of choice for vandals and asserted that
investigations of such acts were not thorough. MCA Romania also
criticized the lack of prosecutions as failing to deter future acts.
Between April 12 and 14, 20 tombstones were destroyed in a Jewish
cemetery in Botosani. Police named as suspects four students between
the ages of 14 and 16, who reportedly acted under the influence of
alcohol. The students were still under investigation for desecration of
graves at the end of the year.
Unidentified perpetrators painted swastikas and anti-Semitic
graffiti on the walls of a building in Bucharest in May and on the
fence of a Jewish cemetery in Bucharest in June.
On July 18, at a fashion show at the beach resort of Mamaia, the
mayor of Constanta, Radu Mazare, marched on a public stage dressed as a
Nazi officer, accompanied by his 15-year-old son dressed as a Nazi
soldier. The Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, the Simon
Wiesenthal Center, MCA Romania, the National Antidiscrimination Council
(CNCD), and others protested the action. On July 20, MCA Romania filed
a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office against Mazare, since
the public display of Nazi symbols is illegal. On July 22, Mazare
apologized for his gesture. The Prosecutor General's Office answered a
September 24 inquiry by the MCA by saying that the case was in the
Prosecutor's Office in Constanta and investigation was in a preliminary
stage. On December 3, the MCA requested again an update on the
development of the investigation. As of year's end, Mazare was not
charged.
There were no reported developments in the October 2008 desecration
of 131 gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in Bucharest, in which the
police named as suspects four students between the ages of 13 and 15.
In December MCA warned that anti-Semitic, racist, xenophobic, and
nationalistic views continued to be distributed via the Internet.
During the year the extremist press continued to publish anti-
Semitic articles. The New Right movement continued to foster the ideas
of the Iron Guard (an extreme nationalist, anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi group
that existed in the country in the interwar period) in the media and on
the Internet. The New Right also republished inflammatory books from
the interwar period.
Authorities occasionally investigated and prosecuted offenders, but
all court cases resulted in acquittals.
During the year publications of the extreme nationalist Greater
Romania Party (PRM), headed by Corneliu Vadim Tudor, continued to carry
statements and articles containing strong anti-Semitic attacks.
The law prohibits denial of the Holocaust in public; however there
were no prosecutions under this statute during the year.
During the year anti-Semitic views and attitudes were expressed on
the talk shows of private television stations, which failed to respond
to complaints filed by Jewish organizations regarding such views.
Extremists continued to publicly deny that the Holocaust occurred in
the country or that the country's leader during World War II, Marshal
Ion Antonescu, participated in Holocaust atrocities in territory
administered by the country.
On January 17, the country's Consulate General in New York City
sponsored a seminar at which a well-known Holocaust denier distributed
articles he had written denying the Holocaust and containing anti-
Semitic statements.
The Elie Wiesel Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania
complained to the city council of Bucharest about anti-Semitic events
taking place in Bucharest in institutions that fall under the purview
of the council. For example, in January the Bucharest History Museum
hosted two book launches and a conference at which anti-Semitic and
Holocaust denying views were aired. In March a cultural center hosted
the launching of a book presenting the views of the Legionnaires, an
anti-Semitic group that carried out pogroms against Romanian Jews in
the interwar period. The Bucharest city government responded to
complaints by stating that the museum merely rented the premises to the
sponsors of the events.
The government continued to make progress in its effort to expand
education on the history of the Holocaust in the country and included
the Holocaust in history courses covering World War II in the seventh
through 12th grades.
On various occasions throughout the year, high-level officials
continued to make public statements against extremism, anti-Semitism,
and xenophobia and criticized Holocaust denial. In January government
officials and members of parliament attended and addressed the
commemoration of the 1941 pogrom in Bucharest. On October 8, the
country commemorated National Holocaust Day with events in several
cities, including the president's dedication of a Holocaust memorial in
Bucharest.
The law to combat anti-Semitism and prohibit fascist, racist, and
xenophobic organizations includes persecution of Roma as well as Jews
in its definition of the Holocaust. Approximately 14,000 Roma were
killed in the country during that period.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel and repatriation, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice. The government
cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection
and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons in need of international protection.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The country is a
party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the
1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The law on
asylum, based on EU legislation, prohibits the expulsion, extradition,
or forced return of any asylum seeker at the country's border or from
within the country's territory but extends the application of the
exclusion clauses to aliens and stateless persons who planned,
facilitated, or participated in terrorist activities as defined by
international instruments to which the country is a party.
The law provides for the concept of safe countries of origin, and
aliens coming from such countries have their asylum applications
processed in an accelerated procedure. Safe countries of origin are
considered EU member states as well as other countries that fulfill
certain conditions.
In 2008 the government opened an Emergency Transit Center in the
city of Timisoara. This is the second facility of its type in the world
for the interim receipt of refugees pending processing and final
transit to a receiving country. According to the UNHCR, conditions are
acceptable.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group or political
opinion; however, the UNHCR considered the time limits provided by the
law for submitting appeal applications and court procedures to be too
short. In 2008 the UNHCR started a program ``Quality Initiative,''
which continued during the year and aimed at improving the quality of
decision-making during the asylum procedure. A report, released by the
UNHCR in July, revealed that asylum seekers were faced with
difficulties in the access to specialized health care, partially
because of the lack of interpreters, that social assistance in
reception centers, including spare time activities, was insufficient,
and that asylum seekers felt they did not receive enough information
and legal assistance.
Under the law, refugees and those granted subsidiary protection
enjoy equal access to employment, basic services, education, police and
courts with citizens. According to an amendment to the citizenship law,
those receiving subsidiary protection have to wait for a longer period
of time than refugees to acquire citizenship, a provision viewed as
discriminatory by the former. The government also has a voluntary
repatriation program for refugees and rejected asylum seekers.
According to the Immigration Office, there were 835 applications
for asylum and an additional 160 repeat asylum applications during the
year. There were no cases of temporary protection to individuals who
may not qualify as refugees. However, the government granted a form of
protection (refugee status or subsidiary protection) to 94 persons, and
``tolerated person'' status to 161 persons. (A tolerated person is an
alien who no longer has the right to stay in the country, but cannot
leave it for objective reasons; tolerated persons have no social-
economic rights.) According to the UNHCR, the country hosted 1,596
refugees and 303 asylum seekers at the end of 2008.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived at birth by those who
have at least one Romanian parent. The law provides for birth
registration as a basic right; however, some children were not
registered at birth and were rendered de facto stateless by their lack
of and inability to obtain identity documents. According to the
country's Immigration Office, there were 306 stateless persons of
foreign and national origin at the year's end. According to UNHCR
statistics, there were 253 persons recognized as stateless in the
country at the end of 2008. However, the country has a substantial
Romani population, and according to a survey released by the government
in August 2008, 1.5 percent of respondents identifying themselves as
Roma lacked birth certificates, while other surveys indicated between
1.9 and 6 percent of Roma--lacked identity cards. While some of these
stateless persons were born in the country, limited information was
available on the nature of this problem.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--On November 22 and December
6, the country held national elections for president. Despite some
irregularities, including numerous allegations of vote buying and of
multiple voting, the elections were generally judged free and fair. In
the second round on December 6, incumbent Traian Basescu defeated
challenger Mircea Geoana by 50.33 percent to 49.66 percent of votes
cast.
On June 7, the country held elections for the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair. Again, there were numerous
allegations of irregularities such as vote buying, and analysts
lamented that only 27.67 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.
Elections to the Romanian parliament, last held in November 2008,
are based on a uninominal voting system. Media, NGOs, and government
officials criticized the voting system, which assigns parliamentary
seats to party members based on a complex formula, for being too
difficult for most voters to understand and for awarding seats to party
members who finished second or third in their district.
The law requires political parties to register with the Bucharest
Tribunal and to submit their statutes, program, and a roster of at
least 25,000 signatures. These 25,000 ``founding members'' must be from
at least 18 counties, including Bucharest, with a minimum of 700
persons from each county. The party statutes and program must not
include ideas that incite war, discrimination, hatred of a national,
racist, or religious nature, or territorial separatism.
Organizations of ethnic minorities can also field candidates in
elections if they meet requirements similar to those for political
parties. The law defines ``national minorities'' as only those ethnic
groups represented in the Council of National Minorities. The law
requires that the organizations that are not represented in the
parliament meet requirements that are more stringent than those of
minority groups already represented in parliament. Such organizations
must provide the Central Electoral Bureau a list of members equal to at
least 15 percent of the total number of persons belonging to that
ethnic group according to the most recent census. If 15 percent
represents more than 20,000 persons, then at least 20,000 names from at
least 15 counties plus the city of Bucharest, with no fewer than 300
persons from each county, must be submitted.
While the law does not restrict women's participation in government
or politics, societal attitudes presented a significant barrier. There
were 38 women in the 334-seat Chamber of Deputies and eight women in
the 137-seat Senate. At year's end there was only one woman in the 17-
member cabinet and no women among the prefects (governors) of the 42
counties.
According to the constitution, each recognized ethnic minority is
entitled to have one representative in the Chamber of Deputies if the
minority's organization cannot obtain the 5 percent of the votes needed
to elect deputies outright, but only if the organization in question
gets 10 percent of the average number of votes nationwide necessary for
a deputy to be elected. Organizations representing 18 minority groups
received deputies under this provision. There were 49 members of
minorities in the 471 seat parliament, nine in the upper house and 40
in the lower house. At the end of the year, there were four members of
minorities (all ethnic Hungarians) in the 17-member cabinet. Ethnicity
data was not available for members of the Supreme Court.
Ethnic Hungarians, represented by the Democratic Union of
Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) party, were the only ethnic minority to
gain parliamentary representation by passing the 5 percent threshold.
Only one Romani organization, the Roma Party-Pro Europe, was
represented in parliament. Low Romani voter turnout due to lack of
awareness, means, or identity cards further exacerbated the situation.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Authorities' ineffective response to corruption remained a focus of
intense public criticism, political debate, and media scrutiny
throughout the year. Transparency International noted in its 2009
Corruption Perceptions Index that EU membership had reduced pressure on
the government to deal with corruption. NGOs and the media continued to
note that no major case of high-level corruption had yet resulted in
judgments involving prison sentences. While there were some convictions
of lower-level officials for corruption, there were five preliminary
rulings and one final ruling, an acquittal, in cases of high-level
corruption. The European Commission, in its latest progress report on
justice sector reform in July, stated that ``the handling of high-level
corruption trials by the courts, and in particular the celerity
[swiftness] of court proceedings remain problematic.'' In addition the
report stated ``the Romanian parliament's procedure of requesting to
initiate investigations of former ministers appears to be neither
uniform nor swift.''
The National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) was responsible for
investigating and prosecuting high-level corruption, including cases
involving members of parliament and government officials. Both the head
of the DNA and general prosecutor (attorney general) were considered
effective. The DNA head was appointed to a second term in February. The
general prosecutor was appointed to a second term in October.
The DNA continued its coordination with antifraud units set up
within various ministries. The Interior Ministry's Anticorruption
General Directorate, which investigates alleged corruption within the
ministry, maintained an anticorruption telephone hot line to receive
tips regarding corrupt officers from the general public. The Antifraud
Department attached to the prime minister's office continued to
investigate cases involving the misuse of EU funds. The Ministry of
Defense also maintained its own antifraud section. According to the
European Commission, the system for allowing individuals to report
suspected cases of corruption was neither accessible nor comprehensive,
and implementation of rules to protect the confidentiality of whistle
blowers was deficient.
There was little progress made in 30 cases filed by the DNA
involving former government ministers, deputy ministers, and members of
Parliament, some due to the decision of the former parliament to block
the investigation and to the dismissal of cases by the High Court of
Cassation and Justice, and to the difficult judicial process. Of these,
one case was initiated in 2005, nine in 2006, six in 2007, nine in
2008, and five in 2009.
In 2007 the Constitutional Court declared that an ordinance
permitting the DNA to initiate criminal investigations against former
ministers without presidential or parliamentary authorization was
unconstitutional. Such authorization was previously required only prior
to investigations against current government members.
In March 2008 the Constitutional Court resolved the dispute between
the General Prosecutor's Office and parliament over the specific
authorizations that were required for criminal investigations against
former and current ministers. The court ruled that parliament must
approve investigations against ministers who are sitting members of
parliament, while the president would have to approve investigations of
ministers who are not serving in parliament. In October 2008 the
Constitutional Court lowered the number of votes needed from members of
parliament to authorize criminal investigations against cabinet
ministers.
The law empowers the National Integrity Agency (ANI) to audit
officials' declarations of assets, incompatibilities, and conflicts of
interest. The law stipulates that the ANI can identify ``unjustified''
wealth, meaning that proof of illegal activity is required before an
investigation may be initiated. The government amended the ANI law by
emergency ordinance the same month it was created, lowering the
standard of investigation to proof of unjustified wealth, defined as a
change in assets that cannot be justified based on an official's
legitimate sources of income. The ANI is authorized to examine annual
asset declarations, but not bank accounts or other assets of
individuals without their permission. Anonymous tips of an official's
``unjustified'' accumulation of assets cannot be used as grounds to
initiate investigations, absent a decision by the head of the agency to
initiate an ex-officio investigation. Some observers criticized vesting
such discretionary authority in a single individual. There were reports
that journalists and politicians attempted to influence the ANI
president in relation to the conduct of investigations.
The law provides for public access to government information
related to official decision making; however, human rights NGOs and the
media reported that the law was poorly and unevenly applied. Procedures
for releasing information were arduous and varied greatly by public
institution. On numerous occasions, NGOs and journalists took cases to
court to obtain information.
Although the government ordered the intelligence services to
release the files of the Communist-era Securitate intelligence service,
the powers of the National College for the Study of Securitate Archives
(CNSAS) remained limited because of amendments attached to the CNSAS
law in November 2008, which no longer entitled this body to issue
verdicts that identify individuals as Securitate collaborators.
There were reports that local authorities occasionally impeded
journalists, NGOs, and the general public from accessing public
information that could have proved detrimental to select political
interests.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views. However,
there were some problems. After two NGOs, CRJ and Terra Millennium III
Foundation, won a joint lawsuit against the Bucharest City government
in April 2008 over the legality of a city construction project, the
Bucharest mayor's office requested a court in July 2008 to dissolve the
NGOs. In October the court ruled in favor of the NGOs.
A 2008 law forbids NGOs to have names that could falsely associate
them with authorities or public institutions of national or local
interest. Some NGOs, such as the Romanian Academic Society (SAR),
claimed that the law was aimed at harassing NGOs unpopular with
government officials.
The government cooperated during the year with international
governmental organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives
and other organizations. During the year there were visits by the UN
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Migrants (his findings will be
included in a report to be released in 2010) and the EU Commission
representatives to assess the situation of the judiciary. The latter
released two reports (see section 1.e)
The ombudsman's office to protect citizens' constitutional rights
had limited power and no authority in cases requiring judicial action.
The office handled 6,439 complaints during the first nine months of the
year.
The CNCD is an independent governmental agency that is under
parliamentary control. By the year's end, the CNCD received 528 public
complaints of discrimination and in 14 other cases the CNCD started an
investigation ex officio. The CNCD resolved 340 of these complaints by
the year's end. Of these cases, 95 involved alleged discrimination on
the basis of nationality and ethnicity and eight involved
discrimination on religious grounds. The CNCD received 62 complaints
regarding discrimination against Roma and started investigation ex
officio in four other cases.
The antidiscrimination law provides fines for discriminatory
attitudes ranging from 400 to 4,000 lei ($156-$1,560) for
discrimination against individuals and approximately 600 to 8,000 lei
($140-$1,400) for discrimination against groups of persons or
communities.
The Ombudsman's Office and CNCD generally operated with the
government's cooperation and without government or party interference.
However, the CNCD's activity in the last four months of the year was
blocked when the Parliament, because of political turmoil, failed to
appoint members to CNCD's board. In addition neither agency received
adequate resources. In general, the agencies enjoyed public trust. CNCD
was generally regarded as effective, while most observers regarded the
ombudsman's office as much less effective. Both CNCD and the
Ombudsman's Office issue yearly activity reports.
Both chambers of parliament have a human rights committee; since
these committees were comprised of political party representatives,
their recommendations often reflected parties' views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law forbids discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
ethnicity, language, or social status, among other categories. However,
the government did not enforce these prohibitions effectively in some
circumstances, and women, Roma, and other minorities were often subject
to discrimination and violence.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal. The prosecution
of rape cases was difficult because it required a medical certificate
and a witness, and a rapist could avoid punishment if the victim
withdrew the complaint. The successful prosecution of spousal rape
cases was more difficult because the law requires the victim to
personally file a criminal complaint against the abusive spouse and
does not permit other parties, such as relatives or support
organizations, to file a complaint on the victim's behalf. The law
provides for three to 10 years' imprisonment for rape; the sentence
increases to five to 18 years if there are aggravated circumstances.
According to police statistics, 766 rapes were reported during the
first nine months of the year.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, continued to be a
serious problem, and the government did not effectively address it. The
law prohibits domestic violence and allows police intervention in such
cases; however, the law on domestic violence was difficult to apply
because it contradicts the criminal procedures code and does not
include provisions for the issuance of restraining orders. NGOs
reported that domestic violence was common. According to the National
Agency for Family Protection (ANPF), during the first nine months of
the year, there were 9,868 reported domestic violence cases: 5,358
cases involved women; 2,191 involved men; the gender was not specified
for the rest of the cases. During the same period, there were 77 cases
of death as a result of domestic violence. According to a nationwide
survey, conducted by the Center for Urban and Rural Sociology (CURS) in
2008, 21.5 percent of women reported being subjected to domestic
violence at least once in their life, and 11.1 percent reported
domestic violence during the year prior to the survey.
While the criminal code imposes aggravated sanctions for violent
offenses committed against family members, the courts prosecuted very
few cases of domestic abuse. Many cases were resolved before or during
trial when victims dropped their charges or reconciled with the accused
abuser. In cases with strong evidence of physical abuse, the court can
prohibit the abusive spouse from returning home. The law also permits
police to fine the abusive spouse for disturbing public order.
A total of 50 government- and privately-run shelters for victims of
abuse provided free accommodation and food for periods of between seven
days and three months, and 27 centers provided legal and psychological
counseling. There were also two rehabilitation centers, two centers to
inform and sensitize the population, and six counseling centers for
perpetrators. However, the centers were insufficient and unevenly
distributed, and some parts of the country lacked any kind of
assistance.
The ANPF worked in partnership with the Orthodox Diaconia
Association to develop a project to counter violence against children,
youth and women, as well as to protect victims, and vulnerable groups.
The ANPF also concluded a protocol of cooperation with the Adventist
ADRA Association to develop joint activities to prevent and stop
domestic violence.
Prostitution is illegal but was prevalent. Police generally limited
their intervention to fining prostitutes for loitering or disturbing
the peace. According to local media, there were anecdotal reports that
sex tourism existed in Bucharest and other major cities. The law does
not provide punishment for clients of prostitutes unless the prostitute
was a minor and the client admitted knowing that fact before the act.
The law prohibits any act of gender discrimination, including
sexual harassment; however, public awareness of the problem continued
to be low. No effective programs existed to educate the public about
sexual harassment.
The law guarantees the right to information, education, and
services for reproductive health without any discrimination, as well as
the right to access modern family planning methods. Under the law, HIV-
infected persons have the right to confidentiality and to access
adequate treatment. A 2007 National Health Program includes subprograms
regarding increased access to reproductive health services. The same
report noted that Roma women had a difficult time accessing
reproductive health services. The Ministry of Health provides free-of-
charge contraceptives to rural people, students, unemployed, and women
who had an abortion in a public hospital. NGOs noted the absence of a
national strategy regarding reproductive rights and the lack of sexual
education in schools, and also noted the country witnessed a high
number of teen pregnancies.
The law grants women and men equal rights, including under family
law, property law, and in the judicial system. In practice, the
government did not enforce these provisions, and authorities did not
pay significant attention or devote resources to women's issues. Women
had a higher rate of unemployment than men and occupied few influential
positions in the private sector. According to a 2007 Partnership for
Equality Center survey, differences between the salaries of women and
men continued to exist in most sectors of the economy. The survey
indicated the most significant difference in industry, where the salary
of men is over 60 percent higher than that of women. Generally, women
had lower levels of education and worked in lower-paid jobs.
NGO observers noted Romani women faced both gender and ethnic
discrimination. Romani women often lacked the training, marketable
skills, or relevant work experience to participate in the formal
economy. According to a 2006 Open Society Institute (OSI) report, only
26 percent of Romani women interviewed were part of the workforce. The
average monthly income of Romani women surveyed was 106 lei ($37).)
The Roma Center for Health Policies SASTIPEN reported three cases
of Roma women who were denied access to medical services by the same
gynecologist at the hospital in Targu Neamt, Neamt County in May, July,
and September. The cases were under investigation. Following the
submission of complaints by SASTIPEN in September, an investigative
commission and the Ethics Council of the Targu Neamt hospital, as well
as the Doctors' Council of Neamt County investigated these cases. The
investigative commission and the Ethics Council concluded in October
that the doctor in question could not be accused of discriminatory acts
and that the accusations against him were ungrounded and not backed by
evidence. According to SASTIPEN, the two bodies considered only one of
the cases and took the statement of the Romani woman while she was
hospitalized to give birth, in the presence of three nurses
subordinated to the doctor in question. The Romani woman declared in
her statement that she was professionally treated by the doctor. Based
on this statement, the Doctors' Council decided in October not to
investigate the case. SASTIPEN challenged this decision and also filed
complaints with the CNCD.
In November SASTIPEN launched, jointly with the Bucharest-based
Institute for Public Health, a one-year project to assess the access of
Roma to public health care.
The National Agency for Family Protection (ANPF) is responsible for
advancing women's concerns and family policies. During the year the
ANPF spent 5.963 million leu ($1.95 million ) for programs to prevent
and counter domestic violence for victims and perpetrators.
The law provides female employees reentering the workforce after
maternity leave the right to return to the previous or similar
position. Government grants helped support mothers, with 24 months of
paid leave at 85 percent of the average wage and a monthly allowance
for children. A report released in September by the Society of
Contraception and Sexual Education (SECS) indicated, however, that on
the labor market, pregnant women may suffer unacknowledged
discrimination.
Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth from at least one
Romanian parent present in the country or abroad. Birth registration
was not universal, and some children were denied public services as a
result. The most common reason that some children were not registered
at birth was that parents did not declare the child's birth to
authorities. This was sometimes because parents lacked identity
documents or residence papers or because the birth took place abroad in
countries where parents were illegally present. Most such children have
access to schools, and authorities assisted in obtaining birth
documents for unregistered children. However, the education of such
children depended on the decision of school authorities. Undocumented
children also faced difficulties in getting access to health care.
Conditions within the schools were often not conducive to learning.
Observers noted no differences in the treatment or attendance of boys
and girls at the primary, secondary, or post-secondary levels of
education.
Boys and girls enjoyed equal access to medical care.
Child abuse and neglect continued to be serious problems, and
public awareness of them remained poor. The media reported several
severe cases of abuse or neglect in family homes, foster care, and
child welfare institutions. According to the National Authority for the
Protection of Children's Rights (ANPDC), during the first nine months
of the year, child welfare services identified 9,195 cases of child
abuse, neglect, and exploitation, resulting in providing rehabilitation
services to 5,200 cases, medical services to 371 cases, educational
services to 248 cases, and legal assistance to 3,831 cases. Of the
2,395 children who were abused during this period, 293 were separated
from the abusive families. However, community-based social services
remained unevenly distributed, raising serious concern that children
and families lacked access to basic social services. There were also
reports of mistreatment and neglect of physically disabled abandoned
children in state institutions and of prolonged incarceration for
misbehavior within state orphanages.
On June 8, due to the negligence of the employees of a state
institution for children in Jucu, Cluj County, in supervising a 12-
year-old physically disabled girl, the latter took out the eyes of an
18-year-old paralyzed girl.
In December the government merged the National Authority for the
Protection of Children's Rights (ANPDC) with the National Agency for
Family Protection (ANPF). The resulting body, the National Authority
for the Protection of Family and Children's Rights (ANPFDC), covers
both areas.
Trafficking in girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation was a
problem, representing 11 percent of females trafficked in the first
half of the year. There also were isolated cases of children who
prostituted themselves for survival without third-party involvement.
The Criminal Code stipulates three to 10-year jail sentences for
sexual acts with minors under the age of 15. The age for consensual sex
is 15 years. The display, selling, dissemination, renting, distribution
and production of child pornography is punishable by five to 10 years
in jail and, if coercion is used, by 15 to 20 years in jail.
While the law protects children from abuse and neglect, the
government has not established a mechanism to identify and treat abused
and neglected children and their families. The abandonment of children
in maternity hospitals remained a problem, with 1,077 left in hospitals
by their parents in the first nine months of the year, according to
official statistics. According to the ANPCD, about 1,700 children were
abandoned each year.
NGOs claimed the official statistics did not accurately account for
many abandoned children and that many children living in state
institutions were never officially recognized as abandoned.
In May the country adopted the common European telephone number
116-000 for reporting missing children, implementing a 2007 European
Commission decision.
The legal age of marriage is 18, but girls as young as 15 may marry
in certain circumstances. Illegal child marriage was common within
certain social groups, particularly the Roma. There was no estimate
regarding the extent of the practice, and information about individual
cases surfaced only from time to time in the media.
According to ANPDC, at the end of September there were 916 homeless
children nationwide. NGOs working with homeless children believed there
were two or three times that number. NGOs noted that the number
decreased only because the children have grown up, but that the
individuals remained on the streets.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of
trafficking; however, trafficking in persons continued to be a serious
problem. The law defines trafficking as the use of coercion, including
fraud or misrepresentation, to recruit, transport, harbor, or receive
persons for exploitation, including slavery, forced labor,
prostitution, being a subject in pornography, organ theft, or other
conditions that violate human rights. For minors under the age of 18,
it is not necessary to prove coercion.
The country was a point of both origin and transit for trafficking
in persons. While the majority of trafficking cases involved
international trafficking between the country and Western Europe,
particularly Italy and Spain, cases of domestic trafficking were also
reported. Victims were trafficked for labor, sexual exploitation, and
forced begging. In the first six months of the year, the government
identified 343 victims of trafficking, a smaller number than in the
same period of 2008 (1,211), of whom 164 were female, 179 were male.
There were 63 minors who were victims of trafficking. For all of 2008
the government reported 1,211 victims of trafficking.
Women between the ages of 16 and 25 were most at risk of becoming
victims of trafficking for sexual purposes. Children were more likely
to become victims of trafficking if they came from orphanages or
single-parent homes or lived in a dysfunctional family environment
(e.g., families with financial difficulties, abuse, or alcoholism).
During the first half of the year there was an increase of 2 percent in
the number of persons trafficked for sexual exploitation and a similar
decrease in those trafficked for labor, though overall the number of
male victims was higher than that of female victims. Fifty-one percent
of the victims, most of them male, came from rural areas and were
trafficked mainly for forced labor or begging.
Government officials reported that small groups of citizens were
the most common operators of trafficking rings; several domestic
prostitution rings were also known to be active in trafficking victims
into, through, and from the country. In recent years the number of
women and minors involved in trafficking as recruiters has increased;
however, the overall number of trafficking victims has decreased, a
trend that continued during the year according to the National Agency
against Trafficking in Human Beings (ANITP).
Following the country's entry into the EU in 2007, the vast
majority of trafficking victims left the country through legal means,
eliminating the need for traffickers to rely on bribing officials to
get trafficked persons out of the country. Traffickers used employment
agencies and travel companies as fronts for their activities. It was
not difficult for traffickers to obtain legal work papers for the
victims they intended to traffic. Most women trafficked for sexual
exploitation were recruited either by persons they knew or by
responding to newspaper advertisements.
The sentencing guideline for convicted traffickers is three to 12
years in prison. The law increases this sentence to five to 15 years
for trafficking in minors, for multiple victims, if a victim suffers
serious bodily harm or health problems, or if the trafficking is done
by a public servant during his or her official duties. A sentence of 15
to 25 years is mandated for trafficking that leads to the death or
suicide of the victim. These penalties are increased by two to three
years if the trafficker belongs to an organized crime group and by five
years if coercion is applied against minors.
ANITP, which has 15 regional centers, was reorganized under the
jurisdiction of the National Police, a move heavily criticized by NGOs
out of concern the agency would lose its independence. The agency is
responsible for collecting all information related to trafficking in
persons and coordinating government efforts to combat trafficking and
treat trafficking victims. Regional centers coordinated victim/witness
cooperation with law enforcement and helped victims access social
services. Foreign donors supported training programs on victim/witness
coordination offered during the year. Such programs helped victims
better negotiate the cumbersome judicial system and led to more
frequent convictions of traffickers. However, victims continued to face
discrimination from the society at large, especially in small villages,
due to cultural biases against women who are victims of trafficking.
During the year the ANITP further developed its national
trafficking database to expedite identification of victims and improve
victim assistance by implementing new statistics-gathering procedures.
The law requires the government to protect trafficking victims, but
implementation of the law remained weak and uneven. Reports of law
enforcement officials losing contact with identified victims were
common. Some identified victims reportedly chose not to press charges
to avoid cumbersome judicial procedures. Although the government
trained border police to encourage victims to identify themselves, few
victims were willing to do so.
A technical secretariat, established by ANDPC and charged with
implementing a national action plan to fight child trafficking and
exploitation, carried out activities related to repatriation,
protection, and social reintegration of unaccompanied children in
difficulty in other countries, regardless of whether such children were
victims or offenders. During the year, the country's diplomatic
missions reported that 367 unaccompanied children were identified in 20
European countries and the United States, a slight decrease over 2008,
when 385 such children were identified. Most of these children were
found in Italy and Spain. According to the ANPDC, by the end of the
year, 115 of these children had been repatriated. Most of the other
children were receiving child welfare services in the countries where
they were found.
During the year the government worked with domestic and
international NGOs to build public awareness of trafficking risks and
to improve the services offered to victims, developing three national
awareness campaigns. Officials made public statements during the year
about the trafficking problem.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against all persons in employment, education, access to health care, or
the provision of other services. However, the government did not fully
implement the law, and discrimination against persons with disabilities
remained a problem.
The law mandates accessibility for persons with disabilities to
buildings and public transportation. In practice, the country had few
facilities specifically designed for persons with disabilities;
however, their number increased during the year.
According to reports by human rights NGOs, the placement, living
conditions, and treatment of patients in many psychiatric wards and
hospitals did not meet international human rights standards and were
below professional norms.
During the year the Center for Legal Resources (CRJ) visited twice
(March-April and August-September) 16 state institutions for mentally
disabled (psychiatric wards and hospitals) in order to assess the
situation of the observance of human rights. As compared to the
previous years, the visits revealed a more open and cooperative
attitude of the Ministry of Public Health, the public health
departments, and the management of the state institutions for mentally
disabled, allowing the CRJ's visits and implementing to a varying
extent its recommendations. However, the management of some such
institutions allowed the visits only with difficulty and failed to
implement any of the CRJ's recommendations. The CRJ's findings in most
such institutions included: overcrowding; insufficient qualification of
institution staff; staff unawareness of the legal provisions regarding
such institutions; shortage of staff, shortage of medication;
insufficient food; violation of patient privacy; lack of activities;
patient neglect; failure to observe patients' human dignity; failure to
implement the procedures to resolve the patient complaints; failure to
implement the regulations regarding involuntary institutionalizing and
informed consent; patient unawareness of rights; ignoring the legal
regulations regarding the use of detention and isolation for
institutionalized people (e.g., patients were tied to their beds for
long periods of time); excessive sedation of patients; poor hygiene
conditions, lack of recreational programs.
In September media reported that a patient of the psychiatric ward
in Poiana Mare died, allegedly following the ingestion of a
disinfectant. The hospital is known for its particularly poor
conditions and the death of over 150 patients between 2002 and 2004.
Despite repeated criticism and the government's intention to close the
ward, the situation in this institution remained more or less the same,
according to the CRJ. In December the CRJ filed a complaint with the
ECHR regarding the death of five patients in 2004.
In December the BBC broadcast a documentary secretly filmed in
several state institutions for the disabled, including a Recovery and
Rehabilitation Center in Carpinis, a Social Medical Unit in Ganesti,
and an institution in the village of Bolintin, which revealed extremely
low living conditions (dirty rooms and beds, severe cold, insufficient
food rations and poor food quality), overcrowding, bed-bound sedated
patients, shortage of medical staff, social assistants, care-takers,
and medical treatment. In response, the government stated that the
conditions found by the BBC team were not representative of the care
system for people with disabilities and that two of the institutions
visited by the BBC would be closed in the next three years.
In a 2007 report, the CRJ documented violations of basic human
rights in institutions for children and youth with mental disabilities,
including the lack of adequate services, limitations of individual
freedom, and placement of children under two years of age without
mental disabilities in such institutions.
While the government adopted an action plan regarding persons with
mental disabilities in 2005, NGOs asserted that it failed to improve
conditions in psychiatric institutions and had not implemented most
aspects of the plan. The provision of community based mental health
care services remained inadequate.
The CRJ criticized the government for its treatment of children
with mental and physical disabilities. Children reportedly were being
detained in adult facilities. Some children were kept in permanent
restraints, and abuse and neglect were commonplace throughout the
country's mental institutions and health-care facilities.
Some minors were sent to psychiatric hospitals without the consent
of their legal guardians. According to human rights NGOs, there was no
system to ensure that the rights of children with mental disabilities
were observed in government-run care institutions.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Discrimination against Roma
continued to be a major concern. Romani groups complained that police
brutality, including beatings and harassment, was routine and that
societal discrimination was pervasive.
On March 2, the daily Jurnalul National initiated a campaign to
collect signatures for a legislative proposal to use the pejorative
word ``gypsy'' instead of ``Roma'' in order to avoid confusing this
ethnic group with Romanians. The campaign died out after collecting an
insufficient number of signatures to qualify as a legislative proposal.
On April 15, the fans of Dinamo soccer team shouted anti-Roma
slogans and displayed anti-Roma banners during a game between Dinamo
and Rapid teams. Romani CRISS filed a criminal complaint with the
prosecutor's office.
On May 31, in Sanmartin, Harghita County, approximately 400 ethnic-
Hungarian residents destroyed houses and cars in the local Roma
community. The incident started after Roma beat two Hungarians who
found Roma-owned horses grazing on their land. The Roma took refuge in
the woods and, three days later, local residents set a Roma house on
fire. According to media reports and NGOs, groups of residents
continued to threaten Roma for several weeks after the initial
incident. During this period, many Roma expressed fear about returning
to the village and slept in the woods. Authorities tried to mediate the
conflict and drafted a set of rules for future interethnic relations in
the locality, but the rules were criticized by human rights and Roma
NGOs for including obligations only for the Roma. Authorities also
provided no help to the Roma who lived with their children in the woods
for several weeks. At the year's end, according to Romani CRISS, the
situation of the Roma in Sanmartin remained dismal; most had to sell
their horses (their only source of income) as part of the agreement to
be allowed to return to their homes. Furthermore, most of the
community's Romani children did not attend kindergarten or school.
On July 9, ethnic-Hungarian residents set fire to several stables
belonging to the Roma community in Sancraieni, Harghita County, after
the police freed a Romani man who had stabbed an ethnic Hungarian.
Local authorities also drafted a protocol, to be signed by them and the
Roma, which actually represented a set of 11 conditions for the Roma.
Romani CRISS protested the manner in which this protocol was imposed on
the Roma community.
In July Iulian Urban, the vice president of the Senate's Legal
Committee, drafted a similar protocol, including seven conditions for
the Roma in Balotesti, Ilfov County, who allegedly had committed many
crimes. A series of NGOs issued a letter of protest against the
protocol. The CNCD is also investigating a complaint against Urban for
posting anti-Roma messages on his blog.
NGOs reported that Roma were denied access to, or refused service
in, many public places. On May 23, Romani CRISS organized a test in
Craiova, Dolj County, regarding the access of Roma to public places. A
group of young Roma was denied access to five of the six bars/clubs
they tried to enter.
There were no developments in the investigation of the violent
conflict between ethnic Hungarians and Roma in Apata village, Brasov
County in 2007, where a group of ethnic Hungarians attacked a Romani
neighborhood after having encountered Roma stealing crops from a farm.
In May the government submitted a declaration to the ECHR admitting
a series of violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and
pledging to grant compensation amounting to approximately 565,000 euros
($393,800)to 24 Roma affected by mob violence in 1991 at Bolintin Deal.
At this locale, a mob burned Roma houses and drove Roma out of the
village after a Romani man stabbed and killed a villager.
Media and NGOs criticized the government's implementation of a
community development program in Hadareni. The government was to
rebuild the houses of Roma destroyed in 1993 when, following a killing
committed by a Romani man, a mob killed four Roma and burned 14 homes.
NGOs criticized the program's lack of financial transparency and poor
management.
The Romani population was estimated at between 1.8 and 2.5 million,
although the most recent official census in 2002 reported 535,000 Roma,
or 3 percent of the country's population. An August 2008 government
survey estimated that the Romani population represented 5.7 percent of
the total population, or approximately 1.2 million persons. According
to NGOs, prior government figures were low because many Roma either did
not reveal their ethnicity or lacked any form of identification.
Roma faced persistent poverty and had poor access to government
services, few employment opportunities, high rates of school attrition,
inadequate health care, and pervasive discrimination.
According to the 2007 Roma Inclusion Barometer, 23 percent of Roma
were illiterate and 95 percent did not complete high school. NGOs and
the media reported that discrimination by teachers and other students
against Romani students served as an additional disincentive for Romani
children to complete their studies. As in prior years, there were
reports of Romani children being placed in the back of classrooms, of
teachers ignoring Romani students, and of unimpeded bullying of Romani
students by other schoolchildren. In some communities, authorities
placed Romani students in separate classrooms from other students or in
separate schools. During the year Romani CRISS continued to monitor the
implementation of a 2007 Ministry of Education order forbidding
segregation of Romani students and identified school segregation cases
in Albeni, Corabia, Cugir, and Polovraci. The NGO also filed complaints
with the CNCD in a case in Magheru, identified in the previous year,
where a kindergarten teacher refused to enroll the twins of a Romani
woman for several years. In December Romani CRISS launched the project
``We don't want monocultural education anymore,'' which will include 90
schools where students, parents, and the teaching staff will
participate in inter-cultural activities. The NGO Ovidiu Rom worked to
assist and encourage Romani children with the school enrollment
process. The NGO also continued its national public awareness campaign
``scoala te face mare'' .''school makes you grea.'') to promote the
importance of school enrollment to families and children.
With regard to access to health care, Romani CRISS filed a
complaint against a family doctor in the village of Vartop. The doctor
allegedly refused repeatedly to treat Roma patients, or treated them
superficially.
Romani CRISS mentioned that in the maternity wards in Cluj and
Galati there were instances when the hospital employees wrote ``gypsy''
in the children's birth certificate under the rubric ``nationality of
the mother,'' even though these individuals were Romanian citizens.
Romani CRISS filed complaints with the CNCD.
According to a 2007 Open Society Institute (OSI) report, ethnic
Roma were five times as likely as members of the majority population to
live below the poverty line. The OSI also estimated that approximately
60 percent of Roma lived segregated from the majority population in
communities with substandard housing and without basic governmental
services, such as schools, adequate health care, running water,
electricity, and waste disposal.
Romani communities were largely excluded from the administrative
and legal system. According to OSI research conducted in 2007, 4.9
percent of Roma lacked a birth certificate. Among non-Roma citizens,
fewer than 1 percent lacked a birth certificate. Similarly, surveys in
2007 and 2008 indicated that between 1.9 and 6 percent of Roma lacked
identity cards, compared to 1.5 percent of non-Roma. The lack of
identity documents excluded Roma from participating in elections,
receiving social benefits, accessing health insurance, securing
property documents, and participating in the labor market. Roma were
also disproportionately unemployed or underemployed.
Stereotypes and use of discriminatory language against Roma were
widespread; journalists and even high ranking officials frequently made
discriminatory statements.
On November 8, National Liberal Party (PNL) first vice president
Ludovic Orban publicly referred to Roma using the pejorative stereotype
``gypsies,'' implying inferior people. The PNL president disassociated
himself from Orban's statement. Several Romani and Human Rights NGOs
filed a complaint with the CNCD.
The government program to identify Roma without birth certificates
or identification documents and help them obtain such documents ended
because of lack of funding. Romani CRISS continued to offer limited
support to such cases. Some NGOs criticized the government for
inadequate and ineffective government assistance to the Roma.
The government considered ethnic Hungarians to be the largest
ethnic minority, constituting 1.4 million persons according to the 2002
census. In the Moldavia region, where the Roman Catholic Hungarian-
speaking Csango minority resided, the community continued to operate
government-funded Hungarian language school groups; 962 students in 14
localities received Hungarian-language classes during the 2009-10
academic year. Representatives of this ethnic group complained that the
School Inspectorate of Bacau County rejected requests for Hungarian
language classes in two other localities.
In January the Association of Magyar Csangos from Moldavia withdrew
the discrimination complaint it filed in May 2008 against the local
priests in the village of Cleja, stating that the issue had been
amicably settled.
The Ukrainian minority, which resides in the northern part of the
country and represents 0.3 percent of the population, complained about
the danger of being assimilated because of the insufficient number of
school classes in the Ukrainian language. They attributed the lack of
language instruction to the shortage of funding and of specialized
teaching staff. Some school directors opposed the establishment of such
school departments.
A 2007 study by the Institute of Public Policies and Romani CRISS
identified the potential danger of online discrimination and hate
speech, directed mainly against Roma and homosexuals, in discussion
forums of four national dailies. On-line discrimination and hate speech
continued to exist in discussion forums during the year.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination based on sexual orientation; however, NGOs reported that
police abuse and societal discrimination against lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons was common and that open
hostility prevented the reporting of some harassment and
discrimination. Members of the gay and lesbian community continued to
voice concerns about discrimination in public education and the health
care system. The government in its May 2008 statement before the
Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council stated that
LGBT persons faced prejudice and discrimination. ACCEPT, an NGO
supporting gay and lesbian rights, reported that the number of
complaints by members of their community about harassment of gay men by
authorities increased during the year. Several members reported that
police and gendarmerie raids took place in public places known as
meeting areas for gay men, and that police behavior was abusive. These
raids mostly occurred in public parks, with police or gendarmes asking
all men to show their identification, questioning them about the reason
for their presence, making offensive comments regarding homosexuality,
and threatening to arrest them. In most cases, the police officers or
gendarmes fined those they encountered at these locations for allegedly
committing obscene acts.
On February 26, unidentified people beat and cut the hair of a
transgender person in Bucharest. On March 17, taxi drivers reportedly
verbally abused the same person.
There were two officially-registered LGBT organizations, ACCEPT and
LGBTeam. Other LGBT groups lacked legal status; these groups generally
kept a low public profile. There were no reports of impediments to LGBT
groups' activities.
On May 23, approximately 300 persons participated in the annual
``march of diversity'' gay pride parade in Bucharest. Local authorities
mobilized hundreds of police to protect the participants, and the
parade ended without violent incidents. There were some claims that
individuals who wanted to participate in or watch the parade were
discouraged from doing so because of the police barricades. Meanwhile,
the ``New Right,'' a neofascist group opposed to homosexuality and
claiming Christian orientation, sponsored a ``march for normalcy''
antigay rally on the same day as the march for diversity, but at a
different time and location, and chanted virulent antigay slogans. On
the previous day, a number of NGOs organized a ``march for the
family,'' ostensibly to oppose the gay pride march.
There were no developments in the investigation of the violent
incidents that took place at gay parades in previous years.
A number of young men in police detention reported that police
failed to protect them effectively from violence and harassment from
other inmates who perceived then as being homosexual.
In 2007 a Bucharest court ruled in favor of a person who accused a
company of discrimination in access to services on grounds of sexual
orientation. The person withdrew a prior complaint he filed with the
CNCD.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Discrimination against
persons with HIV/AIDS impeded access to routine medical and dental
care, and authorities rarely enforced laws prohibiting this form of
discrimination. Breaches of confidentiality involving individuals' HIV
status were common and rarely punished.
Observers noted widespread discrimination faced by children with
HIV/AIDS and authorities' failure to protect them from discrimination,
abuse, and neglect. Doctors reportedly often refused to treat children
and youths with HIV/AIDS. Medical personnel, school officials, and
government employees did not maintain confidentiality of information
about the children, which caused the children and families to be denied
services such as schooling. In some situations children and their
parents were threatened by parents of other children to keep them out
of school. There were also reports that children without any mental
disability were placed in centers for children with mental disabilities
because they were HIV-positive.
Over half of HIV-infected adolescents were sexually active; they
frequently experienced reduced access to facilities for reproductive
health care and the prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted
infections. The government provides universal access to antiretroviral
therapy; however, stigma and discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS frequently impeded their access to education, medical care,
government services, and employment. Fewer than 60 percent of HIV-
positive children and adolescents attended some form of schooling.
APADOR-CH criticized the National Administration of Penitentiaries
for transferring all prisoners with HIV/AIDS, including those who are
HIV-positive and did not require specific treatment, to the
penitentiary hospital of Jilava and labeled this measure discriminatory
and against EU standards.
In September an NGO filed a complaint with the Doctors' Council in
Iasi against a doctor who refused to issue a document required to
assign a place in a student hostel to an HIV-positive student, arguing
the risk of contamination.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--All workers, except certain public
employees, have the constitutional right to associate freely and to
form and join independent labor unions without prior authorization, and
they freely exercised this right. However, employees of the Ministry of
National Defense, most employees of the Ministry of Interior and
Administration, most employees of the Ministry of Justice, prison
personnel, and intelligence personnel were not allowed to unionize. The
majority of workers belonged to one of the five main national trade
union confederations. Approximately 40 to 50 percent of the workforce
was unionized; however, that number continued to decline.
The right to form unions was generally respected in practice, and
many employers created enterprise-friendly unions. Union officials
stated that union registration requirements stipulated by law were
complicated but generally reasonable. However, unions objected to the
requirement that they submit lists of prospective union members with
their registration application. Since employers also had access to this
list, union officials feared that this could lead to reprisals against
individual employees, hindering the formation of new unions.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the government protected this right in practice.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of government
interference in labor negotiations, trade union activities, collective
bargaining, or strikes.
While the law permits strikes by all workers except judges,
prosecutors, some justice ministry staff, and employees of the
intelligence service and the Ministries of National Defense and
Internal Affairs, lengthy and cumbersome requirements made it difficult
to hold strikes legally. Unions may strike only if all arbitration
efforts have failed and if employers have been given 48 hours' notice.
Unions complained that they must submit their grievances to government-
sponsored arbitration before initiating a strike and that the courts
had a propensity to declare strikes illegal. Companies may claim
damages from strike organizers if a court deems a strike illegal.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides workers the right to bargain collectively, but government
control of many industrial enterprises and the absence of independent
management representatives at these entities hindered collective
bargaining. Only enterprises employing more than 21 persons can
negotiate collective agreements. Approximately 80 percent of the
workforce was covered by collective labor contracts at the branch and
unit levels. The main employers' associations, trade unions, and the
government concluded a national collective labor contract for 2007-
2010. However, contracts resulting from collective bargaining were not
consistently enforced. National collective labor contracts are
negotiated every four years. The wages of public employees were guided
by a minimum wage stipulated by law and a pay scale specific to each
ministry that was based on that ministry's annual budget.
The law has specific provisions against antiunion discrimination,
which were generally respected. However, the International Trade Union
Council (ITUC) reported that some companies, including foreign
companies, employed tactics such as spreading antiunion propaganda,
intimidating trade union members, and making employment conditional on
a workers' agreement not to join a union.
There are no exemptions from regular labor laws in the country's
six free-trade zones and 31 disadvantaged zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Persons, primarily women and
children from Romania, Moldova, Colombia, and France, were trafficked
within and to the country for forced prostitution, begging, and petty
theft.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace;
however, the government did not consistently enforce them in practice.
Child labor and child trafficking remained problems.
The minimum age for employment is 16 years, but children may work
with the consent of parents or guardians at age 15. Minors are
prohibited from working in hazardous conditions. On July 29, a law on
the prohibition of hazardous child labor was approved. The law provides
a basis for the elimination of hazardous work for children and includes
a list of dangerous work and sanctions for offenders. Parents whose
children carry out hazardous activities are required to attend parental
education programs or counseling and can be fined between 100 and 1,000
lei ($34 to $340) for failure to do so. Persons who employ children for
hazardous tasks can be fined between 500 and 1,500 lei ($172 to $517).
Minors over the age of 15 who are enrolled in school are also
prohibited from performing activities included on a list approved in
2007 pursuant to an EU directive. Children under the age of 16 who work
have the right to continue their education, and the law obliges
employers to assist in this regard. Children aged 15 to 18 may work no
more than six hours per day and no more than 30 hours per week,
provided that their school attendance is not affected. In practice,
however, reports indicated that many children did not attend school
while working. Minors cannot work overtime or during the night, and
they have the right to an additional three days of annual leave.
Child labor, including begging, selling trinkets on the street, and
washing windshields, remained widespread in Romani communities,
especially in urban areas. Children engaged in such activities were as
young as five.
The National Authority for the Protection of Children's Rights
(ANPCD), under the Ministry of Labor, Family, and Equal Opportunities,
has the lead role in monitoring and coordinating all programs for the
prevention and elimination of the worst forms of child labor. There
were 925 confirmed cases of child labor reported in 2008, 544 of these
were in urban areas and 381 in rural areas; 417 were girls and 508 were
boys; 65.3% of the victims were under 14 years of age and 34.7 %
between 15 and 18. The confirmed cases involved bonded labor (42 cases)
begging (559), victims of domestic trafficking (28), victims of
external trafficking (43), work without a labor contract (68), forced
labor (32), prostitution (42), pornography (3) and other illicit
activities (67). At the end of the first quarter of 2009, there were
415 confirmed cases of child labor, 257 in urban areas and 158 in rural
areas. The cases involved 174 girls and 241 boys; 312 were under 14 and
103 were between the ages of 15 and 18.
The ANPCD can impose fines and close factories for child labor
exploitation. Enforcement tended to be lax except in extreme cases,
despite what appeared to be clear cases of child labor, and there were
no reports of anyone being charged or convicted during the year under
the child labor laws. Employers who violated child labor laws were
generally fined; in practice, judges did not consider violations of the
child labor law to be crimes.
The law requires schools to immediately notify social services of
children missing classes to work. Social services are authorized to
work with schools to reintegrate such children into the educational
system. The government conducted information campaigns to raise
awareness among children, potential employers, and the general public.
The government also made considerable progress in establishing
mechanisms to gather information and monitor child labor trends.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Beginning in January, the gross
minimum wage was 600 lei ($207) for a full-time schedule of 170 hours
per month, or approximately 3.75 lei ($1.29) per hour. The minimum wage
for skilled workers was 20 percent higher. The minimum wage is
negotiated by unions, the Government of Romania (Ministry of Labor,
Family, and Equal Opportunities), and employers' associations every
year. The minimum monthly wage did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family.
Criteria for calculating the minimum wage are based on the average
salary rather than in relation to the minimum basket of consumption.
Minimum wage rates were generally observed and enforced by the
Ministry of Labor, Family, and Equal Opportunities. In practice, many
employers paid supplemental salaries under the table to reduce both the
employee's and employer's tax burdens. However, this practice
negatively affected employees' future pensions and their ability to
obtain commercial credit.
The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours or five days.
Overtime is to be paid for weekend or holiday work, or work in excess
of 40 hours, which may not exceed 48 hours per week averaged over one
month. The law requires a 24-hour rest period in the workweek, although
most workers received two days off per week. The Ministry of Labor,
Family, and Equal Opportunities effectively enforced these standards.
Union leaders complained that overtime violations were the main problem
facing their members, as employees were often required to work more
than the legal maximum number of hours and overtime compensation
required by law was not always paid. This was especially prevalent in
the textile, banking and finance, and construction sectors. Union
officials alleged that a majority of on the job accidents occurred
during such compulsory, uncompensated overtime.
The law provides penalties for work performed without a labor
contract in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.
Employers who use illegal labor may be jailed or fined up to 100,000
lei ($34,500).
The Ministry of Labor, Family, and Equal Opportunities is
responsible for establishing and enforcing safety standards for most
industries but lacked trained personnel to do so effectively. Employers
often ignored the ministry's recommendations, which were usually only
applied after an accident occurred. Workers had the right to refuse
dangerous work but seldom invoked it in practice.
__________
RUSSIA
The Russian Federation has a centralized political system, with
power concentrated in the presidency and the office of prime minister,
a weak multiparty political system, and a bicameral legislature
(Federal Assembly). The Federal Assembly, which is dominated by the
ruling United Russia party, consists of a lower house (State Duma) and
an upper house (Federation Council). The country has an estimated
population of 142 million. International observers reported that the
March 2008 election for president was neither fair nor free, and failed
to meet many international standards for democratic elections. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of federal security
forces, except in some areas of the North Caucasus, where there were
serious problems with civilian control of security forces.
There were numerous reports of governmental and societal human
rights problems and abuses during the year. Direct and indirect
government interference in local and regional elections restricted the
ability of citizens to change their government through free and fair
elections. During the year there were a number of high profile killings
of human rights activists by unknown persons, apparently for reasons
related to their professional activities. There were numerous, credible
reports that law enforcement personnel engaged in physical abuse of
subjects. Prison conditions were harsh and could be life threatening.
Corruption in law enforcement remained a serious problem, and many
observers, including some judges and law enforcement personnel,
asserted that the executive branch influenced judicial decisions in
some high-profile cases. Security services and local authorities often
conducted searches without court warrants. Government actions weakened
freedom of expression and media independence, particularly of the major
television networks. Eight journalists, many of whom reported
critically on the government, were killed during the year; with one
exception the government failed to identify, arrest, or prosecute any
suspects. Beating and intimidation of journalists remained a problem.
The government directed the editorial policies of government-owned
media outlets, pressured major independent outlets to abstain from
critical coverage, and harassed and intimidated journalists into
practicing self-censorship. The government limited freedom of assembly,
and police sometimes used violence to prevent groups from engaging in
peaceful protest. In some regions the government limited freedom of
association and restricted religious groups. There were instances of
societal discrimination, harassment, and violence against religious
minorities. Manifestations of anti-Semitism continued during the year,
but the number of anti-Semitic attacks decreased. Corruption was
widespread throughout the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
at all levels, and officials often engaged in corrupt practices with
impunity. The government restricted the activities of some
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), making it difficult for them to
continue operations. Violence against women and children, including
domestic violence, remained a significant problem. Trafficking in
persons also continued to be a significant problem. There was some
governmental and widespread societal discrimination against ethnic
minorities and dark-skinned immigrants or guest workers. During the
year xenophobic, racial, and ethnic attacks and hate crimes,
particularly by skinheads, nationalists, and right-wing extremists,
continued to be a significant problem. Instances of forced labor were
reported.
The North Caucasus region of Russia remained an area of particular
concern. The government's poor human rights record in the North
Caucasus worsened, as the government fought insurgents, Islamist
militants, and criminal forces. Local government and insurgent forces
reportedly engaged in killing, torture, abuse, violence, politically
motivated abductions, and other brutal or humiliating treatment, often
with impunity. In Chechnya, Ingushetiya, and Dagestan, the number of
extrajudicial killings and disappearances increased markedly, as did
the number of attacks on law enforcement personnel. Authorities in the
North Caucasus appeared to act outside of federal government control.
Although the Chechen government announced a formal end to
counterterrorist operations, there was an increase in violence during
the summer, which continued through the remainder of the year. Federal
and local security forces in Chechnya, as well as the private militia
of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, allegedly targeted families of
suspected insurgents for reprisal and committed other abuses. There
were also reports of rebel involvement in bombing civilian targets and
politically motivated disappearances in the region. Some rebels were
allegedly involved in kidnapping for ransom. According to the Internet-
based news agency Caucasian Knot, 342 members of law enforcement
agencies lost their lives and 680 were injured during the year in
actions involving insurgents. Thousands of internally displaced persons
lived in temporary centers in the region that failed to meet
international standards.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the government or its agents committed politically motivated
killings and other arbitrary killings. In most cases the government did
not punish the perpetrators.
During 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued
judgments that found a total of 37 violations by the country with
respect to the prohibition on deprivation of life and 41 violations
involving lack of effective investigation as provided under article 2
of the European Convention on Human Rights.
On April 27, police major Denis Yevsyukov, the head of the
Tsaritsino police precinct in southern Moscow, who was off-duty, but in
uniform, shot nine persons while drunk, killing two. A Moscow court on
May 5 charged Yevsyukov with murder, attempted murder, and possession
of an illegal firearm; these charges could carry a life sentence. The
incident led President Medvedev to fire the Moscow police chief and
four other high-level police officials. In the aftermath of the
incident, human rights activists stated their belief that some police
officers considered themselves to be above the law. The government
began implementing reforms of the police, including additional firings
and guidelines for police behavior.
During the year, a number of prominent human rights activists and
journalists were killed by unknown persons, apparently for reasons
related to their professional activities (see section 2.a.). Many of
the killings were related to the conflict in the North Caucasus (see
section 1.g.).
On January 5, Shafiq Amrakhov, the editor of the online news site
Ria 51, died in a Murmansk hospital six days after he was shot in his
apartment.
On January 19, an unknown assailant shot and killed human rights
lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova in central
Moscow in broad daylight. The attack occurred shortly after Markelov
gave a press conference criticizing the early parole of Colonel Yuriy
Budanov, who in 2000 raped and strangled an 18-year-old Chechen girl
(see section 1.g.). In November authorities arrested two alleged neo-
Nazis, Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis, and charged them with
murder in the case, making this the only significant case of police
action following the murder of a human rights activist.
Also on January 19, a 20-year-old activist, Anton Stradymov, was
found beaten to death near the Bykhino Metro station in Moscow.
Stradymov was a member of the National Bolshevik group. He had also
participated in a number of ``dissenters' marches,'' a form of
political opposition protest begun in 2006. At year's end there were no
reports that the authorities were investigating the killing.
On March 30, Sergey Protazanov, a journalist for the newspaper
Grazhdanskoye Soglasie, died after he was attacked by unknown
assailants in the Moscow suburb of Khimki on March 28. Neighbors found
his body covered in blood and bruises. Protazanov's colleagues said he
had been working on a story about (?)legal violations during the last
election for the head of the local administration. Local authorities,
however, asserted that Protazanov died of alcohol poisoning and denied
that the bruises found on his body were related to his death. There was
no investigation to determine the cause of death.
In late June Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, editor in chief of the Rostov-
on-Don newspaper Korruptsiya I Prestupnost (Corruption and Crime) died
after a severe beating by unknown assailants on April 29. The
journalist's colleagues believed he was killed in revenge for his
investigative reporting on corruption among local authorities.
On July 15, several men abducted and killed the prominent
journalist and human rights activist Natalia Estemirova, who worked in
Chechnya for the NGO Memorial. Estemirova had spent more than 10 years
documenting cases of killings, torture, and disappearances, which she
linked to Chechen authorities. She had received a number of threats,
including a direct threat from Chechen president Kadyrov. A month after
the killing, Kadyrov made disparaging comments about Estemirova in a
radio interview. President Medvedev stated that it was ``obvious'' that
the killing was connected with Estemirova's work and ordered an
immediate investigation to find the perpetrators. In October, following
delays in the preliminary investigation, an anonymous law enforcement
representative issued a statement that there were no leads in the case.
No arrests in the case had been made by year's end.
On August 11, unknown assailants shot and killed Abdulmalik
Akhmedilov, a journalist for the Dagestani newspaper Khakikat (The
Truth), in Makhachkala. Akhmedilov had criticized federal forces and
local law enforcement officers for suppressing religious and political
dissent, and he was also known for his investigative reporting into
recent assassinations of Dagestan officials. No arrests were made in
the case by year's end.
On October 25, unknown gunmen in Kabardino-Balkaria shot and killed
Maksharip Aushev, a prominent Ingush human rights activist, as he was
driving in his car. Aushev had earlier owned the Web site
Ingushetiya.org (previously Ingushetiya.ru), one of whose former
owners, Magomed Yevloyev, was also killed while in police custody in
Ingushetiya in August 2008. Aushev had announced an end to his
opposition activities when Yunus-Bek Yevkurov became Ingushetiya's
president and had joined a human rights council established by Russian
Federation Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin. On December 17, a car bomb injured
Aushev's pregnant widow and killed Aushev's mother-in-law and two
brothers-in-law. Yevkurov promised a vigorous investigation in both
cases, but no arrests had been made by year's end. In December other
members of Aushev's extended family in St. Petersburg went missing.
On November 16, Olga Kotovskaya of Kaskad TV in Kaliningrad fell to
her death from the 14th floor of a building. Kotovskaya had just won a
court case to regain control of her television station, which had a
reputation for objective news reporting and live broadcasts of studio
guests who were sometimes critical of regional leaders. Officials
initially claimed her death was suicide but a week later opened a
criminal investigation for murder. Press freedom activists, as well as
a deputy in Kaliningrad's regional parliament, stated their belief that
Kotovskaya was murdered because of her work. The investigation had not
yielded any leads by year's end.
In November former Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died
in a Moscow prison in a case of what some observers considered to be
deliberate medical neglect (see section 1.c.).
On November 16, a well-known Russian antifascist activist, Ivan
Khutorskoi, was shot and killed by unknown persons in Moscow.
On December 10, Russian investigators announced that Gennadiy
Prudetskiy, the director of the charity Social Defense for Victims of
Repression, had been shot and killed in his car in the Siberian city of
Kemerovo. Investigators stated that they believed the killing could be
related to the victim's work at the local charity. No arrests had been
made by year's end.
On June 30, a court convicted one police officer of murder and two
others of ``abuse of office'' for the November 2008 killing of Armen
Gasparyan, whom the officers beat, then burned to death. The officers
had been trying to force Gasparyan to confess to a theft.
There was no indication that authorities were investigating the
October 2008 abduction and killing in Dagestan of Muslim religious
scholars Saihadji Saihadjiev, Nustap Abdurakhmanov, and Akhmed
Hadjimagomedov. Saihadjiev's family obtained his body, which showed
signs of severe torture.
The Ministry of Defense reported 14 deaths as a direct result of
hazing during the year. As in past years, human rights observers noted
that few of the persons accused in such incidents were prosecuted or
otherwise held accountable. However, in September the NGO Committee of
Soldiers' Mothers reported that the Office of the Military Prosecutor
had improved its prosecution record during the year.
Both government and rebel forces committed extrajudicial killings
in the conflicts in the North Caucasus region (see section 1.g.).
There were no indications that authorities were investigating
reports from Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other sources that hundreds
of civilians were killed in the areas under the control of Russian
forces in Georgia during the August 2008 conflict in South Ossetia and
Abkhazia. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated in
its September report that it ``cannot accept the apparent reluctance of
both Georgia and Russia to investigate in a credible manner serious
allegations of violations of human rights and humanitarian law
committed in the course of the war, as well as in its aftermath, by
their own forces, or militia and civilians under their de facto control
and jurisdiction.''
b. Disappearance.--There were numerous reports of politically
motivated disappearances during the year in connection with the
conflicts in the Northern Caucasus (see section 1.g.). There were no
reports of politically motivated disappearances that were not related
to the North Caucasus conflicts.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there
were numerous, credible reports that law enforcement personnel engaged
in torture, abuse, and violence to coerce confessions from suspects,
and there were allegations that authorities did not consistently hold
officials accountable for such actions. Reports of such treatment were
particularly numerous in connection with the conflict in the North
Caucasus (see section 1.g.). There were also a number of reports of
physical abuse of political and human rights activists by unidentified
assailants.
During 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found seven violations
by the country of the prohibition on torture, 63 violations by the
country of the prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment, and 11
violations by the country involving lack of effective investigation as
provided under article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Although prohibited in the constitution, torture is not defined in
the law. As a result, prosecutors could charge police suspected of
torture only with exceeding their authority or simple assault.
Although numerous, credible sources reported that the police
remained one of the country's least trusted institutions, the NGO
National Anticorruption Committee reported in June that the government
had made some positive steps towards curbing corruption and abuse by
law enforcement officers. These measures included equipping patrol cars
with video cameras to better monitor law enforcement actions and
requiring police officers to have their names sewn onto their uniforms.
Physical abuse of suspects by police officers usually occurred
within the first few hours or days after arrest. Some of the methods
reportedly used included beatings with fists, batons, or other objects;
oxygen deprivation using gas masks or bags (at times filled with Mace);
electric shock; and suspension by body parts, for example, by the
wrists. A 2008 report by Amnesty International documented numerous
cases of alleged torture. A February report by the human rights
ombudsman noted that one third of the complaints submitted to his
office involved human rights violations by law enforcement authorities.
On April 30, the relatively independent television channel REN-TV
reported that police held Nizhniy Novgorod resident Aleksey Yakimov and
tortured him for several hours. According to Yakimov, police tried to
drown him after he threatened to sue them for unjustified detention.
Yakimov subsequently spent a week in a hospital recuperating from his
injuries. There was no indication that authorities took action against
the officers involved in the incident.
There was no indication that authorities were investigating the
April 2008 police beatings of several young men near the Sokolniki
metro station in Moscow.
Reports by refugees, NGOs, and the press suggested a pattern of
police beatings, arrests, and extortion of persons with dark skin or
who appeared to be of Caucasus, Central Asian, African, or Romani
ethnicity.
In April prisoners' rights groups held a press conference attended
by government representatives, at which they detailed six serious
incidents of beating and other abuse of prisoners between May 2008 and
April 2009 in the oblasts of Tver, Vladimir, Chelyabinsk, and Kaluga,
the Republic of Mordovia, and the autonomous okrug of Khantiy-Mansisk.
At the conference organizers showed a secretly filmed clip of severe
abuse at one of the prisons, which they had passed to news
organizations. Only one television outlet, REN-TV, broadcast the clip,
but many viewers reportedly watched it on YouTube.
During the year there were a number of cases of unknown assailants
attacking human rights activists and critics of government policies and
institutions.
On April 1, human rights activist and former parliamentarian Lev
Ponomarev was attacked outside his home. He attributed the attack to
his human rights activities, in particular to his criticism of the
prison system. He had received numerous threats in the past. However,
authorities attributed the attack to street ``hooliganism.''
On April 12, Stanoslav Yakovlev, a member of the Solidarity
opposition party, was attacked and beaten while attending a rally
opposing military conscription. Solidarity sources suggested that the
attack was orchestrated by nationalist groups.
On July 25, unknown assailants shot and seriously injured Albert
Pchelintsev, a local anticorruption activist and freelance journalist
from the Khimki region of suburban Moscow. Pchelintsev had written
articles that accused the Khimki administration of corruption.
Colleagues said he had received numerous threats in connection with his
publications. The issue of corruption among local officials was also
connected to the serious 2008 beating of fellow journalist Mikhail
Bekhetov. As of year's end, authorities had not identified or arrested
suspects in either attack.
On November 17, 37-year-old lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in the
infirmary of Moscow's Butyrsky Prison. Magnitsky had worked as a lawyer
for Hermitage Capital, an investment fund that accused Interior
Ministry officials Artyom Kuznetsov and Pavel Karpov of stealing 5.4
billion rubles ($179 million) in a tax fraud scheme. After Magnitsky
gave testimony in court in 2008 against Kuznetsov and Karpov, officials
charged and arrested him on tax evasion charges that many observers
believed were fabricated. After a year in pretrial detention, Magnitsky
developed an infection in his pancreas but was refused medical
treatment and died. The official report of his cause of death was heart
failure, which was widely considered to be a false diagnosis intended
to hide the decision to deny him medical treatment. A number of human
rights activists believed Magnitsky's death to have been either
deliberate or the result of an attempt to pressure him to change his
testimony against Kuznetsov and Karpov. In the aftermath of Magnitsky's
death, there were a number of official investigations into treatment of
prisoners, and more than 20 officials in the prison system were fired.
In December, the Justice Ministry announced a formal criminal
investigation into Magnitsky's death, but no one had been criminally
charged by year's end.
In May 2008, following a public outcry and the intervention of the
human rights ombudsman, prison authorities moved former Yukos Oil
Company vice president Vasiliy Aleksanyan to a hospital. Aleksanyan,
who was charged with assisting Yukos in tax evasion in 2006 but never
tried, was HIV positive and had been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer
and tuberculosis. Following protests by human rights activists, the
ECHR in December 2008 ruled that the country had violated Aleksanyan's
rights and that he must be freed on bail. Aleksanyan was accordingly
freed and bail was set at 50 million rubles ($1.7 million). Some
commentators found the bail to be excessive, while others criticized
the long wait for his release, noting that upon release he was too weak
to move. In August, a Moscow court ruled that he was sufficiently
healthy to stand trial.
The Russian Research Center for Human Rights reported a few
instances in which psychiatric diagnoses were used against individuals
who expressed dissatisfaction with authorities. Officials and the
courts interpreted the law as restricting the provision of expert
testimony in court cases to the government's own consultants. However,
a council of experts within the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman in
some cases assisted persons whom it considered to have been treated
improperly by the courts. In July the Constitutional Court ruled that
confinement in a psychiatric clinic was tantamount to detention and
that such confinement may not continue for more than 48 hours in the
absence of court authorization.
On March 6, Vadim Charushev, an antifascist activist and founder of
a popular Internet group that addressed issues such as the country's
role in the Ukrainian famine and the 2008 conflict in Georgia, was
allegedly placed in a St. Petersburg psychiatric hospital
involuntarily. The hospital reportedly warned him that he would not be
released unless he signed a form stating that he had voluntarily
checked himself in. Charushev was released on March 30 after apparently
agreeing to do so. The Russian Independent Psychiatric Commission ruled
that there had been no violations in Charushev's case. Human Rights
Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin concurred with the ruling, although he stated
that concerns about possible abuse were justified, considering the
country's history in this area of medicine.
On May 25, following a court examination that revealed no
psychological problems, authorities released Sergey Cherepovsky, a
defense lawyer who had been sentenced to a psychiatric ward in
September 2008 by the Oktyabrsky District Court in Penza. Cherepovsky
was arrested in July 2008 and accused of using violence against an
official who tried to stop him from filming in a court building the
alleged harassment of his client, Valery Bychkov, a Penza city council
member and local official of Gary Kasparov's United Civic Front.
In December police arrested the deputy head of the Khabarovskiy
Krai Prosecutor's Office, Viktor Basov, for allegedly raping three
juvenile girls. Although the girls suffered numerous bruises, Basov
claimed that the acts were consensual. An investigator opened a
criminal case against Basov, but the Khabarovsk Krai chief prosecutor
refused to proceed. The investigators appealed this decision; there
were no further developments reported at year's end. Also in December,
police arrested a traffic officer for allegedly sexually assaulting 20
persons in southern Moscow.
Various abuses against military servicemen continued, including
``dedovshchina,'' the violent hazing of junior recruits in the military
and security services. Although military authorities hoped that the
transition towards a more professional military and the reduction of
conscripts' term of service to one year might have an impact on this
problem, soldiers serving on contracts reportedly replaced senior
soldiers as the main source of hazing. Such mistreatment often included
beatings or threats of increased hazing to extort money or material
goods. During the year regional committees of the NGO Committee for
Soliders' Mothers (CSM) reported receiving 9,523 complaints of hazing
mistreatment of servicemen from 20 regions of the country,
approximately the same number as in 2008. The complaints mostly
concerned beatings, but also included sexual abuse, torture, and
enslavement. Soldiers often did not report hazing to unit officers or
military prosecutors due to fear of reprisals, since in some cases
officers allegedly tolerated or even encouraged hazing as a means of
controlling their units. During the year, one in four hazing offenses
was committed by an officer who tried to conceal the offense. Such
cases were usually investigated only following pressure from family
members, NGOs, or the media. In May Ombudsman Lukin presented a report
to the State Duma detailing widespread hazing in the military.
According to CSM, in rare instances during the year conscripts were
forced into slave labor. On June 4, Moskovsky Komsomolets reported that
a soldier had returned home after allegedly being sold into slavery by
his commanders five years earlier. The 23-year-old soldier was
reportedly white-haired and lame when he returned. Authorities denied
the accusations and insisted that the soldier deserted his post in
2005.
In October a military spokesman claimed that hazing cases decreased
by 12 percent during year; however, hazing cases continued to be
reported. On October 3, at a military base in the Kamenka village near
St. Petersburg, three inebriated sergeants severely beat 16 conscripts
and contract servicemen. Two soldiers left the base and reported the
beatings. In December the commander of the Leningrad Military District
ordered an investigation into practices at the base, and as a result
eight officers were dismissed from the armed forces.
On October 11, 19-year-old private Denis Kostenko of Volgograd died
by hanging in his unit in Khabarovskiy Krai after four months of
service. In connection with the case, two second-year sergeants were
suspected of humiliating treatment of recruits; an investigation was
underway at year's end. Also in October, four enlisted men from
Chelyabinsk left their unit in the Amur Oblast and returned home after
being violently hazed by senior soldiers. Medical examinations revealed
numerous traumas, and their parents filed a criminal complaint.
The human rights ombudsman, as well as the CSM, also stated that
there was a growing problem with young civilian men being forced to
sign contracts to serve in the military forces.
The St. Petersburg branch of CSM noted an increase in reports of
illegal impressments in August 2008, reportedly in connection to the
conflict with Georgia. On June 3, Interfax reported that the practice
was continuing, with Moscow police allegedly raiding several residences
in and around Moscow State University and forcibly taking young male
students to the draft office and coercing them to sign up for military
service. There were approximately 15 complaints of such practices by
the security services during the year. The CSM estimated that 30
percent of conscripts were forced into service in violation of their
rights.
There was evidence that military authorities made an effort to deal
with the abuse problem. According to CSM research released in
September, the military prosecutor accepted for adjudication
approximately 80 percent of complaints from conscripts from January to
September. In Volgograd and Nizhniy Novgorod, local branches of the CSM
helped persuade military prosecutors to pursue cases in the courts.
However, many of those convicted continued serving in the army under a
``conditional'' sentence. The chief military prosecutor announced in
November that 800 officers had faced criminal charges in connection
with hazing during the period from January to November. As in the past,
hazing problems were reported to be particularly common in units that
had previously served in areas of military conflict.
Military authorities continued active implementation of First
Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov's initiative to assign parent
committees to military units and to form commissions that administer
the military draft. By the end of 2007, parent committees were assigned
to 142 military units and 12 military commissariats.
During the year both government and rebel forces engaged in the
conflict in the North Caucasus region reportedly tortured and otherwise
mistreated civilians as well as participants in the conflict (see
section 1.g.).
There were no indications that authorities were investigating
reports from HRW and other sources that numerous civilians were
physically mistreated in the areas under the control of Russian forces
in Georgia during the August 2008 conflict in South Ossetia and
Abkhazia.
A report publicly released on September 30 issued by the EU-funded
Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in
Georgia, widely known as the Tagliavini report, concluded that all
parties to the conflict-Georgian, Russian, Abkhaz, and South Ossetian
forces.''committed violations of International Humanitarian Law and
Human Rights Law,'' including indiscriminate attacks by Georgian and
Russian forces, widespread looting and destruction of ethnic Georgian
villages, mistreatment, rape, assault, hostage taking, and arbitrary
arrests by South Ossetians, and the failure of Russian forces to
prevent or stop such violations in areas under their effective control.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
extremely harsh and could be life threatening. The Ministry of
Justice's Federal Service for the Execution of Sentences (FSIN)
administered most of the penitentiary system from Moscow. According an
official FSIN prison survey conducted in January, 887,500 persons were
in custody, including 8,500 juveniles and 55,300 women. Of these,
734,300 were held in labor colonies and 144,700 in pretrial detention
centers. Detainees were held in five basic forms of custody: temporary
police detention centers; pretrial detention facilities (SIZOs);
correctional labor colonies (ITKs); prisons, designated for those who
violate ITK rules; and educational labor colonies (VTKs) for juveniles.
Abuse of prisoners by other prisoners continued to be a problem.
Violence among inmates, including beating and rape, was common. There
were elaborate inmate-enforced caste systems in which certain groups,
including informers, homosexuals, rapists, prison rape victims, and
child molesters were considered ``untouchable'' (the lowest caste) and
treated harshly. Prison authorities provided little or no protection.
In June opendemocracy.net reported on the existence of 12 special
colonies in the Kirov Oblast, which it referred to as ``torture
colonies,'' where prisoners were sent for ``bad behavior'' such as
arguing with prison staff or demanding protection of their rights.
Conditions in SIZO pretrial facilities varied considerably, but
many remained extremely harsh and posed a serious threat to health and
life. Health, nutrition, and sanitation standards remained low. Poor
ventilation was thought to contribute to cardiac problems and lowered
resistance to disease. Overcrowding was common, and the Federal Prison
Service reported that approximately 158,000 suspects were being held in
pretrial detention facilities designed to house 130,000.
Most convicted prisoners were imprisoned in ITKs. These facilities
provided greater freedom of movement than SIZOs; however, at times
guards humiliated, beat, and starved prisoners. The country's prisons,
distinct from ITKs, are penitentiary institutions for those who
repeatedly violate the rules in ITKs.
Federal standards call for a minimum of four square meters
(approximately 43 square feet) per inmate. Widespread overcrowding
remained a problem; however, the NGO Penal Reform International
reported some progress in meeting this standard. President Medvedev
moved to reduce the prison system's chronic overcrowding problem by
issuing more pardons than his predecessor, and in August the government
implemented a broader use of punishment short of prison for persons
convicted of lesser crimes.
In recent years official statistics have generally recorded several
thousand prisoner deaths per year in SIZOs. Penal Reform International
reported that from 2007 to 2008, the mortality rate increased by 3.7
percent. Most preventable deaths resulted from poor sanitary conditions
or inadequate medical care, but there were press reports of prisoners
who were mistreated, injured, or killed by other prisoners or, in some
instances, prison staff. The number of inmates infected with
tuberculosis and HIV increased. According to FSIN data, as of January
795,000 inmates, or nearly 90 percent of persons incarcerated in the
federal prison system, had some type of illness. Approximately 400,000
inmates had mental disorders, 40,000 had active tuberculosis, 42,000
had HIV, 46,000 were drug addicts, and 26,000 were chronic alcoholics.
Tuberculosis infection rates were far higher in detention facilities
than in the population at large.
In May 2008 guards in a Chelyabinsk prison killed four inmates
while using excessive force to end a riot. In January eight prison
employees of the IK-1 (penal colony number 1) in Kopeysk, Chelyabinsk
Oblast, were subsequently charged with brutality for beating inmates to
death. In October investigators in Chelyabinsk charged the head of the
Oblast's FSIN, Vladimir Zhidkov, with deliberately covering up the
killings. Zhidkov faced either a fine of 200,000 rubles ($6,613) or a
prison term of two years. The case continued at year's end.
As of June 1, 62 VTKs held 8,500 juvenile prisoners. Conditions in
the VTKs were significantly better than in the ITKs, but some juveniles
in the VTKs and juvenile SIZO cells reportedly suffered from beatings
and rape. While juveniles were generally held separately from adults,
there were two prisons in Moscow and one in St. Petersburg where
children and adults were not separated.
In 2008 tDuring the year he ECHR found that the country violated
the European Convention on Human Rights in five cases involving the
improper housing and transporting of prisoners.
Human rights observers were able to visit most of the country's
penal institutions; however, according to the NGO For Human Rights, of
765 prisons, officials did not allow human rights observers or defense
attorneys to enter the 41 institutions with the worst records of such
abuses as torture or collective punishment.
Since 2004 authorities have refused to grant the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access under its standard criteria to
persons detained as part of the conflict in Chechnya, and the ICRC has
suspended its detention visits to these institutions. However, human
rights groups visited extralegal detention centers in Chechnya and
other locations in the North Caucasus, where they documented continuing
abuses.
Persons convicted for minor offenses may often spend six months in
prison before having a chance at parole.
On June 30, President Medvedev signed a law allowing courts to
reduce the sentence of a defendant who agrees to cooperate with
authorities to no more than one half of the maximum sentence for the
crime to which he confesses, with the exception of crimes punishable by
life imprisonment or death. In cases of life imprisonment, the sentence
is capped at no more than 13.5 years.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, in practice they remained problems.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service, and the Office of the
Prosecutor General are responsible for law enforcement at all levels of
government. The Federal Security Service's core responsibilities are
security, counterintelligence, and counterterrorism, but it also has
broader law enforcement functions, including fighting crime and
corruption. The Federal Security Service operated with little oversight
by the prosecutor general or the courts.
The national police force, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
is organized at the federal, regional, and local levels. Although there
are laws and regulations against corruption, corruption was widespread,
and there were few crackdowns on illegal police activity.
During the first nine months of the year, according to the
investigative branch of the Office of the Chief Prosecutor, the number
of cases opened against law enforcement officials for abuse of their
positions increased over the same period in 2008.
In November Novorossiysk Ministry of Internal Affairs Major Aleksey
Dymovskiy made a video request to Prime Minister Putin to address
widespread corruption among law enforcement officers. Authorities did
not investigate Dymovskiy's allegations, and he was later was charged
with abuse of office and fraud.
During the year there were many cases of individuals detained in
the Georgian separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on
charges related to their ``illegal'' crossing of the administrative
boundary line with undisputed Georgian territory. Russian Border
Guards, who began administering the boundary lines in May, carried out
many of those detentions by enforcing boundary-crossing rules imposed
by de facto authorities, but then generally handed custody of the
individuals over to the de facto authorities. In most cases the
individuals were released within a few hours or days.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law an
individual may be taken into custody for up to 48 hours without court
approval if arrested at the scene of a crime, provided there is
evidence of the crime or a witness. Otherwise a court-approved arrest
warrant is required. After their arrest detainees are typically taken
to the nearest police station, where they are informed of their rights.
Police are required to write an official protocol stating the grounds
for the detention, which is to be signed by the detainee and the police
officer within three hours of detention. Police must interrogate the
detainee within the first 24 hours of detention. Prior to interrogation
the detainee has the right to meet with an attorney for two hours. No
later than 12 hours after detention, police must notify the prosecutor.
They must also notify the detainee's relatives unless a prosecutor
issues a warrant to keep the detention secret.
Police are required to release a detainee after 48 hours, subject
to bail conditions, unless a court decides to prolong custody in
response to a motion filed by police no later than eight hours before
the expiration of the 48-hour detention period. The defendant and
attorney must be present at the court hearing. By law police must
complete their investigation and transfer the case file to a prosecutor
for arraignment within two months of a suspect's arrest, although a
court may extend a criminal investigation for up to six months in cases
classified as complex. With the personal approval of the prosecutor
general, a judge may extend that period up to 18 months.
Legal limitations on detention were generally respected outside of
the Northern Caucasus; however, there were exceptions. There were
reports of occasional violations of the 48-hour limit for holding an
arrestee. At times authorities failed to write the official protocol of
detention within the required three hours after the actual detention
and held suspects longer than the legal detention limits. In addition,
there were reports that police, in obtaining defense counsel for
detainees, obtained defense counsel friendly to the prosecution. These
``pocket'' defense attorneys agreed to the interrogation of their
clients in their presence while making no effort to defend their
clients' legal rights. The general ignorance of legal rights on the
part of both defendants and their legal counsel contributed to the
persistence of these violations. In many cases, especially in more
remote regions, defense counsel was not available for indigent
defendants.
Judges occasionally suppressed confessions of suspects if they were
taken without a lawyer present. They also at times freed suspects who
were held in excess of detention limits, although they usually granted
prosecutors' motions to extend the detention period for good cause. The
Supreme Court overturned a number of cases in which lower court judges
permitted prolonged detention on what the Supreme Court deemed
inadequate grounds.
Authorities selectively detained and prosecuted members of the
political opposition. In August Yabloko youth leader Ilya Yashin was
arrested and held briefly during a protest against obstacles Yabloko
faced in gathering signatures for the October Moscow City Duma
elections. In August the ECHR ruled that a court had violated the
rights of Sergey Medvedev, a member of the prohibited National
Bolshevik party, who had been kept in pretrial detention for two years
before a sentence of disorderly conduct was passed.
In April Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev signed a decree
allowing human rights groups to monitor conditions of arrest and
detention for pretrial detainees. However, the decree lacked firm
instructions on a mechanism to implement the plan, leaving authorities
with discretion as to whether to cooperate. The decree also required
that officials be present during any discussions of conditions with
prisoners. The liberal newspaper Noviye Izvestiye reported in October
that the law had achieved mixed results, with some prison officials
highly cooperative and others obstructionist, although in the latter
case human rights advocates attributed much the problem to lack of
education among prison officials about the new law.
Amnesty.--On March 12, Ingush president Yunus-Bek Yevkurov
announced an amnesty for participants in ``illegal militant groups'' on
the condition that they gave themselves up voluntarily and had not
participated in serious crimes. Yevkurov stated that he had received
approval from the federal government for this decision and added that
he was ready for dialogue with insurgents. Several days prior to the
announcement, he had announced a ``financial'' amnesty for officials
accused of corruption in the republic. Neither amnesty policy had had a
noticeable impact at year's end.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the judicial branch did not
consistently act as an effective counterweight to other branches of the
government. Judges remained subject to influence from the executive,
military, and security forces, particularly in high profile or
politically sensitive cases.
The law requires judicial approval of arrest warrants, searches,
seizures, and detentions. This approval was generally honored, although
the process of obtaining the judicial warrants was occasionally
corrupted.
An investigation committee, which is located within the Office of
the Prosecutor General but whose chief is appointed directly by the
president, oversees the investigation of many serious cases.
Despite increases in judges' salaries, including an 8.5 percent
raise in 2008, reports of judges being bribed by officials and others
continued. In December 2008 the Supreme Qualifying Collegium of Judges
reported that during the last four years, an average of 70 judges per
year were removed from office while approximately 300 warnings per year
were issued for a variety of offenses, including unreasonable length
for processing cases, alcohol-related and other lapses of behavior, and
conflicts of interest/corruption related issues.
Authorities did not provide adequate protection for witnesses and
victims from intimidation or threats from powerful criminal defendants.
In May the Ministry of Internal Affairs estimated that nearly half of
the approximately 10 million witnesses in criminal cases suffered
threats or violence from criminal elements; they noted that the
existence of the witness protection program was little known among the
population. In an August article in Profile magazine, the Ministry of
Internal Affairs estimated that 5.5 million witnesses in current cases
required protection; however, it acknowledged that in the first six
months of the year, they had only succeeded in providing this help to
834.
In February a Moscow judge, Olga Kudeshkina, publicly criticized
Moscow's judicial system, alleging widespread improper influence on
rulings and calling it an ``instrument for settling political,
commercial, or personal scores.'' She was subsequently dismissed from
her position. She appealed her case to the ECHR, which in August
awarded her 10,000 euros ($14,300).
The judiciary is divided into three branches. The courts of general
jurisdiction, including military courts, are subordinate to the Supreme
Court. They hear civil and criminal cases and include district courts,
which serve every urban and rural district, and regional courts.
Decisions of the lower trial courts can be appealed only to the
immediately superior court unless a constitutional issue is involved.
An arbitration (commercial) court system under the High Court of
Arbitration constitutes a second branch of the judicial system.
Arbitration courts hear cases involving business disputes between legal
entities and between legal entities and the state. The Federal
Constitutional Court (as well as constitutional courts in a number of
administrative entities) constitutes the third branch. Justices of the
peace in localities deal with criminal cases involving maximum
sentences of less than three years and with some civil cases. Justices
of the peace work in all regions except Chechnya.
In May the State Duma passed a law proposed by President Medvedev
that allows him to appoint the head, deputy head, and court secretary
of the Constitutional Court directly and that extends these officials'
terms in office from three to six years. Judicial experts stated that
the law contradicts the principle of judicial independence.
The president approves judges after they have been nominated by the
qualifying collegia, which are assemblies of judges and some members of
the public. Judges (except for the judges on the three highest courts,
the Constitutional, Supreme, and Higher Arbitrazh Courts) have
heretofore been subject to a one-time, three-year ``probationary
period'' that they had to complete satisfactorily before their term was
made for life (although subject to mandatory retirement at age 70).
After the probationary period was criticized as potentially undermining
the independence of new appointees, President Medvedev signed a law in
July that abolished the probationary period to remove this potential
threat to the independence of the new appointees. The powers wielded by
chief judges (who are presidential appointees) over their courts still
permit encroachment by the chief judges on the independence of
individual judges.
In June the Council of Europe issued a report, based on interviews
with judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and defendants, which
asserted that judges routinely received intimidating telephone calls
from superiors instructing them how to rule in specific cases, with
particular emphasis placed on delivering convictions at any cost. The
report stated that defense attorneys were frequently threatened and
that corporations were at the mercy of corrupt law enforcement
officials. Among the cases detailed in the report was one of a Moscow
region judge who was dismissed and told publicly by a United Russia
Duma deputy that she ``ought to be shot'' after voiding the results of
a local election.
In November the human rights ombudsman reported that most of the
complaints that his office received in the previous year involved
alleged violations of human rights during criminal court proceedings.
In December, two Constitutional Court judges resigned in protest over
what they stated was the justice system's lack of judicial
independence.
Trial Procedures.--Trials typically are conducted before a judge
without a jury (bench trials). The defendant is presumed innocent. The
defense is not required to present evidence and is given an opportunity
to cross-examine witnesses and call defense witnesses. Defendants who
are in custody during the trial are confined to a caged area and must
consult with their attorneys through the bars. Defendants have the
right of appeal.
The law provides for the use of jury trials for a limited category
of ``especially grave'' crimes, such as murder, in higher-level
regional courts.
During the year the ECHR on multiple occasions found the country in
violation of provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights with
regard to trial procedures. In 2008, the latest year for which
statistics were available, the court found 159 violations by the
country involving the right to a fair trial and 20 violations involving
proceedings that exceeded a ``reasonable'' length of time.
There has been a trend to further limit the use of jury trials. In
December 2008 the State Duma enacted, and the president signed, a law
providing that certain crimes, including terrorism, espionage, hostage
taking, and mass disorder, would be heard by panels of three judges
rather than by juries. Supporters of the legislation justified it on
the grounds of the war on terrorism and juries' alleged incompetence to
judge cases involving terrorism, espionage, and state security. They
also alleged that clan relations in the North Caucasus made it
impossible to empanel objective juries there. Although the competence
of jury trial participants, including advocates for both parties and to
some extent judges, remained a serious concern to domestic and
international observers, critics described the legislation as a
violation of the constitution and a major step backwards in the
protection of individual liberties.
No further action was taken during the year on a draft law
introduced in the State Duma in December 2008 that would substantially
expand the definitions of espionage and treason. The draft law caused
serious concern among some lawyers, human rights activists, and
government officials who claimed that, if enacted, the law would
provide virtually unfettered discretion to security forces to charge
almost anyone who had any contact with foreign governments or
international organizations or persons with treason. In February, after
consulting with the newly reconstituted Presidential Council on Human
Rights, President Medvedev announced that the draft law would be
revised to reflect these concerns. The law had not been discussed
further by year's end.
The government substantially increased the use of plea bargaining
in criminal cases, and plea agreements increased from 10,000 in 2002 to
more than 380,000 in 2007, the most recent year for which statistics
were available. Plea bargains reduced defendants' time in pretrial
detention, reduced the average prison sentence by one third, and
allowed the courts and prosecutors to devote their resources to other
cases. Some critics of law enforcement practices expressed fears that
plea bargaining is subject to abuse by the authorities.
Prior to trial, defendants are provided a copy of their indictment,
which describes the charges in detail. They are also given an
opportunity to review the criminal file following the completion of the
criminal investigation. Defense attorneys were allowed to visit their
clients in detention, although conditions reportedly made it difficult
for attorneys to conduct meaningful and confidential consultations with
their clients.
The law provides for the appointment of an attorney free of charge
if a suspect cannot afford one; however, this provision was often
ignored in practice. The high cost of competent legal service meant
that lower-income defendants often lacked competent representation.
There were few defense attorneys in remote areas of the country. Public
centers, staffed on a part-time basis by lawyers, continued to offer
free advice on legal rights and recourse under the law; however, they
were not permitted to handle individual cases. The federal government
funded a limited experimental system of legal assistance for indigent
persons in 10 regions.
According to the NGO Independent Council of Legal Expertise,
defense lawyers were the targets of police harassment. Professional
associations at federal and local levels reported efforts by police to
intimidate attorneys and cover up their own criminal activities.
Authorities often abrogated due process in pursuing espionage cases
involving persons, including foreigners, who allegedly obtained
information that security services considered sensitive. In some
instances prosecutors pursued such cases after earlier courts had
rejected them. The proceedings in some of these cases took place behind
closed doors, and the defendants and their attorneys encountered
difficulties in learning the details of the charges. Some human rights
observers contended that the Federal Security Service pursued these
cases to discourage citizens and foreigners from investigating problems
that the security services considered sensitive.
In March, two scientists published an article in Novaya Gazeta
accusing the government of deliberately targeting scientists on
spurious spying charges. According to the article, more than 20
scientists had been detained without grounds in recent years. The
article's authors alleged that the Federal Security Service
groundlessly arrested the scientists for spying to create the
impression that the government was protecting the country from foreign
enemies. One of the scientists was Igor Reshetina, the former head of
Tsniimash Export, who has been in custody since 2005 on charges of
transferring precision engineering technology to a Chinese corporation
in violation of state export controls.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Human rights organizations and
activists identified the following individuals as political prisoners:
Aleksey Sokolov, Zara Murtazaliyeva, Valentin Danilov, Igor Sutyagin,
Mikhail Khodorkovskiy, and Platon Lebedev. All remained imprisoned at
year's end.
On May 13, authorities arrested Aleksey Sokolov, the head of the
Sverdlovsk-based NGO Legal Basis, for allegedly participating in a
burglary in 2004. Legal Basis investigated allegations of torture in
penal colonies in Yekaterinburg and Tyumen as well as of corruption
among senior FSIN officials in the Sverdlovsk Oblast. In February,
Sokolov received an invitation from the Public Chamber of the Russian
Federation to join the chamber's observation commission in the
Sverdlovsk Oblast. At the same time Sokolov began receiving warnings
that local authorities would ``find a reason'' to imprison him if he
continued his human rights work. After his arrest, Sokolov was taken to
an undisclosed location and denied access to his family and his lawyer.
On July 31, the Sverdlovsk provincial court ruled that Sokolov's
detention had been unlawful and ordered him released. However, the
local prosecutor immediately opened a new case against Sokolov for
allegedly stealing welding equipment, based entirely on the testimony
of two inmates serving sentences for unrelated crimes. HRW alleged that
the two inmates accused him after being mistreated in the prison. The
court barred observers from attending an August 2-4 hearing on the
legality of Sokolov's arrest and extended Sokolov's detention. The date
for his release on bail was first set for October 23 and then moved to
November 6. However, law enforcement officials refused to release him
on November 6 and continued to bar him from meeting with family
members. A November 23 hearing found the extensions of Sokolov's
detention to be valid but did not provide a legal explanation.
Zara Murtazaliyeva of Chechnya, a 23-year-old insurance worker with
no history of involvement with extremism, continued serving a nine-year
sentence handed down in 2004 for allegedly preparing a terrorist attack
in Moscow. Murtazaliyeva's defense lawyers and human rights defenders
who monitored her trial maintained that the charges against her were
fabricated, and some considered her a political prisoner. Appeals to
the Presidium of the Supreme Court and the ECHR in 2005 were pending at
year's end.
Valentin Danilov continued serving a 13-year prison sentence for
allegedly transferring classified technology to China, although
colleagues and supporters asserted that the information in question was
declassified over a decade before his arrest.
Igor Sutyagin, a disarmament researcher with the Institute for U.S.
and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, convicted in
2004 on espionage-related charges, continued serving a 15-year sentence
in a maximum security prison for allegedly passing classified
information about the country's nuclear weapons to a London-based firm.
Former Yukos owners Mikhail Khodorkovskiy and Platon Lebedev
continued to serve eight-year prison sentences following their 2005
convictions for fraud, tax evasion, and embezzlement.
At the end of February, authorities moved Khodorkovskiy and Lebedev
from Chita to Moscow, where, on March 3, a second trial against them
began on new charges of money laundering and tax evasion; convictions
could extend their imprisonment to as long as 15 years. The second
trial continued at year's end. The defendants, as well as a number of
observers, questioned the validity of the new charges, calling the
amount of oil allegedly stolen unrealistic; they asserted that the
money allegedly stolen from Yukos had covered its operating expenses
and been invested, and they noted that it was illogical to combine the
initial charges of tax evasion with the second charges alleging stolen
assets. There was a mix of opinions as to whether due process was being
followed in the second trial. One representative of the International
Bar Association, who observed the case through the year, stated his
opinion that the trial was being conducted properly in terms of
following procedures to protect defendants' rights. However, other
observers continued to raise concerns about due process.
On December 23, the Russian Supreme Court ruled that the 2003
decision to arrest and detain Lebedev was illegal, in keeping with a
2007 ECHR ruling. The ruling indicated only that the first two months
of Lebdev's six years to date of incarceration were illegal.
In April gazeta.ru reported that, during the second Khordokovskiy/
Lebedev trial, authorities blocked video testimony from former Yukos
manager Antonio Valdez-Garcia. Valdez-Garcia, who claimed he was
staying abroad for his safety, alleged that he returned to the country
in 2005 to give evidence in the Yukos case, but when he failed to
accuse Khodorkovskiy and Lebedev, investigators beat and threatened
him.
The arrest, conviction, and subsequent treatment of Khodorkovskiy
raised concerns about due process and the rule of law, including the
independence of courts and the lack of a predictable tax regime. Some
observers believed that, while the charges against Khodorkovskiy may
have had some merit, he was selectively targeted for prosecution
because of his political activities and as a warning to other oligarchs
against involvement in political or civil society issues or providing
financial support to independent civil society.
On April 21, after a year-long public campaign for her release that
garnered more than 100,000 signatures, a Moscow court released former
Yukos lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina. In 2006 Bakhmina was convicted of tax
evasion and embezzlement and sentenced to seven years in prison,
reduced on appeal to six and a one-half years. Some human rights groups
had considered Bakhmina a political prisoner and claimed that she was
held in an attempt to pressure Dmitriy Gololobov, her former superior
at Yukos, to return from London.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law permits an
individual or business to seek civil compensation for a criminal
violation. The law also provides for bringing a criminal or civil case
on human rights violations, but implementation was inconsistent.
Property Restitution.--Restitution of religious property seized by
the Communist regime remained a problem, particularly for Muslim and
Protestant groups. Many properties used for religious services,
including churches, synagogues, and mosques have been returned, but
efforts to secure the return of other property continued, and the
return of property originally used for schools and other functions not
strictly linked to worship has been more difficult to achieve.
The Russian Orthodox Church had greater success reclaiming
prerevolutionary property than other groups, although it still had
disputed property claims, including claims to 30 properties in Moscow
alone. The church also continued to face property difficulties
concerning the Yaroslavl Kremlin. By January 1, all of the religious
buildings at the Yaroslavl Kremlin had been returned to the Russian
Orthodox Church except for the main cathedral. During 2008 the church
continued to try to reclaim a mansion on Moscow's Red Square that it
alleged was expropriated in 1917, but the government has not enforced
court rulings in the church's favor in the case.
In 2006 Muslims in Beslan appealed to the Presidential Council for
Cooperation with Religious Associations to return the historic
Cathedral Mosque, which was occupied by a vodka bottling plant and a
bottle washing shop, to the Muslim community.
The Jewish community was seeking the return of a number of
synagogues, religious scrolls, and cultural and religious artifacts,
such as the Schneerson book collection, which authorities claimed as
part of the country's cultural heritage.
The Roman Catholic Church reported 44 disputed properties,
including the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Moscow.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and it forbids
officials from entering a private residence except in cases prescribed
by federal law or on the basis of a judicial decision; however, this
prohibition was not always respected in practice. The law also
prohibits government monitoring of correspondence, telephone
conversations, and other means of communication without a warrant and
prohibits the collection, storage, utilization, and dissemination of
information about a person's private life without his or her consent.
While these provisions were generally followed, there were allegations
that government officials and others engaged in electronic surveillance
without judicial permission and entered residences and other premises
without warrants. In 2007 prosecutors brought several cases against law
enforcement officers for illegal wiretapping. Illegal wiretapping
charges were also brought against a former high-ranking member of the
State Narcotics Control Service. The cases continued at year's end.
Boris Kuznetsov, a prominent human rights lawyer, remained abroad
after fleeing prosecution in 2007 for allegedly revealing state secrets
after he presented a court with transcripts of conversations of a
client he was defending that had been recorded by the Federal Security
Service without court authorization. A number of human rights observers
described the charges against Kuznetsov as politically motivated, since
he had represented sensitive high-profile clients, such as the family
of Anna Politkovskaya. In February 2008 Kuznetsov received political
asylum abroad. He appealed to the ECHR, which reportedly accepted the
case. In May a Moscow court began examining a request by the
Investigative Committee of the General Prosecutor's office that the
case be reopened in the hopes of securing Kuznetsov's extradition to
face the charges against him. At year's end he remained abroad.
Law enforcement agencies have legal access to telephone, including
cellular company clients' personal information and require providers to
grant the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service
24-hour remote access to their client databases. In past years some
experts asserted that this access was unconstitutional; however, the
practice has not been challenged in court.
The government requires Internet service providers to provide
dedicated lines to the security establishment, enabling police to track
private e-mail communications and monitor Internet activity. On January
16, the Ministry of Information and Communication officially required
telecommunications companies and Internet service providers to allow
the Federal Security Service to tap telephone calls and monitor
information over the Internet. The ministry maintained that no
information would be accessed without a court order, but there was no
way to verify whether authorities respected this restriction in
practice. There were no new wiretapping cases during the year.
On July 21, the Ministry of Communication issued a decree stating
that law enforcement agencies would henceforth have the right to
examine citizens' mail. They would also have access to a database of
users of postal services, including their use of the services and their
postal addresses. Human rights activists and the human rights ombudsman
criticized the ruling as a violation of citizens' constitutional
rights. A ministry representative stated to journalists that agents
would be able to exercise these powers only in conjunction with a court
decision, which they would need to receive within 48 hours of any mail
check. However, observers noted that the condition that would permit
the ministry to seek this authority, namely a ``threat to the state
security of the Russian Federation,'' could be open to broad
interpretation. On September 4, the investigative branch of the General
Prosecutor's Office found the initiative to be unconstitutional.
However, with the backing of the General Prosecutor's Office, a St.
Petersburg journalist appealed the ministry's decree to the
Constitutional Court; on September 14, the court upheld the
constitutionality of the ministry's decree.
Human rights observers continued to allege that officers in the
special services abused their positions by gathering compromising
materials on public figures. Regional branches of the Federal Security
Service reportedly continued to exert pressure on citizens employed by
foreign firms and organizations, often to coerce them into becoming
informants.
According to an HRW report detailing abuses by parties to the
August 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia, Russian forces were at
times involved in looting and destruction, either as passive witnesses
to abuses by Ossetian militias or providers of transport that enabled
the militias to engage in such activities. There was no official
response that addressed these allegations.
Federal forces and progovernment Chechen forces reportedly abducted
relatives of rebel commanders and fighters.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
During the year complex and interlocking insurgencies caused continuing
instability in the North Caucasus, with a marked upsurge in incidents
committed by government and insurgent forces during the year. Overall,
there were increases in disappearances, killings, and other abuses.
There were reports that federal and local security forces seeking to
quell the insurgencies continued to use excessive force and to engage
in human rights abuses, including torture, summary executions,
disappearances, and arbitrary detentions. Authorities in the North
Caucasus reportedly acted with impunity, and some observers alleged
that the federal government had ceded de facto control of the region to
local authorities. Rebels also continued to commit human rights abuses,
including major acts of terrorism and summary executions.
In Chechnya, although remnants of a nationalist insurgency
persisted, the role and number of federal forces decreased
considerably, leaving most security operations to local forces. On
April 16, the National Antiterrorist Committee announced the formal end
of counterterrorist operations in Chechnya along with plans to reduce
federal forces there from 50,000 to 25,000. Subsequently, however,
instances of violence increased.
In the Republic of Ingushetiya, unrest worsened considerably. A
counterterrorist campaign, initiated after an attempt on the life of
President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov in June, was lifted upon Yevkurov's return
to duties in August.
In Dagestan, where there was a widening insurgency, a
counterterrorist campaign was announced in August after an attack by
militants on the central police barracks in Nazran. In Kabardino-
Balkariya, a temporary counterterrorist regime was lifted on August 29,
following the death of three militants in a firefight outside Nalchik.
An HRW report released in September concluded that the central
government had failed to act on any of the ECHR rulings that called on
it to investigate specific human rights violations in Chechnya.
According to the report, the court had issued 115 rulings relating to
Chechnya, almost all of which found the country responsible for serious
human rights violations and for failure to investigate the crimes. HRW
researched 33 of the cases and found that the government had not
brought a single perpetrator to justice, even in cases where the court
named the persons allegedly responsible.
Killings.--There were numerous killings related to the conflict
during the year, including those committed by the government and by
rebels. The NGO Memorial reported that, during the year, 30 civilians
were killed in Chechnya, 14 civilians were killed in Dagestan, and 158
civilians were killed in Ingushetiya. Rebels engaged in many killings
of government officials in the North Caucasus. Memorial noted that 342
law enforcement officers lost their lives during the year, and the
Council of Europe stated that 142 members of the security forces were
killed and 280 injured during the three summer months of 2009, the
highest level of losses among the police and the army in four years. On
September 29, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev reported that, in the
first nine months of the year, 270 insurgents had been killed and 450
arrested in the North Caucasus. According to Dagestan's president,
Mukhu Aliyev, 150 insurgents, including five foreigners, were killed in
the republic, and 29 were detained. According to the Internet-based
news portal Caucasian Knot, as a result of armed clashes and special
operations, 177 suspected militants were killed, 213 were detained, and
16 surrendered in Chechnya. In Ingushetiya, 129 suspected militants
were killed and 34 were detained.
Indiscriminate use of force by government forces in areas of the
North Caucasus with significant civilian populations resulted in
numerous deaths. Security forces generally conducted their activities
with disregard for due process, civilian casualities, and apparent
impunity from investigation or prosecution for their conduct.
Human rights organizations reported that there were more killings,
attacks, and abductions of both officials and other citizens in
Ingushetiya during the year than in any other republic in the North
Caucasus. In June a suicide bomber attacked the motorcade of
Ingushetiya's president, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, leaving him in serious
condition in the hospital. Yevkurov recovered and reassumed his duties
in August.
On January 13, assailants in Vienna shot and killed Umar Israilov,
a former bodyguard of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov and who later
became a critic of Kadyrov's rule. Israilov had filed a complaint with
the ECHR in which he stated that he had witnessed Kadyrov torturing
prisoners and that Chechen authorities and Kadyrov had also beaten and
tortured him and his family. At the time of the killing, opposition
journalists described a ``hit list'' allegedly found in Kadyrov's
residence containing the names of 5,000 persons considered threats to
the president. On February 24, Polish authorities arrested a suspect in
the Israilov killing and charged him in an unrelated case. As of year's
end, Austrian police had arrested eight Chechens for suspected
involvement in the case, but a trial had not yet taken place.
On March 28, Sulim Yamadayev, a member of a powerful Chechen family
that formerly had ties to President Kadyrov but subsequently became
involved in high-profile disputes with him, was shot in Dubai and
reportedly died there on March 30. On April 8, Dubai police issued an
arrest warrant for Adam Delimkhanov, Kadyrov's cousin and a State Duma
deputy with the United Russia party, and charged him with masterminding
the shooting. On July 28, Sulim's brother, Isa Yamadayev, was attacked
in his Moscow apartment.
In March Natalia Estemirova, a prominent human rights activist and
journalist, told The Los Angeles Times that she believed Kadyrov was
orchestrating a campaign against the Yamadayevs to prevent the
investigation of serious crimes committed in recent years in Chechnya
by eliminating those who had useful information on the crimes. A few
months later, on July 15, several men abducted Estemirova from outside
her home in Grozniy, killed her, and left her body in neighboring
Ingushetiya (see section 1.a.).
On August 10, in Chechnya, five armed men abducted and killed
charity workers Zarema Sadulayeva and Alik Dzhabrailov, who were
married. The couple ran the Grozniy-based NGO Save the Generation,
which helped Chechen children suffering from disabilities caused by the
conflict. A witness said that three of the abductors wore uniforms and
identified themselves as members of the local security services, saying
that they would return with the couple. The bodies of Sadulayeva and
Dzhabrailov were later found in the trunk of a car with multiple
gunshot wounds. At the end of the year, the federal General
Prosecutor's Office concluded that the assailants had killed
Dzhabrailov because of his former activities as a militant and that
Sadulayeva had died because of her proximity to Dzhabrailov. There were
no arrests in the case.
There were no reported developments in the December 2008 killing of
three Chechen brothers, Zurab, Akhdan, and Alvi Ilaev, who were found
dead with evidence of beating and torture after allegedly having been
detained by local officials. Local NGOs took the case to the Chechen
ombudsman.
No developments were reported during the year in the 2007 police
killings in Ingushetiya of suspected insurgent Ruslan Aushev, of Apti
Dolokov in the town of Karabulak, of the brothers Said-Magomed Galayev
and Ruslan Galayev, and of Albert Gorbakov in Malgobek.
There were several developments in the September 2008 killing in
central Moscow of Sulim Yamadayev's brother Ruslan, a former State Duma
member, whose family had been involved in high-profile disputes with
President Kadyrov. On January 27, Aslan Diliyev, an advisor to Kadyrov
and former subordinate of Yamadayev in the Vostok battalion, already in
custody for an unrelated 2006 shooting, was questioned in connection
with the killing. Diliyev was released at the end of the year. On April
6, authorities arrested three suspects in the killing who had ties to
Kadyrov's cousin, Adam Delimkhanov.
In May the Ingush Prosecutor's Office declined to reexamine an
earlier ruling that the detention of Magomed Yevloyev, who was killed
by a police officer while in custody in August 2008, had been illegal,
but it opened a wrongful death case in the Nazran District Court
against the chief of Ingush security services, Ibragim Yevloyev. The
Ministry of Internal Affairs had earlier ruled Magomed Yevloyev's death
an accident. In December Ibragim Yevloyev was found guilty of
involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years' imprisonment,
which human rights advocates criticized as overly lenient. Yevloyev, an
owner of the opposition Web site Ingushetiya.ru, had been a sharp
critic of corruption and electoral manipulation by Ingush authorities.
A subsequent owner of the site fled the country in August and her
successor, Maksharip Aushev, was shot and killed in October, after he
had ceased to be the site's owner (see section 1.a.).
No new developments were reported in the September 2008 killing of
Telman Alishayev, a journalist from the Islam-focused TV Chirkey, in
Makhachkala, Dagestan.
In most cases security forces acted against civilians with
impunity, and even the limited efforts by authorities to impose
accountability failed. In January Yuriy Budanov, a former tank
commander in Chechnya convicted of murdering an 18-year-old Chechen
girl in 2000, was released on parole after serving just over half of a
10-year sentence. Chechen ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiyev publicly
criticized the parole decision and stated that the remains of 67
persons had been found in a hole in the ground at the site where the
subunits under Budanov's command had been stationed. Thousands of
Chechens, along with human rights activists, participated in street
protests against the decision, and lawyers for the victim's family
unsuccessfully appealed the parole.
At a September 2 press conference, human rights groups alleged that
death squads had formed in Dagestan, abducting and torturing persons,
especially young men, regardless of whether they had engaged in any
threatening activity, and holding them in extralegal detention centers.
They also alleged that local authorities were behind the creation of
the death squads. The government offered no reaction to these charges.
According to Caucasian Knot, rebels killed 342 law enforcement
officers and injured 680 during the year in the North Caucasus.
Caucasian Knot also quoted Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arkadiy
Yedelev as stating that 235 law enforcement officers had died and 686
were wounded in clashes with insurgents.
In Chechnya rebel killings of soldiers and civilians increased
during the year. According to Caucasian Knot, from January to April 16,
before the lifting of the counterterror regime in Chechnya, 28 persons
(11 civilians, three police officers, and 14 militants) were killed.
However, the killings continued after the declared end of counterterror
operations, as 147 persons (31 civilians, 49 law enforcement officers,
and 67 militants) were killed in Chechnya from April 16 through
November.
On March 21, a shootout between police and insurgents in a wooded
area of Dagestan near the Georgian border left five officers and
approximately 12 militants dead. On the previous day, police in
Makhachkala, Dagestan shot and killed four men who failed to stop their
car at a checkpoint and began shooting at officers. On March 25, a
police officer was abducted and killed in the Vedeno region of
Chechnya. Officials accused militant groups of organizing the
abduction.
On April 19, a grenade attack on the home of Criminal Police chief
Alikhan Geroyev of Sunzhenskiy District, Ingushetiya, killed both him
and his sister. Also in mid-April, an attack in Chechnya killed three
Russian police officers.
On June 5, an unidentified sniper, firing from a nearby building,
shot and killed the chief of the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs,
Adilgirey Magomedtagirov, as he was attending the wedding of a
subordinate's daughter. The shooters also injured the head of the
ministry's administrative department, Abdurazak Abakarov, as well as
eight police officers. Magomedtagirov had escaped several previous
attempts on his life since taking office in 1998.
On July 10, in Nazran, unknown assailants shot and killed Magomed
Gadaborshev, head of the Ingush Republic's criminal investigation
department. Two days later, the head of a city-level Ministry of
Internal Affairs department, Isapil Ozdoeyev, was shot and killed while
driving in Nazran. There were no new developments in either case at
year's end.
On July 26, a suicide bomber killed six persons and wounded 10
others while entering a concert hall in Grozniy, Chechnya, just minutes
before the start of a play. Four police officers stopped the attacker
outside the hall and died in the explosion.
On August 12, an unknown assailant shot and killed Ingush
construction minister Ruslan Amerkhanov. On August 17, a suicide bomber
killed 25 persons and wounded 280, including 11 children, at an Ingush
police station in a heavily populated part of Nazran. The event led
President Medvedev to fire Ingushetiya's interior minister, Ruslan
Meriyev. The attack came in the middle of a week in which 20
individuals were killed in sporadic clashes between militants and
authorities, including an August 13 attack in which 10 men opened fire
at a police post in the city of Buinaksk in Dagestan, killing four
officers, and then shot and killed seven women in a nearby sauna. On
September 1, a suicide attacker detonated a car bomb outside a police
station in Makhachkala, killing one person and wounding 14, with five
in critical condition. Five of the casualties, including the one who
died, were police officers; the others were civilians. Radio Liberty,
citing Russian press services, reported a number of clashes between
rebels and security forces in the region in mid-October.
Federal forces and their opponents continued to use antipersonnel
mines in Chechnya. In 2008 Landmine Monitor reported 39 deaths and 171
casualties overall in the preceding three years from land mines and
other unexploded ordnance. The number decreased in each of the three
years, although Landmine Monitor stated that casualty numbers were
often underreported.
Abductions.--Government personnel, rebels, and criminal elements
continued to engage in abductions in the North Caucasus. Officials and
observers disagreed on the numbers or persons involved. Human rights
groups believed that the numbers of abductions were underreported due
to the reluctance of detainee's relatives to complain to authorities
out of fear of reprisal. The NGO Memorial reported that during the year
there were 90 kidnappings in Chechnya, while the NGO MAShR reported 234
disappearances in Ingushetiya and 31 disappearances in Dagestan.
Allegedly, there was no accountability for government forces involved
in abductions. There were continued reports that abductions were
followed by beatings or torture to extract confessions and that
abductions were conducted for political reasons. Criminal groups in the
region, possibly with links to rebel forces, frequently resorted to
kidnapping.
On April 22, The New York Times reported the attempted kidnapping
in Dagestan of Eldar Navruzov while he was walking home from work. In
March 2008 Navruzov had allegedly been detained, beaten, and tortured
by security services for alleged terrorism and extremism. Navruzov, a
devout Muslim, was accused of membership in the Wahhabi sect, which has
been deemed extremist by local authorities. He was in jail for 11
months before authorities dropped all charges for lack of evidence and
released him in February.
On June 19, Maskhud Abdullayev, the 22-year-old son of Chechen
rebel leader Supyan Abdullayev, disappeared upon arriving in Moscow
following deportation by Egyptian authorities. Maskhud Abdullayev and
another Chechen student, Akhmed Azimov, were arrested in Egypt in
security sweeps targeting foreign students after a February bomb attack
there; Egypt deported four other Chechen students. Azimov was
questioned at the airport in Moscow for several hours and released.
Human rights activists asserted that Abdullayev was not connected with
the Chechen rebels.
In July a group of nine men, seven of whom wore camouflage uniforms
and carried machine guns, abducted 26-year-old Batyr Albakov from his
home in Ingushetiya, near the Chechen border. The men reportedly stated
they were police officers from Nazran, but spoke Chechen among
themselves. Eleven days later, police reported that Albakov had been
killed ``in a shootout with authorities.'' When they returned Albakov's
body to his family, it showed extensive signs of torture. Albakov's
family denied that he had any rebel connections. The official who
announced Albakov's death was Adam Delimkhanov, a cousin of President
Kadyrov who was named as a suspect in the killing of Sulim Yamadayev.
In early November a procurement and logistics assistant for the
Danish Refugee Council, Zarema Gaisanova, was abducted from her home in
Grozniy. Amnesty International asserted that law enforcement officials
had carried out the abduction. Her whereabouts remained unknown at
year's end.
On December 28, Caucasian Knot reported that two brothers and two
uncles of slain activist Maksharip Aushev's widow had disappeared in
St. Petersburg. Their whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
There was no additional information on the whereabouts of
Mokhmadsalakh Masaev, a Muslim preacher accused of ``salafism'' by
authorities and abducted in 2008; of Ramaz Dibirov, Isa Isayev, and
Muhamar Mammayev, who disappeared in 2007 in police custody; or of
Vagap Tutakov, former member of the Ichkeria Parliament who was
abducted by armed men.
In December 2008 the ECHR found Russia to be responsible for the
disappearance of Chechen Ruslan Kasumov in 2003 and awarded his family
37,000 euros ($53,000), but there was no information on compliance with
this decision as of September. On May 28, the ECHR found the country in
violation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the 2002
disappearance and death of Lech Basayev, Lema Dikayev, Khavy Magomadov,
and Muslim Nenkayev, all of whom were detained in operations in
Chechnya.
In September 2008 human rights organizations and international
media reported that the Chechen government began a widespread,
concerted campaign of arson in villages and towns designed to punish
families of suspected insurgents. Many of the attacks were accompanied
by declarations that the homes were being destroyed as punishment. The
campaign followed explicit
threats announced by Chechen president Kadyrov and by Grozniy mayor
Muslim Khuchiyev. During the campaign, Khamzat Dzeytov was arrested
without explanation in November 2008 in the village of Pervomayskaya.
At year's end, Dzeytov was awaiting trial in pretrial detention in
Grozniy. Human rights activist Natalya Estemirova was working on a
documentary on the arson campaign when she was killed in July (see
section 1.a.). There were numerous reports that the Chechen
government's arson campaign continued during the year, although there
was no information available as to how its scale compared with that of
the campaign in September 2008.
The security forces under the command of Chechen president Kadyrov
played an increasing role in abductions, either on their own initiative
or in joint operations with federal forces. Human rights groups
reported that these forces were frequently suspected of conducting
disappearances and abductions, including those of family members of
rebel commanders and fighters.
Amnesty International reported that federal and Chechen security
forces targeted female civilians, both in response to terrorist
bombings carried out by Chechen women and to put pressure on male
relatives suspected of being rebels.
In the first four months of the year, the ECHR issued judgments
that found Russia responsible in 25 cases involving the disappearance
and presumed death of disappeared persons and for inhuman treatment of
victims' families by refusing to provide information on their fate. In
some cases appellants said they were offered settlements or threatened
in an effort to have them drop their cases.
Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--Armed forces and police
units were reported to have frequently abused and tortured persons in
holding facilities where federal authorities sorted out fighters and
persons suspected of aiding rebels from civilians.
In Chechnya and Ingushetiya, there continued to be reports of
torture by government forces. In July 2008, 50 armed men, reportedly
law enforcement officials, forcibly searched the home of Ingushetiya
human rights activist Zurab Tsechoev without a warrant and abducted
him. He was allegedly detained and beaten by officials, who questioned
him about his work with the human rights NGO MASHR. Tsechoev was
released, but there were no disciplinary measures against the
abductors.
There were no further developments in the 2007 cases of alleged
torture and mistreatment by security officers of Shamsudi Khadisov,
Ramzan Khasiyev, or Mihkail Akbulatov. There was no new information
concerning the alleged torture in 2007 of Shakhid Ipayev or the
mistreatment of Ramzan Khasiyev at a detention center in Chechnya.
The trial of suspects in the 2005 attack on security service
buildings in Nalchik, which began in October 2008, continued. Many of
the persons accused alleged that they were singled out because of their
religious beliefs and then, after the attack, arrested and tortured to
extract confessions. HRW asserted that at least eight of the detainees
were mistreated and that lawyers for five detainees were barred from
representing their clients. On December 11, Kommersant reported that
the trial would likely have to start again from the beginning, because
Judge Galina Gorislavskaya had been reappointed to a different
position. The defendants remained in detention at year's end.
Government forces continued to abuse individuals seeking
accountability for earlier mistreatment in Chechnya and to harass
persons who had applied to the ECHR for the redress of grievances.
Amnesty International and other human rights groups reported that
reprisals against applicants to the court, included killings,
disappearances, and intimidation. According to press reports and human
rights NGOs, as of September at least six applicants to the ECHR had
been killed or abducted. In a 2007 ruling the court emphasized that the
relatives of disappeared persons and witnesses should be protected from
intimidation and revenge. However, this practice continued during the
year.
Chechen Human Rights Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiyev continued the
practice of his predecessor in not cooperating with the area's leading
human rights NGO Memorial.
The Independent Commission on Human Rights in the Northern
Caucasus, headed by the chairman of the State Duma Committee on
Legislation, continued to hear hundreds of complaints, ranging from
destruction or theft of property to rape and murder; however, the
commission was not empowered to investigate or prosecute alleged
offenders and referred complaints to military or civil prosecutors.
Almost all complainants alleged violations of military discipline and
other crimes by federal and Chechen Republic forces.
Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--Throughout the year security forces
continued to conduct security sweeps and passport checks at temporary
settlements in Ingushetiya housing internally displaced persons (IDPs)
from Chechnya (see section 2.d.). At times these sweeps reportedly led
to human rights abuses or disappearances. In February the Office of the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) reported that Chechen
authorities had begun visiting approximately 2,500 Chechen IDPs in 22
temporary shelters in Ingushetiya and urging them to return to
Chechnya, sometimes with verbal threats. By June the Ingush branch of
the Federal Migration Service had removed most Chechen IDPs from its
beneficiary list.
Human rights groups visited illegal detention centers in Chechnya
and other locations in the North Caucasus, where they documented
continuing abuses. Chechen Republic security forces reportedly
maintained secret prisons in Tsentoroi, Gudermes, and other locations.
HRW reported that it had detailed descriptions of at least 10 unlawful
detention facilities. Human rights groups reported that officers of the
federal Ministry of Internal Affairs' Second Operational Investigative
Bureau illegally detained and tortured persons in its Grozniy offices.
Since 2004 authorities have refused to grant the ICRC access, under
ICRC's standard criteria, to persons detained as part of the conflict
in Chechnya, and the ICRC subsequently suspended its detention visits.
The suspension remained in place during the year.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, in practice government
pressure on the media persisted, resulting in numerous infringements of
these rights.
While the government frequently respected citizens' rights to
freedom of speech, it increasingly restricted this right, particularly
with regard to issues such as the conduct of federal forces in
Chechnya, human rights, corruption, and criticism of the government.
Some regional and local authorities took advantage of the judicial
system's procedural weaknesses and overly broad laws to detain persons
for expressing views critical of the government. With some exceptions,
judges appeared unwilling to challenge powerful federal and local
officials who sought to prosecute journalists. These proceedings on
occasion resulted in high fines.
The government used direct ownership or ownership by large private
companies with links to the government to control or influence the
major national media and a majority of the regional media outlets,
especially television; many media organizations saw their autonomy
weaken further. During the year the government used its leverage to
restrict dissemination of information about issues deemed sensitive,
including coverage of opposition political parties and candidates in
local elections that were held in March and October, and economic
problems. International observers criticized the unbalanced access to
the media for candidates in the local elections as well as in
nationwide elections in 2007 and 2008, noting that the overwhelming
majority of prime-time television coverage--the primary source of
information for the public--was devoted to United Russia candidates.
Observers also noted numerous press freedom abuses, including
harassment of media outlets, legislative limitations, lack of equal
access to information, and arbitrary application of rules.
During the campaign leading up to the April 26 election of the
mayor of Sochi, state-controlled television networks provided minimum
coverage and focused the reports they carried on the incumbent mayor
and United Russia candidate, Anatoliy Pakhomov. Opposition candidates
noted that they were denied equal access to both local and national
television.
While the largest daily newspaper, Moskovskiy Komsomolets, was
independently owned, other influential national newspapers, including
Izvestiya, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and Kommersant, were owned by the
government, persons affiliated with the government, or state-owned
companies. In addition, the Ministry of Defense owned the newspaper
Krasnaya Zvezda. More than 60 percent of the country's 45,000
registered local newspapers and periodical were owned by the government
or state-owned companies. The government continued selective attempts
to influence the reporting of independent publications.
In May the government-affiliated Bank Rossiya purchased a
controlling stake in Izvestiya from state-owned Gazprom. Under its new
ownership, Izvestiya maintained a progovernment stance on key policy
issues and increasingly avoided controversial topics. Despite
Kommersant's ownership, most observers believed that its editorial line
remained independent during the year and was frequently critical of
government policy.
Of the six national television stations, the federal government
owned one and had a controlling interest in one other. State-owned or
affiliated companies owned controlling interests in three others, and
the Moscow city administration owned the sixth. Approximately two-
thirds of the 2,500 other television stations in the country were
completely or partially owned by the federal and local governments. As
a result, the media often constrained editorial content, in particular,
that which was critical of the government.
However, government influence over networks' editorial policies was
not uniform. For example, some observers initially alleged that the
REN-TV network's editorial line became more progovernment when in 2006
the government-affiliated Bank Rossiya purchased a controlling interest
in it. However, in contrast with the other networks, REN-TV continued
to cover opposition rallies and broadcast interviews of some critics of
the government.
International media continued to face some impediments to their
ability to operate freely. In 2007 authorities curtailed all stations
broadcasting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of
America (VOA) news programs except for stations in Moscow and St.
Petersburg, which continued to broadcast RFE/RL and VOA programs. As a
result of government measures in 2007, the BBC's Russian language
services were available only on medium and shortwave broadcasts as well
as the Internet. In April Kit Gessen, an American correspondent from
The New Yorker magazine, was arrested in Sochi for ``lack of
registration to be in Sochi.'' Gessen alleged that he sought to
register with authorities when he arrived, but they did not allow him
to do so.
The government exerted its influence most directly on state-owned
media. During the August 2008 conflict in Georgia, reporting in state-
owned or state-controlled media adhered closely to the government's
position. Journalists and news anchors for the Rossiya and First
Channel networks reported receiving ``guidelines'' from management
prepared by the presidential administration indicating which
politicians they should support and which they should criticize.
Government-controlled media consistently and disproportionately
exhibited favoritism in their coverage of the former president and
current prime minister, Vladimir Putin, and President Dmitriy Medvedev.
The government maintained ownership of the largest radio stations,
Radio Mayak and Radio Rossiya, both of which adhered to government
positions in their news reporting. Ekho Moskvy radio, despite being
majority-owned by the state corporation Gazprom, provided balanced
coverage and independent editorial comments, often sharply critical of
the government, and provided a platform to members of opposition.
The government also owned the national news agencies ITAR-TASS and
RIA-Novosti. In 2007 the new director general of the Russian News
Service radio reportedly established an editorial policy that required
at least 50 percent of its reports about the country to be ``positive''
and forbade the mention of some key opposition politicians. The changes
prompted many staff members to resign in protest.
In April, in what appeared to be a further move to minimize the
airing of dissenting views and independent shaping of public opinion,
the Gazprom-owned television channel NTV cancelled the popular talk
show To the Barrier, during which famous individuals debated important
topics and the viewing audience voted for the debate's ``winner'' via
text message. The program had been broadcast since 2003 under the
leadership of Vladimir Solovyev. The station cited falling ratings as
the official reason for cancelling the show. Another of Solovyev's talk
shows, Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyev, was cancelled by NTV in
2008.
At year's end, the Glasnost Defense Foundation reported that 59
journalists had been attacked during the year and eight killed (Telman
Alishayev, Anastasia Baburova, Natalia Estemirova, Sergey Protazanov,
Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, Olga Kotovskaya, Abdulmalik Akhmedilov, and
Shafiq Amrakhov) (see section 1.a.). In comparison, there were 69
attacks in 2008. The Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations (CJES)
documented eight killings of journalists in 2006-08 in which they
concluded that the motive for the killing was work-related.
In most cases authorities did not identify suspects and did not
establish a direct link between an assault and the journalistic
activities that presumably motivated it. Most high-profile killings and
kidnappings of journalists were unresolved. In March the CJES reported
that there had been more than 40 unsolved killings of journalists since
2003. Many of the abuses took place in the Northern Caucasus; however,
the Glasnost Defense Fund and other media freedom monitoring
organizations reported cases of abuse of journalists by police and
other security personnel elsewhere as well, including physical assault
and vandalism of equipment. In most cases, according to the Glasnost
Defense Foundation (GDF), mistreatment appeared to have been at the
initiative of local officials.
Independent media NGOs characterized beatings of journalists by
unknown assailants as ``routine,'' noting that those who pursued
investigative stories on corruption and organized crime found
themselves at greatest risk. The GDF reported that in many cases the
killings appeared to be related to the journalists' work.
On January 8, a senior traffic police officer in Yekaterinburg
assaulted a correspondent of YekaterinburgNEWS, an online publication,
who took a photo of the officer's car illegally parked in a pedestrian
crossing zone. In December a court in Yekaterinburg ordered authorities
to stop criminal proceedings against the officer.
On February 5, Federal Security Service officers in Moscow detained
a correspondent of the Noviy Region news agency who was covering an
opposition rally. The officers took the journalist to a police station
and forced him to delete all the photographs he took at the rally.
On March 12, police in Moscow detained journalists who covered the
dissenters' march opposition rally, including correspondents of
Kommersant daily, ITAR-TASS, TV Center, the Associated Press, and
Internet publications Gazeta.ru and Politionline.ru. The journalists
were released the same day.
Also in August, Rosa Malsagova, owner and editor of the Web site
Ingushetiya.org, gave up her position and left the country with her
three sons. She claimed her decision was motivated by threats from
Ingush militants. She sought political asylum in France.
Ingushetiya.org, originally Ingushetiya.ru, was known for its
investigations into local government corruption and electoral
manipulation. Its previous owner, Magomed Yevloyev, was killed in 2008
by a police officer while in police custody (see section 1.g.). The
site was shut down by the authorities and was reestablished by
Yevloyev's colleagues as Ingushetiya.org. According to the Web site
International Freedom of Expression Exchange, Ingush authorities also
continued to criticize the site, which they regarded as favoring the
opposition.
In September piracy expert Mikhail Voitenko, editor of the
Sovfrakht Marine Bulletin Web site, left the country after questioning
the official version of the July disappearance and August rescue of the
cargo ship Arctic Sea. Voitenko told the Moscow Times that he had been
pressured into leaving by ``persons working in the interests of the
government.''
Also in September, Aleksandr Podrabinek, a freelance journalist,
reported on his blog that he had gone into hiding because of threats he
received after writing an Internet editorial that recalled the prison
camps and crimes of Stalinism and accused the current leadership of
seeking to burnish Stalin's image. Podrabinek asserted he had reliable
information that a senior-level decision had been made to settle scores
with him ``by any means.'' The progovernment youth group Nashi harassed
Podrabinek and picketed outside his house until Prime Minister Putin
criticized their activity. Ella Pamfilova, head of the Presidential
Council on Human Rights and Civil Society, spoke publicly on behalf of
Podrabinek, which led some United Russia leaders to call for her
ouster; however, she remained in her position.
According to the NGO Reporters without Borders, authorities
rejected visa applications of two of its representatives, including the
organization's secretary general, preventing them from traveling to
Moscow in October to hold a news conference on the eve of the third
anniversary of the killing of Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna
Politkovskaya.
In May prosecutors filed murder charges in the Dagestan Supreme
Court against two men for the March 2008 death of Gadzhi Abashilov,
head of the local branch of the Russian State Television and Radio
Company in Makhachkala. Law enforcement authorities and Abashilov's
colleagues believed that his killing was related to his journalistic
work, including his reporting on the situation in Dagestan.
A criminal investigation of the September 2008 attack on Miloslav
Bitokov, editor in chief of the Gazeta Yuga newspaper in the North
Caucasus Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, produced no results. The
investigative arm of the Kabardino-Balkaria Ministry of Internal
Affairs agreed with Bitokov's colleagues that the attack was related to
Bitokov's work.
No arrests were reported in the November 2008 beating by unknown
assailants of independent Khimki journalist Mikhail Beketov, publisher
of the weekly Khimkiskaya Pravda. Beketov's newspaper frequently
criticized local authorities for construction projects that damaged the
local environment and for corruption associated with those projects.
There were no arrests or indications that authorities were
investigating the December 2008 beating of several journalists during a
series of protests in response to a planned increase in tariffs on
imported cars. The journalists represented such media outlets as
Primorskoye TV, TV Center, NHK, the Moskovskiy Komsomolets daily, and
ITAR-TASS. Authorities also destroyed the journalists' equipment.
The Committee to Protect Journalists called for an investigation of
the December 2008 attack on Zhanna Akbasheva, a correspondent for the
Regnum News Agency in Karachay-Cherkessia who wrote about corruption
and press freedom issues. Local authorities opened an investigation
into the attack, but no progress was reported by the year's end.
No investigation had been opened by year's end into the 2007
kidnapping and beating in Ingushetiya of three REN-TV journalists and
Memorial's Oleg Orlov; they were in Ingushetiya to cover an opposition
political demonstration and also reportedly filmed, the day before
their abduction, a special forces operation during which a young boy
was killed by stray gunfire.
In June the Supreme Court overturned a February lower court
decision to acquit the four suspects in the 2006 killing of prominent
investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The new trial, with three
of the original defendants, the brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim
Makhmudov and Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, was set to begin in September;
however, the start of the retrial was indefinitely postponed at the
insistence of Politkovskaya's adult children, who criticized the poor
quality of the initial investigation. The case was sent back to
prosecutors. In October the Moscow Times reported that investigators
had identified new suspects in the case but would not comment on their
identities. The suspected shooter, Rostam Makhmudov, a third brother,
remained at large. The Politkovskaya family and other supporters called
for a new investigation to determine who ordered the shooting.
Politkovskaya's writing was highly critical of the war in Chechnya,
human rights abuses, including by Chechen authorities, and President
Putin's administration; she had previously received many death threats.
During the year, a court convicted Georgiy Totoyev, a police
officer in Vladikavkaz, of the 2006 beating of Channel One reporter
Olga Kiriy; it sentenced him to three and one-half years in prison.
On July 3, the Investigative Committee of the General Prosecutor's
Office resumed proceedings in the case of the 2004 murder of Paul
Klebnikov, the U.S. citizen and former editor in chief of Forbes
Russia. A Moscow court suspended the trial in 2007 when the lead
defendant, Kazbek Dukuzov, failed to appear, and the Supreme Court
ordered a new trial. Prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant for Dukuzov
and claimed to be searching for him. Dukuzov remained at large by
year's end. Marat Valeyev, another defendant in the case, was cleared
of the murder charges and released from custody in December.
On April 6, the Investigative Committee of the General Prosecutor's
Office closed its investigation into the 2003 death of Yuriy
Shchekochikhin, a member of the State Duma and deputy editor of the
newspaper Novaya Gazeta. The investigators endorsed the official
findings that Shchekochikhin died of a severe allergic reaction to an
unknown substance. However, some observers speculated that he was
killed because of allegations he made about high-level corruption. At
the time of his death, Shchekochikhin was investigating allegations of
Federal Security Service responsibility for a series of 1999 apartment
building bombings and the purported involvement of senior security
officials and the General Prosecutor's Office in smuggling goods
through the storage facilities of the Federal Security Service.
Government officials occasionally responded to negative coverage by
taking legal action against journalists and media outlets. Although the
law prohibits courts from imposing damages in libel and defamation
cases that would bankrupt a media organization, one NGO reported that
local courts did not always follow this in practice.
In April the Basmanniy Court in Moscow ordered the newspaper Novaya
Gazeta and journalist Vyacheslav Izmaylov to pay 110,000 rubles
($3,640) to settle a libel case filed by Chechen president Kadyrov in
connection with reports the newspaper published in 2008 on abductions
in Chechnya.
On June 15, authorities sued to shut down the independent Dagestan
weekly Chernovik because of its alleged support for extremist views. At
the same time, the newspaper's editor in chief, Nadira Isayeva, and
several reporters were charged with inciting interethnic hatred. In
July 2008 the General Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal
investigation of Isayeva on charges of publishing articles that
``called for extremist activities'' and ``incited hatred or enmity on
the basis of ethnicity.'' The articles that led to the charges had
alleged widespread corruption in the Dagestan Ministry of Internal
Affairs.
In August the Prosecutor's Office in Sayano-Shushenkskaya opened a
libel case against blogger Mikhail Afanasyev, editor in chief of the
online publication New Focus, for his reporting about an accident that
killed 75 workers at a local hydroelectric plant owned by the state-run
power company RusHydro. Afanasyev tried to verify official death counts
independently and questioned the adequacy of the rescue effort. Rights
activists criticized the government for initiating the libel case, and
in August prosecutors dropped it. Tensions between journalists and
authorities over the disaster continued, with President Medvedev
describing reporting about infrastructure problems as lies pushed by
``those who do not approve of Russia in its current boundaries and its
role on the world stage.'' On September 9, two men attacked Afanasyev
near his home. After confirming that the man they had accosted was
Afanasyev, they punched and kicked him until he lost consciousness.
On October 6, a district court in Moscow ruled in favor of Chechen
president Kadyrov in a civil libel case against Oleg Orlov of the NGO
Memorial for accusing Kadyrov of complicity in the killing of human
rights activist and journalist Natalya Estemirova. On October 20, a
criminal complaint brought by Kadyrov against Orlov was registered with
the Moscow Central Directorate for Internal Affairs, under article 129
of the criminal code .''slande.''), which allows for fines and
imprisonment. On September 3, the public prosecutor refused to register
the complaint; however, on September 8, Kadyrov successfully appealed
the refusal. Human rights advocates and international observers
criticized the case against Orlov as a curtailment of free speech. The
criminal case had not begun at year's end.
Also in August, the Constitutional Court affirmed the 2007 decision
by immigration authorities to deny entry into the country to Natalya
Morar, a Moldovan citizen and a correspondent for the magazine New
Times. Morar had published critical investigative articles about the
government's handling of the 2007 State Duma elections and illegal
financial transactions by senior government officials. Border officials
reportedly told her that she was considered a threat to state security
and that an order to refuse her entry had come from the Federal
Security Service. After several unsuccessful appeals to the country's
courts, Morar applied to the ECHR in August 2008.
As of year's end, the Samara edition of Novaya Gazeta remained
unable to publish, pending the conclusion of a court case in which
Sergey Kurt-Adzhiyev, the editor of the local edition, was fined 15,000
rubles ($496) for using unlicensed software on his office computer.
Kurt-Adzhiyev appealed the sentence, and the court ordered further
examination of the case, which turned up violations committed by the
prosecutors as well as new evidence. In March the court returned the
case to the prosecutors.
Authorities at all levels used their authority, sometimes publicly,
to restrict or limit the effectiveness of journalists who criticized
them. One method was to deny the media access to events and
information, including denying filming opportunities and statistics
theoretically available to the public. On January 10, a correspondent
for Gazeta.ru was denied access to a Moscow city government press
event. According to the publication, the journalist was told that the
Moscow city government withdrew the accreditation of all Internet
publications. On April 15, a vice governor of Altay territory prevented
correspondents of newspaper Argumenty I Fakty and the GTRKAltay
television company from covering a local administration meeting,
although other journalists were allowed to attend the meeting.
There were numerous comments in the media alleging that government
pressure led reporters to engage in self-censorship, particularly on
issues critical of the government.
The government increasingly restricted press freedom with regard to
coverage of sensitive issues, such as the conduct of federal forces in
Chechnya, human rights abuses, government corruption, and criticism of
government leaders.
In one notable exception, Chechen authorities in April announced
the lifting of all restrictions on the work of journalists in the
republic as a result of the formal completion of the counterterrorist
operations there. In contrast with previous years, there were no known
detentions of reporters in Chechnya during the year. In practice,
however, journalists in Chechnya continued to face pressure and
restrictions.
The government continued to use legislation and decrees to curtail
media freedom. A 2007 law expanded the definition of extremism and
provided law enforcement officials with broad authority to suspend
media outlets that did not comply with restrictions. Media freedom
advocates asserted that the law was used by officials to restrict
criticism and label independent reporters as extremists.
In October 2008 the State Duma Security Committee passed an
amendment to the law that would enable authorities to close any
organization deemed extremist by submitting charges to the court, which
could not be challenged by the organization. In November 2008, in the
context of rising concerns over the economy, the General Prosecutor's
Office announced that it would monitor the media for any ``damaging''
reports that might exacerbate the financial crisis. Prime Minister
Putin also publicly admonished media not to print anything
``unpatriotic,'' and media members were told to avoid using the word
``crisis'' in reference to the situation. In August the Justice
Ministry published an update of its list of ``extremist'' materials
with 414 new additions. The additions included, among others, a picture
of Winnie the Pooh wearing a swastika, a flag with a cross, and the
popular Web site Samizdat, which Russian researchers use for neutral
information in a manner similar to Wikipedia and which had more than
500,000 subscribers. Some analysts asserted that the vague definitions
of extremism were expanding the list to the point of discrediting it
altogether.
Officials or unidentified individuals sometimes used force or took
extreme measures to prevent the circulation of publications that were
not favored by the government. On February 25, unknown persons in the
Perm region stopped a truck delivering copies of the local newspaper
Uralskiy Shakhter and seized the entire issue, which contained articles
written by candidates running in the upcoming local elections. On
February 20, police in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, seized 150,000
copies of the newspaper Pravda Primorya, published by the local branch
of the Communist Party. The issue carried articles related to the
upcoming elections for the local legislative assembly.
On the night of March 5, police in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy
entered the apartment of Vladimir Vasilchenko, editor in chief of
Ekspress-Kamchatka newspaper, without presenting a search warrant and
seized copies of the newspaper's latest issue. According to
Vasilchenko, police claimed that the newspaper's criticism of the city
government was ``disruptive'' to the ongoing mayoral election campaign.
On March 10, representatives of incumbent mayor Vladislav Skvortsov, a
candidate in the election, went to the plant where the newspaper was
printed and warned that they would confiscate the issue in accordance
with instructions they received from local election authorities.
Vasilchenko did not send the newspaper to print.
According to the Glasnost Defense Fund and other media NGOs, there
continued to be instances of authorities using investigations into
intellectual property rights violations (i.e., use of pirated software)
to selectively confiscate computers and pressure opposition media
across the country. On February 16, police in Samara searched the
offices of the newspaper Samarskaya Gazeta and confiscated nine
computers, claiming that pirated software had been installed on them.
A warning to the media, first issued in 2006, against referring to
the National Bolshevik Party without indicating that it was banned
remained in place during the year. The media were informed that
omitting the fact that the party was illegal could be considered
dissemination of false information and lead to the ``application of
restrictive, precautionary, and preventive measures.''
According to the Glasnost Defense Fund and media NGOs, some
authorities used the media's widespread dependence on the government
for transmission facilities, access to property, and printing and
distribution services to discourage critical reporting. The fund
reported that approximately 90 percent of print media organizations
relied on state-controlled organizations for paper, printing, or
distribution, and many television stations were forced to rely on the
government (in particular, regional committees for the management of
state property) for access to the airwaves and office space. The
Glaznost Defense Fund also reported that officials continued to
manipulate the price of printing at state-controlled publishing houses
to apply pressure on private media rivals. It noted that this practice
was more common outside the Moscow area.
Internet Freedom.--The government did not restrict access to the
Internet. Individuals and groups could generally engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, but traffic
was reportedly monitored by the government. The government continued to
require Internet service providers to install, at their own expense, a
device that routes all customer traffic to a Federal Security Service
terminal called the ``system for operational investigative measures''
that enabled police to track private e-mail communications and monitor
Internet activity. There appeared to be no mechanism to prevent Federal
Security Service access to the traffic or private information without a
warrant. It was not required to give telecommunications companies or
individuals documentation on targets of interest prior to accessing
information.
There was widespread and growing access to the Internet through
home, work, or public venues. Approximately 25-30 percent of adults had
Internet access; almost all of them used the Internet at least once a
month.
In contrast to other forms of media, the law does not require Web
sites to register as mass media, and unregistered Web sites were not
subject to administrative sanctions. Internet forums, including
blogging services, continued to serve as the most open media vehicle in
the country for expressing political views. However, individual
postings on the Internet were subject to the same restrictions that
applied to other types of expression, and some bloggers were
investigated or charged for their Internet postings based on extremely
broad definitions of legally prohibited activities, such as
``extremism'' or inciting hatred as well as for libel. In addition, the
law allows authorities to hold bloggers liable for comments that others
post on their blogs. A proposal in the State Duma in 2008 to amend the
media law to define Internet sites as mass media and place them under
greater government control failed to pass. However, pressure increased
on Internet sites that were affiliated with newspapers or broadcast
media or that engaged in reporting that was not favorable to the
government.
A number of bloggers were investigated or prosecuted during the
year. In June the Prosecutor's Office in Samara confirmed an earlier
decision by local authorities to ?pen a criminal case against local
resident Dmitriy Kirilin on charges of calling for extremist
activities. Investigators claimed that in 2006 Kirilin called for
``overthrowing the current political regime'' and ``spoke
disrespectfully about the government'' in his blog. On October 7, a
court in Samara sentenced Kirilin to a one-year suspended jail term.
On July 20, Tatar writer and journalist Irek Murtazin went on trial
in Kazan, Tatarstan, on charges brought by Tatarstan president Mintimer
Shaimiev that included ``disseminating false information'' about the
president and ``violating his privacy'' by suggesting in a September
2008 blog that Shaimiev had died while vacationing in Turkey. On August
10, Shaimiev spoke at the trial, asking the judge to sentence Murtazin
to five years in prison. On November 26, the court sentenced Murtazin
to one year and nine months in prison.
In May Sverdlovsk authorities brought a criminal libel case against
a LiveJournal blogger with the pen name ``Father Christmas,'' who was
critical of the Sverdlovsk police and the security cadre of the mayor.
In June a court in Ufa, Bashkortostan, ordered local Internet service
providers to block access to the revinform blog on LiveJournal because
of its allegedly extremist content. The court cited as an example of
extremist content an article from a local opposition newspaper posted
on the blog, which reported on top-level corruption in the local
government.
On August 10, police in Ufa arrested bloggers Nikolay Shvetsov,
Sergey Orlov, Konstantin Nesterov, and Igor Kuchumov on charges of
extremism and fomenting ethnic hatred in their blogs for quoting a book
criticizing Bashkortostan president Murtaza Rakhimov.
In July 2008 a court in Syktyvakar gave blogger Savva Terentyev a
suspended one-year prison sentence for extremism for inciting hatred
against a ``social group'' by posting a comment in an online discussion
on LiveJournal about the elections in Komi and police corruption and
calling for the police to ``burn in the squares of Russian cities.'' A
linguistic examination conducted by the Scientific Center of the Komi
Republic alleged that Terentyev's comment aimed to stir up hatred and
humiliate persons belonging to a ``social group.'' A number of NGOs and
rights activists criticized the court's ruling, asserting that the
court employed an overly broad interpretation of the extremism law to
target criticism of authorities, and questioned the classification of
police as a ``social group.''
In April authorities issued warnings to mass information Internet
sites against negative coverage of government news. In 2008 authorities
issued two official warnings to the Yekaterinburg-based online news
publication URA.ru because of comments posted by readers, which
authorities deemed extremist. Under the law two warnings issued in the
course of one year allow courts to shut down the media outlet. URA.ru
continued to operate at the year's end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government generally did
not restrict academic freedom; however, human rights and academic
organizations believed the continued imprisonment of disarmament
researcher Igor Sutyagin, physicist Valentin Danilov, and others
inhibited academic freedom and contact with foreigners on subjects that
authorities might deem sensitive, and there were a few reports of
pressure on teachers.
In January the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent a letter to the
Higher School of Economics in Moscow recommending that the university
expel students whom police had detained at a dissenters' march. The
letter referred to the students as ``extremist'' and asked the
university to inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs ``about the
action taken.'' University officials publicly criticized the letter on
REN-TV and refused to expel any students on political grounds.
In May President Medvedev announced the formation of a Committee
against the Falsification of History dedicated to countering statements
denigrating the role of the Soviet Union in the victory over Nazism. A
corresponding law was proposed in the State Duma but never passed. In
connection with this initiative, a small number of professors in Moscow
universities reported receiving instructions to submit their teaching
materials to the university administration for examination as to
whether they were violating the proposed law. At year's end, no further
pressure on teachers was reported. After some individuals expressed
concern that the ``antifalsification'' campaign indicated that the
government wanted to rehabilitate Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin,
President Medvedev stated, in an October 30 speech on the national day
for remembrance of Stalin's victims, that ``it is important to prevent
the justification of those who killed their own people.''
The future of a project to study the country's elections, based at
the Geliks Center in St. Petersburg, remained in doubt. In February
2008 authorities in St. Petersburg suspended all activities at the
private European University, where the study was initially being
undertaken, allegedly due to fire safety violations. Activists
suggested that the decision was related to an EU grant the university
received in 2007 for the study. The university decided to discontinue
conducting the research project, called IRENA, and city authorities
then declared the university free of fire safety violations. It
reopened in March 2008. In August leaders of IRENA, newly based at the
Geliks Center, reported that the project's funds had disappeared from
the organization's account at the VTB-24 bank. Initially the bank's
administration assured the organization that the money would be
returned, but later IRENA was told that the issue was being discussed
``at the highest level.'' Geliks' leaders stated their belief that this
might be an additional attempt to destroy the project.
In March hearings began in the criminal case against Yuriy
Samadurov, director of the Sakharov Center, for instigating ethnic and
religious hatred by hosting a provocative art exhibit in 2007.
Samadurov subsequently resigned as director of the center, and the
Prosecutor General's Office formally presented the charges against him
in May 2008. During the year the prosecution began questioning its 136
witnesses, consisting of visitors to the exhibit who found it offensive
and members of Orthodox religious groups. Samadurov faced a potential
sentence of three years in prison. The trial continued at year's end.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, but local
authorities increasingly restricted this right in practice.
Permits are required for most types of public meetings,
demonstrations, or marches and must be requested between five and 10
days before the event. Local elected and administrative officials
selectively denied some groups permission to assemble or offered
alternate venues that were inconveniently located. According to a
representative from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, through April
approximately 2,500 public rallies took place in the country, of which
140 were unsanctioned.
On December 28, the State Duma passed a law increasing the severity
of punishment for anyone found guilty of illegally interfering with the
flow of traffic. The law increased the fine from 2,500 rubles ($82.70)
to 100,000 rubles ($3,307) or two years in prison. Human rights
activists saw this as a move to restrict freedom of assembly.
On January 25, police arrested four organizers of a demonstration
entitled March of Those Who Agree. Marchers carried posters
sarcastically declaring their agreement with higher prices on
utilities, 12-hour working days, and lower salaries. The detainees were
accused of insulting the national flag and released after being
officially charged with crossing the street in an unauthorized place.
During the year a group of human rights activists began holding a
``dissenters' march'' on the last day of every month with 31 days, in
honor of article 31 of the constitution providing for freedom of
assembly. On the last of these marches, which took place on December
31, 2009, approximately 50 protestors, including prominent 82-year-old
human rights activist Lyudmila Alekseyeva of the Moscow Helsinki Group,
were briefly detained. There were reports that police mistreated the
protestors while in detention.
Dissenters' march organizers consistently applied for permission to
assemble, but they were denied permission a total of seven times during
the year. In some cities police detained opposition activists ahead of
dissenters' marches. In Tyumen, for example, authorities searched
activists' apartments and seized their computers. Official hostility
led opposition leaders to keep their rallies scattered and small,
numbering approximately 3,000 or 4,000 participants, often fewer than
the number of law enforcement officers assigned to maintain order. In
numerous instances, security officers arrested and beat dissenters'
march participants. A Vladivostok protester who held up a banner
calling Prime Minister Putin ``Putler'' was investigated for
``extremism.''
Many observers noted a selective pattern of encouraging government-
friendly rallies while preventing politically sensitive demonstrations.
On the same day as the January dissenters' march, United Russia
organized progovernment rallies, which were the only demonstrations to
receive coverage on state-run television news channels. Some
demonstrators at the progovernment rallies told news media that they
had been pressured to attend, and one student stated that he would
receive class credit for his attendance.
In February Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alekseyeva
announced that she had obtained a copy of an Internal Affairs Ministry
order (Order number 800) that allegedly instructed law enforcement
officers to fire on groups of criminals, terrorists, and ``participants
in disorderly events'' with socioeconomic causes. Alekseyeva told
gazeta.ru that the head of the ministry had signed the order in 2005
after the protests over monetization of government benefits. The
ministry categorically denied the allegations. Alekseyeva said that she
had called the Moscow police director, who reportedly acknowledged the
existence of the order but told her that it had been annulled.
Alekseyeva indicated that she had no evidence of its annulment beyond
this verbal assurance over the telephone.
On July 23, 70 to 100 persons attempted to hold a rally in Moscow's
Pushkin Square in memory of slain rights activist Natalya Estemirova.
Law enforcement officers, primarily local Ministry of Internal Affairs
OMON (Otryad Militsii Osobogo Naznacheniya) forces, violently broke up
the protest, beating both male and female protesters. A rally
memorializing the Estemirova killing had taken place the previous week
without incident.
On August 26, riot police broke up a gathering of 100 persons
assembled in Makhachkala, Dagestan, to protest a series of abductions
and other alleged law enforcement abuses. The protesters included
relatives of five men who, according to Memorial, had been abducted,
beaten, tortured, and almost killed several days previously. The police
beat protesters and detained several of them.
Authorities detained 49 persons, two of them minors, at an
unauthorized protest against the results of the Moscow Duma elections
in October in Pushkin Square in Moscow.
In January 2008 police broke up an opposition demonstration of
several hundred individuals in Nazran and arrested 30 to 40 persons,
including at least 10 journalists and human rights representatives.
This followed a January 25 Federal Security Service order banning
demonstrations and restricting movement in several districts of Nazran.
There were no further developments relating to several instances in
which authorities prohibited or disrupted demonstrations and marches by
groups they regarded as opponents, including the appeal to the
Constitutional Court by activists from Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, and
Samara over what they considered unconstitutional actions by
authorities to restrict their rallies; the December 2008 dissenters'
march in Moscow by Other Russia, and the forceful disruption of a
protest in Vladivostok against a tariff on imported automobiles.
There was no response from the Constitutional Court to the July
2008 petition by human rights activists from Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov,
and Samara challenging restrictions on their freedom to hold rallies,
restrictions they asserted were based on political considerations.
There were no developments related to the refusal of authorities to
permit a December 2008 dissenters' march in Moscow to protest
constitutional changes lengthening the terms office of the president
and deputies in the State Duma or in the beating of demonstrators in
Vladivostok by OMON units while breaking up a December 2008
demonstration protesting tariffs on imported automobiles.
On June 17, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of Maksim
Filandrov, who was arrested at a dissenters' march in 2007. The court
stated that police had failed to give Filandrov the opportunity to
contest the charges against him and that henceforth police would be
required to do so in such cases. At year's end there was no discernable
effect on law enforcement practices from this ruling.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government respected this right in many instances;
however, there were a number of significant exceptions.
Public organizations must register their bylaws and the names of
their leaders with the Ministry of Justice. Several organizations were
forced to suspend activities while registration was pending, and
restrictions were applied in a discriminatory and selective manner to
some NGOs, particularly those receiving foreign funding or involved in
issues of political opposition or in human rights monitoring.
In April the government enacted a law that reduced the number of
signatures required to register a political party (see section 3).
The finances of registered organizations are subject to
investigation by the tax authorities, and foreign grants must be
registered. A June 2008 prime ministerial decree reduced the number of
foreign organizations whose grants were exempt from taxation from 101
to 12 and imposed a potentially onerous annual registration process on
those that met the proposed requirements. Many NGOs interpreted the
decree as a further step to restrict NGO funding. Authorities subjected
some NGOs to lengthy financial audits or delayed the registration of
their foreign-financed programs. The financial investigations were
particularly burdensome, and some NGOs, particularly smaller NGOs with
limited organizational capacity, stated that it restricted their
activities. In several cases authorities appeared to apply tax
regulations selectively to threaten certain organizations with possible
closure.
Regulations within the law give the government authority to oversee
NGO activities, including ensuring their compliance with stringent
registration requirements, particularly the branch offices of foreign
NGOs. The law also provides a basis for strict government monitoring of
NGO activities, including the oversight of extensive reporting
requirements by NGOs concerning their programs and activities, as well
as for government enforcement of limitations on the participation of
foreign citizens. Authorities obtained authorization to use intrusive
means to carry out these responsibilities as well as authority to deny
registration to, or shut down, an organization, based on vague and
subjective criteria. The body that previously had responsibility for
enforcing these regulations, the Federal Registration Service, was
abolished in 2008 and its functions transferred to the Ministry of
Justice. Domestic organizations that sought to register under the law
generally did so successfully. However, in March 2008 authorities
informed 43 international organizations that they would need to
reregister under a more burdensome requirement. As of year's end, none
of these requirements had, by themselves, forced an NGO to cease
operations. However, human rights advocates believed that the
government maintained the regulations as a mechanism for closing them,
should it decide it was in its interest to do so.
In June, after hearing criticism of the 2006 NGO law at a meeting
with the Presidential Council on Human Rights, President Medvedev
called existing regulations a ``burden'' and announced that some
requirements in the law would be eased. On July 7, an amendment to the
law took effect that revoked the Justice Ministry's authority to
arbitrarily demand documents from domestic NGOs; provided that flaws in
documentation would be grounds to suspend, but not annul, a domestic
organization's registration; and removed ``threats to national unity
and identity'' from the list of reasons for denying registration. The
amendment also simplified reporting forms for domestic NGOs and
required them to be inspected by the government once every three years,
rather than annually. None of these amendments applied to foreign NGOs.
At year's end, however, these changes had not resulted in any notable
improvement in circumstances for NGOs.
There continued to be allegations that the government used the
fight against extremism as a pretext for cracking down on organizations
opposed to government policy. In May the antiextremism branch of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs detained opposition activist Roman
Dobrokhotov, a participant in the For Human Rights Movement, giving no
explanation why his activities were deemed extremist. In June two Orel
members of Solidarity, Dmitriy Krayukhin and Georgiy Sarkisyan, were
accused of extremism, and ``wanted'' posters of their faces were posted
in the Orel Ministry of Internal Affairs. When they protested, the Orel
mayor apologized and had the posters taken down. Several times between
2006 and 2008, the government amended the law on extremism to expand
the definition of extremism and make it easier to bring cases against
an organization.
In February a member of the progovernment youth group Nashi
announced that she and several other Nashi members had infiltrated
opposition groups in order to spy on their activities and send reports
back to Nashi and the presidential administration. They had received
payment from an unknown source for this activity.
A March article in Novaya Gazeta by Yabloko youth head Ilya Yashin
described numerous examples of harassment and ``provocations'' that he
had experienced in previous months. These included unknown persons
sending prostitutes to join opposition rallies, throwing obscene items
during his speeches, sending a man to publicly pose as a gay lover
during one of his press conferences, pouring mud on him, and defiling
his car.
In February 2008 authorities ordered the closure of the Center for
Educational and Research Programs (CERP). Authorities accused the
center of tax evasion and interfering with government agencies. The
center had advised other NGOs in the northwest part of the country on
how to comply with the NGO law. CERP applied to the ECHR, but at year's
end the court had not ruled on CERP's case.
During the year some senior officials made critical statements that
contributed to, and reflected, increased suspicion of NGO activity.
Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov and other leaders in the North
Caucasus accused local NGOs of being on the payroll of foreign
intelligence services. The first deputy chief of staff to President
Medvedev, Vladislav Surkov, questioned the loyalty of some human rights
NGOs that covered human rights issues or received foreign funding.
There were no reports during the year that political parties had
their registration revoked or denied. In the past, a number of parties
were denied registration, including political parties have had their
registration revoked or denied since the passage of the 2006
registration law, including the National Bolshevik Party, the
Republican Party, Great Russia, and the Popular Democratic Union,
former premier Mikhail Kasyanov's political movement.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice; however, in some cases authorities imposed restrictions on
certain groups. The country does not have an official state religion.
The law recognizes Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as
``traditional.''
The Russian Orthodox Church is the dominant faith in the country
and, while no faith holds privileges or advantages in law, in practice
the Russian Orthodox Church enjoyed a preeminent status and maintained
a number of formal and informal agreements with government ministries
that gave it particular weight on matters such as guidelines for
education in schools, religious training for military personnel,
ownership of historical property, and law enforcement and customs
decisions. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox
Church has been allowed ``indefinite use'' of buildings for worship but
not of the land on which the buildings are located. These agreements
gave the Russian Orthodox Church far greater access than other
religious groups to public institutions, such as schools, hospitals,
prisons, and the military services.
Although the constitution provides for the equality of all
religions before the law and the separation of church and state, the
government did not always respect these provisions. Conditions improved
for some minority religious groups, such as the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and the Lutheran Church, while remaining
largely the same for most. Government policy continued to contribute to
the generally free practice of religion for most of the population.
Religious groups are not required to register with the government
for members to practice their faith, but all religious groups that want
legal status (needed in order to open bank accounts, purchase property,
or enter into contracts) must register. The law prevents religious
groups that have existed in the country for less than 15 years from
registering as legal organizations.
Local courts largely upheld the right of nontraditional groups to
register, but a few religious groups continued to contest denials of
registration in the courts. In some cases, including that of the
Salvation Army in Moscow, government officials refused to comply with
court orders to register certain groups. According to the vice chairman
of the Commission for Religious Associations, Andrei Sebentsov,
approximately 800 religious organizations were dissolved in 2007. In
October 2008 the government circulated a list of approximately 20
religious organizations slated for possible liquidation, but there were
no further developments at year's end.
In July the United Russia party and Russian Orthodox Church
patriarch Kirill announced an agreement allowing the Russian Orthodox
Church to review all draft legislation pending before the State Duma. A
United Russia deputy stated that requests from other faiths to do the
same would be ``considered'' if ``they represent a significant portion
of the electorate.'' The onset of the economic crisis late in 2008 led
the Russian Orthodox Church and Orthodox social groups to seek and
obtain aid from the government.
Some human rights groups and religious minority groups criticized
the prosecutor general for encouraging legal action against some
minority religions and for giving official support to materials that
were biased against Muslims, members of Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons,
and others. There were credible reports that individuals within the
federal security services and other law enforcement agencies harassed
minority religious groups, investigated them arbitrarily for purported
criminal activity and violations of tax laws, and pressured landlords
to renege on contracts with them.
The Ministry of Justice and other federal and local authorities,
continued to restrict the rights of a few religious minority groups.
Legal obstacles to registration under the Law on Religions
disadvantaged some religious groups considered ``nontraditional.'' The
law on NGOs permits government inspections of religious organizations
and attendance by government agents at some public religious events
with advance notice. Like other public organizations, registered
religious organizations must provide annual financial reports and other
documents upon the request of the Ministry of Justice and report within
three days any changes in their organizational leadership or address.
However, according to the religion news service Forum 18, Ministry of
Justice officials could not explain which government agencies, other
than the tax inspectorate, had the right to initiate the closure of
religious organizations.
Some regional officials used contradictions in federal and local
laws and varying interpretations of the law to restrict the activities
of religious minorities. According to many observers, local governments
were more susceptible than federation officials to pressure from the
local religious majority and therefore were more likely to discriminate
against local minority religious communities. However, in contrast with
previous years, there were only isolated instances of local officials
detaining individuals engaged in public discussion of their religious
views, and these incidents were usually resolved quickly.
The Office of the Federal Human Rights Ombudsman has a department
for religious freedom issues, which received and responded to
complaints. Religious complaints made up 5 percent of all complaints
the Ombudsman's Office received, according to its 2009 report.
In March authorities charged Aslambek Ezhayev, the Moscow-based
publisher of The Personality of a Muslim by Arab theologian Muhammad
Ali Al-Hashimi Ezhayev, with copyright violations and use of harmful
software. These charges replaced an earlier charge of inciting
religious hatred. The trial began in Lyublino District Court in Moscow
on March 24; Ezhayev was convicted on July 3 and fined 50,000 rubles
($1,650) for unlawful use of computer software.
The law recognizes three categories of religious communities--
groups, local organizations, and centralized organizations--that have
differing levels of legal status and privileges.
The law requires a group of believers to have been present in the
country at least 15 years before it is eligible to register as a
``legal organization.'' While a 1997 Supreme Court ruling grandfathered
religious organizations that had registered before the law took effect,
the Church of Scientology had only one local organization (in Moscow)
that was legally entitled to reregister. However, the Moscow church
remained unregistered while authorities appealed a 2007 ECHR ruling
that their refusal to register it violated article 9 of the European
Convention on Human Rights. On October 1, the ECHR ruled that the
country's prohibition of the Church of Scientology had violated the
European Convention on Human Rights and awarded 5,000 euros ($7,170) to
each of the two Scientology groups (in Surgut and in Nizhnekamsk) that
had originally applied to the ECHR, as well as 10,000 euros ($14,300)
to the two groups jointly for legal costs.
There continued to be some restrictions on establishing, building,
or maintaining places of worship and training sufficient clergy to
serve believers. Jehovah's Witnesses had difficulty getting permits to
build assembly halls in some regions.
In Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk Oblast, local authorities provided the
Jehovah's Witnesses a plot of land to build a Kingdom Hall, and in
April 2008 worshipers began holding meetings there. However, in
September 2008, following complaints from local residents, authorities
opened a case against the Jehovah's Witnesses for alleged violations of
fire regulations posed by a neighbor's garage. The Jehovah's Witnesses
received a warning, paid a fine, and applied to have the garage
removed. At year's end members of Jehovah's Witnesses had not been
allowed to resume use of the facilities.
Various minority religious organizations encountered difficulties
in obtaining or renovating property. Authorities continued to deny the
Muslim community's request to build a mosque in the city of Sochi.
There were reports that permission would be granted before the 2014
Olympics, but religious freedom advocates expressed doubt that the
mosque would be allowed under the control of the local Muslim Yasin
group. Regional and local authorities as well as businessmen on a
number of occasions refused to lease facilities to local Jehovah's
Witnesses communities.
During 2008 two Baptist congregations in the regional center of
Lipetsk lost their legal status and a third lost its rented prayer
house. In the first two cases, authorities removed their status for
alleged tax violations. In the case of the prayer house, the Orthodox
diocese of Lipetsk filed a suit for control of the building, and local
authorities offered a building in need of substantial repair as
compensation.
Some local and municipal governments prevented minority religious
groups from obtaining venues for large gatherings and from acquiring
property for religious uses.
There were no restrictions on worship by individuals in public or
in private.
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for conducting expert
reviews of religious groups. On February 18, the ministry issued order
number 53, effective March 31, which expanded the authority of the
Expert Council for Government Theological Review to oversee the
operations of religious groups. Alexander Dvorkin, a self-described
expert on ``sects,'' was elected by his colleagues to head the council,
which was tasked with determining the religious nature of an
organization on the basis of its founding documents and information
about the fundamentals of its dogma and its corresponding practice,
verifying and evaluating the authenticity of the information contained
in a religious organizations' founding documents, and verifying that
the forms and methods of a religious organization's actual activities
correspond with its assertions at the time it was registered by the
state.
Officials associated with law enforcement, the Russian Orthodox
Church, and the legislative branch spoke at various times of protecting
the ``spiritual security'' of the country by discouraging the growth of
``sects'' and ``cults,'' usually understood to include some Protestant
and newer religious movements. The 2009 National Security Concept of
the Russian Federation stated that ``ensuring national security
includes countering extremist activity by nationalist, religious,
ethnic, and other organizations and structures directed at disrupting
the Russian Federation's unity and territorial integrity and
destabilizing the domestic political and social situation in the
country.''
Government officials and journalists often labeled Muslim
organizations ``Wahhabi,'' a term associated with extremism. The
republics of Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria formally prohibited
Wahhabism.
While in the past there have been no legal prohibitions on
missionary activities, in November President Medvedev proposed
legislation that would impose new restrictions on missionaries.
According to the draft legislation, only religious groups registered in
Russia for at least 15 years would be allowed to engage in missionary
activity; foreigners in Russia on temporary visas would be prohibited
from engaging in missionary work; missionary activity would be
prohibited at hospitals, orphanages, or homes for persons with
disabilities; and children or minors could not be present at religious
activities without the permission of their parents or guardians. Many
observers raised the concern that this law could seriously curtail
missionary activity in the country. There was also societal pressure
against proselytizing by non-Orthodox faiths, and some groups reported
that missionaries had been harassed or attacked when proselytizing.
Authorities either deported or denied entry to several religious
workers with valid visas. Some religious personnel experienced visa
difficulties while entering or leaving the country. Laws in three
oblasts--Belgorod, Kursk, and Smolensk--forbid foreign visitors from
engaging in missionary activity or preaching unless specifically
authorized by their visas. According to local religious officials, the
laws were not enforced.
Chechen authorities continued to enforce President Ramzan Kadyrov's
2006 decree prohibiting women entering government institutions without
headscarves.
Since 2006 schools in four of the country's 85 regions required the
teaching of a controversial Foundations of Orthodox Culture course; in
many other regions, the course was taught as an elective.
On October 29, Prime Minister Putin signed a decree outlining a
pilot program to teach religion in schools. The program, which was
scheduled to begin in April 2010 in fourth-grade classes in schools in
19 federal provinces, is intended to give students a choice among the
four traditional religions, as well as a course on ``secular ethics.''
Russian Orthodox Church officials stated that the process of
instituting this policy would be ``very democratic'' and that there
would be no discrimination against any minority religion.
Some regions offered a course on the history of religion, an
initiative that the minister of education suggested but did not
introduce nationally. Although the Ministry of Education rejected
continuing the publication and dissemination of a controversial
textbook that detailed Orthodox Christianity's contribution to the
country's culture, some schools continued to use the text. The textbook
contained descriptions of some religious groups that members of those
groups found objectionable. The Congress of Religious Associations in
the Tyumen Oblast appealed to the governor and oblast department of
education to allow input from other religious groups into the religious
culture curriculum, claiming that the course contained only the
viewpoint of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The number of official mosques has increased from four to 241 since
Soviet times. However, according to a recent speech by the head Mufti,
there were approximately 2000 mosques throughout the country, an
increase from 98 ten years ago. There have also been reports of
significant growth in the Muslim population, and estimates placed the
number of Muslims at between 15 and 20 million at years end. News
reports indicated that, on May 26, Moscow municipal authorities
approved the construction of a new mosque. Mosques opened in Kupavna in
December 2008 and in Balashikha in March. As of January the mufti in
Cherkessk reported that the mayor of Stavropol had not returned the
centrally located mosque to worshippers, as previously promised by the
government.
In February the Suzdal Diocese Office of the Russian Orthodox
Autonomous Church confirmed that since 1990 the Federal Agency for
State Property Management (Rosimushestvo) deprived it of 11 churches
and two bell towers--including the group's main church, Tsar
Constantine Cathedral--in Suzdal, Vladimir Oblast, and its surrounding
areas because it failed to sign agreements for free use of the
buildings by other groups. The church appealed the decision to the
First Court of Arbitration Appeals, which upheld the regional
arbitration court's decision. The church's lawyers challenged the
decision, asserting that the use of the church buildings was under
earlier ``protection'' agreements between the church and the state
center in charge of keeping records concerning historical and cultural
monuments, their use, and restoration. The Russian Orthodox Autonomous
Church stated its intention to appeal the decision once again to the
Volgo-Vyatka Circuit Court of Arbitration. Security service personnel
prevented church personnel from removing religious objects from the
churches in March. In September the church reported that the
parishioners of the Moscow Patriarchate church in Suzdal were filing
suit to remove all icons from Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
churches. There was no further information on this possible suit at
year's end.
Many foreign religious organizations continued to report
difficulties with requirements for visas, which limit foreigners with
business or humanitarian visas to spending only 90 of every 180 days in
the country. According to religious experts, the rules were not aimed
at religious workers, but their effect has been to severely restrict
religious groups that rely upon foreign religious workers. The Roman
Catholic Church, which relies almost exclusively on priests from
outside the country, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, with more than 300 foreign missionaries, have been particularly
affected by the provision. Foreign religious workers appeared able to
acquire visas with few problems, but the 90-day limit on their stay
limited their ability to work and significantly increased their
expenses. Although registered religious organizations had the option of
sponsoring foreign workers and missionaries on work visas (which do not
have 90-day or 180-day limits), this was a complicated process that
placed significant financial and administrative burdens on the
organizations.
The Jehovah's Witnesses were a target for many actions by local and
regional authorities during the year. Early in the year, the first
deputy prosecutor general sent a letter to prosecutor's offices across
the country ordering wide-ranging investigations of all Jehovah's
Witnesses legal representatives and religious groups. Subsequently,
prosecutor's offices, the Federal Security Service, and police summoned
members of congregations and their legal representatives for
questioning and visited kingdom halls and personal homes of Jehovah's
Witnesses.
As a result of the prosecutor's directive, law enforcement,
security service, and judicial officials have opened more than 500
recorded investigations of legal representatives and unregistered
groups of Jehovah's Witnesses. On April 16, Human Rights Ombudsman
Vladimir Lukin sent a letter to the prosecutor general protesting ``the
prejudicial attitude of certain officials of the Prosecutor's Office''
towards Jehovah's Witnesses and asked him to ``take steps to prohibit
mass violations'' of their rights. Lukin had not received a response to
his letter at year's end.
On April 4, Federal Security Service and police officials in
Vladikavkaz detained and verbally abused two attorneys and one other
traveler from Canada representing the Jehovah's Witnesses in a local
court case. The lawsuit proposed to liquidate four local religious
organizations of the Jehovah's Witnesses in North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz,
Alagir, Mozdok, and Beslan). Officials detaining the lawyers claimed
they had entered a zone restricted to foreigners when they pulled off
the highway to visit the home of their driver's relatives. On April 5,
a local judge ruled that all three foreigners would be deported for
violating the restricted zone and disrespecting police. The judge
promised to free the detainees, provided they signed a statement
indicating their desire to leave the country immediately, which all
three did. The lawyers would be barred from Russia for five years if
the deportation rulings come into force. The Jehovah's Witnesses
appealed the ruling; the appeal was pending at year's end.
On May 8, police in Salsk, Rostov Oblast, detained a Jehovah's
Witness attorney with foreign citizenship for allegedly practicing law
without a valid license. He had represented the church in the Salsk
City Court and had been legally representing Jehovah's Witnesses with a
power of attorney for several years. He was forced to leave the
country.
On May 24, police and Federal Security Service personnel raided
Sunday services of the Jehovah's Witness organization in Asbest,
Sverdlovsk Oblast. They copied passport information for most of the
approximately 50 worshippers present. A local spokesman, Sergei
Tantsura, told Forum 18 that one worshipper, 37-year-old Aleksandra
Mastyugina, suffered a miscarriage after police threatened to send her
and others who protested the intrusion to a detoxification unit and an
investigator summoned her for questioning on May 31. On July 6, the
Prosecutor's Office announced that it had closed the investigation but,
on July 31, announced that it was reopening the case on a charge of
distribution of extremist literature.
Authorities took a number of measures to discourage dissemination
of literature by the Jehovah's Witnesses. On September 11, the Rostov-
on-Don Regional Court ruled that 34 texts used by the Jehovah's
Witnesses were extremist. The court also declared the church's
congregation in Taganrog to be extremist and ordered its liquidation.
The Jehovah's Witnesses appealed to the Supreme Court. On December 8,
the Supreme Court in Moscow upheld the Rostov-on-Don decision.
Religious freedom advocates asserted that this decision could
effectively prohibit Jehovah's Witnesses from the country, as the
``extremist'' designation of the literature could also apply to those
who distribute it. On October 1, the Gorno-Altaisk City Court ruled
that 18 Jehovah's Witnesses' publications were extremist, a decision
that was appealed to the Supreme Court.
On September 9, the Pacific Ocean Star, Khabarovsk's main
newspaper, published an article accusing local members of the Jehovah's
Witnesses of being U.S. agents.
According to the Slavic Law Center, in April government officials
in Elista, Republic of Kalmykia, threatened to take ``extreme
measures'' against Seventh-day Adventists for not allowing their
children to attend school on Saturdays. According to the Union of
Councils (UCSJ), at a March 14 meeting of the Elista Commission on
Youth Affairs, officials called three Adventist parents ``sectarians,''
relying on testimony from a Russian Orthodox activist and other
students. The commission brought charges against the Adventists and
ruled that youth affairs officials should interview the children to
determine why they did not attend school on Saturdays. After the
interviews officials reported to the commission that the parents had
``terrified their children'' into refusing Saturday classes. In March
the Elista City Court fined each parent 100 rubles ($3.30). On April
24, the Elista city court ruled that the Adventists were not liable to
pay the fine.
In April the St. Petersburg Ministry of Internal Affairs
University, a training facility for future law enforcement leaders,
removed 1,000 copies of a textbook containing anti-Semitic passages.
The Russian and Soviet history textbook, written by two professors at
the university, contained statements promoting theories on Jewish
conspiracies against the Soviet Union. One passage claimed that former
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev stated to the Israeli parliament in
1992 that ``everything I did to the Soviet Union, I did in the name of
our god Moses.'' The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia
complained about the textbook and promised to undertake its own
investigation. The university subsequently fired the book's author, 80-
year-old professor Vasiliy Drozhzhin.
According to a January 21 report by the AEN news service, a
brochure written by Evgeny Gerasimenko and published by the Ministry of
Internal Affairs's Institute for Raising Qualifications, connected
Judaism to Satanism. The brochure, Extremism: Understanding
Socioeconomic, Political, and Historical Roots and Trends, was
distributed at a meeting of police officials charged with combating
extremism and terrorism. The brochure described Satanism and Chasidism
as both arising from Judaism and ``specifically its secretive, cruel,
and kabalistic sects.'' According to the UCSJ, on January 25, Oleg
Elnikov, spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responded to
questions about the brochure by claiming that the author made
``stylistic mistakes'' and did not intend to offend Jews.
On January 28, the Investigative Committee of the Republic of
Mordovia and the Russian Federal Security Service announced that it had
shut down the activities of a Satanist sect founded and headed by a 24-
year-old medical student. Officials claimed that the group distributed
Satanist literature and performed ``religious rituals accompanied by
illegal actions, including alcohol marathons, sexual practices, and
antisocial behavior.'' Officials initiated a criminal case, charging
the student with organizing a union that encroached on citizens'
rights. On January 24, the court ordered law enforcement personnel to
detain two members of the sect, including its leader.
On April 28, authorities in Dagestan prevented activists belonging
to Nurjular, a Muslim religious organization in Izberbash, from
assembling. The Supreme Court prohibited Nurjular in April 2008. A
spokesman for the Federal Security Service stated that all activists
who participated in the meeting were questioned and released and that
their activities remained under surveillance ``across Dagestan and
elsewhere in Russia.''
On May 7, the Russian Supreme Court ruled that the international
religious organization Tablighi Jamaat was extremist and prohibited its
activity. The prosecutor general maintained that the Tablighi Jamaat
was a radical organization whose goal was the reestablishment of an
Islamic caliphate, but Tablighi Jamaat and some human rights activists
claimed that the organization scrupulously followed the law and existed
solely to educate others about Islam.
Authorities permitted Orthodox chapels and priests on army bases
and gave Protestant groups limited access to military facilities.
Authorities largely prohibited Islamic services in the military and
generally did not give Muslim conscripts time for daily prayers or
alternatives to pork-based meals. Some Muslim recruits serving in the
army reported that their fellow servicemen insulted and abused them on
the basis of their religion.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports of societal
abuses and discrimination based on religious belief and practice.
Although religious matters were not a source of social tension or
problems for the large majority of citizens, there were some problems
between majority and minority groups, including incidents of harassment
and violence.
Prejudices against non-Orthodox religions were behind some
manifestations of anti-Semitism and occasional friction with non-
Orthodox Christian denominations. Because xenophobia, racism, and
religious bigotry were often intertwined, it was sometimes difficult to
determine which prejudice was the primary motivation behind
discrimination against members of religious groups. Conservative
activists claiming ties to the Russian Orthodox Church occasionally
disseminated negative publications and held protest meetings against
religions they considered nontraditional, including alternative
Orthodox congregations. Some Russian Orthodox clergy publicly stated
their opposition to any expansion of the presence of Roman Catholic,
Protestant, and other non-Orthodox denominations.
Popular attitudes toward traditionally Muslim ethnic groups
remained negative in many regions, and there were manifestations of
anti-Semitism as well as societal hostility toward adherents of more
recently established religions, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Scientology.
On November 22, inscriptions abusive to Muslims appeared on a
mosque in Kirov. There were no other recorded cases of acts of
vandalism against Muslim communities.
Instances of harassment of persons of the evangelical and
Pentecostal faiths reportedly decreased during the year.
According to the Moscow Bureau of Human Rights (MBHR), during the
year there were seven reported cases of vandalism against Orthodox
Christian churches and eight cases of vandalism against non-Orthodox
churches, which was comparable to the level in 2007.
An estimated 250,000 Jews lived in the country, constituting less
than 0.25 percent of the population, according to government sources
and various Jewish groups. Some researchers believed that the number
was underreported due to the hesitation of some Jews to publicly
identify their background.
The trend toward a decrease in violent attacks against Jews,
reported in recent years, continued. According to the MBHR, the number
of anti-Semitic attacks against Jews decreased during the year by 7
percent.
On March 9, two young men dressed as neo-Nazis attacked two
students in Moscow. One of the students was the son of a Jewish Agency
employee. The attack coincided with the celebration of the Jewish
holiday Purim.
In March a court convicted a resident of Omsk of spreading ``a
deliberately false alarm'' concerning an act of terrorism for putting a
fake bomb in front of a synagogue in November 2008. The sentence was
suspended. Authorities did not charge him with a hate crime.
There continued to be reports across the country of vandals
desecrating Jewish synagogues and cemeteries and defacing Jewish
religious and cultural facilities, sometimes combined with threats to
the Jewish community. Anti-Semitic graffiti and leaflets appeared
frequently in many regions. Anti-Semitism on television or in other
mainstream media was infrequent and was more likely to appear in low-
circulation newspapers or in pamphlets. However, anti-Semitic material
on Russian-language Internet sites increased.
On July 16, a rock was thrown through the window of the Syktyvar
Jewish community center in the Komi Republic; on July 12, in Ryazan,
unknown vandals painted swastikas on the doors of a Jewish community
center; on September 12, four skinhead youths were arrested for
throwing two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Khabarovsk. On the
same night, the home of a police officer who investigated racist crimes
was also firebombed. On September 13, skinheads in Khabarovsk threw
Molotov cocktails into a synagogue and into the house of a policeman
who had been investigating cases of extremism. Khabarovsk Antiextremist
Department police detained the group, and criminal proceedings were
opened against two of the suspects. They faced up to five years of
imprisonment for the synagogue attack and up to life imprisonment for
the police attack.
The MBHR reported that 43 synagogues and community centers were
vandalized during the year. The SOVA Center, an NGO that seeks to
combat extremism and nationalism, also reported desecrations of graves
in Jewish cemeteries in Nizhny Novgorod, Makhachkala, and Kaliningrad.
Officials often classified these crimes as ``hooliganism.'' In many
cases where local authorities prosecuted cases, courts imposed
suspended sentences. In some cases, however, the hate crime motive was
taken into consideration.
There were many reports of anti-Semitic publications during the
year. A number of small, radical-nationalist newspapers that print
anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, and xenophobic articles were readily
available throughout the country. There were also reports of anti-
Semitic literature on sale in cities across the country. The estimated
number of xenophobic publications exceeded 100, many sponsored by the
local chapters of the National Power Party. In addition, there were at
least 80 Web sites in the country with anti-Semitic content. There was
evidence of a concerted government campaign to limit the sale and
distribution of anti-Semitic literature.
There were no reports that the government prosecuted any persons or
groups for anti-Semitic statements or publications during the year.
However, the government publicly criticized nationalist ideology and
expressed support for legal action against anti-Semitic acts.
Federal authorities, and in many cases regional and local
authorities, facilitated the establishment of new Jewish institutions.
Vladimir Putin, both as president in 2008 and subsequently as prime
minister, publicly criticized anti-Semitism and supported the
establishment of the Museum of Tolerance by the Federation of Jewish
Communities of Russia. Work continued on a 2.7 billion ruble (89
million dollar) complex on land donated by the Moscow city government
to house the museum as well as Jewish community institutions, including
a school and a hospital.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement,. Internally Displaced Persons, Protection
of Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration and
repatriation; however, the government placed restrictions on freedom of
movement within the country and on migration. The government cooperated
with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in providing
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern.
All adults must carry government-issued internal passports while
traveling internally and must register with the local authorities
within a specified time of their arrival at a new location. Authorities
often refused to provide governmental services to individuals without
internal passports or proper registration. The official grace period
for registration given to an individual arriving in a new location is
90 days. Darker-skinned persons from the Caucasus or Central Asia were
often singled out for document checks. There were credible reports that
police arbitrarily imposed fines on unregistered persons in excess of
legal requirements or demanded bribes from them.
Although the law gives citizens the right to choose their place of
residence freely, many regional governments continued to restrict this
right through residential registration rules that closely resembled
Soviet-era regulations. Citizens moving permanently must register
within seven days in order to reside, work, or obtain government
services and benefits or education for their children in a specific
area. Citizens changing residence within the country, migrants, and
persons with a legal claim to Russian citizenship who moved to the
country from other former-Soviet republics often faced great
difficulties or simply were not permitted to register in some cities.
The registration process in local police precincts was often corrupt.
There were frequent reports of police expecting bribes to process
registration applications and demanding them during spot checks for
registration documentation.
The law provides for freedom to travel abroad and citizens
generally did so without restriction; however, there were exceptions.
Citizens with access to classified material needed to obtain police and
Federal Security Service clearances to receive a passport for
international travel.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it. The law provides all citizens with the right to emigrate, and this
right was generally respected.
De facto authorities in the Georgian separatist regions of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, as well as Russian troops in the region, restricted
freedom of movement. Checkpoints operated by de facto militia and
Russian troops often obstructed citizens' internal movement in these
regions and between these regions and areas controlled by the Georgian
government. International organizations were generally allowed to
operate in Abkhazia, with limitations; however, virtually all
international organizations, including humanitarian ones, were blocked
from entering South Ossetia.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--As of December 31, 8,938 IDPs
displaced to Ingushetiya by Chechnya's second conflict were registered
in the Danish Refugee Council's North Caucasus database. Of these,
7,217 persons lived in private quarters, while 1,721 resided in
temporary settlements. The Federal Migration Service reported that, as
of December 31, Ingushetiya was also home to 2,836 IDPs from
Prigorodny. At year's end 3,654 Chechen IDPs were living in Dagestan
and an estimated 4,193 continued to live in temporary settlements and
temporary accommodation centers within Chechnya proper. Also as of
December 31, nearly 10,000 forced migrants from South Ossetia in
Georgia remained in North Ossetia as a result of conflicts over the
Tskhinvali region in the early 1990s and in August 2008.
Although sources differed on the exact figures, approximately
46,000 IDPs returned from Ingushetiya and Dagestan in the last six
years. Authorities continued to employ negative incentives--including
deregistration from IDP rolls, cancellation of food assistance, and
utility cuts to temporary settlements--to induce often unwilling IDPs
in Ingushetiya to return to Chechnya. In many cases deregistration took
place following IDPs' signature of applications for voluntary return to
Chechnya; IDPs told the UNHCR and NGOs that local officials had
obtained their signatures under pressure, for example by threatening to
terminate their child allowances and pensions. Beginning April 1, the
Ingushetiya office of the Federal Migration Service refused to accept
any claims for reinstatement on its registration lists. In addition,
forced evictions of IDPs from temporary accommodation centers within
Chechnya continued during the year. Amnesty International reported
that, between February 20 and February 23, bulldozers knocked down all
the homes in the informal settlement KSM-1 on orders from the Grozny
administration, despite the fact that persons were still living in
them. Compensation for such lost housing was typically inadequate to
insure long-term shelter for the beneficiaries.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967. Its laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
In practice the government in general provided protection against
the expulsion or return of persons to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion; however, the Federal Migration Service did not maintain a
presence at airports and other border points. Asylum seekers thus had
to rely on the good will of border guards and airlines personnel to
call immigration officials to the scene or else face immediate return
to their countries of origin, including in some cases to countries
where a well-founded fear of persecution could be demonstrated. At
year's end, three migrants denied admission to the country but whose
countries of origin could not be determined remained living in Moscow
airport transit zones.
By law the decision of a Migration Service official could be
appealed to a higher-ranking authority or to a court. During the appeal
process, the applicant received the rights of a person whose
application for refugee status was being considered. If a person did
not satisfy the criteria for refugee status, but could not be expelled
or deported for humanitarian reasons, he could be granted temporary
asylum after a separate application.
The government rarely granted convention status to those who
managed to present their asylum applications to the migration service.
The UNHCR and NGOs stated that asylum seekers at times faced detention,
deportation, fines by police, and racially motivated assaults, which
sometimes led to the loss of life.
The UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and
NGOs assisted the government in trying to develop a more humane
migration management system. Officials continued to demonstrate an
incomplete grasp of refugee law, but the Federal Migration Service
cooperated well with international organizations to provide trainings
for its officers across the vast country.
In 2008 the UNHCR ceased providing refugee status determinations in
parallel with the government, deeming the practice no longer necessary.
The government committed to, and in the UNHCR's judgment usually
provided, access to its status determination process to applicants,
regardless of national origin. The government agreed to reconsider
individuals whom the UNHCR had previously determined to be in need of
international protection, to whom it had previously denied asylum,
provided the UNHCR prepared updated dossiers on each individual. The
UNHCR continued to provide counseling services to support the
government's status determination process.
During the year there were reports, not confirmed by the UNHCR,
that the Krasnodar office of the Federal Migration Service appeared to
engage in a ``Catch 22'' approach, turning away a number of asylum
seekers on the grounds that they could not apply for asylum while
already holding valid student or work visas; at the same time,
applicants whose visas had expired were told that their asylum
applications would not be accepted because they were no longer in the
country legally.
For asylum seekers who were allowed in the country to pursue their
claims, the refugee law provides the right to temporary accommodations.
However, there was only one temporary accommodation center in
operation, and it was located far outside the major cities where asylum
seekers concentrated. There are no reception centers at border points.
The Federal Migration Service and its territorial branches are obliged
by law to cover travel expenses to centers for holders and seekers of
refugee or temporary asylum status. However, the law was not respected
in practice, and the trip to the center was usually funded by the UNHCR
or the individual involved.
While federal law provides for education for all children, regional
authorities occasionally denied access to schools to children of asylum
seekers if they lacked residential registration. According to the
UNHCR, during the year all children of asylum seekers (even those
without civil registration) were entitled to attend school free of
charge. In cases where parents encountered difficulties enrolling their
children in schools, authorities consistently cooperated with the UNHCR
to resolve the problem. Authorities frequently denied migrants the
right to work if they did not have residential registration. Refugees
also cannot legally work if they are not registered and cannot obtain
registration if they do not have an employer or landlord willing to
register them.
Human rights groups continued to allege that authorities made
improper use of international agreements that permitted them to
temporarily detain persons with outstanding arrest warrants from other
former-Soviet states. This system, enforced by informal ties among
senior law enforcement officials, permitted detention for up to one
month while the prosecutor general investigated the nature of the
warrants. Human rights groups asserted that these arrangements were
employed to detain, and possibly repatriate, opponents of the
governments of other former Soviet republics without legal grounds. On
June 21, Atabek Tukhtamuradov, an Uzbek citizen, was administratively
expelled to his native country after authorities in Uzbekistan's
Andijan region filed criminal charges against him for alleged terrorist
activity. In this connection, observers recalled the government's 2007
extradition of an Uzbek national, despite a Russian court ruling
against it and an ECHR determination that the individual could be
subjected to torture if returned to Uzbekistan. Abdulrasul
Mamarakhimov, a Kirgiz citizen of Uzbek ethnicity, was extradited on
October 14, two days before a court decision on his asylum claim was to
be delivered. The return journey was routed through Kazakhstan, where
officials permitted the UNHCR to interview him. Following the UNHCR's
determination that Mamarakhimov was in need of international
protection, Kazakh authorities agreed to allow him to remain in
Kazakhstan while the UNHCR identified a resettlement country. He
remained in detention in Kazakhstan at year's end.
On April 10, the Federal Migration Service, in compliance with a
December 2008 ECHR ruling, granted temporary asylum status to the
``Ivanovo Uzbeks,'' a group of 13 persons arrested in 2005 for alleged
involvement in violent unrest in Andijan, Uzbekistan. Authorities
detained them for two years before the country's courts ordered them
released. In December 2008 the ECHR ordered authorities not to return
the 13 to Uzbekistan and to pay each 15,000 euros ($21,500) in
restitution. As of year end the group members had received the ordered
compensation; however, authorities had denied repeated requests to
grant them exit permits in order to enable them to take up offers of
asylum in Sweden.
During the year Ambullazhon Isakov lost his appeals against the
government's denial of his claim to Russian citizenship as well as his
claim to refugee status. The ECHR ruled in November 2008 that Isakov,
who was originally detained in March 2008, could not be extradited to
Uzbekistan, despite an extradition request by Uzbek authorities. At
year's end he remained in detention while awaiting a Moscow district
court ruling on his appeal of the Federal Migration Service's denial of
refugee status.
At year's end Yashin Dzhurayev was awaiting resettlement in a
foreign country that had agreed to accept him. Dzhurayev claimed he had
been persecuted for religious reasons in Uzbekistan. Russian courts
first ordered his extradition to Uzbekistan and then cancelled the
order.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived both by birth within the
country's territory (jus soli) and from one's parent's (jus sanguinis).
A child becomes a citizen at birth if both parents are citizens; if one
parent is a citizen and the other one is stateless; if one parent is a
citizen and the other is a foreigner and the child was born on the
territory of the country; or if both parents are foreigners or
stateless and the child was born on the territory of the country and
there is concern the child might become stateless. According to UNHCR
data from mid-year, there were approximately 50,000 stateless persons
in the country. Migration Service statistics registered 21,443
stateless persons in the country as year end 2008.
The law exempts former Soviet citizens residing in the country
without benefit of Russian citizenship from having to meet most
requirements for naturalization. Amendments to the citizenship law that
were adopted in 2008 extended the deadline for such individuals to
obtain citizenship through a simplified procedure until July 1, after
which date they had to use the general procedure. In addition, the law
extended the right to seek citizenship to those who obtained a
residence permit in the country after January 1, 2002, which increased
the number of persons potentially eligible for citizenship.
In Krasnodar Krai at least several hundred Meskhetian Turks (with
some estimates as high as 5,000), Batumi Kurds, Hemshils, and Yezidis,
both political and environmental refugees and their descendants,
remained without Russian passports and were denied the right to
register as residents, which deprived them of all rights of citizenship
and prevented them from working legally, leasing land, or selling
goods. The law in Krasnodar Krai that defines illegal migrants includes
stateless persons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully in regularly scheduled national and regional elections;
however, citizens could not exercise this right in practice, as the
government restricted political competition directly and indirectly by
limiting the ability of opposition parties to organize, register
candidates for public office, access the media, or conduct political
campaigns.
Elections and Political Participation.--On March 1, elections were
held for seats in the legislative bodies of nine Russian regions, 10
posts of mayor, and seats in the representative bodies of 12
administrative centers of the Russian regions. The independent election
monitoring NGO GOLOS observed a number of irregularities in the
elections, including: pressure on voters in Tatarstan, where workers at
the Kamaz plant in Naberezhnye Chelny were forced to report their
voting to management; the presence of unauthorized groups at polling
stations in St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Chelyabinsk; and
interference with election monitoring in Tatarstan, Dolgoprudny, and
Tomsk. In St. Petersburg local Yabloko party representatives were
prevented from registering more than half of their candidates. Some
voters complained of unlawful materials in polling places, blackmail,
and threats. In Volgograd voters alleged that electoral commissions
recorded their votes using invisible ink that disappeared.
United Russia candidates won in all regions they contested and in
all significant mayoral elections except Tver and Smolensk. In Smolensk
the winner immediately joined United Russia. In Mozhaisk (population
70,000) an environmental activist, Dmitry Belanovich, defeated the
United Russia candidate, despite being unable to stay at any hotels in
Mozhaisk due to what he called ``administrative pressure'' on the
proprietors. Anton Chumachenko, the United Russia candidate for a local
legislative council in St. Petersburg, won an election in which there
were charges of voting irregularities. In response, he resigned from
his position, saying that he did not want to begin his political career
with what he called ``a cynical mockery'' of rights and laws.
On April 26, the city of Sochi held a mayoral election in which
widespread problems were observed. Candidates included opposition
leader Boris Nemtsov, acting mayor Anatoly Pakhmanov, and four others.
One candidate, billionaire Aleksandr Lebedev, was struck from the
ballot a week before the election, based on his alleged misfiling of
financial statements. Lebedev immediately appealed the decision to the
regional court, which rejected the appeal. Rival candidates stated that
incumbent Pakhmanov enjoyed a virtual monopoly of local media coverage
during the campaign.
Former deputy prime minister Nemtsov was repeatedly prevented from
campaigning and was not given access to media. For example, NTV
prepared a report on the Sochi race that included interviews with four
of the candidates, including Nemtsov, but pulled the report without
broadcasting it. According to Nemtsov, NTV did so at the direction of
first deputy chief of staff of the president, Vladislav Surkov. On
March 23, several youths threw a mixture of water and ammonia into
Nemtsov's face after a press conference. Nemtsov's aides called police,
who did not respond. In another incident that Nemtsov termed a
government provocation, his campaign received an unsolicited and
anonymous contribution of $5,000 from a foreign bank. Acceptance could
have led to Nemtsov's removal from the ballot, but the campaign quickly
returned the money. On April 4, the Sochi Electoral Commission
confiscated, without explanation, 125,000 of Nemtsov's campaign
pamphlets. On the evening before the election, all four local
television channels broadcast a 20-minute documentary harshly critical
of Nemtsov.
On October 11, elections took place in 76 regions, including for
the Moscow City Duma. Observers criticized the elections as being
neither free nor fair; GOLOS described the scale of election fraud as
worse than prior elections and reported multiple abuses, including a
considerable inflation of the turnout, widespread ballot stuffing, and
voter intimidation on election day. United Russia candidates received
32 of the 35 available seats. On October 14, the three opposition
parties represented in the State Duma staged a walkout in protest of
the problems in the conduct and results of the elections. After a
meeting with President Medvedev, they rejoined the State Duma without
further incident. In a December 30 article entitled ``The Most
Scandalous Campaign of the Year,'' the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta
reviewed the October campaign and noted that every complaint regarding
irregularities had been rejected in the courts.
A number of irregularities appeared in the months leading up to the
October elections. Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov prevented the Right Cause
party from participating in the May Day march with other civic
organizations, and the Moscow electoral commission eventually barred
the party from the campaign.
Although the Yabloko party was allowed to participate in the
campaign as a party, it experienced interference and harassment
connected with the campaign. On July 30, Interfax reported that Yabloko
volunteers were detained while attempting to collect signatures to
register the party list. Solidarity member and former Yabloko youth
leader Ilya Yashin, who was running in the same electoral district as
Moscow City Duma speaker Yuriy Platanov, was arrested and knocked
unconscious (due to banging his head while entering the police van
rather than directly due to police violence) during an August 22
protest in Moscow. A week later, on September 1, election authorities
disqualified Yashin from running due to an alleged mistake in the
format of the sheet on which he had gathered his required 4,500
signatures. Over the following two days, authorities eliminated all
seven Solidarity candidates from the rolls, leaving only candidates
sanctioned by the government. Solidarity member Vladimir Milov noted on
his LiveJournal blog that even his own signature was disqualified. In
Astrakhan, progovernment youths destroyed campaign materials belonging
to opposition parties and removed their leaflets from mailboxes.
In March 2008 the country held presidential elections in which
Dmitriy Medvedev, the candidate of the ruling United Russia party,
received 70 percent of the vote. Observers from the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) stated that while the election
results reflected the will of the people, ``an election where
candidates are confronted with almost insurmountable difficulties when
trying to register risks not qualifying as free. An election where
there is not a level playing field for all contestants can hardly be
considered fair.'' GOLOS reported massive, widespread violations.
Medvedev was sworn in as the country's third president in May 2008.
In the 2007 federal State Duma elections, four parties exceeded the
7 percent threshold for gaining seats in the Duma. The United Russia
party received a two-thirds majority, sufficient to amend the
constitution. A team of parliamentarians from PACE, the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), and the Nordic Council observed the elections and concluded
they were ``not fair or democratic.'' Frequent abuses of administrative
resources, media coverage strongly in favor of the United Russia party,
and restrictive revisions to the election code combined to hinder
political pluralism. The elections in many North Caucasus republics
were marked with apparent fraud as the official voter turnout was
described by several analysts as artificially and impossibly high.
The OSCE representative on freedom of the media reported numerous
media freedom violations during the parliamentary and presidential
elections. Electoral violations and problems observed by GOLOS included
an ``unprecedented'' number of absentee ballots, collective voting
under pressure, multiple voting by the same voters, and vote counting
violations. GOLOS observers, however, reported good organization of
voting procedures and that the secrecy of voting was mostly respected.
In both the presidential and parliamentary elections, official delays
in issuing visas and restrictions on the activities of the mission led
the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to
decline to send observation missions.
As of year's end, the ECHR had not issued a judgment on the
application filed in 2008 by the Communist Party's Mordovia branch in
which it alleged that it was prevented from distributing election
fliers prior to the 2007 election.
The law provides that republic presidents and regional governors be
nominated by the president, subject to confirmation by regional
legislatures. If a regional legislature fails to confirm the
president's nominee three times, the president may dissolve the
legislature. The president also has the power to remove regional
leaders in whom he had lost confidence, including those who were
popularly elected. As of year's end, no regional legislature had failed
to confirm the president's nominee.
In April the State Duma passed a law allowing parties receiving
between 5 and 7 percent of the vote to have one or two seats in the
Duma. Prior to the law's passage, a party had to receive more than 7
percent of the popular vote in order to be represented in the Duma. The
election law provides for a strict party list system and prohibits
electoral blocs. There is no minimum voter turnout requirement. The
election law prohibits the observation of federal elections by
nonpartisan domestic groups, making it difficult for NGOs to observe
elections. Also in April, the Duma passed a law described as giving
equal airtime on electronic media to all political parties represented
in the Duma. Observers noted that the law would limit airtime for the
United Russia party's leaders when they spoke in their party capacity
rather than as government officials and that the airtime in question
related to discussion of party affairs rather than policy issues.
The law gives the president significant influence over the
Federation Council, since regional leaders selected by the president in
turn appoint half of its members. Political parties that win elections
to regional parliaments may propose candidates for the head of a
region, but the selection is still subject to the president's and the
regional legislature's approval. In April the State Duma passed and the
president signed a law allowing parties that have won local elections
to propose candidates for the heads of regions and to give local
legislatures the right to dismiss heads of municipalities.
The law prohibits early voting and negative campaigning and
provides a number of criteria for removing candidates from the ballot,
including for vaguely defined ``extremist'' behavior. The executive
branch and the prosecutor general have broad powers to regulate,
investigate, and disqualify political parties. Other provisions limit
campaign spending, set specific campaign periods, and provide for
restrictions on campaign materials.
A law enacted in March requires that, to be registered as a
political party, a group must have at least 45,000 members with at
least 450 in each of half of the country's regions and 250 members in
each of the remaining regions. The new law slightly relaxed these
minimum membership requirements, which made it difficult for smaller
parties to register. The law envisions a further reduction in the
requirement (to 40,000 members overall and 400 in each of half of the
regions) by 2012. An additional law passed in June allows a political
party to avoid the requirement for signatures altogether if it enjoyed
political support in at least one-third of the regions of the Russian
Federation. In March 2008 a Moscow court denied registration to the
political party People for Democracy and Justice, led by former prime
minister Mikhail Kasyanov. The court cited errors in 18 percent of the
more than 57,000 signatures as grounds for denying registration.
While parties represented in the Duma may nominate a presidential
candidate without having to collect and submit signatures, prospective
presidential candidates from political parties without Duma
representation must collect two million signatures from supporters
throughout the country to register to run for president. These must be
submitted to the Central Election Commission (CEC) for certification.
An independent candidate is ineligible to run if the CEC finds more
than 5 percent of the signatures to be invalid.
In January the Duma adopted a law eliminating financial
requirements for registering a political party for elections. While the
new law was billed as a boost for democratic participation, others were
concerned that it could actually close off the possibility of
registering a political party by financial means rather than
signatures.
According to CEC chief Vladimir Churov, three of the 14 parties
that sought to run in the 2007 State Duma elections were disqualified
due to problems with their registration documents.
Authorities used the law on extremism to restrict election- related
activities of political parties. The law was used in some cases to
suppress the campaign materials of opposition political parties during
the 2007 and 2008 elections. For example, in March 2008 authorities
used the laws against extremism to confiscate campaign materials from
the St. Petersburg branch of the Yabloko party. Officials also cited
the law a basis for evicting Yabloko staff members from their offices.
There were 63 women in the 450-member State Duma and nine women in
the 166-member Federation Council. There were two female ministers.
Valentina Matviyenko, governor of St. Petersburg, was the only woman to
lead one of the country's 83 regions. Three of the 19 judges on the
Constitutional Court were women. None of the political parties was led
by a woman. Data on number of minorities in the Duma and other
legislative or governmental entities was not available.
Information on the ethnic composition of the State Duma and the
Federation Council was not available. National minorities took an
active part in political life; however, ethnic Russians, who constitute
approximately 80 percent of the population, dominated the political and
administrative system, particularly at the federal level.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government acknowledged that it had not implemented the
law effectively, and many officials continued to engage in corrupt
practices. Corruption was widespread throughout the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches at all levels of government.
Manifestations included bribery of officials, misuse of budgetary
resources, theft of government property, kickbacks in the procurement
process, extortion, and improper use of official position to secure
personal profits. The NGO Information Science for Democracy (INDEM)
reported that other official institutions, such as the higher education
system, health care, the military draft system, and the municipal
apartment distribution system were also riddled with corruption. INDEM
also estimated that bribes and corruption cost the country the
equivalent of 33 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
Corruption also exacerbated illegal logging and hunting, further
complicating the country efforts to enforce environmental standards.
President Medvedev has designated the fight against corruption and
``legal nihilism'' as priorities. In December 2008 he signed into law a
package of anticorruption legislation that defines corruption and sets
forth key principles for combating it. The legislation imposes
financial disclosure requirements on government officials, restricts
postgovernment employment at entities with which the official had prior
connections, and requires reporting of actual or possible corrupt
activity. Implementation of the legislation, however, was in a nascent
stage. Although some decrees identifying agencies responsible for
enforcement of various aspects of the legislation were signed, at
year's end agency regulations to implement many of the measures had not
been drafted, and enforcement of these laws remained ineffective.
While there were prosecutions for bribery, a general lack of
enforcement remained a problem. Cases of bribery and other corrupt
practices are investigated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the
Federal Security Service, both of which were themselves widely
perceived as corrupt.
Under the law, giving and receiving bribes remains punishable by up
to 12 years of incarceration; a person who pays a bribe is relieved of
criminal liability if the bribe was extorted from him or if he
voluntarily informs law enforcement about it.
Prosecutors charged some high-level officials with corruption
during the year; however, most government anticorruption campaigns were
limited in scope and focused on lower-level officials. Allegations of
corruption were also used as a political tactic, which made it more
difficult to determine the actual extent of corruption.
On December 1, Moscow Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov won a libel suit against
Boris Nemtsov, who accused Luzhkov and his wife Yelena Baturina of
extensive corruption in a pamphlet he published entitled ``Luzhkov.
Conclusions.'' Nemtsov was ordered to pay 500,000 rubles ($16,530).
Human rights and press freedom NGOs generally asserted that the charges
were spurious.
There were reports that corrupt officials largely controlled
illegal hunting and trafficking in endangered and protected species
through the issuance of licenses and other permits in return for bribes
and other illegal benefits. On January 9, the crash of a Mi-171
helicopter in the Altai brought to light the alleged involvement of
senior officials in hunting argali sheep, listed as endangered in the
Russian Red Book. Among those killed in the crash were Aleksandr
Kosopkin, President Medvedev's representative in the Duma; Viktor
Kaimin, director of the Altai division of federal environmental
regulatory agency Rosprirodnadzor (the Altai Republic official
responsible for issuing hunting licenses); and Sergey Livishin, a
senior member of the presidential administration. On May 4, the General
Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal investigation into the illegal
hunting. Observers believed that the investigation would not have been
opened without the engagement of environmental organizations, which
collected more than 6,000 signatures urging the president and Duma
speaker to act. There were allegations that violence and threats of
violence were employed against activists and journalists who threatened
to expose these activities.
The country continued to score poorly on indicators of corruption
and transparency, such as those compiled by the World Economic Forum in
its Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010. It scored poorly on other
measurements of transparency and corruption as well, including judicial
independence, fairness in the decisions of government officials, the
transparency of government policymaking, and the influence of organized
crime.
The law authorizes public access to all government information
unless it is confidential or classified as a state secret. Refusal by
authorities to provide access to open information, or the
classification of information as a state secret without cause, has been
successfully contested in court in a few cases. However, access to
information often remained difficult and subject to prolonged
bureaucratic procedures.
In February President Medvedev signed a law requiring officials to
disclose within 30 days, upon a citizen's request, any information
controlled by the government that is not considered a state secret.
Those seeking information must file their requests via the Internet.
Officials who do not comply may be fined or imprisoned for up to five
years if the withholding of information causes serious bodily harm, as
was the case in the Chernobyl disaster. Although the law was billed as
comparable to freedom of information laws in other countries, observers
expressed concern that officials would use the ``state secrets''
provision to deny citizens access to information arbitrarily. There
were no reports of court cases implementing this law during the year.
In November former Hermitage lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in a
Moscow prison where he was being held on tax evasion charges. It was
widely believed that the charges were fabricated and that his
imprisonment took place as a result of his testimony in a corruption
case against government officials (see sections 1.a. and 1.c.).
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups operated in the
country, investigating and publicly commenting on human rights
problems, but official harassment continued, and the operating
environment for these groups was further restricted. Authorities
increasingly harassed NGOs that focused on politically sensitive areas.
Other official actions and statements indicated a lack of tolerance for
unfettered NGO activity, particularly by those NGOs that received
foreign funding or reported on human rights violations. NGOs operating
in the Northern Caucasus were severely restricted.
There were several dozen large NGO umbrella organizations as well
as thousands of small grassroots NGOs. In the regions, NGO coalitions
continued to focus their advocacy on such causes as the rights of the
disabled and of entrepreneurs, environmental degradation, violations by
law enforcement authorities, local corruption, and the conflict in
Chechnya.
The law regulating NGOs, as subsequently amended, requires them to
register with the Ministry of Justice. The local affiliates of foreign
NGOs faced more stringent registration requirements than purely
domestic ones. Officials are authorized to scrutinize NGOs, including
public associations, intrusively, and the law gives NGOs only limited
procedural protections. Under the law as amended, the Ministry of
Justice has discretion to deny registration or to request that the
courts close organizations based on vague and subjective criteria. In
June President Medvedev convened a working group to modify the NGO law,
resulting in a decrease in registration requirements for NGOs.
A June 2008 prime ministerial degree, implemented in January,
removed tax-exempt status of most international NGOs, making their
grants taxable, and imposed a potentially onerous annual registration
process on those that met the requirements for continuing operation in
the country.'' Many NGOs interpreted the decree as a further step to
restrict NGO funding and operations; however, at year's end there was
no notable decrease in NGO activity.
All NGOs are required to submit periodic reports to the government
that disclosed potentially sensitive information, including sources of
foreign funding and detailed information as to how funds were used.
Since foreign funding remained a sensitive issue for the security
services, NGOs indicated they were increasingly cautious about
accepting this support and in many cases those who continued to do so
either restricted their activities to less sensitive issues or suffered
harassment by the Federal Security Service. At the same time, many NGOs
found themselves forced to rely on foreign funding due to insufficient
support from within Russia.
Observers believed the government selectively applied the NGO law
to target certain NGOs, such as human rights organizations, whose
activities they regarded as hostile to the authorities. The law on
extremism was also employed to restrict the activities of NGOs and
criticism of the government. The law defines extremist activity to
include public libel of a government official or his family as well as
public statements that could be construed as justifying or excusing
terrorism. During the year officials increasingly applied the libel law
against NGOs and individuals. In October 2008 new amendments to this
law enabled authorities to act upon an accusation of extremism without
evidence or a court case; however, in practice, outside of the North
Caucasus, this generally did not lead to detentions without court
proceedings.
A number of indirect tactics were applied to suppress or close
domestic NGOs, including creative application of various laws and
harassment in the form of investigations and raids, including those
carried out ostensibly to check for pirated software or extremist
materials.
Several prominent activists were killed or injured by unidentified
persons during the year in circumstances that suggested that their
human rights activities were the cause for reprisals against them (see
sections 1.a. and 1.c).
In March unknown persons threw eggs at Lev Ponomarev, the director
of the NGO For Human Rights, during a press conference on prison
abuses. A journalist who pursued the attackers claimed he was assaulted
and punched by men who were taken away, along with the egg throwers, in
a black Mercedes.
In May authorities opened a criminal case against Olga Kurnosova,
the leader of the St. Petersburg branch of the United Civil Front,
accusing her of illegally transporting black caviar from Astrakhan in
October 2008. Observers believed that she was targeted due to her work.
There were no further details at year's end.
On June 8, law enforcement officers searched the apartment of
Maksim Ivantsov, the leader of the St. Petersburg branch of the youth
opposition group Oborona. The reason given for the search was an
investigation of one of Ivantsov's acquaintances suspected of painting
a swastika on a Russian flag. Police confiscated Ivantsov's computer
and 50 DVDs and threatened him with criminal charges for using
unlicensed Windows software. Observers alleged that the real reason
behind the search was Ivantsov's campaign against the abuse of
authority by law enforcement agencies and his demand for the dismissal
of the interior minister.
On July 20, agents of the Tatarstan Ministry of Internal Affairs
raided the offices of two Kazan-based human rights NGOs--AGORA and the
Kazan Rights Defense Center--that were investigating police abuses. The
reason given for the raid was possible violations of tax law. The raid
came after the organizations began investigating high-ranking police
officials in Tatarstan to determine whether, in the fall of 2008,
police colonel Ramzil Salakhov beat and threatened to shoot residents
of the village of Biurgan during a dispute over burning waste from a
local factory. By seizing the organizations' financial documents, local
authorities effectively paralyzed their activities. On December 7, the
Tatarstan tax authority charged AGORA with failure to pay 870,000
rubles ($28,770) in taxes on grants received from the National
Endowment for Democracy. The case continued at year's end.
On October 6, a district court in Moscow ruled in favor of Chechen
president Kadyrov in a civil libel suit against Moscow Memorial chief
Oleg Orlov, who accused Kadyrov of complicity in the killing of human
rights activist Natalya Estemirova. The court ordered Orlov and
Memorial to pay damages to Kadyrov and publish a retraction on the
Memorial Web site. On September 3, the Moscow Internal Affairs
Department dropped a criminal libel suit on the same changes but then,
on October 27, announced that it would reopen criminal charges. On
September 4, a week before the beginning of the hearings, men
identifying themselves as government tax inspectors had visited the
apartments of relatives of Orlov and fellow Memorial worker Aleksandr
Cherkasov. Calls to the tax inspectorate determined that officials
there had not sent them, raising the suspicion that unidentified
security personnel wished to put pressure on Orlov and Cherkasov in
connection with their work in the North Caucasus.
According to September press reports, prosecutors in Novorossiisk
were seeking to close the local human rights organization Committee for
Human Rights for ``extremist activities.'' At one of its gatherings,
the NGO reportedly promulgated the slogan ``Nobody gives you liberty,
you have to take it.'' After having the slogan reviewed by two
linguistic experts, a historian, and a child psychologist, local
authorities concluded that the phrase was an extremist call for
disorder.
On January 20, the Dzerzhinskiy Regional Court of St. Petersburg
ruled that a December 2008 raid by agents of the Prosecutor's Office on
the offices of the Memorial Research and Information Center in St.
Petersburg was illegal. Memorial was raided by seven representatives of
the Prosecutor's Office, three of whom wore masks. The sweep was
undertaken under a warrant related to an article in the newspaper Novy
Peterburg that authorities regarded as extremist. The agents were
looking for evidence of financial ties between Memorial and the
newspaper, which were denied by both Memorial and the newspaper. The
investigators removed 12 computer hard drives and the archives of
Memorial member Aleksandr Margolis, a local expert on architectural
preservation. Part of Margolis's archive was returned. The St.
Petersburg Prosecutor's Office immediately appealed the court decision,
but on January 27, the Supreme Court upheld it and stated that the Novy
Peterburg article was not extremist. Despite this ruling, the St.
Petersburg Prosecutor's Office continued to pursue the case. In March a
regional court judge confirmed the illegality of the manner in which
the raid was conducted but stated that the grounds for the raid were
legitimate. On April 24, authorities returned to Memorial the last
material they had confiscated in the raid.
Chechen human rights ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiyev continued the
practice of his predecessor of not cooperating with Memorial, and he
and Chechen President Kadyrov spoke out publicly against the NGO.
Smaller Memorial centers throughout the country reported that landlords
were frequently instructed by city administration officials not to rent
it office space.
A foreign NGO that worked with GOLOS in some of its democracy
promotion efforts continued to experience periodic harassment. In
February the firm that had processed visas for the NGO's members stated
that it would no longer do so; however, the NGO continued to operate.
In January government authorities accused this same foreign NGO of
orchestrating the election of an unsanctioned candidate as mayor of
Murmansk.
As of year's end the ECHR had not ruled on Stanislav
Dmitriyevskiy's appeal of his conviction in a Russian court of inciting
racial and ethnic hatred. At the time of his conviction, Dmitriyevskiy
was head of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), which
advocated negotiations between the government and Chechen rebels to
settle the Chechen conflict. The incitement charge was based on
Dmitriyevskiy's publishing of statements by Chechen rebel leaders. The
RCFS was closed after Dmitriyevskiy's conviction. Dmitriyevskiy
remained executive director of a successor organization, the Foundation
to Promote Tolerance, which reported on human rights abuses by both
sides of the conflict. In March 2008 police searched the offices of the
successor foundation and confiscated equipment, such as cellular
telephones, allegedly connected to violations of the extremism law.
The government continued to scrutinize organizations that it
considered to have an opposition political agenda. Numerous groups
reported politically motivated hostility from the government. In the
view of some observers as well as reports from those NGOS experiencing
harassment, NGOs working in the North Caucasus were particularly
vulnerable to government interference. During the year the government
attempted to damage the public image of the NGO community with
statements that NGOs were suspicious organizations funded by foreign
governments. Government accusations that implied connections between
foreign-funded NGOs and alleged espionage by resident diplomats
increased public perceptions that NGOs served foreign interests and
fueled instability.
In January Vladislav Piotrovskiy, director of the St. Petersburg
branch of the Central Directorate of the Internal Affairs Ministry,
publicly accused NGOs of acting as fronts for foreign intelligence
services. In the same month, Yuriy Popugayev, head of the Economic
Security Department of the Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs,
accused nonprofit and charitable organizations of acting as fronts for
money laundering. In March Duma members from United Russia and the
Liberal Democratic Party claimed that ``foreign money'' had financed
the antitariff protests in the Primorye region, although two months
later the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that that it had found
no basis for this claim. In May two progovernment analysts, Maxim
Grigoryev and Pavel Danilin, along with United Russia Duma deputy
Aleksandr Khinshtein, claimed that the opposition group Other Russia
and affiliated groups were ``corrupt'' and foreign funded. They did not
provide any evidence for the claim. In August Ingush president Yunus-
Bek Yevkurov claimed that several Western countries were supporting the
antigovernment insurgency in Ingushetiya. On more than one occasion
during the year, Vladislav Surkov continued his practice of accusing
NGOs that receive foreign funding of seeking to undermine the country's
sovereignty.
The case against Irina Malovichko continued as of September. The
Volgograd Ministry of Internal Affairs opened a criminal case against
Malovichko, the head of Child's Dignity, an NGO that works with
troubled local juveniles, for allegedly embezzling 8,584 rubles ($284)
from the NGO's budget. Her apartment was searched without a warrant and
all documents and computers seized. Malovichko filed an appeal in June
2008 that the Voroshilovsky Court rejected. The investigator in the
case threatened to open new charges against her daughter and her
colleague unless she admitted guilt. A lawyer retained by Malovichko
subsequently had his license revoked without explanation.
The Center for International Legal Defense, headed by a former
lawyer for Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovskiy, continued to face
confiscatory penalties arising from charges of alleged tax fraud.
In August an arbitration court confirmed that tax claims against
the British Council, an international cultural body funded by the
United Kingdom, were groundless. Authorities had shut down council
offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg temporarily after an
initial adverse tax ruling. They reopened in October 2008, after a
Moscow arbitration court ruled that the tax claims were illegitimate.
The British government and others alleged that the closure order was
politically motivated. Dmitry Medvedev, in his 2008 presidential
campaign, accused the British Council of conducting espionage.
Government and legislative officials recognized and consulted with
some NGOs, primarily those focused on social issues, and select groups
participated, with varying degrees of success, in drafting legislation
and decrees. Some officials, including Ombudsman for Human Rights Lukin
and the chair of the Presidential Council for Promoting the Development
of Institutions of Civil Society and Human Rights (Human Rights
Council), Ella Pamfilova, regularly interacted and cooperated with
NGOs.
In January Human Rights Ombudsman Lukin's mandate was renewed for
an additional five years. Many leaders of human rights NGOs continued
to consistently note that Lukin was generally effective as an official
advocate for many of their concerns, despite and within the legal
constraints on his position. The Ombudsman's office reported in
December that it had received approximately 30,000 complaints per month
during the year and that it succeeded in ``providing help'' to 10
percent of the complainants. It added that during the year the number
of complaints grew by 10.6 percent compared with 2008 and that most of
the complaints were about issues related to children, housing, and
employment issues.
In December the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly replaced its
unpopular human rights ombudsman, Igor Mikhailov, with Aleksey Kozyrev,
head of the St. Petersburg Public Council and the endorsed candidate of
Governor Valentina Matviyenko. Numerous activists had complained that
Mikhailov had worked to undermine human rights in the Leningrad Oblast.
On February 10, President Medvedev reconstituted the Human Rights
Council, with Pamfilova still at the head. Its membership continued to
include prominent human rights activists strongly critical of the
government's human rights record. Medvedev held meetings with the
council in April and in November. During the Podrabinek controversy
(see section 2.a.), Pamfilova took a public stance defending
Podrabinek's right to free expression and succeeded in removing the
pressure on the journalist. When the council met with Medvedev in
November, Pamfilova attacked the government over the Sergei Magnitsky
case (see sections 1.a., 1.c., and 4), and stated, ``A sudden death in
a detention center is the professional disease of Russian
businessmen.'' This quote appeared on the Kremlin Website in the
transcript of the meeting and was also broadcast on REN-TV.
In February President Medvedev gave an interview to the editor of
the opposition Novaya Gazeta newspaper, in which he expressed
condolences over the killings of its journalists and praised the
newspaper's independence. In April Medvedev opened a blog on the
popular Web site LiveJournal, soliciting comments from citizens. Many
of the comments were critical, including one that featured Prime
Minister Putin in a Nazi uniform; however, there was little government
reaction to the comments, either to punish any commentators or to
follow through on their requests. Medvedev appeared on the blog on
March 17 to address previous comments and questions.
On August 1, a law came into force creating a human rights
ombudsman for the city of Moscow. Two candidates ran for the post:
former Yabloko member Valeriy Borshchev, a prominent member of the
human rights community; and Aleksandr Muzikantskiy, the former minister
of information for Moscow and the endorsed candidate of Mayor Luzhkov.
On September 23, Ekho Moskvy reported that Muzikantskiy would be the
new Moscow ombudsman; however, he stated that he would consult with
Borshchev.
In the Jewish Autonomous Republic, Amur Oblast, and some oblasts in
Primorskiy Krai, local governments worked with NGOs to encourage
citizen participation in local self-governance. In Astrakhan government
officials worked closely with local NGOs devoted to building civil
society.
Some international NGOs maintained small branch offices within
Chechnya staffed by local employees. However, all were headquartered
outside of Chechnya. Following the killing of Natalya Estemirova (see
section 1.a.), many NGOs left Chechnya or temporarily closed their
operations there due to fears for their safety and ability to operate.
By law any person in the country may bring allegations to the ECHR
concerning human rights violations covered by the European Convention
on Human Rights that occurred after 1998, provided they have exhausted
``effective and ordinary'' appeals in the country's courts. This
condition was usually satisfied by two appeals (first and cassation) in
courts of ordinary jurisdiction or three (first, appeal, and cassation)
in the commercial court system. The ECHR, which has received more than
33,600 complaints involving Russia (28 percent of the total, the
largest proportion for any Council of Europe member), including 716
during the year, ruled against the state in 273 cases on which it
reached a decision during the year. The Demos Center reported in
January that state agencies enforced ECHR rulings approximately 60
percent of the time. When they did, the government generally paid
financial judgments ordered by the ECHR in a timely fashion; however,
it rarely carried out judicial orders from the ECHR and it issued
blanket refusals in response to ECHR requests for disclosure of the
domestic case files relating to alleged gross violations in Chechnya.
The ECHR criticized this failure of disclosure. For many years the
government refused to ratify Protocol 14 of the European Convention on
Human Rights, designed to streamline the process by which the ECHR
examines cases and thus reduce its current backlog of six to nine
years. In December President Medvedev and leading State Duma deputies
announced that Russia would ratify Protocol 14 in January; however,
this had not taken place at year's end.
On July 28, Justice Minister Aleksandr Konovalov announced that to
reduce the number of cases referred to the ECHR, it was preparing
legislation to compensate citizens who had suffered from
counterterrorist operations, in particular those that took place in
Chechnya during the past two decades. Konovalov did not specify the
amount of compensation, but said that it would correspond to the
European standards. He outlined these plans in more detail at an
October 27 press conference, but the law had not passed by year's end.
In November the UN Human Rights Committee issued a report stating
that Russia had failed to protect journalists, activists, prison
inmates, and others at odds with authorities from a wide range of
abuses, including torture and murder.
Government human rights institutions continued to promote the
concept of human rights, to challenge the activities of some local
governments that violated human rights, and to intervene in selected
abuse complaints. Ombudsman Lukin commented on a range of human rights
problems, such as police violence, prison conditions, the treatment of
children, and hazing in the military. During the year Lukin criticized
intolerance and the growing wave of ethnic, religious, and
sociopolitical hatred. He defended the rights of participants in the
dissenters' marches, noting that the constitution states clearly that
citizens have a right to participate in meetings and marches and that
only notification of authorities is required to hold meetings and
marches, not permission from the government.
The ombudsman's annual report, published in April, noted that his
effectiveness was limited because he was not empowered to propose human
rights legislation. He also noted the difficulty of getting some
government officials to respond to inquiries from his office. Lukin's
office has used its influence to draw attention to human rights
questions in prisons.
The Office of the Ombudsman included several specialized sections
responsible for investigating complaints. In 2008 the office published
a report on the protection of crime victims' rights. Lukin's role
remained primarily consultative and investigatory, without powers of
enforcement. As of September, 47 of the country's 83 regions had
regional human rights ombudsmen with responsibilities similar to
Lukin's; their effectiveness varied significantly.
Despite a 2008 law apparently intended to increase its authority,
many observers did not consider the 126-member Public Chamber of the
Russian Federation to be an effective check on the federation
government. Some prominent human rights groups declined to participate
in the chamber from the beginning out due to concern that the
government would use it to increase control over civil society. Its
weakness was demonstrated when, in December 2008, it publicly and
unanimously, but unsuccessfully, called upon President Medvedev not to
sign legislation curtailing jury trials. However, some activists were
consulted regarding the membership of the chamber during its inception,
and some members succeeded in raising the profile of human rights
cases, such as that of journalist Mikhail Beketov. In September the
Public Chamber issued a report asserting that the Moscow city and
oblast authorities had violated people's right to freedom of speech and
to freedom of conscience. The report cited instances wherein
authorities refused to allow ``dissenters' marches'' and referred to
persecution of religious minorities. In December 2008 President
Medvedev signed a law requiring all future draft legislation
restricting individual freedoms to be reviewed by the Public Chamber.
(Under earlier legislation the Duma forwarded laws to the chamber for
examination only at the chamber's own request.) As of year's end the
law had not had a discernable effect on the legislative process.
In April Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev signed a decree
allowing rights groups to monitor conditions of arrest and detention
for those being held in pretrial detention. However, the decree lacked
firm instructions on a mechanism to implement the plan, effectively
giving law enforcement authorities discretion as to whether to
cooperate. The decree also requires that law enforcement authorities be
present during any discussions of conditions with detainees. Prisoners'
rights advocates made use of the decree with varying success (see
section 1.c.).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, language,
social status, or other circumstances; however, the government did not
effectively enforce these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape is illegal, and the law makes no distinctions (as in
cases of spousal rape) based on the relationship between the rapist and
the victim. According to NGOs, many women did not report rape or other
violence due to social stigma and lack of government support. Rape
victims may act as full legal parties in criminal cases brought against
alleged assailants and may seek compensation as part of a court verdict
without initiating a separate civil action. While members of the
medical profession assisted assault victims and sometimes helped
identify an assault or rape case, doctors were reluctant to provide
testimony in court. The Syostry call center, which helps victims of
sexual abuse, reported in December that it had received 3,534 calls in
Moscow during the year.
Domestic violence remained a major problem. As of March the
Ministry of Internal Affairs maintained records on more than 4 million
perpetrators of domestic violence. The ministry estimated that a woman
died every 40 minutes at the hands of a husband, boyfriend, or other
family member and that 80 percent of women had experienced domestic
violence at least once in their lives. The ministry also estimated that
3,000 men a year were killed by wives or girlfriends whom they had
beaten. However, the reluctance of victims to report domestic violence
meant that reliable statistical information on its scope was impossible
to obtain. Official telephone directories contained no information on
crisis centers or shelters. Law enforcement authorities frequently
failed to respond to reports of domestic violence.
Spousal or acquaintance rape was not widely perceived as a problem
by society or law enforcement authorities. Women were unlikely to
report cases of rape by persons they knew. Law enforcement personnel
and prosecutors did not consider the problem a priority and reportedly
did not encourage reporting or prosecution of such cases.
There is no legal definition of domestic violence. The law
prohibits battery, assault, threats, and murder, but most acts of
domestic violence did not fall within the jurisdiction of the
Prosecutor's Office. Victims of these crimes had to prosecute such
cases themselves, which was difficult without legal training or state
assistance. Consequently, few cases were prosecuted, and there were few
convictions. According to a March study by the Smolensk-based Center
for Women's Support, police often gave lackluster and inadequate
responses to calls reporting domestic violence, at times suggesting
that the case ``wait until morning.'' Police were often unwilling to
register complaints of domestic violence and frequently discouraged
victims from submitting them. A majority of cases filed were either
dismissed on technical grounds or transferred to a reconciliation
process conducted by a justice of the peace whose focus was on
preserving the family rather than punishing the perpetrator. Civil
remedies for domestic violence included administrative fines and
divorce. The Center for Women's Support asserted that many perpetrators
of domestic violence themselves belonged to law enforcement agencies.
There were more than 600 government centers for social
rehabilitation and shelters of various types; the number of these that
offered services to domestic violence victims was unknown. There were
also an estimated 20 crisis centers, with a total of 200 beds, 90
percent of them run by NGOs; three of these were in the Moscow area.
Crisis centers did not focus exclusively on violence against women,
although some offered services, including temporary shelter, to
domestic violence victims.
Honor killings were a problem in some areas, such as the Caucasus
region. Observers estimated that 35 to 60 women annually were victims
of honor killings in Chechnya.
On February 4, the body of a 21-year-old woman with six bullet
wounds was found in the Shelkovsky region of Chechnya. Investigators
considered ``honor killing'' as a possible motive but did not reach a
definitive conclusion by year's end.
In November 2008 a series of killings of young women occurred in
Chechnya. According to the head of Chechnya's Investigation Committee,
(an office within the Republic-level Ministry of Internal Affairs), the
killings were likely motivated by the women's refusal to adhere to what
the perpetrators considered to be Muslim traditions. President Kadyrov
initially spoke out against the killings and called for the
perpetrators to be brought to account, but he later called the killings
justified, telling journalists that the women had ``loose morals'' and
that ``no one can tell us not to be Muslims.'' A Chechen NGO that
worked to counsel perpetrators of honor killings faced harassment by
local authorities, who threatened to shut it down and reportedly made a
veiled death threat against its director.
The organization and operation of a prostitution business is a
crime, while selling sexual services is a lesser administrative
offense. Prostitution remained widespread, and some observers noted
that the country was a destination for sex tourism. Police worked
closely with at least one foreign government to ensure the prosecution
of sex tourists. There were reports of persons in prostitution bribing
police and of police violence against persons in prostitution. It was
widely believed that police were involved in the protection of
prostitution. According to a May 4 Reuters article, approximately
100,000 persons in Moscow were engaged in prostitution.
The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, which remained a
widespread problem. NGOs operating hot lines reported that women
routinely sought advice on the problem. The lack of legal remedies and
limited economic opportunities caused many women to tolerate
harassment. Authorities have successfully prosecuted only two sexual
harassment cases since 1992. In July 2008 a 22-year-old female
executive attempted to pursue a sexual harassment suit but lost the
case when the judge declared that sexual harassment is necessary to
further the human species. A participant in the trial noted that ``if
Russia were to measure sexual harassment by Western standards, 100
percent of female professionals would report that they had experienced
sexual harassment.'' According to a 2005 report by Profil magazine, 32
percent of women said that they had had sexual relations with their
bosses, and 7 percent said that their bosses had raped them. Of the
respondents, 80 percent said that they could not achieve promotion
without engaging in sexual relations with their male superiors.
Although the constitution states that men and women have equal
rights and opportunities to pursue those rights, women encountered
discrimination in employment. Job advertisements often specified gender
and age groups. Some even specified desired physical appearance and
preference for applicants who were open to intimate relations with
their prospective supervisors. Employers often preferred to hire men to
save on maternity and childcare costs and avoid the perceived
unreliability associated with women with small children. The labor
market was characterized by gender discrimination in compensation,
professional training, hiring and dismissal, and career promotion.
However, such discrimination was often very difficult to prove.
According to both RosStat, the federal state statistics service, and
the Center for Labor Studies (of the Higher School of Economics), in
2007 the gender differential in wages was 35 percent, although some
more recent studies have given a lower estimate. There is no government
office devoted to women's legal rights.
The most recent census, in 2002, indicated that 62 percent of women
in the country had higher education, compared to 50 percent of men, and
that women made up more than 50 percent of university tutors and
professors. Women ran approximately 30 percent of medium businesses and
10 percent of big businesses in the country. A March study by Price-
Waterhouse-Coopers found that the number of women taking managerial
positions had grown from 30 to 40 percent since the onset of the
economic crisis. In May the Supreme Court rejected a St. Petersburg
woman's appeal to drive metro trains; she had filed a discrimination
suit after being turned down for the job because of her gender. The
Soviet-era labor code includes this job among 460 positions considered
too dangerous or physically demanding for women.
Although polygamy is illegal, the Chechen government has encouraged
men to take more than one wife. Authorities require women and girls in
Chechnya to wear headscarves in all schools, universities, and
government offices. Some observers alleged that Chechen president
Kadyrov was intentionally promoting Islamic values to tighten his
authoritarian rule and to co-opt Islamist separatists.
Women made up approximately 10 percent of the workforce of the
federal and regional governments. In 2008 Liberal Democratic Party
leader Vladimir Zhirinovskiy stated that women should stay at home and
have children and let men take care of everything else.
The government officially recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. There are no legal restrictions on access to
contraceptives. Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and
treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. However,
some reproductive rights advocates said that the atmosphere for their
work was difficult. International family planning organizations were
unable to operate in the face of opposition from the government and
from the Orthodox Church. Education regarding family planning was
limited, especially outside of big cities. The government explicitly
encourages women to have as many children as possible to counteract the
country's demographic problems (the country's population has shrunk by
six million since the end of the Soviet Union). President Medvedev
announced in 2008 that the government would build 23 more maternity
hospitals by the end of 2009; Medvedev requested a progress report at
year's end.
Children.--By law citizenship is derived from parents at birth or
from birth on Russian soil if the parents are unknown or are
foreigners. As a rule all newly born babies are registered at the local
civil registry office (ZAGS) where parents live. One of the parents
must apply for registration within a month of the birth date, and on
the basis of medical certificate of the hospital where the baby was
born, a birth certificate is issued. There were unsubstantiated reports
of occasional unregistered births.
Although education was free to grade 11 and compulsory until age 15
or 16, regional authorities frequently denied school access to the
children of persons not registered as residents of the locality,
including Roma, asylum seekers, and migrants.
Child abuse was a widespread problem. The law did not adequately
protect children from abuse, and the majority of child abuse cases were
not subject to legal action. In June the Duma passed a law that
increased the maximum sentence for rape of a minor to 20 years. It also
increased the penalties for child molestation and distributing child
pornography.
Children, particularly homeless children and orphans, were
exploited for child pornography. While authorities working on the issue
viewed child pornography as a serious problem, the law prohibiting it
lacked important details and authorities seldom invoked it. The law
does not define child pornography, criminalize its possession, or
provide for effective investigation and prosecution of cases of child
pornography. Courts often dismissed criminal cases because of the lack
of clear standards. When a court convicted a suspect, it frequently
imposed the minimum sentence, often probation. Authorities investigated
and prosecuted relatively few child cases involving pornography cases,
creating an environment in which it proliferated. Nonetheless,
according to the General Prosecutor's Office, the number of child
pornography investigations increased threefold in the four-year period
ending in 2007. In 2008, the most recent year for which figures were
available, authorities registered 331 cases of child pornography (an
increase of 2.2 percent over the previous year), opened preliminary
investigations into 159 (an increase of 17.6 percent over the previous
year), and brought indictments in 157.
The maximum sentence for most sex offenses (including those against
children) is four years, but sex offenders usually received lesser
sentences and frequently obtained early release for good behavior.
Early release posed a problem, because offenders disappeared into
communities, often to commit new crimes.
The government has created two federal resources to respond to the
threat of child pornography through the Internet: the Russian Safer
Internet Center, established in 2008 with a hotline to receive
information on illegal content sources with a view to getting them
closed, and the Friendly Runet Foundation created during the year with
the direct participation of, and working in close partnership with, the
federal Interior Ministry, which also has a hotline for reporting of
Internet sources with illegal content.
During the year NGOs began a project entitled, ``Prevention of
Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Russian Federation,'' with
support from European Commission. The three-year project is a joint
initiative led by the Moscow Crisis Center ``Syostr.'', the Perm Center
for Violence Prevention and the Far Eastern Center in Support of Social
Initiatives, which intended to put in place a system for training
social workers, militia, and educators in their regions on the
prevention of violence against children, the provision of support for
victims, and the early identification of sexual violence. The
government did not play a significant role in this initiative.
In a December 2008 report, the NGO Children's Rights estimated that
approximately 40,000 children ran away from home annually to escape
abuse and neglect and that 20,000 orphans fled similar conditions in
orphanages. The report, as updated in February, noted that there were
approximately 120,000 new orphans every year. In 2005 the Moscow
Helsinki Group indicated that approximately two million children under
14 years of age were victims of domestic violence annually. While the
government paid some attention to child abuse, it did not generally
link it to the broader problem of domestic violence. At a public
roundtable on children's rights in January 2008, a representative of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that approximately 2,000
children died annually from violence, most of it domestic. As of year's
end, there were approximately 5,000 active court cases against parents
for abuse and neglect of their children.
At a Public Chamber roundtable in February, Aleksandr Bastrikhin,
the head of the investigative committee of the General Prosecutor's
Office, estimated that more than 196,000 crimes of violence against
children were recorded in 2008, including 1,900 that resulted in death.
More than 12,000 children were reported missing. In the first nine
months in 2008, 784 sexual offenses against children were reported.
Many observers believed that the number of such crimes was
underreported.
The NGO Children's Rights estimated that an average of 700,000
children lived in the streets as of the end of the year. Police
attempted to return approximately 70 percent of them to a home or
institution. According to the Investigating Committee of the Prosecutor
General's Office, more than six million children lived in socially
improper conditions. In 2008, 126,000 children were victims of various
crimes, of which 1,914 died and 2,330 were abused with serious damage
to their health. During the same time, 784 children were sexually
abused. An estimated 12,500 children were missing at year's end..
According to the Ministry of Education and Science, in 2008, 120,000
children without parents' care were registered. Over 74,000 found
foster families.
Homeless children often engaged in criminal activities, received no
education, and were vulnerable to drug and alcohol abuse. Some young
girls on the streets turned to, or were forced into, prostitution,
often to survive. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 91,584
of the 2,563,000 crimes recorded between January and October were
committed by minors or with their complicity. This was a 6.1 percent
decrease compared with the same period in 2008.
Although there was no nation-wide telephone hotline for reporting
child abuse, the Presidential Administration, in conjunction with
foreign governments, provided grants through the National Charity
Foundation to local NGOs such as the National Foundation for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NFPCC) to train staff and strengthen
local hotlines about child abuse across the country. The NFPCC was a
prominent child welfare NGO in Russia.
The Foundation for Assistance to Children in Difficult Life
Situation (the Foundation), established in 2007 by presidential order,
conducted its first grant competition during the year supporting
regional projects to address child welfare and prevention of cruelty to
children at the regional level. The grants, totaling 53.8 million
rubles ($1.9 million), were awarded to 64 projects submitted by
municipal child welfare organizations, regional administrations and 11
NGOs. President Medvedev also directed that the foundation hold a
national public awareness campaign specifically targeting reduction of
violence against children. By the end of the year, the government had
allocated 5.7 billion rubles ($188 million) to the Fund for Children's
Support that it established in 2008. The fund's mission is to support
social programs that work with orphans and provide social
rehabilitation of disadvantaged children.
On September 1, President Medvedev established the post of
``ombudsman for the rights of children'' and appointed Aleksey Golovan,
a well-known human rights activist, to the position. The
responsibilities of the children's ombudsman include following the
activities of state agencies at the federal level, ensuring the
observance of the rights of children, and writing an annual report
similar to that of Ombudsman Lukin. Some experts feared that the direct
appointment of the children's ombudsman by the president and the
planned oversight by the Public Chamber would make the ombudsman
dependent on the government. In December Golovan was replaced with
lawyer and Public Chamber member Pavel Astakhov. According to the
Moscow Times, authorities dismissed Golovan at the behest of Russian
Orthodox groups who objected to his support for a juvenile justice
system separate from that for adults.
Regional ombudsmen for children operated in 25 regions with the
authority to conduct independent investigations relating to violations
of children's rights, inspect any institutions and executive offices
dealing with minors, establish councils of public experts, and conduct
independent evaluation of legislation affecting children. In a number
of schools in the Moscow and Volgograd Oblasts, there were school
ombudsmen dealing with children and families and identifying potential
conflicts and violations of rights of children.
According to 2007 data from the Moscow Department of Social
Security, 12 percent of street children in shelters had run away from
orphanages or boarding schools. Law enforcement officials reportedly
abused street children, blamed them for unsolved crimes, and committed
illegal acts against them, including extortion, illegal detention, and
psychological and sexual violence.
Then children's ombudsman Aleksey Golovan noted in a September 15
interview with Vremya Novostei that of the country's 700,000 orphans,
approximately 160,000 lived in orphanages and that those who did
suffered from ``psychological and emotional neglect.''
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons. However, Russia remained a source, transit, and destination
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. The scope of
trafficking was difficult to quantify, but observers believed that it
remained widespread.
Women were trafficked within, to, and from the country for
prostitution. Those trafficked to the country for this purpose often
came from neighboring countries and from Asia and Africa. The major
destinations for women trafficked from the country for prostitution
were Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Men, women, and children were
trafficked to the country for forced labor, especially in the
construction, agricultural, fishing, and manufacturing sectors.
Countries of origin included Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ghana,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Ukraine,
Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Destination countries included Bahrain, China,
Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, and the United Arab
Emirates. The exploitation of children in the production of child
pornography for Internet distribution was a significant problem.
The International Labor Organization reported that labor
trafficking was the predominant form of trafficking. The IOM obtained
information through its migrant and human trafficking projects
indicating that the incidence of sex trafficking exceeded labor
trafficking.
Victims of labor trafficking often surrendered their passports or
other documentation to their employers, despite passage of a 2007
migration law requiring workers to register directly with the state.
Labor traffickers controlled their victims by such means as withholding
their wages, the use and threat of force, threats to report them to
authorities, and confiscating their travel or personal identity
documents.
Sex traffickers typically targeted unemployed women and girls
between the ages of 14 and 45, with those between the ages of 15 and 25
being the primary targets. They often lured their victims into
prostitution by false promises of legitimate work. They employed means
of coercion similar to those used by labor traffickers.
The country was a major producer and distributor of Internet child
pornography, leading to confirmed cases of child sex trafficking and
child sex tourism. Traffickers often targeted homeless children and
children in orphanages for sexual exploitation. Moscow and St.
Petersburg were destinations for children trafficked within Russia and
from Ukraine and Moldova for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced
begging.
Child sex tourism by men from Western Europe and the United States
to western Russia, particularly to St. Petersburg, declined. According
to experts the decline resulted from aggressive police investigations
and cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies. In one such
case, an American was prosecuted in the United States for raping girls
he obtained from an orphanage on the outskirts of St. Petersburg.
Authorities used both anti-trafficking statutes and traditional
criminal law to prosecute human traffickers. The maximum sentences are
15 years' imprisonment for trafficking and forced labor, eight years
for imprisonment and recruitment into prostitution, 10 years for
organizing a prostitution business, and 15 years for the manufacture
and distribution of child pornography. The law does not define child
pornography or criminalize simple possession of such material. Victims
in trafficking cases received protection under the witness protection
law.
During the year the government sustained its investigation efforts.
The Ministry of the Interior collects and reports statistics on the
number of investigations opened and indictments filed. In 2008, using
the trafficking provision of the criminal code authorities initiated
investigations of 95 cases (down 15 percent over 2007) and filed
indictments in 68 (up 4.6 percent). Using the forced labor provision of
the criminal code they initiated investigations of 16 cases (down 59
percent over 2007) and filed indictments in seven (down 71 percent).
During the first half of the year, authorities began 63 investigations
for trafficking and four for forced labor.
There were trafficking convictions during the year. A court in
Stavropol Krai gave nine defendants prison sentences of six months to
13 years in prison for organizing prostitution and trafficking; a court
in the Tula region sentenced six members of an organized prostitution
ring to eight and one-half to 10 years on similar charges; a court in
Moscow sentenced three members of a criminal group to terms of 10 to 12
years for trafficking in persons, including minors, by means of slave
labor and illegal detention; and a court in the Krasnodar Territory
sentenced four persons to terms of four to nine years for using slave
labor and human trafficking to extract recyclable material from a
landfill.
Public officials were charged or investigated for trafficking
offenses. A senior military officer and 10 other defendants were on
trial in the Moscow District Military Court for organizing an
international sex trafficking syndicate involving more than 100 women
and girls from Russia, other former Soviet republics, and Southeast
Asia to Western Europe and the Middle East between 1999 and 2007; a
junior police officer was arrested on suspicion of trafficking women to
the United Arab Emirates; two junior police officers were arrested for
trafficking women for sexual exploitation within the country; and a
senior district police commissioner in the Astrakhan region was under
investigation for taking passports and travel documents from migrants
and forcing them to work as agricultural laborers.
There were no national policies or federal programs to assist
trafficking victims. International donors provided the majority of aid
to NGOs and international organizations that assisted victims. Some
local governments provided modest financial and in-kind support to some
antitrafficking NGOs. A local government in the Russian Far East
provided space for a foreign-funded shelter that opened in February
(and was to cover basic operating costs of the shelter beginning in
2010). The City of St. Petersburg funded a number of shelters that
assisted some child victims of trafficking. Some trafficking victims
received limited assistance at domestic violence centers funded and run
by local and regional governments. The quality of these shelters
varied, and they were often ill-equipped to respond to the legal,
medical, and psychological needs of individual trafficking victims. At
times the shelters refused to assist foreign and domestic victims who
were not official residents in their locality.
The IOM Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Center in Moscow, the main
center for trafficking victims, previously funded by international
donors, closed in November when it was unable to secure financial
support from the federal or local governments.
There was no federal trafficking prevention program, although a
number of ministries addressed trafficking on an individual basis.
There were warnings about trafficking on the Web sites of both the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affair.
Newspapers, television programs, and Internet sites carried numerous
stories and documentaries about human trafficking. These accounts often
detailed ways for potential victims to avoid falling prey to
traffickers. A Russian Academy of Sciences survey of 837 potential
victims of trafficking, which was conducted as part of an IOM human
trafficking project, found that more than 70 percent of respondents
were aware of the dangers of both sex and labor trafficking.
On a regional and local level, there were a number of active
trafficking prevention campaigns, typically conducted by local NGOs
with support from local and regional governments. These programs ranged
from ad hoc provision of facilities and equipment to continuing
arrangements between regional government and NGOs.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at: www.state.gov/j/tip/ .
Persons With Disabilities.--Several laws prohibit discrimination
against persons with disabilities or mandate their equal treatment;
however, the government generally did not enforce these laws. Citizens
with disabilities continued to face discrimination and denial of equal
access to education, employment, and social institutions. The situation
for persons with disabilities reportedly worsened following the
replacement of government in-kind subsidies for such items as
transportation and medicine with cash payments in 2004. Some affluent
regions, such as Moscow, preserved benefits for persons with
disabilities at preexisting levels, while most other regions provided a
limited number of benefits, such as free transportation.
In May Moskovskiy Komsomolets reported that there were 13 million
persons with disabilities. In 2006 the human rights ombudsman stated
that in the previous 10 years more than 120,000 persons became
``invalids'' as a result of military actions and war injuries, and
according to the NGO Perspektiva, the number continued to grow as a
result of new conflicts. Persons with disabilities were generally
excluded from the social and political life of their communities and
isolated from mainstream society. A joint study released in May by the
Public Chamber and EU representatives found that 20 percent of
respondents considered persons with disabilities to be burdens on
society. Forty percent of the invalids surveyed said they experienced
social problems, in particular insults and hostility.
Conditions in institutions for adults with disabilities were often
poor, with unqualified staff and overcrowding. The residents were
mainly ``graduates'' of similar institutions for children. Institutions
rarely attempted to develop the abilities of residents, who were
frequently confined to the institutions and sometimes restricted in
their movement within the institutions themselves. The use of
psychotropic drugs as punishment was allegedly widespread.
Federal law on the protection of persons with disabilities requires
that buildings be made accessible to persons with disabilities, but
authorities did not enforce the law and in practice most buildings were
not accessible. A reporter for Noviye Izvestiye estimated in a
September 16 article that 10 to 30 percent of Moscow's buildings were
inaccessible to persons with disabilities. Likewise, only 8 percent of
the city's 36,000 street crossings were completely equipped for the
disabled.
There are laws establishing employment quotas for persons with
disabilities at the federal and local levels; however, some local
authorities and private employers continued to discourage such persons
from working, and there was no penalty for failure to honor quotas.
Human rights NGOs made some progress in persuading foreign companies in
larger cities, including Moscow, to consider persons with disabilities
as potential employees, and the Moscow city government reportedly
encouraged employers to hire persons with disabilities. However,
according to the NGO All-Russia Society of Invalids, the number of
persons with disabilities in the Moscow workforce fell from 72,500 in
2002 to 28,000 in 2007, a decline the NGO attributed to the 2002
elimination of tax benefits that encouraged employers to hire such
persons. In December 2008 the NGO Perspektiva reported that the number
of unemployed persons with disabilities nationwide had decreased to 85
percent from 90 percent in 2007. In September Perspektiva reported that
the onset of the economic crisis had worsened employment prospects for
persons with disabilities; however, Perspektiva had no statistics on
the scope of the problem.
In 2008 the Ombudsman's Office reported that approximately 640,000
of the country's ``invalids'' were children. Authorities generally
segregated such children from mainstream society through a system that
institutionalized them until adulthood. Observers concluded that issues
of children's welfare were often ignored and there were few means of
addressing systemic problems of abuse. Human rights groups alleged that
children with disabilities in state institutions were poorly provided
for and, in some cases, physically abused by staff members.
``Graduates'' of state institutions also often lacked the necessary
social, educational, and vocational skills to function in society.
According to a 2006 report by the Prosecutor General's Office, half of
the more than 600,000 children with disabilities in state care lacked
medicines, hearing aids, and wheelchairs. The NGO Children's Rights
confirmed in September that this situation had not changed.
There appeared to be no legal mechanism by which individuals could
contest their commitment to a facility for persons with disabilities.
The assignment of categories of disability to children with mental
disabilities often followed them through their lives. The labels
``imbecile'' and ``idiot,'' which were assigned by a commission that
assesses children with developmental problems at the age of three and
signifies that a child is uneducable, were almost always irrevocable.
Even the label ``debil'' (slightly retarded) followed an individual on
official documents, creating barriers to employment and housing after
graduation from state institutions. This designation was increasingly
challenged in the case of children with parents or individual
caregivers, but there were few advocates for the rights of
institutionalized children.
Youths with disabilities not in institutions faced significant
barriers to education, including a lack of access to schools. According
to the May Public Chamber study, only 3 percent of children studied
under conditions analogous to mainstream students and 87 percent of
higher education institutions did not accept students with
disabilities.
Education authorities often tried to keep youths with disabilities
out of school due to lack of special programs. At the same time, an
alternative ``home program'' was much inferior to school classes. The
majority of teachers and administrators in schools and universities had
little or no understanding of disability issues. Often parents of
children without disabilities were averse to their children studying
with children with disabilities.
NGOs cited some examples of courts ordering that children with
disabilities be admitted to schools that initially refused them. For
example, two children with disabilities in Petrozavodsk, Karelia, were
denied permission to attend a preschool program because the preschool
stated that it did not have the capacity to accommodate children with
their disabilities. In a final decision in 2007, the Petrozavodsk court
ruled that the children's right to education had been violated and that
a local special school must be created (by the time of the verdict the
children were of school age) to provide a satisfactory education
program for the children.
According to government reports, of approximately 450,000 school-
age children with disabilities, an estimated 200,000 did not receive
any education. Of the 250,000 who received an education, 140,000
attended regular schools, 40,000 studied at home, and 70,000 attended
special schools. Because special schools comprised only 3 percent of
all schools, most children with disabilities could not study in the
communities where they lived and were isolated from other members of
the community.
The election laws contain no special provisions concerning the
accessibility of polling places, and the majority of polling places
were not accessible to persons with disabilities.
The mandates of government bodies charged with protecting human
rights included the protection of persons with disabilities. These
bodies carried out a number of inspections in response to complaints
from disability organizations and, in some cases, appealed to the
responsible agencies to remedy individual situations. Inspections by
the Ombudsman's Office of homes for children with mental disabilities
continued to disclose severe violations of children's rights and
substandard conditions. In May the head of the Public Chamber's
Commission on Social and Demographic Policy stated that by the end of
the year, the government would spend 9.68 billion rubles ($320 million)
to support services for persons with disabilities throughout the
country, adding that she did not consider this sum sufficient. There
was no information available at year's end regarding actual
expenditures.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits
discrimination based on nationality; however, government officials at
times subjected minorities to discrimination. Recent years have seen a
steady rise in societal violence and discrimination against minorities,
particularly Roma, persons from the Caucasus and Central Asia, dark-
skinned persons, and foreigners. Although the number of reported hate
crimes decreased during the year, skinhead groups and other extreme
nationalist organizations fomented racially motivated violence. Racist
propaganda remained a problem during the year, although courts
continued to convict individuals of inciting ethnic hatred by means of
propaganda.
A number of studies released in March by independent NGOs and
advocacy groups, such as the Tajik Migrant Workers Union, found
widespread problems of unpaid laborers with no legal recourse.
Federal and local law enforcement personnel continued to target
members of ethnic minorities disproportionately. Police reportedly
beat, harassed, and demanded bribes from, persons with dark skin or who
appeared to be from the Caucasus region, Central Asia, or Africa.
In Moscow authorities continued to subject dark-skinned persons to
far more frequent document checks than others and frequently detained
or imposed illegally large penalties on them for lacking documents. In
a January raid, police confiscated presents that migrants had bought as
New Year's gifts for family members back home. During one of several
raids on the Chelobityevo shantytown, where many migrant laborers were
housed, police officers reportedly forced a dozen men to strip to their
underwear in frigid temperatures when they could not produce a
sufficiently large cash bribe.
Police often failed to record the abuse of minorities or to issue
written citations to the alleged victims. Law enforcement authorities
often targeted such persons for deportation from urban centers.
The Federal Migration Service announced in September that it had
created a new center to assist migrant laborers with such tasks as
putting documents in order to facilitate registration and permission to
work. Service director Mikhail Tryukhin estimated that the center would
be able to process 4,000 clients per day. At year's end it was too
early to evaluate the effectiveness of the center.
There was no further information regarding the 2007 demolition by
local authorities of the homes of several members of the local Romani
community in Chudovo, Novgorod Oblast. According to a court decision,
the construction of the homes was unauthorized as there were no proper
deeds of ownership for the houses or land. In October Sochi Mayor
Anatoliy Pakhomov proposed that Roma (whom he called ``gypsie.'') and
homeless persons should be forcibly employed as laborers at the Olympic
construction sites on a round-the-clock basis.
In Bashkortostan authorities required applicants for new identity
documents to state their ethnic origins, contrary to the constitution,
which states that ``nobody shall be forced to identify and state their
ethnicity.''
In September 2008 unknown persons abducted a 35-year-old Ingush
man, Magomed Khamkhoyev, and held him captive in the basement of a
cottage in northwest Moscow for several days. During that time he was
reportedly beaten and tortured, but he managed to escape. An Ingush
opposition leader later visited the cottage with police and was
informed that it belonged to a military unit of the Defense Ministry.
There was no indication that authorities were pursuing the matter.
Some officials appeared to stoke societal antipathy toward labor
migrants from Central Asia by making statements imputing greater
criminality to migrants than to Russian citizens. At the end of May,
Investigative Committee head Aleksandr Bastrykin stated in an interview
that migrants were to blame for the majority of crimes in society. At
the end of 2008, hundreds of members of the Young Guard, a youth wing
of the United Russia party, rallied in Moscow to demand expulsion of
millions of non-Russian labor migrants.
Skinhead violence continued to be a serious problem. Skinheads
primarily targeted foreigners, particularly Asians and individuals from
the Northern Caucasus, although they also expressed anti-Muslim and
anti-Semitic sentiments. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
neofascist movements had approximately 15,000 to 20,000 members, more
than 5,000 of whom were estimated to live in Moscow. However, the
ministry stated that if the category were expanded to include
``extremist youth groups'' in general, the number was closer to
200,000. In February the MBHR estimated that there were up to 70,000
skinhead and radical nationalist organizations operating in the country
compared with a few thousand in the early 1990s. Skinhead groups were
most numerous in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Yaroslavl,
and Voronezh. The three most prominent ultra-nationalist groups--the
Great Russia party, the Slavic Union movement, and the Movement against
Illegal Immigration (DPNI)--claimed, respectively, 80,000, 10,000, and
20,000 members. However, membership claims by these underground
organizations were difficult to verify. Some military and law
enforcement personnel openly sympathized with the DPNI, in some cases
voluntarily guarding its events. On May 28, a Moscow court convicted
Aleksandr Belov, former DPNI leader, of hate speech for an address he
gave at a nationalist rally in 2007 that expressed hostility toward
members of ethnic groups from the Caucasus region. The court gave him
an 18-month suspended sentence; Belov resigned from the DPNI in April
because of the charges.
Authorities registered a total of 12,900 racially or religiously
motivated crimes during the year, which they stated was a slight
decrease from 2008. According to the SOVA center, during the year 54
persons were killed and 294 injured in violent attacks by nationalists,
a decrease of 51 deaths and 255 injuries compared to 2008. The MBHR
reported 212 racially motivated attacks during the year, resulting in
68 deaths and 273 injuries (a decrease of 40 deaths and 90 injuries
from the MBHR's reported amount in 2008). According to the SOVA Center,
there were 30 convictions in the first six months of the year for
ethnically or racially motivated crimes. The MBHR stated that during
the year, 292 persons were convicted for crimes motivated by
``aggressive xenophobia,'' of which 138 were imprisoned. In most cases
the attackers wore skinhead attire or proclaimed nationalist slogans.
In February The Observer reported that since 2004, racist attackers had
killed more than 350 persons. As a result of the organization's
antiracist activities, SOVA's directors received death threats from
extremist organizations in a February letter that also threatened
attacks on journalists and lawyers. At a press conference, SOVA
representatives stated that they would send a copy of the letter to
authorities; however, there was no response during the year.
Attacks during the year that appeared to be racially motivated
included the February attack by three youths in St. Petersburg on an
African student at the Bonch-Bruyevich telecommunications University.
The student was hospitalized with head injuries and the attackers were
arrested and charged with hooliganism.
On the evening of May 4, a group of skinheads used sticks and brass
knuckles in an attack on an Indian restaurant near the Belorusskaya
Metro in Moscow. The Web site life.ru reported that on the same
evening, skinheads killed a police officer, but the police later denied
that the killing had taken place. There were no further developments
during the year.
On October 26, authorities found a young Kyrgyz man murdered on the
Bolshoy Cherkizovsky street in Moscow. Unknown assailants had severely
beaten him with a metal bar and had stabbed him. Gzt.ru reported that a
new youth gang, targeting Asian migrants, was operating in the area,
and had killed another young Kyrgyz man a week earlier. There were no
arrests in the case.
There were no reports of arrests or prosecutions related to the
following 2008 cases: the May skinhead attack on Kyrgyz and Vietnamese
students at a Ufa university; the July incendiary attacks by masked
perpetrators on a group of Tajik guest workers in Moscow, the November
4 attack on a Turkmen embassy official by 10 neo-Nazis, and the
December 2008 attack near Moscow on two Tajik workers, one of whom was
beheaded.
There were developments in ethnically motivated killings reported
in previous years. In February the trial began of the Borovikov gang,
whose members were charged with seven murders motivated by ethnic
hatred between 2003 and 2006. Fourteen skinheads were involved, and
nine were arrested. Of the two leaders of the gang, only Aleksey
Voevodin would stand trial; the other, Dmitriy Borovikov, was shot and
killed by militiamen when resisting the arrest in 2006. The case
consists of 13 episodes of criminal activities of the gang. The trial
continued at year's end.
On October 9, a jury found four members of the skinhead group, the
``White Wolves,'' accused in 12 racist attacks (11 of them fatal)
during 2006-07, guilty of murder but did not declare their actions to
have been motivated by ethnic hatred. During the year court cases
related to the 2006 ethnic rioting in Kondopoga, Karelia, continued,
including the trials of six persons of Caucasus ethnicity charged in
2008 with murder, assault, or hooliganism.
In August the St. Petersburg branch of the Internal Affairs
Ministry forwarded a case of possible racial incitement to a
``linguistic expert'' named Elena Kryukhina, a staff member of an
official body that provided expertise for the courts. Kryukhina
determined that slogans shouted by a group of 25-30 young persons who
attacked and beat two teenagers with Asian appearances on February 14
did not represent examples of ethnic hatred. Kryukhina opined that the
slogan ``Russia for the Russians'' did not constitute incitement and
that the slogan ``Beat the Blacks'' might not be incitement, depending
upon the motives of the persons who uttered it. In the ensuing uproar
over this decision, the ministry stated that it would have the case
reexamined. One of the two victims of the attack, Tagir Kerimov, was in
a coma for several months. In 2008 Kryukhina found the satirical
animated television series ``South Park'' to be extremist, a decision
that Moscow's Basmanny Court threw out in June.
Police investigation of cases that appeared to be racially or
ethnically motivated was frequently ineffective. Authorities were at
times reluctant to acknowledge the racial or nationalist element in the
crimes, often calling attacks ``hooliganism.'' Many victims met with
police indifference, and immigrants and asylum seekers who lacked
residence documents recognized by police often chose not to report
attacks. According to the SOVA Center, willingness to recognize crimes
as hate crimes varied widely depending on the personal views of the
local prosecutor; the center noted that the number of hate crimes
prosecuted in Moscow increased significantly after a new prosecutor
took office in 2008.
There were indications that the government was taking ultra-
nationalism seriously as a potential threat to the social order. In
March investigators expressed concern that ultra-nationalists, no
longer consigned to the fringes of society, might include members with
steady jobs as bankers and stockbrokers and consequently were gaining
greater access to wealth and resources. In April a leading expert on
the security services told Politkom.ru that in the context of the
economic crisis, the Federal Security Service considered nationalism a
threat to national security comparable to terrorism. A June report by
SOVA noted that in addition to their more traditional targets, neo-
Nazis were increasing their attacks on law enforcement personnel.
On August 4, Federal Security Service officers arrested Anton
Mukhachev, one of the suspected cofounders of the extreme nationalist
organization Northern Brotherhood and its Internet-based game
``Bolshaya Igra,'' and charged him with incitement to ethnic hatred.
Mukhachev remained in detention awaiting trial as of September. Many
online nationalists expressed support for Mukhachev, with some
threatening revenge against authorities.
Muslims and Jews continued to encounter prejudice and societal
discrimination, although it was often difficult to separate religious
discrimination from ethnic discrimination (see section 2.c.).
Human rights organizations expressed concern that Romani children
in the education system experienced discrimination. According to the
NGO Anti-Discrimination Center Memorial, a number of schools refused to
register Romani students on the grounds that they lacked documents,
while others segregated Romani students or placed them in classes
designed for children with learning disabilities because of their
ethnicity.
Indigenous People.--The law provides for support of indigenous
ethnic communities, permits them to create self-governing bodies, and
allows them to seek compensation if economic development threatens
their lands. In some regions local communities organized to study
indigenous cultures and make recommendations regarding their
preservation. Groups such as the Buryats in Siberia and ethnic groups
in the far north (including the Enver, Tafarli, Chukchi, and others)
continued to work actively to preserve and defend their cultures as
well as their right to benefit from the economic resources of their
regions. Most asserted that they received the same treatment as ethnic
Russians, although some groups asserted that they were not represented,
or were underrepresented, in regional governments. Some indigenous
groups claimed that they were denied profits from the exploitation of
natural resources in their territories.
NGO reports from 2006 through the end of the year noted that
indigenous minorities were adversely affected by wider government use
of authoritarian methods of rule, harsher migration laws, campaigns
against illegal migration, the increasing authority of law enforcement
bodies, and a reduction in government support for minority-language
media.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--While homosexuality was
decriminalized in 1993, the gay and lesbian communities continued to
suffer societal stigma and discrimination. Gay rights activists
asserted that the majority of gay Russians hide their orientation out
of fear of losing their jobs or their homes, as well as the threat of
violence. Medical practitioners reportedly continued to limit or deny
gay and lesbian persons access to health services due to intolerance
and prejudice. According to recent studies, gay men were refused work
due to their sexuality. Openly gay men were targets for skinhead
aggression; police often failed to respond out of indifference. A few
gay rights organizations operated but did so out of public view.
In March 2008 two youths killed a man they perceived to be gay.
Police arrested both individuals and at year's end they remained under
investigation.
On May 16, the gay rights organization Project GayRussia attempted
to stage a gay pride parade timed to coincide with the annual
Eurovision song contest hosted by Russia. Authorities arrested all 50
participants in the Sparrow Hills park before they could organize,
releasing the majority on the same day and the remaining seven the
following day. Organizer Nikolay Alekseyev had announced that the
parade would take place downtown near Pushkin Square, a decoy that
attracted some police and hostile counterdemonstrators. Moscow mayor
Yuriy Luzhkov, who in the past had called homosexuality ``satanic,''
told the television program ``Facing the City'' that ``the morals of
society'' do not accept gay persons, to whom he referred using a slur.
Four days before the scheduled date of the parade, the Russian
Orthodox Church Youth organization held a press conference to criticize
it, calling it ``spiritual terrorism.'' On the eve of the scheduled
parade, the Communist Party Web site posted an article suggesting that
persons should kill gay parade participants in the same manner that
``healthy persons'' killed lepers in the Middle Ages, to avoid being
infected. A correspondent from Kommersant reported hearing a group of
young men on the scheduled parade day describe in graphic detail the
violence they hoped to inflict on parade participants. According to the
reporter, a nearby police officer smiled upon hearing this. However, no
violence took place during the event.
As of September Project GayRussia was awaiting a ruling from the
ECHR regarding its complaint that Russian authorities had denied it a
total of 155 permits for marches since 2006, for which the group was
asking 1.7 million euros ($2.4 million) in damages.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS
often encountered discrimination. A federal AIDS law contains
antidiscrimination provisions but was frequently not enforced. HRW
reported that HIV-positive mothers and their children faced
discrimination in accessing healthcare, employment, and education.
Persons with HIV/AIDS found themselves alienated from their families,
employers, and medical service providers. In 2008 Project GayRussia
succeeded in its campaign to persuade the Ministry of Health to cancel
a ban on gay men donating blood. They began a new campaign during the
year to persuade the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to end discrimination
against foreign travelers with HIV-positive status, without success as
of year's end.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to
form and join unions, but government policy limited its exercise. The
Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) reported that
approximately 45 percent of the workforce was unionized, a decline from
approximately 55 percent over three years. However, the rate of decline
reportedly slowed during the economic crisis as workers began to see
unions as a mechanism for protecting their labor rights.
By law labor unions are independent of executive branch agencies,
local government bodies, employers and employer associations, political
parties, and other NGOs. Interference by government authorities in
union activities is prohibited. According to labor activists, however,
police interfered with union activities and in labor disputes. Unions
in Leningrad, Tver, and Yaroslavl oblasts issued specific complaints.
Police intimidation tactics against union supporters included demanding
that they cease their activities, taking them to police stations for
questioning, provoking physical confrontations and subsequently
detaining them, and pressuring them to become informants.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) continued to seek the
release of Valentin Urusov, a Russian miner allegedly framed and
imprisoned after recruiting workers to a union. According to the NUM,
Urusov was sentenced to six years of hard labor on a fabricated charge
of drug possession. He was an employee of Alrosa, a diamond mining
company and became a target after an industrial dispute in July 2008 at
Alrosa's mine in eastern Siberia. In May the Yakut Supreme Court
released Urusov and ordered another investigation; however, in
September the court upheld the conviction but reduced his sentence to
five years. At year's end the prosecutor general was reviewing the case
in response to a request by the Public Chamber.
Labor activists also alleged that the government tried to weaken
independent unions by setting up competing unions that they could
control. The All-Russia Union of Labor Unions (Sotsprof) received a 1.8
million ruble (59,520 dollar) civil society grant from the government
and in October 2008 signed a protocol outlining areas of cooperation
with the ruling United Russia party. Activists alleged that Sotsprof
established its own unions at Ford and General Motors (GM) plants in
Vsevolozhsk and St. Petersburg to compete with existing chapters of the
independent Interregional Union of Autoworkers. According to Sotsprof,
at year's end it had 1.5 million members across 72 Russian regions.
In February unidentified assailants attacked Yevgeniy Ivanov, the
chair of the independent Interregional Union of Autoworkers' GM
affiliate near his home. Prior to the attack, he received telephone
threats, which he had reported to police, who took no action. No
results were reported in the criminal investigation of the attack. In
November GM terminated Ivanov under article 81 of the labor code for
absence from work for more than four hours. According to Ivanov, he was
present at the factory but refused to work while participating in an
``Italian strike'' (work to rule) over labor safety violations. In
December Ivanov filed a request with the district court for the
restoration of his position and monetary compensation. He remained
chair of the union.
There were no reports that assailants who attacked Alexey Etmanov,
the head of a local trade union and the co-chairman of the
Interregional Union of Autoworkers twice in December 2008, were
prosecuted, even though police apprehended the second assailant.
Between the attacks the deputy chairman of the factory trade union
received a telephone call informing him that the incident was a warning
against the union's activities.
There were reports that both government agencies and private
companies resisted employee efforts to form trade unions.
In July the ECHR ordered the government to pay 80,000 euros
($114,000) to members of the dockworkers union at the Kaliningrad
Commercial Seaport in compensation for discrimination against union
members and violation of their freedom of association. The court ruled
that the government failed to provide effective judicial protection
against discrimination. In 1997 the seaport pressured employees to
relinquish their union membership in response to a strike for better
pay, working conditions, and insurance benefits. The union members
appealed to the ECHR after Russian judicial authorities refused to
entertain their applicants' discrimination complaints.
The law provides the right to strike, but it was difficult to
exercise. The majority of strikes were considered technically illegal
because they violated one or more of a complex set of procedures
governing disputes. According to the FNPR, the legal preparation for a
strike takes at least 40 days. The law also requires the provision of a
minimum level of essential services if a strike could affect the safety
or health of citizens. article 413 of the labor code prohibits strikes
in the military and emergency response services at any time. In
addition, it prohibits strikes in essential public service sectors,
including utilities and transportation, or strikes that would threaten
the country's defense and safety or the life and health of its workers.
The law prohibits reprisals against strikers; however, managements
frequently engaged in reprisals, including threats of night shifts,
denial of benefits, blacklisting, and termination. Courts may
confiscate union property to cover employers' losses in the event that
a declared strike continued after it was ruled illegal. Solidarity
strikes and strikes on issues related to state policies are also
prohibited. Most employers' requests to declare a strike illegal have
been upheld by the courts.
In July labor union activists at the naval ship repair yard in
Dunai, Primorskiy Krai, confronted shipyard authorities over five
months of wage arrears. Owed 23 million rubles ($760,000), the shipyard
workers suspended work. Factory leaders paid the workers 15 million
rubles ($496,000) in an effort to end the action. Workers, however,
extended the protest and demanded full payment. Factory leaders accused
the labor union of violating the law and requested that the
Prosecutor's Office investigate the labor union's activities. The
shipyard's labor union claimed the action was a ``break in work,''
which is legal in cases of wage arrears, rather than a strike. In
August the Primorskiy Krai FNPR announced that all wage arrears had
been paid and that the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Pacific
Ocean Fleet had issued administrative reprimands to the shipyard
authorities.
In August workers for AvtoVaz in Tolyatti, Samarskaya Oblast, held
a rally to protest the suspension of production at the plant and a
planned reduction in work schedules. Four days later an investigator
from the company's security section visited the office of Edinstvo, the
union that planned the event, to initiate a case against Piotr
Zolotarev, Edinstvo's chair, for administrative violations.
Subsequently, officials from the government's Department for Combating
Extremism summoned Zolotarev for questioning. No further information
was available at year's end.
According to the ITUC, the country's labor legislation permits only
one collective agreement in any enterprise. While the FNPR had a union
in almost every plant, the Interregional Union of Auto Workers and
other independent unions were often the second, often the smaller,
union in the companies where they operated.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining but favors larger, established
unions over newer, smaller unions or professional ``craft'' unions.
Employers were slow to recognize newly formed unions. In addition, they
often accepted union requests for collective bargaining reluctantly and
failed to provide union representatives with financial reports. In 2007
the FNPR reported that approximately 88 percent of its enterprises had
collective bargaining agreements. However, during the year the FNPR
noted that unions in approximately 20 percent of companies that had
such agreements experienced difficulties in meeting or renewing the
terms of their agreements.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, but at the local level
managements continued to harass union leaders and employees. State
agencies with responsibility for overseeing the observance of labor
legislation frequently failed to fulfill their responsibilities.
Although unions were occasionally successful in courts, the majority of
managements that engaged in antiunion activities were not penalized.
In April labor activists reported that the Tolyattikauchuk company,
in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast, placed Vladimir Zhilchenko, chair of the
Nashe Delo union, and all of his deputies at the top of a list of
workers it planned to terminate as part of a production optimization
program. According to human rights activists, Nashe Delo was able to
prove that the termination order was unlawful after appealing to the
Federal Ecological, Technological, and Atomic Supervisory Service and
the Prosecutor's Office. In December Zhilchenko confirmed that the
union was actively functioning despite continued pressure from the
plant's administration.
According to the ITUC, state registration authorities demand more
from trade unions than from commercial organizations prior to accepting
their registration.
In June employees of Volkswagen Group Russia in Kaluga Oblast
conducted an ``Italian strike'' to protest unhealthy working
conditions, including dangerously high temperatures in the workshop.
Factory shift directors threatened to fire employees if they did not
leave their union. One supervisor issued disciplinary violations based
on false pretexts to employees who refused to quit the union.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that such
practices occurred. There were also reports that women, children, and
men were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and for labor in
the construction, manufacturing, and fishing sectors (see section 6).
Military personnel reportedly forced recruits into involuntary
servitude for profit (see section 1).
In a study of migrant construction workers published in February,
HRW documented numerous cases of forced labor. In all cases employers
confiscated the workers' passports to coerce and confine them.
Employers also withheld their wages, physically abused them, threatened
to denounce them to the authorities, and induced indebtedness, which
they then had to work to repay. HRW also documented incidents of police
extorting and beating migrant workers and asserted that the executive
or judicial agencies charged with addressing labor rights violations
failed to investigate and ensure prosecution of violations effectively.
The law prohibits forced or bonded labor by children; however, such
practices reportedly occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace,
including laws against compulsory labor; however, authorities did not
effectively implement laws and policies that would protect children,
nor did the government appear to consider child labor to be a problem.
In urban areas the employment of children occurred primarily in the
informal sector--retail services, selling goods on the street, washing
cars, and making deliveries. In rural areas children worked in the
agriculture sector. In June the Federal Labor and Employment Service
(FLES) reported 10,000 violations of child labor laws in 2008, noting
that the victims often received little pay and suffered from unsafe
working conditions. FLES noted that most of the abuses it discovered
occurred in the industrial, trade, and agricultural sectors. According
to FLES, employers paid 1.5 million rubles ($49,600) in fines for
violating child labor laws in 2008. Labor inspectors also corrected or
created more than 300 labor agreements for minors encumbering legal
positions for workers their age and cancelled more than 250 illegal
terminations of minors.
Children's rights activists reported incidents of trafficking in
children, particularly those living on the streets, for commercial
sexual exploitation and other forms of street labor (see section 6). In
2008 the Ministry of Internal Affairs registered 223 crimes related to
the dissemination of pornographic materials or items involving minors.
The law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16 in
most cases and regulates the working conditions of children under the
age of 18, including prohibiting dangerous nighttime and overtime work.
The law permits children, under certain conditions and with the
approval of a parent or guardian, to work at the age of 14. Such work
must not threaten the child's health or welfare.
FLES is responsible for inspecting enterprises and organizations to
identify violations of labor and occupational health standards for
minors. Local police only investigated in response to complaints.
Individuals as well as labor unions can file complaints.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In January the legal minimum
wage increased from 2,300 rubles ($76) to 4,330 rubles ($143) a month.
The minimum wage was not sufficient to provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. Monthly subsistence minimum wages,
calculated by government agencies, averaged 5,083 rubles ($168) in the
first quarter of the year. In the same period, 24.5 million persons, or
17.4 percent of the population, earned less than the subsistence
minimum, according to the government statistics service.
During the year wage arrears, which occurred primarily in the
industrial processing, transportation, and construction sectors,
greatly increased, owing to the financial crisis and companies' lack of
funds. Arrears peaked at approximately 8.86 billion rubles ($293
million) in May. Workers and unions responded by sending appeals to the
public prosecutor to secure their unpaid wages and, on occasion, by
staging protests, picketing or striking. By December arrears had
decreased to approximately five billion rubles ($168 million).
The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours with at least
one 24-hour rest period and requires premium pay for overtime or work
on holidays. Information was insufficient to determine the extent to
which employers observed these standards in practice.
The law establishes minimum conditions for workplace safety and
worker health. The Federal Labor and Employment Service was responsible
for enforcement. However, the government did not allocate sufficient
resources to enforce these standards effectively. In August the
Ministry of Public Health and Social Development reported that in 2008
more than 50 percent of workers labored in conditions that were harmful
or dangerous to their health. In many cases factory workers did not
have adequate protective equipment and clothing, enterprises stored
hazardous materials in open areas, emergency exits were locked, and
smoking was permitted near flammable substances. FLES reported that
occupational incidents caused more than 4,100 deaths in 2008 and that
unsatisfactory working conditions directly or indirectly caused up to
40 percent of all diseases among workers. In 2008 the Health Ministry
initiated a two-year program to improve working conditions and worker
safety in an attempt to transition from a reactive policy to one of
proactive management of hazards to workers' health.
The law gives workers the right to remove themselves from hazardous
or life-threatening work situations without jeopardizing their
continued employment; however, the government did not effectively
enforce this right. Many companies employing workers in hazardous
conditions awarded bonuses based on worker productivity, thereby
encouraging workers to jeopardize their safety for higher salaries.
The law entitles foreign workers working legally in the country to
the same rights and protections as citizens. However, HRW noted in a
May report that many employers in the construction sector, where
migrant workers were often employed did not enforce safety standards,
nor did they provide migrant workers with mandatory insurance or
medical treatment for work-related accidents.
__________
SAN MARINO
The Republic of San Marino, with a population of approximately
30,000, is a multiparty democracy. The popularly elected unicameral
Great and General Council (parliament) selects two of its members to
serve as captains regent (cochiefs of state). They preside over
meetings of the Council and the Congress of State (cabinet), which has
no more than 10 other members (secretaries of state) selected by the
council. Parliamentary elections, last held in November 2008, were
considered free and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
There were some reports of violence against women.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards. The government permitted visits
by independent human rights observers.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the civil police, the Gendarmerie,
and the National Guard, and the government had effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of
impunity involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Suspects were
apprehended openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence and
issued by a duly authorized official. The law provides a detainee with
the right to a prompt judicial determination of the legality of the
detention, and the authorities generally respected this right in
practice. There is a well-functioning bail system. Detainees are
allowed prompt access to family members and to a lawyer of their
choice; the state provides legal assistance to indigent persons.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Trials are
public and are presided over by a single judge. There are no provisions
for a jury trial. Defendants have the right to be present and to
consult with an attorney even during preliminary investigations.
Defendants can confront or question witnesses against them and present
witnesses and evidence on their behalf. They have access to government-
held evidence relevant to their cases. They enjoy a presumption of
innocence and have the right to two levels of appeal.
In case of legal actions against military personnel, a civil judge
is temporarily given a military grade and assigned to an ad hoc
military tribunal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Judges act independently
and impartially on civil matters, and administrative as well as
judicial remedies exist for alleged wrongs, including human rights
violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these
rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. As
of June the country had 16,000 Internet users.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for these rights, and the government generally respected them in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the government generally respected this right in practice.
The Catholic Church receives direct benefits from the government's
income tax revenues; taxpayers may request that 0.3 percent of their
income tax payments be allocated to the Catholic Church, regulated
under a concordat with the Holy See, or to other charities, including
religious groups such as the Waldesian Church, the Baha'is, and
Jehovah's Witnesses--all of which are included in a registry of
cultural associations.
The government does not require official recognition, registration,
or licensing for religious groups. However, it requires legal status
for tax or other commercial purposes.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were small numbers of
Muslims, Jews, and other religious groups in the country. During the
year there were no reports of violence or discrimination against
religious minorities or of anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government was committed to cooperating with the Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--While the law does not provide for the
granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol,
the government has a system for providing protection to refugees. In
practice, the government provided protection against the expulsion or
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened. The government may grant refugee status or asylum by an act
of the cabinet. There were no requests for asylum during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Parliamentary elections,
held on November 9, 2008, were considered generally free and fair. The
``Pact for San Marino,'' a Center-Right coalition led by the Christian
Democratic Party, won 35 of the 60 seats in the Great and General
Council.
Political parties could operate without restriction or outside
interference.
Nine women were elected to the Great and General Council in the
November elections, and two women were in the 10-member Congress of
State, including the head of government (Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs.)
There were no members of minorities in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption.
However, there were no reports of corruption by public officials during
the year. Public officials are subject to financial disclosure
requirements.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access for citizens and noncitizens through the
Great and General Council's Web site.
There were no known cases of corruption involving public officials.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were no domestic human rights organizations, although the
government did not restrict their formation. The government declared
itself open to investigations by international nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) of alleged human rights abuses; there were no
known complaints or requests for investigations during the year.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government effectively enforced it.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense, and
the government effectively prosecuted persons accused of such crimes.
The penalty for rape is two to six years' imprisonment. In the case of
aggravating circumstances, the penalty is four to 10 years'
imprisonment. There were no reports of rape during the year.
The law prohibits violence against women, and the government
effectively enforced it. The penalty for spousal abuse is two to six
years' imprisonment. In the case of aggravating circumstances, the
penalty is four to 10 years' imprisonment. According to official
sources, there were 14 pending cases and four sentences of violence
against women during the year.
Prostitution is illegal and was not common. No arrests were
reported during the year.
Sexual harassment is prohibited, and the government effectively
enforced the law. There were no reports of sexual harassment during the
year.
Women enjoy the same rights as men, including rights under family
law, property law, and in the judicial system. There was no reported
economic discrimination against women in pay, employment, or working
conditions.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide the number,
spacing, and timing of children and had the information and means to do
so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception and
skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were widely
available. Women and men had equal access to diagnostic services and
treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
In January, the country established an Authority for Equal
Opportunities, provided for by law, by nominating three female officers
as Authority members for a four-year term. The Authority's priority
goals are information campaigns about the law and about the services
the government provides to the victims of violence, including legal
assistance free of charge. The Authority also publishes an annual
report on violence against women and on gender-based violence.
Children.--The government is committed to children's rights and
welfare.
Violence against or abuse of children was uncommon. According to
government sources, there were two pending cases and one sentence of
violence against minors.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons. The penalty for trafficking in persons is 10 to 20 years'
imprisonment. If the trafficking involves minors, prostitution, or the
taking of organs, the penalty is from 14 to 24 years' imprisonment.
There were no reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within
the country during the year.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and in the provision of other state services, and the
government effectively enforced these provisions. There were no reports
of societal discrimination against persons with disabilities. The
Ministry for Territory has not fully implemented a law that mandates
easier access to public buildings by persons with disabilities, and
many buildings were inaccessible.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--By law all workers (except those in
the Gendarmerie and National Guard) are free to form and join
independent unions of their choice, and workers exercised this right.
The law sets the conditions to establish labor unions. Union members
constituted an estimated 50 percent of the workforce, which numbered
approximately 15,000 citizens plus 6,000 workers who resided in Italy.
The law allows all civilian workers, including the civil police, the
right to strike, and workers exercised this right. A ``conciliatory
committee'' composed of representatives from labor, business, and
government generally resolved complaints of antiunion discrimination
amicably.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
prohibits antiunion discrimination and allows unions to conduct their
activities without interference, and the government protected this
right in practice. Collective bargaining agreements have the force of
law and are applicable to all workers, whether unionized or not.
Negotiations were conducted freely, often in the presence of government
officials by invitation from both unions and employer associations.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no
reports that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect children
from exploitation in the workplace. The minimum age for employment is
16, and the Ministry of Labor and Cooperation granted no exceptions.
The law does not limit children between the ages of 16 and 18 from any
type of legal work activity. The government devoted adequate resources
and oversight to child labor policies, and the Ministry of Labor and
Cooperation effectively enforced compliance with the law.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage is
7.54 euros ($10.49) per hour. According to NGOs, this amount did not
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family who do not
own their own home. However, 90 percent of citizens owned their own
homes, and wages generally were higher than the minimum provided by
law.
The law sets the workweek at 36 hours in the public sector and 37.5
hours for industry and private businesses, with 24 consecutive hours of
rest per week mandated for workers in both categories. The law requires
a premium payment for overtime and allows a maximum of two hours of
overtime per day. There was effective enforcement of laws and industry
contracts that prohibit excessive compulsory overtime.
The government set safety and health standards, and the judicial
system effectively enforced these standards. Most workplaces complied
with the standards. However, there were exceptions, especially in the
construction industry, where some employers did not consistently abide
by safety regulations, such as work hour limitations and use of
personal safety devices. There was one serious on-the-job injury in
October, resulting in the death of a worker in a metalworking company.
Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations that
endanger health or safety without jeopardy to their employment, and the
authorities effectively enforced this right.
__________
SERBIA
The Republic of Serbia is a parliamentary democracy with
approximately 7.5 million inhabitants. Boris Tadic was reelected
president in February 2008. In May 2008 voters elected a new parliament
in which some minority ethnic parties won seats. Observers considered
both elections to be mostly in line with international standards.
Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
The following human rights problems were reported: physical
mistreatment of detainees by police; police corruption; inefficient and
lengthy trials; harassment of journalists, human rights advocates, and
others critical of the government; limitations on freedom of speech and
religion; large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs);
corruption in legislative, executive, and judicial branches of
government; government failure to apprehend the two remaining fugitive
war crimes suspects under indictment of the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY); societal violence against
women and children; societal intolerance and discrimination against
minorities, particularly Roma and the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender (LGBT) population; and trafficking in persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings.
On November 13, the Belgrade District Court convicted Miljan
Raicevic, a Belgrade police officer, for the March 19 killing of
Djordje Zaric during a traffic stop. The court found Raicevic guilty of
murder and sentenced him to seven years in prison.
On November 24, the Supreme Court upheld 40-year prison sentences
handed down to Milorad Ulemek, former commander of the Special
Operations Unit and Zvezdan Jovanovic for the 2003 assassination of
then prime minister Zoran Djindjic.
On December 16, the Supreme Court upheld the 40-year sentences
handed down to Ulemek and 20 members of the Zemun organized crime group
for a total of 18 murders, three kidnappings, and two bombings that
were classified as terrorist attacks.
On December 25, the Supreme Court upheld 40-year sentences for
Ulemek, Radomir Markovic, Nenad Ilic, and Branko Bercek for the 1999
killing of four Serbian Renewal Movement members and the attempted
assassination of movement leader Vuk Draskovic.
In June the investigative judge examining the 2004 deaths of Dragan
Jakovljevic and Drazen Milovanovic, two guards from Belgrade's Topcider
military facility, took depositions from three new military witnesses
as part of plans to depose an additional 35 witnesses.
On June 12, the Zajecar municipal court postponed indefinitely the
trial of Ivan Stojadinovic in connection with the March 2008 death of
Knjazevac municipal court President Dragisa Cvejic. Judge Jovo Krtinic
adjourned the trial to allow the defense to conduct additional tests on
the explosive device that killed Cvejic. Police suspected that Cvejic's
killing was related to his work as a judge.
There were no developments during the year in the February 2008
request by the Special Prosecutor's Office for further investigation
into the 1999 killing of prominent independent journalist Slavko
Curuvija, owner of the Dnevni Telegraf newspaper and Evropljanin
magazine.
No developments were reported in the investigation into the August
2008 death of Ranko Panic, who died after police allegedly beat him at
a pro-Radovan Karadzic demonstration in July 2008. There were no
reports that authorities completed disciplinary proceedings opened
against six officers from Belgrade, Nis, and Novi Sad, including a
senior commander, for exceeding their authority during the
demonstration.
The special war crimes chamber of the Belgrade District Court
continued to try cases arising from crimes committed during the 1991-99
conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and two cases from World War II.
During the year the war crimes chamber continued the trial in the
1991 killing of more than 70 civilians in the village of Lovas,
Croatia. The defendants included four former members of territorial
defense units, four members of the Yugoslav People's Army, and six
members of the ``Dusan Silni'' paramilitary unit. On July 16, in
response to an appeal filed by one of the defendants, Milan Radojcic,
alleging a violation of the right to liberty and security of a person
as provided by the constitution and the European Convention of Human
Rights, the Constitutional Court declared that the lower courts had not
provided sufficient reasons in their decisions for keeping Radojcic in
detention and ordered his release.
On January 28, the war crimes chamber sentenced former Scorpions
paramilitary group member Aleksandar Medic to five years in prison
following his retrial on charges of assisting in the 1995 killing of
six Muslim civilians in Trnovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. On November 23,
the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, dismissing defense and
prosecutorial appeals.
On February 26, the war crimes chamber ordered an investigation
against several persons suspected of war crimes related to a 1992
attack on Yugoslav People's Army forces in Dobrovoljacka Street in
Sarajevo that led to the deaths of at least 18 persons. The allegations
included war crimes against prisoners of war and the use of illegal
means of warfare. The Ministry of Internal Affairs issued an arrest
warrant for 19 persons suspected of the crime, including Stjepan
Kljujic and Ejup Ganic, members of the wartime presidency of Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
On March 12, the war crimes chamber issued verdicts in the retrial
of 18 individuals accused of committing war crimes related to the
killing of 200 Croatian prisoners at the Ovcara farm near Vukovar,
Croatia, in 1991. The court convicted 13 of the defendants and handed
down the maximum 20-year sentences to seven individuals, including
former Vukovar Territorial Defense commander Miroljub Vujovic and his
deputy, Stanko Vujanovic. The other sentences ranged from five to 15
years. Five defendants were acquitted. The prosecution appealed 10 of
the verdicts, including the acquittals and the convictions of Predrag
Dragovic and Milan Lancuzanin who received five- and six-year
sentences, as opposed to 20 years during the first trial, which ended
in 2005.
On March 13, the war crimes prosecutor filed a request for an
investigation against five former members of the 37th Squad of the
Special Police Unit on suspicion they committed war crimes against
civilians and prisoners of war in Kosovo. Those named in the request
were Zoran Nikolic, Dragan Milenkovic, Zoran Markovic, Nenad Stojkovic,
as well as Radoslav Mitrovic, acquitted in the Suva Reka war crimes
trial. War crimes spokesman Bruno Vekaric announced that information
related to the case was gathered in the course of a police
investigation and from a request filed on March 3 by the
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) to
bring charges against 15 members of the 37th Squad.
On April 1, the war crimes prosecutor requested that an
investigation be opened against Stanko Vujanovic on suspicion that he
committed war crimes against the civilian population in Vukovar,
Croatia, in 1991. The prosecutor alleged that Vujanovic, as a member of
the Vukovar Territorial Defense Unit, killed four persons and seriously
injured another. On March 12, the war crimes chamber sentenced
Vujanovic to 20 years' imprisonment in the separate Ovcara case (see
below).
On April 23, the war crimes chamber convicted four former police
officers and acquitted three others in the trial of eight officers for
the 1999 killing of 48 ethnic Albanians in Suva Reka, Kosovo. The court
sentenced Radojko Repanovic and Sladjan Cukaric to 20 years in prison,
Miroslav Petkovic to 15 years, and Milorad Nisavic to 13 years. The
principal defendant, former commander of the 37th Special Police Unit
Radoslav Mitrovic, as well as Nenad Jovanovic and Zoran Petkovic were
acquitted. On March 3, the war crimes prosecutor dismissed charges
against the eighth defendant, Ramiz Papic. On September 17, the war
crimes prosecutor appealed the acquittals and asked for stiffer
penalties for Petkovic and Nisavic.
According to press reports, the war crimes prosecutor continued its
investigation of Fatmir Limaj and 27 Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
members in connection with the killing of 22 ethnic Serb and Albanian
civilians in the Kosovo municipalities of Lipljan, Stimlje, and
Glogovac in 1998. The reports indicated that the war crimes prosecutor
also discovered evidence pointing to the involvement of Limaj, Sahit
Jasari, Sami Ljustaku, and Sulejman Selimi in kidnapping at least 30
Serbian civilians in the Drenica region in central Kosovo, as well as
the kidnappings of several police officers and at least 11 Albanian
civilians. On May 3, war crimes spokesman Vekaric announced that his
office, in accordance with procedures for investigations of individuals
acquitted by the Hague Tribunal, had consulted with the ICTY trial
chamber before proceeding. The ICTY acquitted Limaj of unrelated
charges in 2005.
On May 27, the war crimes chamber convicted and sentenced Boro
Trbojevic to 10 years in prison for the 1991 killing of five civilians
in Grubisno Polje, Croatia. The district court in Bjelovar, Croatia,
previously sentenced Trbojevic in absentia to 20 years' imprisonment
for crimes committed in the villages of Topolovica and Velika
Peratovica. The case was one of 12 that the Croatian national
prosecutor passed to the Serbian war crimes prosecutor under an
agreement between the two countries regarding cooperation in
prosecuting war crimes.
On June 18, the war crimes chamber convicted four members of the
Scorpions paramilitary unit for the 1999 killing of 14 ethnic Albanians
in the town of Podujevo, Kosovo. Zeljko Djukic, Dragan Medic, and
Dragan Borojevic received the maximum 20-year sentence, while Miodrag
Solaja, who was a minor at the time of the crime, received a 15-year
sentence. In 2005 the Belgrade District Court convicted Scorpions
member Sasa Cvjetan for participating in the crime and sentenced him to
20 years' imprisonment.
On June 23, the war crimes chamber sentenced former member of the
Vukovar Territorial Defense Unit Damir Sireta to the maximum prison
term of 20 years for participation in the killing of more than 200
Croatian prisoners of war at the Ovcara farm near Vukovar, Croatia, in
1991.
On July 7, the authorities extradited Zoran Maric on the basis of
an international arrest warrant issued in 2008 by the Office of the
Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Together with other unidentified
individuals, Maric was suspected of committing war crimes in 1992
against the Bosniak civilian population in the villages of Ljoljici and
Cerkazovici in the Jajce region, 35 miles southwest of Banja Luka,
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On September 22, the war crimes chamber acquitted Sreten Popovic
and Milos Stojanovic, two former members of the police unit accused of
involvement in the disappearance and subsequent killing of three U.S.
citizen brothers, Ylli, Mehmet, and Agron Bytyqi, in 1999. Their bodies
were recovered, with hands bound and gunshot wounds to their heads, in
2001 from a mass grave in rural Petrovo Selo, near a police facility.
On December 18, the war crimes prosecutor, citing ``serious violations
of criminal procedure provisions,'' appealed the acquittals to the
Supreme Court. On June 12, the director of the Humanitarian Law Center,
Natasa Kandic, sent a letter to the war crimes chamber stating that she
would no longer represent the plaintiffs' family since she believed
that the trial was calculated to protect those who had ordered the
killings.
On September 23, the trial of 17 members of the so-called Gnjilane
group of the KLA began in the war crimes chamber. On June 26, the war
crimes prosecutor filed an indictment charging them with crimes related
to the deaths of at least 80 Serbs, Roma, and Albanians, as well as
rape, in the region near Gnjilane, Kosovo, in 1999.
On October 6, the war crimes prosecutor issued an indictment
charging five individuals with war crimes committed in Metak, Croatia,
in 1991. The indictment alleged that territorial defense and reserve
police unit members Milorad Lazic, Perica Djakovic, Nikola Vujnovic,
Mirko Marunic, and Nikola Konjevic inhumanely treated Mirko Medunic, a
Croatian police officer who had surrendered. The Gospic District Court
in Croatia convicted all five individuals in absentia in 1996, and the
Croatian war crimes prosecutor later turned over the case to the
Serbian war crimes prosecutor.
On November 6, the war crimes prosecutor submitted a request for an
investigation against five individuals suspected of committing war
crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 1992. The charges alleged that
the suspects imprisoned, mistreated, and killed at least 23 Romani
civilians in Skocic, Malesic, Petkovci, and Drinjaca villages in
Zvornik municipality. On November 6, the war crimes chamber
investigative judge approved the request and ordered the defendants
placed in detention for 30 days.
On December 7, the war crimes chamber convicted Nenad Malic and
sentenced him to 13 years in prison in connection with charges that he,
as a member of the Sixth Krajina Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army,
killed two Muslim civilians, Husein Grbic and Refik Velic, and
attempted to kill Dzemal Hadzalic in Stari Majdan, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, in 1992.
On December 14, the war crimes prosecutor issued an indictment
against Dusko Kesar on charges that he participated in the killing of
three Muslim civilians in Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1994. The
indictment stated that Kesar, as a member of a Republika Srpska
Ministry of Internal Affairs reserve unit, killed Faruk Rizvic, Refik
Rizvic, and Fadila Mahmuljin.
The trial of Sasa Djilerdzica and Goran Savic for war crimes
against civilians in Zvornik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1992 was
underway at year's end.
The case against Branko Popovic, leader of the self-proclaimed
``interim government of the Serbian municipality of Zvornik,'' and
Branko Grujic on charges including the imprisonment, inhumane
treatment, and death of more than 700 persons, 270 of whom have been
exhumed from mass graves in Crni Vrh and Grbavci and identified, was in
the trial phase at year's end.
There were no new developments in the investigation of U.S. citizen
and former Gestapo member Peter Egner, who was accused of crimes,
including genocide, related to the killing of 17,000 Serb civilians at
the Staro Sajmiste concentration camp between 1941 and 1943.
The war crimes prosecutor asked that the war crimes chamber request
the extradition from Hungary of Sandor Kepiro for war crimes allegedly
committed in Novi Sad in 1942.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
In cooperation with neighboring countries, the International
Commission on Missing Persons, and other international organizations,
the government continued to make modest progress in identifying missing
persons from the Kosovo conflict. During the year the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chaired two meetings of the Working
Group on Persons Unaccounted for in Connection with Events in Kosovo,
which included government representatives from both Serbia and Kosovo.
The total number of persons still unaccounted for from the Kosovo
conflict stood at 1,885 at year's end (450 Serbs and 1,435 Albanians).
During the year 58 cases were closed: 49 bodies were exhumed in Kosovo
and nine in Serbia. The remains were delivered to the families through
the working group.
According to the ICRC, families in the country claimed there were
1,250 relatives missing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo
stemming from regional conflicts. These cases remained open at year's
end.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
police at times beat detainees and harassed persons, usually during
arrest or initial detention for petty crimes.
On January 14, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture (CPT) released a report documenting findings from its 2007
visit to the country. According to the report, the committee received
credible allegations of physical mistreatment ``consisting of punches,
kicks, truncheon blows, blows with a thick book or with a wet rolled
newspaper, and handcuffing to fixed objects in a hyperextended
position'' employed to obtain confessions or other information and
concluded that juveniles suspected of serious criminal offenses were
particularly exposed to physical violence. The CPT criticized the
presence of various nonstandard items, such as baseball bats, iron
rods, wooden sticks, and thick metal cables, in offices used by police
for interrogations. The report concluded that the number of allegations
of mistreatment by the police was lower, and the mistreatment alleged
less severe, than during the first CPT periodic visit in 2004.
A case against Police Inspector Miljan Komnenovic, the subject of
three brutality complaints filed by the Committees for Human Rights in
Serbia (CHRIS), continued in the district court in Kursumlija at year's
end.
At year's end, the investigation was continuing into the September
2008 incident in which unidentified plainclothes police officers in
Brus allegedly beat three youths detained on suspicion of robbing a gas
station. According to CHRIS, police during the year took statements
from the victims and identified possible suspects. However, no charges
were filed pending positive identification of the suspects by the
victims.
There were no new developments in the November 2008 case in which
four Valjevo police officers allegedly beat and abused Goran Z.,
Aleksandar S., and Zarko Dj. at the Valjevo police station or in the
December 2008 case in which three police officers in Arandjelovac
allegedly beat college student Nemanja Mijaljevic after he failed to
obey a command to stop his vehicle at a checkpoint.
On November 4, the trial of Milan Zivanovic on charges of grave
offenses against general safety and aggravated larceny in connection
with the February 2008 attacks on foreign embassies began in the
Belgrade District Court. The trial continued at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied
greatly among facilities.
The January 14 CPT report criticized officials at the Zabela
correctional facility in Pozarevac for creating ``an atmosphere of
fear'' among inmates housed in Pavilion VII, where many inmates claimed
to have been warned by staff that they would be beaten if caught asleep
during the day or if they complained.
The media reported prison overcrowding, and General Milan
Obradovic, head of the Ministry of Justice's Department for the
Enforcement of Penal Sanctions, stated in July that the country had
10,260 persons incarcerated in 28 prisons, whereas capacity in
accordance with European standards was 7,000. On December 18, Justice
Ministry state secretary Slobodan Homen stated that there were
approximately 11,100 individuals in the country's prisons. In its
January 14 report, the CPT noted that, at the time of its visit in
2007, the Belgrade District Prison held 1,020 inmates, 897 of whom were
on remand, while its official capacity was 450 individuals.
In some prisons, inmates continued to complain of dirty and
inhumane conditions. The quality of food varied from poor to minimally
acceptable, and health care was often inadequate. On September 28,
approximately 100 inmates from the C-2 cellblock at the Nis prison
began a hunger strike to protest living conditions. The Department for
the Enforcement of Penal Sanctions acknowledged the protest in a public
statement that stressed prison doctors were watching the situation
closely. On October 7, Serbian deputy ombudsman for prison detainees
Milos Jankovic conducted a surprise inspection at the facility and
announced the prison would need government assistance and funding to
address problems concerning living conditions, hygiene, food, and
health care.
Guards were poorly trained in the proper handling of prisoners. On
November 9, the Department for the Enforcement of Penal Sanctions
suspended nine employees, including former prison head Zoran Jovic,
from the Leskovac prison in connection with alleged beatings and
mistreatment of several prisoners in January. The department took
action after conducting an investigation of prison surveillance tapes
forwarded anonymously to the Justice Ministry. Police eventually
arrested 12 of the 50 guards employed in the prison on charges that
they kicked and beat 25-year-old N. Dj. and P.Dj. from Brestovac, 33-
year-old B.Y. from Presevo, and 31-year-old D.S. from Leskovac on
January 28. Investigative judges for the Leskovac District Court
ordered 30 days' detention for 10 of the guards.
On September 4, Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic told a conference held in
connection with an unofficial working visit by the UN special
rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, that his office received
approximately 100 complaints per year from prisoners alleging
``inhumane conditions, overcrowding, and lack of physical activity.''
The government permitted the ICRC and local independent human
rights monitors, including the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in
Serbia (HCS), to visit prisons and to speak with prisoners without the
presence of a warden. However, on November 19, Lidija Vuckovic from the
Nis-based Center for Human Rights told the press that the Nis prison,
citing concerns about a possible H1N1 flu epidemic, denied access to
one of the organization's lawyers. According to Vuckovic, this
prevented the lawyer from visiting a prisoner who had sent the center a
letter alleging torture.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government mostly
observed these prohibitions.
In 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found three
violations by the country of the right of liberty and security under
Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The country's
approximately 43,000 police officers are under the authority of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs. The police are divided into four main
departments that supervise 33 regional secretariats reporting to the
national government.
The effectiveness of the police was uneven. While most officers
were Serbs, the force included Bosniaks (Slavic Muslims), ethnic
Hungarians, ethnic Montenegrins, a small number of ethnic Albanians,
and other minorities. The police force in southern Serbia was composed
primarily of Serbs, although there were small numbers of ethnic
Albanian officers.
There were reports of police corruption and impunity. During the
year the government addressed many of the reports.
On March 9, police, in cooperation with the district prosecutor in
Kraljevo and the special prosecutor in Belgrade, arrested 35 persons,
including 18 active-duty police officers, from Novi Pazar, Raska, and
Kraljevo. Police suspected that these individuals received and gave
bribes; smuggled oil, meat, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and
other goods across the border between Serbia and Kosovo; and were in
illegal possession of weapons and narcotics.
On March 23, the district court in Negotin convicted nine Kladovo
border police officers in connection with charges from 2007 that border
police allegedly received bribes and allowed customs-free transport of
goods across the Serbian-Kosovo border. A deputy border police
commander, Andjelka Petrovic, received a 10-month prison sentence, and
border police officer Dragan Prvulovic received a sentence of 18
months. Police officers Djordje Grekulovic, Milan Radic, Dejan
Zivadinovic, Ljubisa Bobokovic, Slavoljub Borakovic, Nikola Grujcic,
and Dusan Grekulovic were sentenced to 16 months in prison.
On June 25, the Sabac District Court sentenced 16 border police
officers from the Gucevo border police station to 18 to 20 months'
imprisonment for accepting bribes from four individuals to facilitate
smuggling of cattle across the Drina River to Bosnia and Herzegovina;
the smugglers also were convicted.
On December 22, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the
arrest of 13 police officers and six customs officers on bribery and
abuse of power charges. Police officers Goran Spica, Milan Lojanica,
Selma Kozica, Zajm Loncarevic, Goran Lucic, Svetozar Matovic, Igor
Petric, Sasa Radovic, Danilo Femic, Pera Pejatovic, David Despotovic,
Igor Garabinovic, and Saud Causevic and customs officers Slobodan
Bjedov, Predrag Mandic, Veljko Kijanovic, Dragan Stamenkovic, Veselin
Gasic, and Gordana Jecmenica were accused of acting as an organized
crime group from April to December.
Arrest and Detention.--Arrests were generally based on warrants,
although police were authorized to make warrantless arrests in limited
circumstances, including well-founded suspicion of a capital crime. The
law requires an investigating judge to approve any detention lasting
longer than 48 hours, and authorities respected this requirement in
practice. Bail was allowed but rarely used; detainees facing charges
that carried possible sentences of less than five years were often
released on personal recognizance.
The constitution and law provides that police must inform arrested
persons immediately of their rights, and authorities respected this
requirement in practice.
The law provides access for detainees to counsel, at government
expense if necessary, and authorities often respected this right in
practice. Family members were normally allowed to visit detainees.
Suspects detained in connection with serious crimes can be held for up
to six months without being charged. The law prohibits excessive delays
by authorities in filing formal charges against suspects and in opening
investigations; however, such delays occurred regularly. Authorities
frequently held such persons for the full six-month period allowed
before charging them.
The law prohibits police use of force, threats, deception, and
coercion to obtain evidence, as well as use in court of evidence
acquired by such means; however, police sometimes used these means to
obtain statements.
The law limits the length of pretrial detention from indictment to
the conclusion of a trial to two years for most cases, but allows
detention for up to four years for crimes that carry up to the maximum
penalty (40 years in prison). The law sets two years as the maximum
detention permitted after an appellate court vacates the judgment of a
trial court. Nonetheless, prolonged pretrial detention was a problem.
Due to inefficient court procedures, some of which were required by
law, cases often took extended periods to come to trial; once begun,
trials often took a long time to complete. The Constitutional Court
also reported receiving a large number of citizens' complaints
concerning delays in trial proceedings.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary; however, the courts remained susceptible
to corruption and political influence. Observers believed that judicial
reform, particularly replacement of judges appointed during the
Milosevic era, was essential to eliminating corruption. The 2006
constitution expanded the role of the High Judicial Council (HJC, also
referred to as the High Court Council) in the appointment of judges,
and gave the parliament the right to appoint eight of its 11 members.
Human rights groups and the independent Association of Judges
criticized this provision for giving the parliament a controlling voice
in judicial appointments and affairs.
Judges and prosecutors, particularly those handling organized crime
and war crimes, continued to receive death threats or were subject to
physical attack.
On October 9, Belgrade district court judge Velimir Lazovic
reported that an unidentified Belgrade lawyer had threatened that he
would not be reelected as a judge if he ``was not careful.'' Lazovic
was the presiding judge in the trial of Uros Misic, a soccer fan
charged with attempted murder for an attack on a police officer during
a 2007 match. On October 10, the Office of the Republican Prosecutor
announced that it would investigate the threat, which it equated to an
attempt to obstruct justice.
War crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic continued to receive death
threats from within the country and abroad; on December 13, his office
reported receiving 66 threatening letters during the year. In late
October Justice Minister Snezana Malovic and HJC member Bosko Ristic
received anonymous threats, which most observers attributed to their
role in ongoing judicial reform. In early November republican
prosecutor Slobodan Radovanovic received death threats through a
Facebook page created to call for his removal from office. On December
4, Supreme Court chairperson Nata Mesarovic received a written death
threat from a diaspora group from Evanston, Illinois, in response to
the November 24 Supreme Court decision upholding 40-year prison
sentences for the 2003 assassination of then prime minister Zoran
Djindjic. On December 15, the press reported that a Serbian citizen
resident in Chicago, Illinois, was suspected of sending the threats to
Vukcevic and Mesarovic.
The courts were inefficient. Although the system of recordkeeping
made it difficult to assess accurately the backlogs or efficiency
nationwide, cases could take years to be resolved. On July 21, Ministry
of Justice State Secretary Homen stated that almost 155,000 cases had
been in municipal courts for more than two years and that there were
8,235 such cases in district courts. He added there were instances when
cases took more than 30 years to resolve. Justice Minister Malovic
announced on August 5 that 93 cases had been in the Belgrade District
Court alone for more than 10 years, and press reports in April
indicated that there were more than 2,600 such cases in municipal
courts.
The number of judges in the main courts was inadequate to meet the
increasing caseload. Other causes of delay and backlog in the courts
included failure of postal workers to serve subpoenas and other court
documents, failure of police to execute arrest warrants, failure of
prisons to bring prisoners to court for scheduled hearings, issuing
indictments or scheduling hearings without complete and thorough
investigations, excessive continuances of court hearings, a lack of
professional court administration, the existence of a centralized
budget for all courts managed by the Ministry of Justice, and failure
to invest in professional personnel and modern infrastructure. In many
cases, unwieldy procedures required by the law contributed to delays.
In 2008 the ECHR found three violations by the country of Article 6
of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning length of
proceedings. In April the press reported that 17 of the 27 ECHR
judgments against the country since September 2006 concerned violations
of the right to a trial within a reasonable timeframe. The
Constitutional Court also reported receiving a large number of
citizens' complaints concerning delays in trial proceedings.
The judicial system consists of municipal courts, district courts,
commercial courts, a Supreme Court, a High Commercial Court, a
Constitutional Court, an administrative court, and courts of appeal.
The law also provides for special courts within the Belgrade District
Court for war crimes and organized crime. The law provides for an
administrative appeals court and a second instance appeals court to
reduce the Supreme Court's caseload.
The core of the HJC established in December 2008 was appointed
behind schedule on April 6. The law provides for the council to have
supervisory authority over almost all aspects of court operations as of
January 1, 2010. During the year its only responsibility was the
selection of all judges in the country's judiciary. Approximately 5,050
individuals submitted 8,000 applications for 2,483 judgeships, and on
December 17, the HJC announced the reappointment of 1,531 sitting
judges to permanent positions. Approximately one-third of sitting
judges were not reappointed. The HJC also forwarded to the parliament
for confirmation an additional 876 candidates for first-time
judgeships, who would serve three-year terms before becoming eligible
for permanent positions. The parliament confirmed these appointments on
December 29.
On July 9, the Constitutional Court denied a challenge by the
Judges' Association, which argued that making sitting judges apply for
reappointment contravened constitutional provisions of life tenure for
judges. In September, in response to criticism by the Council of
Europe, the Ministry of Justice announced plans to revise the selection
criteria used by the council and defended the process as necessary to
ensure that the judiciary was qualified and not corrupt. After the HJC
announced its selections in December, a number of judges and the
Judges' Association criticized the HJC for lack of transparency, in
particular regarding the selection criteria, and called for the HJC to
provide a justification to those judges not chosen. Several observers
noted it was not possible to verify if the selection criteria had been
changed in response to the Council of Europe's comments.
In 2008 the ECHR found three violations by the country of the right
to a fair trial under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human
Rights.
Trial Procedures.--Trials are usually public, but they are closed
during testimony of a state-protected witness. There are no juries. The
law stipulates that defendants are presumed innocent, have the right to
have an attorney represent them at public expense, and have the right
to be present at their trials. Defendants have the right to access
government evidence and to question witnesses. Both the defense and the
prosecution have the right to appeal a verdict. The government
generally respected these rights in practice.
On August 31, the parliament adopted amendments to the criminal
procedure code, which introduce plea bargaining and cross-examination
and provide more detailed provisions on the use of special
investigative techniques such as wiretaps, undercover agents, and
controlled delivery.
The special war crimes chamber continued trying war crimes cases
(see section 1.a.). According to the law, evidence gathered by special
investigative techniques is admissible.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution
establishes an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters,
and citizens can bring lawsuits seeking damages for or cessation of a
human rights violation. Remedies usually involved monetary awards.
In one case in 2008, the ECHR found the country in violation of its
obligation to provide an effective remedy under Article 13 of the
European Convention of Human Rights.
Property Restitution.--During the year the government made no
progress toward enacting a private property restitution law or in
returning property to private citizens. The government took no
significant action to register claims or return communal property in
accordance with the 2006 law on restitution of communal property. On
August 31, the parliament adopted a new law on planning and
construction which opponents argued would create additional
difficulties in carrying out restitution. In 2008 the ECHR found that
in three cases the country had not protected property of plaintiffs.
In accordance with the separate 2006 law on return of property to
churches and religious communities, the government's Directorate for
Restitution of Communal and Religious Property continued to process
3,049 restitution claims filed from October 2006 to September 2008 by
the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Jewish
community, the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Reformation Church, the
Islamic community, the Evangelical Church, and the Association of
Christian Baptist Churches. On March 11, Dusko Polic, director of the
``Srbijasuma'' public enterprise, and Bishop Lavrentije of Sabac signed
an agreement on the return of 4,400 acres of woodlands to the Tronosi,
Petkovici, and Radovasnici monasteries. On July 8, officials from the
Belgrade municipality of Vracar announced plans to return to the
Serbian Orthodox Church four buildings and four apartments in downtown
Belgrade that were nationalized in 1964. The authorities also stated
that the central government would compensate the church for those parts
of the buildings that were sold to private owners. On November 11, the
Directorate for Restitution returned 1,850 acres of woodlands seized in
1946 from the Saint Prohor Pcinjski monastery in Vranje Eparchy. On
December 28, officials from the Belgrade municipality of Palilula
returned 12,700 square feet of business space and 6.2 acres of land to
the Church of Saint Mark.
On September 17, the Constitutional Court, as in other cases in
which adopted legislation was under the Court's review, requested the
parliament to provide an opinion within 60 days regarding a challenge
to the constitutionality of the law on restitution of property to
churches and religious communities. As of year's end, no further
information was available on this matter.
The Federation of Jewish Communities and other religious groups
protested the use of 1945 as a cut-off date for restitution or
compensation for property, since their properties were largely
confiscated in 1941-44. The Federation of Jewish Communities expressed
concern that linking religious community restitution with individual
restitution would cause delays. The federation also strongly criticized
the law on planning and construction, which it believed would
irreversibly legalize the seizure of property through nationalization,
racial laws, confiscation, sequestration, land reform, and
expropriation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions;
however, the government interfered with privacy and correspondence.
While the law requires the Ministry of Internal Affairs to obtain a
court order before monitoring potential criminal activity and police to
obtain a warrant before entering property except to save persons or
possessions, police occasionally did not respect these provisions in
practice.
Rodoljub Sabic, the commissioner for information of public
importance, expressed concern publicly that the country was seriously
behind European standards regarding protection of personal data. This
lag, he feared, would have implications in January 2010 when the Data
Protection Act adopted in October 2008 comes into force.
Most observers believed authorities selectively monitored
communications, eavesdropped on conversations, read mail and e-mail,
and tapped telephones. Human rights leaders also believed that their
communications were monitored.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and the Press.--The constitution and law
provide for freedom of speech and of the press; however, there were
reports of government interference with these freedoms. Human rights
activists charged that they were subjects of smear campaigns in the
majority of media for expressing criticism of the government or
challenging the popular narrative about the country's role in the wars
of the 1990s. In most other cases, individuals could criticize the
government publicly or privately without reprisal.
In August the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and local
journalist associations expressed concern over draft amendments to the
media law that would impose excessive fines that could limit media
freedom and lead to self-censorship. The OSCE added that the lack of
transparency and public dialogue during the drafting of the amendments
was a particular cause for concern. The IFJ called on authorities to
withdraw the draft law as it represented ``unjustified and unnecessary
intervention in freedom of the expression of media'' and a ``violation
of the European principle of the freedom of press.''
On August 31, parliament adopted the law; the president signed it
the same day. On September 23, the ombudsman submitted the amendments
to the Constitutional Court for review, and on October 8, the
Constitutional Court requested that the parliament as initiator of the
law provide its opinion. On December 5, the South East Europe Media
Organization and the International Press Institute expressed concern
that the amendments could limit investigative journalism and possibly
lead to the closure of certain media.
Parliament approves the budget of the independent Republic
Broadcast Agency (RBA), which has broad authority to revoke radio and
television station licenses without the right of appeal. However, the
RBA did not revoke any national broadcasting licenses during the year.
Generally, the press was not limited or prevented from criticizing
the government publicly or privately.
The print and broadcast media were mostly independent and privately
owned, although privatization of municipally owned media was not yet
completed. Radio-Television Serbia (RTS), a public media outlet funded
by mandatory subscription, was a major presence, operating two
television channels as well as Radio Belgrade. The RTS' coverage was
usually objective, although the government had considerable influence
over the RTS and public service Radio Television of Vojvodina. In
addition, many television stations relied on the state-owned agency
Tanjug for news. The independent news agencies BETA and FONET
complained that state financing gave Tanjug an unfair commercial
advantage.
Binding RBA instructions required the RTS to broadcast
parliamentary sessions live, despite the RTS' complaints that it
suffered financial and advertising losses as a result. The RTS'
managing board stated that the order directly interfered with its
editorial policy. Parliament occasionally cancelled or postponed its
sessions when RTS was not able to broadcast them due to conflicting
contractual commitments. The OSCE mission previously expressed concern
that the RBA's decision was not in accordance with European standards
of media freedom.
Independent media organizations were generally active and expressed
a wide range of views; however, some media organizations experienced
threats or reprisals for publishing views critical of the government.
On June 16, the Ministry of Culture filed a misdemeanor offense
charge against Radeta Jerinic, editor in chief of the daily newspaper
Kurir, for revealing the identity of a minor detained by the police. On
June 19, the Association of Independent Electronic Media released a
statement criticizing the Kurir article and a subsequent incident in
which unknown individuals threw a Molotov cocktail at the offices of
independent Radio B92 and slashed the tires of B92 journalist Olja
Beckovic, the minor's mother.
During the year some reporters and media organizations were victims
of vandalism, intimidation, and physical attacks for coverage and
portrayal of views unpopular with the government and right-wing
elements of society, such as the capture and extradition of war crimes
fugitives.
On January 27, the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia
(NUNS) issued a statement calling on the authorities to investigate
separate incidents in which unknown individuals disabled the Web site
of the Pescanik radio show through multiple and repeated hacker attacks
and damaged a car owned by Pescanik cofounder Svetlana Lukic. These
incidents coincided with unexplained technical difficulties that
affected radio broadcasts on B92 on January 23 and 24. On January 28,
President Boris Tadic requested government bodies to look into the
incidents, but there were no developments or arrests by the end of the
year.
On February 2, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the
arrest of Dejan M. from Pancevo for sending threatening e-mails to
Danica Vucenic, the host of B92's ``Kaziprst'' show, her family, other
employees of B92, and their families.
On March 25, the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) issued a
statement criticizing an attack on an RTS cameraman and an assistant
cameraman of the RTS program TV Studio B during a protest by right-wing
organizations on the 10th anniversary of the NATO air campaign against
Serbia. The UNS called for an immediate investigation and government
measures to defend journalists.
On May 26, B92 reported that lawyers for the Port of Belgrade
Company had sent it letters marked with the word ``warning'' protesting
an investigative journalistic report concerning business dealings
between Belgrade municipal authorities and the company, which
reportedly cost the city hundreds of millions of euros. NUNS denounced
the letters as pressure on B92, and Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar
Djelic accused the company of ``stifling the best form of journalism''
and stressed the importance of the government's standing on the side of
those media outlets that try to defend the public interest.
The trial in Belgrade of Milan Savatric, Nikola Lazic, and Stefan
Milicevic in connection with the July 2008 attack on B92 cameraman
Bosko Brankovic was ongoing at year's end.
On December 5, TV B92 announced that Branka (Brankica) Stankovic,
the host of its investigative journalism program Insider, had received
anonymous death and other threats in response to an expose examining
the ties between violent hooligans and sports fans' clubs. In response,
President Tadic announced the country would not tolerate violence and
threats against journalists performing their jobs, and the Ministry of
Internal Affairs provided her with security. On December 8, police in
Belgrade, Novi Sad, Pancevo, and Sremska Mitrovica detained Vladimir
Samardzic, Mladjen Bogdanovic, Petar Bazalac, Stefan Hadzi Antonovic,
and three minors in connection with the threats. After soccer fans
directed new threats against Stankovic during a match on December 16,
police arrested an additional seven individuals: Nemanja Bogdanovic,
Nemanja Odalovic, Bojan Glisovic, Goran Kljestan, Aleksandar Perisic,
Milan Gudovic, and Dragan Djurdjevic, an army lieutenant employed by
the Military Geography Institute.
Police investigations and judicial processes involving assaults on
journalists were often long and inefficient. One local assessment of
the country's laws determined that, although the legal framework was
mostly harmonized with international standards, local courts in
practice often diverged from the ECHR in application of Article 10 of
the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for freedom of
expression.
The government did not censor the media, but journalists sometimes
practiced self-censorship to avoid possible libel suits. Critics of the
August 31 amendments to the media law, including the OSCE, argued that
its provisions for excessive fines would encourage self-censorship.
Libel is a criminal offense; persons convicted of libel could be
imprisoned or fined 40,000 to one million dinars (approximately $600 to
$14,900).
On June 25, the government approved emergency measures to assist
media companies during the global economic downturn. The measures
reduced RBA fees and set aside 60 million dinars (approximately
$895,500) to cofinance media and press projects.
On July 10, the government published additions and amendments to
the Rulebook on Measures for Establishing Fees for Broadcasting Radio
and TV Programs. The amendments reduced the basis of the fee structure
for regional and local broadcasters by 40 percent and national
broadcasters by 5 percent.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet, e-mail, or Internet chat rooms; however, as in
previous years, there were some isolated reports that the government
monitored e-mail. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. According to
International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 24 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government usually respected it in practice.
However, organizers from the LGBT community cancelled a pride
parade scheduled for September 20 after the government, citing security
concerns, banned the event at its desired location and proposed what
the organizers deemed unacceptable alternate venues.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government mostly respected this right in
practice; however, the government maintained discriminatory laws on
religion, property, and taxes. There were isolated reports that
officials made public, negative statements against minority religious
groups.
While there is no state religion, the majority Serbian Orthodox
Church continued to receive some preferential treatment.
The law recognizes seven ``traditional'' religious communities (the
Serbian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Slovak
Evangelical Church, the Reformed Christian Church, the Evangelical
Christian Church, the Islamic community, and the Jewish community) and
requires all ``nontraditional'' religious groups to register with the
Ministry of Religion. The ministry has discretion to approve
``nontraditional'' groups. However, many minority religious groups that
attempted to register with the ministry reported confusing and
irregular procedures. The Ministry of Religion focused its efforts on
monitoring the law's implementation.
As of July 1, six religious communities--the League of Baptists,
Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement, Church of Christian Oath,
Jehovah's Witnesses, Montenegrin Orthodox Church, and Protestant
Evangelical Church of Leskovac--had filed a total of eight appeals with
the Supreme Court concerning ministry decisions to deny them
registration; the cases were pending at year's end. The League of
Baptists and the Evangelical Church of Leskovac also had cases pending
before the Constitutional Court.
Tax law exempts property owned by the seven recognized traditional
religious groups, although a challenge to the law was pending in the
Constitutional Court at year's end.
Non-Serbian Orthodox religious organizations continued to report
difficulty in obtaining permission from local authorities to build new
worship facilities. Authorities continued at times to deny unregistered
groups building permits and refused to recognize their official
documents.
Jehovah's Witnesses in Bor were not able to obtain an occupancy
permit for a completed house of worship, although they filed an appeal
with the Ministry for Environment and Spatial Planning district office
in Zajecar; the appeal was pending at year's end. The League of
Baptists in Belgrade, which conducted its services and other activities
in an old building it purchased to use as a church, reported that
municipal authorities continued to refuse, without explanation, a
permit to renovate the building. The Romanian Orthodox Church continued
to receive no response to its permit request to build a monastery in
Vojvodina.
The law requires students in primary and secondary schools either
to attend classes of one of the seven traditional religious communities
or to take a civic education class. Protestant leaders and NGOs
continued to voice their objection to the teaching of religion in
public schools, while leaders of religious groups excluded from the
program continued to express dissatisfaction with the government's
narrow definition of religion. The Islamic Community in Serbia
criticized, as state interference in religious affairs, provisions that
assign responsibility for appointing religious teachers to the Ministry
of Education.
There were some reports that government officials criticized
minority religious groups using pejorative terms such as ``sects,''
``satanists,'' and ``deviants.'' Zoran Lukovic, head of the section for
polygraph examinations for the Belgrade police, stated in a March 27
newspaper article that Jehovah's Witnesses were a ``hermetic sect''
that should not be allowed to act as adoptive or foster parents.
Lukovic previously equated Protestant churches with ``satanic sects.''
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Local religious groups and
NGOs believed there were fewer cases of physical and verbal attacks
against religious minorities during the year. Leaders of minority
religious communities continued to report acts of vandalism, hate
speech, physical attacks, and negative media reports.
On December 4, unidentified individuals destroyed 48 gravestones
and other markers in a Catholic cemetery in Backo Gradiste. The
investigative judge qualified the act as a criminal offense. On
December 5, police arrested four minors ages 14 to 17 on suspicion that
they damaged the grave markers.
On September 13, unidentified individuals destroyed a bust of
Martin Luther in the center of Subotica. According to Rudolf Vajs, the
vice president of the Evangelical Church Community, police inspected
the damage to the bust and its marble pedestal. The mayor of Subotica,
Sasa Vucinic, and the Ministry of Religion publicly criticized the
vandalism. As of year's end, police had not made any arrests in the
case.
There was no further information available on the investigation
into the November 2008 incident in which four vehicles belonging to the
Christian Adventist Church in Belgrade were damaged, the 2007 attack on
Jehovah's Witnesses missionaries in Stari Banovci, or the 2007 stabbing
of Zivota Milanovic, a Hare Krishna follower in Jagodina.
The press, mostly tabloids, continued to label smaller, multiethnic
Christian churches, including Baptists, Adventists, Jehovah's
Witnesses, and other minority religious groups, as dangerous ``sects.''
A number of right-wing youth groups referred to nontraditional
religious communities as sects posing a threat to Orthodox Christian
society in the country.
The Jewish community comprised an estimated 3,000 persons. Jewish
leaders reported continued incidents of anti-Semitism, including anti-
Semitic graffiti, vandalism, books, and Internet postings. Bookshops
widely sold books with anti-Semitic content. Several booksellers at the
annual Belgrade Book Fair in October, including the Nikola Pasic
publishing house, Pesic and Sons, and Dveri Srpske, as well as
booksellers at the annual Christmas Book Fair in December, displayed
anti-Semitic works. Right-wing youth groups and Internet forums
continued to promote anti-Semitism and use hate speech against the
Jewish community.
On March 3, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence of Goran
Davidovic, leader of the unregistered neo-Nazi organization Nacionalni
Stroj, to one year in prison for instigating national, racial, and
religious hatred and animosity in connection with a 2005 incident in
which he and other group members disrupted an antifascist discussion
panel at the Philosophy Faculty in Novi Sad. Davidovic also faced
charges for violent behavior and spreading racial hatred during an
unauthorized rally in Novi Sad in October 2007. On April 20, Italian
police arrested Davidovic on the basis of a Serbian arrest warrant; his
extradition to Serbia was pending at year's end.
Holocaust education continued to be a part of the school curriculum
at the direction of the Ministry of Education, and the role of the
collaborationist National Salvation government run by Milan Nedic
during the Holocaust was also debated as part of the secondary school
curriculum. There was a tendency among some commentators to minimize
and reinterpret the role of national collaborators' movements during
the World War II period and their contribution to the Holocaust in
Serbia.
During the year the Islamic community remained divided along
political lines with one group aligned with the local Islamic authority
(Riyaset) in Belgrade, while the other group retained its traditional
ties to the Riyaset in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to UNHCR figures,
approximately 205,835 displaced persons from Kosovo resided in the
country, mainly Serbs, Roma, Ashkali (an Albanian-speaking ethnic group
considered by outsiders as similar to Roma but self-identifying as a
separate group with cultural distinctions from Roma), Gorani, and
Bosniaks who left Kosovo as a result of the 1998-99 conflict. As of the
end of the year, according to the country's Commissariat for Refugees,
approximately 3,323 displaced persons from Kosovo remained in 43
official collective centers and 1,875 in 28 unrecognized collective
centers. Although the government continued to close collective centers,
many displaced persons remained in minimally habitable facilities
originally constructed for temporary accommodation rather than for
long-term occupancy.
Without an official identification card, individuals were not able
to access services. The government allowed displaced persons access to
assistance from NGOs and international organizations.
The government continued to pay minimum wage salaries, including
social and pension contributions, to displaced persons who were in the
Kosovo government and state-owned enterprises before mid-1999 and who
were not employed during the year. Displaced persons who found a job
permanently lost eligibility for government assistance. The
government's investigation into the eligibility of displaced persons
who were recipients for such payments continued at year's end.
The law requires all residents of the country to record changes of
residency and to appear in person at the place of their prior
registration to remove themselves from the registry. Displaced persons
from Kosovo who lacked personal or residency documents from there were
unable to deregister from their Kosovo addresses and register at a new
address in Serbia. Without an authorized local address in the country,
individuals were ineligible for health insurance, social welfare, and
public schooling. NGOs provided legal assistance to displaced persons
from Kosovo to register residency successfully.
There were 22,103 officially registered Romani displaced persons in
the country. However, the UNHCR estimated that 40,000 to 45,000
displaced Roma, many of whom presumably lacked personal documents
necessary to register their status, were living in the country. Kosovo
Albanians assumed that many Roma displaced from Kosovo were Serb
collaborators during the Kosovo conflict. The Roma might be at risk if
they tried to return. While some displaced Roma lived in government-
supported collective centers, living conditions for Roma (both local
and displaced) were generally extremely poor. Local municipalities
often were reluctant to accommodate them. If Roma did stay, they often
lived in unauthorized encampments near major cities or towns.
While government officials continued to make public statements that
displaced persons from Kosovo should return to Kosovo, senior
government officials also claimed that it was unsafe for many to do so.
Approximately 540 individuals who had been living in displacement in
Serbia returned to Kosovo during the year.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees. During the year the
government registered 250 asylum seekers. During the year the
government rendered four positive refugee status determination (RSD)
subsidiary protection decisions on cases dating to 2008.
The government provided protection against the expulsion or return
of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Asylum seekers had freedom of movement in the country after
establishing their identity and filing an application for asylum. They
were eligible for public assistance, including accommodation and food,
but they did not have the right to employment until recognized as
refugees through an RSD.
The Commissariat for Refugees controls the country's sole asylum
center, which had capacity for approximately 80 persons. The
commissariat is also responsible for status determination and care of
refugees from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On June 16, the
government informed the presidents of 26 municipalities and cities
across the country that they would receive 29 million dinars
(approximately $433,000) in financial support under a project to
provide housing for refugees and displaced persons. The commissioner
for refugees, Vladimir Cucic, announced that the government had set
aside 20.5 million euros (approximately $29.3 million) to address
problems encountered by refugees and IDPs. According to the
Commissariat, 303 families received government assistance during the
year.
The government and the UNHCR estimated that 86,336 refugees from
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina resided in the country, while the
government estimated that there were approximately 200,000 to 400,000
former refugees who were naturalized but not socially and economically
integrated into the country.
The government also provided temporary protection (refugee status
on a prima facie basis) to individuals from former Yugoslav republics
who may not qualify as refugees. The refugee status of individuals from
the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continued to be regulated
under the 1992 Decree on Refugees.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). According to the local UNHCR office, there were no de jure
stateless persons in the country. According to UNHCR statistics, there
were 17,050 stateless persons in the country at the end of 2008. Most
of these persons were listed as stateless due to a cumbersome and
lengthy citizenship registration process. Lack of information,
administrative fees, difficulty of obtaining documents, the lack of an
official recognized residence, and sometimes the need to go to court to
prove origin and identity made it difficult or impossible for some
persons to register. These problems disproportionately affected the
Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, particularly displaced
persons from Kosovo, although they also affected others who were
destitute and living in isolated areas.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The country held two rounds
of presidential elections in January and February 2008 and
parliamentary elections in May 2008, resulting in the creation of a
pro-EU government. The OSCE and other election observers, including
domestic organizations, judged these elections mostly free and fair.
Political parties mostly operated without restrictions or outside
interference. However, in its final report on the May 2008
parliamentary elections, the OSCE Limited Election Observation Mission
noted that some aspects of the campaign went beyond the acceptable
limits for a democratic society, in particular when death threats to
senior officials were reported. The mission reported that this
culminated with the display, in Belgrade, of a large number of posters
that could be interpreted as suggesting the assassination of top state
officials.
There were 56 women in the 250-seat parliament. The speaker and
three of six parliamentary vice presidents were women. There were five
women in the 27-member cabinet. The law on elections of members of
parliament requires parties' election lists to include at least 30
percent women, and political parties participating in the 2008
elections observed this provision.
The constitution and law exempt ethnically based parties from the
5-percent threshold required for a political party to enter parliament.
A new law on political parties adopted in May requires parties to
reregister by January 23, 2010. Although the law requires parties to
submit 10,000 signatures, ethnic minority parties need to submit only
1,000. In the May 2008 parliamentary elections, minority parties and
lists received a combined 3.9 percent of the vote. Seven members of
national minorities, including ethnic Hungarians, Bosniaks, and
Albanians, were elected to parliament. Two members of ethnic
minorities, both Bosniaks, were in the 27-member cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
although there was some improvement, the government did not implement
the law effectively, and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. There was a widespread public perception of
government corruption at all levels. According to the World Bank
governance indices, corruption was a problem in 2008. On November 30,
Predrag Jovanovic, director of the Public Procurement Office, told the
press that at least 10 percent of money spent each year in the country
on public procurement was lost due to corruption and waste. During the
year the Customs Administration reported that it investigated and
referred for prosecution 10 percent more officials suspected of
corruption than in 2008.
The private sector considered corruption in the commercial courts
to be widespread. Land transfers often were difficult to conclude,
leading many in the private sector to allege administrative corruption.
It was unclear, however, to what extent these problems were due to
corruption rather than bureaucratic inefficiency.
Many public officials are subject to financial disclosure under the
conflict of interest law, but the Republic Board for Resolving
Conflicts of Interest may only recommend dismissal for failure to file
reports. The board has no authority or means to investigate the
substance of the information reported. On June 15, the board
recommended that the deputy mayor of Belgrade, Milan Krkobabic, resign
for failing to submit the mandatory financial disclosure; however, as
of year's end, Krkobabic remained in his position. During the year the
board also opened investigations of Energy Minister Petar Skundric for
serving simultaneously as president of the Serbian Oil Industry's
shareholders assembly and of presidential media adviser Nebojsa Krstic
for possible violations regarding the transfer of management rights in
private companies. On December 21 and 28, respectively, the board
halted its proceedings involving Skundric and Krstic, although it
determined that Krstic had committed minor violations that he then
rectified.
There were reports of authorities failing to act in response to
detailed reports of suspected corruption. There were isolated reports
of high-profile politically motivated investigations. During the year
authorities made some arrests for corruption and continued the
prosecution of high-profile cases from previous years. While the
government's Anticorruption Council frequently made public statements
and granted interviews, the body had only an advisory role.
On April 16, the parliament established a committee to select
leadership of the Anticorruption Agency created in October 2008. On
July 3, the committee selected Zorana Markovic to head the agency and
Vladimir Jankovic as her deputy. The agency, an independent state body
that reports to the parliament, is responsible for implementing the
national anticorruption strategy and overseeing problems related to
conflict of interest and financial disclosure, including political
party financing. It was scheduled to become operational on January 1,
2010, and will replace the Republic Board for Resolving Conflicts of
Interest.
On February 10, a joint operation by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, the Military Security Agency, and the organized crime special
prosecutor resulted in the arrest of 16 persons accused of corruption
in the army, including seven Ministry of Defense officials and two
doctors from the Military Medical Academy. On March 31, police arrested
an additional three Ministry of Defense employees, including Head of
the Military Medical Academy Department for Neuropsychology Miroslav
Radovanovic, and three ministry retirees. Authorities alleged that the
individuals gave and received bribes and committed fraud related to
obtaining state-owned apartments and medical and social security
benefits.
In addition, on February 10, police in an unrelated operation
arrested eight persons in Belgrade, Valjevo, and Vrhpolje for
corruption related to misappropriation of National Investment Plan
funds. Those arrested included Ministry of Economy and Regional
Development officials Dragan Kokunesoski and Ljubomir Jovanovic, former
assistant ministers of trade Radivoje Pirgic and Milos Simic, and
businessmen Branivoje Lazovic, Nebojsa Antunovic, Nikola Knezevic, and
Savo Cvjetojevic.
On April 1, the special prosecutor for organized crime issued an
indictment against Zrenjanin Mayor Goran Knezevic and 21 other
defendants on charges of criminal association, abuse of office, and
accepting and offering bribes. On October 26, the trial of Knezevic and
his codefendants began in the organized crime chamber of the Belgrade
District Court. On November 5, Knezevic was released from custody to
stand trial.
On June 4, police arrested the mayor of Arandjelovac, Radosav
Svabic, on suspicion of abuse of office. The Ministry of Internal
Affairs announced that in 2007 Svabic concluded a contract with the
``Cira'' company for the gasification of Arandjelovac that violated
public procurement procedures and cost the city budget more than
500,000 euros (approximately $715,000). The police also arrested
Aleksandar Ciric, the owner of ``Cira.''
On June 30, police in Nis arrested Vesna Stevanovic, a registrar
with the Nis Municipal Department, in connection with allegations that
she accepted bribes in exchange for issuing expedited or false
citizenship, birth, death, and marriage certificates, mostly to
displaced persons from Kosovo, whose civil registry has been located in
Nis since 1999. According to press reports, police also detained an
unidentified Serb from Nis and an unidentified Kosovo Albanian from
Podujevo on suspicion of bribery and acting as intermediaries in
securing documents for Albanians from several Kosovo municipalities.
On November 11, the special organized crime chamber of the Belgrade
District Court convicted and sentenced 41 of the 53 defendants in the
``highway mafia'' case to a total of 131 years and 10 months in prison.
Those convicted received sentences ranging from 18 months to six years.
Alleged group leader Milan Jovetic, who received a six-year sentence,
and his codefendants also were ordered to reimburse the state
enterprise ``Putevi Srbije'' for using false payment cards and illegal
software on two major tollgates from 2004-06, resulting in a loss of
approximately 6.5 million euros ($9.3 million) in state revenue. Nine
defendants were acquitted, and an additional three committed suicide
during the case.
The government has not fully implemented the access to information
law and generally did not provide access in practice. The law provides
for public access to information of ``legitimate public importance''
(with many exceptions) and establishes an independent commissioner for
information of public importance selected by parliament to handle
appeals when government agencies reject requests for information.
On January 27, the commissioner for information of public
importance announced that only 750 of 3,000 public administration
entities had filed annual reports for 2008 as mandated by the law on
free access to information of public significance, despite receiving an
extension until January 20. Noting that failure to file the reports had
become a chronic problem, the commissioner expressed chagrin that the
Office of the President, the parliament, the Constitutional Court, the
Supreme Court, the republican prosecutor, and eight ministries had not
met their legal obligation. The commissioner also stated that
statistical analysis indicated that in 2008 authorities failed to obey
his instructions in 7.5 percent of cases. However, on March 25, the
commissioner noted the Security Information Agency had become more open
to the public and was acting on requests for access to information of
public importance.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of independent domestic and international human rights
groups operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. However, these groups
were often subjects of harassment, threats, and libel suits for
expressing views critical of the government or contrary to nationalist
views regarding Kosovo, the ICTY, and the wars of the 1990s. Prominent
human rights groups included HCS, the HLC, the Lawyers' Committee for
Human Rights (YUCOM), the Fund for an Open Society, the Youth
Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), and the Belgrade Center for Human
Rights.
On May 31, Vecernje Novosti, a high-circulation Belgrade daily,
published a series of articles criticizing HCS head Sonja Biserko, HLC
head Natasa Kandic, YUCOM head Biljana Kovacevic-Vuco, and the NGO
Women in Black for ``attempting to inflict as much damage as possible
upon their country and people.'' The articles, which appeared on the
eve of parliamentary debate on a draft law on NGOs, sought to discredit
the organizations and their leaders by depicting them as unpatriotic
and tools of foreign governments.
There were no further developments in the October 2008 incident in
which two persons accosted and threatened HCS head Sonja Biserko as she
approached her home or in the investigations into the 2007 attacks on
Violeta Djikanovic and Milos Urosevic of the NGO Women in Black, YIHR
activist Radojica Buncic, and youth members of the NGO My Initiative.
The government cooperated with international governmental
organizations and during the year hosted visits by UN Special
Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Asma Jahangir and UN High
Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres. The UN Special Rapporteur
on Torture Manfred Nowak also visited the country to participate in a
conference.
Sasa Jankovic, the national ombudsman, gave periodic public
statements on issues of concern. On August 21, the ombudsman cited the
Ministries of Defense and Internal Affairs for their responsiveness and
level of cooperation with his office but criticized the Ministry of
Education for its failure to heed his recommendations. Vojvodina
Province had its own ombudsman who operated independently during the
year. According to the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, 14 of the
country's 169 municipalities had ombudsmen.
In April parliament established a Working Group for Children's
Rights. The parliament also has standing committees for gender equality
and health and family.
The government continued to make progress on its cooperation with
the ICTY. It has declared cooperation, including the capture and
transfer to The Hague of remaining war crimes fugitives, to be one of
its top priorities. ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz declared in
his semiannual report to the UN Security Council on December 3 that he
was satisfied with the government's cooperation. However, two ICTY
suspects, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, remained at large, and the
ICTY continued to insist on their arrest.
On March 18, parliament passed a law on international legal
assistance in criminal matters that allowed for the extradition of
defendants and convicted persons under bilateral or multilateral
treaties. Previously the law prohibited the extradition of any citizen
except in cases of extradition of citizens to the ICTY and other
international tribunals.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government made
efforts to enforce these prohibitions effectively. However,
discrimination against women and ethnic and sexual minorities,
trafficking in persons, and violence against women and children were
problems. On March 26, the parliament adopted a law prohibiting
discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation,
gender identity, and other grounds. In addition to elaborating the
forms of discrimination prohibited by the constitution, the law
introduces prohibition of discrimination based on sexual preferences.
The law also establishes an independent state body, the Trustee for
Protection of Equality, tasked with monitoring enforcement of the law,
calling attention to violations of equality, and prescribing preventive
measures.
Outspoken government officials also came under attack for defending
human rights. On April 14, the state secretary for human and minority
rights, Marko Karadzic, received a death threat at his office. The
letter alleged that he was ``taking orders from Europe'' by defending
national minorities. The death threat followed an incident on April 11-
12, in which posters appeared in Pancevo calling for Karadzic's
lynching. Karadzic reported the threats to the police and requested
that the Ministry of Internal Affairs assess his personal security, but
he received no response.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is punishable by up to 40
years in prison. Advocates believed that only a small percentage of
rape victims reported their attacks due to fear of reprisals from their
attackers or humiliation in court. Few spousal rape victims filed
complaints with authorities. Women's groups believed that sentences
were often too lenient in practice.
Violence against women was a problem, and high levels of domestic
violence persisted. Minister for Labor and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic
announced on November 25 that there were 7,666 domestic violence
victims in 2008, a 32-percent increase over 2007, and that 70 percent
of the victims were female. Research by NGOs concluded that domestic
violence was widespread: every second woman suffered from some form of
psychological violence and every third from physical abuse by a family
member. In 92 percent of these cases, the perpetrator was the victim's
husband or partner. On April 16, Minister Ljajic stated that four men
had killed their wives since the beginning of the year and that there
were 22 such killings in 2008. Announcing a donation of 1.7 million
dinars (approximately $25,400) to Belgrade's four domestic violence
shelters, Ljajic stated that 250 children and 150 women had made use of
the facilities since the beginning of 2009.
Domestic violence is punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment.
The law provides women the right to obtain a restraining order against
abusers. Such cases were difficult to prosecute due to the lack of
witnesses and evidence and the unwillingness of witnesses or victims to
testify. The few official agencies dedicated to coping with family
violence had inadequate resources. The NGO community played the primary
role in combating violence against women. NGOs operated shelters for
female victims of violence, and the government continued to provide
financial support to safe houses for victims of family violence
throughout the country. Osvit, a Nis-based NGO, operated a Romani-
language telephone hotline for female victims of domestic violence or
abuse.
Prostitution is illegal, although being a client of a prostitute is
not a criminal offense.
Sexual harassment was a common problem. The law provides that
sexual harassment is a crime punishable by up to six months'
imprisonment for a simple case and up to one year's imprisonment for
abuse of a subordinate or dependent. Public awareness remained low, and
few complaints were filed during the year.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Health clinics and local health NGOs were
permitted to operate freely in disseminating information on family
planning under the guidance of the Ministry of Health. There is a
National Center for Family Planning, and local health centers
frequently also have family planning centers. There are no restrictions
on the right to access contraceptives, but research conducted in 2008
by the Association for Reproductive Health indicated that 53 percent of
youth lacked adequate information on contraceptives. The government
guaranteed free childbirth services. Women used nurses and midwives for
prenatal and postnatal care unless the mother or child suffered more
serious health complications. According to statistics compiled by the
World Health Organization in 2006, there were approximately 13 maternal
deaths per 100,000 live births in the country. Men and women received
equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted
infections, including HIV.
Women have the same legal rights as men, including under family
law, property law, and in the judicial system. These rights were to a
great degree enforced in practice. The government's Council for Gender
Equality, the parliamentary Committee for Gender Equality, the Ministry
of Labor and Social Policy's Directorate for Gender Equality, and the
deputy ombudsman worked during the year with NGOs to raise public
awareness of gender equality problems. On February 13, the government
adopted a National Strategy for Improvement of the Status of Women and
Gender Equality for 2009-15. On December 11, the parliament adopted a
law on gender equality, which requires employers to guarantee equal
opportunities and treatment for men and women. It also requires state
bodies to ensure that the less-represented gender occupy at least 30
percent of the positions in each organizational unit, including
management.
Traditional views of gender roles, particularly in rural areas,
resulted in discrimination against women. In remote rural areas,
particularly among some minority communities, women could not
effectively exercise their right to control property.
The social status of women was generally considered inferior to
that of men, and women were not well represented in the business world.
Women's average wages were approximately 16 percent lower than those of
men for the same job. Women over 50 years of age who lost their jobs
due to the economic crisis had more difficulty finding work than men of
a similar age, and more women than men became unemployed as a
consequence of economic crisis. According to a Bureau of Statistics
survey conducted in October, the unemployment rate for women was 18.4
percent, which was 3.1 percent more than for men. Thirty percent of
managers and 20 percent of chief executive officers were women. Only 12
women sat on the administrative boards of companies. According to
statistics cited on November 10 by Djordje Stanicic, general secretary
of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, only 4 percent
of municipality heads were women.
Children.--Romani children had limited access to education, health
care, employment, and protection from family violence. According to the
UN Children's Fund, Romani children were one-third as likely to live to
their first birthday as other children. Romani families also
experienced some difficulties registering the births of children,
mostly due to a lack of permanent address or documentation of parents'
identity.
While the educational system provided nine years of free, mandatory
schooling, including a year before elementary school, ethnic prejudice,
cultural norms, and economic hardship discouraged some children,
particularly Roma, from attending school. Research conducted in March
showed that economic status affected children's education--more than
one-third of children from families that lived under the poverty line
did not attend postelementary education.
Romani education remained a problem. More than 60 percent of Romani
children did not attend primary school, and only half of those who
attended completed primary education. Reasons included poverty, family
objections, lack of identity documents, judgments by school
administrators that they were unqualified, societal prejudice, and a
lack of trained teachers in the Romani language. In August the Ministry
of Education hired Romani teaching assistants for 26 schools across the
country.
While the law provides that government clinics offer free medical
care, including free medicines from a limited list of covered drugs,
there were reports that corruption resulted in restricted access to
medication for some. Romani children often were not vaccinated.
Child abuse was a problem. Children were often victims of family
violence, and peer violence among children was on the rise. Girls were
victims of sexual violence. According to available data, 73 percent of
children in the country were exposed to verbal or physical abuse on a
daily basis, and many children were exposed to alcohol, drugs, and
violence. In June the labor and social policy minister, Rasim Ljajic,
stated that 150,000 children lived below the poverty line and that at
least another 150,000 were on the edge of poverty.
While teachers were instructed to report suspected child abuse
cases, they often did not do so. Police usually responded to
complaints, and authorities prosecuted child abuse cases during the
year. In several court cases, defendants were found guilty of child
abuse and sentenced to imprisonment. Psychological and legal assistance
was available for victims. Children also were accommodated in safe
houses for victims of family violence.
Child marriage was a problem in some communities, particularly
among the Roma and in rural areas of southern and eastern Serbia. In
the Romani community, boys and girls generally married between the ages
of 14 and 18, with 16 as the average; boys generally married a few
years later than girls did; some girls married as early as 12 years of
age. Child marriage was most common among Muslim Ashkali, most of whom
were displaced from Kosovo.
The minimum age for consensual sex is 14. The criminal code sets
penalties for statutory rape ranging from three to 12 years in prison.
If the statutory rape is qualified as particularly severe, punishment
ranges from five to 15 years' imprisonment. If the rape results in the
victim's death, the perpetrator is sentenced to a minimum of 10 years
in prison.
The law prohibits child pornography. Using a child to produce
pornographic materials or for a pornographic show is punishable by six
months to five years in prison. Selling, showing, or exhibiting
publicly or electronically, or otherwise making available child
pornography is punishable by up to two years' imprisonment.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that women, children, and men
were trafficked through, to, within, and from the country for the
purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor.
The government's Agency for the Coordination of the Protection of
Victims recorded 127 trafficking victims during the year. Of these, 104
were women and 59 were minors. A total of 114 victims were citizens,
while 13 were foreigners (three from Romania, two from the Dominican
Republic, two from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one each from Macedonia,
Moldova, Slovenia, Albania, the Czech Republic, and Montenegro).
Less than half of identified trafficking victims were children,
mostly Roma, who were trafficked for the purpose of sexual
exploitation, forced marriage, or forced street begging. Economic
hardship, dysfunctional family situations, gender-based violence,
ethnic background, and age continued to be the main factors determining
vulnerability to trafficking. The majority of identified victims were
Serbian women and girls trafficked for the purpose of sexual
exploitation. Trafficking for forced labor increased relative to
trafficking for sexual exploitation and in comparison to previous
years. The country was a transit corridor for East European and Central
Asian trafficking victims to Western Europe.
Traffickers tended to be part of small organized-crime groups,
often with international links. In the majority of cases, friends or
family members facilitated contact between traffickers and victims.
Traffickers recruited victims through enticements including
advertisements for escorts and modeling agencies, marriage offers, and
offers of employment as housekeepers, babysitters, and service staff in
bars and restaurants. Some women went to work as prostitutes knowingly
and only later became trafficking victims. Authorities reported
increased use of the Internet and mobile text messaging as a method of
recruiting victims.
The criminal code differentiates between trafficking and smuggling.
Amendments to the criminal code adopted in August increased penalties
for trafficking in persons. The penalty for trafficking in persons is
three to 10 years in prison; for trafficking minors, the penalty is a
minimum of five years; if the act of trafficking resulted in death, the
penalty is a minimum of 10 years; if it involved serious physical
injury, the penalty is three to 15 years; if there were multiple acts
of trafficking or if perpetrated by an organized group, the penalty is
a minimum of 10 years.
During the year police filed 50 criminal charges for trafficking
against 93 persons, including 20 women. Of those charged, 90 were
Serbian citizens, two were Macedonian, and one was Turkish. Government
officials estimated that the number of unidentified cases was
increasing. NGOs and government antitrafficking bodies worked with 108
trafficking victims identified during the year; 95 of the victims were
Serbian nationals, and 59 were minors.
The government cooperated in combating trafficking with other
countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary,
Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, and Ukraine, but the Serbian
government's refusal to cooperate with the government of Kosovo
hampered efforts to investigate and prosecute transnational
trafficking. The government did not extradite any citizens accused of
trafficking by authorities of other countries.
On August 11, the Supreme Court upheld the May 2008 convictions of
Senad Palamar, the former public prosecutor in Novi Pazar, and 12
others for running a trafficking and prostitution ring. Twelve
defendants were convicted and received sentences ranging from one to
eight years in prison. Palamar and two police officers who received
suspended sentences were released on time served. The group's
ringleader received an eight-year prison sentence.
On August 17, the district court in Novi Pazar convicted and
sentenced Elvir Jasarevic and Veljko Stankovic to six and five years in
prison, respectively, on charges that they, together with Edvin
Jasarevic and Mithat Bisevec, operated a trafficking and prostitution
ring from 2006 through June 2008. The court also ordered seizure of
60,000 euros ($85,800) of Elvir Jaserevic's assets, the amount
determined to be equivalent to what he acquired from exploiting
trafficking victims. Edvin Jasarevic and Bisavec remained at large.
The government continued funding antitrafficking programs. The
agency for coordination of protection of victims continued to disburse
funds from a mandatory, supplemental postage stamp to NGOs directly
assisting victims.
The government's antitrafficking team, headed by Ministry of
Internal Affairs official Mitar Djuraskovic, led government
antitrafficking efforts and incorporated government agencies, NGOs, and
international organizations. In April the government adopted a national
antitrafficking action plan for 2009-11. The organized crime police
included a full-time antitrafficking unit, and the border police had a
full-time office to combat trafficking and alien smuggling. The
government assisted in international investigations of human
trafficking and participated in regional antitrafficking operations.
The government offered temporary resident visas to foreign victims,
regardless of their willingness to testify against their traffickers.
It also provided victim and witness protection and did not prosecute
victims.
The government agency charged with coordinating victim protection
worked to ensure that trafficking victims were correctly identified and
referred to assistance providers. There were separate shelters in
operation for domestic and foreign trafficking victims. During the year
40 victims, including 10 minors, were accommodated in two shelters and
at the Center for Children without Parental Care. The NGO Astra and the
Ministry of Internal Affairs operated hot lines for trafficking
victims. NGOs, government agencies, and volunteers provided legal,
medical, psychological, and other assistance to victims. The NGO Atina
operated a long-term reintegration program for victims and had limited
repatriation funds. The OSCE funded training programs for police,
judiciary, schoolteachers, and social welfare officers.
Government and NGO public awareness efforts to combat trafficking
included conferences on trafficking and awareness raising campaigns.
The interior and justice ministers held a press conference on
International Women's Day (March 8) specifically to draw attention to
human trafficking. Astra continued an awareness campaign, titled
``Naked Facts,'' and several NGOs took part in filming television
documentaries on trafficking.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state
services. The government generally enforced the law. However, lack of
access to older public buildings and public transportation was a
problem. The law mandates access for persons with disabilities to new
public buildings, and the government generally enforced this provision
in practice.
The Center for Independent Living (CIL), a disability rights NGO,
reported that most persons with disabilities lived isolated from their
communities and that facilities for their education and care were
nonexistent or inadequate.
Unemployment remained a serious problem for persons with
disabilities. A lack of workplace accommodations combined with overall
high unemployment made it difficult for persons with disabilities to
obtain work. While there were no reports of overt discrimination
against persons with mental or physical disabilities, CIL reported that
detecting discrimination in employment was difficult because employers
usually gave other reasons for not hiring persons with disabilities.
In January the CPT's report expressed concern about the living
conditions and a shortage of nurses and specialists qualified to
provide psychosocial rehabilitative activities at the Specialized
Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Kovin. Although the CPT welcomed the
introduction of specific registers of the use of mechanical restraint
on the wards, it cautioned against the frequent use of mechanical
restraints, sometimes for prolonged periods of up to two days without
interruption, and advocated for adoption of a clear policy.
During the year the HCS expressed concern in two reports with
regard to social care institutions for the elderly and persons with
disabilities and such institutions for children and youth with social
behavior problems or without parental care. The reports, based on fact-
finding missions in 2008 and 2009, found a severe shortage of qualified
staff, insufficient funding, and problems with quality of life.
On May 21, the Vreme weekly magazine published an article alleging
brutal methods of treating drug addicts at the Crna Reka Spiritual and
Rehabilitation Center, a facility near Novi Pazar founded under the
patronage of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC). Vreme posted a video on
its Web site that allegedly showed the head of Crna Reka, Father
Branislav Peranovic, beating one of his patients with a shovel. The
Holy Synod of the SOC immediately called for Bishop Artemije of Raska
and Prizren to close the facility and dismiss Peranovic. On May 27,
Artemije relieved Peranovic of his duties but refused to shut the
center. Shortly thereafter, the Ministry of Health released the results
of an investigation that found no ``quackery'' at the institution but
did not exclude the possibility that individuals could be held
criminally responsible for mistreating patients. On June 2, the
district prosecutor in Tutin requested an investigation of Peranovic
and his associate, Nemanja Radisavljevic, on charges of abuse and
torture. On October 13, the district court in Novi Pazar convicted
Radisavljevic of violent behavior and assault and sentenced him to 29
months in prison.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--A report on the country by the
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance in April 2008 noted
the existence of a climate of hostility toward national and ethnic
minorities, who constituted 25 to 30 percent of the country's
population and included ethnic Hungarians, Bosniaks, Roma, Slovaks,
Romanians, Vlachs, Bulgarians, Croats, Albanians, and others.
Roma, who constituted 1.4 percent of the population, continued to
be the most vulnerable minority community and were the targets of
verbal and physical harassment from ordinary citizens, police violence,
and societal discrimination.
In April a series of attacks on Roma took place in the town of
Cacak. On April 15, local skinheads accosted Andjelka Vujicic and her
mother, Ruza. On April 16, unknown individuals attacked a 15-year-old
girl on her way to school. On April 19, four individuals threatened a
17-year-old boy with a knife. According to press reports, police
identified several youths, ages 15 to 17, in connection with the first
attack. An investigation into the other two attacks continued at year's
end.
On January 8, unidentified individuals spray painted swastikas on
the homes of six Romani families in the village of Grljan, near
Zajecar. Within two weeks, police arrested an unidentified minor in
connection with the graffiti, but there was no additional information
available at year's end.
Many Roma continued to live illegally in squatter settlements
lacking basic services such as schools, medical care, water, and sewage
facilities. Some settlements were located on valuable industrial or
commercial sites over which private owners wanted to resume control;
others were on the premises of state-owned enterprises due to be
privatized.
On April 3, in advance of the World University Games, Belgrade
municipal authorities demolished an illegally established Romani
settlement to clear the way for construction of event venues. On April
2, authorities notified residents but did not have a plan in place to
accommodate those whose dwellings were razed. When city authorities
attempted to house several of the families in three ``residential
containers'' placed in the Belgrade suburb of Boljevac, 50 to 60 local
residents staged a counterdemonstration and set one of the containers
on fire. There were also reports of hate speech directed against the
Roma, who as a result slept on the street. In contrast, on August 31,
Belgrade authorities successfully resettled approximately 1,000
residents of another illegal settlement under the Gazela bridge to
``residential containers'' that were insulated for weather conditions
and had water, electricity, and sewer connections.
There were also reports of hostile acts directed against members of
minorities other than Roma. On February 5, police in Zajecar opened an
investigation in connection with nationalist graffiti directed against
the district prosecutor, Zorin Zogovic, the local Catholic church, and
the ethnic Albanian owner of a bakery.
In May, during a visit to the southwestern region of Sandzak,
Mustafa Ceric, leader (reis-ul-ulema) of the Islamic Community of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, alleged that the rights of Bosniak Muslims in
the country were not respected.
On August 22, CHRIS reported an incident in the village of
Aleksandrovac in which a Serbian Orthodox Church priest from Rajac and
unidentified civilians harassed ethnic Vlachs during a funeral
procession due to the presence of a priest from the Romanian Orthodox
Church, which the Serbian Orthodox Church does not recognize. The
Vlachs reported the incident to the local police, but police undertook
no action by the end of the year.
Although not widespread, there continued to be physical attacks and
incidents of vandalism against minorities in Vojvodina, including
ethnic Hungarians. On March 17, unidentified individuals speaking
Serbian attacked Eliot Balog in Sombor. On March 27, approximately 15
youths attacked Congor Ka in Temerin. On March 30, the Vojvodina
ombudsman, Petar Teofilovic, condemned these attacks against the ethnic
Hungarian community.
On May 15, unidentified individuals spray-painted anti-Hungarian
graffiti and slogans on a billboard in Backa Topola. The Vojvodina
Assembly speaker, Sandor Egeresi, who is an ethnic Hungarian, issued a
statement condemning the incident and calling for a response by
authorities. Police investigated the crime and removed the graffiti,
but there were no arrests by year's end.
On June 15, supporters of the right-wing organization Nacionalni
Stroj spray-painted graffiti with a swastika and hate speech against
national minorities on the building housing a local self-government
body in the multiethnic Vojlovica district of Pancevo. The deputy mayor
of Pancevo, Dusan Mrvos, publicly criticized the incident on behalf of
the local government. As of year's end, police had not made any arrests
in the case.
In January and June, respectively, Nenad Canak, the leader of the
League of Vojvodina Social Democrats (LSV), and LSV deputy head Bojan
Kostres reported receiving death threats in letters mailed from abroad
by a group calling itself the ``Serbian Liberation Movement in
Emigration.'' On September 21, the LSV reported that Canak and Kostres
received threatening letters from an unidentified source warning them
to withdraw from politics within a month or be killed. On November 11,
the LSV denounced new anonymous death threats directed against Canak
and Kostres for their support of increased autonomy for the Vojvodina
region. The party reported the threats to the police and demanded a
thorough investigation, but there was no police investigation as of
year's end. There also were no developments in connection with the
September 2008 incident in which a series of videos appeared on the
YouTube Web site calling for Canak's killing.
On June 10, the Belgrade Antifascist Initiative announced that 17
supporters of neo-Nazi organizations attacked three of its activists in
the center of Belgrade on June 9. On June 28, supporters of the right-
wing organization Obraz attacked and injured a member of the NGO
Antifascist Campaign who was participating in a protest against a
government decision to fence off a Romani settlement in the New
Belgrade district.
There were no developments in the October 2008 incident in which
passers-by discovered neo-Nazi graffiti at the monument at the Novi Sad
quay in memory of the 1942 raid in which Hungarian Nazis killed more
than 1,300 Jews, Roma, and ethnic Serbs.
No further information was available about the May 2008 incident in
which unknown individuals spray-painted on a Muslim-owned house in
Palic graffiti calling for ethnic-based violence and the banishment of
non-Serbs.
There was no further information available in the following 2007
cases: the January spray painting of 30 Romani homes in the village of
Medja in Leskovac municipality with swastikas and anti-Roma graffiti;
the February attack by a group of Serbs on the president and several
members of the Democratic Association of Roma in Belgrade; and the
series of attacks in August on Roma in Belgrade, including destruction
of homes, assaults, and hate-speech graffiti.
The law allows official use of the native language and alphabet of
any national minority that constitutes 15 percent of the population in
a given area. In early April residents of the village of Bucje in Bor
municipality, which is almost 100 percent Vlach, organized a cultural
event using the Serbian and Vlach languages. Some representatives from
the municipality protested holding a bilingual event.
On March 27, Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-
Government Milan Markovic, who heads the Coordinating Body for Southern
Serbia overseeing policy and assistance to the region, and the ethnic-
Albanian member of the country's parliament, Riza Halimi, signed an
OSCE-mediated agreement restructuring the coordinating body. The
agreement created six working groups tasked with developing proposals
for economic development, integration, security, education and culture,
health, and capacity building. Progress was slow, and ethnic Albanian
leaders in the southern municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac, and
Medvedja continued to complain that ethnic Albanians were
underrepresented in state institutions at the local level.
The government took some steps to counter violence and
discrimination against minorities. It operated a hotline for minorities
and others concerned about human rights problems. Civic education
classes offered by the government as an alternative to religion courses
in secondary schools included information on minority cultures and
multiethnic tolerance.
On May 29, the parliament passed a law prohibiting neo-Nazi and
fascist organizations from gathering at events and using Nazi symbols.
The law also prohibits inciting national, religious, and racial
intolerance and allows authorities to fine and prohibit any
organization that violates the law. On September 25, the republican
prosecutor, Slobodan Radovanovic, submitted a request to the
Constitutional Court to prohibit Obraz and the nationalist movement
``1389'' from actions that were intended to violently undermine the
constitutional order, violate human and minority rights, and incite
racial, ethnic, or religious hatred.
On August 31, the parliament adopted a law on national minority
councils giving national minorities substantial autonomy concerning
language, education, and culture. The councils are to be formed by May
2010.
There were no new developments regarding the various charges
Belgrade police filed against supporters of a neo-Nazi organization for
an October 2008 incident in which group members threw rocks and other
objects at police.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Violence and discrimination
against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons were serious
problems. Societal perceptions of homosexual conduct and attitudes
towards the LGBT ((introduced/defined p. 1)) population continued to be
negative. Several Serbian-based neo-Nazi Web sites, nationalist Web
forums, and Facebook pages hosted anti-LGBT forums and groups. During
the public debate concerning the law against discrimination,
politicians argued that the law would force religious communities to
perform gay marriages, referred to homosexual conduct as a sickness
that should be treated like kleptomania, and announced that the
country, which needed to pass the antidiscrimination law to receive
``white list'' status under the Schengen Agreement on border controls,
should not ``use pederasty to go to Europe.''
Members of the LGBT community continued to be targets of attacks.
Psychologist and Professor Zarko Trebjesanin estimated that 25 percent
of the country's population believed homosexual conduct was a disease
that needed medical treatment. In April the Council of Europe's
Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution that condemned attacks on
the LGBT communityin the country and called for government
investigations of the incidents. In a letter on November 16, Human
Rights Watch urged the country's president to denounce violence and
discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity
and calling on the government to protect fully the rights of the
country's LGBT population.
In January Marko Karadzic, state secretary of the Ministry of Human
and Minority Rights, announced that representatives of LGBT
organizations experienced constant threats and attacks by ``organized
profascist groups.'' During the year there were several attacks against
gay clubs in Belgrade and against LGBT individuals on public
transportation and on the streets.
On February 26, management of the state-owned Sava Center in
Belgrade did not allow the NGO Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) to hold a
press conference on its premises. The broader NGO community, the
Liberal Democratic Party, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina,
and the Social Democratic Union strongly criticized the decision, and
the Sava Center director, Dragan Vucicevic, and Belgrade's mayor,
Dragan Djilas, eventually issued public apologies to the GSA.
On March 9, a group of approximately five masked individuals broke
windows and attempted to enter the Student Cultural Center in
Kragujevac during a press conference held by the GSA to present its
annual report on gay rights in Serbia. This was the press conference
that was supposed to have been held in the Sava Center. The GSA alleged
that the attackers had been emboldened by the government's decision to
withdraw a draft law against discrimination from parliamentary
procedure in response to pressure from the Serbian Orthodox Church and
right-wing groups. On March 14, police arrested three individuals in
connection with the incident, but there was no additional information
available at year's end.
Organizers from the LGBT community cancelled a pride parade
scheduled for September 20 after the government proposed an alternate
venue away from downtown Belgrade, citing security concerns. In advance
of the event, right-wing and nationalist organizations openly
threatened violence against the participants. The nationalist movement
``1389'' also sent a letter to the press offering to buy close-up
photographs of the parade participants for future posting online so
that ``parents will be able to recognize sexually deviant persons and
protect their children from this harmful influence.'' The acting head
of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro
and the Coastlands, called the event ``the shame parade, the parade of
Sodom and Gomorrah.''
On May 29, the district prosecutor in Belgrade declined to file
criminal charges in connection with the September 2008 attack by a
group of approximately 20 youths wearing surgical masks and hoods on
participants in a gay rights festival in Belgrade. In July the NGO
Labris initiated a civil suit on behalf of one of the victims; the case
was pending at year's end.
Although the broadcasting law prohibits discrimination on the
grounds of sexual orientation, some media carried slurs against LGBT
persons. The tabloid press continued to publish articles with hate
speech against the LGBT population and interviews with homophobic
right-wing groups. The anti-LGBT campaign peaked before the March
adoption of the law against discrimination and again before the
Belgrade pride parade planned for September. The right-wing
organization Nasi continued its campaign against the LGBT community
through leaflets and articles on its Web site.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--On April 13, the
assistant health minister, Ivana Misic, stated that 2,300 persons
infected with the HIV virus were registered in the country but that the
actual number likely was a few times higher. NGOs reported acts of
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, including job loss and
harassment from neighbors. NGOs and some health workers also reported
that some medical workers discriminated against persons with HIV/AIDS.
On May 5, the Ministry of Health state secretary, Tomislav Stantic,
announced the start of a joint government and NGO public educational
campaign, ``Both Plus and Minus,'' which aimed to end prejudice
regarding the methods of HIV transmission. On November 30, Human and
Minority Rights Ministry State Secretary Marko Karadzic told a
conference that a substantial number of state employees lacked
sufficient knowledge about HIV/AIDS and therefore subscribed to
stereotypes about persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
the right of workers, except military and police personnel, to join or
form unions of their choosing. This right is subject to restrictions,
including approval by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and a
statement from the employer that the union leader is a full-time
employee, which reportedly was tantamount to a requirement of employer
approval. The state-affiliated Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions
of Serbia (CATUS), a federation of unions formed during the country's
socialist period and supported by the Milosevic regime, outnumbered
independent labor unions in the public sector. However, independent
trade unions were able to organize and address management in state-
owned companies on behalf of their members. In the state-owned sector,
55 to 60 percent of workers were unionized, while in the private sector
13 to 15 percent were unionized. In newly privatized companies, up to
35 percent of workers belonged to unions.
The constitution and law allow unions to conduct their activities
without interference, and the government protected this right in
practice.
The constitution and law provide for the right to strike except by
persons providing essential services, such as public utilities, radio
and television broadcasting, food production, healthcare, education,
social services, military and intelligence services, work in the
chemical, steel, and metals industries, and the postal service.
Essential service employees constituted more than 50 percent of the
workforce and had to announce planned strikes at least 10 days in
advance and ensure that a ``minimum level of work'' was provided.
Workers frequently exercised the right to strike, especially in the
first part of the year. According to some estimates, a total of 40,000-
50,000 workers were on strike throughout the country at some point
throughout the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The
constitution guarantees the right to work, to unionize, and to strike,
and the labor law protects the right to bargain collectively. This law
was effectively enforced. Collective bargaining was protected by law
but not always freely practiced. The law requires collective bargaining
agreements for any company with more than 10 employees. However, in
order to negotiate with an employer, a union must represent 15 percent
of company employees. In order to negotiate with the government, a
union must represent 10 percent of all workforce employees. Collective
bargaining agreements covered approximately 40 percent of employed
workers.
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of trade union
membership but does not expressly prohibit discrimination for trade
union activities and establishes no specific sanctions for antiunion
harassment. During the year the independent trade union Nezavisnost
alleged discrimination against trade unions and violations of workers'
rights. A trade union discrimination case initiated by Nezavisnost
began in October 2008 at the Trayal Tire Factory in Krusevac, when the
management of the company and CATUS refused to recognize that
Nezavisnost represented a portion of the workforce and excluded it from
collective bargaining negotiations. Nezavisnost alleged that similar
situations existed in all large state-owned companies where CATUS had
special ties with politically appointed management teams, citing as an
example the state power company EPS where Nezavisnost had not been able
to establish a presence, despite repeated efforts since 2004.
In 2007 the Ministry of the Economy and Regional Development
adopted a program to allocate funds to Termovent, a private company
owned by a local citizen, so that the company could clear up pay
arrearages to 113 workers. Upon the program's enactment, Termovent's
director notified the company's trade union leader, Lela Milicevic,
that in order to receive her share of funds, she had to resign from the
union. Milicevic then reportedly was physically attacked by the
company's director and hospitalized. According to Nezavisnost,
Milicevic eventually received her wage arrears and severance payment,
left the factory, and did not press charges against the director.
According to the NGOs Felicitas and the Center for Democracy, the
most common worker's rights violations were work performed without an
employment contract; nonpayment of salary, overtime, and benefits;
employers' withholding maternity leave allowances; discrimination based
on sex and age; discrimination against persons with disabilities;
unsafe working conditions; and general harassment. Workers fired for
union activity have a legal right to reinstatement. According to
Nezavisnost, with the help of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy's
Labor Inspectorate, the trade union gained reinstatement of several of
its members, who were fired for union activities during the year.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the country's three export-processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
law prohibit forced and compulsory labor, including by children;
however, women, men, and children were trafficked for commercial sexual
and labor exploitation, and children were forced to beg and commit
petty theft.
The penalty for slavery, or a relationship similar to slavery, is
one to 10 years in prison and applies to anyone who buys, sells, or
transfers a victim, anyone who helps in the purchase, sale or transfer
of a victim, and anyone who encourages a person to sell his or her
freedom or the freedom of a dependent. The penalty for any slavery
offense against a minor is five to 15 years. Throughout the year female
victims were forced to work in jobs as dancers, waitresses, or sex
workers in substandard conditions. Perpetrators confiscated their
documents and held them against their will. Children were sexually
exploited, forced, often by their families, to beg and commit petty
crime and lived in substandard housing conditions without access to
education. The law penalizes parents or guardians who force a minor to
engage in begging, excessive labor, or labor incompatible with his/her
age with prison terms of three months to five years. A government
department within the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy also
addressed the social problems in the Romani community that lead to
forced labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively enforced laws protecting children from
exploitation in the workforce in industries but did not have authority
to check informal workplaces or individual households. There were
reports that children were trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation, labor, and begging. Children from impoverished, rural
communities, Romani children, and children in foster care were at high
risk of entering exploitive child labor. In urban areas, children
worked in the informal sector as street vendors and car washers. In
villages and farming communities, underage children commonly worked in
family businesses. Children, particularly Roma, also worked in a
variety of unofficial retail jobs, typically washing car windows or
selling small items such as newspapers. Families often forced Romani
children into manual labor and begging or trafficked them abroad to
work in begging or theft rings.
The minimum age for employment is 15, and youths under 18 require
written parental or guardian permission for employment. The labor law
stipulates very specific working conditions for youths, and limits
their workweek to 35 hours. Penalties include fines of up to 780,000
dinars (approximately $11,640).
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy's Labor
Inspectorate, which is responsible for enforcing the child labor laws,
during the year inspectors registered 10 violations involving
employment of youths under the age of 18 without a contract and thus
without parental permission, all in the catering and construction
industries. Labor inspectors ordered the employers to obtain written
parental permission and health reports before signing contracts with
these individuals. In three of the 10 cases, youths were working night
shifts, which the law prohibits. According to the ministry, inspectors
pressed charges against the employers in all cases in which there were
violations of the law. In one case, a foreigner between 15 and 18 years
of age and working without a contract was injured at work and later
died from his injuries. The local labor inspector in Pancevo pressed
charges against the employer. During the year, in response to a growing
number of reported violations, the government increased inspections and
preventative measures.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Social Economic Council set
the minimum wage for the period between July and December at 15,138
dinars (approximately $226) per month. The minimum wage did not provide
a decent standard of living for a worker and family. In companies with
a trade union presence, there was generally effective enforcement of
the minimum wage due to monitoring by the union. This was not the case
in smaller private companies where employers were either unwilling or
unable to pay minimum wages and mandatory social benefits. These
companies often employed unregistered workers, i.e., workers ``off the
books'' for whom the employer did not pay social and pension
contribution and to whom the employer paid a cash salary directly
without recording the transaction. Most unregistered workers did not
report labor violations because they feared losing their jobs. The
minimum wage was established in a transparent and tripartite manner.
The Labor Inspectorate is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage.
The average monthly net salary in November was approximately 31,576
dinars (approximately $471). The average salary was not adequate for a
worker and family to live comfortably but covered expenses for average
monthly consumption.
Wage arrears were no longer reported to be substantial and
widespread, although there were several high-profile cases of wage
arrears related to failed privatization and bankrupt socially owned
companies. Some of the strikers adopted increasingly extreme tactics to
attract attention to their cause: 12 workers from the Partizan Leather
Company in Kragujevac held an 18-day hunger strike; a textile worker in
Novi Pazar cut off the tip of his finger; and workers blocked domestic
and international railway routes for three days by laying down on
tracks in Lapovo.
The standard workweek of 40 hours prescribed by the labor law was
generally observed in state-owned enterprises but not in private
companies. The law provides that an employee may not work overtime for
more than four hours a day or for more than 240 hours in a calendar
year. For an eight-hour workday, one 30-minute break is required. At
least 12 hours of break are required between shifts during a workweek,
and at least 24 hours of break are required over a weekend.
Collective agreements were the primary means of providing premium
pay for overtime. However, the labor law requires that the premium for
overtime work should be at least 26 percent of the salary base, as
defined by the relevant collective bargaining agreement. Trade unions
within a company are the primary agents for enforcing overtime pay;
however, the labor inspectorate also has enforcement responsibilities.
The inspectorate had mixed results enforcing labor regulations due to a
variety of factors, including politics and corruption.
Under the law companies must establish a safety and security unit
to monitor observance of safety and security regulations; however, in
practice, these units often focused on rudimentary aspects of safety,
such as purchasing soaps and detergents, rather than on providing
safety equipment for workers. Workers did not have the right to remove
themselves from situations that endangered their health or safety
without jeopardy to their employment. The Labor Inspectorate was
responsible for worker safety and health, and it increased inspections
and preventative measures during the year.
According to the Serbian Victimology Society, in 2008 there were
115 cases of workplace harassment, which represented more than 50
percent of the total number of reported cases of harassment. This
harassment consisted of badgering and insults regarding workers'
performance by their supervisors.
__________
SLOVAKIA
The Slovak Republic, with a population of approximately 5.4
million, is a multiparty parliamentary democracy led by a prime
minister and a 150-member Narodna Rada (National Council). Voters
elected the head of government, Prime Minister Robert Fico of the Smer
Party, to a four-year term in 2006. President Ivan Gasparovic, the head
of state, was reelected for a five-year term during the year. Both
elections were considered free and fair. Eight political parties, three
of which form the governing coalition, sit in the National Council.
Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
The government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. Notable human
rights problems included some continuing reports of police mistreatment
of Romani suspects and lengthy pretrial detention; restrictions on
freedom of religion; concerns about the integrity of the judiciary,
corruption in national government, local government, and government
health services; violence against women and children; trafficking in
women and children; and societal discrimination and violence against
Roma and other minorities.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
In September the Supreme Court upheld the February 2008 Banska
Bystrica Regional Court conviction of seven former police officers for
torture and inhuman treatment in connection with the 2001 death of a
Romani man in police custody. The man died while handcuffed to a
radiator; the official autopsy revealed injuries to vital organs caused
by fist and nightstick blows, kicks, and other forms of physical abuse.
The former officers will serve between 18 months and eight years and
six months in prison.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and the law prohibit torture and other
cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment, and the
government generally respected these provisions in practice.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and members of the Romani
community cited a continuing trend of mistreatment of Romani suspects
by police officers during arrest and while in custody. The Council of
Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) released an
inspection report in 2006 that noted significant allegations of
mistreatment of detainees by law enforcement agencies, including slaps,
punches, kicks, or blows with hard objects such as batons. In a
``notable proportion'' of cases the victims were Roma. The CPT
conducted a follow-up visit from March 24 to April 2. In general the
CPT noted that the situation in Slovakia had improved, despite
recurring complaints from detainees about excessive force. The CPT
recommended that the government reassess police training methods
pertaining to detention and include independent experts in the process.
The CPT also urged the government to investigate all allegations of
sterilization of Romani women promptly and thoroughly, to enforce the
2004 Healthcare Act effectively, and train doctors about their criminal
liability for performing sterilization without consent.
On March 21, police officers abused six Romani boys (ranging in age
from 11 to 16 years old) detained in Kosice following alleged theft of
a purse. Videotapes of the incident, leaked to the media on April 7,
showed the officers forcing the boys to strip naked, kiss, and hit each
other. Police authorities immediately suspended nine officers, seven of
whom subsequently lost their jobs, accused them of abuse of office and
intimidation, and faced criminal charges; the trial was pending at
year's end. Authorities also dismissed four of the officers' superiors.
Police continued to provide special training on Romani culture and
language to officers working in districts with Romani communities in
the Kosice and Presov regions. The Bratislava branch of postsecondary
schooling for police also offered an elective course in Romani language
and culture.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards; however, overcrowding continued
to be a problem. The government permitted visits by independent human
rights observers. Observers expressed concern that no independent group
or NGO regularly monitored prison conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police has
sole responsibility for internal and border security and reports to the
Ministry of Interior. The head of the police force reports directly to
the minister of interior, who has the authority to recall any member of
the police. Human rights observers believed that police were
occasionally reluctant to accept the testimony of certain witnesses,
particularly Roma, women, and homeless persons and often failed to
investigate cases involving Roma and other minorities promptly and
thoroughly.
Instances of police corruption and misconduct were reported,
primarily the extortion of bribes during traffic stops. Headed by a
director who reports directly to the minister of interior, the Bureau
for the Inspection Service of the Police Corps is responsible for
investigating police abuses. Cases may be initiated by, among others,
the inspection service, the police corps, the police's organized crime
unit, and individual citizens.
In June authorities arrested six police officers following an
investigation that indicated they had been working as security guards
in a brothel in Senec. At year's end the officers, who were members of
teams in Bratislava and Trnava, awaited trial.
The most common charge authorities brought against police officers
was abuse of power; other charges included battery, assault and
battery, and illegal intrusion into private homes. In 2008 authorities
charged 158 police officers with crimes; in 68 of these cases, the
crime was abuse of power. Disciplinary action ranged from fines to
expulsion from the police force.
Several NGOs criticized the actions of police at a June protest in
Bratislava during the visit of Chinese president Hu Jintao. During
violent clashes between Slovak protesters and supporters of the Chinese
president, police did not actively intervene. Subsequently, police
detained nine protesters, six Slovaks and three Chinese. In July five
NGOs filed a complaint against the Ministry of Interior, alleging that
police did not protect the rights of protesters and expressing concern
that the investigation of the event was inadequate. Prime Minister Fico
publicly supported the police action. In September the ministry
dismissed the NGOs' complaint.
There were some indications that impunity was a problem, as
evidenced in the continuing case of Radoslav Puky, a Slovak citizen of
Romani origin. In 2004 Puky's body was found in a Trebisov canal
following his disappearance during a police operation. A CPT
investigation indicated that police took only perfunctory action to
investigate reports of police assault against Puky. In 2007 the
Constitutional Court dismissed a new complaint filed by the League of
Human Rights Activists on behalf of the Puky family. In April 2008 the
European Roma Rights Center submitted the case to the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR), where it was pending at year's end.
Human rights training remained on the curriculum at police training
facilities.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution and the law stipulate that a person can only be taken into
custody for explicit reasons and must be informed immediately of the
reasons for detainment. A written court warrant is required for arrest.
The court must grant a hearing to a person accused of a crime within 48
hours (or a maximum of 72 hours for ``serious cases,'' defined as
violent crimes, treason, or other crimes with a sentence of at least
eight years) and either release or remand the individual. There was a
bail system in place that functioned effectively. Detainees have the
right to consult with an attorney immediately and must be notified of
this right. The government provides free counsel to indigent detainees.
Attorney visits were allowed as frequently as necessary. The law allows
monthly family visits upon request.
If remanded by a court, the accused is entitled to an additional
hearing within 48 hours, at which time the judge must either release
the accused or issue a written order placing the accused in custody.
The authorities respected these provisions in practice.
Criminal court procedures mandate that the total time of detention
(pretrial plus trial) cannot exceed 12 months in the case of minor
offenses, 24 months for regular crimes, 36 months for severe crimes,
and five years for crimes in which the expected sentence is 25 years or
a life sentence. In addition, pretrial detention cannot account for
more than half of the total detention time. In cases with extenuating
circumstances, the Supreme Court may extend pretrial detention to four
years. Delays in court procedures and investigations frequently led to
lengthy detentions during both the pretrial and trial periods.
According to 2007 statistics, pretrial detainees accounted for
approximately one-third of the total prison population; detainees were
held on the average for 125 days at the district court level and 399
days at the regional court level. At the district court level, 10
percent of detentions were longer than one year; at the regional court
level, 51 percent of detentions were longer than one year. In 2008
authorities held 6,162 individuals in pretrial detention.
The law allows plea bargaining, which reduced the backlog of court
cases. During 2008 plea bargaining resolved 5,741 cases, compared with
4,428 cases in 2007.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice problems with corruption,
official intimidation of judges, inefficiency, and a lack of
accountability continued to undermine judicial independence. In some
cases the judiciary was subject to high-level influence and pressure by
the government. In some cases judges felt they faced attempts to
influence decision making as well as intimidation via disciplinary
actions from the minister of justice or the Judicial Council.
Cases are generally first heard in the district courts; appeals are
made to the eight regional courts. The Supreme Court, consisting of 76
active judges, is the highest court of appeals and the court of last
resort in all civil and most criminal cases. The Constitutional Court,
with 13 judges serving 12-year terms, is nominally independent of the
Ministry of Justice. It rules on compliance of lower legislation with
the constitution and international treaties, and hears complaints about
violations of basic rights and freedoms; its decisions cannot be
appealed to the Supreme Court. The Judicial Council, a constitutionally
recognized independent body of lawyers and judges, makes decisions
regarding disciplinary actions, administrative issues, and appointments
of judges. Military courts were abolished on April 1.
In May the Constitutional Court ruled seven to six that the Special
Court, designed to hear cases of official corruption and those related
to high-ranking government and political figures and organized crime,
was unconstitutional. In June the parliament passed a bill to create a
new specialized court to hear corruption cases. Under the new law,
judges' salaries were reduced, and judges were no longer required to
have security clearances. These changes addressed the Constitutional
Court's reasoning for declaring the special court unconstitutional.
Some judges expressed that they felt pressure to rule against the
special court.
With the exception of the Constitutional Court, courts employed a
computerized system for random case assignment to increase
transparency. There were reports that this system was subject to
manipulation. There were also reports of inconsistent decision making
and substitution of judges to influence court decisions. Public
skepticism toward the court system remained widespread.
In June former minister of justice Stefan Harabin was elected
chairman of the Supreme Court. Several NGOs mounted a campaign against
his election, citing his personal contacts with a person suspected of
organized drug-related criminal activity. They also criticized his
misuse of disciplinary actions as tools to intimidate and persecute
judges. Over 12,000 persons signed the petition. Several judges also
filed a Constitutional Court claim against his election, which remained
pending at year's end.
In July a judicial disciplinary senate ruled that veteran judge
Anna Benesova be demoted for allegedly prohibiting the recording of
court proceedings in one of her cases. Benesova, however, asserted that
the real motive for her demotion was her unwillingness to decide in
favor of Harabin in a libel case against daily newspaper SME. After
Benesova was suspended from the Bratislava Regional Court in July 2008,
the judge who replaced her in the Harabin vs. SME case ruled in
Harabin's favor and ordered SME to pay him 33,134 euros (approximately
$47,400). Witnesses at her disciplinary hearings testified Benesova did
not prohibit the recording and, moreover, in other cases when recording
was prohibited, judges received only minor sanctions or were not
sanctioned.
Other disciplinary actions were criticized widely as unfair, such
as the cases of judges suspended from function for filing a criminal
complaint against Harabin, or for writing a letter to President
Gasparovic about the situation in the judiciary. Disciplinary actions
related to procrastination appeared heavily inconsistent-in some cases
judges faced suspension from function for procrastination, while in
other similar cases there was no action.
Suspension from function is a severe action, as the suspended judge
is prohibited from entering the court building, receives only one-third
of salary, and cases are assigned to other judge.
On September 15, 105 judges sent a letter to the president, prime
minister, the chairman of the National Council, the minister of
justice, and the Judicial Council protesting the improper use of
disciplinary panels against independent judges. The letter stated that
the disciplinary sanctions applied to critics of Harabin were
nontransparent, inconsistent, and threatened the independence of the
judiciary. The judges had not received a response at year's end.
An open statement called ``Five Sentences,'' signed by 105 judges
from across the country, was published on October 1. The judges wrote
openly in their statement about ``an atmosphere of fear'' in conducting
their work within the judiciary.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence.
They are also presumed innocent during the appeals process, meaning
that a person found guilty by a court does not serve his imposed
sentence nor pay any fine until the final decision on his appeal is
reached. Persons charged with criminal offenses are entitled to fair
and public trials and have the right to be informed of the charges
against them. The law does not provide for jury trials. A panel of
three judges is obligatory in criminal cases and in civil cases at the
regional court and Supreme Court levels. However, NGO observers stated
that judicial corruption often resulted in lengthy court delays and
improper handling of police investigations. Defendants have the right
to be present, consult in a timely manner with an attorney (at
government expense if indigent), access government-held evidence,
confront witnesses against them, and present witnesses and evidence on
their own behalf. Defendants have the right to refuse self-
incrimination, and may appeal adverse judgments.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens have unrestricted
access to an independent judiciary to bring lawsuits in civil matters
including human rights violations. Courts that hear civil cases were
subject to the same delays as criminal courts and were often perceived
by the public as corrupt. Administrative remedies are available in
certain cases. The National Center for Human Rights has the authority
to provide mediation for cases of discrimination and to represent
claimants in court.
The Office of the Public Protector of Rights (ombudsman) determined
that 157 of the approximately 2,528 complaints received in 2008
constituted violations of the rights of the claimants, most of which
involved delays in court proceedings. The ombudsman's office continued
providing free legal services throughout the country by holding
traveling legal clinics in cooperation with individual municipalities.
As of July the ECHR had issued 13 rulings against the country based
on exceeding the ``reasonable time'' requirement for civil and criminal
proceedings under the European Convention on Protection of Human
Rights.
Property Restitution.--The law provides citizens an opportunity to
apply for the return of land confiscated by the state between 1948 and
1989. Since passage of the property restitution law of 1991, citizens
filed 48,518 claims. As of December 2008, 41,218 of these claims had
been resolved through land return, land awards, or financial
reimbursement. Under the 2003 property restitution law, 34,287 claims
were filed, of which 18,481 were resolved (which included land return,
awards, or financial reimbursement) through December 2008. A lack of
historical documentation prolonged the process and prevented many cases
from being resolved.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the law prohibit such actions,
and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Police must present a warrant before conducting a search or within
24 hours afterwards.
Romani advocacy groups pressured the government to acknowledge and
compensate victims for past involuntary sterilization practices on
Romani women in public health facilities. Patients are legally required
to submit written requests at least 30 days before sterilizations are
performed; however, criminal charges cannot be filed for offenses that
took place prior to 2005, when the law took effect. No victims of
involuntary sterilization or sterilization without informed consent
received financial redress for sterilization in the country's court
system.
According to the NGO Poradna (Center for Civil and Human Rights),
which helped alleged victims prepare cases, several civil court cases
had been filed. In one case three Romani women claimed that they were
sterilized without informed consent. In 2006 the Constitutional Court
ruled that regional level prosecutors had violated the constitution and
the European Convention on Human Rights by improperly closing the
investigation of the original claim, and it awarded each of the
claimants 50,000 koruna (approximately $2,380). The court instructed
the prosecution to reopen its investigation in 2007, but the
investigation did not yield any new results. The NGO representing the
victims filed another appeal to the Constitutional Court, which was
pending at year's end. Two additional cases were pending at regional
courts following appeals, and four cases were pending before appeal
courts.
Three forced sterilization civil suits that predate the 2005 law
were filed at the ECHR in 2004. Two were still pending at year's end.
In April the ECHR ruled in favor of eight Romani women who
suspected they had been sterilized without their knowledge. The
hospitals where the procedures had been performed allegedly denied them
access to their medical records and the ECHR ruled that this denial of
access was a violation of privacy; the allegation of uninformed
sterilization was not at issue. Four of the women subsequently received
access to their medical files, and at least one discovered she had been
sterilized. The remaining four women continued to be denied access to
their medical records despite a government decree. In 2007 the Ministry
of Health had informed Poradna that the women's medical records were
lost. After numerous unsuccessful civil proceedings, the plaintiffs
were each awarded 3,500 euros ($5,018) in damages.
As of July there were two other rulings by the ECHR against the
government for violating the right to privacy. In one case a domestic
court restricted the legal capacity of a person suffering from a mental
illness. The woman was required to wait three years before applying to
have her full legal capacity restored, during which time she was
restricted from acting on her own before public authorities. In March
the ECHR ruled that this extended period was excessive and interfered
with her right to privacy. In the second case, the Ministry of Interior
authorized an investigation team to wiretap a lawyer's cell phone to
obtain information about one of the lawyer's clients suspected to be
involved in organized criminal activities. In June the ECHR ruled that
this interference with the right to privacy was unlawful.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and the law
provide for freedom of speech and of the press; while the government
generally respected these rights in practice, in some instances the
government limited these rights, including attempts by government
officials to impede criticism and to limit actions of extremist groups.
The law prohibits the defamation of nationalities, which is
punishable by up to three years in prison, and denying the Holocaust,
which carries a sentence of six months to three years.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views, although state-owned television and wire services were subject
to political influence by the government. The three public media
outlets (TV-STV, Radio SRo, and Wire-TASR) received state funding and
were headed by political appointees. There were reports that directors
of Slovak Public Television exerted pressure in the news department to
provide favorable coverage of governing coalition events and
activities. Both the 2008 act on broadcast fees and the 2007
audiovisual law increased broadcast media's dependence on state funding
and the perceived schism between print and broadcast media.
In June 2008 a media law went into effect that requires publishers
to print responses to any ``statement of fact that impinges on the
honor, dignity, or privacy of a natural person, or the name or good
reputation of a legal entity.'' The law requires publishers to print
replies on the same numerical page and space as the original article,
regardless of whether the original statement was factually correct.
Journalists and publishers opposed the law because it could force them
to print official government responses without the opportunity for a
counter response. Miklos Haraszti, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) representative on freedom of the media,
regretted the law's adoption and said, ``Instead of handling the right
to correction or reply in compliance with the standards, Slovakia is
forcing its media to become subject to political give and take. This
goes against the country's international commitments to protect the
freedom of its media. Members of government took several actions that
observers believed were intended to pressure the media to curtail
reporting critical of the government.
In September Prime Minister Fico announced that he would seek
changes to the press law that would require publishers to issue
corrections within 24 hours during the election period and that would
ascribe fines to violations that would not require a court trial; at
year's end however the prime minister had not submitted any amendments
to parliament. Arne Koenig, head of the European Federation of
Journalists, stated that such a law would be dangerous, as it would
``distinguish between politicians and regular people.'' Haraszti
declared ``if such a draft law is submitted to parliament, we will
officially intervene. This would mean another serious worsening of the
position of publishers and their rights to decide on the content of
their newspapers.''
In November Prime Minister Fico used the right of reply provisions
in the media law to respond to a commentary from the daily SME, which
alleged that he was part of a privileged group prior to 1989 during the
communist era in Slovakia. SME printed Fico's reply on its opinion
page. Media analysts and publishers alike noted that when the media law
was passed, Fico said that he would not use it, as it was designed to
protect ordinary citizens from the press.
Criminal penalties for defamation exist under the penal code, but
these provisions were rarely used. Jana Teleki, a journalist, was
charged with the crime of defamation, allegedly caused by a poem she
wrote in 1998. The criminal proceeding was first closed in 1999, but
the proceeding was reopened in 2000. The first instance court issued a
conditional sentence of 18 months against her in 2003. The appeal
procedure was still pending at year's end. Many experts claimed that
the procedure was not legally sound as the case was closed in 1999.
Members of the government, judiciary, and political elites targeted
the press in a number of civil defamation lawsuits, which often
required the press to pay large sums of money. The International Press
Institute and other observers expressed concerns that this financial
risk may lead to self-censorship in the media. Courts made multiple
decisions in favor of political elites, despite compelling evidence of
the veracity of the reports for which the media were being punished. In
such cases many persons expressed concern that these decisions
demonstrated that preserving a politician's personal reputation was
valued more highly than the public's interest in the truth.
In April Prime Minister Fico won a libel suit against the publisher
of the weekly Trend. Fico filed the suit in response to the cover story
``Thief of Your Future Pensions'' published in Trend in 2007. The
article reported on efforts of the Fico government to roll back pension
reform introduced under the previous government. A judge ordered the
publisher to pay Fico 8,000 euros ($11,400) in damages and publish an
apology.
In May then justice minister and current Chairman of the Supreme
Court Stefan Harabin sent letters to three publishers and one radio
station requesting out-of-court settlements of 200,000 euros ($286,000)
from each of them to compensate for articles and statements published
in 2008-09 that allegedly damaged his reputation. Harabin did not
invoke the new press law to ask for an apology or any printed
corrections. Harabin has won several libel lawsuits against the media
since 2006, a fact that he highlighted in the letters to the media
outlets. Observers expressed concern that the former minister's
objective was to intimidate and extort the media rather than to restore
his reputation. The Association of Publishers of the Periodical Press
in Slovakia issued a statement that called the letters ``a very
unusual, but characteristic in many aspects, continuation of the
political representatives' actions against journalists and
publishers.'' The statement claimed Harabin ``is demanding exorbitant
sums that are higher than those awarded by courts in the cases of the
gravest health injuries or deaths.''
In September former prime minister and current coalition partner
Vladimir Meciar won 49,500 euros ($70,800) in damages from the
publishing house 7 Plus. In 2005 the weekly Plus 7 Days published an
interview with an individual who called the financing of Meciar's
luxurious ``Elektra'' villa a ``virtual reality'' that could not be
explained. The court of first instance ruled that Plus 7 Days should
issue an apology to Meciar but awarded no financial compensation;
however, after both Plus 7 Days and Meciar appealed, the second
instance court, the Bratislava Regional Court, overruled the earlier
verdict and awarded Meciar compensation.
In September Prime Minister Fico sued Petit Press, the parent
company of leading daily SME for 33,000 euros ($47,143) for damages
allegedly incurred by publication of a cartoon on its opinion page. The
cartoon depicted Prime Minister Fico in a doctor's office, with the
doctor examining an x-ray of Fico's neck and implying he was spineless.
In his lawsuit the prime minister stated that while he was suffering
unbearable physical pain, the SME daily was misusing his image and
mocking his suffering, which harmed his dignity and reputation. Media
analysts observed that if the courts ruled in Fico's favor, it would
set a dangerous trend penalizing satire.
In December Fico held a press conference in which he accused the
media of conspiring against him, attacking his family, and operating
like the mafia. The publishers of all the leading dailies in the
country responded with a joint article refuting Fico's claims that they
had met to conspire against him and said, ``what is equally
inappropriate and offensive are the continuing and escalating attacks
against journalists, full of inappropriate, or even vulgar, epithets.
The media and journalists are doing nothing other than what is
customary in a democracy. The prime minister naturally has the right to
use all legal means for his defense if he believes that these
activities are beyond the limits of the law. However, he does not have
the right to cross the limits of decency and incite an atmosphere of
aggressiveness toward the media and journalists in society.''
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mails or
Internet chat rooms; however, police monitored Web sites hosting hate
speech and attempted to arrest or fine the authors. The law defines
hate speech as speech that publicly threatens an individual or group
based on nationality, ethnicity, race, skin color, or that publicly
incites the restriction of rights and freedoms of such an individual or
group. Individuals and groups could otherwise engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Internet
access was generally available across the country. According to
International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 51 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and the law provide for freedom of
assembly, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. However, the regional authorities banned the activities of
civic activist Ondrej Dostal in two instances. The courts subsequently
ruled that the ban was illegal.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice. However, the law requires organizations to pay a
nominal registration fee and stipulates that those registering as
foundations have ``substantial'' financial resources of 180,000 koruna
(approximately $8,600) to operate.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and the law generally
provide for freedom of religion; and the government generally protected
this right in practice, however, the law prevents smaller religious
groups from registering. Catholicism was the dominant religion due to
the number of adherents and received larger state subsidies; however,
there is no official state religion.
In May 2007 the government amended the religious registration law
to require that religious groups provide signatures of 20,000 citizens
or permanent residents who are adherents of the faith in order to
register officially. The law previously required the signatures of
20,000 citizens, not specifically adherents. Registered religious
groups received state subsidies for clergy and office expenses and were
permitted to proselytize in prisons and hospitals and to conduct legal
marriage ceremonies. There were 18 registered religious groups in the
country. No unregistered religious group had sufficient membership to
meet the new requirements for registration.
Leaders of smaller religious communities, particularly Muslims, but
also some Protestant denominations, the Hare Krishna community, and the
Church of Scientology, complained that the membership requirement for
registration effectively barred them from obtaining official status,
although these groups experienced no restrictions on assembly and
worship.
In February 2008 the prosecutor general filed a case with the
Constitutional Court against the 2007 registration law, citing that it
infringed upon the freedom of association. The case was pending at
year's end.
In April 2008 leaders of Christian Fellowship filed a case with the
Supreme Court to appeal the minister of culture's rejection of their
registration application in 2007, claiming that they had met all
registration requirements. In March the Supreme Court ruled in favor of
the appeal, and the Ministry of Culture renewed the registration
process in May.
The law requires public elementary school students to take either a
religion or an ethics class. The law also allows government-funded
religious schools to remove material inconsistent with church beliefs
from their curricula.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports of societal
violence and discrimination against religious groups; however, the
government made efforts to prosecute offenders and conducted programs
to prevent it.
Organized neo-Nazi groups, estimated to have 500 active members and
several thousand additional sympathizers, promoted anti-Semitism and
harassed and attacked other minorities, including Roma. Jewish
community leaders expressed concern that some media coverage in the
country exhibited anti-Semitic undertones. Jewish community leaders and
2001 census data estimated the size of the Jewish community at
approximately 3,000 persons.
In June the Ministry of Justice announced that all legally
justified applications for compensation to Holocaust victims had been
settled. The Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities submitted a
list of applicants to the ministry in 2004. In total the ministry paid
411,000 euros ($588,000) in compensation. This was a symbolic payment
meant to compensate survivors for suffering and was separate from
property restitution.
In November 2008 the cabinet approved a penal code amendment that
would toughen penalties for extremist acts. President Gasparovic vetoed
the amendment, stating that it did not sufficiently define extremism
and extremist acts. NGOs also expressed concern that the amendment's
ambiguity could be misinterpreted or misused to repress perceived
enemies of government including NGOs or media. In June parliament
overrode the veto, and the amendment took effect in September. The
amendment provides penalties of two to six years' imprisonment for
individuals convicted of membership in an extremist group and three to
eight years' imprisonment for production of extremist materials.
The Ministry of Interior officially disbanded the far-right
organization Slovenska Pospolitost in November 2008. In July the
Supreme Court annulled this dissolution ruling that the necessary
conditions were not met for the organization to be disbanded. The
Ministry of Interior expressed its intent to outlaw the organization a
second time. In October it sent a warning letter to Pospolitost asking
it to cease illegal activities, but the process remained pending at
year's end.
There were numerous acts of anti-Semitism reported. Police arrested
individuals in Roznava, Nitra, Kolinany, Dolne Obdokovca, and other
towns for painting swastikas on public buildings or propagating fascist
ideology.
In 2007 two young men were arrested and charged with defamation
against an ethnic group; the men shouted Nazi slogans at the Bratislava
rabbi and his son as they were leaving a synagogue. The case was
pending trial at year's end.
While direct denial of the Holocaust was not common, expressions of
support for the World War II-era Slovak fascist state, which deported
tens of thousands of Slovak Jews, Roma, and others to their deaths in
German concentration camps, occurred during the year.
In March approximately 250 persons gathered in front of the
presidential palace in Bratislava to commemorate the 70th anniversary
of the founding of the wartime fascist Slovak state in 1939 and pay
respect to its president, Jozef Tiso, who was executed for treason
after World War II. The participants planned to march from the palace
to the presumed grave of president Tiso, but police disbanded the march
after arresting a marcher for calling out ``Na Straz!'' (On Guard!).
The law forbids use of that phrase, which was the greeting of the
Hlinka Guard, an official World War II-era paramilitary organization
responsible for internal security and the deportation of thousands of
Slovak Jews and Roma.
In August the extremist organization Slovenska Pospolitost held a
rally to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the death of Andrej
Hlinka, a priest and outspoken advocate for Slovak independence before
his death in 1938, who continued to inspire nationalists.
The Nation's Memory Institute (UPN) provided access to previously
undisclosed records of the Slovak regimes from 1939-89, and in past
years there were efforts to abolish it. In April parliament elected
Arpad Tarnoczy, former chairman of the Union of Anti-Communist
Resistance (ZPKO) and known for his pro-Tiso sentiments, to the UPN
supervisory board. The ZPKO issues the newsletter Svedectvo
(Testimony), which Jewish community officials have criticized for
advocating the wartime fascist state. Tarnoczy previously unveiled a
monument to Jozef Kirchbaum, a leader of the Hlinka guard.
The Ministry of Interior pursued violent extremist groups, and
police monitored Web sites hosting hate speech and attempted to arrest
or fine the authors. The government also continued implementing its
action plan to fight discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and anti-
Semitism. During the year the government organized educational programs
on minority and human rights issues. High school and university
curricula promoted tolerance, and students could also compete in annual
essay contests that focused on human rights issues.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel emigration,
and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights
in practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established system
for providing some protection to refugees. The government granted 22
asylum seekers refugee status out of 909 applicants in 2008, in
contrast with 2007, when 2,643 asylum seekers applied and the
government granted refugee status to only 14 applicants. The asylum law
gives officials broad authority to reject applicants based on technical
errors in their applications.
In practice, the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives of
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
The government accepted refugees from third countries and provided
basic facilities and services to encourage integration. Language
training and work permits were available for refugees and asylum
applicants with extended stays.
In July the government, the UNHCR, and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) signed an agreement to temporarily
house 98 Palestinian refugees from Iraq. The refugees arrived in August
and were expected to stay for six months in an asylum facility in
Humenne and be provided with accommodation, food, and medical care
while their applications for permanent asylum elsewhere were processed.
The government also provided temporary protection to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and the 1967
Protocol. The law provides for temporary protection, classified as
``tolerated residence,'' which is granted if asylum is denied and the
individual is not eligible for deportation to his or her country of
origin due to administrative problems or fear for the person's safety.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and the law provide citizens the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In April President Ivan
Gasparovic, the head of state, was reelected for a five-year term in
the second round of voting in an election that was considered to be
free and fair. In 2006 citizens voted six political parties into the
National Council in free and fair elections. Three of the six parties
then formed the governing coalition. While election observers reported
instances of localized vote buying in Romani communities in the eastern
part of the country, they noted that it had limited effect on the final
election results.
Political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference. A political party must receive at least 5 percent of the
ballots cast to enter the National Council. In the 2006 elections,
voters had the option of marking a preferential vote for an individual
candidate on a political party list in addition to voting for a party.
There were 39 complaints of electoral abuse questioning the
legality of the 2006 municipal elections. In 2008 the Constitutional
Court ruled that procedures were illegal or unconstitutional in 14 of
those cases.
There were 29 women in the 150-seat National Council, 36 women on
the 70-seat Supreme Court, and two women in the 16-member cabinet.
The law prohibits collecting information on ethnicity, and it was
not possible to determine the number of members of minority groups in
government. The party of the Hungarian coalition holds 20 seats in the
National Council. Some ethnic Romani individuals and parties were
successful at winning representation at the local and regional levels;
however, Roma were consistently underrepresented in government service,
and no Roma were in the National Council.
In November the country held elections for the chairmanships and
parliamentarian seats in the eight regional governments. Voter turnout
was 22.9 percent. For the first time in the country's history, two
ethnic Romani candidates were elected to the regional parliaments. In
the eastern part of the country, there were some allegations of vote
buying, particularly in Romani settlements.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not always implement the law effectively,
and some officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There
were also concerns, particularly in the business sector, about the
privatization of justice. Some reported that court proceedings have
become a contest of vested interests and connections to the judicial
powers. While the country has some financial disclosure laws,
compliance was the exception rather than the rule. The World Bank's
Worldwide Governance Indicators also reflected that corruption remained
a problem.
Among many widely reported cases of large-scale corruption and lack
of transparency in public procurements, three resulted in the
replacement of high-level government officials.
In April Minister of Construction and Regional Development Marian
Janusek, a member of the Slovak National Party (SNS), was forced to
resign following the ``bulletin board'' scandal at his ministry. A
contract worth 119 million euros (approximately $170 million) for
various services was announced only on a bulletin board inside the
ministry and was awarded to two companies, Zamedia and Avocat, in 2007.
Following intense pressure from NGOs, extensive press coverage, and an
investigation by the European Commission, authorities removed Janusek
and cancelled the remaining balance of the contract. However, his
replacement, Igor Stefanov, had also signed the contract in question,
and the government already paid nine million euros($12.9 million)for
services received. In September the general prosecutor promised to
initiate a criminal investigation, which remained pending at year's
end.
In May Viliam Tursky replaced Environment Minister Jan Chrbet (SNS)
based on corruption allegations in connection with the sale of carbon
dioxide emission allocations to a foreign company. The company was
created only months before winning the contract and had no relevant
experience or history in emissions trading. In October 2008 Chrbet
approved the sale of emission quotas for 10 million tons of carbon
dioxide and an option for an additional 5 million tons for 6.05 euros
(approximately $8.65) per ton. The price of emissions quotas in
comparable sales in the region at that time was at least 10 euros
(approximately $14.30) per ton.
In August Prime Minister Fico recalled Viliam Tursky and took
political control over the Ministry of Environment from the SNS due to
``continuous lack of expert capacity to lead the ministry.'' Deputy
Prime Minister Dusan Caplovic, serving as acting Minister of
Environment, immediately announced he would cancel the future emissions
options in the contract, but this legal process remains unclear.
Caplovic also removed top-ranking Environment Ministry officers
appointed by the SNS. Investigation of additional disadvantageous
contracts with private consulting companies continued at year's end.
Despite the removal of key players at the ministry for suspected
corruption, authorities undertook no criminal investigation.
In December 2008 Branislav Macaj, head of the telecommunications
regulatory agency, was fired by a parliamentary vote at the request of
Lubomir Vazny, the Minister of Transportation, Post, and
Telecommunications, for allegedly delaying adoption of digital
television standards. Macaj subsequently charged that financial
interests behind two domestic television networks unduly influenced the
digital television strategy favored by the coalition's leading party,
and that high-ranking government officials threatened to fire him if he
insisted on continuing with an open tender based on technical selection
criteria. That strategy aimed to preserve existing market shares for
broadcasters, whereas Macaj's plan was to admit more competition as a
condition for broadcasters to participate in new market offerings. In
August the Towercom company, which was financially linked to the two
domestic networks, won the tender for digital broadcasting. Some
observers believed the criteria for the tender was specifically
designed to favor Towercom. In May the European Commission sent a
letter of formal notice, the first step in an infringement proceeding
against an EU member who is thought to be out of compliance with EU
regulations. That inquiry remained pending at year's end.
The Ministry of Interior is responsible for developing the
government's overall strategy for combating corruption, with a specific
focus on investigation and enforcement. The specialized court is
responsible for most prosecution efforts (see section 1.e.). The
general prosecutor, who is appointed by parliament and independent of
the executive and judicial branches, also plays a leading role in
prosecuting corruption. The government Office of the Slovak Republic,
which answers to the prime minister, also plays a role in developing
anticorruption legislation and regulations.
The law provides for public access to government information;
however, NGOs cited a need for greater public awareness of the
responsibility of government to provide information. During the year
both the constitutional court and the judicial council restricted
access to information. The government often declined to provide
information, reacted with extreme delay to requests, or released only
heavily redacted information. In one case the government released a
contract for the sale of carbon dioxide emissions allocations with the
names of the buyers, the quantity of allocation units, and the price
redacted. The reason given was that confidentiality clauses in the
contracts protected these public procurements were protected by
confidentiality clauses in the contracts. In several cases such as
this, authorities finally released the information after widespread
critical media coverage.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Most NGOs were
independent, although the Slovak National Center for Human Rights
receives its budget from the parliament, and is thus semi-independent.
Government officials were generally cooperative, although NGOs reported
that at times government officials seemed to view their activities with
suspicion or mistrust.
In February 2008 the government withdrew a draft NGO law that
sparked much public debate and generated significant press attention
for its provisions that would effectively eliminate the legal basis for
some watchdog organizations and curb the activities of international
NGOs in the country.
The country is a member of the UN Human Rights Council. In May the
UNHRC conducted the first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for the
country. Several nations expressed concern about the status of the
Romani minority, and an NGO shadow report detailed concerns about
school segregation.
The country has a Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, with 11
members, including one chairperson and one vice-chairperson. In April
the chairman of the committee hosted an event at parliament with the
NGO community to highlight concerns about the segregation the Romani
minority.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and the law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status; the government made
efforts to enforce these prohibitions in practice. In April 2008
parliament amended the antidiscrimination law to include ``temporary
balanced actions,'' or affirmative action. All government agencies are
required to create special favorable conditions for groups who are
victims of discrimination, including but not limited to, employment,
education, and vocational training.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape. Although
the government enforced the law effectively, rape was an underreported
problem. In 2008 there were reports of 152 rapes, 100 cases of sexual
violence, and 387 cases of sexual abuse. There were 43 convictions for
rape that year. Rape victims had access to shelters and counseling
offered by NGOs and government-funded programs.
Domestic violence against women also continued to be a problem. The
law prohibits domestic violence; however, it was widespread, and
activists claimed that the government did not enforce the law
effectively. A joint study performed by the Ministry of Labor, Social
Affairs, and Family and the Public Policy Institute concluded that one
of every five women was a victim of domestic violence. In October 2008
parliament passed a law providing police with greater tools to combat
domestic violence; the law allows police to prohibit suspected
offenders from reentering the domicile where the victim resides for 48
hours after an incident was reported. In 2008 there were 195 persons
convicted for domestic violence. The law provides stricter sentences
for violence directed toward members of the same household and allows
for continued criminal prosecution even when a spouse drops charges.
Domestic violence is punishable by two to 12 years' imprisonment.
Domestic violence often was underreported due to the social stigma
associated with being a victim; crime statistics did not adequately
reflect the extent of the problem.
According to the Ministry of Health, under the National Action Plan
for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women for 2005-
08, the ministry cooperated with other members of the expert group to
educate health workers to monitor violence against women. They were to
increase empathetic acceptance, create detailed registration of cases
of violence against women in their health documentation, and assure
adequate crisis intervention by health workers. The aim was to provide
greater cooperation between health workers and law enforcement
authorities for the prosecution of perpetrators of domestic violence.
Prostitution is legal, but related activities, such as operating
brothels, knowingly spreading sexually transmitted diseases, or
trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation, are
prohibited. There were no reliable data on the extent of prostitution.
The 2008 amendment to the Anti-Discrimination Act defined sexual
harassment as unlawful discrimination; previously, there was no legal
prohibition against sexual harassment. There were few statistics
available to measure the frequency or severity of the problem. The
National Center for Human Rights received 45 reports of sexual
harassment in the workplace through the end of 2008.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Contraception is widely available, however,
the costs must be covered by the individual; they are not covered by
the public health services. According to the Ministry of Health, use of
oral contraception is increasing (from 2 percent in 1988 to 20.5
percent in 2005). Between the ages of 15 to 18 years old, women must
have the approval of their parents and gynecologist to obtain a
prescription for oral contraception; they must pay the costs privately.
Maternal and child mortality are very low. The 2004 law on public
health care coverage provides comprehensive reproductive health
services for women. As a participant in the World Health Organization
(WHO) UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative,
the percentage of women still breastfeeding in the sixth month
increased from 6.2 percent in 1980 to 42 percent in 2006.
Sexual education is conducted at all levels of schools, and the
government's goal is to reduce unwanted youth pregnancies by 50
percent. However, NGOs noted that the quality of sexual education is
very low, and it is not mandatory.
The country has a low incidence of HIV/AIDS infection.
Women and men are equal under the law, including family law,
property law, and in the judicial system; however, discrimination
against women remained a problem in practice. Although women are
legally protected from discrimination in the labor market, NGOs
reported that many women had been dismissed from their jobs upon
becoming pregnant. The equal opportunity office in the Ministry of
Labor, Social Affairs, and Family worked in an advisory capacity to
ensure the legal rights of women. The Council of the Slovak Republic
for Gender Equality, established at the end of 2008, approved a
National Gender Equality Strategy for 2009-13.
The National Center for Human Rights reported that women's wages
were an average of 24 percent lower than men's wages. According to
outside experts and the Ministry of Labor, the reported wage
differences were due to low participation of women in higher-paid
management positions and large numbers of women working in low-paid
occupations such as education, healthcare, social work, and light
industry.
NGOs continued to advocate increased opportunities for the
political participation of women. Women were underrepresented in all
spheres of public power. In 2008 women accounted for 6.2 percent of
senior government officials, 20 percent of the National Council, and
equally low numbers in regional authorities.
Children.--Citizenship is acquired by birth to at least one citizen
parent, regardless of where the child is born. Each domestic birth is
recorded at the local vital statistics office. If the child is born in
a foreign country, the foreign birth certificate must be notarized,
translated, and recorded with a special vital records office
administered by the Ministry of Interior.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family and the Ministry
of Education oversaw implementation of the government's programs for
children.
While education is universal, free through the postsecondary level,
and compulsory until the age of 15, Romani children exhibited a lower
attendance rate than other children. Although Romani children comprised
only 15 percent of the total number of children under the age of 16
years old, they were disproportionately enrolled in ``special'' schools
for children with mental disabilities, despite diagnostic scores that
were often within the average range of intellectual capacity. In many
special schools, the registered student body was nearly 100 percent
Roma. In the 2008-09 school year, there were 18,333 students enrolled
in special schools, of which 36 percent were from socially
disadvantaged, primarily Roma, households. Regular schools in the same
communities had very few Romani students, especially at the secondary
school level. A special school education did not provide Romani
children the necessary knowledge or certification to continue to higher
education institutions.
In July 2008 Amnesty International (AI) released a report on school
segregation in the town of Pavlovce nad Uhom. AI found that 99.5
percent of the pupils in the town's special school were Romani
students, some of whom were previously functioning at an acceptable
level in the mainstream elementary school prior to their transfer. AI
also found that Romani parents were offered cultural and financial
incentives (through the provision of motivational scholarships to high-
performing children at the special school, regardless of the presence
of a mental disability to send their children to what was locally known
as the ``gypsy'' school. Following AI's report the government conducted
an investigation of enrollment procedures at the special school and
found that only 21 of the 57 new pupils admitted in 2007 had been
properly assessed; 12 of the 57 students were transferred to the
mainstream school in February, a number that AI believed should have
been much higher. During the year the government's School Inspection
Service began conducting an audit of 50 percent of all special schools
to determine if proper enrollment procedure was followed.
In May 2008 the government passed a School Act that addressed some
of the problems through reform and new programs. It eliminated
motivational scholarships based on performance and replaced them with
attendance-based financial incentives. It also provided for the
creation of ``zero year'' classes, which offer one year of state-funded
prekindergarten education to children from socially disadvantaged
families. During the 2008-09 school year, 2,500 children participated
in the zero year program. NGO observers expressed the view that the
program was a successful model, but it needed to be expanded to be
effective.
Child abuse remained an underreported problem according to child
advocates. The government continued to increase training programs to
reduce the instance of child abuse and implemented a publicity campaign
to raise awareness of the issue. A number of children's foundations
operated programs for abused or disabled children (or both).
In June 2007 the Ministry of Interior, UNICEF, and corporate
contributors initiated a program to search for lost or runaway
children, estimated at 800 per year nationwide, and to provide
assistance to families of these children. The program continued to work
actively to prevent lost and runaway children, and it had its largest
public awareness activity on May 25, which is the International Day for
the Search of Missing Children. UNICEF also operated a 24-hour hotline
for children. During the year they received 16,964 calls, of which
9,162 were substantive conversations in which UNICEF provided advice or
consultation to the troubled children. The hotline was supported
financially in part by the Ministry of Interior.
Child prostitution is prohibited; however, according to the UN, it
remained a problem in Romani settlements with the worst living
conditions. Most of the perpetrators were other Roma.
According to the criminal code, the minimum age for consensual sex
is 15 years of age. Rape and sexual violence carry penalties of five to
25 years imprisonment, depending upon the injury or harm caused, the
victim, and the motive.
The production, distribution, or possession of child pornography is
also a crime according to criminal code; the penalties range from two
to 20 years imprisonment.
There were approximately 7,500 children in institutional care, the
majority of who were Roma. Most government orphanages were long-term
care facilities rather than short-term residences. Activists claimed
that orphans had difficulty integrating into society at age 18 years
old and faced an increased risk of falling victim to trafficking.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, there were reports that women and children
were trafficked from, within, and through the country and, to a limited
extent, to the country. Men were also trafficked for forced labor.
The IOM estimated that 200 persons were trafficked from or through
the country during 2008, mainly for commercial sexual exploitation.
There were isolated reports that children were forced into
prostitution. The IOM reported expanded usage of victims' assistance
programs linked to increased awareness of these programs. Most of the
victims trafficked through the country came from the former Soviet
republics (particularly Moldova and Ukraine), the Balkan and Baltic
countries, and China. According to a UN Office on Drugs and Crime
study, from 1998 to 2007, an estimated 86,000 illegal migrants
transited the country. There were no foreign trafficking victims
identified by law enforcement authorities during that period. The
Ministry of Interior funded training in victim identification for 160
national police and border guards in 2008.
Traffickers also recruited citizens. Victims were typically
trafficked through the Czech Republic or Austria to Western and
Northern Europe. Victims were typically between the ages of 18 and 25
years old and from various social backgrounds, but particularly from
areas with high unemployment. Some experts believed that Romani women
and persons raised in state institutions were most vulnerable to being
trafficked because of their socioeconomic situation and reduced freedom
of mobility. In particular Romani women and girls were also trafficked
internally for sexual exploitation, and Romani children were trafficked
to Austria, Italy, and Germany for the purpose of forced begging.
Traffickers lured women with offers of employment, often relying on
personal connections. Victims, frequently forced to work while
transiting the country, were often placed as prostitutes or as exotic
dancers in nightclubs. Such activity was concentrated on the border
with Austria, close to Ukraine, and along trucking routes with a
prevalence of nightclubs. Traffickers closely monitored victims,
withheld their documents, and used violence to ensure their compliance.
Traffickers allegedly threatened some victims with violence or even
death if they attempted to escape.
Under the law traffickers may be sentenced to four to 10 years in
prison. The sentence may be increased to as much as 25 years depending
on complicating factors, for example, if a trafficking incident
involves wrongful death.
Police initiated investigations in 18 cases of trafficking in 2008.
Courts convicted and sentenced 11 traffickers in 2008, none of whom
were involved in child trafficking. Sentences were mild, and seven were
suspended.
In 2007 police uncovered a trafficking ring organized by Slovak and
Slovenian citizens that recruited young citizen women to work legally
in Croatia and then forced them to work as prostitutes in Slovenia.
Authorities arrested four members of the organization, who were in
custody at year's end awaiting trial.
The government agencies responsible for combating trafficking
include the national coordinator to combat trafficking in persons; the
police antitrafficking unit; the ministries of interior, finance,
justice, and education; the prosecutor's office; the border police; the
equal opportunity office at the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and
Family; and the plenipotentiary for Romani communities. The government
developed a 2008-10 national action plan to combat trafficking in
persons, which focuses on training for law enforcement and social
workers, as well as victim assistance.
The government offered foreign victims a 40-day period to receive
shelter and assistance and to consider assisting law enforcement.
However, no foreign victims were granted shelter during the year. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded the repatriation of three foreign
victims in 2008.
During the year the national coordinator cooperated with five NGOs
(Dotyk Crisis Center, Prima, Caritas, the IOM, and the Cultural
Association of Roma) to identify and provide shelter and services to
victims of trafficking. The government provided funding through these
organizations for 17 victims who received shelter and assistance; an
additional 20 victims were assisted through nongovernmental funding.
The Ministry of Interior carried out prevention programs for teachers,
students, and mayors, with a particular focus on towns near the
Ukrainian border. Although no formal screening or referral process was
in place, the law requires police to provide a list of assistance
programs to suspected victims. NGOs reported increased cooperation and
communication with police.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or the provision of other state services. Persons with
disabilities were able to vote and participate in civic affairs. In
practice, however, experts reported that access to buildings and higher
education remained a problem, and laws to provide assistance to
students with disabilities have not been implemented with regard to
school facilities or educational materials. There were reports that
persons with severe physical disabilities received less than the
minimum wage in some instances.
NGOs reported deficiencies in psychiatric care of patients with
mental disabilities and in mechanisms to monitor human rights
violations against them. Psychiatric institutions and hospitals, which
fall under the purview of the Ministry of Health, continued to use cage
beds. The law prohibits both physical and nonphysical restraints in
social care homes, managed by the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs,
and Family. Several NGOs conducted public education campaigns on mental
illness and worked cooperatively with the health ministry.
A patient in a psychiatric facility in Pezinok was chained to his
bed from February to July. The Ministry of Health believed that the
physical restraint was lawful and necessary to protect facility staff,
although several international NGOs expressed concern and
dissatisfaction with this treatment. Plans existed to construct a
detention facility to house violent psychiatric patients safely.
While the government enacted legislation in 2007 requiring
television stations to provide ``voiceover broadcasting'' for blind
viewers, less than 30 percent of television programs provided such
services. While the law defines mandatory standards for access to
buildings, NGOs noted that they had not been fully implemented,
although access to privately owned buildings improved more rapidly than
access to state buildings.
The Council for Citizens with Disabilities, chaired by the minister
of labor, social affairs, and family, serves as a governmental advisory
body regarding persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Government and societal
discrimination against Roma and individuals of non-European ethnicity
was a common problem. Roma are the second largest ethnic minority with
a population of 90,000 according to the 2001 census. Experts estimated
that the Romani population is actually between 350,000 and 500,000. The
discrepancy was attributed to Roma identifying themselves as Hungarians
or Slovaks.
Racially motivated attacks on minorities (Roma and others) were
widely reported throughout the year, but investigation of attacks and
law enforcement varied by jurisdiction. Of the 213 cases of racially
motivated crimes during 2008, two cases of racially motivated assault
involving serious injury resulted in convictions; 33 cases of violence
against a racial or ethnic group resulted in convictions; and 178 cases
of promoting and supporting extremist groups resulted in convictions.
There were no prosecutions for racially motivated murder in 2008.
Roma were particularly singled out for violence, and police
detained numerous individuals for attacks against Roma motivated by
racial hatred. There were also reports that police mistreated Roma. On
March 21, police officers in Kosice abused six Romani boys in detention
(see section 1.c.).
Skinhead and neo-Nazi violence against Roma and other minorities
continued to be a serious problem. The League of Human Rights Activists
(LPR) reported that, although police were increasingly responsive in
their efforts to monitor and control the skinhead movement, the problem
persisted. The LPR also reported receiving e-mail and telephone threats
from skinheads.
Several non-Romani minorities as well as foreigners were also
victims of racially motivated attacks.
In June two young men attacked two students from Chad, physically
assaulting them and shouting racist insults. One of the students was
seriously injured. The attackers faced up to two years in prison if
convicted.
In April 2008 two individuals attacked an African-American
basketball player in Kosice. In response she cancelled her contract
with the Kosice sport club and left the country. In August 2008 the
Kosice prosecutor's office filed a case against one of the perpetrators
and bargained a sentence with the other. The court sentenced the latter
to a two-year suspended sentence and three years' probation. In March
the court sentenced the other perpetrator to 17 months in prison, but
he was released in June after serving only two months of his sentence,
although criminal proceedings for a separate racially motivated attack
were already underway at that time against him.
The alleged 2006 attack on Hedviga Malinova, an ethnic Hungarian
university student in Nitra, continued to draw media attention during
the year, sparking public debate on the government's handling of the
case. Two young men allegedly physically assaulted Malinova after
hearing her speak Hungarian. The district prosecutor discontinued the
investigation after two weeks, concluding that Malinova had lied.
Amidst media and NGO criticism the Constitutional Court rejected
Malinova's multiple appeals, and in May 2007 the Nitra police formally
charged Malinova with perjury.
In September Peter Labas, the dean of the Comenius University
Medical Faculty, issued a report stating that Malinova's injuries were
self-inflicted. Several of the doctors listed as expert witnesses on
the medical report subsequently contradicted Labas' evaluation and
asked to have their names removed from the report, casting doubts on
its integrity. The case remained pending at year's end. Malinova's case
against the government for ``inhuman and humiliating treatment'' also
remained pending at the ECHR.
The Slovak National Center for Human Rights reported receiving 804
complaints of discrimination in 2008. In 650 of these cases, the claims
involved labor-related discrimination, especially concerning hiring
processes. Other discrimination complaints concerned the provision of
goods and services, social and health care, and education. One NGO
criticized the length of time it took for the center to issue required
legal opinions on claims of discrimination.
Widespread discrimination against Roma continued in employment,
education, health services, housing, and loan practices. Activists
frequently alleged that employers refused to hire Roma, whose
unemployment rate was estimated to be between 80 and 90 percent.
Local authorities and groups forced evictions of Romani inhabitants
or blocked construction permits or the purchase of land. Many Romani
settlements lacked formal infrastructure, access to clean water, and
proper sewage systems. In September there were reports of Roma
inhabitants of the Lunik IX apartments in Kosice being offered money
for transport to Western European countries.
In October the local government of Ostrovany, a town in the east of
the country, paid 13,000 euros (approximately $18,600) to construct a
concrete wall to ``protect'' the houses, land, and gardens of non-Roma
citizens from the ``Roma raids'' that allegedly originated in the
town's Roma settlement. A number of observers and citizens criticized
the development, stating that the municipality was supporting
segregation.
The law prohibits defamation of nationalities in public discourse;
however, authorities enforced this law only when other offenses, such
as assault or destruction of property, were also committed. There were
instances of public officials at every level defaming minorities and
making derogatory comments about Roma. Inflammatory speech by
government officials also increased tensions between ethnic Hungarians
and ethnic Slovaks, especially since 2006.
In June parliament passed an amendment to the 1995 State Language
Act. Members of the ethnic-Hungarian minority criticized the amendment
as discriminatory and a restriction on their right to free speech,
while Culture Minister Madaric defended the law as an effort to extend
and promote the use of the Slovak language. The amendment includes a
provision by which the Ministry of Culture can levy fines of up to
5,000 euros (approximately $7,150) for institutions that do not comply
with the law. The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities played
an active role mediating the dispute and encouraged the government to
develop a set of implementation guidelines to clarify some of law's
provisions, particularly in the sanctions area. The government passed
the guidelines in December, and they were set to enter into effect on
January 1, 2010.
Extreme right, nationalist, and neo-Nazi groups continued to hold
events designed to intimidate minority groups. Dressed in uniforms
similar to those of the Hlinka Guards (the fascist wartime militia),
the groups' members held marches and rallies to commemorate the wartime
fascist state and to spread messages of intolerance against ethnic and
religious minorities.
In August Slovenska Pospolitost held a rally in Sarisske Michalany
to march against ``Roma terror.'' NGOs reported that most of the Romani
residents of nearby settlements left their homes due to fear of violent
confrontations. Days after the rally, police in Banska Bystrica briefly
detained Marian Kotleba, the founder of Slovenska Pospolitost, and
charged him with defamation of race. The minister of interior promised
to send extra police to the eastern part of the country in areas with
large Romani populations to prevent violence. In October and November,
289 new police officer positions were created in the eastern part of
the country, of which 127 positions were in Presov, 94 in Kosice, and
68 in Banka Bystrica. These three regions had the highest concentration
of the Romani minority, and the additional police positions were
designed to curb criminality.
In June a Bratislava court released the four defendants in the
murder trial of Daniel Tupy, a student killed in Bratislava in November
2005. Tupy was allegedly singled out by neo-Nazis because of his long
hair and dark clothes. Despite the minister of interior's statements
that he would continue the investigation and appeal the court's
decision, in September the prosecutor general stated that he was
withdrawing the case, as the police had failed to collect sufficient
evidence.
The government continued to make efforts to address violence and
discrimination against Roma and other minorities, although some critics
worried that judges lacked sufficient training in the relevant laws.
The government continued to implement its action plan against
xenophobia and intolerance, which included a special police unit to
monitor extremist activities. A commission consisting of NGOs, police,
and government officials advised the police on minority issues.
In June Anina Botosova, the plenipotentiary for Romani affairs,
resigned from her position, amid reports that she had inappropriately
allocated money to her own NGO. In part due to her resignation, there
was limited progress on the national minority strategy, which
incorporated a wide range of education, employment, housing, and social
integration policy recommendations from the Romani advocacy community.
While the government has allocated approximately 200 million euros
(approximately $286 million) of EU structural funds to projects that
specifically address the needs of the Romani community, NGOs complained
that none of the funds had been spent and that the government lacked a
comprehensive approach to Romani integration.
The plenipotentiary maintained five regional offices to supervise
the implementation of governmental policy on Romani issues, support
infrastructure development, and cooperate with municipalities and
villages to improve interaction between Roma and non-Roma. The Ministry
of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family assigned specially trained social
workers to Romani settlements to assist with government paperwork and
to advocate the importance of education and preventative health care.
The Ministry of Health continued to train Romani-speaking health care
assistants to improve the community's access to health services.
During the year the government continued to implement a national
antidiscrimination plan. The office of deputy prime minister for human
rights served as the secretariat for the Council of National Minorities
and the Government Council for NGOs.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of
violence based on sexual orientation but, according to gay rights
advocates, prejudice and official and societal discrimination
persisted. In October there was a well-attended gay and lesbian film
festival in Bratislava, which was in part supported by the
international community.
Officials at times expressed discriminatory views. In December Jan
Slota, SNS Chairman (and governing coalition member), stated that
``we're strictly against any promotion of these sick (same-sex)
relationships.when I see those transvestites having their parades,
strutting down the street naked and presenting this as a fashion.I
consider this to be outrageous and sick.''
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons (LGBT)
organizations existed and operated without impediments and continued to
lobby for legal rights.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to
form and join independent unions of their choice except in the armed
forces, and workers exercised this right in practice. Labor unions
estimated that 17 percent of the work force was unionized; business
associations believed the actual figure was less than 10 percent. The
law provides unions the right to strike with advance notice when
collective bargaining fails to reach an agreement or to support other
striking employees' demands (solidarity strike). The unions generally
exercised these rights in practice without restrictions. The law
prohibits dismissing workers legally participating in strikes; however,
strikers were not ensured protection if a strike was considered illegal
or unofficial. Civil servants in essential services and members of the
military may not strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for unions to conduct their activities without interference,
and the government generally protected this right in practice. The law
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively, and
workers exercised these rights in practice.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women and children were trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation. Men were also trafficked abroad for forced labor.
The police have responsibility for investigating forced labor and
trafficking.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in the
workplace; however, there were some reports that Romani children in
some settlements were exploited for commercial sex. NGOs reported that
most victims, including children with disabilities, were exploited by
family members or other Roma.
The minimum age for employment is 15 years old, although children
under that age may perform light work in cultural or artistic
performances, sports events, or advertising activities if it does not
affect their health, safety, or schooling. The National Labor
Inspectorate and Public Health Office must approve, determine the
maximum hours for, and set conditions for child labor under the age of
15. Children younger than 16 may not work more than 30 hours per week;
children who are 16 and 17 are limited to 37.5 hours per week. Children
under the age of 18 are not allowed to work underground, work overtime,
or perform work that is inappropriate for their age or health.
District inspection units received and investigated child labor
complaints. If a unit determined that a child labor law or regulation
had been broken, it turned the case over to the national inspection
unit of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family. Enforcement
was consistent across all communities.
Child labor in the form of begging was a problem in some
communities; there were also isolated reports of children forced into
prostitution, often by family members.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In September 2008 President
Gasparovic signed an amended Act on the Minimum Wage, which was the
result of negotiations between the Ministry of Labor, unions, and
employer associations. The amended act increased the monthly minimum
wage to 295 euros (approximately $422) as of January 1. The minimum
wage provided a decent standard of living for a worker and family in
rural areas of the country, but not in urban areas. The amended act
increased the government's role in the minimum wage negotiations and
decreased the role of ``social partners''(the Ministry of Labor,
unions, and employers) in the event these do not reach compromise on
the exact amount of the minimum wage.
The law mandates a maximum workweek of 48 hours including overtime,
with 30-minute breaks after six hours of work or after four hours for
employees younger than 18 years old, and rest periods of at least 12
hours between shifts. Trade unions, local employment offices, and the
Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family monitored observance of
these laws, and authorities effectively enforced them.
The law establishes health and safety standards that the office of
labor safety generally enforced. Workers have the right to refuse to
work in situations that endanger their health and safety and may file
complaints against employers in such situations. On August 1, 20 miners
died in an underground explosion in Handlova; a methane gas explosion
caused the disaster. Official investigation results were not public at
year's end; however, experts and analysts agreed that investment in
safety standards was insufficient.
Workers have the right to refuse work that endangers their life or
health without risking the loss of their employment, and they exercised
this right in practice. Employees who work under conditions that
endanger their health and safety are entitled to ``relaxation'' leave
in addition to standard leave.
__________
SLOVENIA
Slovenia is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional republic
with a population of approximately two million. Power is shared between
a directly elected president (head of state), a prime minister (head of
government), and a bicameral parliament composed of the National
Assembly (lower house) and the National Council (upper house). In
September 2008 the country held free and fair multiparty parliamentary
elections. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.
The government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. There were
reports of trial delays and cursory procedures for review of asylum
applications. Societal violence against women, trafficking in women and
girls, discrimination against Roma, violence against gays and lesbians,
and discrimination against former Yugoslav residents without legal
status were also problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards. The government permitted
monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and such
visits occurred during the year.
In August an inmate committed suicide; the coroner's report
indicated that both clinical depression and a heroin addiction played a
part.
In February 2008 the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture released a report on its 2006 visits to the
country's prisons and detention facilities. The report noted that some
detainees alleged that they had been subjected to physical
mistreatment, threats, excessive psychological pressure, and verbal
abuse during interrogations. The report also concluded that juvenile
detainees were not properly informed of their rights while in police
custody and that overcrowding continued to be a problem in some prison
facilities.
During the year the government began work to increase the capacity
of a prison located in Dob. In the first six months of the year, the
government hired 60 additional prison guards to improve security among
the increased prison population.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police are centrally
organized under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior. The
ministry oversees the drafting of basic guidelines, security policy,
and regulations governing the work of the police. It monitors police
performance, with an emphasis on protecting human rights and
fundamental freedoms. The police provided effective law enforcement.
During the year the Independent Commission for the Prevention of
Corruption referred eight credible reports of police corruption or
corruption-related criminal acts to police and the state prosecutor for
further investigation. There were allegations of prosecutorial
corruption relating to the investigation into bribery on an arms
procurement case.
The law provides for the review of alleged police abuse by a three-
person government committee that includes two representatives of civil
society organizations. The committee does not have authority to conduct
independent investigations, and it relies on information provided by
the Ministry of Interior or police investigators. The committee usually
forwarded its findings to the State Prosecutor's Office.
During the year the police internal investigation division, which
began operations in 2007, investigated 55 allegations of misconduct by
police, prosecutors, and judges.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police
generally apprehended persons taken into custody openly with evidential
warrants issued by either a prosecutor or judge. Authorities can detain
persons for 48 hours before charging them. Authorities must also advise
detainees in writing within 48 hours of the reasons for their arrest.
Upon arrest, detainees have the right to contact legal counsel of their
choice, and authorities generally respected this right in practice. The
government provided indigent detainees with free counsel and generally
allowed them prompt access to family members. The law also provides
safeguards against self-incrimination.
Once authorities charge a suspect, pretrial detention may last for
up to four months, depending on the severity of the criminal act. An
investigative judge must certify the charges. Once trial procedures
have begun, authorities may extend the total period of detention for up
to two years. Authorities must release persons detained more than two
years while awaiting trial or while their trial is ongoing pending
conclusion of their trial. Lengthy pretrial detention was not a
widespread problem, and authorities generally released defendants on
bail except in the most serious criminal cases.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice. The law provides the right to a
trial without undue delay; however court backlogs continued at times to
result in lengthy trial delays. As of October the backlog totaled
273,247 cases.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. The judicial system was overburdened and lacked administrative
support; as a result the judicial process was frequently protracted. In
many cases ongoing criminal trials took from two to five years.
During 2008 the European Court on Human Rights issued judgments
that found against the country for seven violations of Article 6
(length of proceedings) and eight violations of Article 13 (right to an
effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and law
provide for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters,
including damages for, or cessation of, human rights. As with criminal
matters, court backlogs sometimes resulted in lengthy or delayed
trials.
Property Restitution.--By the end of 2008, the government had
resolved 38,824, or 98 percent, of the 39,635 property restitution
claims that individuals filed with authorities. Unresolved cases
included those in which the courts had not reached a final decision and
those pending appeal. Court backlogs, a lack of trained judicial and
administrative personnel, amendments to the Denationalization Act, and
inadequate land ownership records slowed claims processing. Some
claimants alleged a general lack of transparency, bias, and potential
conflicts of interest on the part of adjudicators and that restitution
procedures were inconsistent with the law.
The government has not started resolving claims for restitution of
Jewish communal property.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. Reports of indirect government
influence on the media decreased during the year.
The penal code criminalizes the promotion of ``national, race, or
religious discord or intolerance or the promotion of superiority of one
race over others.'' There were no reports that authorities charged any
individuals or publications under this provision during the year.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately
without reprisal, and the government did not attempt to impede
criticism.
The independent media were active and expressed a variety of views,
and international media operated freely. Private investment and
advertising supported the major print media; however, the government
owned substantial stock in many companies that were shareholders in the
major media houses.
The government operated a ``media pluralization'' fund intended to
ensure that media reflected a diversity of viewpoints.
The law provides criminal penalties for defamation that harms a
person's honor or name; there were no reports of any prosecutions for
defamation during the year.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic
mail. Internet access was widely available. According to International
Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008, approximately 49 percent
of the country's inhabitants used the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the government generally respected this right in practice.
While there are no governmental restrictions on the Muslim
community's freedom of worship, services were commonly held in private
homes for lack of a larger venue. In December 2008 the Islamic
community's representative and Ljubljana's mayor signed a contract for
purchase of land for the country's first mosque. Construction had not
begun by year's end.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There are approximately 300
Jews in the country. Jewish community representatives reported some
prejudice, ignorance, and false stereotypes of Jews propagated within
society, largely through public discourse. There were no reports of
anti-Semitic violence or overt discrimination.
The government promoted antibias and tolerance education in the
primary and secondary schools, and the Holocaust is a mandatory topic
in the contemporary history curriculum. On September 6, the Jewish
community, supported by local government officials, held the fourth
annual European Day of Jewish Culture festival. President Turk was the
honorary patron for the celebrations held in Ljubljana, Maribor, and
Lendava.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
Border police can perform an initial screen of asylum seekers and
reject applications they deem to be ``manifestly unfounded.'' This
procedure could prevent the applications of some asylum seekers from
receiving a thorough review. The law permits asylum seekers to change
their asylum applications if there are considerable changes in their
circumstances; however, as of year's end, this provision had not been
implemented.
The law provides asylum seekers with the right to appeal decisions
on their applications, but authorities did not inform many asylum
seekers of this right. The independent ombudsman for human rights, the
UNHCR, and several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that
the government put excessive restrictions on refugees' freedom of
movement by requiring asylum seekers to sign a statement renouncing
their claim to asylum if they left the premises of the asylum center.
The government received some complaints about living conditions but few
complaints about the asylum process itself.
The parliament drafted the country's asylum law to comply with EU
asylum directives. However, Amnesty International (AI) and the UNHCR
expressed concern that the law provides for accelerated asylum
procedures with few safeguards and that its exclusion clauses and broad
detention powers could lower the country's asylum standards.
The country adheres to the EU's Asylum Policy Directive and Treaty
of Amsterdam requirements. In practice the government provided some
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion.
During the year the government did not provide temporary protection
to persons who did not qualify as refugees.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from either birth in the
country or from the parents. Naturalization is also possible. There
were no reports of problems with immediate birth registration. In
January the government began implementing elements of a 2003
Constitutional Court ruling that provides a way to apply for permanent
residency, and in November the government adopted changes to the law
intended to provide retroactive resident status to the estimated 4,000
to 6,000 citizens of the former Yugoslavia whose Slovenian permanent
residency status was erased in 1992.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In September 2008 the
country held free and fair national parliamentary elections.
On June 7, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
Political parties operated without restriction or outside
interference.
There were 13 women in the 90-seat National Assembly and one woman
in the 40-seat National Council. There were four women in the 18-member
cabinet.
There were two members of minority groups in the National Assembly
and none in the National Council or in the cabinet. The constitution
provides the indigenous Italian and Hungarian minorities the right, as
communities, to have at least one representative in the National
Assembly. However, the law does not provide such rights to any other
minority group.
Twenty distinct Romani communities, each designated indigenous at
the local level, are entitled to a seat on their local municipal
council. As of year's end, one municipality--Grosuplje--remained in
noncompliance with this law. This was its fourth year of noncompliance.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively; however,
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices.
The public perceived corruption to be a widespread problem. Only
the highest-level government officials--approximately 5,000 of the
country's 80,000 public servants--were subject to financial disclosure
laws. During the year the Independent Commission for the Prevention of
Corruption received 1,018 cases of suspected corruption and found 207
out of the 721 cases they reviewed during the year to be credible (some
of the 721 will likely have been cases from earlier years). The
investigation of several officials and private individuals in Finland
and Slovenia for corruption related to the 2007 Ministry of Defense
purchase of armored vehicles from a Finnish defense contractor was
ongoing at year's end.
The commission played an active role in educating the public and
civil servants about corruption; however, it claimed it had neither
adequate staff nor funding to fulfill its mandate and assess all cases
of suspected corruption that it received during the year. During the
year the commission forwarded 213 suspected cases of corruption to
police and prosecutors and 26 cases to other state institutions,
including cases received in 2008 but not processed until the next year.
The law provides for free public access to all government
information, and the government provided access for citizens and
noncitizens alike, including foreign media. The government may deny
public access only to classified information, personal data protected
by privacy laws, and other narrowly defined exceptions.
The Office of the Government Information Commissioner reported that
the number of complaints related to the nonresponsiveness of state
institutions declined. During the year the office received 300 such
complaints and 176 complaints under the Law on Access to Public
Information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The constitution provides for an independent human rights ombudsman
to monitor violations of human rights, especially when perpetrated by
persons in positions of public authority. The ombudsman prepares an
annual report on the human rights situation and provides the government
with recommendations. Individuals can file complaints with the
ombudsman as a means of seeking nonjudicial aid in the case of a human
rights violation. In July the ombudsman presented the 2008 report to
the president and prime minister.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government
generally enforced these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal; however, it was a
problem. During the year SOS Helpline, an NGO that provided anonymous
emergency counseling and services to domestic violence victims,
estimated that one in seven women was raped during her lifetime but
that only 5 percent sought assistance or counseling. In particular,
victims rarely reported spousal rape to authorities. Police actively
investigated reports of rape and prosecuted offenders. The penalty for
rape was one to 10 years in prison. There were 46 reported criminal
acts of rape in the first half of the year, 64 reported criminal acts
of sexual violence, 20 reported criminal acts of sexual abuse of the
weak, and 201 criminal acts of sexual attack on a minor under the age
of 15.
Although no accurate statistics were available, violence against
women, including spousal abuse, occurred and was generally
underreported. There were no laws specifically prohibiting domestic
violence, however, authorities prosecuted the crime using assault
statutes, which provide for penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment
in the case of aggravated and grievous bodily harm. SOS Helpline
estimated that 25 percent of women had experienced domestic violence.
The NGOs SOS Helpline and Kljuc provided support hotlines, and SOS
Helpline reported receiving 3,417 calls during the year. The government
fully funded eight crisis centers for children and adolescents with a
total of 68 beds, with one of those centers specializing in children
six years old and under. The government also partially funded 29
shelters, safe houses, and maternity homes that offered 397 total beds.
Shelters, safe houses, and crisis centers specifically for women and
children provided 258 beds in 19 locations, and maternity homes
provided 139 beds in 10 locations. The government worked with NGOs on
domestic violence cases, including providing shelters and social work
centers. When police received reports of spousal abuse or violence,
they generally intervened and prosecuted offenders. The police academy
offered training on domestic violence.
Prostitution is decriminalized but can be considered as a
misdemeanor if its performance violates the Regulation on Public Order.
Antitrafficking authorities and NGOs informally estimated that as many
as 80 bars and clubs across the country could be engaged in
facilitating or promoting prostitution.
The law prohibits sexual harassment in the entire workforce;
however, it remained a widespread problem. During the year, 16 criminal
acts of sexual harassment were reported.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children. They
also have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was free access to contraception and to
skilled attendance during childbirth, including essential obstetric and
postpartum care. Women were equally diagnosed and treated for sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV.
The law provides for equal rights for women, and there is no
official discrimination against women in family law, property law, or
the judicial system. The Office of Equal Opportunities protected the
legal rights of women. While the average length of unemployment was the
same for men and women, women frequently held lower paying jobs.
Women's earnings averaged 93 percent of those of men.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from either birth in the country
or from the parents. Naturalization is also possible. There were no
reports of problems with immediate birth registration.
While education for children is compulsory through grade nine,
school attendance and completion rates by Romani children remained low.
Poverty, discrimination, lack of parental and familial permission or
support, and language problems continued to be the main barriers to the
participation of Romani children in education programs. AI reported
that the Romani literacy rate was 10 percent. A number of Roma reported
that their children attended segregated classes and that authorities
selected them in disproportionate numbers to attend classes for
students with special needs. The European Social Fund, working through
the Ministry of Education, continued a program to fund 26 Romani
educators to work with teachers and parents.
During the year the government implemented a bilingual primary
school curriculum developed in 2008. The government continued funding
efforts to codify the Romani language.
Child abuse was a problem. During the year 201 criminal acts of
sexual abuse of a child under the age of 15 were reported to
authorities. Trafficking in children, mainly teenage girls transiting
the country, was a problem. The law provides special protection for
children from exploitation and mistreatment, and the government
generally enforced the law in practice. The law penalizes the
possession, sale, purchase, or propagation of child pornography.
The Center for Social Work Grosuplje, the Ministry of Labor,
Family, and Social Affairs, and the retail company Mercator operated
the Palcica safe house, which provided shelter for children up to the
age of six who were victims of domestic violence or whose parents had
died suddenly.
Child marriage occurred within the Romani community; however, it
was not a widespread problem.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, the country continued to be a transit point and,
to a lesser extent, a destination for men, primarily trafficked for
labor exploitation and women trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation. Trafficking in children, mainly teenage girls transiting
the country, was a problem. There were also rare reports that the
country was a point of origin for trafficking.
Countries of origin of persons trafficked to or through the country
included Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Colombia, the
Dominican Republic, Turkey, Albania, and Montenegro. Although primarily
a transit point, the country to a lesser extent experienced internal
trafficking and was a source for persons trafficked to European
countries such as Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany. A 2006
Peace Institute study reported that victims were trafficked primarily
for sexual exploitation and that traffickers lured victims through
advertisements promising high wages, marriage, employment as
entertainers and dancers, and employment with no mention of the sex
industry. Organized criminal groups, nightclub owners, and local pimps
were primarily responsible for trafficking. Teenage girls and young
women who lived in impoverished areas with high unemployment were at
particular risk of being trafficked. Many of these women were unaware
of the trafficking problem and the risk that they might become
trafficking victims.
The law provides a maximum penalty for trafficking of 15 years'
imprisonment. Authorities can also prosecute persons for rape, pimping,
procurement of sexual acts, inducement to prostitution, sexual assault,
slavery, and other related offenses. Confiscation of passports and
other documents is also penalized. Article 112 of the Penal Code
prohibits all forms of trafficking for purposes of enslavement. During
the year there was one investigation under this provision.
The government apprehended, investigated, and prosecuted
traffickers; police investigated one instance of human trafficking and
27 instances of forced prostitution. During the year one criminal act
of trafficking was reported to authorities. There were two trafficking
convictions during the year for crimes committed in previous years.
Regional police directorates had departments that investigated
trafficking and organized crime. One prosecutor in each regional state
prosecutor's office was dedicated to trafficking cases.
During the year the government continued to cooperate actively with
NGOs and Interpol in project ``Red Routes'' by sharing information
about traffickers and patterns of illegal migration. The Ministry of
Interior's Border Police Division also actively participated in Plan
ILAEIRA, a Greek-led international transborder police cooperation
project to combat trafficking. The government did not extradite any
persons who were accused of trafficking in other countries.
The government's national coordinator for trafficking in persons
served as the head of an interagency working group on trafficking
consisting of representatives of ministries, NGOs, international
organizations, and the media. The coordinator is responsible for the
government's long-term national strategy to combat trafficking. In
October and November, the working group established a 2010-11 action
plan against trafficking that included trafficking legislation,
prevention, prosecution, victims' assistance, and antitrafficking
projects.
During the year the Ministry of Interior funded public awareness
campaigns conducted by the NGOs Karitas and Kljuc that targeted groups
most vulnerable to trafficking. The national coordinator conducted
radio interviews and appeared on television talk shows to highlight the
problem. In October the working group facilitated programs in high
schools throughout the country in connection with European
Antitrafficking Day.
Karitas and Kljuc also provided shelter and assistance to
trafficking victims under a contract with the Ministry of Labor.
The Ministry of Interior, the UNHCR, Kljuc, and the NGO Filantropia
jointly administered a project that addressed trafficking and gender-
based violence by providing information and assistance to asylum
seekers at greatest risk of being trafficked, particularly single women
and children separated from their parents. The government also
continued the ``Vijolica'' and ``CAP'' programs, administered by Kljuc,
to provide trafficking awareness classes for elementary and secondary
school students.
Foreign victims who assisted law enforcement agencies could apply
for a temporary residence permit and remain in the country while their
traffickers were being tried and could choose to stay longer if they
were employed or in school.
The State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report can be found
at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other government
services, and the government generally enforced these provisions in
practice. The law mandates access to buildings for persons with
disabilities. Modification of public and private structures to improve
access continued at a slow pace, and many buildings were not accessible
in practice. The Ministry of Labor, Family, and Social Affairs has
primary responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides special rights
and protections to indigenous Italian and Hungarian minorities,
including the right to use their own national symbols and access to
bilingual education. Each minority has the right for each to be
represented as a community in parliament. Other minorities do not have
comparable special rights and protections.
The government considered ethnic Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Kosovo
Albanians, and Roma from Kosovo and Albania to be ``new'' minorities,
and the special constitutional provisions for autochthonous minorities
did not apply to them. The new minorities faced varying degrees of
governmental and societal discrimination with respect to employment,
housing, and education.
Many Roma lived apart from other communities in settlements that
lacked such basic utilities as electricity, running water, sanitation,
and access to transportation. According to Roma Association officials,
68 percent of Romani settlements were illegal. Organizations monitoring
conditions in the Romani community have noted in recent years that Roma
exclusion from the housing market was a problem and that the
unemployment rate among Roma reached 98 percent.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination based on sexual orientation; however, societal
discrimination was widespread, and isolated cases of violence against
homosexual persons occurred. Recent data on the problem's scope was not
available.
On June 27, the ninth annual gay pride parade in Ljubljana took
place with the support of local government officials, although there
were reports that bystanders shouted homophobic slurs at participants
and antigay graffiti and stickers were seen in various locations around
the city. Organizers reported satisfactory police presence during the
parade. However, one individual was assaulted prior to the parade.
Police arrested three individuals, whom they charged with assault and
promoting hatred and intolerance.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and
join unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements, and workers exercised this right in practice. All
workers, including police and military personnel, are eligible to form
and join labor organizations. Approximately 30 percent of the workforce
was unionized.
The law provides for the right to strike without government
interference, and workers exercised this right in practice. The law
prohibits retaliation against strikers, and the government effectively
enforced this provision in practice. The law restricts strikes by some
public sector employees, primarily the police and members of the
military services, and provides for arbitration to ensure due process
and protection of these workers' rights.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
unions and workers to conduct their activities without interference,
and the government protected this right in practice. The law provides
for the right to bargain collectively, and it was freely practiced;
however, the law requires that 10 percent of the workers in an industry
sector be union members before collective bargaining can be applied to
the sector as a whole. Both general collective bargaining agreements
and collective bargaining agreements that focused on a specific
business segment covered all workers.
There were no reports of antiunion discrimination.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the country's eight Export Economic Zones and the one Free Customs Zone
at the port of Koper.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that such
practices occurred. Women were trafficked for forced prostitution.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace;
the government effectively enforced these laws.
The minimum age for employment is 15; however, younger rural
children often worked during the harvest season and performed other
farm chores. The law limits working hours and sets occupational health
and safety standards for children; the government effectively enforced
these provisions in practice. Urban employers generally respected the
age limits.
The Ministry of Labor, Family, and Social Affairs is responsible
for monitoring labor practices and has inspection authority; police are
responsible for investigating violations of the law. Enforcement
practices were generally effective.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national monthly minimum
wage of approximately 450 euros ($652) provided a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. The Ministry of Labor, Family, and
Social Affairs sets the minimum wage, which is adjusted each August
based on consumer price estimates. The government established new
public sector minimum wages in August 2008.
The law limits the workweek to 40 hours and provides for minimum
annual leave of 20 days and a mandatory rest period of at least one day
per week. Collective agreements regulated premium pay for overtime and
were not standardized. The law limits maximum overtime to eight hours
per week, 20 hours per month, and 170 hours per year. The Ministry of
Labor, Family, and Social Affairs is responsible for monitoring labor
practices and has inspection authority; police are responsible for
investigating violations of the law. Authorities enforced the laws
effectively, except in some cases involving migrant workers.
According to a complaint filed by the Association of Free Trade
Unions of Slovenia (AFTUS) to the International Labor Organization
(ILO) Committee of Experts, migrant workers were often orally notified
to perform forced and excessive overtime in violation of labor law
provisions limiting overtime and specifying methods to formally request
it. The AFTUS also noted that foreign nationals in the country on
employment permits were made more vulnerable to exploitation in terms
of overtime, wages, rest periods, and annual leave by virtue of being
tied to the employer who provided the permit.
According to the ILO's 2009 Report, inspectors also found numerous
violations of the Employment and Work of Aliens Act with respect to
migrant workers, especially in the construction industry, which
employed approximately 50 percent of such workers. These workers came
primarily from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro.
Violations included the practice of employers' illegally trading
foreign workers who were in the country on the basis of employment
permits. Additionally, the ILO and AFTUS raised concerns that some
migrant workers, especially seasonal laborers, lived in substandard
housing conditions segregated from the national population and lacking
minimum standards, in violation of the 2007 Principle of Equal
Treatment Act.
Special commissions under the Ministry of Health and the Ministry
of Labor, Family, and Social Affairs set standards for occupational
health and safety for all workers. The ministry's Inspector General
Department conducted over 17,000 inspections in 2008, with almost 9,000
enforcement actions, including fines, prosecutions, and resolution of
conditions resulting from those inspections. Workers had the legal
right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without
jeopardy to their continued employment, and authorities effectively
enforced this right.
__________
SPAIN
The Kingdom of Spain, with a population of approximately 46.6
million, is a parliamentary democracy headed by a constitutional
monarch. The country has a bicameral parliament, the General Courts or
National Assembly, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (lower house)
and the Senate (upper house). The head of the largest political party
or coalition is usually named to head the government as president. The
national election held in March 2008 was free and fair. The Spanish
Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) won the multiparty election, and Jose
Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was reelected president. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
There were some reports of security forces abusing suspects and
mistreating migrant children in detention centers, and authorities
delayed legal assistance and the arraignment of arrested persons before
a judge. In 2007 the terrorist group Basque Fatherland and Liberty
(ETA) declared an end to its 2006 ``permanent ceasefire'' and continued
its terrorist campaign of bombings. During the year the ETA was
responsible for three deaths. Jewish groups reported isolated acts of
vandalism and anti-Semitism, Muslim groups reported some societal
discrimination, and there were incidents of societal violence against
other minorities. Domestic violence and trafficking in persons were
also reported.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
As of December 31, there were 25 ETA terrorist attacks, resulting
in three deaths and approximately 65 injuries. The deaths occurred in
attacks on June 19 and July 30. Sixty-five persons were injured when a
car bomb exploded outside the Guardia Civil barracks in Burgos on July
29, causing the collapse of the facade. Authorities arrested 35 ETA
members in Spain, 17 in France, and 13 persons allegedly involved in
ETA's street violence campaign during the year.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and laws prohibit such practices, and the
government generally respected this prohibition; however, there were
reports of police mistreatment and impunity.
In December 2008 the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and
protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering
terrorism (hereinafter UN special rapporteur on human rights) called
for the abolition of incommunicado detention wherein certain terrorist
suspects can be held for up to 13 days prior to arraignment without the
right to confer privately with the attorney of choice. In the report on
his May 2008 visit, the UN special rapporteur on human rights stated
that this type of detention facilitates the commission of torture and
mistreatment. Between 2004 and 2007, the country's coordinator for the
prevention of torture recorded 165 complaints of mistreatment during
incommunicado detention.
The Coordinator for the Prevention of Torture (a group of Spanish
human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), universities, and
bar associations) reported that in 2008 there were 520 reports of
torture or mistreatment, down from 720 in 2007. According to the group,
68 of the reports involved local police authorities, 59 the national
Guardia Civil, 187 the national police authorities, 45 the Mossos
d'Esquadra (local Catalonian authorities), 45 the Ertzaintza (Basque
authorities), and 74 prison staff. The autonomous regions with the
highest number of complaints were Euskadi (97), Andalucia (82), Madrid
(61), and Catalonia (45). The number of reports involving the Mossos
d'Esquadra decreased from 128 in 2007 to 45 in 2008. Observers
attributed the decrease in part to preventative measures, such as the
use of surveillance cameras in detention and interrogation rooms.
On January 22, an African-American civilian crewmember of a U.S.
Navy vessel was assaulted by two individuals who did not initially
identify themselves as law enforcement officers. The crewmember was
pinned to the ground and his clothing torn. The crewmember stated that
the officers neither showed badges nor identified themselves as police.
Witnesses reported that one of the officers drew a handgun and pointed
at the head of the crewmember when fellow crewmembers attempted to
assist him in what they believed to be a mugging. The assailants, later
identified as local police officers, said they suspected the crewmember
of involvement in drug-related offenses. No contraband was found; the
crewmember received 10 stitches in his eyebrow as a result of injuries
sustained during the arrest. There were no further developments by
year's end.
In January the National Court sentenced two Catalonian police
officers to six months in jail and fined them 450 euros ($650) for
mistreating a man arrested for allegedly robbing two tourists and
sexually abusing one of them. The officers, whose actions were not
deemed ``serious'' by the court, were charged with biting and
humiliating the arrestee.
Also in January, a Barcelona court sentenced two Catalonian police
officers to six months in jail for breaking the arm of a Guinean
citizen during the course of his 2006 arrest. The court acquitted the
officers of torture, finding that although excessive force was used, it
was not employed as punishment or a means of interrogation. The court
ordered the officers to compensate the Guinean 111,729 euros
($160,500).
In February the Prosecutors' Office initiated an investigation into
allegations of mistreatment brought by 85 persons detained in Madrid's
internment center for foreigners. The detainees complained that
authorities forced them to undress, beat them, and threatened them.
They also claimed that the food served contained sedatives. A Ministry
of Interior spokesman rejected the accusation, stating that
international institutions that had inspected the facilities (including
a delegation of the European Parliament) had approved of the living
conditions.
On February 27, a San Sebastian court moved to continue the case
against 15 members of the Guardia Civil for alleged torture against ETA
members Igor Portu Juanean and Martin Sarasola Yarzabal during their
arrest in January 2008. The trial had not begun by year's end.
On March 18, a Barcelona court sentenced three Catalonian police
officers to prison for illegally arresting and beating a person in a
disco in 2006. Two of the officers received four-year prison sentences
and the third a three-year sentence. The court also ordered police to
compensate the complainant 8,200 euros ($11,700).
Prosecutors sought six-year sentences for four Catalonian police
officers who allegedly assaulted a detainee in 2007. In June the
Barcelona court found the officers had not mistreated the complainant
or perjured themselves as the prosecutor claimed, but found them guilty
of using excessive force. Three of the officers were fined 600 euros
each ($860), and the judge ordered them to compensate the complainant
1,610 euro ($2,315). The Prosecutor's Office appealed the court's
ruling.
In August the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs complained
that officials abused detained Paraguayan citizens in Madrid's Barajas
airport. At year's end the government had not publicly responded.
In February 2008 a Basque Country court judge interrogated eight
members of the Spanish security forces charged with mistreating an
alleged ETA member arrested in January. After his arrest, the suspect
spent four days in a hospital's intensive care unit. He told the judge
that the prison guards beat him. The Ministry of Interior claimed the
guards used justified force to thwart an escape attempt.
There were no developments during the year in case of a U.S.
citizen residing in Morocco, who alleged that in July 2008 authorities
in Cueta mistreated and unnecessarily detained him. He received medical
attention when he later collapsed in his cell, but was not examined for
mistreatment. Authorities suspected the man was using a false passport
and allegedly denied him access to counsel and detained him without a
hearing for three days, as allowed by law. As of year's end, the
government had not investigated the allegations.
Prosecutors sought a six-year sentence for four Catalonian regional
police officers (Mossos d'Esquadra), who allegedly assaulted a detainee
in 2007. As of December 2009, the trial had not begun.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards. The government permitted
monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and such
visits occurred during the year.
Prisons were overcrowded, with an overall inmate-per-cell ratio of
approximately 1.7 for cells that were designed for one inmate. NGOs
estimated the occupation rate to be 150 percent. Three new prison
facilities opened during 2008.
Of the prison population, 8 percent was female. There are four
facilities exclusively for female prisoners. Juveniles, those under the
age of 18, are sent to separate detention centers.
The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture's
2007 report on its 2005 visit to the country cited numerous allegations
of mistreatment, including some of a serious nature. The report noted
that inmates lacked adequate protection against mistreatment and
recommended that jails maintain a log of inmate injuries and possible
origins observed during the admission medical examination. In February
2008 the government ordered the installation of video cameras in
detention areas in police and Guardia Civil stations. The UN special
rapporteur on human rights reported in December 2008 that although
systematic implementation had not been achieved, these initiatives had
led to a decrease in torture complaints.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police forces include
the national police and the Guardia Civil, both under the authority of
the central government, as well as municipal police and police forces
under the authority of Catalonia and the Basque Country regional
governments. All police forces operated effectively, with isolated
reports of corruption. The constitution provides for an ombudsman who
investigates claims of police abuse. In 2008 the national ombudsman
filed 253 ex-officio judicial complaints, up from 26 complaints in
2007. During 2008 the ombudsman network processed 23,899 complaints,
4,325 of them relating to matters of justice, defense, and internal
affairs.
In February a Barcelona judge sentenced a Guardia Civil officer to
jail for alleged ties to a drug-trafficking network. A Guardia Civil
captain and other Guardia Civil members were also implicated in the
case and accused of stealing 400 kilograms of cocaine in the course of
a drug confiscation operation.
In July a member of the Guardia Civil was charged with money
laundering activities and involvement with Galician drug-traffickers.
The accused was also suspected of having provided documents from his
post at the Spanish embassy in Morocco to third parties in an attempt
to discredit a criminal judge in A Coruna. While the case was pending,
the government transferred the officer to the financial department.
In May 2008 the chief of police of Coslada (a Madrid suburb) and 25
local police officers were arrested on suspicion of involvement in a
fraud ring. The judge authorized detention without bail for 13 of the
arrested officers. As of October the case was pending.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
provides that police may apprehend suspects with probable cause or with
a warrant based on sufficient evidence as determined by a judge. With
certain exceptions, police may not hold a suspect for more than 72
hours without a hearing. According to the Council of Europe's Committee
for the Prevention of Torture's July 2007 report, the requirement that
an arrested person must be brought before a judge within 72 hours was
not rigorously met in practice. Detainees were not generally informed
of their right to the services of a lawyer free of charge, and it was
common practice for detained persons to be granted access to a lawyer
only when they made a formal statement while in law enforcement
custody. Detainees generally were promptly informed of the charges
against them. The courts released defendants on bail unless they
believed the defendants might flee or be a threat to public safety.
In certain rare instances involving acts of terrorism or rebellion,
the law allows authorities to detain persons for up to five days prior
to arraignment with the authorization of a judge. In these cases a
judge also may order incommunicado detention for the entire duration of
police custody, which may be extended by the court up to 13 days.
The law stipulates that suspects held incommunicado have the right
to an attorney and medical care, but they are neither allowed to choose
an attorney nor see a physician of their choice. The court-appointed
lawyer is present during police and judicial proceedings, but detainees
do not have the right to confer in private with the lawyer.
In a December 2008 report to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN
special rapporteur on human rights called for the elimination of
incommunicado detention, stating that the ``use of this exceptional
regime not only entails a risk of prohibited treatment but also makes
Spain vulnerable to allegations of torture and as a result weakens the
legitimacy of its counterterrorism measures.''
During the year the government continued to implement preventive
measures to safeguard the rights of detainees held incommunicado,
including the application of protocols and continuous video
surveillance in the detention facilities and interrogation rooms. The
UN special rapporteur, while acknowledging the decrease in complaints
due to the government's actions, called for systematic implementation
since protocols varied, depending on whether local or national police
forces were involved, and the application of protocols was
inconsistent.
Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. As of September
approximately 22 percent of the 76,523 persons in prison were pretrial
detainees. Under the law authorities may not detain suspects for more
than two years before putting them on trial unless a judge authorizes a
further delay, which may extend to four years. In practice pretrial
detention was usually less than one year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
The judiciary is structured hierarchically and divides the
country's territory into autonomous communities, provinces, judicial
districts, and municipalities. Generally, the courts are organized into
five categories: civil, criminal, social, administrative, and military.
Appeals against the decisions of lower courts are made to the higher
court, as far up as the Supreme Court. The National Court, with
country-wide jurisdiction, hears criminal cases of national or
international importance (terrorism, counterfeiting, organized crime,
and crimes that have occurred in more than one jurisdiction);
provincial courts hear criminal cases in cases where the potential
sentence is five years or less.
Since 1985 the country has employed the doctrine of universal
jurisdiction, wherein the National Court may claim criminal
jurisdiction in cases of serious human rights abuses over suspects
whose alleged crimes were committed outside Spain, regardless of the
nationality of the subject or victim. However, on May 19, the Spanish
Congress approved a proposal limiting the application of universal
jurisdiction. The joint text provides that the National Court will be
able to handle cases arising abroad only when Spanish interests are
affected by them (either the criminals are found in Spain or the victim
is a Spaniard), and the crime is not being investigated in the country
where it was committed or in an international court. On October 7, the
Senate approved the legislation.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Trials are public, and there is a nine-person jury system.
Defendants have the right to be represented by an attorney (at
government expense if indigent), confront witnesses, present witnesses
on their behalf, and have access to government-held evidence.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and the right to appeal.
In 2008 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued judgments
that found two violations by the country of the right to a fair trial,
as provided under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--An independent and
impartial judiciary exists for civil matters, and there is access to a
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for a human rights violation.
Violations of human rights can be pursued either criminally or, if
committed by the administration in other than a criminal offense,
administratively. The national ombudsman, established by the 1978
Spanish Constitution, serves to protect and defend basic rights and
public freedom on behalf of citizens.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
The independent media remained active and generally expressed a
wide variety of views without restriction. Individuals could criticize
the government publicly or privately without reprisal, and the
government did not attempt to impede such criticism.
The law prohibits, subject to judicial oversight, actions including
public speeches and the publication of documents that the government
interprets as glorifying or supporting terrorism. A 2007 Constitutional
Court ruling stated that Holocaust denial could no longer be punished
by incarceration, since it is permissible in the framework of freedom
of speech. Previously, the law provided punishment of up to two years
in prison for the offense. The court concluded that imprisonment for
the offense of justifying the Holocaust or genocide would be compatible
with the constitution.
In October 2008 Reporters without Borders identified ETA for
threatening journalists, contending that several journalists in the
country required personal protection or chose to leave the Basque
Country due to such threats; the judicial sentence against the weekly
El Jueves for printing an obscene cartoon of the prince and princess of
Asturias; the summoning of daily Gara and Deia editors by a court for
the publication of satirical images of King Juan Carlos; the Partido
Popular's boycott of Grupo Prisa; and the firing of Cristina Peri Rossi
by radio station Cataluna Radio for speaking in Castilian rather than
Catalan.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet. Authorities monitored Web sites for material
containing hate speech and advocating anti-Semitism; there were no
reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms.
Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views
via the Internet, including by e-mail. Internet access was readily
available from a number of providers. According to International
Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008, approximately 57 percent
of the country's inhabitants used the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
In 2003 the Basque nationalist political parties Batasuna and Herri
Batasuna were declared illegal by the Supreme Court because of their
alleged ties to the terrorist group ETA. The decision cut the parties
off from the state funding received by legal political parties,
prohibited their representatives from contesting elections or holding
public demonstrations or rallies, and froze their assets. The country's
Constitutional Court later confirmed the decision and the parliament
approved an indefinite ban.
In 2004 Batasuma and Herri Batasuma appealed their dissolution to
the ECHR, where they alleged inter alia that the dissolution of the
parties entailed a violation of freedom of association as provided
under the European Convention on Human Rights. On June 30, the ECHR
issued a judgment in which the court concluded unanimously that the
parties' dissolution had not violated the Convention. The ECHR decision
noted that dissolution was a response to a ``pressing social need'' and
that the national courts had arrived at reasonable conclusions after a
detailed study of evidence that allowed them to conclude there was a
link between the applicant parties and the ETA.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
The constitution declares the country to be a secular state, and
various laws provide that no religion should have the character of a
state religion; however, Roman Catholicism was the dominant religion
and enjoyed the closest official relationship with the government. The
Roman Catholic Church benefited from financing through the tax system
in that taxpayers, regardless of denomination, could elect to dedicate
a small percentage of their taxes to the Roman Catholic Church. The
government also provided funding for religion teachers in public
schools, military and hospital chaplains, and other indirect
assistance. Jewish, Muslim, and many Protestant communities with
``notorio arraigo'' (``deeply rooted'' traditional) status received
some tax benefits through agreements with the government but enjoyed
fewer privileges than the Roman Catholic Church. Jehovah's Witnesses,
Buddhists, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had
notorio arraigo status; however, they did not receive the same benefits
and privileges granted to the other ``deeply-rooted'' religions.
Muslim and Protestant leaders continued to cite the work of the
government's Foundation for Pluralism and Coexistence as a positive
step for integrating non-Catholic faiths. The foundation provided funds
($6.5 million during the year) to minority and religious groups to
promote religious equality and dialogue. The funds were used for
cultural, educational, and social integration programs and not for
religious activities. Members of all religious groups also served as
members of a government Committee of Advisors on Religious Freedom.
There were isolated instances of local and regional government
policies that ultimately restrict some individual religious groups. The
Jewish, Islamic, and Protestant federations reported that the building
permit process for construction of new sites of worship could be
difficult and lengthy, especially for sites in central urban locations.
The Islamic Commission reported that sometimes new mosque construction
was forced into less visible suburban areas, primarily because of
resistance from neighborhood groups. Muslims were sometimes forced to
worship in converted buildings, often called ``garage mosques,''
because there were few buildings dedicated to Islamic worship for their
growing numbers, and some localities resisted selling Muslims land and
providing the necessary legal permits to build.
Religious groups and municipal and other governmental authorities
improved procedures for the treatment and reburial of disinterred
remains. The national Federation of Jewish Communities (the official
interlocutor between Spain's Jewish community and the government) and
the Ministry of Justice created a nonbinding protocol for the national
and local governments to follow in addressing such issues. The
framework was used in reaching agreement on the reburial of Sephardic
Jewish remains discovered in Toledo.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The growth of the country's
immigrant population occasionally led to social friction, which in
isolated instances had a religious component. Muslims continued to
experience some societal prejudice, and some citizens blamed recent
immigrants for increased crime rates in the country. During the year
Muslims reported encountering no obstacles to practicing their religion
in the country.
According to Jewish community leaders, while violence against
members of the approximately 48,000-member Jewish community was rare,
anti-Semitic incidents, including graffiti against Jewish institutions,
continued.
On January 8, anti-Semitic graffiti appeared on the Chabad
Lubavitch Jewish Studies Center of Barcelona.
On January 30, a man associated with the extremist ``Republican
Social Movement'' attacked the facade of the Synagogue Shlomo Ben Adret
in Barcelona with a bat. He was arrested by the regional police force.
On May 5, three men harassed the Israeli ambassador to Spain,
Raphael Schutz, in public as he walked home from a sports event. The
president of the Jewish Federation was similarly attacked with epithets
when he appeared to speak at the invitation of a university in Madrid.
On August 28, an organized Israeli tour group was confronted by a
group of skinheads, who shouted ``Heil Hitler'' while raising their
arms in a Nazi salute. The skinheads spat in the tour guide's face and
threatened to throw stones at the group, while making gestures of
cutting each other's throats. No charges were filed.
The government continued to prosecute suspects in cases stemming
from anti-Semitism. In 2008 Pedro Valera, a distributor of Nazi
literature in Barcelona, was sentenced to seven months in prison on a
``justification of genocide'' charge. In March Barcelona police
arrested Oscar Panadero, the owner of the Kalki bookstore, and three
other neo-Nazis for incitement to genocide.
There were also reports of vandalism against Catholic churches. On
July 26, 20 Catholic churches were subjected to a graffiti attack by an
anarchist group. The group painted messages such as ``the only church
that gives light is the one that is on fire,'' and in some cases sealed
church doors with silicon. The Catalonian government and Barcelona's
archbishop criticized the attacks.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations,
including the Spanish Committee for Assistance to Refugees, in
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
There are no known restrictions on refugees' access to employment,
health care, housing, education, law enforcement, or judicial redress.
The country does accept refugees for resettlement from third countries
and provides protections with the assistance of NGOs such as the
Spanish Commission for the Assistance to Refugees.
Potential asylum seekers were effectively able to exercise their
right to petition authorities. In its 2008 report, the national
ombudsman reported that the sometimes hasty deportation of those
attempting to enter the Ceuta territory illegally most often stemmed
from divergent interpretations of applicable regulations. In its 2007
report, the ombudsman criticized the requirement to prove membership in
a religious faith as a prerequisite for accepting photographs (for
official identification documents) wherein the applicant's head is
covered. He asserted that the requirement was unconstitutional,
violating basic religious freedoms. In 2008 the secretary of state for
homeland security accepted the recommendation to suspend the rule.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
On October 15, the Parliament approved a new Asylum and Subsidiary
Protection Law. The law provides ``subsidiary protection'' for those
who do not meet the criteria for refugee status but who could face
dangers such as torture or the death penalty if returned to their
countries of origin. The law expands the rationale for providing
additional protection beyond the currently contemplated ``humanitarian
reasons,'' and increases the length of protection from one year to
three years.
The law also includes gender and sexual orientation as conditions
for granting asylum; makes free legal assistance available to asylum
seekers; provides a single process for both asylum and subsidiary
protection (if asylum is denied, subsidiary protection will be
automatically considered); contemplates family reunification for asylum
seekers; allows asylum requests to be accepted at an embassy or
consulate; and provides for the resettlement of refugees in neighboring
countries in some cases.
According to the Ministry of Interior, during the first seven
months of the year the country received 4,457 undocumented migrants by
boat, a 40 percent decrease from the same period in 2008. Approximately
40 percent of these undocumented migrants entered the country by way of
the Canary Islands, compared to 69 percent in 2007.
Spain continues to struggle with the treatment of unaccompanied
migrant and refugee children. The national ombudsman, designated to
protect and defend basic rights and public freedom on behalf of
citizens, opened an investigation into conditions in the country's
Canary Islands detention centers in September 2007. The report,
released in June 2008, confirmed violations of children's rights as
previously reported by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2007. The ombudsman
concluded that, one year after the HRW investigation, care of
unaccompanied migrant children in the Canary Islands remained
inadequate. Despite some improvements, including renovation of the La
Esperanza emergency center, separate housing for children below the age
of 15, and school enrollment of children below the age of 16, systemic
shortcomings of these centers remains unchanged. Specifically, the
ombudsman found that there were credible reports of past mistreatment
of children in the La Esperanza center; that children were often housed
for up to a year in overcrowded, unsafe, and substandard facilities
that were intended only as temporary shelters; that children were
detained in police stations upon arrival; did not receive the
documentation they were entitled under the law, thus becoming
undocumented migrants after reaching the age of 18. According to the
ombudsman's 2009 report, problems persist regarding documentation of
legal residency for minors. A number of complaints were filed on behalf
of minor wards of the state for whom residency permits had not been
requested despite their express eligibility.
In follow-up visits during the year to centers for minors, the
ombudsman reported several improvements and positive evaluations. Siete
Puertas facility in Gran Canaria received an overall positive
evaluation. La Esperanza in Cueta was noted for the personnel's high
level of day-to-day involvement with the minors. Overcrowding continues
to be a problem in several centers, however, and substantial repairs
are needed in many of the centers. Interviews with the minor residents
at a center on Gran Canaria revealed alleged incidents of abuse by one
of the caretakers; the authorities were informed of the urgent need for
an investigation.
In an October 2008 report, HRW stated there were approximately
3,000 to 5,000 unaccompanied foreign children from North and West
Africa in Spain, the majority of whom were in the Canary Islands,
Andalusia, Madrid, and Catalonia. The report documented detention upon
arrival in residential centers, where they were subject to possible
abuse and expulsion without due process to countries where they are at
risk of inhumane treatment. The report criticized the government's
failure to provide children with independent legal representation
during repatriation procedures, claiming that the fact that child
protection services may initiate repatriation procedures and are also
responsible for the child's representation presents a conflict of
interest.
The number of unaccompanied children that the country repatriated
in 2007-08 was low compared to the overall number of unaccompanied
children in the country. In 2007, 27 children were repatriated. In
December 2008 the Constitutional Court recognized children's right to
defend themselves in court, irrespective of their guardians' decision.
The government also provided temporary protection to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees. According to UNHCR statistics for
2008, the country granted refugee status to 151 persons. An additional
126 persons received subsidiary protection.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In March 2008 Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero of the Socialist Party was reelected president in a
free and fair national election. Governmental power was shared between
the central government and 17 regional governments. Political parties
operated without restriction or outside interference, and linguistic
and cultural minorities had representation and participated in both
local and national political parties.
On June 7, the country also held elections to the European
Parliament that were considered free and fair.
There were 127 women in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies, 80 women
in the 263-seat Senate, and nine women in the 17-member Council of
Ministers.
The government did not keep statistics on the ethnic composition of
the parliament, but linguistic and cultural minorities were
represented. The Catalan parliament included a member of Moroccan
origin. There were Muslim political parties in the city enclaves of
Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa. Roma had little representation in
government. In 2007 the government appointed the first Roma to a high-
level position, as an advisor in the Women's Institute, a division of
the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. She was later fired for
publicly accusing her employer of preventing her from performing her
normal work duties. In March 2008 she filed suit against the ruling
Socialist Party's secretary for social movements and the director of
the Women's Institute for labor harassment; the case was dismissed in
July for lack of evidence.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
several reports of government corruption during the year, particularly
in local government.
Also in February the Guardia Civil arrested 21 persons in Murcia
for fraudulently issuing immigration documents. The arrestees included
the chief inspector of Murcia's immigration office.
In March, 17 persons were arrested as a result of construction
contract irregularities in Palma. Among those arrested were a Balearic
politician and the Mallorcan Council vice president. Arrests also took
place in March in Zaragoza for alleged official involvement in ``urban
and economic crimes''; the mayor of La Muela was among those arrested.
In May the mayor of Arrecife and 20 others were arrested and were
under investigation for corruption. They were suspected of receiving
illegal commissions in exchange for awarding city contracts. The case
was pending at year's end.
In June 2008 the anticorruption prosecutor ordered the arrest of 25
persons suspected of defrauding the municipality of Estepona (M laga).
The accusations included misuse of public office, bribery, fraud, and
money laundering. PSOE Estepona Mayor Antonio Barrientos, and other
PSOE local leaders, were among those arrested. PSOE immediately
expelled Mayor Barrientos from the party. The trial had not begun by
year's end.
In 2007, 86 persons were charged in connection with the 2006
investigation into corruption and financial crimes in the Marbella
local government. The mayor, former police chief, and much of the local
government of Marbella were charged with crimes that included real
estate graft, bribery, and embezzlement. In January Juan Antonio Roca,
the suspected ringleader, and two other persons were sentenced to a
total of 23 years and 10 months in jail.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Ministry of Public Administration is responsible for managing and
enforcing the Law of Conflicts of Interest. The government also has a
code of good governance that applies to all high government officials.
The law mandates public access to government information, and the
government generally granted access to citizens and noncitizens,
including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The national ombudsman, established by the 1978 constitution,
serves to protect and defend basic rights and public freedom on behalf
of citizens. The ombudsman accepted 23,899 cases in 2008--a 37.56
percent increase from 2007. A large number of the complaints were
regarding income tax matters and telecommunications. Of the total
number of cases received, the ombudsman approved 53.38 percent for
follow-up, with 432 resolutions drafted.
On October 28, the Ministry of Equality announced the creation of a
Council for the Promotion of Equal Treatment and No Discrimination due
to Racial or Ethnic Origin. The council is advisory in nature--
responsible for conducting studies, drafting reports, making
recommendations to the government, and assisting discrimination
victims. Representatives from six governmental ministries, autonomous
communities, local government, NGOs, and business administrations will
serve on the council. The council did not take any public actions
during the year.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government generally enforced it
effectively.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape, and the
government effectively enforced the law. According to 2007 government
statistics, there were 6,845 cases of sexual assault, harassment, and
aggression. The law prohibits violence against women, and independent
media and government agencies paid close attention to gender violence.
According to 2008 statistics of the General Counsel of the Judicial
Power, women filed 145,125 complaints of abuse against their husbands,
male partners, or former partners. According to an Amnesty
International report, more than 600,000 women over the age of 18 were
victims of gender-based abuse during 2007, but only 21 percent filed a
complaint. A 2008 Government Delegate for Gender Violence report stated
that 400,000 women suffered gender-related abuse.
The law establishes prison sentences of six months to a year for
domestic violence, threats, or violations of restraining orders, with
longer sentences if serious injuries result. According to statistics
from 2008, there have been a total of 208,304 gender-related trials,
with 80 percent of the cases resulting in a conviction.
More than 50 offices provided legal assistance to victims of
domestic violence, and there were 293 shelters for battered women. A
24-hour toll-free national hotline advised battered women on finding
shelter and other local assistance. As of July the hotline took calls
in Spanish, German, Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Portuguese, Romanian,
and Russian. According to statistics from 2007, there were 1,614
specialized security force officers to protect victims of domestic
violence. As of February 2008, there were 83 specialized courts dealing
exclusively with domestic violence cases as well as 90 specialized
judicial units.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is prohibited. In Catalonia the law
requires that a doctor examine immigrants considered to be in danger of
FGM when they travel to and from their countries of origin. Parents
whose children are determined to have been subjected to FGM risked
losing custody.
Catalonian regional police had procedures to prevent FGM through
the early detection of potential victims, immediate reporting of
possible cases to appropriate authorities, and, when possible,
preventing the travel of potential victims. In 2008 Catalonian regional
police prevented the genital mutilation of 104 girls.
There is no law prohibiting the act of prostitution, but forcing
others into prostitution and organizing prostitution rings are crimes;
it is illegal to profit from the prostitution of another person.
Prostitution was reported to be a problem despite continued efforts by
local governments, notably those of Madrid and Barcelona, to discourage
it. Efforts to combat prostitution included installation of video
cameras in heavily trafficked areas, advertising campaigns discouraging
prostitution, restrictions on prostitution near schools, local
regulations establishing municipal license requirements, and fines for
clients of prostitution services in the streets. There was no evidence
that police or other security forces participated in or tolerated
prostitution, nor was there evidence that police or security forces
targeted persons in prostitution for abuse.
The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace; however,
harassment was reported to be a problem. According to the National
Institute of Statistics, more than 9 percent of women experienced some
form of sexual harassment during 2007.
Couples and individuals decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children, and enjoy the information and
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
Obstetric and postpartum care is provided under the national health
plan. According to statistics compiled by the World Health Organization
in 2005, there were approximately four maternal deaths per 100,000 live
births in the country. Contraception is easily accessed, including
emergency contraception, which is available without a doctor's
prescription.
Under the law women enjoy the same rights as men, including rights
under family law, property law, and in the judicial system. The Women's
Institute worked to ensure the legal rights of women, combat economic
discrimination, and integrate women into the professional workplace.
Unemployment for women continued to be higher than the male average, at
18.2 percent compared to 17.8 percent. Discriminatory wage
differentials continued to exist, and women held fewer senior
management positions than men. According to the National Statistics
Institute, as of November 2008 women in the country earned 26.3 percent
less than men.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parent (jus
sanguinis). In rare cases where a child born within the country does
not acquire his or her parents' nationality, the country will grant
nationality.
There were reports of child abuse. In 2007 the director of the
Reina Sofia Center (RSC) for the Study of Violence stated that 8
percent of children suffered psychological or physical mistreatment but
that only a small fraction of these cases were reported to the
authorities. From 2004 to 2007, 48 children died as a result of child
abuse, and at least six children died from abuse in 2008. A report by
the RSC published in April 2008 indicated that an average of 12
children died per year from abuse. Since 2007 the government has run a
public awareness campaign on child abuse featuring billboards and radio
and television advertisements.
In February the national ombudsman issued a report on the
mistreatment of children in protection centers for migrant children.
The ombudsman asserted that many of these centers violated children's
rights and reported incidents of tying up children and prohibiting
attendance at school or recreation. The report indicated that many
institutions practiced isolation measures and that 75 percent of the
institutions administered drugs to minors to alleviate agitation. Some
centers regularly searched children's rooms, and there were reports of
children being forced to undress for authorities, both without
sufficient justification. Children in detention centers complained that
they were not allowed sufficient visits from family members and that
calls they received were not private. After visiting 27 of the 58
centers in the country, the ombudsman pointed to a lack of staff
training and insufficient salary as key factors contributing to the
alleged mistreatment.
Trafficking of teenage girls for commercial sexual exploitation was
a problem. The minimum age for consensual sex in Spain is 13. If deceit
is used in gaining the consent of a minor under 16 years, an individual
can be charged, upon parental complaint. The law specifically provides
that an individual who, by use of deceit, commits sexual abuse with a
person over 13 years and under 16 will be punished with imprisonment
for one to two years or an equivalent fine. Unconsenting sexual abuse
is defined as sexual acts committed against persons under 13 years,
unconscious persons, or mentally ill persons.
The law prohibits child pornography. Article 189(1)(a) of the penal
code criminalizes using a minor ``to prepare any type of pornography
material''; Article 189(1)(b) criminalizes producing, selling,
distributing, displaying, or facilitating the production, sale,
dissemination, or exhibition, of ``any type'' of child pornography by
``any means.'' Knowingly possessing child pornography is also
penalized, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to one year.
Penalties for the production, sale, or distribution of pornography in
which a child under 18 years of age has been involved is imprisonment
from one to four years, or up to eight years' imprisonment if the child
is under 13.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, there were reports that persons were
trafficked within, to, and through the country.
In March a report by the UN office on Drugs and Crime identified
Spain as both a destination of trafficked women for sexual exploitation
and a gateway for women to be trafficked elsewhere in Europe. There
were also reports of trafficking of both men and women for the purpose
of forced labor (primarily in agriculture, construction, and domestic
employment). There was an increase in the number of minors trafficked
into the country for forced begging. Trafficked women were usually 18
to 24 years of age, but some girls were reportedly trafficked as young
as 16. Women were trafficked primarily from Latin America (Colombia,
Brazil, and Honduras), Eastern Europe (Romania and Russia), and sub-
Saharan Africa (Nigeria). Persons were also trafficked from China for
labor exploitation.
Traffickers were generally organized criminals based in the source
countries. Methods used by traffickers to maintain control of their
victims included physical abuse, forced use of drugs, withholding of
travel documents, and threats to the victim's family. In the case of
women from Eastern Europe, severe violence and threats were the methods
most often employed by traffickers. Traffickers lured some victims from
other regions with false promises of employment in service industries
and agriculture but forced them into prostitution upon their arrival.
NGOs reported an increase in cases in which traffickers allowed their
victims to keep a portion of the money they earned through prostitution
to reduce their incentive to escape the trafficking network.
The law prohibits trafficking in persons for labor and sexual
exploitation. The prescribed penalties for sex trafficking are five to
15 years' imprisonment, commensurate with the prescribed penalties for
rape. The penalty for labor trafficking is four to 12 years in prison.
The law also prohibits the exploitation of prostitutes through coercion
or fraud and of workers in general, with penalties ranging from five to
10 years' imprisonment. In 2007 the government passed numerous acts of
legislation that increased the penalties for trafficking by two to six
years if the offender is found to be a part of a criminal organization
and that gives courts authority to prosecute trafficking cases that
occurred outside the country.
On May 14, the EU Court of Justice criticized the country for not
having adapted its national legal framework to comply with EU norms
regarding the issuance of temporary residency permits to foreign
citizens who cooperate in combating trafficking in persons.
In May police arrested 23 ringleaders of a network that trafficked
Nigerian women into the country under threat of voodoo curses.
On June 16, more than 750 Catalonian police participated in a
large-scale raid to search 72 alleged sweatshops controlled by Chinese
organized crime for exploited labor. Authorities arrested 75 persons
for allegedly exploiting 450 Chinese workers.
On July 14, the government convened its first meeting of the Social
Forum against The Trafficking of Human Being for Purposes of Sexual
Exploitation. The forum, whose creation was called for in the
government's 2008 National Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons for
the Purposes of Sexual Exploitation, comprised of representatives of 13
NGOs and 10 national ministries, as well as representatives from the
regional and municipal governments. At the forum, Equality Minister
Bibiana Aido announced that the country's security forces had
identified 1,618 trafficking victims during 2008.
On July 28, the national police arrested nine individuals in
Alicante for their alleged role in a network that sexually exploited
Romanian women. According to press reports, 53 trafficking victims--
some of whom were underage--were found in the raid.
On August 19, the national police, together with German
authorities, conducted a raid that resulted in the arrest of 53 persons
and the execution of 20 search warrants. Those detained allegedly
belonged to a network that created false documents used to illegally
traffic Nigerian women into Germany for sexual exploitation, under
threat of voodoo.
The Ministry of Interior coordinates antitrafficking efforts and
works closely with the Office of the President, Ministry of Labor and
Social Services, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Education. The
Immigration Networks and Falsified Documents Unit (UCRIF), a special
unit of the national police, covers trafficking in persons. The UCRIF
intelligence unit analyzed statistical data and trends, and it
coordinated efforts and shared data with the Guardia Civil and
Interpol. Regional national police officers conducted quarterly reviews
to set goals in combating trafficking and to assess progress in meeting
previous goals.
The law permits trafficking victims to remain in the country if
they agree to testify against their perpetrators. Victims are given a
30-day ``reflection period'' to recover in a safe environment before
being required to decide whether to cooperate with the investigation
and prosecution of their traffickers. After legal proceedings conclude,
victims have the option of remaining in the country or returning to
their country of origin. Representatives of the government's violence
education programs for female victims and an NGO partner reported that
89 percent of the victims they assisted filed criminal charges.
The government worked with and funded NGOs that provided assistance
to trafficking victims. In addition, regional and local governments
provided assistance either directly or through NGOs. Victims received
medical assistance, including emergency care, through the national
health care system.
There was no evidence that government officials participated in,
facilitated, or condoned trafficking. The government had several
programs to prevent trafficking, including a toll-free hotline that
offered information to trafficking victims and potential victims. Local
governments continued demand-reduction campaigns. On February 12, the
Spanish Network Against Trafficking in Persons, with participation from
the government, organized a conference in Madrid that unveiled a basic
guide to help identify and protect trafficking victims. The event also
sought to raise awareness among the public of trafficking in persons.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at http://www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and the provision of other state services, and the
government effectively enforced these provisions. The law mandates
access to buildings for persons with disabilities, and the government
generally enforced these provisions; however, levels of assistance and
accessibility differed between regions. The Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities.
In April 2008 the National Assembly approved a law that establishes
fines for discrimination against persons with disabilities of up to one
million euros ($1.5 million). In March the government approved a
strategic plan to promote the employment of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were instances of
societal violence and discrimination against members of racial and
ethnic minorities, and the government undertook efforts to combat the
problem.
The Ministry of Interior reported that there were 163 racist and
xenophobic incidents recorded in 2008. The European Network Against
Racism estimated that there were approximately 4,000 racially motivated
crimes in the country annually. Groups continued to call for official
government tracking and publication of information on racially
motivated crimes and for the justice system to adequately address the
racial component of crimes.
In December 2008 the government adopted legislation creating a
``Human Rights Plan of Action,'' committing itself to 172 measures,
many related to the abolition of racism and intolerance. Specific
measures call for the adoption and implementation of a strategy to
fight racism and xenophobia, educational programs for media to combat
hostile or discriminatory perceptions and stereotypes, and
collaboration with public and private media on sensitization to and
promotion of human rights. The government has completed several of the
measures. In September congress reformed the Asylum Law to provide
further protection for refugees. In November congress approved changes
to the Law of Foreigners' Rights and Liberties, guaranteeing the right
of reunion, association, education, union membership, and free judicial
assistance.
In September 2008 a Spanish Roma killed a Senegalese citizen in
Roquetas de Mar, Almeria. The killing set off a seven-hour neighborhood
riot that resulted in the burning of two apartment buildings and
attacks against members of the security forces that injured three
officers. Four sub-Saharan Africans were arrested for their
involvement. Later in the month, a group of sub-Saharans attacked an
ambulance and set fire to street containers in the same neighborhood.
Four other arrests were made and the national ombudsman opened an
investigation into events. The association ``Almer!a Acoge'' denied
that the death was racially motivated.
In April 2008 several train security guards allegedly attacked a
Maghreb man in Barcelona. According to one witness, nine or 10 guards
kicked the man, who subsequently filed an official complaint. The
witness provided testimony before a judge, but no further action was
taken by year's end.
The Romani population continued to face discrimination. According
to the domestic NGO Fundacion Secretariado Gitano (FSG), Roma continued
to face discrimination in access to employment, housing, and education.
The Romani community, which the FSG estimated to have a population of
600,000, experienced substantially higher rates of unemployment,
poverty, and illiteracy than the general population. In 2008 the FSG
received 90 complaints of social discrimination from the Roma
population. In April the president of the Asociaci"n Nacional Presencia
Gitana reported that 70 percent of Roma over the age of 16 were
illiterate and that only 30 percent of Roma children regularly attended
school.
In October the EU Directorate for Health and Consumer Affairs
reported that 12.6 percent of Roma in the country suffered some kind of
chronic disease. The study further stated that life expectancy was much
lower for the Roma community compared with the general European
population. The percentage of Roma age 75 or older was 25.7 percent,
while 51 percent of the remaining EU population fell into this
category.
Acceder, a program aimed at expanding social inclusion through
labor market integration, promoted equal opportunity for the Roma
population. The program promoted labor-contract employment as an
alternative to self-employment and as a vehicle for building social
inclusion. Approximately 71 percent of the 44,591 persons served at the
48 employment centers since 2000 were Roma and 55 percent were women.
More than 32,351 work contracts had been signed.
In April 2008 the Council of Europe's Commission against Racism and
Intolerance adopted a resolution which stated that Roma, and in
particular Romani women, still faced particular difficulties and
discrimination in their access to employment, housing and social
services and, reportedly, in the treatment they received within the
criminal justice system. The resolution also noted continued
difficulties in ensuring equal access to education for Roma, with
Romani students exhibiting higher levels of absenteeism, drop-out
rates, and poor performance than non-Romani children, especially at the
secondary school level.
In 2008 a Romani association in Madrid (Hierbabuena) accused the
PSOE of discriminating against Roma when the government fired a high-
level Romani advisor to the Department of Ethnic Minorities within the
Women's Institute. The advisor was terminated after filing a harassment
suit, dismissed in June, against the PSOE's secretary for social
movement.
In July 2008 the UN special rapporteur against racism asserted
before the Catalonian parliament that political parties in the country
attempted to exploit racism to gain electoral advantage. After visiting
Sikh, Roma, evangelical Christian, and Muslim communities in Catalonia,
the special rapporteur noted that these communities were excluded from
mainstream society and experienced difficulty practicing their
religions due to the small size of their places of worship.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender community was widely accepted throughout the country.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organizations were numerous,
and there were no reported impediments to their operation.
From June 27 through July 5, Madrid celebrated Gay Pride,
culminating in a July 4 parade in which more than one million persons
participated in a secure celebration. The parade was authorized by
authorities, and police provided sufficient protection to marchers.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of major societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS.
The controversy regarding official language policies continued,
with complaints that current policies offend the right to an education
in the ``mother tongue,'' or Castilian Spanish. In 2007 the ombudsman
received approximately 100 complaints regarding Catalonia's linguistic
policies, and in March 2008 the NGO Platform in Defense of the Freedom
of Choice in Language Election filed a formal complaint against a
school in the Basque Country. The school had refused to offer all
classes in Spanish.
In April, 39 doctors at the sole hospital on Ibiza (one of the
Balearic Islands) announced their decision to leave their jobs due to a
new requirement that doctors be tested for fluency in Catalan. The
decree, approved by the Balearic government on March 27, requires that
doctors working in public service speak Catalan and provides a window
of three years for them to learn it. The doctors' union asserted that
the requirement was not for public benefit but rather the result of a
``political obsession.'' In response to the decree, 2,500 persons
participated in a demonstration protesting the Catalan language
requirement.
According to security forces, 4,000 persons participated in a
demonstration in Barcelona in September 2008 to protest the
government's linguistic policies and to defend the right to have school
classes taught in Castilian.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers, including
foreign and migrant workers, to form and join independent unions of
their choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements,
and workers did so in practice. However, military personnel and
national police forces do not have the right to join unions, while
judges, magistrates, and prosecutors are not free to join the union of
their choice.
Approximately 15 percent of the workforce was unionized. The law
allows unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the
government protected this right in practice. The law provides for the
right to strike, and workers exercised this right by conducting legal
strikes. A strike in nonessential services was legal if the union gave
five days' notice. Any striking union must respect minimum service
requirements negotiated with the respective employer.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining, including for all workers in the
public sector except military personnel, and it was freely practiced.
Public sector collective bargaining includes salaries and employment
levels, but the government retained the right to set these if
negotiations failed. Collective bargaining agreements were widespread
in both the public and private sectors; in the latter they covered 85
to 90 percent of workers.
The law prohibits discrimination by employers against trade union
members and organizers; however, unions contended that employers
practiced discrimination in many cases by refusing to renew the
temporary contracts of workers engaging in union organizing. An
estimated 10 percent of those covered by collective bargaining
agreements were actually union members.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) noted that 63
percent of temporary workers were immigrants. The ITUC further stated
that although in theory workers on fixed contracts were covered by
collective bargaining agreements, in practice more and more workers
were individually negotiating directly with employers and managers and
undermining the collective bargaining process.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the three special economic zones in the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and
Melilla.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women were trafficked to the country for commercial sexual
exploitation and that children were trafficked for forced begging. Men
were also trafficked for forced labor, mainly in agriculture and
construction. Migrant women and children from Romania and Bulgaria
remained particularly vulnerable to labor exploitation.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace. While child labor was generally not a problem, there
were reports that children were trafficked for sexual exploitation and
forced begging.
The statutory minimum age for the employment of children is 16. The
law also prohibits the employment of persons under the age of 18 at
night, for overtime work, or in sectors considered hazardous. The
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has primary responsibility for
enforcement of the minimum age law and enforced it effectively in major
industries and the service sector. The ministry had difficulty
enforcing the law on small farms and in family-owned businesses, where
some child labor persisted. Laws prohibiting child labor were enforced
effectively in the special economic zones.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of 624
euros ($896) per month generally did not provide a decent standard of
living for worker and family. In December 2008 the government increased
the minimum wage by 24 euros as part of the plan to reach a target
minimum wage of 800 euros by 2012. The government reviews the minimum
wage at least annually (and as often as quarterly if needed), based
upon the consumer price index and consultation with the business
community. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs effectively
enforced the minimum wage.
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek, with an unbroken rest
period of 36 hours after each 40 hours worked. By law overtime is
restricted to 80 hours per year unless collective bargaining
establishes a different level. Premium pay is required for overtime, up
to a maximum of 80 hours per year.
The National Institute of Safety and Health in the Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs has technical responsibility for developing
labor standards, and the Inspectorate of Labor has responsibility for
enforcing the law through inspections and judicial action when
infractions are found. Unions criticized the government for devoting
insufficient resources to inspection and enforcement. Workers have the
right to remove themselves from situations that endanger health or
safety without jeopardy to their employment, and authorities
effectively enforced this right; however, employees with short-term
labor contracts generally did not understand that they had such legal
protections.
__________
SWEDEN
The Kingdom of Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a
multiparty parliamentary form of government. The population is
approximately 9.3 million. Legislative authority rests in the
unicameral Riksdag (parliament). In national elections in 2006, voters
elected a center-right coalition government led by the Moderate Party.
The elections were free and fair. The king is the largely symbolic head
of state. The prime minister is the head of government and exercises
executive authority. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
Reported human rights problems included isolated incidents of
excessive force by police, prison overcrowding and lengthy pretrial
detention, government surveillance and interference, incidents of anti-
Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimination and civil disturbances, abuse
of women and children, and trafficking in persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, there were
isolated reports that police used excessive force. In August 2008, two
police officers were reported for assault. The Karlstad police
prosecutors unit closed the investigation for lack of evidence.
After a number of incidents during the year in which police made
inappropriate statements and racial comments, the national police
instituted a program to evaluate police officers' attitudes through
their careers. As a preliminary step, the program began to monitor the
values and attitudes of the 300 students who started their police
education in September.
The national prosecutor's office for police cases received 4,828
reports of misconduct during the year. The reports covered all police
employees, officers and civilians, and involved incidents that occurred
on active service and outside of work. The majority of the incidents
took place while the police employee was not on duty, but 15 percent of
the reported cases were work-related accusations that officers had used
more violence than the situation required.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards, although overcrowding and
lengthy pretrial detention were problems. During the year two persons
committed suicide in prison. On December 14, a court found three
employees at Mariestad detention center guilty of official misconduct
for failing in February 2008 to immediately cut down a man who had hung
himself in his cell. The man died. The court sentenced the employees to
pay fines proportional to their daily income.
Restrictive conditions for prisoners held in pretrial custody
remained a problem. According to the Swedish Prison and Probation
Service, approximately 40 percent of pretrial detainees were subject to
extended isolation or to restrictions on mail delivery or exercise.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers. In June a delegation from the Council of Europe's Committee
for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) conducted a 10-day visit to monitor
conditions in the country's police establishments, prisons, the Swedish
Migration Board, and psychiatric and juvenile establishments. In its
preliminary report on the visit, the delegation reported receiving a
few allegations of physical mistreatment of detainees by police
officers at the time of their apprehension. The delegation expressed
concern over prisoners held in isolation for prolonged periods for
their behavior, noting that healthcare staff at the prisons visited
expressed concerns over the deleterious mental-health consequences of
prolonged isolation. The delegation also noted the ``quasi-systematic''
imposition of restrictions on pretrial detainees, which led to periods
of six to 18 months in isolation. The CPT's report from the June visit,
among other things, recommended that detainees be subject to reduced
time in isolation and not face more restrictions than necessary in
accordance with a court order. Detention conditions should include time
outdoors in an exercise yard or under weather shelters, if the
detention lasted more than 24 hours; nighttime toilet access when not
included in the detention cell; and better information to foreign
national prisoners about their legal status and prison regulations in a
language they understand. The report also recommended that the
government create a separate facility for noncriminal acts to hold
persons whose applications for asylum have been denied and who are to
be deported.
The justice ombudsman, who worked independently from the
government, performed approximately 10 inspections during the year. The
national Red Cross and church associations may also visit prisoners,
but not monitor or inspect the prisons.
Construction of new detention and prison cells continued during the
year and helped mitigate overcrowding.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police and
the national criminal police are responsible in practice for law
enforcement and general order within the country. The Security Service
is responsible for national security related to terrorism, extremism,
and espionage. The armed forces are responsible for external security.
The Ministry for Justice provides the funding and the letters of
instruction for police activities, but it does not control how they
perform their work. According to the constitution, all branches of the
police are independent authorities. The chancellor of justice, who is a
nonpolitical civil servant appointed by the government, can act as the
government's ombudsman in the supervision of the authorities and the
civil servants, and take action in cases where the chancellor suspects
abuse. In addition, the security and integrity commission can review
the work of the Security Service upon an individual's request and
initiate its own investigations if the commission suspects that the
Security Service has collected and used personal data wrongfully.
On November 11, the chancellor of justice decided that the Security
Service should pay a man 30,000 kronor (approximately $4,180) and a
woman 20,000 kronor (approximately $2,780) on the basis of a verdict
from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2006.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the national
police and the Security Service, and government authorities had
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during
the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires warrants issued by duly authorized officials for arrests, and
the government generally respected this requirement in practice.
Persons can be and are arrested without a warrant if they are caught
committing a crime or if they are suspected of having committed a crime
that is being investigated. A person who is believed to be drunk or
under the influence of drugs and intends to drive any vehicle may be
arrested without a warrant. Police must file charges within six hours
against persons detained for disturbing the public order or considered
dangerous and within 12 hours against those detained on other grounds.
Police may hold a person for questioning for six hours or up to a
maximum of 12 hours if necessary for the investigation. After
questioning, the level of suspicion determines whether the individual
will be arrested or released. A court order is not needed to hold a
person for as long as 12 hours. If a suspect is arrested, the
prosecutor has 24 hours (or three days in exceptional circumstances) to
request continued detention. An arrested suspect must be arraigned
within 48 hours, and initial prosecution must begin within two weeks,
unless extenuating circumstances exist. Authorities generally respected
these requirements.
There is no system of bail; however, courts routinely released
defendants pending trial unless they are considered dangerous or there
is a risk that the suspect will leave the country. Detainees may retain
a lawyer of their choice; in criminal cases, the government is
obligated to provide an attorney, regardless of the defendant's
financial situation. Detainees are afforded prompt access to lawyers
and to family members. A suspect has a right to legal representation
when the prosecutor requests his detention beyond 24 hours (or three
days in exceptional circumstances). Prompt access to family members can
be influenced by the type of crime that the suspect is accused of
committing. Sometimes a suspect is not allowed any contact with family
members if it could jeopardize the preinvestigation.
Following its June visit to the country, the CPT delegation noted
that, despite entry into force in 2008 of legal provisions obliging
police to inform family members of a person's detention, it appeared
that the right of notification of custody was often delayed ``in the
interests of the investigation'' until a person has been remanded to
custody by a court. The delegation also expressed concern in its
preliminary observations over the situation of juveniles in police
custody, ``who apparently may be questioned without the presence of
their parents or social welfare representatives.''
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and have the right of
appeal. Trials are generally public. Juries are used only in cases
involving freedom of the press or freedom of speech. In other cases,
judges or court-appointed civilian representatives make determinations
of guilt or innocence. Cases of a sensitive nature, including those
involving children, child molestation, rape, and national security, can
be closed to the public. The court system distinguishes between civil
and criminal cases. Defendants have the right to be present at their
trials and to consult an attorney in a timely manner. In criminal
cases, the government is obligated to provide a defense attorney. A
``free evidence'' system allows parties to present in court any
evidence, regardless of how it was acquired.
In 2008 the ECHR issued a judgment that found a violation by the
country of Article 6 (length of proceedings) of the European Convention
on Human Rights. The court ordered the government to pay the applicant
1,500 euros ($2,150) for nonpecuniary damages and 2,500 euros ($3,580)
for court costs.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. There is no specific court
for human rights violations, and human rights cases are tried in the
general court system. Citizens can appeal to the ECHR in matters
related to the state.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Human rights organizations, including Civil Rights Defenders
(formerly called the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights),
expressed concern over the growing number of government proposals to
permit greater surveillance by police. Human rights groups asserted
that allowing additional surveillance methods, such as wiretapping,
would conflict with protection of the individual's right to privacy. In
2008 courts issued 990 permits for wiretapping and denied eight. In
January a law came into effect that gives the National Defense Radio
Establishment (FRA) the authority to monitor international cable
traffic with the prior approval of a special court. Under this law,
only government ministries and the armed forces are allowed to
commission surveillance from the FRA.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
The law criminalizes expression considered to be hate speech and
prohibits threats or expressions of contempt for a group or member of a
group based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, religious
belief, or sexual orientation. Hate speech may be punished by penalties
ranging from fines to a maximum of four years in prison.
On August 17, an article in the country's largest tabloid
newspaper, Aftonbladet, cited a Palestinian source alleging that
Israeli troops harvested organs from Palestinian prisoners for sale on
international markets. The Israeli government asked the government to
condemn the article. However, the country's officials stated they were
bound by the constitution and unable to make such statements, which
would violate the freedom of press. After the Swedish ambassador to
Israel issued an apologetic statement in response to the article and
posted it on the embassy's Web page, a member of parliament filed a
complaint with the parliament's Committee on the Constitution that the
ambassador's apology constituted ``interference'' with the freedom of
press. Separately, a private citizen filed a complaint with the
chancellor of justice against Aftonbladet for inciting racial
agitation. In September the chancellor ruled the article did not
involve racial agitation, and no further investigation was conducted.
On October 19, Aftonbladet published an opinion piece by Jimmie
Akesson, the leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats Party, in which
he asserted that the spread of Islam represented the country's
``greatest external threat since World War II.'' The Center against
Racism reported the article to the chancellor of justice. On October
23, the chancellor of justice decided not to start a preinvestigation
against the Sweden Democrats and Akesson.
In 2008 the ECHR found a violation by the country of Article 10
(freedom to receive information) of the European Convention on Human
Rights. The case involved a family of Iraqi origin that was evicted
from their apartment for failing to remove a satellite dish needed to
receive broadcasts in Arabic and Farsi from their country of origin.
The court held that the family's eviction had been disproportionate to
the state's aim and that the interference with the applicant's right to
freedom of information constituted a violation of the European
convention. The court ordered the government to pay the complainants
6,500 euros (approximately $9,300) in pecuniary damages, 5,000 euros
(approximately $7,150) in nonpecuniary damages, and 10,000 euros
(approximately $14,300) for costs and expenses.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. According to
International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008,
approximately 88 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
The Commission for State Grants to Religious Communities, a
government body under the authority of the Ministry of Culture,
provides financial aid to religious groups. In reviewing applications
from religious groups, the only criteria the commission considers are
the number of members in the group and the length of time since the
group's establishment. In 2008, the most recent period for which data
was available, approximately 48,476,000 kronor (approximately $6.8
million) was distributed to 22 registered religious groups, including
39 subgroups. The government promoted interfaith understanding and met
annually with representatives of various religious groups.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Jewish community estimated
that there were 20,000 Jews in the country. During the year the Jewish
community reported an increase in anti-Semitism in connection with the
conflict in the Gaza Strip, and police raised their security
preparedness level. Debates regarding what constitutes expression of
anti-Israeli sentiment as opposed to anti-Semitism were featured
prominently in the press. On January 2 and January 5, arson severely
damaged a synagogue in Helsingborg. On January 5, vandals attempted to
set fire to the funeral chapel at the Jewish cemetery in Malmo.
In June the National Council for Crime Prevention presented its
annual study on hate crimes for 2008, including anti-Semitic,
Islamophobic, and other religion-related hate crimes. During 2008 there
were approximately 600 reports of hate crimes involving religion, 45
percent of which were Islamophobic, 26 percent anti-Semitic, and 28
percent were related to other religious groups. In 2008 there were 159
reports of anti-Semitic crimes, an increase of 41 from 2007, and 272
reports of Islamophobic crimes, an increase of 66 from 2007. Of the
hate crimes involving religion in 2008, 12 percent reportedly had a
white-supremacist motive.
The council's report stated that illegal threats and ``agitation
against an ethnic group'' were the most common offenses related to
religion. The most frequent anti-Semitic crimes were ``agitation
against an ethnic group,'' with 37 reported incidents in 2008, and 80
reported cases of ``unlawful threat or molestation.'' Half of the
Islamophobic crimes, or 138 cases, included ``molestation or unlawful
threat.'' Nazi symbols, such as Hitler salutes and swastikas, were
associated with 32 percent of reported anti-Semitic cases. According to
the report, one-third of anti-Semitic crimes and 7 percent of
Islamophobic crimes were ideologically motivated. Religious hate crimes
more frequently occurred in school or at work. The victim rarely knew
the perpetrator, and the majority of both suspects and victims were
men. By March police completed investigation of 61 percent of the
Islamophobic cases and 75 percent of anti-Semitic cases from 2007.
During the year they investigated 123 such cases, of which 19 resulted
in prosecution and 186 were dropped for lack of evidence or failure to
meet the standards of a hate crime.
The Stockholm police have a hate-crime hotline to receive
complaints. In April a unit to train police officers to detect hate
crimes and raise public awareness of them was expanded from Stockholm
city to the entire country. Representatives from the unit visited high
schools to raise awareness of hate crimes and encourage more victims to
report abuses. Information for victims of hate crimes was available in
several languages, and interpreters were provided to facilitate
reporting.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The constitution and law prohibit forced exile, and the government
did not employ it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
During the year the UNHCR continued to criticize the government's
lengthy turnaround times for asylum applications. In August, to provide
transparency, the Migration Board invited a UNHCR official to follow
and report on approximately 200 asylum cases.
The government deported asylum seekers who arrived from other EU
countries or from countries with which it maintained reciprocal return
agreements. In most instances the persons who were deported had passed
through, or had asylum determinations pending, in other EU countries.
The government authorized financial repatriation support for asylum
seekers who had been denied residence in the country in the amount of
30,000 kronor ($4,180) per adult and 15,000 kronor ($2,090) per child,
with a maximum of 75,000 kronor ($10,400). During the first half of the
year, the government provided repatriation support to 1,158 persons,
most of them of Iraqi origin.
During the year the government forcibly repatriated 471 Iraqis.
Members of parliament, human rights organizations, and the Iraqi
migration minister criticized the migration minister in connection with
the forced repatriations. The Iraqi minister claimed the forced returns
violated the February 2008 repatriation agreement between the two
countries.
In practice, the government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. Asylum seekers can appeal rulings of the Migration Board to
two special migration appeals courts.
In September 2008 the Migration Board denied asylum to Adil
Hakimjan, an ethnic Uighur from China and a detainee in Guantanamo,
despite a direct appeal from the European Parliament. Hakimjan asserted
that he could not return to China because his life would be threatened
there. He appealed the board's decision to the Migration Court, which
in May reversed the decision and granted Hakimjan permanent residency
in the country.
The UN Committee for the Prevention of Torture received complaints
against the government during the year; most of them concerned
repatriation of refugees.
During the first half of the year, the migration board provided
temporary protection to 38 persons who did not qualify as refugees by
allowing them to remain in the country.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents (jus
sanguinis). According to UNHCR data, there were 7,592 stateless persons
in the country at the end of September. The large number related to the
influx of immigrants and the birth of children to stateless parents,
who remained stateless until one parent has acquired citizenship. The
majority of the stateless population came from the Middle East (the
Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq) and Somalia.
Once stateless persons are granted permanent residence, they can
obtain citizenship through the same naturalization process as other
permanent residents. The timeframe for gaining citizenship is generally
four to eight years, depending on the individual's grounds for
residency, ability to establish identity, and lack of a criminal
record.
There is no legal discrimination against stateless persons in
employment, education, housing, health services, marriage or birth
registration, access to courts and judicial procedures, or owning land
or property.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2006 parliamentary
elections, citizens voted out the Social Democratic Party, which had
dominated the political system for most of the previous 70 years. The
new government was a center-right coalition led by the Moderate Party.
On June 7, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
Political parties operated without restrictions or outside
interference.
There were 165 women in the 349-seat parliament and 10 women in the
22-member cabinet.
No official statistics on minority representation in government
were available because the law prohibits the government from holding
information about the racial or ethnic background of its citizens.
However, media reports stated that there was one ethnic minority member
in the cabinet, and 6.5 percent of parliament members were born in
other countries.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. The
prosecutor's office has a special unit working on cases involving
corruption. The unit initiated 49 investigations during the year,
resulting in 23 prosecutions. Public officials and political parties
are subject to financial disclosure laws.
The constitution and law provide for public access to government
information, and the government generally granted access in practice to
citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media. The public has the
right of access to government documents unless they are subject to
secrecy laws, according to which information may be withheld if its
release poses a threat to national security or to individual or
corporate privacy.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. At the national level,
the country has seven ombudsmen: four justice ombudsmen, the chancellor
of justice, the children's ombudsman, and the discrimination ombudsman
with responsibility for ethnicity, gender, transsexual identity,
religion, age, sexual orientation, and disabilities. There are normally
ombudsmen down to the municipal level as well. Government officials
often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, age,
disability, language, social status, or sexual orientation.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, and the
government enforced the law effectively. The law stipulates more severe
penalties for repeated crimes and for cases in which the perpetrator
had a close relationship to the victim. The National Council for Crime
Prevention (NCCP) reported 2,931 rapes of persons over the age of 14
during the year, compared with 3,880 in 2008.
The NCCP reported 26,091 cases of assault against women during the
year. During the same period, approximately 95 homicides of women and
girls were reported; most were committed by men closely related to the
victim. Authorities apprehended and prosecuted abusers in most cases.
The law provides victims with protection from contact with their
abusers. When necessary, authorities helped victims protect their
identities or to obtain new identities and homes. According to official
statistics, approximately 1,000 persons--mostly women--received such
services. Both national and local governments helped fund volunteer
groups that provided shelter and other assistance for abused women, and
both private and public organizations ran shelters and operated
hotlines.
Authorities estimated that since 2002, 1,500 to 2,000 women had
been subject to honor-related violence (patriarchal violence often
linked to cultural and religious convictions about female chastity and
marriage). Honor-related violence exclusively involved immigrants from
Muslim countries; the police concentrated on educating police officers
and prosecutors to increase awareness of the problem and to improve its
detection and prevention. A survey by Stockholm University of 2,300 15-
year-old students from 36 schools revealed that 11 percent of the
participants fulfilled the researchers' definition of leading a life
that could be considered ``honor controlled.'' Of the girls, 16 percent
responded they were expected to follow someone else's decision when
choosing a future husband. A parent had also forbidden approximately 10
percent of the students to attend classes in mandatory subjects, such
as sports and sex education. On December 29, the Ministry for
Integration and Gender Equality announced that it had granted the
county administration boards 36 million kronor ($5 million) for their
continued work against honor-related oppression.
A 19-year-old female citizen of Somali origin, who was sent back to
her country of origin by her mother for female circumcision in 2001,
obtained redress of 400,000 kronor (approximately $55,700) from the
crime victim compensation and support authority.
Selling sexual services is legal, but the purchase of sexual
services and procurement are illegal. In recent years, the government
has sought to curb prostitution by focusing on the demand rather than
the supply and by arresting clients rather than prostitutes. There were
349 cases of individuals buying sexual services reported during the
year, compared with 187 in 2008.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs continued to encourage citizens to
report suspicions of sex tourism to the country's diplomatic missions
abroad. A police criminal investigator was stationed in Bangkok to
cover Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines and to provide
liaison between police in those countries and Nordic authorities.
The law prohibits sexual harassment, and the government generally
enforced this law in practice. Employers who do not investigate and
intervene against harassment at work may be liable for damages to the
victim. There are no criminal penalties for this crime.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception and
skilled attendance during childbirth. Women were diagnosed and treated
for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men.
Women enjoy the same legal rights as men, including rights under
family law, property law, and in the judicial system. Some sectors of
the labor market, including the financial sector and high-ranking
positions in both in the public and private sectors, still showed
significant gender disparities in terms of salaries, especially in
male-dominated occupations. Women's salaries averaged 86.5 percent of
men's, adjusting for age, education, and occupational differences.
The discrimination ombudsman investigated complaints of gender
discrimination in the labor market. Complaints could also be filed with
the courts or with the employer. Labor unions generally mediated in
cases filed with the employer. During the year the discrimination
ombudsman's office registered 290 cases. Women filed approximately 75
percent of the cases; 25 percent of the cases concerned salaries. There
were 46 discrimination complaints related to pregnancy in 2008, the
last year for which data was available.
During the year the government began implementing a 235 million
kronor ($33 million) strategy for promoting gender equality in the
labor market and business. The strategy coordinated and developed
gender-equality measures in the workplace and business and involved
education and social policy.
In February the government appointed a committee to promote gender
equality in higher education. With a budget of 60 million ($8.4
million) until the end of 2010, the committee focused on combating
gender-based subject choices and reversing the trend toward fewer male
students in higher education. It also addressed gender differences in
terms of study rates, dropout rates, propensity to complete a degree,
career opportunities in research, and representation at executive
levels in higher education.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents. Children born
in the country are registered in the tax authority's population
register.
Child abuse was a problem. The national child protection council
reported 8,849 cases of abuse of children under the age of 15 during
the year, compared with 5,954 in 2008. Police reported 1,911 cases of
child rape and 408 cases of sexual abuse of children during the year,
compared with 944 reported cases of rape and 955 reported cases of
child sexual abuse in 2008.
The law prohibits parents or other caretakers from abusing children
mentally or physically. Parents, teachers, and other adults are subject
to prosecution if they physically punish a child, including slapping or
spanking. Children have the right to report such abuses to police. The
usual sentence for such an offense is a fine combined with counseling
and monitoring by social workers. Authorities may remove children from
their homes and place them in foster care.
In July the government amended the penal code to criminalize
``contact with children for sexual purposes.'' The amendment enhances
legal protections for children by criminalizing Internet contact
intended to lead to sexual assault. The law covers children under 15;
penalties range from fines to one year in prison.
The law prohibits the repatriation of foreign children if they lack
proper documents to prove their identity and national origin. The
migration board turned children arriving in the country alone over to
social services in their municipality of residence, where a legal
guardian was appointed to assist them. However, Amnesty International
estimated that 100 unaccompanied foreign minors disappeared in 2008,
most likely to continue their travel to other countries.
The government continued to be active in efforts to prevent child
abuse through international organizations, such as the UN Children's
Fund. As the presidency country of the EU, the government in July
organized a conference on human rights from a children's perspective,
focusing particularly on violence against children.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked
to, from, through, and within the country. Law enforcement officials
and analysts estimated the number of trafficked women at 400 to 600 per
year, cautioning, however, that it was not possible to obtain precise
numbers.
The country is a destination, and, to a lesser extent, a transit
country for women trafficked from Romania, Russia, Nigeria, Albania,
Tanzania, Thailand, and Estonia for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation. Traffickers included members of international organized
criminal networks. Police in Stockholm have also noted an increase in
female traffickers and pimps. Traffickers typically recruited female
victims in their countries of origin to work abroad as cleaners,
babysitters, or similar positions. Once in the country, traffickers
isolated and intimidated victims, and forced them to work as
prostitutes in hotels, restaurants, massage parlors, or private
apartments. Some were locked up and their passports stolen by their
captors. Male victims were primarily trafficked for forced labor,
mostly in the gardening, construction, and forestry sectors, and in
some cases in forced begging and petty theft.
The law prohibits the trafficking of persons for sexual purposes;
provides sentences of two to 10 years' imprisonment for persons
convicted of trafficking; and criminalizes attempting to traffic,
conspiracy to traffic, and the failure to report such crimes.
Authorities actively prosecuted trafficking cases. During the year
police reported 32 cases of trafficking for sexual purposes, compared
with 15 cases in 2008. Police also reported 29 cases of labor
trafficking and noted a continuing increase in the number of children,
mainly from Romania, who were smuggled to beg in the street and commit
petty crimes. In January courts convicted four citizens of Moldova,
Ukraine, and Sweden for trafficking a handicapped Ukrainian man and
forcing him to beg. This was the first successful conviction of labor
trafficking in the country.
To prosecute traffickers, authorities continued to primarily use
laws against procurement and an offense called ``placing in distress,''
which can apply in cases where traffickers lure women from other
countries under false pretenses. The laws on procurement and
trafficking complement each other; however, the antitrafficking law
requires that prosecutors prove traffickers used ``improper means.''
Judges commonly ruled that improper means were absent in cases
involving victims who consented to being trafficked. Although consent
is irrelevant under the antitrafficking law, in practice, judicial
interpretation of the improper means criterion made it difficult to
obtain convictions. During the year, 91 cases of procurement were
reported, many involving trafficking victims, compared with 51 in 2008.
The country actively participated in a Nordic-Baltic task force
against human trafficking. In October, on its own initiative and as the
EU president, the government hosted a two-day trafficking in persons
conference.
The government allocated funds to domestic and international
nongovernmental organizations for use in providing shelter and
rehabilitation assistance to trafficking victims. The law provides that
trafficking victims who cooperate with police investigations can
receive temporary residence permits for at least six months and have
access to the full range of social benefits. Victims who do not
cooperate with police investigations are ineligible for residence
permits and were promptly deported.
The government provided 213 million kronor (approximately $30
million) to implement 36 measures under its 2008-10 action plan to
combat prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits employers from
discriminating against persons with disabilities in hiring decisions
and prohibits universities from discriminating against students with
disabilities in making admissions decisions. No other specific law
prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities. The
discrimination ombudsman is responsible for protecting the rights of
persons with disabilities.
The law on discrimination does not cover accessibility. Regulations
for new buildings require full accessibility. Similar requirements
exist for some, but not all, public facilities; many buildings and some
means of public transportation remained inaccessible.
The number of reports of discrimination against persons with
disabilities increased during the year. There were 896 reports of
governmental discrimination against persons with disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other
state services; most of the cases involved lack of access to public
buildings. Difficulty in accessing apartments, restaurants, and bars
generated the most frequent reports of societal discrimination against
persons with disabilities.
Approximately half of the cases submitted to the disability
ombudsman under the Disability Act were handled by mediation procedures
rather than through formal court hearings.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--More than a million persons in
the country were foreign born, with the largest groups originating from
Finland, the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Iran. According to figures
from Statistics Sweden, approximately 102,000 persons immigrated to the
country during the year.
During the year the media and the National Crime Prevention Council
reported that individuals associated with openly Nazi organizations and
the People's Front Party committed numerous discriminatory acts
involving violence and harassment aimed at immigrants, minorities,
Muslims, and Jews. The reports included cases of assault, hate speech,
unauthorized demonstrations, illegal distribution of posters, illegal
possession of weapons, and disorderly conduct.
In October the chancellor of justice decided to prosecute a man for
incitement to racial hatred for distributing stickers that stated
``Swedish women are being raped. What are you doing about it?'' and
portrayed a rapist of foreign origin with a rope around his neck.
The media also reported an increase in Nazi-related threats and
harassment at schools against both teachers and students with immigrant
backgrounds.
Police registered reports of xenophobic crimes, some of which were
related to neo-Nazi or white-power ideology. Police investigated and
the district attorney prosecuted race-related crimes. Official
estimates placed the number of active neo-Nazis and white supremacists
at approximately 1,500, and an increase in female participants was
noted. Neo-Nazi groups operated legally, but courts have held that it
is illegal to wear xenophobic symbols or racist paraphernalia or to
display signs and banners with inflammatory symbols at rallies, since
the law prohibits incitement of hatred against ethnic groups.
The discrimination ombudsman received 737 reports in 2008, the most
recent year for which data was available.
The government estimated the population of Roma to be 40,000 to
60,000. There is a special delegation for Romani issues consisting of
representatives of Romani origin, experts on Romani problems, and
representatives from Romani associations. The delegation worked to
improve the situation of Roma in society and addressed such problems as
social, political, and economic discrimination. During the year Roma
filed a few complaints of discrimination related to housing and
employment. On November 18, the court decided that a storeowner in
Orebro should pay 20,000 kronor ($2,790) to four Romani women for
denying them access to his clothing store.
The law recognizes Sami (formerly known as Lapps), Swedish Finns,
Tornedal-Finns, Roma, and Jews as national minorities. The government
supported and protected minority languages by law.
Indigenous People.--The approximately 20,000 Sami in the country
were represented by a 31-member Sami-elected administrative authority
called the Sami parliament. Sami are not represented as a group in the
country's parliament but as full citizens; Sami have the right to vote
in the country's elections and to participate in the government,
including the country's parliament, if elected or appointed. The Sami
parliament acts as an advisory body to the government and has limited
decision-making powers in matters related to preserving the Sami
culture, language, and schooling. The national parliament and
government regulations govern the Sami body's operations.
Longstanding tensions between Sami and the government over land and
natural resources persisted, as did tensions between Sami and private
landowners over reindeer grazing rights. Certain Sami have grazing and
fishing rights, depending on their tribal history. Sami continued to
press the government for exclusive access to grazing and fishing,
although the Sami parliament focused more on the preservation of the
Sami culture than on the exploitation of natural resources.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--During the year there were
isolated incidents of societal violence and discrimination against
homosexual conduct. There were reports that individuals associated with
the National Socialist Front Party made threats against the Swedish
Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights (RFSL).
In 2008, the most recent year for which data was available, the
discrimination ombudsman registered 47 reported cases, the same number
as in 2007, while the ombudsman's office initiated six new
discrimination investigations in 2008, compared with eight in 2007.
The RFSL is the leading nonprofit organization working with and for
the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons (LGBT). It
is nonpartisan and religiously unaffiliated. Approximately 20
additional LGBT organizations were active in the country, including the
Association for Christian Homosexual, Bisexual, and Transsexual (HBT)
persons, United HBT students, Stockholm Pride, Amnesty International's
HBT group, the Association for Gay Police Officers, the Association for
HBT Doctors and Nurses, and the HBT Association for Employees in the
Swedish Armed Forces.
In July the annual weeklong Gay Pride Festival took place. A
government working group promotes equal rights for LGBT persons.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law entitles all workers,
including armed forces and the police, to form and join independent
unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements, and workers exercised this right in practice. An
estimated 80 percent of the 4.5 million-person workforce belonged to
trade unions. The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the government protected this right in practice.
The law also provides for the right to strike as well as for
employers to organize and conduct lockouts; workers and employers
exercised these rights in practice. Public sector employees enjoy the
right to strike, subject to limitations in the collective agreements
protecting the public's immediate health and security.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining, and workers exercised this right in
practice. Approximately 80 percent of the workforce was covered by
collective bargaining agreements. The law prohibits antiunion
discrimination, and there were few reports that it occurred during the
year.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the country's foreign trade zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Women were subjected to forced
sexual exploitation. Young men and children who were 15 and younger
were found in situations of forced labor, often on construction sites,
and in some cases forced to beg or commit petty theft.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies (including those on acceptable working
conditions) to protect children from exploitation in the workplace, and
the government effectively implemented these laws and policies in
practice. The law permits full-time employment from the age of 16 under
the supervision of local authorities. Employees under the age of 18 may
work only during the daytime and under supervision. Children as young
as 13 may work part-time or in light work with parental permission.
Union representatives, police, and public prosecutors effectively
enforced these restrictions.
Children continued to be trafficked for forced begging and petty
theft.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage law. Wages are set by annual collective bargaining agreements.
Nonunion establishments generally observed these contracts as well.
Substantial benefits (for example, childcare) provided by social
welfare entitlement programs assured even the lowest-paid workers and
their families a decent standard of living.
In August approximately 200 seasonal Thai berry pickers, who had
worked weeks for an estimated 10 to 15 kronor (approximately $1.40 to
$2.10) per hour but could not afford to return to Thailand, called a
strike in the northern part of the country to demand better wages and
working conditions. Neither employers nor government officials took
action on their complaints. After days of protests, the Thai ambassador
in Sweden promised that his government would help the strikers return
home. By the end of the year, all the Thai workers had returned home
with assistance from the Thai embassy and the city of Lulea.
The legal standard workweek is 40 hours or less. Both the law and
collective bargaining agreements regulate overtime and rest periods.
The maximum allowable overtime per year is 200 hours. The amount of
overtime compensation was normally regulated by the collective
agreement; it varied by workplace and could also depend on whether the
overtime occurred during the regular workweek, during a weekend, or on
a bank holiday. Payment for overtime could take the form of money or
time. The law requires a minimum period of 36 consecutive hours of
rest, preferably on weekends, during a period of seven days. The law
also provides employees with a minimum of five weeks' paid annual
leave. The government effectively enforced these standards.
The work environment authority, a government-appointed board,
issued occupational health and safety regulations and trained union
stewards and safety ombudsmen. Government inspectors monitored them.
Safety ombudsmen have the authority to stop unsafe activity immediately
and call in an inspector. These rules were effectively enforced. In law
and practice, workers can remove themselves from situations that
endangered their health or safety without jeopardizing their
employment.
__________
SWITZERLAND
The Swiss Confederation, population 7.5 million, is a
constitutional republic with a federal structure. Legislative authority
is vested in a bicameral parliament (Federal Assembly) including the
Council of States and the National Council. The 46 members of the
Council of States are elected directly in the cantons by majority
voting. The 200 members of the National Council are elected in each
canton under a system of proportional representation. Free and fair
elections to parliament took place in 2007. Parliament chooses the
executive leadership (the Federal Council), which consisted of a
coalition of five parties. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
There were reports that police at times used excessive force,
occasionally with impunity. Other human rights problems were lengthy
pretrial detention, instances of societal discrimination against
Muslims, anti-Semitic incidents, violence against women, trafficking in
persons, and discrimination against minorities.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there
were reports that police occasionally used excessive force.
A report published on September 15 by the European Commission
against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) referred to allegations of police
misconduct involving the use of excessive force, especially in asylum
detention centers and during deportation operations, as well as
``verbal excesses of a racist or discriminatory'' character. The
commission noted that on occasion, when an individual sought to make a
complaint against the police, they immediately filed a countercomplaint
with the sole aim of deterring the complainant from pursuing the
matter. At the same time, the report noted that the authorities had
taken a number of measures to improve training of police officers and
other measures to counter police misconduct, pointing particularly to
the ombudsman of Zurich, whom it described as having achieved results
in dealing with complaints against police and mediating disputes
related to police behavior.
Authorities investigated and prosecuted a number of cases of
alleged mistreatment by police officers. Following a March 4 complaint
of mistreatment in a Solothurn prison by a rejected asylum seeker from
Liberia, the general prosecutor of Solothurn opened an investigation on
March 9. The authorities subsequently deported the complainant in May.
Authorities said it was not possible to determine when the
investigation of alleged abuse in custody of the complainant would be
complete. Nongovernmental organization (NGO) representatives alleged
that the deportation of the complainant impeded the investigation into
the alleged abuse.
On December 2, the Baden District Court acquitted two police
officers of the death of a schizophrenic man who died while they were
trying to subdue him. The court concluded that the officers had not
been trained adequately about the risks of various methods of subduing
a suspect.
On January 28, a court ordered a Zurich police officer to pay a
fine of approximately 2,500 francs ($2,430) for sexually assaulting and
harassing a woman in prostitution who had rejected him as a client in
April 2007.
At year's end charges against a police officer of assaulting and
abusing a minor were again before the Lausanne District Court, which
had acquitted him on January 16. The charges were that in 2006, police
officers, after releasing a 16-year-old Eritrean boy they had taken
into custody for insulting a police officer, took him to some woods
where one of them sprayed his face with pepper spray and abandoned him.
The attorney general appealed the not-guilty verdict. After hearing
allegations from another police officer that his colleagues might have
given false testimony, the appellate court returned the case for
district-level review.
On May 4, a Geneva court sentenced a police officer to a suspended
prison sentence of 150 days for having beaten a handcuffed suspect in
2006.
In January a law regulating the use of force by federal and
cantonal police performing duties on behalf of the federal government
entered into force. The government announced that the new law was
designed to ensure the appropriate use of force and the greatest
possible protection of the integrity of the affected persons. The law
defined the types of weapons and auxiliary measures police could use in
the course of police functions, and its implementing regulations
further defined the circumstances in which they could be employed. For
example, the new regulation allowed for the use of tasers in some
circumstances but prohibited their use in others, including in
conjunction with deportation of persons via aircraft.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights
observers.
During the year, 6,084 persons were in prison or detention (31
percent remanded to custody and 59 percent convicts). Of the total, 371
were women (6.1 percent) and 55 were juveniles (0.9 percent).
The occupation rate of detention facilities was 91 percent, 5
percent higher than in 2008; however, prison overcrowding was a problem
in some major urban areas such as Zurich, Bern, and Geneva. Geneva's
Champ-Dollon prison was the country's most crowded; designed for a
maximum of 270 occupants, it housed over 500 during the year.
On February 23, the inmates of the Waulwilermoos prison wrote to
the cantonal government of Lucerne alleging mistreatment and
substandard medical care by the prison staff. Cantonal authorities
subsequently reported that an investigation of the allegations,
undertaken together with the prison supervisory commission, found no
major problems but concluded that certain aspects of the prison's
medical care delivery needed improvement.
According to statistics released during the year by the Federal
Department of Justice, the number of minors in preventive detention
increased by 20 percent between 2005 and 2008. Of the minors in
preventive detention, 998 were males between the ages 15 to 18 years,
and 165 were females of the same ages. There were also 48 minors under
15.
The penal code for young offenders requires minimizing juvenile
detention prior to conviction. It also requires that juvenile offenders
be held in reform schools or separate wings of prisons where they can
be given educational support; however, a study by the justice ministry
published in 2007 found that during investigative detention, juveniles
often were held with adults and kept in prisons rather than reform
schools. Authorities began construction of a new prison for juveniles.
On October 20, the Federal Council appointed an independent 12-
person National Commission for the Prevention of Torture with a mandate
to undertake regular visits and inspections of conditions in prisons
and detention facilities. Visits were scheduled to begin in 2010.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights groups, the media,
and the International Committee of the Red Cross. It was not known
whether such visits took place during the year.
In Fribourg construction began to expand the prison of Bellechasse.
In Geneva, whose prisons were the most crowded, the cantonal government
allocated funds for a project to build a new prison that would hold a
maximum of 500 detainees. Vaud Canton began construction of a new
juvenile prison center in Palezieux, designed to accommodate juvenile
offenders from the French-speaking part of the country.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over police forces, which the cantons
primarily organize and administer with federal coordination. The
Federal Office of Police, in addition to performing coordination and
analytical functions, can pursue its own investigations under the
supervision of the attorney general in cases of organized crime, money
laundering, and corruption. The government has effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption; however, in past years
there have been some allegations of impunity.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law
criminal suspects must be apprehended on the basis of warrants issued
by a duly authorized official unless police must respond to a specific
and immediate danger. In most cases authorities may not hold a suspect
longer than 24 hours before presenting him to a prosecutor or
investigating magistrate, who must either bring formal charges or order
the detainee's release; however, asylum seekers and other foreigners
without valid documents may be detained up to 96 hours without an
arrest warrant. There was a functioning bail system, and courts grant
release on personal recognizance or bail unless the magistrate believes
the person charged is dangerous or a flight risk. A suspect may be
denied legal counsel at the time of detention and initial questioning
but has the right to choose and contact an attorney before charges are
brought. The state provides free legal assistance for indigents charged
with crimes for which imprisonment would be a possible punishment.
Access to family members may be restricted to prevent tampering with
evidence, but law enforcement authorities are required to inform close
relatives promptly of the detention.
In some cases lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. During the
year approximately one third of all prisoners were in pretrial
detention, and the average length of such detention was approximately
50 days. All cases of prolonged pretrial detention are subject to
review by higher judicial authorities. The country's highest court has
ruled that pretrial detention must not exceed the length of the
expected sentence for the crime with which a suspect is charged.
In 2008 the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) issued a
judgment that found one violation by the country of the right to
liberty and security as provided by the European Convention on Human
Rights. The case involved an individual whose pretrial detention was
extended more than two months beyond the end of the period for which
his arrest warrant was valid. The court did not take issue with
validity of the applicant's detention by authorities before or after
this period or with his subsequent sentencing to six years'
imprisonment for fraud and forgery. The court awarded the applicant
5,000 euros ($7,150) for nonpecuniary damages and 4,000 euros ($5,720)
for costs and expenses.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are public.
Juries are used only in the most serious cases, including murder.
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney
in a timely manner, and an attorney is provided at public expense if
defendants face serious criminal charges. Defendants have the right to
confront or question witnesses and to present witnesses and evidence.
They have the right to appeal, ultimately to the highest court, the
Federal Tribunal. Authorities generally respected these rights in
practice and extended them to all citizens.
The military penal code requires that war crimes and violations of
the Geneva Conventions be prosecuted only when defendants have close
ties with the country. Normal civilian rules of evidence and procedure
apply in military trials. The military penal code allows the appeal of
any case, ultimately to the Military Supreme Court. Any licensed
attorney may serve as a military defense counsel, but in most cases,
defendants used attorneys assigned by the courts. Under military law
the government pays for defense costs. Civilians charged with revealing
military secrets, such as classified military documents or classified
military locations and installations, may be tried in military courts.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Citizens have access to a
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human
rights violation. Persons who have exhausted domestic courts may also
apply to the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An Independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press
The law penalizes public incitement to racial hatred or
discrimination, spreading racist ideology, and denying crimes against
humanity. There was at least one conviction during the year under this
law. In June a district court found the president of the Bern Canton
chapter of the Swiss Freedom Party guilty of racial discrimination for
a February 2008 Internet blog posting in which he referred to asylum-
seekers as ``primates.'' The court sentenced the individual to a
suspended fine.
A number of NGOs, politicians, and UN human rights experts raised
concerns over a controversial poster campaign by supporters of the
initiative to ban minarets. The poster depicted a woman in a burka and
a Swiss flag with minarets reminiscent of missiles jutting out of it.
Then-interior minister Pascal Couchepin acknowledged that the poster
campaign was unnecessarily aggressive but stated that this was not
sufficient reason to ban it. A number of cities outlawed the posters;
others allowed them on grounds that laws governing freedom of
expression protected them.
On February 3, the Cantonal Justice Department of Graubuenden
apologized to a shopkeeper of Davos who was forced by police to remove
Tibetan literature and the Tibetan flag from her shopwindow during the
visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to the World Economic Forum in
2008.
It is a crime to publish information based on leaked ``secret
official discussions.'' On September 17, the Zurich District Court
acquitted two former employees of the Zurich Department of Social
Affairs of this crime. The court acknowledged that the two employees
had violated official secrecy by giving insider information to the
press but determined, based on an earlier Federal Court ruling and an
exception clause in the law, that this had been the only way to draw
attention to a series of cases involving welfare abuse.
On June 24, a court in Zurich fined two reporters for violating the
law concerning leaked official discussions when they published secret
information on an investigation related to the resignation of a former
federal prosecutor.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored email or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by email.
Internet access was widely available. According to statistics compiled
by the International Telecommunications Union, 77 percent of the
population used the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Authorities generally did
not restrict academic freedom or cultural events. However, on September
29, authorities imposed a visa ban on the controversial
ultranationalist Croatian singer Marko Perkovic, aka ``Thompson.''
Taking into account some of Perkovic's lyrics and behavior that many
considered offensive at previous concerts, the Federal Office of Police
reportedly was concerned that there would be violations of the
country's antiracism law during a concert the singer planned to give in
Kriens, Lucerne Canton.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
There is no official state church; however, most cantons provided
financial support from tax revenues to at least one of three
traditional denominations, Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, or Protestant.
Each of the 26 cantons has its own regulations regarding the
relationship between church and state. Foreign missionaries must obtain
religious worker visas to work in the country. Such visas generally
were granted.
Islamic organizations have complained that authorities in many
cantons and municipalities discriminated against Muslims by refusing
zoning approval to build mosques, minarets, or Islamic cemeteries.
Plans by some Islamic associations to build minarets next to their
houses of worship in Wangen (Canton of Solothurn), Langenthal (Canton
of Bern), and Wil (Canton of Sankt Gallen) provoked fierce political
debates beyond the communities concerned. Despite opposition the
minaret in Wangen was built and inaugurated on June 27. The minarets
were symbolic; none of them was designed for use by a muezzin or as a
source for broadcasting a call to prayer.
In a November 29 referendum, 57.5 percent of the voters approved a
constitutional amendment banning the construction of minarets
throughout the country. This followed several years of unsuccessful
efforts by leaders in the Swiss People's Party and the Federal
Democratic Union to hold similar referenda on a canton-by-canton basis,
efforts the cantonal parliaments regularly rejected as
unconstitutional. The binding referendum passed despite opposition to
it by majorities in both parliament and the Federal Council and public
statements by many of the country's leaders describing such a ban as
contradicting basic values in the country's constitution and violating
its international obligations; it resulted in an addition to the
constitution: ``The building of minarets is prohibited.'' This addition
had no effect on the four existing minarets or on building, or
worshipping in, mosques.
The country's laws penalize public incitement to racial hatred or
discrimination, spreading racist ideology, and denying crimes against
humanity. The law does not name anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, or
other specific offenses; however, convictions under this legislation
have included anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
In advance of the referendum on the banning of minarets, and with
reference to the law against incitement to racial hatred or
discrimination, some cantons prohibited the display of a poster
supporting the ban that depicted a woman in a burka together with a
Swiss flag that had minarets reminiscent of missiles jutting out of it.
Other localities permitted them, arguing that they were protected by
laws governing freedom of expression.
The Department of the Interior's Federal Service for the Combating
of Racism sponsored a variety of educational and awareness-building
projects to combat racism, xenophobia, and other forms of
discrimination.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were isolated reports of
societal abuse and discrimination, but the extent to which these
instances were based on religious belief and practice or on ethnicity
and culture was difficult to determine. Some observers remained
concerned about the climate for members of religious minorities,
particularly Muslims and Jews.
According to the 2000 census, the most recent official data
available, there were 17,914 members of the Jewish community,
constituting 0.24 percent of the population. The Geneva-based
Intercommunity Center for Coordination against anti-Semitism and
Defamation (CICAD) recorded 96 anti-Semitic incidents in the western,
French-speaking, part of the country in 2008 compared with 38 in 2007.
They ranged from verbal and written assaults to offensive graffiti and
acts of vandalism against Jewish property. The Swiss Federation of
Jewish Communities assessed that incidents increased in the German-
speaking part of the country as well.
On the night of January 11, unknown persons destroyed the front
window of a Jewish study center in Geneva. According to the CICAD
secretary general, this was clearly an anti-Semitic act. Police
continued investigating the incident at year's end.
On March 2, according to CICAD, pro-Palestinian demonstrators
targeted a Jewish fundraising event at the Kempinski Hotel in Geneva.
They threw stones, gave Nazi salutes, and assaulted participants.
Police apprehended the stone throwers. However, a spokesman for the
police reportedly described the incident as a ``nonevent'' in which no
more than three stones were thrown against the police officers.
At year's end no additional information was available regarding the
status of the police investigation into a 2007 incident in which a 23-
year-old Muslim man entered the Islamic Center in Crissier near
Lausanne and fired several shots, seriously injuring a 43-year-old
worshiper.
The law penalizes public incitement to racial hatred or
discrimination, spreading racist ideology, and denying crimes against
humanity, and there have been convictions under this legislation for
anti-Semitism and historical revisionism, including Holocaust denial,
in earlier years.
Proponents of the November 29 initiative to ban minarets contended
that the construction of minarets symbolized a religious and political
claim to power that called into question the country's secular legal
system. However, many non-Muslim religious organizations called for the
initiative's defeat and expressed regret over its ultimate passage. The
Federal Council made its opposition to the banning of minarets clear
throughout the year, issuing public statements describing the
initiative as an infringement on ``guaranteed international human
rights'' and contradicting ``core values'' of the Federal Constitution.
A number of NGOs, politicians, and UN human rights experts raised
concerns over a controversial poster campaign by supporters of the
anti-minaret initiative. The poster depicted a woman in a burka and a
Swiss flag with minarets reminiscent of missiles. Then-interior
minister Pascal Couchepin said that the poster campaign was
unnecessarily aggressive but that this was not sufficient reason to ban
it. A number of cities outlawed the posters.
Religious education is part of the public school curriculum in all
cantons except for Geneva and Neuchatel. Authorities may exempt
children from these courses upon request of their parents. Schools
normally offer classes in Catholic and Protestant doctrines; some also
cover the doctrines of other religious groups active in the country. A
number of cantons have supplemented or replaced traditional classes in
Christian doctrine with nonconfessional teachings about religion and
culture.
The country is a member of the Task Force for International
Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the government did not
employ it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
In practice the government provided protection against expulsion or
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion. The Federal Office
for Migration relied on a list of ``safe countries,'' and would-be
refugees who originated in, or transited, these countries generally
were ineligible to apply for asylum.
NGOs criticized the inclusion in the ``safe countries'' list of
some countries in Eastern Europe and Africa that they considered not
sufficiently stable to justify automatic rejection. During the year,
the government received asylum requests involving 16,005 persons.
Authorities adjudicated 17,326 cases, and granted refugee status or
asylum to 2,622 persons.
The government required asylum applicants to present documentation
verifying their identity within 48 hours of completing their
applications, and authorities refused to process the applications of
asylum seekers who were unable to provide a credible justification for
their lack of acceptable documents or to show evidence of persecution.
Authorities could detain uncooperative asylum seekers, subject to
judicial review, for up to six months while adjudicating their
applications. They could detain rejected applicants for up to three
months to ensure their departure or up to 18 months if repatriation
posed special obstacles. They could detain minors 15 to 18 years of age
for up to 12 months pending repatriation; however, rejected asylum
seekers generally were not detained, nor were they removed from the
country. They were instructed to leave voluntarily. If they refused to
return voluntarily, they could be forcibly repatriated.
Amnesty International and other NGOs working with refugees
continued to complain that detained asylum seekers often effectively
were denied proper legal representation in deportation cases because
they lacked the financial means to obtain an attorney. Authorities
provided free legal assistance only in cases of serious criminal
offenses. The deportation of asylum seekers is an administrative,
rather than judicial, process.
The government also provided temporary protection to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and its 1967
Protocol and provided it to 4,053 persons during the year; there were
22,958 individuals with temporary protection status in the country at
the end of 2008.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2007 citizens chose a
new Federal Assembly in free and fair elections. Political parties
operated without restriction or outside interference.
There were 68 women in the 246-seat Federal Assembly and three
women in the seven-seat Federal Council (cabinet). The proportion of
female representatives in cantonal legislatures remained 24 percent.
Women held approximately one fifth of the seats in cantonal executive
bodies.
There was one member of an ethnic minority in the 200-seat National
Council, the lower house of the Federal Assembly.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
Members of the Federal Assembly must disclose their financial
interests, professional activities, supervisory board or executive body
memberships, and expert or consulting activities every year.
Investigating and prosecuting government corruption is a federal
responsibility. A majority of cantons also require members of cantonal
parliament to disclose their interests. A joint working group
consisting of representatives of various federal government agencies
works under the leadership of the federal Department of Foreign Affairs
to combat corruption.
The constitution requires the government to inform the public about
its activities, and government information was available to all persons
living in the country, including foreign media. A transparency law
provides for public access to government documents.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The government cooperated with international governmental
organizations and permitted visits by UN and other international
representatives. In October a government delegation met with the UN
Human Rights Committee to discuss the country's third report on its
implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. In September ECRI published its fourth monitoring cycle report
on the country following an ECRI visit in 2008. In July the government
presented its third periodic report on implementation of the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to the
UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
There was no national ombudsman. In its concluding observations,
addressing the country's implementation of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, published in October, the UN Human
Rights Committee expressed concern that authorities had not established
a national institution with broad competence in the area of human
rights, in accordance with the Paris Principles.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status. The government generally
enforced these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a statutory offense, and
the government effectively prosecuted those accused of such crimes. In
2008 police recorded 612 instances of rape (compared with 648 in 2007)
and 429 prosecutions (compared with 571 in 2007).
Violence against women was a problem. The Federal Office of Public
Health published a survey in 2008 showing that 80 percent of victims of
domestic violence had suffered previous assaults. Domestic violence is
a statutory offense. A court may order an abusive spouse to leave the
family home as a temporary measure. Stalking is also an offense.
Victims of domestic violence could obtain help, counseling, and legal
assistance from specialized government agencies and NGOs or from nearly
a dozen hotlines sponsored privately or by local, cantonal, and
national authorities. In 2007 a total of 1,132 women and 993 children
spent a cumulative 60,115 nights in 17 women's shelters across the
country. Although shelters experienced an average of 70 percent
occupancy, in the cantons of Basel, Bern, and Zurich, half of the
applicants for shelter reportedly had to be turned away, mostly due to
a lack of space or adequate staff for dealing with severely traumatized
individuals. The Interior Ministry's Federal Office for Equality
between Women and Men has a special unit that focuses on domestic
violence. Most cantonal police forces had specially trained domestic
violence units. A majority of cantons also had special administrative
units coordinating the activities of law enforcement agencies,
prosecutors, and victim assistance groups.
Forced marriage is illegal, but it reportedly occurred, mainly in
less integrated immigrant families, making detection and prosecution
difficult. Its extent was unknown.
Most prostitution is legal; however, street prostitution is illegal
except in specially designated areas in the major cities. Police
estimates from 1999, the latest nationwide data available, indicated
that approximately 14,000 persons were engaged in prostitution.
Information from individual cantons suggested that the number has
increased since then.
The law prohibits sexual harassment and facilitates access to legal
remedies for those who claim discrimination or harassment in the
workplace; however, special legal protection against the dismissal of a
claimant is only temporary. Employers failing to take reasonable
measures to prevent sexual harassment are liable for damages equal to
as much as six months' salary.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so
free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Health clinics and
local health NGOs operated freely in disseminating information on
family planning. There were no restrictions on access to contraceptives
and these measures were used widely. Compulsory basic health insurance
covered the cost of routine examination during pregnancy and the costs
related to childbirth. Men and women received equal access to diagnosis
and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Women enjoy the same rights as men under the constitution,
including in family law, property law, and in the judicial system;
however, independent observers claimed that some laws, as interpreted
by the courts, were discriminatory. For example, the Federal Tribunal
ruled that the primary wage earner in a divorce must be left with
sufficient income to remain above the poverty level. Since the primary
wage earner in most marriages was the man, if the household income was
too low to support both parties, the wife and children could be forced
to resort to public assistance.
The Federal Office for Equality between Women and Men and the
Federal Commission on Women worked to eliminate both direct and
indirect gender discrimination. Many cantons and some large cities have
equality offices to handle gender issues.
Discrimination against women in the workplace is illegal, but women
disproportionately held jobs with lower levels of responsibility. Women
were promoted less frequently than men and were less likely to own or
manage businesses.
Under the constitution, women and men are entitled to equal pay for
equal work; however, women's gross salaries were on average more than
19 percent lower than salaries for men. On March 2, the government
initiated a nationwide campaign to promote equal pay and combat gender
discrimination at the workplace. As part of the five-year project, the
government, employers' organizations, and trade unions urged companies
to review their salary systems.
Children.--Citizenship derives from one's parents (jus sanguinis).
Child abuse was a problem. In 2008 there were 3,504 reported cases
of sexual assault against children compared with 4,243 in 2007. Most of
the victims were girls younger than 18. Most abuse took place in the
family or the immediate social environment.
The production, possession, distribution, or downloading from the
Internet of pornography involving children is illegal and carries heavy
fines or a maximum sentence of a year in prison. On September 23, the
Council of States followed the National Council in approving a motion
demanding that ``child grooming,'' actions by an adult to form a
relationship with a child with intent to have sexual contact, be made a
punishable offense. The Council of States also approved a law making
virtual depictions of child pornography illegal.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal, but there were reports
that the practice occurred. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated
that there were nearly 7,000 circumcised women and girls in the country
as a result of immigration from areas where FGM is practiced. UNICEF
continued its efforts to raise awareness of FGM.
On September 29, the Federal Office of Police announced that in the
previous 12 months, approximately 12 cases of suspected child sex
tourism were reported on a Web site it established in 2008 to enable
travel agencies and individuals to report suspicious travel. The
federal police forwarded relevant information to the competent
municipal, cantonal, or international police offices for further
investigation.
With limited exceptions, the law designates 16 as the minimum age
of consensual sex. The maximum penalty for statutory rape is
imprisonment for 10 years.
A report issued on September 1 by the NGO Swiss Monitoring Body for
the Rights of Asylum and Alien Law alleged that authorities often
overlooked the needs and well-being of children when they were
implementing the asylum and foreigner law. For example, the report
indicated that, upon the expulsion of their parents, some children who
had grown up in the country and were integrated fully into the
country's life were forced to move to countries with which they had no
connection. The Federal Office of Migration rejected the accusation and
stated that government officials gave careful consideration to cases
involving children ages 14 to 17 who were well-integrated into society.
Trafficking in Persons.--The penal code prohibits trafficking in
persons for all purposes and provides for extraterritorial
jurisdiction; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked
to, from, through, and within the country and forced into prostitution
or domestic servitude. The country was a destination and, to a lesser
extent, a transit point for women and children trafficked for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Officials estimated the number of trafficking victims within the
country to be a few hundred a year. Federal police assessed that
potential trafficking victims numbered between 1,500 and 3,000.
According to authorities, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia,
the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Ukraine, Moldova, Brazil, the Dominican
Republic, Thailand, Cambodia, Nigeria, and Cameroon were the primary
countries of origin during the year.
The great majority of trafficking victims were women trafficked
primarily for purposes of sexual exploitation, although trafficking for
domestic servitude also occurred. Traffickers were mainly individuals
and small groups related through ethnic, clan, or family ties and,
occasionally, organized criminals. Trafficking of ethnic Romani minors,
who reportedly were introduced from other European countries to various
cities to beg and commit petty theft, was a rising concern of
authorities.
Trafficking in persons is punishable by a prison sentence of up to
20 years, and coercing a person into prostitution by up to 10 years. In
2007 authorities convicted 20 persons of trafficking in persons and
forcing others into prostitution. The highest sentence given to a
convicted trafficker was four years in prison; however, the majority of
convicted traffickers received suspended sentences. The Coordination
Unit against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, which is
part of the Federal Office of Police, hired additional staff and
coordinated and monitored all antitrafficking efforts, including those
of a federal interagency task force. Authorities were active in
international law enforcement activities and took the lead in
coordinating several international trafficking investigations.
The government continued its victim protection efforts during the
year. The federal and cantonal governments established some systems for
human trafficking identification, and 13 of the 26 cantons had their
own formal procedures for victim identification and referral. NGOs
suggested that centrally determined standards for how individual
cantons are to provide assistance to victims would be useful.
Trafficking victims had access to free and immediate medical,
psychological, and legal assistance in coordination with government-
and NGO-funded victim assistance centers or battered women's shelters.
Special protective measures were available for juvenile trafficking
victims. On January 1, the victim assistance law was amended to provide
incentives to victim assistance centers that tailor programs for
trafficking victims. The government reported assisting 128 trafficking
victims in 2007. The government continued a pilot program, begun in
April 2008, to assist victims with repatriation to their home
countries. The government funded several antitrafficking information
and education campaigns around the world. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs continued to provide specialized training to its consular staff
and to distribute trafficking awareness information to visa applicants
in local languages.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in
employment, education, health care, and other state services and the
prohibition was generally enforced. The law mandates access to public
buildings and government services for persons with disabilities, and
the government generally enforced these provisions in practice.
The Federal Equal Opportunity Office for Persons with Disabilities
promoted awareness of the law and respect for the rights of the
disabled through counseling and financial support for projects to
facilitate their integration in society and the labor market. The
government continued a three-year pilot project to empower persons with
severe disabilities to live on their own.
NGOs acting on behalf of persons with disabilities appealed to the
Federal Supreme Court against decisions in the cantons of Zug and
Zurich to reject some citizenship applications because of the
applicants' mental disabilities. Cantonal officials reportedly based
their decisions on the assumption that the applicants did not have the
required mental capabilities to understand the importance and
consequences of naturalization or that the applicants would be
dependent on social welfare. On January 23, the Federal Supreme Court
ruled that a municipality in Zurich had to grant citizenship to an
applicant from Angola with mental disabilities.
In December 2008 on the occasion of the International Day of
Disabled Persons, the Federal Statistics Office released the results of
a study indicating that 64 percent of persons with disabilities
participated in the labor market.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Right-wing extremists,
including skinheads, who expressed hostility toward foreigners, ethnic
and religious minorities, and immigrants continued to be publicly
active; police estimated that their numbers remained steady at
approximately 1,200. Statistics gathered by the Foundation against
Racism and anti-Semitism indicated that the total number of reported
incidents against foreigners or minorities was 93 in 2008, down from
the 136 incidents recorded in 2007. These figures included instances of
verbal and written attacks, which were much more frequent than physical
assaults. Many of the violent incidents were clashes between right- and
left-wing extremist groups.
On July 9, the Federal Commission against Racism released a report
analyzing 2008 feedback from the consulting network for victims of
racism. According to the conclusions of the report, racism and
xenophobia were general societal problems and occurred in all areas of
life.
On May 1, a local newspaper reported that police officers from
Geneva had written remarks such as ``beggar'' or ``controlled for
beggary'' on passports of Romanian Roma. According to Dina Bazarbachi,
President of the Association for the Rights of Roma People, half of the
Roma in Geneva have such remarks in their passports. The director of
the cantonal Justice Department subsequently announced that the actions
of the police officers were totally unacceptable and illegal, and the
city of Geneva would pay for replacement passports.
The extreme, xenophobic Party of Nationally Oriented Swiss (PNOS)
continued to be the subject of judicial action. On January 29, the
district court of Aargau Canton upheld the verdict, but lowered the
fines, of five PNOS board members who had been convicted of racial
discrimination in 2007. They were accused of distributing a pocket
diary with anti-Semitic content and publishing on the Internet a party
program that denigrated foreigners.
The Jenisch are recognized by the government as a minority group
under the Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the
Council of Europe (COE). While the large majority of the 30-35,000
Jenisch in the country were settled, the Roma European Rights Center
reported that representatives of the several thousand who continued to
pursue an itinerant lifestyle urged the government to carry out its
promises to create new campsites and parking areas for them. A lack of
proper camping facilities and transit areas reportedly forced many
Jenisch to occupy land illegally. The federal government allocated
750,000 francs ($728,000) for measures and projects between 2007 and
2011 to improve living conditions for the Jenisch. In its September
report on the country, ECRI expressed concern that, ``despite the
consensus regarding the lack of sites, rather than increasing, their
number has apparently even decreased in recent years.''
In September the COE's European Commission against Racism and
Intolerance reported that racism was widespread in the country, despite
authorities' continuing efforts to end discrimination.
The Department of the Interior's Federal Service for Combating
Racism sponsored a variety of educational and awareness-building
projects to combat racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of
societal violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation. From
May 2 to June 7, Euro-Pride, Europe's largest festival for gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons, took place in Zurich.
Although some conservative religious organizations submitted a petition
against the festival in 2008, the Zurich City Council did not
intervene, and the festival attracted over 100,000 people celebrating
the 40-year anniversary of the Pride movement.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were occasional
reports of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law permits all workers,
including foreigners, to form and join independent unions of their
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements, and
workers exercised these rights in practice. Approximately 25 percent of
the workforce was unionized. The government may curtail the right of
federal public servants to strike, but only for reasons of national
security or safeguarding foreign policy interests. Public servants in
some cantons and many municipalities are prohibited from going on
strike.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the government protected this right in practice. The
law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised this right
by conducting legal strikes. However, collective bargaining agreements
commit the social partners to maintaining labor peace, limiting the
right to strike for the duration of the agreement, which is generally
several years.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Authorities
effectively enforced the laws protecting collective bargaining.
Collective bargaining agreements covered approximately 50 percent of
the work force.
Trade union leaders criticized the absence of a legal requirement
obliging employers to offer reinstatement to an employee who is found
to be dismissed unjustly. The law provides that a worker found to have
been illegally dismissed is entitled to maximum compensation of up to
six months' wages. Trade union leaders complained that this penalty was
insufficient to deter abusive dismissals of union activists.
According a survey by the International Trade Union Confederation
released during the year, an increasing number of employers attempted
to obtain court orders barring trade unions from workplaces. The retail
chain Migros sought to charge visiting trade union members in Migros
shops with trespassing. There were no reports that these charges were
successful.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Women were trafficked for sexual
exploitation and domestic labor; there were isolated reports of
trafficking in children. Trafficked women often were forced into
prostitution; in many cases, they were subjected to physical and sexual
violence, encouraged toward drug addiction, and incarcerated. Many
victims were forced to work in salons or clubs.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect children
from exploitation in the workplace; however, there were isolated
reports of trafficking in children (see section 6, Trafficking in
Persons.).
The minimum age for fulltime employment is 15 years. Children 13
and 14 years of age may be employed in light duties for not more than
nine hours per week during the school year and 15 hours at other times.
The employment of youths from the ages of 15 through 18 is also
restricted, and cantonal inspectorates strictly regulated these
provisions. Children are not permitted to work at night, on Sundays, or
in hazardous conditions.
The Economics Ministry monitored the implementation of child labor
laws and policies, but actual enforcement was the responsibility of the
cantonal labor inspectorates; government officials inspected companies
to determine whether there were violations of the child labor laws.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no national minimum
wage, which resulted in relatively low average wages for workers and
employees in the clothing, hospitality, and retail industries. A
majority of the voluntary collective bargaining agreements, reached on
a sector-by-sector basis, contained clauses on minimum compensation,
ranging from 2,200 to 4,200 francs ($2,100 to $4,100) per month for
unskilled workers and 2,800 to 5,300 francs ($2,700 to $5,100) per
month for skilled employees. These wages generally provided a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. According to government
statistics published in April, 92 percent of nearly 15,000 employers
inspected, including both those participating in collective agreements
and those who reached wage agreements in other ways, complied with
their obligations concerning wages.
The wage differences between local and foreign workers varied
significantly according to their level of skills and their residence
status. Skilled short-term resident foreigners earned approximately
1,235 francs ($1,198) more, and skilled resident foreigners were paid
approximately 2,256 francs ($2,188) more, than citizens. The only
exceptions were skilled cross-border commuters, who earned nearly as
much as comparable Swiss workers. In contrast unskilled resident
foreigners earned approximately 616 francs ($598) less, short-term
resident foreigners approximately 1045 francs ($1,014) less, and cross-
border commuters approximately 279 francs (approximately $271) less
than unskilled local employees.
The law sets a maximum 45-hour workweek for blue- and white-collar
workers in industry, services, and retail trades, and a 50-hour
workweek for all other workers. The law prescribes a rest period of 35
consecutive hours plus an additional half-day per week. Premium pay for
overtime must be at least 25 percent; overtime is generally restricted
to two hours per day. Annual overtime is limited by law to 170 hours
for those working 45 hours a week and to 140 hours for those working 50
hours a week. The government effectively enforced these regulations.
The law contains extensive provisions to protect worker health and
safety. The Economics Ministry and cantonal labor inspectorates
effectively enforced the law. Workers have the right to remove
themselves from work situations that endanger health or safety without
jeopardy to their continued employment, and the authorities effectively
enforced this right.
__________
TURKEY
Turkey, with a population of approximately 72 million, is a
constitutional republic with a multiparty parliamentary system and a
president with limited powers. In a 2007 referendum a majority of
voters approved the direct popular election of future presidents for a
maximum of two five-year terms. Just prior to the referendum, the
single-chamber parliament, the Turkish Grand National Assembly, elected
Abdullah Gul as president. The country held parliamentary elections in
2007 that were considered free and fair; the Justice and Development
Party (AKP) won the majority of seats and formed a one-party government
under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
There were reports of a number of human rights problems and abuses
in the country. Security forces committed unlawful killings; the number
of arrests and prosecutions in these cases was low compared with the
number of incidents, and convictions remained rare. During the year
human rights organizations reported cases of torture, beatings, and
abuse by security forces. Prison conditions improved but remained poor,
with chronic overcrowding and insufficient staff training. Law
enforcement officials did not always provide detainees immediate access
to attorneys as required by law. There were reports that some officials
in the elected government and state bureaucracy at times made
statements that some observers believed influenced the independence of
the judiciary. The overly close relationship of judges and prosecutors
continued to hinder the right to a fair trial. Excessively long trials
were a problem. The government limited freedom of expression through
the use of constitutional restrictions and numerous laws and through
the application of tax fines against media conglomerates. There were
limitations on Internet freedom. Courts and an independent board
ordered telecommunications providers to block access to websites on
numerous occasions. Some religious groups were restricted from
practicing their religion openly, owning property, and training
leaders. Violence against women, including honor killings and rape,
remained a widespread problem. Child marriage persisted, despite laws
prohibiting it. Some cases of official corruption contributed to
trafficking in persons for labor and sexual exploitation.
The government amended the penal code on June 26 to prohibit trials
of civilians in military courts. There were also positive developments
during the year with respect to freedom of expression and the use of
Kurdish and other non-Turkish languages, including the following: a
substantial decrease in the number of prosecutions and convictions
based on article 301, which prohibits insults to the ``Turkish state'';
the formal launch of a 24-hour Kurdish-language state television
station on January 1; broadcasts in Armenian on state television for
half an hour twice a day on April 2; new regulations on November 13
allowing for 24-hour private television stations to broadcast in
languages other than Turkish; new prison regulations in November
allowing prisoners to speak languages other than Turkish with their
visitors; and approval in September of a university department to teach
the Kurdish language among other ``living'' languages.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
security forces killed a number of persons during the year.
The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Foundation
(HRF) reported that security forces caused the deaths of seven persons
during demonstrations. On February 15, Sinan Aydin died after exposure
to tear gas during a demonstration in Diyarbakir. On April 4, police
shot and killed Mahsum Karaoglan and Mustafa Dag during a demonstration
in Halfeti, Sanliurfa. On December 6, university student Aydin Erdem
was shot and killed while participating in a demonstration in
Diyarbakir. Investigations continued in these cases at year's end.
Yahya Menekse died after being run over by an armored police
vehicle during a demonstration in Cizre, Sirnak, in February 2008.
There were no new developments in the case at year's end.
After a July 16 hearing, the case of the death of Mehmet Deniz
during a clash between demonstrators and security forces at a
demonstration to mark World Women's Day in 2008 continued at year's
end. The prosecutor opened a case against a police officer for causing
the death. The police claimed that Deniz was killed by a stone thrown
by a demonstrator.
At year's end a criminal case had not been filed in the police
shooting and killing of Zeki Erinc during Nevruz celebrations in 2008.
The HRF reported that a criminal case could not be filed until the
administrative case, which the organization noted was moving very
slowly, had ended.
There were continuing reports that security forces shot and killed
civilians who refused to obey a warning to stop. A joint report from
the Human Rights Association (HRA) and HRF stated that 46 persons died
specifically for refusing to stop, an increase over the previous year.
Human rights organizations continued to state that the government's
failure to delineate clearly appropriate situations for the use of
lethal force, in the revised Antiterror Law or other laws, contributed
to cases of disproportionate use of force.
On May 28, police officer Mustafa Aktas was convicted and sentenced
to five years' imprisonment for the 2008 killing of Gokhan Ergun for
not obeying a warning to stop.
The HRF reported that there had been no investigation into the
August 2008 death of driver Turan Ozdemir for refusing an order to
stop.
On January 21, the government began its prosecution of 60 suspects,
including wardens, police officers, and a prison director, in the death
of Engin Ceber, who died of a brain hemorrhage in October 2008,
reportedly as a result of a beating by security forces during his
detention and later by prison officials in jail. Justice Ministry
inspectors submitted a report to the court in November recommending
eight wardens be expelled from public service and reprimands be issued
to four prison administrators and 41 wardens. Six of the suspects were
placed under arrest, and the case continued at year's end.
After an appeal of the Istanbul prosecutor's December 2008 decision
to close the investigation of seven police officers suspected in the
death of Mustafa Kurkcu in Umraniye prison in 2007 from cerebral
hemorrhaging, the court reopened the case. The trial of nine police
officers began on July 9. The police officers did not appear for trial
at the first hearing and were brought to court by force to testify on
October 20. The trial continued at year's end.
As of year's end no developments were reported in the case of Ejder
Demir, an ethnic Kurd whom security forces shot and killed in 2007 in
the Asagi Kockiran village in eastern Van Province. An NGO delegation
that visited the town after his death reported claims that soldiers
shot Demir in the back without warning; government officials maintained
that Demir was trying to flee when shot. After a December hearing, the
case continued at year's end.
On April 9, a Bakirkoy court convicted police officer Ali Mutlu for
the 2007 death of Feyzullah Ete in Istanbul. Mutlu was given five
years' imprisonment.
The HRF reported 33 deaths of prison inmates and five deaths in
detention through December 1. According to the Ministry of Justice, 116
inmates died of sickness during the year and 34 committed suicide.
The Turkish General Staff reported there were no deaths of
detainees or convicts in military prisons during the year.
In 2008 the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) found 11
violations by the country of the European Convention on Human Rights
with regard to right to life or involving the deprivation of life.
The case against an officer from the Beyoglu District of Istanbul
for the 2007 killing of Nigerian refugee Festus Okey continued at
year's end. Okey died in a police station during interrogation by the
officer, who allegedly had a gun. The Beyoglu penal court was
requesting information to confirm his identity from the government of
Nigeria at year's end. Some human rights activists saw this as a
delaying tactic by the courts.
According to the security forces (military, Jandarma, and the
Turkish National Police (TNP), 36 civilians were killed and 115 were
injured, 77 members of the security forces were killed and 385 were
injured, and 105 terrorists were killed and five were injured in armed
clashes related to the struggle against the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) during the year.
Most of the clashes between terrorists and security forces occurred
in the southeast. The numbers of civilian deaths and injuries decreased
from 2008.
According to the HRF land mines and unattended explosives killed
nine civilians and injured 26 during the year, a decline from the
previous year.
On several occasions throughout the year government military
aircraft attacked areas controlled by the PKK in northern Iraq.
b. Disappearance.--Unlike in 2008, there were no reports of
politically motivated disappearances during the year.
The HRF determined that human rights activist Hasan Onay, reported
missing in 2008, had fled the country to live abroad.
At year's end there was no development in the 2007 case of Enver
Elbat. Elbat's father reported that his son had been detained for 12
years. He alleged the police told him to look for Elbat in the
mountains when he requested more information about his son's
disappearance.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
members of the security forces continued to torture, beat, and abuse
persons.
Human rights organizations continued to report cases of torture and
abuse in detention centers and prisons during the year. They alleged
that torture and abuse had moved outside of detention centers and into
more informal venues where it was harder to document. In a 2008 report,
Amnesty International (AI) noted that investigations into human rights
violations by police were flawed and that prosecutions remained
insufficient. AI also noted that statements allegedly extracted under
torture were admitted as evidence in court.
The HRF reported that courts investigated allegations of abuse and
torture by security forces during the year; however, they rarely
convicted or punished offenders. Authorities typically allowed officers
accused of abuse to remain on duty during their trials.
In its October progress report, the European Commission reported
that countercases for resisting arrest frequently initiated by security
forces against persons who allege torture or abuse had a potentially
deterrent effect on the filing of abuse complaints.
A 2008 report by the parliamentary Human Rights Investigation
Commission found that, between 2003 and 2008, 2 percent of the 2,140
personnel who were investigated due to accusations of torture or
mistreatment were given disciplinary sentences.
The TNP reported 11 cases of torture allegations (two were
acquitted and nine were dropped by the judiciary for lack of evidence)
and opened administrative and judicial investigations against 104
personnel (68 received no punishment and 36 cases continued at year's
end). As of November, no cases of prosecution against alleged torture
suspects resulted in conviction or firing.
According to a report by the Prime Ministry's Human Rights
Presidency (HRP), three torture and 54 cruel treatment cases were
reported in the first six months of the year.
According to the HRA there were 655 reports of torture in the first
nine months of the year, an increase over the previous year. The HRF
reported that, in the first eight months of year, 283 persons applied
to the HRF's centers for assistance. Of these, 111 cases involved
torture or abuse inflicted during the year; the rest involved alleged
abuse incidents that occurred previously. A number of human rights
observers claimed that only a small percentage of detainees reported
torture and abuse because most feared retaliation or believed that
complaining was futile.
In an October 2008 report the NGO Societal and Legal Research
Foundation (TOHAV) reported an increase in torture cases during 2008.
Based on a study of 275 surveys from individuals who submitted credible
reports of torture from 2006 through 2008, TOHAV found that 210 of the
victims were ethnic Kurds, 55 ethnic Turks, and 10 ethnic Arabs.
Fifteen of the victims claimed they were abused in a police car, 83 in
open fields, and 76 in police stations. Only 70 of the torture
allegations resulted in criminal complaints, and only five of those
resulted in court cases.
The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture
(CPT) and domestic human rights observers reported in 2008 that
security officials mainly used methods of torture and abuse that did
not leave physical signs, including repeated slapping, exposing
detainees to cold, stripping and blindfolding detainees, food and sleep
deprivation, threatening detainees or their family members, dripping
water on detainees' heads, isolation, and mock executions. Human rights
activists, attorneys, and physicians who treated victims stated that,
because of increased punishments for torture and abuse, police who
engaged in these practices often did so outside of police detention
centers to avoid detection. The CPT visited during the year but had not
published a report by year's end.
Human rights activists maintained that those arrested for ordinary
crimes were as likely to suffer torture and mistreatment in detention
as those arrested for political offenses such as speaking out against
the government, although they were less likely to report abuse.
According to a number of human rights groups and press reports,
authorities allegedly tortured some suspects to obtain confessions,
while others such as transvestites were regularly subject to abuse by
police on ``moral'' grounds.
At year's end the trial continued against police officer Gazi Ozuak
from the Van Security Directorate on charges of torturing theft suspect
Zeki Simsek in 2008. Simsek claimed that he had been tortured with
nails and cigarettes during his interrogation and that the mistreatment
was verified by a medical report by the Van State Hospital. While
awaiting trial, Ozuak was promoted into the Ankara Antiterror
Department.
On May 8, the Bakirkoy penal court continued the case against seven
police officers for the 2007 shooting and paralysis of Ferhat Gercek
while he was selling Yuruyus, a leftist newspaper. Gercek's trial for
resisting arrest, which carried a possible punishment of up to 15 years
and four months' imprisonment, continued at year's end.
No action had been taken at year's end in the 2008 case of Derya
Bakir, who suffered fractures in both legs due to alleged cruel
treatment by 20 guards while visiting her brother, held at the Ankara
Sincan prison for being a member of a leftist organization.
At year's end no official action had been taken against officials
for the 2008 beating with sticks and kicking of three prisoners in Bolu
prison, Muzaffer Akengin, Deniz Guzel, and Naif Bal.
In 2008 the ECHR found 30 violations by the country of the
prohibition against cruel and degrading treatment and three violations
of the prohibition against torture as provided by the European
Convention on Human Rights.
At year's end there was still no investigation into the 2007
criminal complaint filed by a Diyarbakir woman alleging that police
tortured her while she was visiting her detained husband at a police
station.
At year's end there was still no investigation into the 2007
alleged police beating in Istanbul of Sinan Tekpetek, a leader of 52
Percent, a group that protests the country's university entrance
examination system, and editor of 52 Percent Anger magazine and Ozgur
Hayat (Free Life) newspaper. Tekpetek alleged that police officers
sprayed him with tear gas and beat him during a traffic stop, then
drove him to a field where they continued to beat him before driving
away and throwing him out of the moving car.
Human rights organizations documented many cases of prison guards
beating inmates during the year.
After an investigation the government conducted decided no charges
should be filed against officials who allegedly tortured two boys ages
17 and 18 while they were imprisoned for 10 days on allegations, later
withdrawn, that they had committed rape in a boys' shelter in 2007.
The government conducted an investigation and decided no charges
should be filed against a team of guards at Kirikkale prison who were
alleged to have severely beaten and mistreated two prisoners after they
were transferred to Kirikkale from Sincan prison in 2007.
In November the Malatya penal court sentenced nine women each to
three years and one month in prison, and one woman for four years and
two months in prison in the criminal trial of 12 orphanage employees
accused of abusing children at the Malatya State Orphanage in 2005. Two
other women were acquitted for lack of evidence. The Malatya penal
court had previously sentenced eight orphanage employees to one year in
prison for ``neglecting their duties'' but postponed execution of the
sentence in March 2008. The investigations began in 2005 when the media
showed footage of employees beating naked orphanage children, some of
whom alleged they had been forced to eat excrement. A physical
examination produced evidence that 21 of 46 children had been subjected
to torture, including severe beatings and hot water burns.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison facilities remained
inadequate although conditions generally improved during the year.
Underfunding, overcrowding, and insufficient staff training were
problems.
At year's end the Ministry of Justice reported the country had 367
prisons with a designed capacity of 105,726 holding a total of 114,502
inmates, 59,474 of whom were detainees awaiting trial. The Turkish
General Staff reported 25 military prisons with a capacity of 5,300
held a total of 1,036 prisoners, 678 of whom were arrestees with trials
in progress.
According to the Turkish Medical Doctors' Association, prisons were
not adequately staffed with doctors, and psychologists were available
only at some of the largest prisons. Several inmates claimed they were
denied appropriate medical treatment for serious illness. The HRF
reported that 672 arrestees or convicts could not receive proper
medical treatment during the year because they were either not sent to
a doctor or taken to a doctor in handcuffs, or because third parties
were present during their examinations.
Foreigners who claimed asylum after being detained by security
forces were held in ``guest houses for foreigners'' operated by the
Foreigners' Department of the TNP. According to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), detained asylum seekers reported
insufficient food and medical attention and overcrowded conditions.
Juveniles were held in separate wards from adults. Detainees and
convicts occasionally were held together. Inmates convicted for
nonviolent, speech-related offenses were sometimes held in high-
security prisons.
The Justice Ministry reported that as of October 31, there were
2,622 children in prisons. A joint HRA/HRF report claimed that 177 of
these were ethnic Kurdish children held under antiterror laws for
throwing stones at police during pro-PKK protests in the southeast.
The government permitted prison visits by representatives of some
international organizations, such as the CPT, which conducted a
periodic visit to the country on June 4-17. Domestic human rights
organizations and activists reported that prison-monitoring boards
composed of government officials and private individuals were
ineffective.
On November 17, five inmates were transferred to the Imrali prison,
where PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan had been the sole prisoner for the
past 10 years. Ocalan was moved to a different cell a few inches
smaller than his old one but with a toilet in an adjacent corner and an
extra window. He was given access to the outdoors for exercise and a
prison shop. He was allowed regular contact with the other prisoners
for 10 hours each week.
In 2007 the Ministry of Justice issued a regulation that restricted
the ability of members of parliament, except for those on the Human
Rights Committee, to visit inmates who were convicted of terrorism or
violations against the constitution and state. According to government
sources, officials adopted the regulation to prevent possible attempts
by the pro-Kurdish former Democratic Society Party (DTP) deputies to
visit Abdullah Ocalan. Human rights activists called the measure
undemocratic and argued that reducing parliamentarians' access to
prisons would diminish oversight of continuing problems, such as
torture.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, the government at times did not observe
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The TNP, under Ministry
of Interior control, is responsible for security in large urban areas.
The Jandarma, paramilitary forces under the joint control of the
Ministry of Interior and the military, is responsible for policing
rural areas. The Jandarma is also responsible for specific border
sectors where smuggling is common; however, the military had overall
responsibility for border control. Human rights groups reported that
judicial police, established to take direction from prosecutors during
investigations, continued to report to the Ministry of Interior.
A civil defense force known as the village guards, concentrated in
the southeast, was less professional and disciplined than other
security forces. The village guards have been accused repeatedly in
past years of drug trafficking, corruption, theft, rape, and other
abuses. Inadequate oversight and compensation contributed to the
problem, and in many cases Jandarma allegedly protected village guards
from prosecution. Although security forces were generally considered
effective, the village guards, Jandarma, and police special forces were
viewed as most responsible for abuses. Corruption and impunity remained
serious problems.
During the year, the government made progress in reforming the
village guard system as required by a 2007 law which, according to
government officials, is intended to gradually phase out the system
through retirement while providing social support for village guards.
It had reduced the number of village guards to 48, 276, from 63,000 in
previous years.
On May 4, a group of village guards attacked a wedding ceremony in
Bilge, Mardin, killing 44 persons, including seven children, and
injuring 10. While the motivation for the attack was reportedly
personal, the attack was conducted with weapons provided to the
assailants as village guards. Government officials immediately
condemned the attack. Nine gunmen were arrested and two minors were
tried separately. In June the nine gunmen were indicted for murder by
the Mardin penal court. Each suspect faced life imprisonment for each
count of murder. Later, for security reasons, the trial was moved to
the Corum penal court. The trial continued at year's end.
The TNP and Jandarma received specialized training in a number of
areas, including human rights and counterterrorism. A total of 14,413
TNP personnel received training on human rights. According to the
government, the military emphasized human rights in training for
officers and noncommissioned officers. A total of 32 hours of human
rights training is given to officers, NCOs, and Jandarma cadets. In
some cases NGOs were invited to provide input or training to security
forces during the year.
The Jandarma reported that through November complaints were filed
against 155 Jandarma personnel for excessive use of force and
mistreatment. Of these, administrative action was taken against one, 47
were found to be ``baseless,'' four were duplicate complaints, and 97
remained under review at year's end. A total of 118 Jandarma personnel
were expelled for various reasons during the year.
The TNP reported that through November 63 judicial or
administrative cases were opened against TNP personnel for excessive
use of force and mistreatment. Investigations were dropped in 38 cases
because there was ``no need to punish'' or ``no need to reach a
decision.'' Twenty-four cases continued at year's end.
On September 22, the Court of Appeals upheld the acquittal of a
police officer who shot and killed a demonstrator who was throwing
stones at a protest in Siirt in 2005. The court held that the officer
used his weapon with ``understandable fear'' during a demonstration in
which protestors had surrounded his vehicle and chanted terrorist
propaganda.
The Court of Appeals rejected the request of the Ministry of
Justice to reduce the sentences of four police officers who were each
sentenced to eight years in prison in 2007 for the 1991 torture and
killing of Hacettepe University student Birtan Altinbas.
Arrest and Detention.--Warrants issued by a prosecutor are required
for arrests unless the suspect is caught in the commission of a crime.
A suspect may be detained for 24 hours, with prosecutorial discretion
to extend the period to 48 hours, excluding transportation time, before
being arraigned by a judge. There is a functioning bail system. After
arraignment, the judge may release the accused upon receipt of an
appropriate assurance such as bail, or order detention if he determines
that the accused is likely to flee the jurisdiction or destroy
evidence. The law provides that detainees are entitled to immediate
access to an attorney and to meet and confer with an attorney at any
time. The law requires that the government provide indigent detainees
with a public attorney in criminal cases where the defendant faces a
penalty of more than five years in prison.
Private attorneys and human rights monitors reported irregular
implementation of these regulations, particularly with respect to
attorney access. According to a number of local bar associations,
attorney access for detainees continued to vary widely across the
country. Numerous bar association representatives and human rights
organizations reported that in urban areas most detainees consulted
with attorneys soon after being detained, while in rural areas,
particularly the southeast, there was a higher number of cases where
defendants did not have immediate access to an attorney.
Human rights observers noted that, in most cases where a defendant
could not afford an attorney, one was provided; however, in terrorism-
related cases an attorney was frequently not provided until after the
suspect had been detained and interrogated by security forces.
Provincial bar associations continued to face difficulties providing
attorneys because the government was behind on compensation payments
for such work.
The HRA claimed that police often intimidated detainees who asked
for attorneys, for example by telling them a court would assume they
were guilty if they consulted an attorney during detention. Detainees
were generally allowed prompt access to family members; however, human
rights organizations reported difficulties in helping families find out
whether a relative had been detained because the government refused to
release such information to the organizations.
In 2007 parliament amended the law significantly to expand the
authority of security forces to search and detain a suspect. Under the
amended law, police and Jandarma may compel citizens to declare their
identities without any cause. The HRA stated that the expanded
authority was contrary to legal and civil rights.
During the year police routinely detained demonstrators for a few
hours at a time. Police detained several hundred members of the former
DTP and its successor Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) on various
occasions. Police continued to detain and harass members of human
rights organizations, media personnel, and human rights monitors.
Police continued to detain persons on suspicion of ``membership in an
illegal organization'' and for ``promoting terrorist propaganda.''
Lengthy pretrial detention was generally a problem. The law
provides detainees the right to request speedy arraignment and trial;
however, judges have ordered that some suspects be detained
indefinitely, at times for long periods, without trial but with the
right to see the judge each month.
Throughout the year prosecutors in Istanbul continued to arrest and
indict prominent military, business, and media personalities on charges
of plotting to foment unrest and topple the elected government as
members of a network known as ``Ergenekon.'' Prosecutors in Istanbul
submitted one indictment in 2008 that was later combined with the
indictment following the 2006 shooting in the Danistay (Council of
State) and two additional indictments during the year that were later
combined. The indictments included allegations that the group plotted
assassinations of public figures, including religious leaders, as well
as planned beatings and bombings of prominent individuals. A total of
250 persons were indicted by year's end. Some opposition politicians,
members of the press, and critics of the government considered many of
the indictments to be politically motivated. Others claimed that the
arrests had reduced the fear and pressure on journalists and human
rights activists across the country by removing threats against them.
Members of the government and members of the press supportive of the
government claimed that criticism of the trial was intended to pressure
the courts and change government policies. Critics of the government
pointed out that dozens of defendants were held without charge for
several months before the release of indictments, although this was a
common practice in the country.
In December investigators were for the first time allowed to search
military facilities for evidence in the Ergenekon investigation. High-
level military figures including active colonels and retired generals
testified in court. During the year, the Turkish General Staff (TGS)
leadership generally cooperated with the Ergenekon investigation,
although individual military members publicly expressed their
misgivings about the proceedings.
In 2008 the ECHR found 64 violations by the country of the right to
liberty and security as provided by the European Convention on Human
Rights.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the judiciary was occasionally subject
to outside influence. There were reports of judicial corruption.
The law prohibits the government from issuing orders or
recommendations concerning the exercise of judicial power; however, the
government on occasion launched formal investigations against judges
who criticized the government.
The High Council of Judges and Prosecutors was widely criticized
for undermining the independence of the judiciary. The Justice Minister
serves as chairman of the seven-member council, and the undersecretary
of the Ministry of Justice also serves on the council. The council's
rules stipulate that one of these two officials must preside over
meetings. The council selects judges and prosecutors for the courts and
is responsible for oversight of the lower courts. The council is
located in the Ministry of Justice and does not have its own budget.
While the constitution provides for job security through tenure, the
council controls the careers of judges and prosecutors through
appointments, transfers, promotions, and reprimands.
In 2008 the parliament passed an amendment to article 301 of the
penal code criminalizing insults to the state. Previously, it had been
a crime to insult ``Turkishness.'' The amendment provides for greater
separation between the court and ideologically motivated attorneys by
requiring the approval of the justice minister for charges of violating
article 301 to proceed to court. However, prosecutors continued to
conduct ideologically motivated investigations, such as those involving
allegations of insulting the state. A separate law forbids insults to
the country's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and was also used by
prosecutors to conduct ideologically motivated investigations during
the year. Observers reported that investigations based on both
provisions decreased substantially from past years.
The close connection between public prosecutors and judges gave the
appearance of impropriety and unfairness in criminal cases. Prosecutors
and judges study together before being assigned by the High Council.
Once appointed, they are housed together, frequently share the same
office space, and often work in the same courtroom for more than five
years.
The law provides that all judicial candidates pass a written and an
oral examination administered by the Ministry of Justice and
establishes a mechanism to allow private attorneys with five years'
experience who are younger than 35 to enter the ministry's ranks. The
Union of Turkish Bar Associations asserted that the oral examination
would allow the Ministry of Justice to select candidates based on
political considerations. At year's end the High Council continued to
make judicial appointments from the pool of persons who had passed the
exam and been trained by the ministry.
According to several regional bar associations, the government
devoted insufficient resources to public defense. The associations also
noted that public defense attorneys underwent less rigorous training
than their prosecutorial counterparts and were not required to take an
examination to demonstrate a minimum level of expertise.
The judicial system is composed of general law courts; specialized
heavy penal courts; military courts; the Constitutional Court, the
country's highest court; and three other high courts. The High Court of
Appeals hears appeals for criminal cases, the Council of State hears
appeals of administrative cases or cases involving government entities,
and the audit court audits state institutions. Most cases were
prosecuted in the general law courts, which include civil,
administrative, and criminal courts. The Ministry of Justice reported
that none of the regional appeals courts established by 2004
legislation to relieve the high court's caseload were operational at
year's end and that the project was postponed due to delays in building
new court houses and assigning judges and prosecutors.
The Constitutional Court examines the constitutionality of the
procedural aspects of laws, decrees, and parliamentary procedural
rules, and hears cases involving the prohibition of political parties.
If impeached, ministers and prime ministers can be tried in the
Constitutional Court. However, the court cannot consider ``decrees with
the force of law'' issued under a state of emergency, under martial
law, in time of war, or in other situations as authorized by
parliament.
Military courts, with their own appeals system, hear cases
involving military law for members of the armed forces. Military courts
can also hear cases involving crimes committed by military personnel.
In June the parliament enacted a law forbidding civilians from being
tried in military courts and allowing military officers to be tried at
civilian courts for violations of civilian laws. The opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) opened a case in the Constitutional
Court in July to annul the law. The case continued at year's end.
In 2008 the ECHR found 75 violations by the country of the right to
a fair trial as provided under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Administrative and bureaucratic barriers impeded prosecutions and
contributed to the low number of convictions of security force
personnel for human rights abuses. Under the law courts may not convict
unless a defendant attended at least one trial session. Police
defendants occasionally failed to attend hearings in order to avoid
conviction; prosecuting attorneys claimed that courts failed to make
serious attempts to locate such defendants, even in cases where the
defendants received salary or pension checks at their home address.
According to a 2008 AI report, criminal defendants faced numerous
violations of their right to a fair trial during courtroom proceedings,
especially in trials for violations of antiterror laws. The report also
found that convictions under antiterror laws were often based on
insufficient or unreliable evidence.
According to a 2007 AI report, defendants in cases that were
transferred from state security courts, abolished in 2004, to heavy
penal courts often faced the same judges and prosecutors who presided
over their cases in the state security courts. The report also found
that these judges frequently failed to investigate or take into account
allegations that confessions were coerced by torture or allegations of
long periods of ``unofficial'' detention with no access to legal
counsel. The report noted that defendants in these cases were being
sentenced on the basis of evidence extracted under torture or other
mistreatment.
Some observers saw public comments in April by senior members of
the armed forces on the Ergenekon case, and of support for the military
personnel indicted and standing trial in the case, as applying pressure
on the judiciary.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and
the right to appeal. There is no jury system; a judge or a panel of
judges decides all cases. Courtroom proceedings are public for all
cases except those involving minors as defendants. Court files, which
contain charging documents, case summaries, judgments, and other court
pleadings, are closed to anyone other than the parties to a case. This
makes it difficult to obtain information on the progress of, or results
in, court cases except through formal channels. The law requires bar
associations to provide free counsel to indigents who request it from
the court if the potential sentence is more than five years, and bar
associations across the country generally did so in practice.
Defendants have the right to be present at trial and to consult with an
attorney in a timely manner. Defendants or their attorneys can question
witnesses for the prosecution and present witnesses and evidence on
their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-
held evidence relevant to their cases.
International human rights organizations and the EU stated that the
courtroom structure and rules of criminal procedure gave an unfair
advantage to the prosecution. During a trial the prosecutor may call
any witness desired, whereas the defense must request that the judge
call a witness. Judges decide whether to ask and how to phrase defense
counsel's questions but ask all of the prosecution's questions in the
exact form presented. Prosecutors enter the courtroom through the same
door as the judge; defense attorneys enter through a separate door.
Prosecutors sit at an elevated desk that is at the same level as that
of the judge; the defense sits at floor level.
The law provides for the right to a speedy trial; however, at times
trials lasted for years. Proceedings against security officials often
were delayed because officers did not submit statements promptly or
attend trials.
In 2008 the ECHR found 64 violations of the European Convention on
Human Rights by the country involving length of proceedings.
The law prohibits the use in court of evidence obtained by torture;
however, prosecutors in some instances failed to pursue torture
allegations, forcing defendants to initiate a separate legal case to
determine whether the exclusion of evidence was lawful. Human rights
organizations reported that in such instances the primary case
frequently was concluded before the secondary case was decided,
effectively rendering the secondary case moot and leading to unjust
convictions.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The HRA asserted that there
were several thousand political prisoners from all sides of the
political spectrum and contended that the government does not
distinguish them as such. The government claimed that alleged political
prisoners were in fact charged with being members of, or assisting,
terrorist organizations. According to the government, 2,869 convicts
and 2,699 pretrial detainees were being held in prison on terrorism
charges as of October 21.
International humanitarian organizations were allowed access to
alleged political prisoners, provided they could obtain permission from
the Ministry of Justice. In practice organizations rarely received such
permission.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. The law provides that all
citizens have the right to file a civil case for compensation for
physical or psychological harm suffered.
In 2008 the ECHR found 12 violations of the right to an effective
remedy as provided under the European Convention on Human Rights.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law allows for telephone tapping with a court
order. There were occasional complaints by individuals and public
figures, including higher court members and politicians, that their
telephones were illegally tapped. Only the Turkish Telecommunication
Agency was authorized to tap telephones when presented with a court
order directed against alleged drug traffickers, organized crime
members, and terrorists.
In November the Justice Ministry confirmed allegations that 56
judges' and prosecutors' telephones had been tapped as part of the
Ergenekon investigation and asserted that all taps were carried out
within the guidelines of the law. The ministry stated that 36 of those
taps were terminated by November. Some observers reported that many of
the judges and prosecutors whose telephones had been tapped were noted
for their anti-AKP decisions, including one prosecutor who had opened
an investigation against President Gul for embezzlement.
In 2008 the ECHR found 11 violations of the right to respect for
private and family life as provided under the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press; however, the government continued to limit
these freedoms in some cases. Some senior government officials made
statements during the year strongly criticizing the press. The
government levied a substantial tax fine against a media conglomerate
during the year that some observers considered to be related to the
political editorial line of the media conglomerate's print and
broadcast outlets.
The government, particularly the police and judiciary, limited
freedom of expression through the use of constitutional restrictions
and numerous laws, including articles of the penal code prohibiting
insults to the government, the ``Turkish state,'' Ataturk, or the
institutions and symbols of the republic. Other laws also restricted
speech, such as the Antiterror Law and laws governing the press and
elections.
Article 301 of the constitution criminalizes insults to the Turkish
state. The article requires the approval of the Justice Minister for
charges of violating article 301 to proceed to court. However,
prosecutors continued to conduct ideologically motivated
investigations, such as those involving allegations of insulting the
Turkish state or Ataturk.
According to the Justice Ministry, the justice minister received
424 complaints concerning article 301 during the year and rejected 358
of them. Only four were given permission to proceed, a substantial
decrease over the previous year. A total of 55 files remained under
consideration at year's end. According to the HRF, 18 persons were
prosecuted during the year under article 301, also a substantial
decrease over the previous year.
Individuals in many cases could not criticize the state or
government publicly without risk of criminal suits or government
investigations, and the government continued to restrict expression by
individuals sympathetic to some religious, political, and Kurdish
nationalist or cultural viewpoints. Active debates on human rights and
government policies continued, particularly on issues relating to the
country's EU membership process, the role of the military, Islam,
political Islam, the consideration by Turks of Kurdish and other ethnic
or religious origins as ``minorities,'' and the history of the Turkish-
Armenian conflict at the end of the Ottoman Empire. However, persons
who wrote or spoke out on such topics, particularly on the Armenian
issue, risked investigation, although significantly less than in
previous years. The TPA reported that serious restrictions on freedom
of expression continued despite legal reforms related to the country's
EU candidacy.
A group of intellectuals began an ``I apologize to the Armenians''
campaign in 2008 regarding the tragic events of 1915. More than 30,000
signatures were gathered for the campaign. The government initiated an
investigation against the organizers of the campaign in January for
violating article 301. The Court of Appeals was reviewing the case at
year's end.
In 2008 the ECHR found 20 violations of freedom of expression as
provided under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The TPA reported that it faced fewer problems related to publishing
of books and articles on the Kurdish issue than in the previous year.
The most serious problem during the year remained the large number of
complaints against authors and publishers filed by ideologically
motivated attorneys.
According to a joint HRA/HRF report, 34 journalists were held on
speech violations during the year. A total of 29 publications were
temporarily banned, and 62 books were confiscated and became grounds
for prosecutions during the year.
On December 29, the Diyarbakir penal court sentenced eleven
persons, including local mayors, to 10 months' imprisonment for using
``sayin'' (an honorific title) when referring to jailed PKK leader
Abdullah Ocalan, which the court condemned as ``praising a crime and a
criminal.''
In November the Izmir penal court convicted local mayoral
candidates Cemal Coskun and Seyhmuz Seyhan for using the Kurdish
language during their campaigns for the March 29 local elections. They
were each sentenced to six months in jail, although the sentences were
later converted into fines of 3,000 lira ($2,000).
In September a public prosecutor launched an investigation against
actress Hulya Avsar and journalist Devrim Sevimay for an interview of
the actress in which she stated that it would be difficult to convince
the PKK to lay down its weapons. The prosecutor claimed that this was
``inciting hatred and hostility amongst the public and humiliation of
the public.'' In late October the prosecutor decided not to file
charges.
On October 4, the Diyarbakir High Court convicted lawyer Eren
Keskin, actor Murat Batgi, and author Edip Polat of ``inciting hatred
and hostility'' for using the terms ``Kurds'' and ``Kurdistan'' in a
speech at the Culture and Art Festival in Diyarbakir in 2006. Each was
sentenced to one year in prison. The court stated that their speeches
showed ``evidence of clearly emerging and immediate danger.''
In October the Ankara prosecutor opened an investigation of
suspected violations of article 301 against the National Police Academy
for a workshop conducted in August on sensitivity to Kurdish issues.
The investigation continued at year's end.
An arrest warrant remained active for youth choir director Duygu
Ozge Bayar for ``promulgating propaganda on behalf of an illegal
organization'' after the choir sang a Kurdish folk song that is also
the anthem of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government at the San Francisco
International Music Festival in 2007. Bayar returned to the country
after the concert but departed when the prosecution was opened. At
year's end she remained out of the country.
In 2007 police detained Kirikkale University student Durmus Sahin
and two friends for five days after Sahin criticized Health Minister
Recep Akdag during a campaign stop by refusing to shake his hand and
calling him a ``traitor.'' Akdag filed a complaint with the local
prosecutor, who brought charges under article 301. In October the local
penal court sentenced Sahin to two months in jail. The sentence was
later converted into a 1,720-lira ($1,150) fine.
Throughout the year police and the judiciary increased pressure on
members of the pro-Kurdish former DTP and BDP. Human rights activists
claimed that more than 1,000 cases had been opened against former DTP
and BDP members during the year. Most were investigated and prosecuted
for speaking in the Kurdish language or for making statements critical
of the government. Many were also arrested for alleged ties with the
KCK, the political branch of the terrorist PKK organization, including
a group of more than 40 between December 25 and 31 that included
elected mayors and BDP officials.
On April 21, the Diyarbakir criminal court sentenced two Kurdish
politicians, Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir and former DTP leader
Nejmet Atalay, to 10 months in prison for publicly spreading terrorist
propaganda by referring to the PKK as ``guerillas'' instead of
``terrorists'' in a public speech. Baydemir continued to serve as
mayor.
Baydemir continued to face more than 100 charges and investigations
for use of the Kurdish language. At year's end he faced three cases for
sending Kurdish language holiday cards in 2008. The Diyarbakir penal
court acquitted Baydemir in September for the 2007 cases against him
for referring to the PKK as the ``armed Kurdish opposition.''
In October the Ankara prosecutor opened an investigation into the
DTP's national convention for alleged support of terrorism through
speeches and slogans delivered at the convention. The investigation
also examined alleged ties between the DTP and PKK. The closure of the
DTP in December rendered moot any outstanding cases against the party
(see section 3).
In October a Sanliurfa court sentenced seven DTP members to two
years in prison for participating in an unauthorized rally in October
2008 to protest the prison conditions of Abdullah Ocalan.
On December 24, Muharrem Erbey, president of the HRA in Diyarbakir
and vice president of the national HRA, was arrested for alleged ties
with the KCK, the political wing of the PKK. His house, private office,
and the HRA were searched, and police confiscated all the HRA
computers, books at his house, and the hard disk of his private office
computer. The Diyarbakir branch of the HRA applied to the police for
the return of their computers, but they had not yet been returned at
year's end. The HRA claimed that Erbey was arrested for his work at the
HRA and as a human rights lawyer. At year's end, Erbey was being held
in the Diyarbakir prison and had not been formally charged with a
crime.
In July a Diyarbakir court sentenced Leyla Zana to one year and
three months in prison for ``making propaganda for a terrorist
organization.'' Zana stated that ``Abdullah Ocalan is the heart and
brain of the Kurds,'' at a panel discussion in May 2008 at a London
university. An appeal continued at year's end.
During the first half of the year, the government amended prison
regulations to allow prisoners to speak in Kurdish to their relatives
who visited them in prison. Human rights organizations described this
development as positive and stated that there were few problems with
the implementation of the new rule.
The country had an active print media independent of state control.
Hundreds of private newspapers spanned the political spectrum.
The government owned and operated the Turkish Radio and Television
Corporation (TRT). According to the High Board of Radio and Television
(RTUK), as of November there were 210 local, 15 regional, and 22
officially registered national television stations and 929 local, 98
regional, and 35 national radio stations. In addition, 77 television
channels operated on the cable network, and RTUK granted eight
television enterprises and two radio enterprises satellite licenses and
broadcast permits necessary for operation. Other television and radio
stations broadcast without an official license. The wide availability
of satellite dishes and cable television allowed access to foreign
broadcasts, including several Kurdish-language private channels. Most
media were owned by large, private holding companies that had a wide
range of outside business interests; the concentration of media
ownership influenced the content of reporting and limited the scope of
debate. Observers noted that media conglomerates increasingly used the
media as a tool to build pressure against government policies.
Prosecutors harassed writers, journalists, and political figures by
bringing dozens of cases to court under various laws that restricted
media freedom; however, judges dismissed many of these charges.
Authorities ordered raids of newspaper offices, closed newspapers
temporarily, issued fines, or confiscated newspapers for violating
speech codes. Despite government restrictions, the media criticized
government leaders and policies daily and in many cases adopted an
adversarial role with respect to the government.
On October 7, the Court of Appeals held that individuals could sue
and demand compensation from author Orhan Pamuk for his remark, ``We
killed 30,000 Kurds and one million Armenians.'' No cases had opened by
year's end.
The TGS did not admit media publications perceived to hold
dissenting views into its media briefings. National publications could
also be denied depending on their reporting. A journalist from the
daily Evrensel, Sultan Ciftci, did not receive accreditation during the
year to the Prime Ministry after being denied in 2008 as well. Other
journalists received accreditation with no reported problems.
At year's end the investigation continued into the December 2007
beating of Andreas Rombopulos, editor in chief of the Greek-language
newspaper Iho, outside the newspaper's office in Istanbul by two
unknown attackers.
The trial of Ogun Samast, accused of killing prominent human rights
activist Hrant Dink in 2007, continued at year's end. Dink, the editor
in chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper Agos, was
killed outside of his office building in Istanbul. The trial began in
2007; Samast reportedly admitted shooting Dink and identified the
weapon he used. The investigation resulted in the arrest and indictment
of 19 additional suspects, eight of whom remained in detention. In an
October 12 hearing, Dink family lawyers requested documents from the
``Ergenekon'' trial, alleging that several suspects in that case had
targeted Dink as a tool to destabilize the state. In September 2008 the
family of Hrant Dink filed a complaint with the Supreme Board of Judges
and Prosecutors against the judges of the regional administration court
who did not authorize a trial against the Istanbul security director,
Celattin Cerrah, and the Istanbul Intelligence Branch's former
director, Ahmet Ilhan Guler. Three state inspectors criticized Cerrah
and Guler for not investigating warnings involving Dink that were
received prior to the killing.
In October 2008 the Ministry of Justice approved continuance of the
case against publisher and writer Temel Demirer under article 301.
Demirer had been charged for a statement he made after the 2007 killing
of Dink, calling for the recognition of the tragic events of 1915 as
``genocide.'' The case continued at year's end, although Demirer was
convicted and sentenced to five months' imprisonment in a separate
trial for speaking about Ibrahim Kaypakkaya, a former leader of the
country's communist movement.
In January the state-owned TRT devoted one television and radio
station to 24-hour Kurdish broadcasts without subtitles and with no
time limit on news broadcasts. TRT officials indicated that there was
no censorship of content on the station. On November 13, the government
approved regulations to allow privately owned television and radio
stations to broadcast in languages other than Turkish. Applications
were approved for three dialects of Kurdish and Arabic stations. On
April 2, broadcasts began in Armenian on state television for half an
hour twice a day.
The TPA reported that the banning and recall of books remained a
concern, although there were fewer bans than in the previous year.
Several publications were recalled without a final court decision
during the year. Writers and publishers were still prosecuted on
grounds of defamation, denigration, obscenity, separatism, antiterror,
subversion, fundamentalism, and insulting religious values. Printing
houses were required to submit books and periodicals to prosecutors at
the time they are published. The TPA reported that publishers often
avoided works with controversial content in order to stay out of court.
According to the TPA, in 2008 and during the year, authorities
investigated or opened court cases against 62 publications and 26
publishers. These cases resulted in four acquittals and 28 convictions;
the other cases were in progress or pending at year's end. The TPA
noted that publishers continued to be held liable for books whose
authors were foreigners or living abroad.
In June authorities opened two cases against journalist Nedim Sener
on charges of ``publicizing confidential information'' and ``insulting
government officials'' in connection with a book he published, Dink
Murder and Intelligence Lies, which explored the circumstances of the
Dink killing. At year's end Sener faced a total of 28 years'
imprisonment if convicted.
The case against Atilla Tuygan for translating two books dealing
with Turkish-Armenian relations continued at year's end. The case was
opened in 2007 after the books' publisher, Ragip Zarakolu, was
acquitted, and the court ruled that Tuygan should be tried instead. In
a second case, Zarakolu was convicted in June 2008 and sentenced to
five months in prison for publishing The Truth Will Set Us Free, a book
describing the experience of the author's grandmother during the tragic
events of 1915. The court postponed the imposition of punishment, and
Zarakolu and his lawyer appealed the verdict. The Court of Appeals had
not ruled on the case at year's end.
Authorities routinely censored media with pro-Kurdish or leftist
content, particularly in the southeast, by confiscating materials or
temporarily closing down the media source. On October 2, the media
reported that police in Mardin confiscated Kurdish-language textbooks
for a new ``living languages'' institute at the Artuklu University to
check them for ``terrorist propaganda.'' The police returned the books
to the university after inspection.
Some members of the AKP and Prime Minister Erdogan continued to
file suits against journalists and cartoonists during the year. Human
rights organizations, publishing associations, and journalists alleged
that those litigious tendencies created an environment of self-
censorship.
In June an Ankara court ordered politician Yasar Nuri Ozturk to pay
7,500 lira (approx. $5,000) to Prime Minister Erdogan for insulting him
on a television program on March 1.
In July an Ankara court forced CHP leader Deniz Baykal to pay
10,000 lira (approx. $6,700) in compensation to Prime Minister Erdogan
for insulting him. Baykal called Erdogan a ``bully'' at a rally in
Sinop on February 28.
The civil case against cartoonist Mehmet Cagcag for using Prime
Minister Erdogan's image in a critical photomontage was denied by the
court. The court ruled that the cartoon was protected freedom of
expression.
On September 9, the Aydin Children's Court closed a case against a
13-year-old who had yelled, ``God will punish you!'' at Prime Minister
Erdogan at a campaign rally in Aydin in March. The Aydin public
prosecutor had demanded imprisonment from one to three years for the
child for insulting the prime minister.
Several large holding companies that owned news agencies in the
country were concerned over losing business opportunities if their
journalists wrote articles critical of the government. One journalist
reported that his senior management discouraged the company's
journalists from writing articles critical of the AKP or its members.
During the year the Ministry of Finance levied a total of 5.9
billion lira (approximately $3.9 billion) in tax fines against the
Dogan Media Group, one of the largest media conglomerates in the
country. These fines nearly equaled the total value of the company's
assets. The fines raised some observers' concerns, because the Group's
editorial line had been considered critical of the government and prime
minister. In its October progress report, the European Commission
stated that the fines ``undermine the economic viability of the group
and therefore affect the freedom of the press in practice.'' Other
observers described the fine as having a chilling effect on journalists
and reported that the government was using it to silence opposition.
The government maintained that the fine, which observers alleged could
cause the corporation to go out of business, was a legitimate exercise
of the Finance Ministry's taxation authority and that it had no
political motivation.
On June 18, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law that
prohibited editors at media organizations from disclosing the
identities of public personnel fighting terrorism was unconstitutional
and struck it down.
During the year cases against the press under the Antiterror Law
continued. The HRF reported that the law contains an overly broad
definition of offenses that allows ideologically and politically
motivated prosecutions. There are at least 550 cases against the pro-
Kurdish daily newspaper Ozgur Gundem under the Antiterror Law. There
were some convictions, but most cases remained open at year's end.
Internet Freedom.--The Internet was widely available in the
country. It was used in schools, libraries, private Internet cafes, and
other public locations, and the government encouraged its use. There
were some restrictions on Internet access. According to International
Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008, approximately 33 percent
of the country's inhabitants used the Internet.
The Internet law allows the government to ban a Web site if there
is sufficient suspicion that the site is committing one of eight
crimes: encouraging suicide, sexual abuse of children, facilitation of
drug abuse, provision of dangerous substances for health care,
obscenity, prostitution, gambling, or crimes regulated in Turkish Code
5816 (crimes against Ataturk). Upon receiving a complaint or as a
result of personal observations, a prosecutor may file an application
to prohibit access to the offending site or, in an urgent situation,
the prosecutor or the Telecommunication Presidency (TP) may impose a
ban. In either case, a judge must rule on the matter within 24 hours.
Following a judicial ban order, the Internet service provider (ISP)
must block access within 24 hours. If the judge does not approve the
block, the prosecutor must ensure access is restored. The ISP may face
a penalty ranging from six months' to two years' imprisonment for
failing to comply with a judicial order. The law also allows
individuals who believe a Web site violates their personal rights to
request the ISP to remove the offensive content. By May 11, courts and
prosecutors had issued 2,601 orders to ban Web sites in response to
approximately 81,691 complaints, a significant increase over the
approximately 1,475 bans ordered for 17,768 complaints in the previous
year. According to the human rights Web site ``Bianet,'' the TP stopped
reporting statistics in May because they were getting too high.
In May 2008 an Istanbul court banned access to the YouTube Web site
to block a cartoon video that lampooned the country's founding father,
Ataturk. Access remained blocked at year's end.
Government authorities on rare occasions accessed Internet user
records to protect ``national security, public order, health, and
decency'' or to prevent a crime. Police must obtain authorization from
a judge or, in emergencies, the highest administrative authority before
taking such action.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were generally no
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events;
however, there was some self-censorship on sensitive topics.
The 2008 conviction of Gazi University professor Atilla Yayla under
a law pertaining to the ``protection of Ataturk'' for saying in 2006
that Kemalism was ``more regressive than progressive'' remained under
appeal at year's end.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the
government restricted this right in practice. Significant prior
notification to authorities is required for a gathering, and
authorities may restrict meetings to designated sites.
The HRF reported that security forces killed seven persons during
demonstrations and injured 269, and there were reports that police
beat, abused, detained, or harassed some demonstrators during the year.
The HRF reported that security forces detained 1,414 persons and
arrested and charged 369 during demonstrations during the year.
The TNP reported that police detained 1,737 persons involved in the
14,310 demonstrations that took place through October 25. These
detentions varied in length from several hours to several days.
The approximately 180 public events around the country celebrating
the Nevruz holiday (the Kurdish and Persian New Year) in March were
generally peaceful. The HRF reported no incidents during Nevruz
celebrations in the year, compared to numerous deaths and injuries
during the previous year.
The May 1 Labor Day celebrations were generally peaceful. Human
rights organizations alleged that police beat some union activists, but
no arrests were reported.
HRF lawyers indicated during the year that the 2006 case against 54
police officers for allegedly using excessive force during a 2005
International Women's Day demonstration in Istanbul was no longer being
pursued.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association; however, several restrictions on this right continued in
practice.
Under the law persons organizing an association do not need to
notify authorities beforehand, but an association must provide
notification before interacting with international organizations or
receiving financial support from abroad and must provide detailed
documents on such activities. Representatives of associations stated
this placed an undue burden on their operations.
According to the Third Sector Foundation of Turkey, an advocacy
NGO, the criteria for NGOs to obtain public benefit status that
entitles them to certain tax exemptions were restrictive and
complicated. Applications for public benefit status must be approved by
the Council of Ministers. The law does not allow applicants to appeal
if their petitions are rejected.
In 2008 the ECHR found five violations of the right of assembly and
association under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Unlike in 2008, no organizations were closed by the government or
courts.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and laws provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right
in practice; however, the government imposed significant restrictions
on Muslim and other religious groups.
The constitution establishes the country as a secular state and
provides for freedom of belief, freedom of worship, and the private
dissemination of religious ideas; however, other constitutional
provisions regarding the integrity and existence of the secular state
restrict these rights.
The government oversees Muslim religious facilities and education
through its Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) under the
authority of the Prime Ministry. The Diyanet regulates the operation of
the country's 77,777 registered mosques and employs local and
provincial imams, who are civil servants. A few groups, particularly
Alevis, claimed that the Diyanet reflected mainstream Sunni Islamic
beliefs to the exclusion of other beliefs; however, the government
asserted that the Diyanet treated all who requested services equally.
Academics estimated the Alevi population at 15 to 20 million,
including ethnic Turks and Kurds. In general, Alevis follow a belief
system that incorporates aspects of both Shia and Sunni Islam and draws
on the traditions of other religions found in Anatolia as well. The
government considers Alevism a heterodox Muslim sect; however, some
Alevis and Sunnis maintain that Alevis are not Muslims.
Alevi ``cem houses'' (places of gathering) have no legal status as
places of worship in the state. However, Kusadasi and Tunceli
municipalities ruled that Alevi cem houses could receive free water and
electricity from the municipality like other recognized places of
worship, but they did not have the authority to grant formal ``temple
status'' to cem houses.
During the year the government took steps to recognize and address
the concerns of the Alevi population. The government held quarterly
Alevi workshops aimed at addressing the concerns of the Alevi
population. Some Alevi groups complained that these workshops did not
address the needs of all Alevi groups, but only the ones close to the
government.
Mystical Sufi and other religious-social orders (tarikats) and
lodges (tekkes and zaviyes) are officially prohibited; however,
tarikats, tekkes, and zaviyes remained active and widespread. Many
prominent political and social leaders continued to associate with
these religious-social orders, lodges, and other Islamic societies.
A separate agency, the General Directorate for Foundations (GDF),
regulated a few administratively critical activities of non-Muslim
religious groups and their affiliated churches, monasteries,
synagogues, and religious property. The GDF recognized 161 ``minority
community foundations,'' including Greek Orthodox foundations with 74
sites, Armenian Orthodox foundations with 48 sites, and Jewish
foundations with 12 sites, as well as Syrian Christian, Chaldean,
Bulgarian Orthodox, Georgian, Armenian Catholic, Protestant, and
Maronite foundations. The GDF also regulated Muslim charitable
religious foundations, including schools, hospitals, and orphanages, as
well as nonreligious foundations.
In 2007 the Jehovah's Witnesses were officially registered as the
``Association for the Support of Jehovah's Witnesses.'' However, due to
their stance as conscientious objectors to military service, they
continued to face difficulties. In the early part of the year, court
decisions based on zoning laws against the use of two Jehovah's
Witnesses places of worship (kingdom halls) were rescinded in the
appeals process. However, two other kingdom halls continued to appeal
court decisions restricting worship due to zoning laws. At year's end
members of Jehovah's Witnesses had three applications pending with the
ECHR that alleged government mistreatment pertaining to places of
worship and conscientious objection to military service. Two Jehovah's
Witnesses were in jail at year's end for refusing to perform mandatory
military service.
Religious affiliation is listed on national identity cards. A few
religious groups, such as the Baha'i, are unable to state their
religion on their cards because it is not included among the options,
and have expressed their concerns to the government. The General
Directorate of Populations allowed persons to leave the religion
section of their identity cards blank or change the religious
designation by written application. However, the government continued
to restrict applicants' choice of religion to a strict list.
Some members of the military, judiciary, and other branches of the
bureaucracy continued to wage campaigns against what they labeled
proponents of Islamic fundamentalism. These groups viewed religious
fundamentalism as a threat to the secular state. The National Security
Council categorized religious fundamentalism as a threat to public
safety, and the Jandarma monitored missionary activity throughout the
year.
The military periodically dismissed religiously observant Muslims
from military service. Such dismissals were based on behavior that
military officials believed identified these individuals as Islamic
fundamentalists, which they were concerned could indicate disloyalty to
the secular state. There were unconfirmed reports that officials in
some governmental ministries faced discrimination because they were not
considered by their supervisors to be sufficiently observant of Islamic
religious practices.
According to the military, officers and noncommissioned officers
were periodically dismissed for ignoring repeated warnings from
superior officers and for maintaining ties to what the military
considered to be Islamic fundamentalist organizations. The government
reported that there were five military dismissals during the year that
pertained to alleged Islamic fundamentalism.
The government did not recognize the ecumenical status of the Greek
Orthodox patriarch, acknowledging him only as the head of the country's
Greek Orthodox community. As a result the government has long
maintained that only citizens of the country could become patriarch,
serve as members of the Greek Orthodox Holy Synod, and participate in
patriarchal elections. Nevertheless, the ecumenical patriarch appointed
six non-Turkish metropolitans to the Holy Synod in 2004. Members of the
Greek Orthodox community asserted that these restrictions threatened
the survival of the patriarchate in Istanbul, because, with a dwindling
population of no more than 2,500 Greek Orthodox persons in the country,
the community was becoming too small to maintain the institution. Prime
Minister Erdogan has stated that the Greek Orthodox patriarch's use of
the title ``ecumenical'' should not be a matter on which the state
should rule.
On August 15, Prime Minister Erdogan and members of his cabinet
hosted a meeting for religious leaders of the Greek Orthodox, Syriac
Orthodox, and Jewish communities on Buyukada, an island near Istanbul,
to address minority religious rights.
Religious groups generally faced administrative challenges when
employing foreign religious personnel, as did other entities when
employing foreigners. In December 2008 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
provided one-year visas for foreign clergy working at the Ecumenical
Patriarchate. Previously, such clergy had to leave and return every
three months to obtain new tourist visas.
The law restricts religious services to designated places of
worship. Municipal codes mandate that only the government can designate
a place of worship; if a religious group has no legal standing in the
country, it may not be eligible for a designated site. Non-Muslim
religious services, particularly for groups that did not own property
recognized by the GDF, often took place on diplomatic property or in
private apartments. While police and prosecutors did not take steps to
prevent or punish such gatherings, landlords were hesitant to rent to
groups without confirmation that they would not be harassed by the
police.
Many local officials continued to impose standards on churches,
such as minimum space requirements, that are not imposed on mosques. In
numerous incidents the Protestant community faced the requirement of
having to purchase 27,000 square feet of land in order to construct a
church, no matter the size of the congregation. Protestant
representatives also faced severe difficulty in receiving the legally
required municipal approval to build churches in centrally located
areas due to restrictive zoning laws.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul continued to seek to reopen
the Halki seminary on the island of Heybeli in the Sea of Marmara. The
seminary was closed in 1971 when the patriarchate, to avoid the
seminary being administered by the state, chose not to fulfill a
government requirement for all private institutions of higher learning
to nationalize. Under existing restrictions, religious communities
other than Sunni Muslims cannot train new clergy in the country for
eventual leadership in a manner acceptable to these communities.
Coreligionists from outside the country have been permitted to assume
leadership positions in a few cases, but in general all religious
community leaders, including patriarchs and chief rabbis, must be
citizens.
No law explicitly prohibits proselytizing or religious conversions;
however, many prosecutors and police regarded proselytizing and
religious activism with suspicion.
Several practicing foreign Christians who had lived with their
families in various cities for many years reported governmental
harassment during the year, including denial of residence and work
permits that had been granted in previous years, monitoring by the
Jandarma, and threats to themselves and their families. These persons
reported that they worshipped in their homes but did not proselytize by
distributing Bibles, going door to door, or undertaking similar
activities.
Authorities continued to enforce a ban in place since 1997 on
wearing headscarves at universities. Students who wore head coverings
were not permitted to register for classes, although some faculty
members permitted students to wear head coverings in class. Some wore
wigs instead.
The law establishes eight years of compulsory secular education,
after which students may pursue study at general state schools or
vocational high schools, which include imam hatip (Islamic preacher)
high schools. Graduates of vocational schools, as well as general state
schools, faced an automatic minimal reduction in their university
entrance examination grades if they applied for university programs
outside their field of high school specialization. This reduction made
it more difficult for imam hatip graduates to enroll in university
programs other than theology. Most families that enrolled their
children in imam hatip schools did so to expose them to more extensive
religious education, not to train them as imams. Students were
permitted to enroll in summer Koran classes provided by the Diyanet
after completing the fifth grade (about age 11). Individuals who have
completed the eighth grade or reached 16 years of age can attend
yearlong Koran courses provided by the Diyanet. Unofficial clandestine
Koran courses also existed outside the Diyanet's control.
The constitution establishes compulsory religious and moral
instruction in primary and secondary schools. Religious minorities are
exempted. However, a few religious minorities, such as Protestants and
Syrian Orthodox, faced difficulties in obtaining exemptions,
particularly if their identity cards did not list a religion other than
Islam. The government claimed that the religion courses covered the
range of world religions. However, religious minorities asserted the
courses reflected Sunni Islamic doctrine.
Many Alevis alleged discrimination in the government's failure to
include any of their doctrines or beliefs in religion courses. After
the ECHR ruled in 2007 in favor of an Alevi parent who in 2004 filed a
suit claiming the mandatory religion courses violated religious
freedom, the government added10 chapters of an overview of the Alevi
belief system to the textbook for religious and moral instruction. Most
Alevi organizations contended this addition was insufficient and
lobbied instead for the abolishment of compulsory religious courses.
The ``officially recognized'' minorities of Greek Orthodox,
Armenian Orthodox, and Jewish religious groups may operate schools
under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. Other Muslim and
non-Muslim minorities are not permitted to run schools of their own.
Numerous religious groups, particularly the Greek and Armenian
Orthodox communities, have lost property to the government and
continued to fight ongoing government efforts to expropriate
properties. Many such properties were lost because the law allows the
GDF to assume direct administration of properties that fall into disuse
when the size of the local non-Muslim community drops significantly.
The government expropriated other properties that were held in the name
of individual community members who emigrated or died without heirs.
The GDF also took control of non-Muslim foundations after the size of
the non-Muslim community in a particular district dropped below the
level required to elect foundation board members.
The law allows the 161 minority foundations recognized by the GDF
to acquire property, and in 2008 the GDF approved 365 applications by
non-Muslim foundations to acquire legal ownership of properties. A
February 2008 amendment to the law facilitated the return of
expropriated minority foundation properties; however, it does not
account for properties that have been sold to third parties or
expropriated when the associated foundations were taken under
government control. These conditions applied to the majority of
expropriated Greek Orthodox properties. The government extended a
provisional article allowing foundations to apply for expropriated
properties through August. The government was considering 1,200
applications at year's end.
On January 29, the Department of the Treasury initiated a case
against the Syriac Mor Gabriel Monastery in Midyat claiming 12 parcels
of land inside and outside the monastery walls. The Midyat court
decided in favor of the monastery on June 24. The department's appeal
to the Supreme Court was sent back to the Midyat court for more
information. On June 24, the monastery lost a court case brought
against it by the Department of Forestry that claimed ownership of 68
acres of land inside the monastery walls, and 15 acres adjacent to the
outer wall. In its defense the monastery presented tax records for the
property dating back to 1937 as well as ownership documents dating back
to 1935. An appeal filed by the monastery to the Supreme Court was sent
back to the Midyat court in December for more information.
In September 2008 a cadastre court upheld the results of a May 2008
cadastral regional land survey that reclaimed all but 30 percent of the
monastery's land. Also in September 2008, three village muhtars (the
lowest level elected official with no political affiliation and limited
local authority) in Midyat filed a criminal complaint against the
monastery alleging it illegally appropriated territory by building a
wall. A cadastre court ruled in favor of the monastery on May 22.
Official papers from the 1950s documented the provincial administrative
board's approval of the monastery's borders. The monastery did not have
legal status and was represented by a foundation established during the
Ottoman Empire. The muhtars appealed to the Supreme Court, and the case
was pending at year's end.
After a December 16 ECHR decision against the government on
Armenian property cases, the government paid the settlement but did not
restore the properties.
In July 2008 the ECHR ruled that the country had violated the
Ecumenical Patriarchate's property rights to a former orphanage on
Buyukada Island. However, a domestic court case continued at year's end
to determine the correct foundation owner.
The law has no provisions to accommodate those who conscientiously
object to military service. In December, Enver Aydemir was arrested for
refusing to perform military service because he stated it would
conflict with his Islamic beliefs. Aydemir did not consider himself a
conscientious objector.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Many Muslims, Christians, Jews
and Baha'is faced societal suspicion and mistrust. Jews and Christians
from most denominations freely practiced their religions and reported
little discrimination in daily life. However, religious minorities
asserted they were effectively blocked from careers in state
institutions.
Reports of attacks on persons practicing Christian faiths dropped.
Authorities took measures during the year to implement a 2007 Ministry
of Interior circular to governors requesting action to prevent violence
against non-Muslims. Non-Muslims in Ankara, Izmir, and Trabzon reported
that police took extra security measures during special religious
services.
On December 4, three men threatened a priest at the Diyarbakir
Syriac Orthodox Mother Mary Church with death if he did not demolish
the bell tower associated with the church within the week. The priest
reported the situation to the police, who arrested the men six days
later. The priest subsequently withdrew his complaint against them.
On August 3, a Christian was held hostage at knifepoint by Yasin
Karasu in Kadikoy, Istanbul, until police intervened. Karasu called the
hostage a ``missionary dog'' and accused him of breaking up the
country. Karasu was held in prison at year's end.
In 2007 a hand grenade was thrown into the courtyard of the house
of the president of the Syriac Churches Foundation in Mardin's Midyat
district. Police opened an investigation after the incident, but there
were no reports of an arrest or a court case by year's end.
The trial of 11 individuals, including five youths, alleged to have
killed three members of a Protestant church in Malatya in April 2007,
including a German citizen, continued at year's end. The victims were
found in the office of a company that publishes books on Christianity;
police caught four suspects as they tried to leave the building, while
a fifth jumped out of the window and was hospitalized. A total of 11
suspects were charged in connection with the killings, five of whom
remained in custody as the investigation continued. The trial began in
November 2007. Five defendants faced multiple life sentences for murder
and terrorist acts, and another two were charged with assisting in the
planning of the murders. On December 25, the prosecutor and plaintiffs
requested that the prosecutor for the Ergenekon trial probe the links
between the Malatya murders and the alleged Ergenekon plan to overthrow
the government. Istanbul prosecutors stated in December that they were
unable to find a connection between the two cases.
In 2007 security officials thwarted a planned attack on a priest at
St. Paul's Church in Antalya. The officials had been investigating a
suspect for his ties to other crimes when they intercepted a telephone
conversation in which he declared his intent to kill the priest. He
remained under arrest at year's end for his alleged involvement in five
cases of arson and was transferred to be tried in a military court for
having evaded military service. However, there was no indication that
authorities would file charges against him for the planned attack on
the priest.
Members of the Syriac community reported that Syriacs who were
forced to leave their southeastern villages during PKK-related violence
in the 1980s and 1990s faced fewer problems than in previous years when
attempting to return to their villages. Representatives of one Syriac
community claimed that the implementation of zoning laws at times
resulted in the loss of 40 to 50 percent of the properties of
individual Syriacs living in villages in the southeast. Previously,
local villagers, particularly village guards, often occupied the homes
of Syriacs who fled and refused to leave when the Syriacs attempted to
return.
A variety of newspapers and television shows continued to feature
anti-Christian and anti-Jewish messages, and anti-Semitic literature
was common in bookstores. In October the state-run television channel
began broadcasting the series ``Ayrilik'' (``Separation''), in which
Israeli soldiers were portrayed murdering children in the Palestinian
territories. A trailer of the series was also advertised in metro
stations in Istanbul. After complaints, the government worked with the
producers of the series to remove the offensive content.
The Jewish community numbered approximately 23,000. During the year
there were continued reports of anti-Semitic language in newspapers and
Web sites, as well as of continued societal antagonism and
discrimination. Following Israel's military action in Gaza that began
in December 2008, some newspaper columnists made anti-Semitic
statements, and billboards around Istanbul carried images of bloody
baby shoes and anti-Semitic statements. Some businesses in Eskisehir
posted signs reading, ``Dogs are welcome, but Jews and Armenians are
not allowed entry.''
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, at times the government limited these rights in
practice. The law provides that a citizen's freedom to leave the
country could be restricted only in the case of a national emergency,
civic obligations (e.g., military service), or criminal investigation
or prosecution. The government maintained a heavy security presence in
the southeast, including numerous roadway checkpoints. The government
generally cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally
displaced persons, refugees (recognized as such with certain
geographical limitations), returning refugees, asylum seekers awaiting
resettlement to third countries, stateless persons, and other persons
of concern.
In September 2008 the Constitutional Court annulled the legislative
arrangement authorizing the Council of Ministers to implement
``compulsory settlement'' at the suggestion of the National Security
Council. The court based its decision on article 23 of the
constitution, which forbids any limitation on the freedom of residence
except for the purpose of preventing offenses, promoting social and
economic development, ensuring sound and orderly urban growth, and
protecting public property. The verdict specified that a village cannot
be evacuated due to national security. During the year there were no
reports of villages being evacuated for security. Conversely, there
were reports of persons returning to villages near Bitlis, Sanliurfa,
and Mardin.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--There are IDPs in the country
from the PKK conflict, which began in 1984, continued at a high level
through the 1990s, and continued during the year. The government
reported that 368,360 citizens from 62,448 households migrated from the
southeast during the conflict, with many others departing before the
fighting. According to the TNP, 187,861 citizens returned voluntarily
to their villages during the year in the southeast.
Academic observers reported the number of displaced to be much
higher, ranging from 953,680 to 1,301,200 persons between 1986 and
2005. They stated the reason for the large discrepancy between
government and NGO figures was that the government included only
persons evacuated by the security forces from settlements, and not
those who were forced to flee because of general violence or for a
combination of security and economic reasons. Other factors
contributing to displacement that the violence in the southeast
exacerbated included rural-to-urban economic migration, large-scale
development projects, and natural disasters.
The law to compensate IDPs allows persons who suffered material
losses during the conflict with the PKK to apply for compensation. In
2007 parliament extended the duration of the law so that applicants
could apply for compensation through May. NGO observers noted that the
law was being implemented in a way contrary to the government's stated
purpose and principles of fair and appropriate redress. Rulings by
provincial commissions charged with the law's implementation were
described as inadequate and hindering those IDPs who would like to
return to their preconflict homes, and IDPs had no avenue of appeal.
Local NGOs and regional bar associations maintained that the law
included unreasonable documentation requirements and awarded levels of
compensation far below standards established by the ECHR. The
government denied it implemented the law unfairly.
The law compensates only losses suffered after 1987, leaving out
victims who suffered losses before that year. The Turkish Economic and
Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) reported that many victims who fled
the region because of the deteriorating economic and security situation
were unable to receive compensation because they could not demonstrate
a direct link between their losses and the actions of either the PKK or
security forces. Human Rights Watch(HRW) also noted that the government
refused to compensate those villagers in the southeast region displaced
prior to 1987.
There was no information at year's end on the status of the
administrative complaint filed in August 2007 with the Siirt
governorship after Jandarma and village guards forced a group of
villagers to leave their homes following the military's declaration of
a ``special security zone'' in the area. The villagers and their
belongings were forcibly removed, and their access to crops and
services in the village was blocked. There were some reports from
residents that the situation generally improved during the year.
Voluntary and assisted resettlements were ongoing. In a few cases,
persons could return to their former homes; in other cases, centralized
villages were constructed. The TNP reported it had provided
compensation of 349,982,716 lira (approximately $233,000,000) during
the year related to losses stemming from the fight against PKK
terrorists.
Foreign governments and national and international human rights
organizations continued to criticize the government's program for
assisting the return of IDPs as secretive and inadequate.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. However, the country ratified the
1967 protocol subject to a geographic limitation and therefore accepts
its obligations only with respect to refugees from Europe. An
administrative regulation provides for the granting of asylum or
refugee status. The government has not established a formal system or
legislation for providing protection to refugees. During the year the
Interior Ministry conducted a parallel refugee status determination
process subsequent to the UNHCR's determinations, affirming the
latter's decisions in all but three cases out of a total of
approximately 6,000. The individuals in those three cases were allowed
to depart the country.
The government requires that refugees who have no durable solution
in the country obtain exit permission before departing for resettlement
in third countries. One obstacle to exit permission is the residence
permit fee of 273 lira ($185) that regulations require refugees to pay
every six months in the city where they have been assigned to live by
the government. If the fees are not paid on time each six months, back
fees must be paid in full before the refugees can depart, and a late
fine is also assessed. There is no penalty for living outside of the
assigned city, as long as the fees are paid there. In some cases
families have been charged thousands of dollars in residence fees and
late fines before being allowed to depart the country. In one case a
family with eight members was asked to pay a $50,000 exit fine,
calculated according to a fee schedule set by the Ministry of Interior.
In most cases the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. In the first nine months of the year, 214 persons of interest
to the UNHCR were deported from the country and 135 had not registered
with the UNHCR. This was a significant decrease from the previous year,
when the number deported was 790. The UNHCR sometimes had difficulty
gaining access to interview potential refugees if they had already been
detained or arrested by security forces for illegal entry into the
country.
The government detained refugees and asylum seekers who entered the
country illegally or from a country other than their country of origin.
A total of 901 persons were detained in the first nine months of the
year; 100 were registered with the UNHCR. Detainees could be held for
months or years. Approximately 20 Iranians who entered the country from
Iraq had cases pending in the ECHR at year's end.
Iraqi citizens were generally able to obtain tourist visas upon
arrival at airports in the country. However, some foreigners, including
Iraqis, transiting the country on their way to Europe were returned to
their countries of origin when immigration authorities determined they
might seek asylum in Europe.
Illegal migrants detained near the country's eastern border areas
were more likely to be questioned about their asylum status and
referred for processing than those caught while transiting or
attempting to leave the country from other locations. However, access
to the national procedure for temporary asylum was hindered by the lack
of reception facilities for groups of interdicted migrants, potentially
including asylum seekers, and a lack of interpreters to assist security
officials.
The law does not have a strict time limit for asylum seekers or
require them to present a valid identity document. The law also
provides for a waiver of residence permit fees for asylum seekers in
``humanitarian situations.'' Despite this, the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that during the year some
refugees were charged fines for late registration before being
authorized to travel to Istanbul in order to leave the country for
their countries of resettlement.
The UNHCR reported successful interventions in most cases where
asylum seekers arrived lawfully in the country after transiting one or
more other countries. However, UNHCR access to persons in detention who
wished to apply for asylum, to ship stowaways who wished to apply for
asylum, and to persons trying to seek asylum while they were at the
international areas of the country's airports remained problems.
The government provided temporary protection to individuals who may
not qualify as refugees, including individuals of non-European origin.
According to the Ministry of Interior, during the year the government
provided temporary protection to 8,478 foreigners referred by the UNHCR
for resettlement to a third country. Refugees were not authorized to
work in the country and needed permission from Ministry of Interior
authorities to travel to Istanbul or Ankara, including for meetings
with the UNHCR or resettlement agencies.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage. However, the government restricted the activities of a few
political parties and leaders.
Elections and Political Parties.--The 2007 parliamentary elections
were held under election laws that the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) found established a framework for
democratic elections in line with international standards. The law
requires a party receive at least 10 percent of the valid votes cast
nationwide to enter parliament. Some political parties criticized the
10 percent threshold as unduly high.
In its observation report following the 2007 elections, the OSCE
noted that, despite a comprehensive legal framework for elections, a
number of laws that created the potential for uncertainty and scope for
arbitrary interpretation constrained political campaigning and freedom
of expression in a broader context. The OSCE also noted the positive
efforts made to enhance the participation of citizens of Kurdish origin
in political life. However, the election law continues to prohibit the
use of languages other than Turkish in an election campaign.
In a polarized political climate leading up to the 2007
presidential and parliamentary elections, the military issued three
statements emphasizing concern over what it regarded as deep threats
posed by religious fundamentalism, the military's role as the ultimate
defender of secularism, and the alleged weakening of secularism in the
country. Human rights groups characterized these statements as attempts
to exert pressure on the democratic process that were suggestive of the
military's disproportional influence over politics. In an October
report, the European Commission noted that the military ``continued to
exercise significant political influence via formal and informal
mechanisms.''
Municipal elections were held in March and were considered
generally free and fair.
Political parties and candidates could freely declare their
candidacy and run for election. The Court of Appeals chief prosecutor
could seek to close political parties for unconstitutional activities
by bringing a case before the Constitutional Court. In October the
European Commission noted that the closure procedures initiated in 2007
against the DTP illustrated that legal provisions on political parties
``form a system which, as a whole, is incompatible'' with the right to
freedom of association and freedom of expression guaranteed in the
European Convention on Human Rights.
On December 11, the Constitutional Court voted unanimously to close
the DTP for ``being a center of activities against the unity of the
state and the nation.'' The court's decision stated that it closed the
party because of DTP members' involvement in activities that
``supported the armed attacks'' of the terrorist PKK. The court also
found that the DTP was in ``touch and solidarity'' with the PKK. The
closure resulted in the banning of 37 DTP members from politics for
five years, including two members of parliament.
During the year police raided dozens of DTP offices, particularly
in the southeast, and detained hundreds of DTP officials and members.
Prosecutors also opened numerous investigations and trials against DTP
members. Police raids on DTP offices in Diyarbakir province resulted in
the detention of approximately 54 DTP members. Between December 24 and
31, more than 40 members of the DTP successor BDP, including local
elected mayors, were arrested and charged with ties to the KCK.
Jandarma and police regularly harassed DTP members through verbal
threats, arbitrary detentions at rallies, and detention at checkpoints.
Security forces also regularly harassed villagers they believed were
sympathetic to DTP. Although security forces released most detainees
within a short period, many faced trials, usually for supporting an
illegal organization or inciting separatism.
There were 49 women in the 550-seat parliament and two female
ministers in the 27-member cabinet.
More than 100 members of parliament and senior government
officials, including at least three ministers, were of Kurdish origin.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and some
officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The World Bank
Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption remained a
problem.
Government officials are required by law to declare their property
every five years; this requirement was generally fulfilled. The Prime
Ministry's Inspection Board, which advises the Corruption
Investigations Committee, is responsible for investigating major
corruption cases. Nearly every state agency has its own inspector corps
responsible for investigating internal corruption. The parliament can
establish investigative commissions to examine corruption allegations
concerning cabinet ministers or the prime minister. A majority vote is
needed to send these cases to the courts for further action.
The law provides for public access to government information;
however, the government occasionally rejected applications on national
security and other grounds, and there were no opportunities to appeal.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups operated
in many regions but faced government obstruction and restrictive laws
regarding their operations, particularly in the southeast. Government
officials were generally uncooperative and unresponsive to their views,
although cooperation increased during the year. Human rights
organizations and monitors as well as lawyers and doctors involved in
documenting human rights violations continued to face detention,
prosecution, intimidation, harassment, and formal closure orders for
their legitimate activities. Human rights organizations reported that
official human rights mechanisms did not function consistently and
failed to address grave violations.
The HRA had 29 branches nationwide and claimed a membership of
approximately 10,000. The HRF, established by the HRA, operated torture
rehabilitation centers in Ankara, Izmir, Istanbul, Diyarbakir, and
Adana as well as a ``mobile office'' in the southeastern region. It
also served as a clearinghouse for human rights information. Other
domestic NGOs included the Istanbul-based Helsinki Citizens Assembly,
the Ankara-based Turkish Democracy Foundation, the Turkish Medical
Association, human rights centers at a number of universities, and
Mazlum-Der.
In December 2008 HRA Adana secretary general Ethem Acikalin stood
trial in an Adana court where he faced two years in prison for
propagandizing for an illegal organization. Acikalin was charged after
chanting slogans during a 2007 press meeting commemorating the death of
28 inmates during a military operation in 2000. The trial continued at
year's end. On August 14, police raided DTP's provincial office in
Adana. Acikalin went to the DTP office as an observer joined by the HRA
accountant. Police allegedly broke the accountant's arm, and charges
were brought against Acikalin for resisting police. The trial had not
begun by year's end. On October 7, the Adana penal court convicted and
sentenced to 10 months in prison Acikalin for ``making propaganda for a
terrorist organization.'' Acikalin participated in a press conference
to discuss the killing of Kevser Mizrak during a police raid in Ankara
in January 2008. Acikalin was convicted earlier in the year for remarks
he made at a rally to protest conditions in prisons. He appealed that
case, which was ongoing at year's end. On October 9, in another case,
Acikalin was convicted to three years in prison for statements he made
regarding children who had been tried under antiterror legislation.
Numerous other court cases were outstanding against Acikalin at year's
end.
On June 12, a court convicted four members of HRA's Canakkale
branch, including its chairman, to 18 months' imprisonment each for
violating the Law on Demonstrations when they organized a ``September 1
World Peace Day'' gathering in 2007. An appeal remained pending at
year's end.
In 2007 the government initiated court proceedings to close the
HRA's Mersin branch claiming that the local representatives and members
were involved in activities incompatible with their positions and
accusing them of supporting the interests of ``illegal organizations.''
The case continued at year's end.
In February the Istanbul Administrative Court ordered the Istanbul
district governor's office to unfreeze three AI bank accounts frozen
since early 2007. The governor's office appealed the decision to the
Council of State; the appeal continued, but the money was unfrozen at
year's end. The case originated when the Istanbul governor's office
froze without notice the accounts, which were worth approximately
75,000 lira ($62,600) and belonged to the AI branch in the country. In
May 2007 the Beyoglu district governor's office issued a decision that
the NGO had participated in ``unauthorized fund raising'' but did not
specify the actions that had allegedly violated the law. In a June 2007
public statement, AI stated that it did not seek or accept money from
governments or political parties for its work. The statement noted the
organization's concern that the move was ``government harassment
intended to impede legitimate fundraising activities.''
The government generally cooperated with international
organizations such as the CPT, the UNHCR, and the IOM; however, some
international human rights workers reported that the government
purposefully harassed them or raised artificial bureaucratic obstacles
to prevent their work during the year.
The Prime Ministry's HRP was authorized to monitor the
implementation of legislation relating to human rights and to
coordinate the work of various government agencies in the field of
human rights. Despite lacking a budget and sufficient resources, the
HRP carried out a number of projects with the European Commission and
Council of Europe.
During the year the HRP promoted human rights by showing short
films on topics such as freedom of expression, discrimination,
children's rights, and torture. The HRP maintained a free, emergency
human rights hotline called ``Alo 150'' where individuals could report
information on human rights violations for transmission to the
appropriate government body.
There were provincial human rights councils under the HRP in all 81
provinces and their constituent subprovinces. These bodies served as a
forum for human rights consultations among NGOs, professional
organizations, and the government. They had the authority to
investigate complaints and to refer them to the prosecutor's office.
However, many councils failed to hold regular meetings or effectively
to fulfill their mandates. The HRA generally refused to participate on
the councils, maintaining that they lacked authority and independence.
In December 2008 the Constitutional Court annulled the Ombudsman
Law, citing its incompatibility with the constitution; its decision
went into effect on April 4. The decision followed an application to
the court by then-president Ahmet Necdet Sezer in 2006.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, religion,
disability, language, or social status; however, the government did not
enforce these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape; however,
the government did not effectively enforce the law. That victims often
waited days or weeks to report incidents for fear of embarrassment or
reprisals hindered effective prosecution of assailants. Cases of rape
were underreported.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a serious and
widespread problem. The law prohibits violence against women, including
spousal abuse, but the government did not effectively enforce it. In
April the government created a program to train judicial personnel on
the prevention of violence against women. From May to October, the
government conducted seven seminars to train more than 90 judges and 90
prosecutors. Domestic human rights organizations reported these laws
were partially but increasingly effective; more women called the police
emergency hotline to report domestic violence and went to police
stations to file abuse reports.
In 2007 the government established a hotline to prevent the
exploitation of women, children, persons with disabilities, and senior
citizens. From the beginning of the year until October 31, the hotline
received 80,995 calls: 5,328 were from women exposed to violence asking
to be put into shelters, and 5,739 regarded negligence and exploitation
of women.
Women's NGOs reported that more than 150,000 women were victims of
domestic violence between 2001 and 2005, the latest period for which
statistics were available. The Institution for Social Services and
Orphanages operated 29 women's shelters with a total capacity of 650
for female victims of domestic violence and rape. The municipalities
operated 19 women's shelters with a capacity of 609. The government
reported that provincial government offices, municipalities, and NGOs
operated 54 shelters and that one private foundation operated a
shelter. Observers noted an inadequate number of shelters in towns with
populations of more than 50,000.
Persons convicted of honor killings may receive life imprisonment.
The TNP reported 43 honor killings and three attempted honor killings
through August. Most of these were in conservative families in the
southeast or among migrants from the southeast living in large cities.
Because of sentence reductions for juvenile offenders, observers noted
that young male relatives often were designated to perform such
killings.
Due to penalties for honor killings, family members pressured girls
to commit suicide in order to preserve the family's honor. Government
officials worked with advocacy groups to hold town hall meetings and
set up rescue teams and hotlines for endangered women and girls.
KA-MER, the leading women's organization in the southeast, reported
63 women from the eastern and southeastern parts of the country
contacted it to report that their family had threatened them with honor
killings. Of these, 17 were between 13 and 18 years old, 29 were
between 19 and 30 years old, and 17 were between 31 and 44 years old.
The father or husband decided the fate of the woman in the vast
majority of the cases. Increased education levels correlated with a
drop in the rate of such crimes. KA-MER complained that, while in the
past the police had shared statistics on suicides in such situations,
the police did not share that information during the year.
In April, 24-year-old Leyla Gok was beaten to death in Siirt's Eruh
district, apparently because of her alleged affair with a married man.
The woman had returned to her family after living with her boyfriend
for some time. The family reportedly did not take the body from the
hospital, and the victim was buried by municipal officials. After
testimonies, Gok's brother, Hayrettin, was released and her boyfriend,
Sukru Batuhan, was detained in connection with the death. The case
continued at year's end.
In November in the Ceylanpinar district of Sanliurfa in the
southeast, Aysel Cadir was shot and killed by Muslum Bakir, her husband
via an unofficial religious marriage. The victim's mother claimed that
the decision to kill her was made by the husband and his ``family
council.'' Cadir was reportedly three months pregnant. Bakir was in
custody and the case continued at year's end.
In January the Van penal court sentenced five members of the same
family, including an older brother, father, mother, and two uncles, to
life imprisonment for the 2006 murder of 15-year-old Naile Erdas, who
was killed after giving birth to a child conceived during a rape.
Another uncle was sentenced to 16 years and eight months.
Prostitution is legal.
The law provides different penalties for the crimes of sexual
harassment and sexual assault, requiring two to seven years'
imprisonment for sexual assault and three months' to two years'
imprisonment plus a fine for sexual harassment. Women's rights
activists maintained both laws were rarely enforced.
On September 16, the Bursa penal court sentenced Huseyin Uzmez, a
journalist, to 15 years and nine months in prison for sexually
harassing a minor 14-year-old girl and disturbing her mental health.
Couples and individuals in the country have the right to decide the
number, spacing, and timing of children, and have the information and
means to do so free from discrimination. Women and men were given equal
access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted
infections.
A 2008 survey of health and demographics by the Health Ministry
showed an improvement in mother and child health indicators over the
previous five years, although regional disparities existed.
Under the law women enjoy the same rights as men; however, societal
and official discrimination were widespread. The Directorate General on
the Status and Problems of Women under the State Ministry in Charge of
Family Affairs is responsible for promoting equal rights and raising
awareness of discrimination against women. In March the parliament
established the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men to
monitor developments on gender equality, give opinions on draft laws,
and propose steps to align legislation and practice with international
agreements. It also examined complaints of allegations of inequality
between women and men and gender-based discrimination.
Women continued to face discrimination in employment and were
generally underrepresented in managerial-level positions as well as in
government. According to a November report by the European Commission,
the levels of women's employment and their political participation
nationally and regionally were low. Women generally received equal pay
for equal work in professional, business, and civil service positions,
although a large percentage of women employed in agriculture and in the
retail, restaurant, and hotel sectors worked as unpaid family labor.
The World Economic Forum reported during the year that women earned 61
percent of what their male counterparts earned for similar work. The
European Commission's report in October stated that men involved in
manufacturing work earned twice as much as women in the same field.
According to the European Commission's report in October, a
legislative amendment granted public contractors the right to paid
maternity leave at the same rate as public servants.
Children.--There is universal birth registration in the country,
but parents were generally discouraged from giving their children non-
Turkish names. However, late in the year several parents were allowed
to register Kurdish names for their children.
The government was committed to furthering children's welfare and
worked to expand opportunities in education and health.
While education through age 14 or the eighth grade was free,
universal, and compulsory, only 40 percent of children received a high
school diploma, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development. One in 10 girls reportedly did not attend compulsory
primary school.
Child abuse was a problem. There were honor killings of girls by
immediate family members, sometimes by juvenile male relatives. There
were reports that children were trafficked for sexual exploitation.
In November the Malatya penal court sentenced nine women to three
years and one month each in prison, and one woman for four years and
two months in the criminal trial opened against 12 orphanage employees
accused of abusing children at the Malatya State Orphanage in 2005. Two
other women were acquitted for lack of evidence. The Malatya penal
court had previously sentenced eight orphanage employees to one year in
prison for ``neglecting their duties'' but postponed execution of the
sentence in March 2008.
Child marriage occurred, particularly in poor, rural regions;
however, women's rights activists claimed that underage marriage became
less common in the country in recent years.
The law defines 17 as the minimum age for marriage, although
children as young as 12 were at times married in unofficial religious
ceremonies. In rare instances families engaged in ``cradle
arrangements,'' agreeing that their newborn children would marry at a
later date, well before reaching the legal age.
The minimum age of consent in the country is 15. The law provides
for imprisonment of six months to two years for statutory rape; the
sentence is doubled if the offender is more than five years older than
the victim.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked to
and within the country for sexual exploitation and labor.
The country was a destination point for women and children
trafficked primarily for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.
The TNP identified 78 trafficking victims during the year. The TNP
stated that no male victims were identified or assisted during the
year. Source countries for identified trafficking victims included
Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Romania, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia,
Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Most foreign victims
were trafficked for sexual exploitation in Istanbul and Antalya,
although victims were identified in cities throughout the country.
Typically, small networks of foreign nationals and citizens,
relying on referrals and recruitment from friends and family members in
the source country, trafficked foreign victims to the country.
According to local experts and researchers, most victims arrived in the
country knowing they would work in the sex industry but were
subsequently threatened physically or emotionally and trapped. In fewer
cases others were known to have arrived in the country to work as
domestic servants and were exploited in that industry or trafficked
into the commercial sex industry. In some cases traffickers reportedly
continued to use physical force and threats to family members to force
women into prostitution.
Penalties for trafficking in persons are sufficiently stringent and
commensurate with prescribed penalties for other grave crimes, such as
sexual assault. Under the penal code, the penalties for trafficking
include eight to 12 years' imprisonment and heavy fines.
During the first 10 months of the year, the TNP reported that it
had captured 271 trafficking suspects. A total of 198 were arrested, 57
were released pending trial, 15 fled, and one was in jail for an
unrelated crime.
During the year the TNP initiated an investigation against six of
its personnel for alleged involvement in trafficking. The
investigations continued at year's end.
During the year the media occasionally alleged that police and
other government officials participated in trafficking. According to
press reports, authorities carried out operations during the year and
detained some individuals, including military and police officers, who
were involved in employing foreign women as prostitutes.
An ambassadorial-level official from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs served as national coordinator of the government's Task Force
on Human Trafficking which also included representatives from the
Ministries of Health, Interior, Justice, Finance, Labor, and the Prime
Ministry as well as from NGOs, the IOM, and municipalities.
The government actively participated in international
antitrafficking investigations and met regularly with neighboring
countries and regional groups promoting regional cooperation in
antitrafficking law enforcement. The government has signed bilateral
antitrafficking cooperation memorandums of understanding and protocols
with regional source countries, including Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine,
Moldova, and Kyrgyzstan.
NGOs operated three shelters for trafficking victims in the
country, located in Ankara, Istanbul, and Antalya. The Antalya shelter
opened in June. The shelters in Ankara and Antalya received free rent
from the municipalities, and the Ministry of Health provided free
medical care to victims in the shelters. The Istanbul municipality
stopped funding the shelter there in June 2008, but core services were
not affected. Government financial support for these protection
mechanisms was inconsistent. During the year the Istanbul shelter
assisted 44 victims; through December the Ankara shelter assisted 37
victims.
The government encouraged victims to participate in trafficking
investigations and prosecutions; however, most chose to return to their
countries of origin and declined to participate in the prosecutions,
most often due to fear of authorities or of retaliation by the alleged
trafficker. During the year police began taping interviews with
trafficked victims to use as evidence if the victim returned to their
country of origin before trials commenced.
The Ministry of Justice through local bar associations provided
free legal services to foreign victims choosing to remain in the
country and to testify against traffickers. Foreign victims identified
by authorities may apply for humanitarian visas to remain in the
country for up to six months and may then apply for renewal for another
six months. The government had a national referral mechanism which it
implemented in partnership with the IOM and the shelters and which
included the voluntary and safe return of victims. The IOM assisted 75
trafficking victims during the year, two of whom were men that IOM
stated were trafficked for labor in a factory.
The IOM operated a toll-free hotline for trafficking victims that
was answered in Russian, Romanian/Moldovan, English, and Turkish and
could receive international calls. Since 2005, 165 victims have been
removed from trafficking situations through the assistance of the
hotline.
In July the government began a new international antitrafficking
public awareness campaign with Russia and Moldova that used television
and radio advertisements to promote trafficking awareness and the
trafficking-victim hotline.
Antitrafficking training courses continued to be held in the
country throughout the year. TNP officers received training in six
cities. Law enforcement officers, judges, and prosecutors participated
in ``train the trainers'' courses that focused on countertrafficking
skills, such as victim identification and interviewing.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or in the provision of other state services; the
government generally enforced the law effectively. The law does not
mandate access to buildings and public transportation for persons with
disabilities, and access in most cities was limited. The Presidency
Administration for Disabled People under the Prime Ministry is
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
According to the European Commission, mental health hospitals and
rehabilitation centers did not provide sufficient medical care or
treatment. In November the Initiative for Human Rights in Mental Health
reported on research conducted in 12 mental health care centers between
June 2007 and October 2008 with permission of the Ministry of Health
and Social Services and the Child Protection Agency. The report cited a
need to increase the number of professional care staff, to improve
hygienic conditions, to vary treatment beyond only antipsychotic drugs
and antidepressants, and to allow for greater freedom of movement.
In November 2008 a clandestinely filmed documentary on the state of
public facilities for children in the country was broadcast in the
United Kingdom. Earlier in the year, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson
used a disguise to enter and film two care centers for children with
mental and physical disabilities for use in the documentary. The expose
showed children tied to their beds with fabric and poor caretaking
conditions at Saray Rehabilitation Center in Ankara and Zeytinburnu
Center for the Care of Disabled Children in Istanbul. Prosecutors
opened an investigation into Ferguson's activities, accusing her of
breaking privacy laws when she clandestinely filmed the children. Press
reports in September indicated that the government requested the United
Kingdom to extradite Ferguson to the country to stand trial. There was
no movement on the case by year's end.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides a single
nationality designation for all citizens and does not recognize
national, racial, or ethnic minorities. Citizens of Kurdish origin
constituted a large ethnic and linguistic group. Millions of the
country's citizens identified themselves as Kurds and spoke Kurdish.
Kurds who publicly or politically asserted their Kurdish identity or
publicly espoused using Kurdish in the public domain risked censure,
harassment, or prosecution.
In March 2008 the NGO Minority Rights Group International reported
that millions of persons who belonged to ethnic, linguistic, and
religious minorities faced systematic repression and that many
minorities remained unrecognized. The report noted that the law is
interpreted to protect only three religious minorities--Armenian
Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Greek Orthodox Christians--and not other
ethnic and religious minorities, such as Alevis, Yezidis, Assyrians,
Kurds, Jafaris, Circassians, Laz, and Roma. The report stated that
these ``excluded minorities'' were prohibited from fully exercising
their linguistic, religious, and cultural rights and faced intense
pressure to assimilate.
In January the government initiated regular, 24-hour Kurdish
broadcasts on ``Shesh TV'' after a brief pilot period the month prior
and lifted restrictions on use of Kurdish by inmates in prison. In
November, RTUK began allowing private television stations to broadcast
in languages other than Turkish.
Roma continued to face persistent discrimination and problems with
access to education, health care, and housing. The government took no
apparent steps during the year to assist the Romani community. The
European Roma Rights Center, the Helsinki Citizens Assembly, and the
Edirne Roma Culture Research and Solidarity Association conducted a
program to train the Romani community on civil society organization and
activism. Literacy courses for Romani women offered by the Roma Culture
and Solidarity Association of Izmir continued. Associations celebrated
International Roma Day in Ankara.
The Roma living in the Sulukule neighborhood of Istanbul faced the
destruction of their homes and were relocated outside of the city due
to an urban renewal project sponsored by the municipality.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--While the law does not
explicitly discriminate against homosexuals, organizations working with
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals claimed that
references in the law relating to ``the morals of society'' and
``unnatural sexual behavior'' were sometimes used as a basis for abuse
by police and discrimination by employers. The law also states that
``no association may be founded for purposes against law and
morality.'' This article was applied in attempts to shut down or limit
the activities of NGOs working on LGBT matters.
On October 16, the Diyanet released a decision declaring that
homosexuality is ``a behavior disorder and has been spreading in a
scary way within society ... homosexuality cannot be accepted.'' The
decision went on to state that homosexuality ``is against human nature,
and it should be corrected without targeting homosexuals.''
On June 28, a LGBT pride parade and celebration occurred in
Istanbul. Police provided protection to the celebrations, and no
incidents of violence were reported. The event had heavy participation
and coverage by European observers. According to NGOs, LGBT events with
foreign participation generally occurred without incident while those
without foreigners had much higher levels of police interference.
Openly gay men were not allowed to perform military service for
``health reasons'' due to their sexual orientation; those requesting
military exemption for reasons of sexual orientation must undergo an
invasive burden of proof. LGBT groups complained that gay men were
required to show photos of themselves in overt sexual positions and to
undergo thorough medical evaluations to prove their homosexuality to
military officials.
There were active LGBT organizations in at least five cities in the
country: Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Eskisehir, and Diyarbakir. Other
unofficial groups existed in smaller cities. All groups complained of
harassment by police and government authorities. Most had problems
registering as an official organization or maintaining their
registration once granted. In May protesters stoned an Ankara-based
group during a press conference on LGBT matters. When the police
arrived, instead of protecting the group, they told the group members
that they ``should have known better'' and demanded that they end their
press conference and leave. None of the stone throwers was arrested.
On October 16, the Izmir prosecutor filed a case at the behest of
the Izmir governor to close Black Pink Triangle (BPT), an LGBT rights
organization in Izmir, on charges of forming an organization that was
``contrary to public morality.'' BPT claimed that their charter was
identical to the charters of similar organizations in Ankara and
Istanbul. The trial had not begun by year's end.
In 2007 Bilgi University students established the country's first
gay and lesbian university club. Approximately 15 parents lodged
complaints with the university's administration, and the Turkish Higher
Education Council opened an inquiry into the university. Bilgi's dean
of students, Halit Kakinc, responded that closing the club would
violate human rights. The club was operating normally at the end of the
year.
LGBT groups claimed that transgender individuals were significantly
persecuted during the year. Although police arrested many for
unauthorized prostitution, NGOs claimed that during the year there was
a significant rise in prosecutions for ``offending public morals.'' One
group reported that many transgender individuals were fined for
frequenting stores or walking on city streets, officially for
``disturbing the environment'' or ``disrupting traffic.'' Police
claimed they were acting on complaints they had received. Transgender
individuals filed a case in Istanbul court against the police in
October for harassment, but there was no movement on the case by year's
end.
The HRF and LGBT organizations reported that the former police
chief in Izmir had instituted a ``point system'' whereby officers were
rewarded for fining transgender individuals. After the same police
chief took command in Istanbul, there was reportedly a large increase
in the number of detentions and fines for ``offending public morals.''
Similar cases were reported in Ankara and other municipalities as well.
Many observers noted that this practice had contributed to an increase
in the levels of abuse of transgender individuals by security forces.
There was no government response to these allegations by year's end.
On March 10, prominent transgender rights activist Ebru Soykan was
stabbed numerous times and killed in her home in Istanbul. Police
arrested Birol Can Korkmaz for the murder. Soykan had made numerous
complaints to the police and the prosecutor that Korkmaz had beaten her
on several occasions and asked for protection. The criminal case was
ongoing at year's end.
On May 20, Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, a soccer referee, lost his job
because of his self-identification as gay. He had been hired and had a
long career as a referee despite his not having done his military
service. According to the national soccer league's regulations, anyone
who fails to complete his military service for health reasons is unfit
to perform as a referee. Since Dincdag was precluded from military
service for being gay, he was declared unfit to act as a referee and
was fired.
On August 9, the trial began for Yahya Yildiz, accused of killing
his son, Ahmet Yildiz, in July 2008 in Istanbul. The case has been
described as a gay ``honor killing''; Yildiz allegedly killed his son
because he had a boyfriend. Ahmet Yildiz had represented the country in
an international gay gathering in San Francisco in 2007.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--NGOs complained that
the National AIDS Commission did not have adequate funding or staffing
to deal with HIV/AIDS during the year. The EU reported in 2007 an
estimated 2,500 persons with HIV/AIDS in the country. The Positive Life
Association (PLA) reported a rapid increase of new cases of HIV/AIDS in
the country, much higher than the worldwide average, although
statistics were unavailable.
The Court of Appeals confirmed a labor court decision in December
that a worker had been fired wrongly for testing positive for HIV. The
PLA complained that the media and medical professionals did not respect
the privacy of individuals with HIV/AIDS and often reported their names
in the media.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides most but not all
workers with the right to associate and to form unions subject to
diverse restrictions; most workers exercised this right in practice.
The government maintained a number of restrictions on the right of
association. Certain public sector employees are excluded from
organizing.
A minimum of seven persons may establish unions without prior
permission. There are no restrictions on membership or participation of
individuals or unions in regional, national, or international labor
organizations, but such participation must be reported to the
government. Labor law prohibits union leaders from becoming officers of
or otherwise performing duties for political parties, from working for
or being involved in the operation of any profit-making enterprise, and
from displaying any political party logos or symbols in any union or
confederation publications. Unions are required to notify government
officials prior to holding meetings or rallies (which must be held in
officially designated areas) and to allow government representatives to
attend their conventions and to record the proceedings; these
requirements were usually enforced.
Although official government statistics issued in July indicated
that 60 percent of the labor force was unionized, union officials noted
that figure included retirees and others no longer on the active list
of unionized employees. Most labor experts in the country estimated
that approximately 20 percent of the wage and salary workers in the
labor force were unionized.
The law provides for the right to strike; however, the law requires
a union to take a series of steps, including negotiations and
nonbinding mediation, before calling a strike. The law prohibits unions
from engaging in secondary (solidarity), political, or general
(involving multiple unions over a large geographical area) strikes or
in work slowdowns.
The law prohibits strikes by civil servants; public workers engaged
in safeguarding life and property; and workers in the coal mining and
petroleum industries, sanitation services, national defense, banking,
and education. In these sectors labor disputes were resolved through
binding arbitration. However, many workers in these sectors conducted
strikes in violation of these restrictions with general impunity. The
majority of strikes during the year were illegal according to law;
while some illegal strikers were dismissed, in most cases employers did
not retaliate.
The Ministry of Labor reported that through September 30, there
were 13 strikes involving 34 workplaces.
On December 15, workers from the former TEKEL state monopoly for
tobacco and alcohol held a peaceful demonstration in Ankara to protest
the change in labor conditions after privatization of the industry. Ali
Can Aykel, a member of the Mus branch of the Tekgida-Is union, was
allegedly beaten so severely by police that he faced paralysis and was
taken to the hospital. At year's end no investigation had begun into
the incident.
At a May Day union demonstration in Istanbul the police used force
against protesters. The peaceful demonstration was to commemorate the
1977 killing of 37 workers in Istanbul. Although the KESK, DISK, and
Turk-Is labor confederations had requested to hold the demonstration in
Taksim Square, where the 1977 attack had occurred, the government
denied the request. The demonstrators gathered there anyway, and the
police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Subsequently, the DISK
headquarters, where several protesters had gathered, was blocked and
inundated with tear gas. There were additional reports of mistreatment
by the police following the arrest of union leaders.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law and
diverse government restrictions and interference limited the ability of
unions to conduct their activities, including collective bargaining.
Industrial workers and some public sector employees, excluding white-
collar civil servants and state security personnel, have the right to
bargain collectively, and approximately 1.3 million workers, or 5.4
percent of the workforce, were under collective bargaining agreements.
The law requires that, in order to become a bargaining agent, a union
must represent 50 percent plus one of the employees at a given work
site and 10 percent of all the workers in that particular industry.
This requirement favored established unions. The International Trade
Union Confederation (ITUC) claimed that the law resulted in workers in
many sectors not being covered by collective agreements.
On November 25, 2.5 million civil servants held a nationwide strike
to demand the right to strike. The unions sought to compel the
government to enforce the November 2008 ECHR decision declaring that
civil servants have the right to strike. The government maintained its
position that the strike was illegal and initiated investigations and
temporary suspensions for some of the protestors.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination; however, such
discrimination occurred occasionally in practice. If a court ruled that
a worker was unfairly dismissed and should either be reinstated or
compensated, the employer generally paid compensation to the employee
along with a fine. ITUC reported that private sector employers
sometimes ignored the law and dismissed workers in order to discourage
union activity.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
the country's 21 free trade and export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women, men, and minors were trafficked for commercial
sexual exploitation (see section 6). Internal trafficking of citizens
for both legal and illegal prostitution was also reported.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace;
however, the government did not effectively implement them. There were
four child victims documented in 2008, with the number of Uzbek and
Turkmen victims increasing. The use of child labor was particularly
notable in agriculture, carpentry, the shoemaking and leather goods
industry, the auto repair industry, small-scale manufacturing, and
street sales. Some parents forced their children to work on the streets
selling tissues or food, shining shoes, or begging.
The law prohibits the employment of children younger than 15 and
prohibits children under 16 from working more than eight hours a day.
At age 15 children may engage in light work, provided they remain in
school. The law provides that no person shall be required to perform
work unsuitable for their age, gender, or capabilities, and the
government prohibits children from working at night or in areas such as
underground mining. The law prohibits school-age children from working
more than two hours per day or 10 hours per week.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security effectively enforced
these restrictions in workplaces that were covered by the labor law,
which included medium- and large-scale industrial and service sector
enterprises. A number of sectors are not covered by the law, including
agricultural enterprises employing 50 or fewer workers, maritime and
air transportation, family handicraft businesses, and small shops
employing up to three persons.
Nonetheless, child labor was widespread. In a child labor survey
conducted in the last quarter of 2006 and released in April 2007, the
State Statistical Institute reported that the number of child laborers
between the ages of six and 17 was 960,000. These figures represented a
decrease over previous years. The study found that 84.7 percent of
children ages six to 17 attended school and that the 31.5 percent of
children in that age group who were employed were also attending school
at least part-time.
An informal system provided work for young boys at low wages, for
example, in auto repair shops. Girls were rarely seen working in
public, but many were kept out of school to work in handicrafts,
particularly in rural areas. According to the 2006 child labor survey,
40.9 percent of child labor occurred in the agricultural sector, with
52.4 percent of employed children working in rural areas, compared with
47.7 percent working in urban areas. Many children worked in areas not
covered by labor laws, such as agricultural workplaces with fewer than
50 workers or the informal economy. To combat this problem, the
Ministry of National Education conducted a program in cooperation with
the UN Children's Fund designed to provide primary education for at-
risk girls. By year's end the program resulted in the primary-school
enrollment of nearly 74,500 additional girls and 52,800 additional
boys.
Small enterprises preferred child labor because it was cheaper and
provided practical training for the children, who subsequently had
preference for future employment in the enterprise. If children
employed in these businesses were registered with a Ministry of
National Education training center, they were required to go to the
center once a week for training, and the centers were obligated by law
to inspect their workplaces. According to data provided by the
ministry, there were 311 centers located in 81 cities; these centers
provided apprenticeship training in 133 occupations. The government
identified the worst forms of child labor as working in the streets, in
industrial sectors where their health and safety were at risk, and as
agricultural migrant workers.
There were reports that children were trafficked for sexual
exploitation.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor's 2008 report on the
worst forms of child labor, approximately 50,000 children worked on
streets in 10 provinces. The government's Social Services and Child
Protection Institution operated 37 centers to assist such children.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of 693
lira ($465) per month did not provide a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. All workers covered by the labor law are also
covered by the law establishing a national minimum wage. This law was
effectively enforced by the Ministry of Labor Inspection Board. The
Turk-Is labor confederation reported that the minimum wage was
insufficient, determining that a monthly minimum of 2,588 lira ($1,725)
per household was needed to stay out of poverty and to meet a family's
minimum basic needs.
The law establishes a 45-hour workweek with a weekly rest day and
limits overtime to three hours per day for up to 270 hours a year.
Premium pay for overtime is mandated, but the law allows for employers
and employees to agree to a flextime schedule. The Labor Inspectorate
of the Ministry of Labor effectively enforced wage and hour provisions
in the unionized industrial, service, and government sectors, which
covered approximately 12 percent of workers. Workers in other sectors
had difficulty receiving overtime pay, although by law they were
entitled to it.
The law mandates occupational health and safety regulations;
however, in practice the Ministry of Labor Inspection Board did not
carry out effective inspection and enforcement programs.
In December an explosion killed 10 workers at a privately owned
mine near Mustafakemalpasa, in Bursa province. Following the incident,
the government closed down the mine. Mining accidents reportedly
occurred often due to safety violations, outdated equipment, and
inadequate safety inspections.
Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations that
endangered health or safety without jeopardy to their employment,
although reports of them doing so were rare. Authorities effectively
enforced this right.
__________
UKRAINE
Ukraine, with a population of 46 million, is a multiparty,
democratic republic with a parliamentary-presidential system of
government. Executive authority is shared by a directly elected
president and a unicameral Verkhovna Rada (parliament), which selects a
prime minister as head of government. Elections in 2007 for the 450-
seat parliament were considered free and fair. A presidential election
is scheduled for January 2010. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
Human rights problems included reports of serious police abuse,
beatings, and torture of detainees and prisoners; harsh conditions in
prisons and detention facilities; arbitrary and lengthy pretrial
detention; an inefficient and corrupt judicial system; and incidents of
anti-Semitism. Corruption in the government and society was widespread.
There was violence and discrimination against women, children, Roma,
Crimean Tatars, and persons of non-Slavic appearance. Trafficking in
persons continued to be a serious problem, and there were reports of
police harassment of the gay community. Workers continued to face
limitations to form and join unions, and to bargain collectively.
During the year the government established the Office of the
Governmental Commissioner for Anticorruption Policy, and the Ministry
of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General's Office introduced a
new system to improve the recording of hate-motivated crimes.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
the media reported that one person in Cherkasy Oblast was killed while
in custody.
As of October 1, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that
five criminal investigations of police personnel had been initiated on
suspicion of, or charges of, unlawful killing. No further information
about the investigations was available.
There were few developments in the government's ongoing
investigation of the 2004 dioxin poisoning of then opposition
presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko. On March 31, parliament
established a one-year, ad hoc commission to investigate the poisoning.
In 2008 President Yushchenko stated that he knew who organized the
poisoning and that the government had requested extradition of the
suspect from Russia. Russia's prosecutor general denied that the
request was made. On July 8, the head of the parliamentary commission,
Volodymyr Sivkovych, announced that the commission found no proof that
Yushchenko was intentionally poisoned and attributed the lack of
progress in the investigation to inactivity by the Prosecutor General's
Office (PGO) and investigators.
On April 23, Hazeta po-Ukrayinsky reported that the body of Oleh
Parkhomenko, a 34-year-old Cherkasy oblast resident who had been in
administrative detention, was found near a road outside the town of
Monastyrshche. Parkhomenko's body was covered with bruises, and his
legs, ribs, and nose were broken. His relatives claimed he was tortured
by district police. Forensic experts could not establish the cause of
his death; police declined to explain why his body was found on the
road and denied torturing him. Parkhomenko's coworker, Ihor Melnyk, who
was also detained by police, told journalists that he too was tortured
by police who tried to force him to confess to stealing two tractors.
He alleged that police promised that he would be released in two years
if he pleaded guilty and threatened additional charges if he refused to
confess.
On June 16, Valeriy Oliynyk of Kirovohrad Oblast died under
suspicious circumstances following an incident involving a member of
parliament, the oblast district prosecutor, and the local chief of
police. According to reports the three men pursued Oliynyk into a
wooded area were they assaulted him, broke his leg, and shot him
multiple times. The Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case
into the death. On July 3, parliament stripped Viktor Lozynskiy of his
mandate; he remained missing. Authorities arrested and dismissed the
district prosecutor and the police chief.
On June 24, Human Rights Ombudsman Nina Karpachova reported in an
address to parliament that a court in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast sentenced
its chief of investigations to nine years in prison, and his
subordinate police officers to eight years for the beating death in
2007 of detainee Petro Khudak.
On July 21, authorities arrested a former senior Ministry of
Internal Affairs official in connection with the high-profile murder in
2000 of investigative journalist Georgiy Gongadze. Prosecutors alleged
that Oleksiy Pukach, who headed the ministry's surveillance department
at the time of the killing, led a group of police officers in the
abduction and murder of Gongadze, whose headless corpse was found in a
forest outside of the capital, Kyiv. In 2008 three police officers were
convicted and sentenced to long jail terms for the killing. Pukach was
first detained in 2003 on suspicion of involvement with the murder. He
was subsequently released and was missing until his arrest. Members of
Gongadze's family and journalists who investigated the case continued
to maintain that Pukach acted on orders from senior government
officials in the presidential administration who wanted to silence
Gongadze. The case was ongoing at year's end.
On December 16, a court in Sumy Oblast found six police officers
guilty of the October 2008 death of Serhiy Kuntsevsky who died in
custody after police raped and beat him to extract a confession. Two
senior officers, who were personally involved in torturing the suspect,
were sentenced to eight years in prison; two others received four-year
prison sentences, and the remaining two received suspended sentences of
42 months and three years. Three other officers were acquitted, but
prosecutors appealed the ruling.
There were no reported developments in several cases from previous
years, including that of a Roma man who died in the Vinnytsia penal
colony in July 2008 after he was allegedly beaten by facility
personnel; of the police officer from Sumy Oblast who allegedly shot
and killed a suspect from Trostyanets during interrogation in 2007; and
of personnel at the Lukianivka pretrial detention facility charged with
negligence that resulted in two deaths in 2007.
There was at least one report of a death of soldiers from hazing or
other mistreatment. On November 18, the LIGA news service reported that
the Odesa garrison procuracy launched a criminal case against a captain
who allegedly shot and killed 18-year-old Anton Morozov in Chornomorske
village. The government ordered the Defense Ministry to investigate
this and similar incidents.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and the law prohibit such practices;
however, there were reports that police continued to abuse and torture
persons in custody.
On February 9, a report of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention cited multiple concerns that arose from a monitoring visit in
October 2008 to 21 facilities in eight cities. Among them were
``numerous, consistent and often credible allegations received from
various sources...of confessions obtained under torture from detainees
of the militsia, the Ukrainian police force.''
According to the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU) and
other local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), an estimated one-
third of criminal suspects were routinely mistreated or beaten by law
enforcement officers to extract confessions and information. On
December 3, the chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs human rights
monitoring department, Oleh Martynenko, stated that 2 percent of
citizen complaints about police mistreatment resulted in criminal
investigations.
Police officers were often not adequately trained or equipped to
gather evidence through investigations and depended on confessions to
solve cases. The law does not clearly prohibit confessions or other
statements made under duress from being introduced as evidence in court
proceedings. Efforts to check these practices were made more difficult
by an ineffective system for investigating allegations of abuse and by
detainees' lack of access to defense lawyers and doctors.
Another concern noted by the UN working group was the low acquittal
rate by the Prosecutor General's Office when presented with well-
founded accusations that incriminating evidence had been gathered by
using methods that violated proper criminal procedures, including by
torture. Of 100,000 such complaints, the prosecutor general considered
30 to be violations. According to the working group, ``impunity for
perpetrators of ill-treatment largely prevails.''
During the year the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued
nine decisions against the country for violation of Article 3 (inhuman
or degrading treatment) of the European Convention of Human Rights.
This compared with four violations in 2008 and six in 2007.
The media reported several instances of police abuse. For example,
on January 17, the 1+1 television channel reported that police in the
Ordzhonikidzevskiy district in Kharkiv tortured two women to obtain
confessions. One of the victims, Svitlana Pomelyaika, worked at a local
tile factory. Police detained her and a coworker on suspicion of theft.
According to the victims, police took them to different rooms, where
they were kicked and hooded with plastic bags; pliers were used to
squeeze their nipples. When they refused to sign confessions, they were
forced to write that they had no complaints against police before being
released. Both women were hospitalized, and their injuries were
documented. According to Kharkiv oblast police chief Viktor
Razvadovskiy, two officers were dismissed after an investigation found
pliers and other implements of torture in police offices. The Kharkiv
district prosecutor launched a criminal case against the officers on
charges of abuse of official duties. The case continued at year's end.
In August Radio Svoboda (Radio Liberty) reported that a newly
appointed chief of the State Penal Department dismissed the
administrators of the Vinnytsia pretrial detention facility for
humiliating and using force unlawfully against prisoners. On August 21,
human rights activists posted video testimony on the Internet of an
inmate who showed beating marks on his body and accused the facility's
chief of abusing him because he demanded that refrigerators be placed
in each cell.
On September 9, the newspaper Fakty reported that Interior Minister
Yuriy Lutsenko dismissed the deputy chief of criminal investigations in
Odesa's Kominternivskiy district and reprimanded and demoted 15 police
officers on charges of discrediting the police and neglect of duties.
The chief of the district police also received a professional
incompetence warning. The officers reportedly tortured a 39-year-old
theft suspect by beating him with a crowbar and shocking him with
electricity.
No developments were reported in the following 2008 cases: the
investigation of Volodymyr Hetmanenko's torture case from Crimea; the
investigation of three police officers from Sumy Oblast who allegedly
forced victims to carry illegal drugs and then arrested them for
possession; the investigation of 20 police officers at the Simferopol
railway station who allegedly detained, robbed, and extorted money from
passengers; and an incident involving the violent beating of inmates at
the Stryzhavska correctional colony in Vinnytsia Oblast in June.
During the year authorities prosecuted police officers who abused
persons in detention.
According to the prosecutor's general office, during the first nine
months of the year, courts heard 20 cases of police torture or inhuman
and degrading treatment and issued 30 guilty verdicts. Six officers
received prison sentences, one was sentenced to a correctional
institution, 22 received probation, and one was fined.
As Of October 1, three police officers were convicted of torture,
according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Authorities also
initiated nine criminal investigations of law-enforcement personnel
suspected of inflicting bodily injuries and four investigations of
suspected torture and physical violence. According to the PGO, 28 law-
enforcement personnel were convicted of torture or inhuman treatment
during the first nine months of the year. In addition, 93 cases of
alleged police torture or inhuman and degrading treatment were
initiated, and 14 criminal cases with recommended guilty verdicts
against 31 police officers were forwarded to the courts.
There was no information available on whether the parents of Sumy
Oblast resident Oleksandr Voskoboinikov filed an appeal following their
son's murder conviction in August 2008. They claimed that he and
codefendant Oleksandr Sapon were tortured into confessing to the fatal
stabbing of a swimming coach in 2006. The court case of Yuriy
Moseyenkov continued. The State Penitentiary Directorate (SPD)
confirmed that he was wrongfully confined for 20 months beginning in
2005 on suspicion of murder. The officials involved in the wrongful
detention were disciplined.
There were reports of military hazing violence against conscripts
in the armed forces. On August 7, the UNIAN press service reported that
the Zhytomyr garrison prosecutor launched a criminal case concerning
the beating in June of a soldier.
According to the State Judicial Administration (SJA), 49 hazing-
related guilty verdicts were issued in the first six months of the
year. The PGO confirmed that in the first nine months of the year, 133
servicemen were convicted of hazing out of 158 hazing-related criminal
cases forwarded to courts.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally did not meet international standards.
Overcrowding, abuse, inadequate sanitation, light, food, water, and
medical care were persistent problems. The government permitted
monitoring visits by independent human rights observers, and such
visits occurred during the year.
Conditions remained poor in state prisons despite some improvements
due to reforms in the penal system and a reduction in the prison
population due to more humane sentencing. Human rights groups continued
to call for full civilian oversight of the SPD by subordinating it to
the Ministry of Justice. According to the UHHRU, the absence of
rigorous and impartial public oversight in SPD-controlled facilities
allowed for abuse of prisoners and poor conditions.
On July 28, the human rights ombudsman reported that she had
received a report from the PGO confirming poor detention conditions in
16 police facilities in cities around the country, including Donetsk,
Kyiv, Kirovohrad, and Sevastopol. They were located in old buildings
that lacked ventilation, sufficient water supply, adequate lighting,
and proper sewage and sanitary systems. These facilities frequently
violated regulations limiting the length of detention and did not guard
against the spread of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.
According to the SPD, an estimated 659 persons in custody had HIV-
associated tuberculosis (TB). In TB hospitals controlled by the prison
department, 42 percent of patients were terminally ill with TB, and 44
percent were terminally ill with AIDs. The SPD acknowledged that TB was
one of the major communicable diseases in its facilities because of
poor conditions and inadequate medical resources for examining and
treating TB-infected persons in pretrial detention facilities.
As of October 2008 according to the latest available statistics
from the SPD, 146,827 persons were detained in 184 facilities under its
control. In 2007, 729 individuals died in custody, including pretrial
detention facilities. Illness caused 673 of the deaths, while 54
resulted from suicide; two were homicides. In 2008 the PGO reported
that 397 prisoners died in the first six months of the year in SPD-
controlled prisons. Suicides accounted for 21 of the deaths.
As of January 1, according to the annual report by the UHHRU,
145,715 persons were detained in SDP-controlled facilities, including
109,961 persons in 136 penal facilities and 34,148 persons in pretrial
detention facilities.
As of October 1, authorities held almost 122,000 persons in 483
police-controlled temporary holding facilities. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs confirmed 14 suicide attempts in police-controlled
special facilities. There were six deaths; three were alcohol-related
and three were due to illness.
Conditions in police temporary holding facilities and pretrial
detention facilities were harsher than in low- and medium- security
prisons. The former were often overcrowded and lacked adequate
sanitation and medical facilities. As of September 1, according to the
Prosecutor General's Office, more than 200 individuals serving life
sentences were held in pretrial detention facilities.
In contrast to the previous year, there were occasional media
reports of self-inflicted injuries and violent incidents in prisons and
detention centers to protest poor conditions. For example, on January
26, according to informed experts, six inmates at a correctional colony
in Alchevsk in Luhansk Oblast cut their veins to protest abuse by the
facility administration. On July 7, television Channel 5 reported that
more than 100 prisoners refused food and 20 cut their veins to protest
abuse by penal facility officials in Khmelnytskiy Oblast.
Overcrowding and poor conditions in prisons and detention centers
exacerbated the problem of TB. Authorities stated that mandatory
screening of all new inmates for TB reduced infection rates; human
rights organizations said the presence of x-ray machines in several
prison facilities was a positive development.
The government allowed independent monitoring of prison conditions
and detention centers. On September 9, a delegation of the Council of
Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out a two-week visit to
the country. It was the CPT's fifth visit.
Mobile monitoring groups consisting of Ministry of Internal Affairs
personnel and human rights NGOs continued to visit police temporary
holding facilities. The NGOs called for the establishment of similar
mobile monitoring for prisons run by the SPD.
However, human rights activists asserted that regional police did
not always cooperate with Ministry of Internal Affairs mobile
monitoring groups and civic advisory councils. For example, on October
2, Kharkiv Human Rights Group (KHRG) Chairman Yevhen Zakharov reported
at a hearing on human rights that police chiefs in Dnipropetrovsk and
Sumy Oblasts ordered collection of personal data on members of regional
civic advisory councils in an attempt to force them to disband.
Prisoners and detainees were permitted to file complaints with the
ombudsman about conditions in custody, but human rights organizations
noted that prison officials continued to censor or discourage
complaints. By law the prosecutor and ombudsman were obliged to
disclose the names of inmates who filed complaints to the bodies
against which they were filed, such as the SPD, which subjected the
petitioners to possible reprisals from prison administrators.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, in practice problems
remained.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs is responsible for maintaining internal security and
order; it oversees the police (militsia) and its own armed troops. The
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which is responsible for internal
intelligence and protecting state security, reports directly to the
president. The State Tax Administration, which exercises law
enforcement powers through the tax police, is accountable to both the
president and the cabinet.
The law provides for civilian control of the army and law-
enforcement agencies and authorizes members of parliament to conduct
investigations and public hearings into national security and defense
issues. The human rights ombudsman is also authorized to initiate
investigations into the relevant activities of security forces.
Police corruption remained a problem. According to the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, 39,204 law-enforcement officers (approximately 16
percent of the 250,000-member force) were subjected to administrative
disciplinary actions in the first nine months of the year. Of these,
criminal investigations were begun against 115 officers on bribery
charges. The PGO confirmed that in the first nine months of the year,
310 police personnel and 13 prosecutors were found criminally liable
for corruption.
On February 9, the newspaper Fakty reported that SBU's
antiorganized crime officers detained the deputy chief of
investigations for the Kyiv metro police for taking a bribe of 25,000
hryvnias (approximately $3,100) to drop criminal charges against
suspects. The Kyiv prosecutor's office launched a criminal case on the
grounds of fraud and abuse of office and the official was suspended
from his post.
On February 11, the Web site proUA.com reported that the SBU's Main
Directorate for Combating Corruption detained the deputy head of one of
Kyiv's Ministry of Internal Affairs divisions when he accepted a 25,000
hryvnia bribe (approximately $3,100) from a woman in exchange for
closing criminal proceedings against her relative.
On October 1, UNIAN reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs
internal security service detained three Donetsk oblast police
officers, a special investigator and two officers of the economic crime
office, for demanding a bribe of 3.1 million hryvnia ($400,000), of
which they received 80,000 hryvnia ($10,000), for dropping criminal
charges against a local resident.
There was no further information about the following 2008
corruption investigations: the head of Kyiv's main criminal
investigation unit and a chief investigator of a Kyiv district police
office for accepting bribes in return for not pressing charges; a
criminal case against a police investigator in Donetsk Oblast for
taking a 70,000 hryvnia (8,700 dollar) bribe for dropping charges
against a suspected rapist; and a criminal investigation involving two
Kirovohrad police officers who was accused of demanding a bribe from a
parent to release a child detained on suspicion of theft.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law
authorities may detain a suspect for three days without a warrant,
after which an arrest order must be issued. The courts may extend
detention without an arrest warrant for an additional 10 days and
thereafter grant extensions for a maximum of 18 months. The law permits
citizens to contest an arrest in court or appeal it to the prosecutor.
The law requires that detained persons be informed of their rights and
that officials notify family members immediately concerning an arrest;
however, in practice police did not follow the procedures required by
law.
Lengthy pretrial detention was a serious a problem. Individuals
often remained in pretrial detention for months or, in some cases,
years. There were unsanctioned arrests, and investigative police at
times failed to keep records or register detained suspects. According
to domestic human rights organizations, the investigation process took
four to five months on average.
Human rights organizations reported that police continued to use
detention arbitrarily (in this case split infinitive can be avoided
without awkward language) to extract evidence that could be used
against detainees. Courts often extended detention to 10 days or more
to allow police more time to obtain confessions. On October 2, in a
speech at a conference on police violence sponsored by the KHRG, Denys
Kobzin, director of the Kharkiv Institute of Sociological research,
reported that approximately 40 percent of detainees were held longer
than the legally allowed three days.
The February report by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
noted the following problems: the continued practice of detaining until
trial persons suspected of minor crimes; a perceived lack of
independent and effective control over the detention process by the
judiciary; and unlawful restrictions on pretrial detainees, such as
denying them contact with their families before court trials.
The law stipulates that a defense attorney must be provided without
charge to indigent detainees from either the time of detention or the
filing of charges. However, in practice this often did not occur. There
were insufficient defense attorneys to protect suspects from unlawful
and lengthy detention. Attorneys often refused to defend indigents for
the low payment the government provided.
Reports continued that police arbitrarily detained persons,
particularly persons of non-Slavic appearance, for extensive document
checks and vehicle inspections (see section 6).
The law provides for bail, but it was rarely used. Many defendants
could not pay imposed bail amounts. Courts sometimes imposed travel
restrictions as an alternative to pretrial confinement. However, they
generally opted to place individuals in detention.
Amnesty.--During the year President Yushchenko pardoned 573
persons.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary
remained subject to political pressure, suffered from corruption and
inefficiency, and lacked public confidence.
The right to a fair trial was limited by lengthy court proceedings,
particularly in administrative courts, and by political pressure on
judges, inadequate court funding, a shortage of qualified legal
assistance for defendants, and the inability of courts to enforce their
rulings. Judges also continued to complain about pressure from high-
ranking politicians seeking improper resolution of cases.
During the year the ECHR issued 69 judgments that found the country
in violation of Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European
Convention on Human Rights. This compared with 61 judgments issued
during 2008 and 66 judgments in 2007. In addition, the ECHR issued
judgments that found 35 violations regarding length of proceedings and
27 violations regarding the right to liberty and personal security.
This compared with 32 and 14 judgments, respectively, in 2008, and 34
and three in 2007.
On October 15, in its ruling in the case of Yuriy Nikolayevich
Ivanov v. Ukraine, the ECHR for the first time openly criticized the
country's local court system ``for nonenforcement or delayed
enforcement of domestic judgments.''
All courts, except for the Supreme Court, were funded through the
SJA, which was also responsible for staffing. The Ministries of Justice
and Education were responsible for training judges. The judiciary's
lack of adequate staff and funds contributed to inefficiency and
corruption and increased its dependence on the executive branch.
On December 22, the Constitutional Court ruled that the president's
right to appoint and dismiss the head of the SJA is unconstitutional.
The court stated that because the SJA oversees a state body and is not
a cabinet-level agency the responsibility of appointing and dismissing
the head of the SJA falls to the prime minister with the concurrence of
the cabinet.
In March Supreme Court Chairman Vasyl Onopenko said in a speech at
a conference of economic court judges that the state budget permits the
expenditure of less than five hryvnia ($1) for the review of each case.
In July the judicial association, Foundation for Justice released an
appeal to the government expressing concern about the lack of adequate
funding for courts. According to the association, the year's budget
allocated approximately 21 percent of the funds actually needed for
court expenses.
While the law provides for judicial independence, in some cases it
also gives the president considerable power over the judiciary. The
president has the authority, with the agreement of the Ministry of
Justice and the chair of the Supreme Court or of a corresponding higher
specialized court, to establish and abolish courts of general
jurisdiction. The president determines the number of judges in the
court system, appoints and removes chairpersons and deputy chairpersons
of courts, and establishes appellate commercial and appellate
administrative courts.
The country has a multitiered court system consisting of the
Constitutional Court, courts of general jurisdiction, and local (raion)
courts. Courts of general jurisdiction deal with civil, economic,
administrative, and criminal forms of justice. The Supreme Court is the
highest judicial body. It has civil, criminal, commercial, and
administrative chambers and a military panel of judges.
The Constitutional Court consists of 18 members, six each appointed
by the president, parliament, and the Congress of Judges for nine-year
terms. The Constitutional Court determines the constitutionality of
legislation and other parliamentary legal acts, presidential edicts,
cabinet acts, and legal acts of the Crimean Autonomous Republic. It
also issues opinions concerning the constitutionality of international
treaties and agreements.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution includes provisions for a fair
trial, including the right of suspects or witnesses to refuse to
testify against themselves or their relatives; however, these rights
were limited by the absence of implementing legislation, which left a
largely Soviet-era criminal justice system in place. Defendants are
presumed innocent; however high conviction rates called that assumption
into question.
The constitution provides for juries, but a jury system has not
been implemented. Most cases are decided by judges who sit singly,
although trials on charges carrying a maximum sentence of life
imprisonment, the highest penalty in the criminal justice system, were
heard by two judges and three public assessors who have some legal
training.
By law a trial must begin no later than three weeks after criminal
charges are filed with the court; however, this requirement was rarely
met by the overburdened court system. Months could pass before a
defendant was brought to trial. Complicated cases could take years to
go to trial.
The law specifies that a defendant may consult a lawyer in private;
however, human rights groups reported that officials occasionally
denied this attorney-client privilege. The law also requires free legal
counsel for all defendants, but free counsel was often unavailable.
On October 6, the Constitutional Court ruled that any individual
summoned as a witness in a criminal case anywhere in the country is
entitled to legal aid.
To protect defendants, investigative files must contain signed
documents attesting that defendants were informed of the charges
against them, of their right to an attorney at public expense, and of
their right not to give evidence against themselves or their relatives.
Appeals courts may dismiss convictions or order new trials if these
signed documents are missing; however, officials sometimes verbally and
physically abused defendants to obtain their signatures.
By law trials are held in public, and defendants have the right to
confront witnesses. However, courtroom space was often limited, and
media personnel were at times not able to attend and report on court
proceedings.
The law permits the names and addresses of victims and witnesses to
be kept confidential if they were at risk of being intimidated into
withdrawing or changing their testimony. The law requires that a
special police unit protect judges, witnesses, defendants, and their
relatives, but human rights organizations claimed that this system
continued to be ineffective.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and laws
give citizens the right to challenge any decisions, actions, or
omissions of national and local government officials that violate their
human rights. However, the right of redress was limited by an
inefficient and corrupt judicial system.
Potential victims may also file a collective legal challenge to
legislation that they believe may violate basic rights and freedoms.
Citizens may appeal to the human rights ombudsman and may take cases to
international bodies, such as the ECHR.
Property Restitution.--Restitution of property taken from religious
groups during the Soviet era continued at a slow pace, partly as a
consequence of the country's economic situation. In addition,
intracommunal competition for particular properties complicated
restitution claims for the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities.
During the year the State Committee on Nationalities and Religion
(SCNR) did not report on developments regarding property restitution.
Previously, the SCNR stated that the majority of (most?) buildings and
objects had already been returned to religious organizations. The
remaining properties for which restitution was sought were occupied by
state institutions, were historic landmarks, or had been transferred to
private ownership. The SCNR stated that there was a lack of government
funding to assist in relocating organizations occupying these
buildings. The SCNR also noted that restitution claims frequently fell
under the jurisdiction of local governments.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions; however, in
practice authorities generally did not respect these prohibitions.
By law the SBU may not conduct surveillance and searches without a
court-issued warrant. The Prosecutor General's Office has the
constitutional responsibility to ensure that all law enforcement
agencies observe the law. Citizens have the legal right to examine any
dossier concerning them in the possession of the SBU and the legal
right to recover losses resulting from an investigation. However,
authorities generally did not respect these rights in practice because
implementing legislation had not been enacted.
According to the NGO UHHRU and former SBU chief Ihor Smeshko, there
was no effective independent oversight of monitoring activity by
security agencies. Most citizens were not aware of violations of their
privacy rights by law enforcement agencies.
There were several media reports of allegations of privacy
interference and illegal surveillance by government authorities. For
example, on April 28, the weekly newspaper Dzerkalo Tyznia reported
that appeal courts reviewed 25,086 requests by law enforcement agencies
(mostly by the SBU, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and tax police)
for permission to intercept information, seize correspondence, or use
other technical means to obtain information, all of which the newspaper
described as related to restrictions of the constitutional rights of
citizens.
SBU chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko disclosed that his agency began
monitoring Deputy Prosecutor General Kuzmin's telephone conversations
in January 2008, even though there was no reason to suspect him of
violating secrecy regulations. On May 15, the SBU forwarded documents
to the Prosecutor General's Office related to the illegal surveillance
of Kuzmin and a criminal case was opened against the responsible SBU
officers.
There were no reports available concerning the 2008 investigation
into the illegal surveillance of Mykolayiv mayor Volodymyr Chaika or
the 2007 criminal investigation into the posting on the Internet of a
transcript of a 2006 telephone conversation between then speaker of
parliament Oleksandr Moroz and the British ambassador.
During the year the ECHR issued four judgments that found
violations by the country of the right to respect for family and
private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human
Rights, compared with one in 2008.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and laws provide
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
There were no reports that central authorities attempted to direct
media content; however, there were reports of intimidation of
journalists by national and local officials. Individuals could
criticize the government publicly and privately, and independent and
international media were active and expressed a wide variety of
opinions.
According to the Ukrainian Association of Press Publications,
approximately 4,200 print publications were regularly published in the
country. Among them were 2,400 newspapers (including 52 dailies) and
1,700 magazines, with 1,550 having primarily nationwide distribution.
In June parliament adopted a resolution prohibiting government
agencies from carrying out inspections of mass media ahead of the 2010
presidential election campaign, which began in October. The measure
aimed to safeguard freedom of expression by eliminating legal,
administrative, and economic obstacles for media reporting on the
campaign.
The law on presidential elections, however, imposed restrictions on
media coverage of election campaigns. The independent media journal
Telekrytyka, KHRG chairman Yevhen Zakharov, and media law expert
Kostyantyn Yakubenko all criticized the legislation for stifling
independent analysis of candidates' campaign platforms and views. For
example, the media are technically allowed only to broadcast
information provided by candidates. Other limitations include: a ban on
``campaigning'' by foreign media and by noncitizens (although
campaigning is not defined), and the prohibition of publishing results
of public opinion polling on political parties and presidential
candidates beginning 15 days prior to election day.
On September 15, a national commission on freedom of speech and
information urged politicians to abstain from attempting to manipulate
the media and journalists during the presidential campaign. However,
media experts expressed concern that politicians and media owners would
nevertheless increase pressure on all media throughout the three-month
campaign. In October Oleksandr Chernenko, the chairman of an NGO, the
Committee of Voters of Ukraine, expressed concern about signs of a
possible return of direct censorship. He asserted that editors and top
managers of certain media outlets were forced to attend meetings at
campaign headquarters and that some national and regional media were
warned not to criticize particular politicians.
On September 22, a district court in Kyiv initially ruled in favor
of Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko's political party in a case
involving a video clip critical of her that was sent to all major
television channels. In its decision, the court said it was prohibiting
dissemination of what it called ``dishonest advertisements'' about the
performance of the country's premier. The UHHRU appealed the court's
decision and stressed that the prime minister, as a public figure,
could be the subject of criticism in the press. On October 7, the court
reversed its earlier ruling.
There were additional reports of intimidation and other types of
harassment of journalists, including by national and local officials.
According to national NGO media watchdog Institute for Mass
Information (IMI), at least 31 journalists and publications were
subjected to physical attacks or intimidation during the first 11
months of the year, compared with 27 incidents reported in 2008. In
October IMI reported a spike in violent incidents, including police
violence and five shootings. The shootings targeted the offices of
Volyn newpaper Viche, the Lviv-based Expres newspaper, and the Nova
Zorya publishing house in Ivano-Frankivsk. Targeted individuals
included Kyrylo Danilov, Director of Pryvat TV Dnipro in
Dnipropetrovsk, and photo correspondent Ruslan Lyubchenko of the
magazine Conflicts and Law in Kyiv. As in the previous year, most cases
occurred at the local level and were often attributed to individual
politicians, businessmen, or organized criminal groups.
For example, on February 16, a car owned by Valeriy Vorotynyk,
local journalist and owner of Antenna media group, exploded in Cherkasy
immediately after Vorotynyk announced a protest against the closure of
five local schools. There were no injuries. On May 25, reporter
Oleksandr Ilnytskiy of Vinnychchyna TV and Radio Company sustained head
injuries resulting from an assault by a municipal official after he
recorded an argument between the official and a circus administrator
who accused local authorities of corruption.
On September 1, Communist member of parliament Oleksandr Tkachenko
seized a microphone from STB TV's parliamentary correspondent Olha
Chervakova and threw it to the ground after she asked him to clarify
his remarks about banning journalists from the parliament cafeteria.
The parliamentary committee on freedom of speech called upon Tkachenko
to apologize.
There was no progress in the investigation into the June 2008
harassment of Ostriv newspaper journalist Ihor Nezhurko.
There were no reported developments in cases of violence against
journalists in previous years, including the February 2007 attack on
the news director of Dnipropetrovsk's Channel 9, Anatoliy Shynkarenko;
the March 2007 attack on an independent investigative journalist in
Kherson Oblast, Serhiy Tsyhipa; the September 2007 burning of the
automobile of Serhiy Harmash, chief editor of the Donetsk-based
Internet publication Ostriv; or the 2006 death of Norik Shirin, founder
and publisher of the Holos Molodi newspaper.
Private media outlets operated free of direct state control or
interference; however, both independent and state-owned media at times
demonstrated a tendency toward self-censorship on matters that the
government deemed sensitive. Although private newspapers operated on a
commercial basis, they often depended on their owners (political
patrons or oligarchs who were connected to politicians) for revenue and
did not enjoy editorial independence.
According to media monitoring by IMI and their regional partners
the practice of prepaid publications, veiled advertisements, and
positive coverage presented as news (known as ``dzhynsa''), continued
in the electronic and print media. The price for such coverage ranged
from 24,000 hryvnia ($3,000) to as much as 40,000 hryvnia ($5,000) for
participation in a television talk show. Print stories cost from 800
hryvnia ($100) to 40,000 hryvnia ($5,000.)
IMI also emphasized that political parties frequently ordered the
placement of stories in regional print media while law enforcement
agencies did not investigate this breach of law. Some journalists
maintained that low salaries encouraged some reporters to supplement
their incomes with undocumented payments from ``benefactors'' seeking
to influence news reporting.
On April 30, the European Federation of Journalists released a
statement condemning the firing of Serhiy Huz, vice president and
leading activist of the Independent Media Trade Union. He was dismissed
from the Ukrainskiy Tyzhden magazine ``for attempting to improve the
working conditions of his colleagues'' through negotiations for a
collective agreement to regulate salary and editorial rights. According
to the federation, a number of journalists left the magazine in January
to protest the dismissal of the editor in chief over disputes about
increased interference in the editorial line of the magazine.
The continued dependence of some media outlets on government
resources may have inhibited investigative and critical reporting.
Inadequate media access to government-held information was a
problem, particularly in the regions. IMI, the UHHRU, and the Committee
for Monitoring Freedom of Press in Crimea asserted that most government
agencies regularly denied requests by journalists and NGOs for basic
public interest information. For example, on April 8, Crimean Health
Minister Serhiy Donych refused to answer questions from Kateryna
Zuyeva, a news reporter from the Chornomorska TV and Radio Company,
about the outcome of a meeting by the special commission on the
children's TB hospital in Simferopol. Journalists were not allowed to
attend the event.
In some instances, media representatives had problems gaining
access to court hearings and other governmental meetings. On January
27, IMI reported that Serhiy Nestorenko, a judge of Kremenchuk's
Avtozavodskiy district court in Poltava Oblast, pushed the chairman of
the local office of the independent media trade union and human rights
activist Mykola Feldman out of the courtroom during a hearing. Feldman
alleged that the same judge threatened to open a criminal case against
an attorney for inviting him to the hearing.
On March 16, according to the UHHRU, Chernihiv Vice Mayor Stanislav
Vikhrov prohibited Valeriy Lytovhcnenko and Andriy Cherednyak,
correspondents from the Ukraina Moloda and Za Chernihiv newspapers,
from attending a meeting of the city council's executive committee.
Vikhrov argued that Lytovchenko was not an employee of Ukrayina Moloda,
that the newspaper should have applied for permission in writing in
advance, and that the meeting was closed to the general public.
However, representatives of municipally owned media were allowed to
attend without prior approval, and the council's Web site had announced
transportation and budgetary issues as the meeting's discussion topics.
Government licensing provisions require that national media outlets
broadcast at least 75 percent of their programs in Ukrainian, a policy
that many citizens whose first language was not Ukrainian regarded as
discriminatory.
Libel is considered a civil offense, and the law limits the amount
of damages that may be claimed in libel lawsuits; the press can publish
inoffensive, nonfactual judgments, including criticism, without
penalty. On February 27, the Supreme Court adopted a resolution on
judicial practice in defamation cases, reiterating that public
officials enjoy less protection from criticism than average
individuals, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between
factual information and value judgments, and encouraging courts to
refer to European Court of Human Rights' practices.
On December 1, the president vetoed amendments to the civil code
that would have allowed officials to demand high sums for damages in
defamation lawsuits. Media rights groups had recommended the veto on
grounds that the amendments would have placed undue pressure on
journalists and media.
However, media watchdog groups continued to express concern over
the extremely high monetary damages that were demanded, and sometimes
awarded, for alleged libel. Government entities and public figures, in
particular, continued to use the threat of civil suits based on alleged
damage to a ``person's honor and integrity'' to influence or intimidate
the press.
For example, the National Union of Journalists' list of press
enemies cited eight libel lawsuits filed since early April against
Kanal 33 newspaper by ex-Vinnytsia governor Hryhoriy Kaletnik and his
son. The newspaper published a series of articles alleging the former
official's involvement in illegal smuggling when he served in the State
Customs Service. The Kaletniks demanded 710,000 hryvnias ($89,000) in
damages. On April 16, IMI reported that the court of appeal in Kyiv
reduced the amount of moral damages awarded by a lower court from
300,000 hryvnias ($37,400) to 157,000 hryvnias ($19,600).
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet; however, law enforcement bodies engaged in Internet
monitoring. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for
2008, approximately 11 percent of the country's inhabitants used the
Internet.
On February 18, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a decree to
designate the SBU as the lead government agency responsible for
drafting a bill on the registration of online media.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom. However, human rights organizations
and artists criticized the National Expert Commission on Public Morals
and its chairman, Vasyl Kostytskiy, for prohibiting a number of foreign
movies and cartoons, as well as Ukrainian books, songs, and programs.
For example, on the commission's recommendation, the National
Television and Broadcasting Council prohibited further airing of the
foreign cartoon series ``The Simpsons.'' It also prohibited screening
of Sacha Baron Cohen's film Bruno and the publication of a novel, The
Woman of His Dreams, by the Ukrainian winner of the Shevchenko prize,
Oles Ulianenko. The commission stated that all were obscene,
pornographic, and antisocial.
The commission also banned two books that it said incited
xenophobia or interethnic hatred or contained anti-Semitic statements:
The Secret History of Ukraine by Aleksandr Shyrokorad and Life, History
and Reality, by Vladimir Putyatin.
On June 26, the president signed into law amendments to the
criminal code that made it a criminal offense to electronically or
physically store literature, images, or other objects of ``a
pornographic nature'' intended for sale or distribution. The law,
however, does not clearly define what constitutes ``a pornographic
nature.'' According to the executive director of the UHHRU, Volodymyr
Yavorskiy, the new law limits freedom of expression and could
facilitate blackmail and corrupt practices by police who may target
selected individuals.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but in
some instances regional governments infringed on these rights. Since
there is no national law governing freedom of assembly, the code of
administrative justice and case law prevailed. Local authorities
sometimes invoked a Soviet-era decree on freedom of assembly that was
more restrictive than the constitution.
The constitution requires that organizers inform authorities of a
planned demonstration in advance. The Soviet-era decree that local
governments sometimes used to define ``advance notice,'' stipulates
that organizations must apply for permission at least 10 days before an
event or demonstration. In most cases permits were granted, and in
practice unlicensed demonstrations were common and generally occurred
without police interference, fines, or detention, although there were
several exceptions.
In the first nine months of the year, according to the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, police identified 99 persons who violated the law on
organizing and holding public gatherings. However, the prosecutor
general's office confirmed that it did not launch any criminal
investigations into organizers of unsanctioned rallies or other protest
events.
On July 16, according to Majdan Web site, the court of appeal in
Odesa Oblast upheld a lower court ruling that found an Odesa City
Council member guilty of breaching the decree on advance notice.
Mykhailo Shmushkovych acknowledged that he had organized a May
demonstration by local residents against the city council to protest
suspension of city funding for a municipal housing project.
Shmushkovych requested permission for the event three days prior to the
demonstration but was warned by the council's department of internal
policy that his request was a breach of the decree. An attorney with
the UHHRU who assisted Shmushkovych with his case described the ruling
as unprecedented.
The Republic Institute, a local monitoring group, said it had
noticed an increase in the number of violations of freedom of peaceful
assembly in the previous two years and expressed concern that law
enforcement bodies were often biased against some groups. For example,
the institute noted a new trend toward involving paramilitary
organizations, such as the unregistered NGO of security service
veterans, Shchyt (Shield), in matters involving maintenance or order.
In March Shchyt broke up a peaceful protest on Independence Square in
Kyiv and volunteered to ``counter anarchy, corruption, and privately
funded political activities to bring order to the country.''
As in 2008, local authorities prohibited progay events by LiGa, a
Mykolayiv-based association of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. In May
LiGA ignored a city prohibition to organize a photo exhibition to
observe the International Day Against Homophobia. In June local
authorities warned LiGA in writing that it could be disbanded because
of the breach of law.
There were no further developments in a case involving a March 2008
administrative appeal by the Luhansk branch of the Committee of Voters
of Ukraine (CVU) against the Severodonetsk city council's decision to
require organizers of sporting, musical, religious, and civic-political
events in the Ice Palace of Sports to receive permission from the city
council and to prohibit all other types of events from the venue.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of association; while the government generally respected this
right in practice, some restrictions remained. Registration
requirements for organizations were extensive, but there were no
reports that the government used them year to disband existing
legitimate organizations or to prevent new ones from being formed.
The law places restrictions on organizations that advocate violence
or racial and religious hatred or that threaten public order or health.
On January 19, SBU spokesperson Maryna Ostapenko confirmed that the
security service completed its pretrial investigation in the criminal
case against a separatist organization, the Popular Front Sevastopol-
Crimea-Russia, and forwarded it to the court. There were no reported
developments in the SBU's 2008 criminal investigation of another
separatist group, the Association Sejm of Pidkarpattia Rusyns.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of religion, and the government generally protected this right;
however, some minority and nontraditional religions experienced
difficulties in registration and in buying and leasing property. There
is no formal state religion, but local authorities at times favored the
religious majority in their particular regions.
The law requires that a religious group register its articles and
statutes, either as a local or as a national organization, and have at
least 10 adult members in order to obtain the status of a ``juridical
entity.'' Registration is necessary to conduct many business
activities, including publishing, banking, and property transactions.
The SCNR administers the registration process. Representatives from
several denominations expressed satisfaction with the committee's work.
During the year the Jewish community reiterated complaints that the
Krakivsky market in Lviv was located on the grounds of an ancient
Jewish cemetery and that periodic digging to erect kiosks disturbed the
sanctity of the site. The city had offered to construct a memorial park
on the remaining undeveloped part of the cemetery but maintained that
it could not relocate the market because some of the buildings were
private property.
The representative in Crimea of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
complained that the Yalta Municipal Council refused to finalize the
allocation of a land plot for the construction of what would be the
only Greek Catholic church in the city. They also mentioned reluctance
of municipal governments in Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Zhytomyr, Simferopol,
and Yevpatoriya to allocate land for church construction.
Restitution of communal property confiscated during the Soviet era
remained a problem (see section 1.e.).
The law restricts the activities of foreign-based religious
organizations and narrowly defines the permissible activities of the
clergy, preachers, teachers, and other noncitizen representatives of
foreign-based religious organizations; however, there were no reports
that the government used the law during the year to limit the activity
of such religious organizations.
The government promoted interfaith understanding by frequently
consulting the All-Ukraine Council of Churches and Religious
Organizations, whose membership represented the faiths of more than 90
percent of the religiously active population. The council met every two
or three months to discuss interfaith concerns. Regional
administrations and local religious leaders in most regions have formed
regional councils of churches and religious organizations.
On January 15, the parliament adopted legislative amendments that
give registered religious organizations the right to permanently use
state-owned and communally owned land plots. On March 25, the Cabinet
of Ministers reduced rental rates for religious organizations using
state-owned property to 45 percent of rental fees charged to commercial
entities.
On August 5, the Cabinet of Ministers issued a resolution
facilitating registration procedures for foreign religious workers
visiting the country. On September 3, the cabinet adopted a resolution
reducing natural gas tariffs for religious organizations to the same
level as housing sector tariffs.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports of societal
problems and discrimination based on religious belief and practice.
Conflicts between local representatives of contending religious
organizations continued to affect broader communal ties among religions
in society.
On October 2, senior representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) and the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) initiated a dialogue to seek
resolution of long-standing disputes. Both sides described the meeting
as encouraging and voiced cautious optimism about the prospects for
further talks.
Tensions continued among the OUC-MP, UOC-KP, and the Ukrainian
Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) when congregations attempted to
change jurisdictions between the factions. For example, the UOC-MP,
UOC-KP, and the local government did not resolve differences over the
use of Holy Trinity Church in a village in Ternopil Oblast after the
congregation split. In another example in Odesa, the UOC-KP and UAOC
were unable to settle a dispute over the ownership of St. George Church
that resulted when an archpriest in charge of the parish changed
affiliation from the UOC-KP to the UAOC.
Vandalism of religious sites and monuments continued to be a
problem. On June 17, Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko directed police
to conduct more thorough investigations into cases of cemetery
vandalism. During the first six months of the year, he said police had
recorded 619 incidents of cemetery vandalism.
In August a construction company demolished a chapel used by the
German Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church in Kherson. The company refused to implement a court ruling
declaring the church a legitimate user of the land.
In Crimea the construction of a mosque in central Simferopol
remained on hold. In February 2008 the city council annulled an earlier
decision to allocate a plot of land to build the mosque and designated
a less desirable location.
The country made some progress in relations with its Jewish
communities; however, members of marginal populist and nationalist
parties and organizations continued to make occasional extremist,
intolerant, and anti-Semitic statements.
An estimated 103,600 Jews lived in the country, comprising
approximately 0.2 percent of the population, according to government
census data and international Jewish groups. However, local Jewish
leaders estimated the number of persons with an ethnic Jewish heritage
to be as high as 370,000.
There were a number of acts of anti-Semitism, some involving
vandalism of Jewish property. According to Viacheslav Likhachev, a
human rights monitor and authority on anti-Semitism in the country,
there were 17 incidents of vandalism during the first 11 months of the
year. This compared with 13 such incidents in 2008 and 20 in 2007.
The trend toward a decrease in attacks against Jews continued.
According to a report published by the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress and
edited by Likhachev, ``Anti-Semitism in Australia and Eurasia 2008/
2009,'' there was one anti-Semitic attack in the first 11 months of the
year, as compared with five in 2008 and eight in 2007.
In February an improvised explosive device was found in a synagogue
in Lutsk. Investigators determined that it contained explosives but was
not wired to detonate. The Jewish community called for a full
investigation. The local government responded by constructing a fence
around the building and giving ownership of the building to the Jewish
community.
On August 10, the prosecutor's office in Zakarpattia charged the
mayor of Uzhhorod, Serhiy Ratushniak, with inciting ethnic hatred,
hooliganism, and abuse of office after he allegedly used anti-Semitic
rhetoric and attacked a campaign worker for a rival presidential
candidate. Ratushniak, who was running as a marginal candidate in 2010
presidential elections, was known for making racist and intolerant
comments. He had no strong following as a presidential candidate and
had no party affiliation. Jewish leaders protested his registration as
a candidate and welcomed politicians who criticized Ratushniak's
statements.
In late August unidentified attackers painted swastikas on the
walls of Jewish Charity Center in Melitopol. Local police did not find
offenders and described the incident as hooliganism.
On September 13, Nazi symbols were painted on the front door of the
Kyiv office of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. On October 26,
unidentified vandals splashed paint on the monument marking the
birthplace of prominent Rabbi Menachem Schneerson in Mykolayiv.
In November the prosecutor's office in Odesa opened a criminal case
into alleged publication of anti-Semitic articles by ZUBR (For Ukraine,
Belorussia and Russia), a marginal radical organization. Members of the
Odesa Jewish community had called on the prosecutor's office to
investigate the group, which had published the materials in its
newspaper, ZaZUBRina, and on its Web site.
Hate speech against Jews was combined with hate speech against
other groups in several incidents. Anti-Semitic articles continued to
appear in small publications, though their number and circulation
continued to decline.
According to the Association of Jewish Organization and Communities
of Ukraine (VAAD), 13 anti-Semitic materials were published in the
national print media between January and March. This compared with 17
published in the same period of 2008, 172 in 2007, and 189 in the first
quarter of 2006.
VAAD attributed the decrease in anti-Semitic publications to the
curtailment of activity by the Academy of Personnel Management, known
by its Ukrainian acronym MAUP. Founded in 1989, MAUP is an accredited,
private institution of higher learning with regional branches around
the country. However, anti-Semites used it as a vehicle to promote
virulent anti-Jewish propaganda and right-wing extremism. In previous
years MAUP accounted for nearly 90 percent of all published anti-
Semitic material. At year's end MAUP's lawsuit against a 2007 order by
the mayor of Kyiv to remove a bookstand near the memorial to victims of
Babyn Yar remained pending. MAUP said the order abridged its right to
freedom of speech.
On January 15, the Prymorskiy court in Odesa handed down an 18-
month suspended sentence to Ihor Volin-Danilov, editor of the Nashe
Dyelo (Our Business) newspaper, who admitted to inciting racial hatred
by publishing an anti-Semitic article.
In March 2008 the Supreme Court dismissed MAUP's lawsuit against
the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and its publication, The Jewish
Observer, over articles criticizing MAUP's anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist
activities.
On July 26, a district court in Crimea convicted a man of
hooliganism in the 2007 beating of Benjamin Wolf, the chief rabbi of
Sevastopol. The assailant was also ordered to pay the rabbi 5,000
hryvnia (approximately $620). Local Jewish leaders protested the ruling
on the grounds that the man should have been charged with inciting
ethnic and religious discord because he was motivated by the rabbi's
appearance.
Jewish community leaders in Kherson again complained that Serhiy
Kyrychenko, a member of the city council, continued to spread anti-
Semitic propaganda. In 2008 Kyrychenko made frequent appearances on a
local radio show VIK, accusing Jews of robbing the Ukrainian people,
plotting to enslave them, and planning to exterminate Slavs. On August
17, the Kherson prosecutor's office began a criminal investigation into
the broadcasts and numerous anti-Semitic publications in the local VIK
newspaper.
Senior government officials and politicians from various political
parties continued efforts to combat anti-Semitism by speaking out
against extremism and social intolerance. In September, while attending
the UN General Assembly, President Yushchenko met with representatives
of foreign Jewish groups for discussions on the country's efforts to
develop a multinational society, free of anti-Semitism and xenophobia.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law for
freedom of movement in the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights. The
government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations to provide
protection to asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
Citizens who wished to travel abroad were able to do so freely.
Exit visas were not required. The government could deny passports to
individuals in possession of state secrets, but denials were rare and
could be appealed.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws provide for the granting
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees. The constitution provides
for asylum, but there were no implementing laws. The law allows
refugees residing in the country during three years to apply for
citizenship.
At year's end the State Migration Service, which was established by
a cabinet decree in June, was still not functioning due to ongoing
policy disagreements between the president and prime minister and
conflicting decrees and court rulings. As a result, the State Committee
on Nationalities and Religions (SCNR) continued to retain authority
with regard to citizenship, immigration, asylum, and refugee
procedures, while the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Border
Guard Service (SBGS) were active in combating illegal migration.
Administrative courts responsible for reviewing appeals of denied
asylum applications were overwhelmed by a backlog of cases. Refugee
rights organizations expressed concern that the Kyiv Administrative
Court of Appeal postponed its review of deportation appeals until 2012;
during the year it reviewed cases from 2007. A shortage of bilingual
interpreters added to the problem of timely processing.
The government provided some protection against refoulement, the
expulsion or return of refugees to a country where there is reason to
believe their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group
and political opinion. However, there were notable exceptions during
the year.
On August 25, new regulations initiated by the SBGS took effect
that require foreign nationals transiting the country to Western Europe
and stateless persons to have in their possession no less than ``70
subsistence levels'' (12,620 hryvnia or $1,570) to sustain their stay
in the country. On September 2, the UNHCR stated that this change
``should not affect access to the asylum procedure and undermine the
nonrefoulement principle.'' In particular, the UNHCR raised concern
about the fate of six Congolese nationals detained at the Kyiv
international airport awaiting return to their country. The refugee
agency urged authorities to refrain from deporting them until their
protection needs were assessed. Nevertheless, the NGO Social Action and
Amnesty International reported that all six were sent back.
Human rights groups noted that the current law on refugees does not
provide protection for war refugees, victims of indiscriminate
violence, or failed asylum seekers who could face the threat of torture
or loss of life or freedom if deported. According to informed
observers, several allegedly failed Chechen asylum seekers were kept in
pretrial detention facilities in Chernihiv and Ternopil oblasts, and in
Uzhgorod, awaiting extradition to Russia.
According to the UNHCR and local human rights groups, the
complicated and burdensome registration system often left asylum
seekers without documents during the protracted review of their cases
and the appeal process. This left the individuals vulnerable to
frequent police stops, detention, and fines. Refugees and asylum
seekers, who frequently came from Africa and Asia, were victims of a
growing number of xenophobic attacks. Asylum seekers in detention
centers were sometimes unable to apply for refugee status within
prescribed time limits and had limited access to legal and other
assistance. The problem was further complicated by the lack of access
to qualified interpreters to complete registration documents.
As of October the SCNR confirmed that there were 2,315 official
refugees, including 1,235 Afghans, 263 Africans, 43 Chechens, 15
Uzbeks, 20 stateless persons, and 13 Belarusians.
On February 19, a coalition of refugee rights organizations and the
Ukrainian Council on Refugees noted at a press conference that, in the
previous five years, only 3 percent of asylum seekers were granted
refugee status in the country. They also asserted that government
authorities only recognized as refugees persons who fled personal
persecution and often refused to grant refugee status to nationals of
countries that suffered from humanitarian disasters or armed conflicts.
During first nine months of the year, the Ministry of Intrnal
Affairs confirmed that of 773 applications it received, 102 individuals
were granted refugee status. According to SCNR, as of October 1, 108
persons out of 903 applicants received refugee status.
On March 10, UNIAN reported allegations by the Vinnytsia Human
Rights Group that local police had been mistreating Somali refugees
since November 2008. This included racially motivated assaults and
humiliation, lengthy detentions without proper registration, and
demanding money. The group requested that the Prosecutor General's
Office investigate three specific complaints of abuse.
Refugees received minimal material assistance. There were no
Ukrainian language classes for refugees and asylum seekers and no
procedures to facilitate their employment.
The country remained a destination and transit country for
migrants. According to the SBGS, the number of irregular migrants
identified in the first nine months of the year was 19,063, a 19
percent drop compared with the same period in 2008. Of that number,
16,402 were not allowed into the country, and 1,841 were apprehended
when illegally crossing the border. The SBGS noted that CIS nationals
constituted the majority of irregular migrants apprehended during the
year. According to the SBGS, 50 Chechens, nine Uzbeks, and nine
Belarusians were also apprehended in the first nine months of the year.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 751 detained
irregular migrants were held in two new facilities in Chernihiv and
Volyn oblasts, compared with 400 in 2008. According to the SCNR, two
temporary holding facilities for refugees, in Odesa and Zakarpattia
oblast, were not sufficient for providing temporary housing to
refugees.
On July 22, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted an action plan for the
integration of refugees through 2012, including education and
employment assistance.
There are no legal provisions for voluntary return. However, the
local office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in
cooperation with the SBGS and the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
continued to operate a Program on Assisted Voluntary Return to help
stranded migrants and failed asylum seekers to return to their
countries of origin. Five local NGOs in the Mukachevo, Chernihiv,
Odesa, Kharkiv, and Volyn oblasts participated in the voluntary return
program. Since 2007, 210 migrants have safely returned home.
Stateless Persons.--According to the law, citizenship is derived by
birth, territorial origin, naturalization, restored citizenship, and
adoption. Dual citizenship is not allowed.
According to UNHCR statistics, there were 56,350 stateless persons
in the country at the end of 2008. According to the SCNR, there were 20
stateless persons as of October 1. In 2007 the European Council on
Refugees and Exiles and local NGOs reported that there were
approximately 3,000 stateless persons in the country who fled conflicts
in Georgia in the early 1990s. In addition there were an estimated
6,000 formerly deported Crimean Tatars who returned to Crimea but have
not registered as citizens, as well as lesser numbers from Abkhazia and
Georgia.
Stateless persons also included an unknown number of persons who
either lived in the country for decades but failed to clarify their
citizenship status after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 or
who arrived in the country as students or visitors both before and
after 1991. Many did not obtain residency documents or take other steps
to register according to the regulations of their country of origin.
On March 19, parliament adopted amendments to the immigration law
to allow foreign nationals and stateless persons who fled the war in
Abkhazia to apply for citizenship. This included individuals with a
temporary residence permit who subsequently had resided in the country
for no less than five years, as well as children who arrived in the
country with their parents before the age of 18 and applied for a
permanent residence permit.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and the law provide citizens the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The May 2008 mayoral
elections in the capital and the September 2007 preterm parliamentary
elections were both assessed by international and local observers to be
free and fair. In the mayor's race, seven political parties and blocs
won seats to the Kyiv city council. In the parliamentary election, five
of the 20 parties and campaign blocs running passed the 3 percent
threshold to win seats.
Presidential elections were scheduled for January 17, 2010, with a
runoff three weeks later between the two candidates who receive the
largest percentage of the vote. At year's end, 18 candidates were
registered to run in the election.
On August 18, parliament overturned a presidential veto of
amendments to the law on presidential elections. Among other other
provisions, the new law shortened the official campaign period from 120
to 90 days, and required candidates to pay a 500,000 hryvnia
(approximately $62,300) deposit to participate in the campaign.
On September 18, the NGO CVU issued a report asserting that the
amendments posed a threat to transparent and democratic elections.
Among the problems, the CVU noted that election authorities allowed
voters to register on election day, limited civil society oversight and
NGO election monitoring, and adopted procedures that limit the ability
of candidates to challenge possible election fraud. The CVU also
expressed concern about the practice of ``dzhynsa,'' or prepaid media
coverage for individual candidates, a lack of transparency of campaign
funding, and problems with voters' registries, which were believed to
have an error rate of between 10 and 30 percent.
On October 19, the Constitutional Court ruled that several amended
provisions in the election law were unconstitutional, including the
requirement that all members of district and local election commissions
live within their respective district or precinct, and a provision that
citizens residing abroad must be listed in the consular registry in
order to vote.
In November the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
deployed 60 long-term election observers in the country. In December
the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations deployed 50
long-term observers. On election day itself, approximately 3,100
international observers were scheduled to monitor voting around the
country.
According to the OSCE/ODIHR third interim observation report, the
Ministry of Internal Affairs registered 107 election-related violations
between October 19 and December 31. Of that number, 48 were for
hooliganism, 17 for campaign material published in violation of the
law, five for arson, seven for bribing voters, three for loss or theft
of an official election stamp, and 12 for vandalism.
Individuals and parties could, and did, freely declare their
candidacy and stand for election.
To register at the national level, political parties had to
maintain offices in one-half of the regions and could not receive
financial support from the government or any foreign patron. The
Supreme Court reserved the right to prohibit any political party upon
the recommendation of the Ministry of Justice or the prosecutor
general. No legitimate parties were prohibited during the year.
There were 36 female members of the 450-seat parliament, and women
held the posts of prime minister, minister of labor and social policy,
secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, head of the
state treasury, the human rights ombudsman, among other senior
government posts. The 18-member constitutional court included two
female justices. The exact number of minorities in parliament and the
cabinet was not available due to privacy laws.
Crimean Tatar leaders continued to call for changes in the
electoral law that would give them greater representation in the
Crimean and national parliaments. The law does not allow the creation
of regional political parties, so Crimean Tatars had to join national
political parties or blocs. Only one Crimean Tatar was a member of the
national parliament.
According to the deputy leader of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis
(governing body), Refat Chubarov, Crimean Tatars, who make up 13
percent of the population of Crimea, occupied eight seats in the 100-
member Crimean Mejlis, and had approximately 1,000 members in city,
district, and rural councils in Crimea. The Mejlis was not legally
recognized by national authorities.
Eight of the 25 senior officials in the Crimean government were
Crimean Tatars, including one deputy prime minister and the minister
for labor and social policy, the chairman of the Crimean government
Committee on Interethnic Relations and Deported Peoples, and the
chairman of the Crimean government Information Committee. Two of the 14
heads of raion (county level) administrations were also Crimean Tatars.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, corruption is ineffectively prosecuted and such penalties were
rarely imposed. Corruption continued to be a widespread problem in the
government and society.
Studies, including the World Bank's worldwide governance
indicators, found that corruption increased during the year.
Officials and high-ranking officials often engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. Corruption remained a pervasive problem in the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government.
On April 24, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed a new government
commissioner for anticorruption policy. This office is responsible for
developing policy recommendations, coordinating anticorruption efforts
by central and local government agencies, enterprises, and NGOs, and
cooperating with the Council of Europe's Group of States against
Corruption and other international organizations. The commissioner may
refer cases to anticorruption units in the SBU, the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, and to the Prosecutor General's Office. In August the
commissioner submitted a two-year action plan to the cabinet to
implement a national anticorruption strategy.
On December 9, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted 14 anticorruption
measures, including an anticorruption strategy, a methodology for
anticorruption examination of draft normative-legal acts, and a
procedure for collecting and publicizing information about legal
entities prosecuted on corruption charges.
The Prosecutor General's Office is responsible for investigating
corruption by high-level officials and for prosecuting all corruption
offenses. However, the office remains nontransparent and relatively
ineffective in investigating and prosecuting corruption cases.
As of October 1, the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed that
533 criminal cases were launched against 488 law enforcement personnel.
Of that number, 72 involved abuse of office and power, 115 involved
excessive use of power or office, and 115 involved bribes.
The Ministry and the State Judicial Administration jointly operated
a special hotline to take reports on judicial corruption. The SBU also
operated a hotline in 13 oblasts.
The SBU reported that it launched 296 criminal cases on charges of
bribery during the first nine months of the year and that 1,138 civil
servants and other persons ``responsible to perform state functions''
were charged with corruption.
According to the PGO, in the first nine months of the year, 1,188
appointed and elected officials and civil servants at all levels of
government were charged with offenses related to corruption and
bribery.
As in previous years, the number of officials successfully
prosecuted for corruption offenses remained lower than the number
charged. The Prosecutor General's Office confirmed that, in the first
nine months of the year, prosecutors launched 30 corruption cases
against 28 judges and forwarded 18 corruption cases against lower-rank
judges to court. Seven judges were convicted of bribery, embezzlement
of state funds, and negligence in office. According to the High Council
of Justice, no disciplinary charges were brought against judges, and
one low court judge was dismissed for violation of oath as of November.
During the first nine months of the year, military prosecutors
opened 104 criminal cases for corruption, of which 13 involved law
enforcement personnel and 91 involved other officials.
In June a survey by the PACE project (Promoting Active Citizen
Engagement in Combating Corruption in Ukraine) found that almost 63
percent of respondents said they were involved in corrupt transactions
with government officials in the previous 12 months. The survey also
found increased public support for more active anticorruption programs
and increasing criminal charges for corrupt government employees.
On February 6, the SBU filed corruption charges against Industrial
Policy minister Viktor Novytskiy in the appellate court in Kyiv.
According to the SBU, Novytskiy attempted to interfere with the work of
courts by pressuring a court to issue an illegal ruling.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the largest bribery
cases during the first nine months of the year involved land
transactions totaling more than 17 million hryvnia ($2.1 million). For
example, the chairman of a village council in Mykolayiv Oblast,
Berezanskiy district, demanded 8.5 million hryvnia (approximately $1.1
million) in bribes, while the chairman of a village council in Crimea
asked for 8 million hryvnia ($1.0 million), and the chairman of the
Baryshivka district administration in Kyiv Oblast asked for nearly 4.6
million hryvnia (approximately $570,000) for their cooperation. The
first and the third cases were forwarded to court; the second was under
investigation at year's end.
On December 4, Interior Minister Lutsenko said he regretted the
release from custody of the chairman of the Partenit rural council in
Crimea who was caught taking a record bribe of 41.3 million hryvnia
($5,200,000) in July 2008 in connection with a land deal. Lutsenko said
that of approximately 1,700 officials arrested for bribery each year
since he took office in December 2007, no more than 30 to 50, of which
half were police, received prison sentences because of lengthy
investigations and court proceedings or corruption.
There were no developments in a number of 2008 investigations,
including corruption allegations against former transportation minister
Mykola Rud'kovskiy and Oleksiy Ivchenko, the former chairman of
Naftohaz, the country's national oil and gas company, for alleged
corruption in 2005-06.
There was widespread corruption in the judiciary. In August a PACE
project survey on corruption within the judicial system reported that
41 percent of lawyers and prosecutors believed that corruption was
common at all stages of court proceedings and that it was particularly
noticeable in pretrial investigations.
Judges are immune from prosecution and may not be detained or
arrested without the consent of parliament. On March 9, the head of the
Lviv Administrative Court of Appeals, Ihor Zvarych, was arrested on
charges of abuse of office, bribe taking, and fraud. He was stripped of
his immunity in December 2008 after an investigation by the Prosecutor
General's Office of a case involving a bribe of approximately 803,000
hryvnia ($100,000) and the discovery of approximately eight million
hryvnia ($1 million) at his home. In December the Supreme Court
extended his detention until March 2010.
On April 2, according to the SBU, the Prosecutor General's Office
opened a criminal case against a judge from Lviv Administrative Court
of Appeals, Vyacheslav Lyubashevskiy, who demanded a bribe of
approximately 160,000 hryvnia ($20,000) in October 2008 from two local
businessmen to dismiss a tax fine.
There were no reported developments in a number of other 2008 and
2007 cases, including the May 2008 investigation against the head of a
district court in Chernihiv Oblast for allegedly accepting a bribe to
reduce a sentence; the intended appeal by the prosecutors against a
Kyiv Pechersk district court decision not to launch a criminal case
against a senior Ministry of Internal Affairs official who took a bribe
in the amount of 960,000 hryvnias (approximately $120,000); the arrest
warrant ordered by parliament in 2007 for Judge Oleh Pampura on charges
of demanding a bribe to reduce a court sentence; and the 2007 arrest of
a former judge of the Kalynivskiy District Court in Donetsk Oblast,
Vadym Sydorenko, for accepting a bribe in 1999.
The constitution and the law authorize public access to government
information unless it pertains to national security. Government bodies
are required to respond to requests within 10 days and to provide the
information within 30 days. Denials can be appealed to a higher level
at the agency concerned and then to a court. However, access to
official information remained difficult. Government officials often did
not understand the law and at times created bureaucratic procedures to
withhold information.
On April 18, the NGO Majdan Alliance reported that, similar to the
previous government, the prime minister's office created a number of
classified documents stamped ``for official use'' without revealing
their titles.
On September 7, Oleksandr Severyn from Majdan Alliance filed a
lawsuit with the Kyiv district administrative court against parliament
for refusing to provide a copy of its budget.
On November 24, the president signed a decree to declassify a
number of official documents. On December 29, according to media
reports, the justice minister ordered that 628 decrees and 190
injunctions by the president previously stamped ``for official use'' be
published in the Official Newsletter of Ukraine.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases; however, government
officials were not uniformly cooperative and at times resisted taking
the recommendations of NGOs into account.
Domestic NGOs freely criticized the government's human rights
performance. For example, on June 25, during a press conference Yevhen
Zakharov of Kharkiv Human Rights Group (KGHR) and Arkadiy Bushchenko
and Volodymyr Yavorskiy of the UHHRU criticized the government for not
addressing human rights problems in a systemic way and alleged that
leading political forces treated human rights as secondary. They
excluded the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and
the National Commission on Strengthening Democracy and Asserting the
Rule of Law, which they said had made some improvements. The UHHRU has
made similar criticisms in its annual reports on human rights in the
country.
The SBU continued to work with its advisory council, consisting of
political leaders, NGO activists, and independent experts, to provide
civilian oversight and increase the transparency of SBU activities. In
April the SBU held a second annual conference on promoting democratic
values and human rights within the SBU. Participants included
government officials, diplomats, and representatives of human rights
NGOs.
Major independent, nonpartisan, human rights NGOs and civil society
groups included CVU, KGHR, UHHRU, Amnesty International Ukraine,
Donetsk Memorial, the Institute for Mass Information, the Chirikli Roma
Women's Fund, the Ukrainian Union of Psychiatrists, La Strada-Ukraine,
the VAAD, the Diversity Initiative network, and VGHR.
The government generally cooperated with international governmental
organizations, including the UN, the OSCE, and the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Citizens may apply to the ECHR for the redress of grievances
involving an alleged infringement of rights under the European
Convention on Human Rights.
During the first 10 months of year, the ECHR issued 70 rulings in
cases involving the country, according to the government's ECHR
commissioner, Yuriy Zaitsev. The government enforced 59 of the rulings
involving prohibition of torture, the right to liberty and security of
person, the right to a fair trial, the right to respect for private and
family life, and the right to an effective remedy.
However, in two cases the UHHRU accused the Supreme Court of
contempt of ECHR rulings concerning the right to a fair trial and the
right to freedom from torture. In the first case, (Yaremenko v.
Ukraine) the Court refused to revoke a conviction, despite the ECHR's
doubts regarding fairness of the judicial examination, and in the
second (Lutsenko v. Ukraine) it refused to reconsider the verdict.
On August 31, in a published viewpoint, Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg listed the country
among member states failing to enforce ECHR decisions. ``This must be
seen as a refusal to accept the rule of law and is a serious human
rights problem,'' he said. In response, Justice Minister Mykola
Onishchuk urged the Supreme Court to report on cases involving failure
to implement court rulings.
The ECHR announced that it handed down 126 judgments against
Ukraine and that 10,000 applications were pending before the court this
year. Most court judgments involved violations of the right to a fair
trial, violation of property rights, and unduly lengthy proceedings.
In June the Ministry of Internal Affairs adopted new regulations
for its civic advisory council, declaring that its meetings should be
open to the public and that outcomes should be publicized. The ministry
continued to cooperate with mobile monitoring groups, which conducted
312 site visits to prisons and detention centers in the first nine
months of the year. On October 2, the ministry held its first public
hearing to discuss human rights in police work.
In the first nine months of the year, the Ministry of Internal
Affairs human rights monitoring department reviewed 2,060 appeals and
complaints, carried out 1,304 official inspections, and met with more
than 2,800 citizens. This compared with 374 inspections and 1,790
citizens meetings during the first six months of 2008. A majority of
the complaints related to police offices that refused to release
information, not providing copies of regulations on refusal to launch a
criminal investigation, and not sharing documents on the outcome of
official investigations. Following official inspections, disciplinary
sanctions were brought against 430 police personnel, and 284 case
materials were forwarded to prosecutors.
The constitution provides for a human rights ombudsman, officially
designated as the parliamentary commissioner on human rights. On June
24, Commissioner Nina Karpachova presented a constitutionally mandated
report to parliament on the human rights situation in the country from
2006 to 2007. The report is required annually, but has only been
produced five times since the office was established in 1998.
Human rights groups criticized the report for being outdated and
the ombudsman for poor cooperation with human rights organizations and
for not opening regional offices. They also expressed concern that
government bodies failed to provide proper responses to the ombudsman's
requests. Nevertheless, they also noted that the ombudsman office had
become more transparent by increasing media coverage of its activities
and by updating information on its Web site on a more regular basis.
In the first 11 months of the year, 73,133 persons filed complaints
with the ombudsman's office. According to the office, more than 50
percent of the complaints related to civil rights, in particular the
right to a fair trial, abuse by law enforcement personnel, and timely
implementation of court rulings. The remainder involved social rights
and economic rights, individual rights (including right to life,
respect for personal integrity, and prohibition of torture in
detention), and political rights.
A parliamentary committee on human rights, national minorities, and
interethnic relations continued to operate during the year, but its
activities were not publicized. The committee has subcommittees to work
on issues such as interethnic relations, gender policy, indigenous
peoples, national minorities and ethnic groups, deported persons,
victims of political repression, ethnic policy, prevention of domestic
conflict, refugees and migration.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, language,
social status, or other circumstances; however, both governmental and
societal discrimination persisted, and the government did not
effectively enforce the prohibitions.
Women.--The law prohibits rape but does not explicitly address
spousal rape. A law against ``forced sex with a materially dependent
person'' may allow prosecution for spousal rape. According to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the first nine months of the year,
police recorded 598 incidents of rape or attempted rape, a decrease of
8.6 percent compared with the same period in 2008.
Domestic violence against women remained a serious problem. Spousal
abuse is illegal but was common. Advocacy groups asserted that the
percentage of women subjected to physical violence or psychological
abuse at home remained high. According to Donetsk Regional League of
Business and Professional Women, each year domestic violence resulted
in 100,000 days of care at in-patient hospital facilities, 30,000
trauma unit cases, and 40,000 doctor visits; up to 40 percent of calls
to police offices involved complaints about domestic violence.
On January 1, a new law took effect that permitted administrative
arrest of up to five days for domestic violence-related offenses.
According to the UHHRU and La Strada-Ukraine, national authorities,
particularly the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports, devoted more
attention to domestic violence than in previous years.
For example, in late July social advertisements against domestic
violence, with hotline numbers for victims, were established in eight
major cities. The ads were part of a national campaign to combat
domestic violence against women entitled ``stop violence!'' On July 30,
Yuriy Pavlenko, the minister for family, youth and sports, announced
other measures to prevent and combat domestic violence. This included a
program for dealing with offenders and raising public awareness of the
issue by including information on domestic violence in syllabi of all
educational institutions for judicial, law enforcement personnel,
medical staff, social workers, and teachers.
During the first nine months of the year, the ministry and its
regional offices recorded 50,912 domestic violence complaints,
including 40,447 allegations of violence against women, and 10,465
reported incidents of violence against men. Of these, 17,203 complaints
involved physical assaults, 12,840 involved psychological pressure,
2,551 dealt with economic violence, and 37 involved sexual harassment.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry for
Family, Youth and Sports, as of November 1, there were 91,683 persons
under police supervision domestic violence, compared with 85,085 in
2008. Police cited 54,900 individuals for domestic violence in the
first nine months of the year, issued 66,500 warnings and 4,800
injunctions for protection related to domestic violence, and sent
57,200 notices to the state agencies for prevention of domestic
violence. Administrative charges were brought against 85,700
individuals, of which 84,500 were for domestic violence and 1,200 for
disobeying injunctions of protection.
According to the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports there were
22 centers for social-psychological assistance in 19 oblasts, Crimea,
and the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol, which had capacity for 390
persons. The centers received funding from oblast (region) and raion
(district) budgets. NGOs operated additional centers for domestic
violence victims in Vinnytsia, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Odesa, Chernihiv,
Poltava, Sumy and Khmelnytskiy oblasts.
The law requires the government to operate a shelter in every major
city, but in practice it did not, in part due to the lack of municipal
funding.
According to women's advocacy groups, private and municipally
funded shelters were not always accessible. Some did not function
throughout the year, and shelters in Kyiv did not admit women who were
not registered as Kyiv residents. Government centers offered only
limited legal and psychological assistance to victims of domestic
violence.
At year's end the fate of the Kyiv Women's Center remained
uncertain. In 2008 authorities ordered the center to vacate its
offices, which the city had provided since 1998. Women's advocacy
groups organized numerous protests against the city's plans to sell or
rent the property to another organization.
Prostitution is not a criminal offense, although it can be punished
as an administrative offense with a fine up to 255 hryvnia
(approximately $32). However, pimping and the organization and
operation of a prostitution business is a crime that carries a term of
three to 15 years' imprisonment. Sex tourism remained a problem.
The law on equal rights and opportunities qualifies sexual
harassment as discrimination; however, women's rights groups asserted
that it does not contain an effective mechanism to protect against
sexual harassment. Women's groups reported that there was continuing,
widespread sexual harassment in the workplace, including coerced sex.
A study carried out by La Strada and Kyiv International Institute
of Sociology during 2008-09 suggested that the level of public
awareness of the issue remained low: 43 percent of respondents said
that sexual harassment was a relevant issue in the country, while 6
percent said this type of discrimination was relevant for them at work.
Approximately one-third of respondents said that only prostitutes were
victims of sexual harassment.
While the law prohibits forced sex with a ``materially dependent
person,'' which includes employees, legal experts regarded the
safeguards against harassment as inadequate. La Strada-Ukraine operated
a national hotline for victims of violence and sexual harassment.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Health clinics and local health NGOs were
permitted to operate freely in disseminating information on family
planning under the guidance of the Ministry of Health. There are no
restrictions on the right to access contraceptives.
Quality prenatal and postnatal care remained inaccessible to many
women because state-funded clinics were underfunded and lacked quality
equipment, and services in private clinics were expensive. According to
statistics compiled by the World Health Organization in 2000, there
were approximately 38 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the
country. Some of the reproductive health concerns affecting the system
included rapidly growing rates of sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV/AIDS; poor quality sexual and reproductive health
services in state-funded hospitals; low awareness of modern
contraceptives; and the expense of high-priced medical services in
private clinics that made them inaccessible to large groups of local
residents. Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and
treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, but local
health NGOs and clinics reported that women were more likely than men
to seek treatment and refer their partners.
Under the law women enjoyed the same rights as men, including equal
pay for equal work, a principle that generally was observed. However,
industries dominated by female workers had the lowest relative wages.
The labor code sets the retirement age for women at 55 and for men at
60. Women received lower salaries and had limited opportunities for
advancement.
Children.--Citizenship is acquired by birthplace (jus soli) or by
parentage (jus sanguinis). A child born on the territory of the country
in a family of stateless persons residing permanently in the country is
a citizen. The law requires that parents register a child within a
month of birth. According to the Ministry of Justice, in 2008 almost
12,000 parents (mainly from the Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk
regions) did not register their children's birth. This number amounted
to approximately 2.5 percent of the total number of children whose
births were registered.
While education was free, universal, and compulsory until age 15,
the public education system continued to suffer from chronic
underfunding, and children from poor families continued to drop out of
school before turning 15.
According to the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports, the number
of children in orphanage facilities decreased from 23,700 in 2005 to
17,700 in 2008. Over the past three years almost every third child
orphan was placed in foster care. Forty-three children were adopted
from orphanages in the first six months of the year.
More than 20,000 children did not attend school, according to a
recent report written by a coalition of 14 children's rights NGOs. The
Alternative Report on Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child, which covered 2002-08, was presented to the UN Committee
on the Rights of the Child during the year. Many children were employed
in agriculture and illegal coalmines or, in some cases, forced by their
parents to beg in the streets. NGOs reported that a lack of schooling
remained a significant problem among the rural population and within
the Romani community. In some cases rural schools were closed due to
the small number of school-age children, forcing children to travel
long distances, often at personal expense, to attend schools in other
villages.
Children continued to be victims of violence and abuse. According
to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the first nine months of the
year 8,362 minors were victims of crime, including 47 of intentionally
inflicted bodily injury. The PGO confirmed that in the first nine
months of the year, 598 crimes involving child rape and attempted rape
were recorded, which was a reduction from 2008; 110 minors were raped,
compared with 140 during the same period in 2008.
On January 15, parliament adopted amendments to the criminal and
criminal procedural codes that established criminal liability of up to
three years in custody for forcing children into begging.
In April the chief of the Lviv Oblast Administration Office on
Child Affairs, Volodymyr Lys, told a German broadcaster that
criminalizing the exploitation of child labor helped reduce the number
of child beggars. He stated that, during the first three months of the
year, law enforcement personnel opened 10 criminal cases in Lviv on
charges of forcing children into begging.
Commercial sexual exploitation of children remained a serious
problem. Domestic and foreign law enforcement officials reported that a
significant portion of Internet child pornography continued to
originate from the country.
According to Olha Shved, a local representative of the
international organization End Child Prostitution, Pornography and
Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, conviction rates of child
pornographers were poor. For example, despite some progress in
combating cybercrime and uncovering 14 Internet rings in 2008, all of
the cases were unsuccessful in courts because judges did not treat them
seriously and because of weak laws that resulted from pressure by
domestic Internet providers.
Under the law the penalty for statutory rape is to 8 to 12 years in
custody. Molestation of children under 16 is punishable with arrest for
up to six months or three years in an open detention facility.
There were no reports on developments in cases from 2008 and 2007,
including the criminal case against the administrators of a
pornographic Web site arrested in 2008 after the Ministry of Internal
Affairs broke up an Internet child pornography ring; the 2008
investigation against a man in Lviv Oblast suspected of counterfeiting
children's travel documents to traffick them out of the country; and
the 2007 Europol operation that uncovered a worldwide child sex
offender network, including pornographic material produced in a studio
in Ukraine.
According to independent children's rights experts, there were an
estimated 130,000 homeless children in the country. However, according
to the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports, the number of street
children dropped from 42,000 in 2005 to 21,700 during the year as a
result of government efforts to remove children from public areas. The
ministry reported that as of September there were 90 shelters for
children, of which two were private, and four centers for social-
psychological rehabilitation of children.
Trafficking In Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked
from, to, and within the country.
Ukraine remained a country of origin for internationally trafficked
men, women, and children. The main destinations were Russia, Poland,
Turkey, Italy, the Czech Republic, Portugal, and Spain. The country was
also a transit point for traffickers and victims from Central Asia,
Russia, and Moldova, usually to destinations further west or to the
Middle East.
The scope of trafficking was difficult to quantify with reliable
estimates, but observers believed it remained widespread. According to
the IOM and the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports, there were 536
victims of human trafficking in the first nine months of the year; 40
of them were minors. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported
that there were 359 victims during the year (226 women, 51 children,
and 82 men). Among the victims identified and who received assistance,
85 percent were women and 15 percent were men.
According to the IOM, one individual from Uzbekistan was trafficked
into the country, and 11 individuals were trafficked through the
country-six destined to the United Arab Emirates, four to Turkey, and
one to Cyprus. The IOM also noted a 2 percent increase in the number of
cases of internal trafficking in the first nine months of the year,
compared with the same period in 2008.
The main trafficking victims were women up to 30 years of age for
sexual exploitation, older women for labor exploitation, men of all
ages for labor exploitation, and children under the age of 16 for
sexual and labor exploitation. According to local NGOs, orphaned
children were also at high risk as trafficking victims.
According to the IOM, 58 percent of individuals were victims of
sexual exploitation, 37 percent were victims of labor exploitation, 3
percent were victims of mixed type exploitation (labor and sexual), and
2 percent were forced into begging. The IOM noted that compared with
2008 the number of cases of labor exploitation decreased and of mixed
type increased.
Victims were usually trafficked into severe conditions that
included beatings, limited and poor quality food, no medical
assistance, and long hours of work.
Estimates of the number of Ukrainian trafficking victims varied. A
survey conducted by the IOM and released in 2006 stated that, since
1991, approximately 117,000 persons had been forced into exploitative
situations in Europe, the Middle East, and Russia.
Employment, travel, marriage, and modeling agencies, as well as
individuals, were involved in recruitment of victims. Most traffickers
were members of organized crime groups and had foreign partners. In
some cases they bribed corrupt officials to facilitate the movement of
victims abroad. Sometimes previously trafficked women served as
``success stories'' to recruit potential victims, flaunting money they
had ostensibly earned abroad.
Traffickers continued to recruit by means of newspaper, television,
and radio advertisements promising high-salaried jobs abroad, modelling
contracts, marriage proposals, or overseas trips through travel
agencies. Traffickers often presented themselves as friends of other
friends and deceived the relatives of potential victims. They often
paid for the processing of victims' passports and travel, thus placing
the victims into debt bondage. In some cases traffickers kidnapped
their victims.
The law provides penalties of three to eight years' imprisonment
for trafficking in persons for sexual and labor exploitation and other
purposes. Traffickers of minors between the age of 14 and 18 and of
groups of victims may be sentenced to five to 12 years in prison.
Traffickers of minors under the age of 14 and members of organized
trafficking groups may receive eight to 15 years in prison. However,
these minimum sentences were often circumvented by provisions that
allow a court to impose a lesser sentence.
During the first 11 months of the year, the Ministry of Interior
identified 279 trafficking in persons crimes, stopped the activities of
10 organized crime rings, and brought criminal charges against 180
persons. In addition 353 trafficking victims were repatriated to the
country, including 45 minors.
During the first half of the year, courts ruled on 34 trafficking
cases, reaching guilty verdicts in 28 cases and convicting 49
defendants. Of that number, 18 convicted defendants appealed the
ruling, and all received suspended sentences. In addition the courts
heard but did not rule in 90 additional cases during the same period.
The percentage of persons sentenced to prison rather than probation
during the first six months of the year increased to 42 percent in
comparison with the same period in 2008.
Corruption in the judiciary and police continued to impede the
government's ability to combat trafficking. NGOs asserted that police
and border guards took bribes to ignore trafficking and that judges
took bribes in return for lighter sentences. The low number of
prosecutions of officials for trafficking-related corruption raised
questions about the government's willingness to address the problem of
official complicity in human trafficking.
Antitrafficking experts noted that prosecutors were often the
weakest link in the fight against trafficking due to their negative
stereotypes of victims and their failure to prosecute aggressively.
However, in the first half of the year, some prosecutors began to
actively appeal sentences that did not include imprisonment; they
appealed 17 of 18 cases.
While some victims testified against traffickers, most were
reluctant due to lack of trust in law enforcement agencies and the
courts as well as concern that they would be subject to negative public
opinion, that weak witness protection programs would not protect them,
and that investigators and judges did not understand the real threats
to victims from traffickers. Skepticism that civil courts would award
significant compensation deterred victims from filing civil suits. Some
courts had a separate witness room that enabled witnesses and victims
of trafficking and other serious crimes to testify safely and
confidentially through a video or telephone connection. The arrangement
allowed judges to protect the rights of the victims, witnesses, and
defendants.
Local NGOs operated shelters in major cities with local
administrations providing the premises at a nominal fee. Government
funding for these facilities continued to be limited. A toll-free
hotline offering advice and warnings regarding employment abroad
continued to operate and provided assistance to persons who were
exploited while abroad.
Government cooperation with NGOs on antitrafficking programs
remained steady during the year. Local administrations continued to
include NGOs as partners in their regional action plans, but
international donors continued to provide most of the funding for
informational materials, free or inexpensive offices, and shelters.
According to the IOM, during the year NGOs reported updated
agreements with local government institutions and in-kind government
assistance. The government's financial contribution to NGOs varied
throughout regions of the country ranging from 2,400 hryvnia ($300) in
Ivano-Frankivsk to 37,000 hryvnia ($4,610) in Rivne. Assistance focused
on prevention activities, including production of information
materials. Additionally, local governments supported NGOs by providing
free or low-cost space in municipal newspapers and local television
channels, offices, transportation, and multimedia equipment for use at
trainings.
During the year several television stations broadcast documentary
films and information programs highlighting the danger of human
trafficking. NGOs conducted general awareness campaigns throughout the
country, often in cooperation with government entities. In addition new
social advertisements about the risks of employment abroad with
telephone numbers for NGO- and police-operated hotlines appeared in the
downtown areas of major cities.
The government worked to improve assistance provided by its
diplomatic missions to trafficking victims in destination countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs operated a center in Kyiv and five
other major cities to provide free consultations to citizens regarding
their rights in foreign countries.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be
found at http://www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and other state services; however, the government
generally did not enforce these laws.
The government estimated the number of persons with disabilities at
between 2.4 to 2.7 million. The number of children with disabilities
was estimated at 186,000.
During the first nine months of the year, 5,300 persons with
disabilities received jobs through government employment placement
services, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The
Ministry of Education confirmed that there were 385 specialized
secondary schools and boarding schools with a total of 48,500 children,
including 47 specialized secondary schools in which 4,800 children with
disabilities studied while staying with their families.
Advocacy groups maintained that, despite existing legal guarantees,
most public buildings remained inaccessible to persons with
disabilities. As a result, access to essential services and activities
such as employment, education, health care, transportation, and
financial services remained difficult. NGOs expressed concern over the
lack of programs to promote the integration of students with
disabilities into the general student population and noted that the
lack of needs assessment programs by state-funded employment centers
led to the placement of graduates with disabilities in inappropriate
jobs.
According to Semen Gluzman of the Ukrainian Psychiatric Association
(UAHRB), patients in mental health facilities remained at risk for
abuse, and many psychiatric hospitals continued to use outdated methods
and medicines. According to the UAHRB, insufficient funding, the
absence of public watchdog councils at psychiatric hospitals, patients'
lack of access to legal counsel, and poor enforcement of legal
protections deprived patients with disabilities of their right to
adequate medical care. The UAHRB also expressed concern that nothing
was done to address patient abuse and neglect in a psychiatric hospital
in Crimea and in a Svyatoshynskiy district psychoneurological boarding
school for women in Kyiv. In July 2008 the German-Polish Society for
Psychiatric Healthcare visited both facilities and voiced concern about
maltreatment of patients by medical personnel, as well as problems with
sanitation, overcrowding, and insufficient funds to purchase quality
medications.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution and law
prohibit discrimination based on race, skin color, and ethnic and
social origin. Mistreatment of minority groups and harassment of
foreigners of non-Slavic appearance remained a serious problem,
although NGO monitors reported that there was no increase in hate-crime
incidents.
Incitement to ethnic or religious hatred is a criminal offense;
however, human rights organizations said the requirement to prove
actual intent, including proof of premeditation and intent to incite
hatred, made its legal application difficult. Police and prosecutors
generally prosecuted racially motivated crimes under legal provisions
dealing with hooliganism or related offenses. Article 161 of the
criminal code criminalizes deliberate actions to incite hatred or
discrimination based on nationality, race or religion. This includes
insulting the national honor or dignity of citizens in connection with
their religious and political beliefs, race, and skin color.
The government acknowledged that racism and ethnically motivated
attacks were a problem; however, some officials continued to minimize
its seriousness, maintaining that xenophobia was not a problem and that
violent attacks were isolated incidents.
No official statistics were available on the number of racially
motivated attacks. However, the Diversity Initiative monitoring group,
which is a coalition of international and local NGOs headed by the IOM
mission in Kyiv, reported 26 attacks involving 35 victims during the
year. This compared with 63 during the same period in 2008 and 68 in
2007. The attacks mainly involved Middle Eastern, Asian, and African
nationals who were often asylum seekers and foreign students. Most of
the attacks occurred in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk; three
were fatal.
On January 18, a 25-year-old Nigerian national was stabbed to death
in Lviv near a bus stop. On December 9, the Korrespondent Internet news
service reported that police in Lviv Oblast had made an arrest in case
and charged the suspect with murder.
On June 26, the Kyiv-based NGO African Center reported that
Nigerian national Julius Igbodunu Azike was shot three times in the
head in front of his house in Kyiv. Police stated they were considering
several motives for the killing, including racism.
On March 19, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that the
death in February of an Afghan national in Zakarpattia due to a severe
beating remained unsolved.
According to the Diversity Initiative, police initiated 11 criminal
cases of hooliganism out of 17 cases that the monitoring group reported
to officials. Unlike previous years, there were no reports on trials
involving ethnic or racially motivated violence.
According to the PGO, prosecutors initiated five criminal cases
based on Article 161 of the criminal code, of which two were forwarded
to court. Pretrial investigations continued in the other three cases.
According to the State Judicial Administration, in the first six months
of the year one person was found guilty of violating Article 161,
compared with three in 2008 and one in 2007.
On December 1, the president signed into law amendments to the
criminal code that increased penalties for hate crimes. Accordingly,
premeditated killing on grounds of racial, ethnic or religious hatred
carries a 10- to 15-year prison sentence. Parliament also established a
fine from 3,400 to 8,500 hryvnia ($425 to $1,060) or up to five years
in custody for hate crimes.
On November 16, on the occasion of International Tolerance Day, the
IOM mission in Kyiv noted an improvement of the situation in the
country and a decrease of the number of racially motivated crimes. In
particular the IOM credited the Ministry of Internal Affairs with
having a positive impact. However, human rights groups working on
tolerance issues said much more needed to be done to eliminate racism
and xenophobia.
On February 6, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor
General's Office issued joint instructions urging law enforcement
personnel to use a new form designed to register hate-motivated crimes
and to create a register of hate crimes. However, observers maintained
that the form was not used in practice and that statistics on the
frequency of hate crimes remained difficult to find. Human rights
groups noted that police remained reluctant to recognize ethnic- and
race-based crimes and often described incidents as hooliganism.
On April 23, the SBU, foreign students from Africa and Asia, and
representatives of other communities of foreigners agreed to establish
an independent commission with oversight responsibility to control
investigations of hate crimes by law enforcement bodies. On May 25, the
Kyiv police chief announced at press conference that city police had
assembled a database of 750 individuals who were identified in
connection with acts related to xenophobia and racial intolerance.
During the year an interagency working group to combat racism,
xenophobia, and discrimination met three times and agreed to draft a
new two-year action plan for the period of 2010-12. However, there were
no reports on the implementation of the group's previous two-year
action plan. In November 2007 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
established the post of ambassador at large to combat racism,
xenophobia, and discrimination, but it remained unclear what activities
the office was involved in to promote tolerance.
There were no reports on developments in investigations of three
killings in Kyiv in 2008, including that of a Congolese refugee in
January; a 39-year-old refugee from Sierra Leone in March; and a 40-
year-old Nigerian in May.
There was no further information about a number of incidents in
2007 that appeared to be racially or ethnically motivated, including
the fatal stabbing in February of 34-year-old Georgian Moris
Dzugashvili, the arrest of the organizer of a March rally of
ultranationalists to protest the presence of African traders in Kyiv's
Shuliavka market, the fatal stabbing in March of an Iranian-Ukrainian
near Kyiv's Lukianivka market, or the fatal stabbing in Kyiv in June of
a 43-year-old Iraqi refugee.
Advocacy groups asserted that police occasionally detained dark-
skinned persons and subjected them to far more frequent and arbitrary
document checks; at times victims of xenophobic attacks were prosecuted
for acting in self-defense.
The media and domestic monitoring NGOs reported an increased number
of protests against dark-skinned individuals, irregular migrants, and
foreign students by locally based skinhead groups and neonationalist
organizations. On November 28, the nationalist Svoboda party launched a
national anti-immigrant campaign and conducted marches in all regions.
Some of the most active groups were the unregistered Ukrainian
National-Labor Party, the Patriot of Ukraine organization, the
Ukrainian Movement against Illegal Immigration, White Power-Skinhead
Spektrum, the Ukrainian branch of Blood and Honor, and the World Church
of the Creator Ruthenia. Such groups appeared to be marginal and poorly
organized.
Roma continued to face governmental and societal discrimination.
Romani rights groups estimated the country's Romani population to be
between 200,000 and 400,000; however, official census data placed the
number at 47,600. The discrepancy was due in part by lack of legal
documentation and poor record keeping in the Romani community.
According to SCNR, there were 88 Romani NGOs, of which three were
national.
A study by Chirikli Roma Women Foundation indicated that almost 70
percent of Roma had experienced a violation of their rights and that
the majority did not know how to defend their rights or with whom to
lodge complaints. According to Romani rights groups, two-thirds of Roma
were illiterate, 15 percent were infected with TB, and 60 percent of
Romani children in Zakarpattia were TB infected. One-third of Roma had
no funds to pay for medicine and doctors' services.
Romani rights groups reported that early marriages involving girls
under 18 were common within the Romani community and that Romani women
experienced racially discriminatory standards of medical care and
lacked access to information on health matters.
Representatives of Romani and other minority groups claimed that
police officials routinely ignored and sometimes abetted violence
against them and referred to Romani ethnicity in crime reports.
However, the Roma Congress of Ukraine noted diminished ethnic profiling
by police as a result of involvement of Romani rights groups.
There were some reports of government cooperation with the Romani
community. Roma had a representative in Cherkasy Oblast administration.
The chairman of the Roma Congress of Ukraine, Petro Hryhorychenko, was
a member of the presidential council on ethnic-national policy and a
member of the NGO advisory council with the State Committee on
Nationalities and Religions (SCNR).
The constitution provides for the free development, use, and
protection of the Russian language and other minority languages, but
organizations and political parties in the Russian-speaking community
complained that the increased use of Ukrainian in schools, college
entrance exams, the media, and the courts put them at a disadvantage.
According to the Ministry of Education, there were 2,217 educational
facilities with Russian as the main language of instruction, serving
nearly 1 million schoolchildren. According to ministry figures, 1.3
million school children studied Russian as a separate subject in
secondary schools, and more than 165,000 secondary school children
studied Russian as an extracurricular course
Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar minorities in Crimea continued to
complain of discrimination by the ethnic Russian majority on the
peninsula and in Sevastopol. They urged that Ukrainian and the Crimean
Tatar languages be given a status equal to Russian. Early in the year,
the head of the Crimean Republican Committee for Nationalities and
Deported Citizens reported that there were approximately 264,500
registered Crimean Tatars in the country. The SCNR reported 260,873
Tatars living in Crimea, Kherson Oblast, and Sevastapol.
As of November 1, the SCNR reported that the government had
allocated 28.276 million hryvnia (approximately $3.5 million) for the
resettlement and integration of Crimean Tatars, including housing
construction. According to Crimean Tatar Mejlis, Crimean Tatars resided
in 300 settlements on the Crimean peninsula, and authorities allocated
53 million hryvnia ($6.6 million) for their integration. According to
the Ministry of Education, 439 children studied the Crimean Tatar
language in separate groups in preschool facilities. There were 15
secondary schools with Crimean Tatar as the main language of
instruction; 17,725 children studied Crimean Tatar as a separate
subject in secondary schools; and 5,153 secondary schoolchildren
studied Crimean Tatar as an extracurricular course.
Crimean Tatars asserted that discrimination by local officials
deprived them of equal opportunities for employment in local
administrations and that propaganda campaigns, particularly by pro-
Russian groups, promoted hostility toward them among other inhabitants.
For example, on July 11, member of parliament and presidential
candidate for the 2010 election Inna Bohoslovska suggested at a press
conference suspending the repatriation of Crimean Tatars for three
years and called for a special status for Crimea's Russian population.
On January 27, the Crimean Tatar Mejlis issued an alert about plans
to demolish a Crimean Tatar settlement in Simferopol that was illegally
seized by the Crimean Tatar community in 2006. Approximately 80
families lived there. The land formally belonged to the Ministry of
Defense, which began the process of transferring it to the city of
Simferopol. The city council, however, assumed ownership before the
transfer was completed and rented the land to several commercial
companies. The companies obtained a court order to evict the families.
On February 22, the Mejlis reported a mistaken attack by the
Ministry of Internal Affairs's Berkut special forces against a Crimean
Tatar family in the village of Myrne. Approximately 10 police officers
entered the home of Mustafa Khairov, assaulted his son, and wounded
Khairov by detonating an explosive device. Khairov's hand was amputated
as a result of injuries sustained during the incident. Khairov's wife
reported that a man in civilian clothing subsequently came to the
house, informed her that the attack was a mistake, tried to convince
the family not to report the incident, and promised to pay all damages.
The chief of Crimean police, Mykola Illichov, ordered an official
investigation of the incident and dismissed 23 police officers.
There was no further information about the July 2008 incident in
which vandals reportedly tore down a national emblem of Crimean Tatars
from the memorial complex to the victims of genocide of the Crimean
Tatars in the Crimean village of Krasnogvardejskoye.
There were no reports on developments in the arrest of 10 persons
involved in a clash between Crimean Tatars and local police during a
dispute over land in 2007 or the shooting of a Crimean Tatar man
involved in clashes between Crimean Tatars and police on the Ay-Petri
plateau in November 2007.
During the year Crimean Tatars held several demonstrations,
including in Kyiv, to protest unequal access to land ownership. The NGO
Human Rights Watch reported that, during one protest on July 30 in
front of the Cabinet of Ministers building in Kyiv, protesters were
attacked while police stood by without intervening.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) community continued to suffer societal stigma
and discrimination.
According to the coordinator of the Gay-Forum of Ukraine,
Svyatoslav Sheremet, the number of persons with a homosexual
orientation ranged from 800,000 to 1.2 million. Those who openly
declared their sexual orientation experienced discrimination in
education, in the workplace, and in access to medical treatment and to
information on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. There were an estimated 19
LGBT rights groups in the country.
In May activists of the nationalist Svoboda party threw eggs at
participants of a sanctioned gay street action in Lviv; police did not
intervene in the incident. On September 30, the Pavlo Hudimov Art
Center in Kyiv was the target of an arson attack following a public
discussion on homosexuality. Also in September police in Lviv detained
and charged three activists of the right-wing Bandera Trident
organization who tried to obstruct a press conference during a national
book forum on a presentation of 120 Pages of Sodom. The activists threw
tomatoes, mayonnaise' and water; smashed a microphone and glasses; and
destroyed press releases and copies of the book.
On September 17, in a related development, LGBT organizations
criticized Lviv city council members of the Christian-Democratic Union
party and Our Ukraine for urging a ban on the sale of 120 Pages of
Sodom at the book forum. The political parties described the book,
which is an 18th century anthology of sexual gratification, as ``overt
perversion.''
According to Nash Mir (Our World), a registered LGBT rights group,
the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the SBU, and military academic
institutions used a textbook approved by the Ministry of Education that
qualified homosexual orientation as sexual perversion. The group also
maintained that police mistreated and collected personal data on
homosexual persons, while the Ministry of Internal Affairs ignored
homophobic attitudes among its personnel.
In February following the killing of a gay man in Lviv, regional
police reportedly questioned more than 300 gay men over a three-month
period as part the investigation into the death. According to Andriy
Lyshchyshyn, director of the LGBT organization Total, the men were
subjected to psychological pressure, insults, and physical violence.
Police officers also threatened to reveal their orientation to
employers. Detailed information about the men, including fingerprints,
was collected. The men were also forced to sign statements that they
had no complaints about police conduct.
On April 10, Nash Mir reported that the Berkut police unit raided
the Androgin gay club in Kyiv as part of an investigation into the
killing of a homosexual man. Nash Mir said police indiscriminately
detained approximately 80 individuals and brought them to the
Holosiyivskiy district office where they were fingerprinted,
photographed, and told to declare in writing that they had no
complaints about police conduct. LGBT rights organizations complained
to police and the prosecutor about the raid but were told that police
had acted appropriately.
In July 2008 the Kyiv prosecutor closed a criminal case opened in
February 2008 against Oleksandr Zinchenkov, an editorial staff member
of Gay.ua, the newspaper for Nash Mir. The organization's chairman,
Andriy Maimulakhin, was also charged with distributing pornography.
Maimulakhin was granted amnesty, and the court closed the case without
a ruling. According to Nash Mir, the criminal investigation resulted in
closure of Gay.ua, which was the only publication for the country's
LGBT community.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS
faced discrimination and at times lacked access to treatment. There
were an estimated 440,000 persons with HIV/AIDS in the country,
according to statistics compiled by international organizations.
However, the Ministry of Health estimated the number at approximately
156,000, of which 30,000 were diagnosed with AIDS.
According to the Human Rights Watch's annual country report, the
Ukrainian National AIDS Center reported 13,039 newly registered cases
of HIV infection in the first eight months of year, nearly half among
injection drug users.
The All-Ukrainian Network of Persons Living with HIV noted that
persons with HIV/AIDS faced discrimination in the workplace, job loss
without legal recourse, harassment by law enforcement officials,
prosecutors, social isolation and stigmatization.
On September 14, Svitlo Nadii (the Light of Hope) charitable
organization expressed concern about the refusal by Poltava and
Reshetylivka maternity hospitals to admit a local resident, Olena
Kulish, who was diagnosed with a still pregnancy. Hospital staff
allegedly insulted the woman and repeatedly stated that they did not
want to deal with HIV-positive persons. She was admitted to a hospital
only after the staff of Svitlo Nadii complained to the deputy chief of
the Poltava Oblast health agency.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Under the law workers have the right
to form and join unions ``without previous authorization or excessive
requirements,'' and this right was generally been respected in
practice.
However, in some instances local government and union officials
restricted the right of workers to choose their union affiliation.
There were no reliable estimates of the percentage of the workforce
that belonged to a trade union.
The law provides for the right of workers to strike on condition
that a strike does not jeopardize national security, public health, or
the rights and liberties of others. The right was generally respected
in practice.
The right to strike does not apply to personnel of the Prosecutor
General's Office, the judiciary, armed forces, security services, law
enforcement agencies, the transportation sector, or public servants.
Federations and confederations are not entitled to strike. A strike may
be organized only if two-thirds of the workers of an enterprise vote
for it, which is considered disproportionate by international
standards.
By law all trade unions have equal status, and the establishment of
a trade union does not require government permission. However, unions
affiliated with the Federation of Trade Unions (FPU), which inherited
assets from Soviet-era unions, have enjoyed an advantage in organizing
workers.
To function, a union must be registered by the government. Unions
reported that the registration process was extremely burdensome,
entailing visits to as many as 10 different offices and paying fees.
The International Trade Union Confederation characterized the
registration requirement as ``a restriction unacceptable by
international labor standards.''
Unions not affiliated with the FPU, including the Confederation of
Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (CFTU), continued to be denied a share of
the former Soviet trade unions' real-estate and financial holdings.
These included social insurance benefit funds, which gave the FPU a
benefit that independent unions could not offer. Leaders of non-FPU
trade unions and some government officials claimed that the FPU
improperly sold some Soviet-era assets to thwart their future
distribution. A 2007 parliamentary moratorium on the FPU's sale of
property remained in place.
According to the general counsel of the CFTU, there was only one
reported incident during the year where an employer refused to
recognize a newly formed trade union. The incident involved a newly
established trade union at an agricultural company.
Several CFTU-affiliated unions of coal miners in the eastern part
of the country reported significant harassment and, in one case,
firings because of their union activities. They alleged that FPU
representatives colluded with management to put pressure on the CFTU
union members to quit. Rather than rejoining the FPU, many workers
pressured to withdraw from CFTU unions opted not to take part in
organized labor activities.
Members of CFTU-affiliated unions sometimes claimed that management
forced them to carry out additional assignments without compensation or
threatened them with dismissal if they refused to leave their unions.
There were continuing complaints that FPU-affiliated unions deducted
union dues from the salaries of workers who had chosen to join a
different union.
In March the administration of the Sumy customs office seized the
offices of the independent trade union Spravedlyvist, representing
customs personnel, and illegally took possession of their stamp, seal,
and official documents. The administration claimed that the local trade
union office was illegally located in the Sumy customs offices.
In May Lviv Airlines ignored a court decision to rehire workers
dismissed for independent trade union activities. A new trade union at
a clinic in Chernihiv was pressured by the FPU and the regional
department of the Ministry of Health. Bonuses were withheld and members
were pressured to join the FPU.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law permits
trade unions to organize and participate in collective bargaining, but
these rights were not always respected in practice.
Under the law joint worker-management commissions should resolve
differences over wages, working conditions, and the rights and duties
of management at the enterprise level. However, the commissions were
not always effective in practice and sometimes were dominated by
management and union representatives co-opted by management. Although
the law provides the right to collective bargaining, the manner in
which the law was applied prejudiced the bargaining process against
newer unions and favored FPU-affiliated unions.
Renouncing membership in an FPU-affiliated union and joining a new
union was bureaucratically onerous and typically discouraged by
management.
The law provides for the National Mediation and Reconciliation
Service to mediate labor disputes.
The law allows for export processing (free economic) zones;
however, in practice they were undeveloped. The government cancelled
most of their tax and customs privileges in 2005.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children;
however, there were reports that women, men, and children were
trafficked for labor (see section 6).
Trafficked women were used as housekeepers, seamstresses,
dishwashers, or workers at small and large manufacturing plants. Some
women with small children and persons with disabilities were trafficked
abroad for begging. Men exploited for their labor made up 24 percent of
the trafficking victims identified by the IOM during the year. They
worked mainly on construction sites and in mines. There were instances
in which men were forced to take part in criminal activities by
dismantling stolen cars to be sold on the black market.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, but the
government did not always effectively enforce the law.
The labor code sets 16 as the minimum age for most employment.
Children ages 14 and 15 may perform ``light work'' with a parent's
consent, but the law does not clearly define the term. Children can
legally do some forms of agricultural and ``social'' work beginning at
age 14, for example at elder-care facilities and orphanages, on a
short-term basis with the consent of one parent.
The Child Labor Division of the State Labor Inspectorate under the
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is responsible for enforcing child
labor laws. The Department of Juvenile Affairs in the Ministry of
Family, Youth, and Sport, and the Police Department for Juvenile
Affairs in the Ministry of Internal Affair have the responsibility of
identifying children in the informal sector involved in the worst forms
of child labor. The ministry's Antitrafficking Department is
responsible for the enforcement of child antitrafficking laws.
The worst forms of child labor were found primarily in the informal
sectors, such as commercial sexual exploitation, including production
of pornography. Children also worked in agriculture and trade at open-
air markets.
The criminal code criminalizes exploiting children for labor.
According to the Ministry of Health, there were no recent or official
statistics about exploitation of child labor. In 1999 a research study
conducted by the State Statistics Committee and the International Labor
Organization found that 350,000 children were employed. The average age
of beginning employment was 12; 46 percent worked in agriculture, 26
percent in commerce, and 19 percent in services industry.
Enforcement improved but remained inadequate to deter violations
fully. The government reportedly conducted more inspections, and there
were more prosecutions of violators. In August 2008 the Ministry of
Labor and Social Policy stated that the government inspected 660
enterprises and found child labor law violations at 421 of them.
On February 26, the newspaper Fakty reported that a man from
Kherson Oblast hired nine teenagers from Zakarpattia to work on his
farm. He forced them to work 10 to 16 hours per day, housed them in a
poultry barn, did not feed them properly, and did not pay wages. Police
opened a criminal case.
On March 13, the western Ukrainian information agency ZIK reported
that labor inspectors in Chernivtsi Oblast found violations in 18
enterprises employing children under 18 and requested the court to
bring administrative charges against 17 individuals.
There were no reported developments on a number of cases from 2008
including the June 2008 investigation into 10 cases of the illegal use
of child labor in Donetsk, the investigation of an entrepreneur in
Volnovask who allegedly hired a teenager without a contract to work as
a loader, and the May 2008 investigation into the possible use in
Donetsk of vocational college students as construction workers instead
of the internship to which they were entitled.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On December 1, the government
increased the monthly minimum wage to 669 hryvnias ($83). The minimum
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and
family. The State Labor Inspectorate is responsible for enforcing the
minimum wage but was unable to monitor all employers. Many workers,
particularly in the informal sector, received wages far below the
established minimum.
During the year wage arrears significantly worsened. According to
the State Statistics Committee, arrears stood at 1.5 billion hryvnia
($187 million). Most arrears accumulated in state-run industries and
agricultural enterprises.
The law provides for a maximum 40-hour workweek, a 24-hour period
of rest per week, and at least 24 days of paid vacation per year. The
law provides for double pay for overtime work and regulates the number
of overtime hours allowed. However, regulations covering rest periods,
maximum hours, and overtime were not always effectively enforced.
Although the law contains occupational safety and health standards,
the standards were frequently ignored in practice. Lax safety standards
and aging equipment caused many injuries on the job. During the first
half of the year, 5,823 workplace injuries were reported (27 percent
fewer than for the same period in 2008), including 306 job-related
fatalities, compared with 514 in 2008).
The number of mining fatalities during the year was 151, a decrease
of approximately 13 percent from 2008. The number of miners reported
injured in the coal sector during the first six months of year was
2,500, compared with 2,929 injuries during the same period in 2008.
The law provides workers the right to remove themselves from
dangerous work without jeopardizing their continued employment;
however, trade unions reported that, in practice, asserting this right
would result in retaliation or perhaps dismissal.
__________
UNITED KINGDOM
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK),
with a population of 60.8 million, is a constitutional monarchy with a
multiparty, parliamentary form of government. Citizens elect
representatives to the House of Commons, the lower chamber of a
bicameral legislature. They last did so in free and fair elections in
2005. Members of the upper chamber, the House of Lords, occupy
hereditary or appointed seats. Civilian authorities maintained
effective control of the security forces.
There were some reports of police misconduct and occasional abuse
of detainees and other persons by police and military personnel and
employees of government contractors. There were also reports of
overcrowded prisons and some inadequate prison infrastructure. Societal
problems included discrimination against religious minorities;
mistreatment of women, children, ethnic minorities, gay persons, and
persons with disabilities; and trafficking of persons.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed any politically
motivated killings; however, the Independent Police Complaints
Commission (IPCC) reported that in 2008-09 police shot and killed three
persons in the performance of their duty, the same number as in 2007-
08.
In July 2008 the Ministry of Defense agreed to pay 2.8 million
pounds (approximately $4.5 million) to the family of Iraqi civilian
Baha Mousa, who died in 2003 after suffering 93 injuries during a two-
day detention by UK troops in Iraq. In 2007 a court-martial sentenced a
soldier to one year in prison and dismissed him from the army for the
inhuman treatment of Mousa. Six other soldiers were acquitted; no one
was convicted in the deaths. In July 2008 the Ministry of Defense
announced a public inquiry, which began taking evidence on July 13 and
which was scheduled to last through mid-2010.
Proceedings continued in three cases involving allegations of
government involvement, collusion, or culpability in killings during
the conflict in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices and authorities did not
usually engage in them; however, there continued to be allegations that
members of the military services were at least complicit, if not
participants, in the torture of detainees overseas, that individual
police officers occasionally abused detainees, and that guards under
contract to immigration authorities abused deportees while returning
them to their home countries. Police are subject to oversight by the
Independent Police Complaints Commission, which investigates charges of
abuse and has the power to punish police officers if abuse is found.
There were a number of allegations that the intelligence services
colluded in the torture of citizens or residents. The attorney general
asked the police to investigate two cases in which the domestic and
external security services, respectively, were complicit in torture of
detainees. A number of citizens alleged that they were tortured by
Pakistani authorities with UK government complicity, and at least one
has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
In 2008 several citizens, all UK-Pakistani dual nationals, made
similar charges. The Home Office asked the attorney general to
investigate these allegations. There were no updates on these cases at
year's end.
In September the IPCC issued statistics for 2008-09 indicating that
approximately 7,679 complaints of sexual assault, serious nonsexual
assault, and ``other assault'' were made against police, which
represented an increase of approximately 4 percent from the previous
year. Investigations were initiated in 57 percent of serious nonsexual
assault complaints, 47 percent of sexual assault complaints, and 37
percent of other assault complaints in 2008-09. Of the investigations
that were brought to resolution in 2008-09, the complaints were found
to be substantiated in 10 cases of serious nonsexual assault, six cases
of sexual assault, and 108 cases of other assault.
A Consultative Group on the Past in Northern Ireland, containing
prominent individuals from both sides, concluded its work on ways to
deal with the legacy of decades of strife between the two communities
in Northern Ireland and released its report in January, with the
overarching objective of promoting peace and stability in Northern
Ireland. The report found that significant intercommunal suspicion
continued to exist in Northern Ireland. At the end of the year,
implementation of the Consultative 'Group's recommendations, including
the establishment of a Legacy Commission, were still being debated.
Under the Victims and Survivors Act for Northern Ireland that took
effect in June 2008, four cross-community ``commissioners'' were
appointed to address the needs of victims of the decades-long violence.
The legitimacy of their appointments was challenged, but the judiciary
upheld the appointments, and the Commission for Victims and Survivors
Northern Ireland continued to provide support to victims and survivors
sought assistance.
In 2008 the ECHR issued a judgment that found one violation by the
country involving the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment as
provided under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards, and the government permitted
visits by independent human rights observers; however, overcrowding and
poor facilities continued to be problems. A study by the
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Inquest, indicated that, as of
December 23, the number of suicides in prison was 60, compared with61
in 2008.
The Ministry of Justice reported the prison population in England
and Wales on December 18 was 84,231 in facilities designed to
accommodate 85,986. The Prison Reform Trust released a report, based on
government statistics, stating that 88 out of 140 prisons held more
than the ``certified normal accommodation.'' The Scottish Prison
Service reported that as of December 18, 7,688 inmates were in prisons
designed for approximately 6,600. England, Wales, and Scotland
continued early release programs for nonviolent offenders that somewhat
reduced overcrowding.
Prison overcrowding and insufficient care of individuals who were
in custody for their own protection or for offenses related to mental
illness were cited as contributing to the number of deaths. The
Scottish Prison Service reported 29 deaths in custody, 17 more than in
2008. In the same period, at least one person in Northern Ireland had
died in custody. The known case was a suicide in which the officers
were under investigation for neglect. As of year's end, no new data was
available.
The chief inspector for prisons criticized the prison system for
inadequately protecting Muslim and ethnic minority inmates from attacks
by white inmates. In April the Ministry of Justice's National Offender
Management Service published its ``Single Equality Scheme,'' which aims
to address inequalities in line with the country's equality
legislation.
At times juveniles, including some under age 16, were held together
with adult prisoners. Although rare, there were instances when pretrial
detainees were held with convicted prisoners due primarily to
overcrowding.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights groups, the media,
the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the independent
International Center for Prison Studies based at Kings College, London.
Some of the organizations undertook monitoring missions during the
year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions; however, critics charged that some procedures justified
by government as necessary to combat terrorism constituted preventative
detention.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the regional police forces, and the
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security
forces.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--In most cases
police officers may make an arrest only if they have reasonable grounds
for suspecting that someone has committed or is about to commit one or
more listed ``arrestable offenses,'' or if an officer believes an
arrest is necessary to prevent physical injury or damage to property.
The Police Reform Act of 2002 introduced Community Safety
Accreditation Schemes, which allowed police chiefs to grant nonpolice
officers ``enforcement powers,'' including the right to issue citations
and fines and to demand the names and address of persons stopped in the
street. A 2008 Home Office report revealed that 23 police forces had
implemented community safety accreditation programs and granted
enforcement powers to 1,600 civilians. Human Rights groups and
opposition politicians called the practice a civil rights violation and
a move towards excessive surveillance. Opposition politicians noted
that there were already regular police and other officials with law
enforcement powers as well as fully trained and uniformed volunteers
and a comprehensive closed-circuit television surveillance network. The
government defended the practice as consistent with the 2002 Police
Reform Act, citing existing procedure that permits a chief constable to
designate a limited number of persons with a limited amount of
enforcement power who are ``employees of organizations which contribute
to public safety.''
Police may detain an ordinary criminal suspect for 96 hours without
charges. However, detention for more than 24 hours must be authorized
by a senior police official, and detention of more than 60 hours
requires the approval of a magistrate. Only terrorism suspects may be
detained without charge longer than 96 hours. Authorities may hold
terrorism suspects for up to 28 days before formally charging them;
they are entitled to counsel during this period. Existing law permits
the extended detention of foreigners who are suspected of being
terrorists but who cannot be deported immediately because of the risk
they would be tortured or executed in their countries of destination.
Such individuals may appeal their designation as terror suspects.
The law gives defendants awaiting trial the right to bail, except
for those judged to be flight risks, likely to commit another offense,
suspected terrorists, or in other limited circumstances. Detainees may
make telephone calls and have legal representation, including
government-provided counsel if they are indigent.
In February the Law Lords ruled that radical preacher Abu Qatada,
whose ``inspirational'' tapes were found in the German apartments used
by Mohammad Atta and other 9/11 terrorists, could be deported to
Jordan. This reversed a 2008 ruling that had released him in the UK
because the court ruled that ``assurances'' of humane treatment,
contained in a memorandum of understanding between the UK and Jordanian
governments, were an inadequate safeguard. (Abu Qatada was convicted in
absentia in Jordan on terrorism charges in 2000.) The Abu Qatada ruling
also applied to two terrorism suspects from Algeria, opening up the
possibility of their deportation. The UK continued to hold a number of
other detainees whom it deemed dangerous but had not deported due to
concerns about torture in their home countries. Abu Qatada's lawyers
appeal to the ECHR was pending at year's end.
A day after the Abu Qatada ruling in the UK, the ECHR awarded
damages to Abu Qatada and 10 others because their detention without
trial violated their human rights. However, the court awarded damage
amounts that ``were substantially lower than those the ECHR had made in
past cases of unlawful detention, in view of the fact that the
detention scheme was devised in the face of a public emergency and as
an attempt to reconcile the need to protect the UK public against
terrorism with the obligation not to send the applicants back to
countries where they faced a real risk of ill-treatment.''
The Terrorism Act permits a judge (or the home secretary, with a
judge's permission) to impose ``control orders,'' which include a range
of restrictions, up to house arrest, on individuals suspected of
involvement in terrorism-related activities, regardless of nationality
or perceived terrorist cause. Control orders were first employed in
January 2008. The government used control orders to keep terrorism
suspects under arrest without allowing suspects to know the charges
against them or see the government's evidence. The Law Lords ruled in
June that the government's refusal to allow two men to know the charges
against them was a violation of the Human Rights Act. The lords ruled
that the defendants' legal appeal had to be reheard by the lower court.
The ruling did not forbid the use of control orders generally, but most
observers interpreted it as a precedent that others subject to control
orders could use in their own appeals.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found two violations by the
country of the right to liberty and security as provided under the
European Convention on Human Rights.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Criminal proceedings
must be held in public except those in juvenile court and those
involving public decency or security. In a trial under the Official
Secrets Act, the judge may order the court closed, but sentencing must
be public.
The law generally allows for jury trials. In England and Wales, the
law provides for judge-only trials when there is a ``real and present
danger that jury tampering would take place.'' On June 18, the appeals
court ruled that a robbery case being heard for the fourth time should
be heard without a jury. This will be the first juryless case in the
Crown Court. In Northern Ireland, trials by a single judge, employed
during previous decades in response to intimidation of juries by
paramilitaries, ceased to be the norm in July 2008. However, as in the
case of England and Wales, nonjury trials may be held in cases
involving possible intimidation of juries. Scotland allows jury trials
in criminal and civil cases.
Defendants have the right to be present at their trials, to consult
with an attorney in a timely manner, and to question witnesses against
them. Defendants have access to government-held evidence relevant to
their cases, with some exceptions, including instances in which
information pertaining to a suspect is acquired through sources
associated with national security.
``Intercept evidence''--evidence collected by electronic
interception--is not admissible in a court of law. The police claimed
that divulging their methods and sources would hamper their
effectiveness. Human rights organizations and prominent politicians
criticized this rule, asserting that it led the government to use
administrative or nonjudicial means of detaining criminal suspects who
could not be prosecuted without the intercept evidence. The Home Office
commissioned a report on the subject in 2008, but no action had been
taken by year's end.
Defendants have the right to appeal to successively higher courts.
Indigent defendants have the right to free counsel of their choice,
with some exceptions.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found one violation of the
European Convention on Human Rights by the country with respect to
length of proceedings and one violation of the right to an effective
remedy.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access to a court
to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights
violation. Administrative remedies were also available.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
In April the country implemented an EU directive by requiring
Internet service providers (ISPs) to retain records of all users'
Internet activity for one year. This follows a similar requirement
effective in 2008 that applied to landline and cellular telephone
calls. Both policies were a change from the previous system in which
data retention was voluntary. Intelligence and law enforcement
agencies, emergency services, and a number of other governmental bodies
can request the data but must demonstrate a legitimate need for the
information to protect public safety and ensure compliance with UK law.
Critics claimed that in practice agencies can self-authorize warrants
and that the ability to intercept communications was too broad.
The use of electronic surveillance requires the approval of the
home secretary, who authorizes an ``interception warrant,'' which must
name or describe either one person or a single set of premises where
the interception is to take place. However, in limited circumstances
the home secretary may issue a ``certified'' interception warrant,
eliminating the requirement to specify a person or premises. Certified
warrants are intended only for communications with overseas parties.
They include communications channeled through a foreign ISP. An
independent ``interception of communications commissioner'' oversaw
interception warrants, and the Investigatory Powers Tribunal
investigated public complaints of surveillance abuses. According to its
annual report, published in July, the tribunal received 136 new
complaints in 2007 and completed its investigation of 70 of these,
together with 32 of the 41 cases carried over from 2008. The tribunal
carried a further 75 cases forward to 2009. This represented an
increase in complaints from 2008, when 66 complaints were lodged. Two
cases were decided in favor of the complainant. Only one case had been
decided in the complainant's favor prior to 2008.
In April the government announced that it would not pursue a
centralized database that would store all communications data collected
by communications service providers. Human rights groups had been
critical of plans to do so.
In 2008 the ECHR issued judgments that found three violations by
the country of the right to respect for private and family life as
provided under the European Convention on Human Rights. In December
2008 the ECHR ruled that the government's retention of DNA profiles
from individuals not charged with a crime or cautioned for an offense
violated the privacy clause of the convention.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these
rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press.
Judges can issue media suppression orders to prevent the
publication of information about trial proceedings or other topics. In
March, Barclays bank obtained a media suppression order that forced a
newspaper to remove from its Web site leaked documents regarding
alleged tax-avoidance schemes and prevented other newspapers from
reporting Web sites where those documents could be found. In September
a law firm representing a company accused of dumping toxic waste in
Ivory Coast procured a ``super-injunction'' preventing the Guardian
newspaper from reporting on parliamentary proceedings about the case
and from reporting that the suppression order had been issued. The
Guardian challenged the ruling, and the law firm agreed to allow the
newspaper to report on the parliamentary proceedings.
In May a court ruled that Simon Singh had committed libel in an
article in which he criticized the British Chiropractic Association
(BCA). The court ruled that what Singh saw as a scientific criticism
was in fact a charge about the BCA's intentions, and therefore could be
treated as libel. Also during the year, a U.S. company sued Briton
Peter Wilmshurst for libel based on his criticisms of a medical device
the company produces. Several British free-speech NGOs launched a
public campaign to revise libel law in England and Wales.
The 2007 Racial and Religious Hatred Act and other legislation make
it an offense to use ``threatening words or behavior'' toward a
religious, ethnic, or racial group. The 2007 act applies specifically
to words, behavior, or displays of written material; publishing or
distributing written material; the public performance of a play;
distributing, showing, or playing a recording; broadcasting or
including a program in a program service; or the possession of written
materials or recordings with intent to display, publish, distribute, or
include such materials in a program service. In September a couple who
ran a hotel in Liverpool were charged with a public order offense when
a Muslim guest in their hotel complained that they had insulted Islam.
The couple maintained that they were merely expressing their opinion
about Christianity and Islam. The trial was due to begin in December.
Court decisions have established that possession of materials
advocating terrorism alone was insufficient for conviction under the
2000 Terrorism Act; however, possession of materials that provided
practical assistance to terrorists, such as the al-Qa'ida Manual, the
Terrorist's Handbook, the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook, and a number of
military manuals, did fall within the meaning of the act.
In November 2008 four men were arrested and charged with violations
of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act for distributing leaflets in
Ireland and the UK blaming Muslims for the heroin trade. The arrests
followed controversy over the precedence of free speech over stirring
hatred in the community. The Crown Prosecution Service at first advised
police that, while racist (most UK Muslims are of South Asian or
African descent), the leaflets were protected speech, a position
criticized by the National Association of Muslim Police, which
advocated halting distribution and investigating the source. Three of
the men would not face charges, and one was scheduled to go to trial in
early 2010.
The Home Office prohibited Dutch politician Geert Wilders from
entering the country in February because of a film he had made about
Islam. Wilders successfully appealed the ban to the Asylum and
Immigration Tribunal and travelled to the country in October. The law
allows the government to bar entry to non-UK citizens who express views
that represent ``unacceptable behavior.'' In May the Home Office
revealed a list of 16 persons who have been banned since October 2008,
while also stating that others were banned but that it would not
release their names.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. There were
no reports that authorities routinely monitored e-mail or Internet chat
rooms. However, the law permits communications data surveillance,
including of Internet usage, in the interests of national security, to
prevent or detect a crime, or in the interests of public safety.
Authorities did not publicly discuss details of their monitoring
activities. During the year the government mandated that all ISPs
retain records of Internet usage for one year. The new law brought the
UK into compliance with EU directives and replaced an arrangement where
ISPs provided this information voluntarily. The government officially
disavowed its previous proposal of a national database to store
Internet usage information amid protests about privacy rights.
The Internet was widely available throughout the country and was
available at no cost in public libraries. Approximately 80 percent of
the population used the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the government generally respected this right in practice. The
government did not consider the Church of Scientology and the
Unification Church to be religions for purposes of issuing visas for
ministers of religion or missionaries. Since the Church of Scientology
does not fall within the definition of religion in the charity law, its
chapels did not qualify as places of worship, and authorities did not
consider its ministers to be ministers of a religion. There were no
reports of specific visa denials during the year.
The law requires religious education in publicly maintained
schools. Localities determine the content of religious instruction, but
it must reflect the predominant place of Christianity in the cultural
and historical context of the nation while taking into account the
teachings and practices of the country's other principal religions, and
it must refrain from attempting to convert pupils. All parents have the
legal right to request that their children not participate in religious
education.
Schools in England and Wales must also provide a daily act of
collective worship of ``a wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian
character.'' Students of other faiths may offer prayers of their own
religion. According to a 2005 survey by the British Broadcasting
Company, a considerable number of schools were not participating in
this form of worship. Teachers have the right not to participate in
collective worship, without prejudice.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Kevin McDaid, a 49-year old
Catholic community worker, was beaten to death in Northern Ireland in
May in what police called a religiously motivated attack after a soccer
match. Police charged a number of men with the murder, some of whom
also faced charges in other attacks. A number of Catholic sources
complained of attempts to intimidate McDaid's family and witnesses, and
McDaid's sons were arrested on charges of assaulting one of those
accused of their father's murder. The case remained pending at year's
end.
There were reports of anti-Islamic attacks against persons and
property during the year. In May prisoners at Ranby prison in Retford,
Nottinghamshire, constructed a bomb and placed it in a Muslim worship
area. Also in May an Islamic Center in Bedfordshire was the target of a
suspected arson attack. Throughout the year there were numerous
incidents of violence against individuals and property, as well as a
number of rallies and public gatherings with anti-Muslim messages. In
October a man ripped a Muslim woman's veil from her face in Leicester,
for which he was fined and given a four-month suspended prison
sentence. In November a Muslim student in Leicester was beaten by a
group of men shouting anti-Islamic statements after the student had
tried to stop the men from taunting a Muslim woman for wearing Islamic
dress. There were a number of violent attacks in August and September
outside a mosque in Tooting, London, including one in which a man was
bludgeoned to death. Precise figures for the number of such incidents
were not available.
Publication of a book about Mohammed and his youngest wife, The
Jewel of Medina, scheduled for release in October 2008, was postponed
by the publisher ``until further notice'' for ``security reasons.'' The
book's publishing house was firebombed in September 2008. Three men
were sentenced to four and one-half years of prison each for the
attack.
The Jewish population numbered approximately 300,000. There was an
outbreak of anti-Semitic incidents in January and February following
the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Community
Security Trust, a group that tracked anti-Semitic incidents, reported
that there were 609 anti-Semitic incidents in the first six months of
the year, whereas the preceding year had seen 544 incidents. There were
286 incidents in January and 111 in February, both of which were higher
than the previous record of 105 from October 2000. Anti-Semitic
incidents continued to be higher than in the previous year in March,
but the rate of incidents returned to previous levels by mid-year. The
incidents included property damage, threats, abusive behavior, and
mass-produced or mass-mailed anti-Semitic literature.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations to
provide protection and assistance to refugees, asylum-seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ
it in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Its laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
Based in part on the EU's ``Dublin procedure,'' the government
placed the burden of proof on asylum seekers who arrive from a country
on a list of ``safe countries'' of origin promulgated by the home
secretary, who passed through a country where they were not considered
to be at risk, or who remained in the country for a period of time
before seeking asylum. The law permits authorities to remove an asylum
applicant to another country that is deemed responsible for
adjudicating an applicant's claim.
In practice the government provided protection against the return
of persons to a country where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion.
During the year the Home Office did not enforce deportations of
failed asylum seekers from Zimbabwe and Darfur. However, the Home
Office stated that there was no legal reason it could not deport
someone and that deportation could be enforced on a case-by-case basis.
In October the Home Office returned to Iraq approximately 40 Iraqis
whose asylum claims were denied. The news media reported that 30 of
those were refused entry by the Iraqi government for bureaucratic
reasons and returned to the UK for further processing. The ultimate
disposition of their cases was not known at the end of the year. The
announcement followed criticism from several NGOs about the prospect of
deportations. Estimates of the number of failed asylum seekers in the
country from Zimbabwe ranged from 11,000 to 13,000. Failed asylum
seekers from Darfur were estimated to number in the low thousands.
In September 2008 the Home Office announced that Dame Nuala O'Loan,
former police ombudsman for Northern Ireland, would investigate claims
of abuse by private contractors, hired by the government to detain and
remove failed asylum seekers. A July report by a consortium of NGOs
documented the claims of over 300 persons who accused the private
contractors of physical and sexual assault and racial abuse. Dame
O'Loan was instructed to reopen 50 cases that the government previously
classed as unsubstantiated. She was expected to address the
appropriateness of using private contractors and whether the use of
``reasonable force'' was appropriate in dealing with failed asylum
seekers.
The government also provided temporary protection to individuals
who may not qualify as refugees under the categories of humanitarian
protection and discretionary leave. In 2008, the most recent year for
which figures were available, the government provided such protection
to approximately 2,185 persons during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Elections to the Northern
Ireland Assembly, to the Scottish Parliament, and to the Welsh Assembly
took place in 2007. They were generally regarded as free and fair. Free
and fair elections to the House of Commons took place in 2005.
On June 4, the country held elections to the European Parliament
that were considered free and fair.
On March 12, the Queen granted Royal Assent to the Northern Ireland
Act of 2009, which transferred power over policing and justice from the
UK to the devolved Northern Ireland government. However the transfer,
which many observers considered to be the final piece in Northern
Ireland's devolution process, was not completed due to unfinished
negotiations over how it would be funded.
The overseas territories, with a total population of approximately
222,000, have varying degrees of self-government based on the UK model,
with appointed governors.
There were 125 women in the 646-seat House of Commons and 148 women
in the 739-seat House of Lords. There were five women in the prime
minister's cabinet. An additional 30 women held other ministerial
posts. There was one woman among the 11 justices of the Supreme Court,
which began operation in October, replacing the Law Lords as the UK's
highest court.
There were 15 members of ethnic minorities in the House of Commons.
The number of members of ethnic minorities in the House of Lords was
not reported; there were no members of ethnic minorities in the
Cabinet; Baroness Scotland, who is Afro-Caribbean, is attorney general.
Four members of ethnic minorities held junior ministerial posts.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
some reports of government corruption during the year.
During the year there was a major scandal over whether members of
Parliament had been abusing their expense privileges. In 2008 the
courts ordered Parliament to release allowances claimed by its members.
This was delayed by Parliament until July. However, the Daily Telegraph
obtained a leaked copy of the reports and published their findings
before Parliament did. When Parliament did publish the expense reports,
it blacked out some information, leading to accusations of cover-up. In
the wake of the scandal more than a dozen Members of Parliament
declared they would not stand for reelection at the next elections. The
speaker of the House of Commons resigned in the face of pressure
resulting from his perceived support for the expenses system and his
reaction to the scandal.
In September the Serious Fraud Office succeeded in prosecuting a UK
construction company for bribing foreign officials to win contracts and
for violating UN sanctions against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. The
court levied fines of approximately five million pounds ($8 million).
Many observers considered the ruling important because it set a
precedent by establishing that UK companies could be prosecuted for
bribery outside of the UK.
There was continued corruption-related controversy involving the
UK's largest defense contractor, BAE Systems. In 2008 the government
terminated its investigation into BAE's involvement in possible bribery
connected to a sale in Saudi Arabia. However, on October 1, the Serious
Fraud Office announced that it would seek the attorney general's
consent to prosecute BAE for involvement in illegal payments in
connection with military sales in Eastern Europe and Africa.
The law provides for public access to information, and authorities
generally granted access to citizens and noncitizens, including foreign
media. There are numerous exceptions to the availability of government
information, including those relating to national security and defense,
personal privacy, and possible risks to health and safety. In some
instances, authorities are not obliged to indicate whether relevant
information exists; however, according to authorities, they are obliged
to say why they are refusing a request. There are no fees for
requesting information; however, there may be a bill for the cost of
materials and postal fees. Government agencies may refuse a request if
the cost to the government will exceed 450 or 600 pounds (approximately
$730 or $955), depending on the government body. There was a mechanism
to appeal denials. The Coroners and Justice Act was granted Royal
Assent on November 12. It allows nonpublic reviews of deaths in the
interest of national security.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), an independent
body funded by the government, was set up in 2007 to protect and
promote human rights in the country. It enjoyed the government's
cooperation and operated without government interference. It had
adequate resources and operated effectively. The EHRC produced numerous
reports on various human rights matters. During the year the EHRC
contributed to a report on areas of Britain that do not have services
for female victims of violence. In November the government issued a
national strategy to end violence against women. Parliament has a Joint
Committee on Human Rights, composed of 12 members selected from the
House of Lords and the House of Commons. The committee undertook
inquiries into human rights matters in the UK and scrutinized
legislation affecting human rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, nationality,
gender, sexual orientation, or disability, and the government generally
enforced the law effectively.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, carries a maximum penalty of
life imprisonment. According to a Home Office publication issued in
July, there were 53,477 sexual crimes recorded by the police in 2008-
09. The vast majority of these crimes were perpetrated against women.
Of the most serious cases where gender of the victim was identified,
women were victims of 12,165 cases of rape and 19,740 cases of indecent
or sexual assault. The government acknowledged that its rates of
conviction in rape cases were far too low; it did not release new
statistics on convictions but stated that the conviction rate was
approximately 6 percent. A Rape Performance Group was established to
hold individual police departments responsible for improving their
conviction rates. The government estimated that one in 20 women in the
country had been raped.
The government provided shelters, counseling, and other assistance
for victims of battery or rape and offered free legal aid to battered
women who were economically reliant on their abusers. The government
operated 29 Sexual Assault Resource Centers.
The law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal abuse, and
authorities strictly enforced the law in cases reported to them. The
courts imposed punishment ranging up to life imprisonment; however,
violence against women continued to be a problem. The law provides for
injunctive relief, personal protection orders, and protective exclusion
orders (similar to restraining orders) for female victims of violence.
According to the 2008-09 British Crime Survey (BCS), 6.3 percent of
women (and 3.9 percent of men) were victims of domestic abuse during
the year. This was an increase over 2007-8 for women. BCS estimates for
2008-09 indicated that approximately 14 percent of all violent crime
was domestic in England and Wales and that 31 percent of all violent
incidents against women were domestic violence.
NGOs raised concerns that police were not adequately trained to
identify and respond when women sought protection.
Police and NGOs estimated that approximately a dozen honor killings
occurred each year, although there were no formal statistics. Many
observers regarded honor killings as the extreme end of a spectrum that
included abductions, forced abortions, imprisonment, mental and
physical abuse, and rape. It was generally considered an ``imported
crime,'' since a majority of the incidents involved families from Asia,
Turkey, Algeria, and Nigeria. Many of the crimes involved hiring
outside ``hit men''; in other cases the perpetrator was the youngest
member of the family, who was supervised by older family members. In
December a court convicted a man of killing his 15-year-old daughter in
1999. The man was allegedly angry with her for her involvement with an
older man of a different religious sect.
Forced marriages continued to be a problem, although their extent
remained unknown. In 2007 the UK passed the Forced Marriage Protection
Act to protect individuals from being forced into marriage. As of July
2, the Forced Marriage Unit's (FMU) helpline had received 770 calls or
e-mails, a 16 percent increase over the same period in the previous
year. In 2008 the FMU dealt with 440 cases of forced marriage and
estimated that there were a total of 5,000 to 8,000 cases of forced
marriages in the country; most cases involved families from Pakistan
(70 percent) and Bangladesh (11 percent), with smaller percentages from
India, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. The law requires schools,
social services, and police to receive training about this phenomenon
and to take steps to combat it, ranging from increased truancy
monitoring to assisting young persons who come to them for help without
parental input. The law criminalizes forced marriage and makes taking
individuals out of the country on false pretenses akin to kidnapping.
It also has a provision to annul marriages made outside of the country
against the will of one partner. In 2008 the government raised the age
of persons who are eligible to sponsor a spouse for a marriage visa
from 18 to 21 and added a requirement that intending sponsors of such
visas register their intent to seek a visa before traveling abroad.
Authorities believed that young adults often traveled on what they
expected to be a vacation to the home country and were subsequently
pressured into marriage and into applying for the spouse's visa.
Prostitution is legal for adults; however, such related offenses as
loitering for the purpose of prostitution and maintaining a brothel are
illegal. The number of prostitutes in the UK was not known, but
authorities and NGOs estimated that approximately 100,000 persons in
the country were engaged in prostitution.
The law prohibits child sex tourism and allows authorities to
prosecute citizens or residents for offenses committed abroad.
Individuals were arrested and in some cases jailed abroad on such
charges, but according to the charity End Child Prostitution, Child
Pornography, and Trafficking Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT),
there were only a few cases of prosecution in the UK since the early
1990s, and there were no reports of prosecutions during the year.
The law prohibits sexual harassment and provides penalties of up to
five years' imprisonment; authorities followed up on the isolated
complaints that were filed.
Couples and individuals enjoy the basic right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. The Department of Health has a National Support
Team for Sexual Health, which worked to provide universal access to
contraception to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted
pregnancies. There is also an Infant Mortality Support Team to improve
the health of infants and mothers' after birth.
Women enjoy the same legal rights as men, including rights under
family and property law and in the judicial system; however, in
practice women experienced some discrimination. According to a 2009
report by the EHRC, women's average hourly earnings were significantly
lower than men's. The mean unadjusted hourly gender pay gap was about
17 percent for full-time employees and 37 percent for part-time
employees. The EHRC has undertaken a study of the pay gap in the
private sector that was ongoing at year's end.
There was a cabinet-level minister for women and a deputy minister
for women and equality. Two independent bodies were concerned with
women's matters, the EHRC and the Women's National Commission (WNC).
The EHRC supported women by enforcing equality legislation and actively
promoting gender equality. The WNC is an umbrella organization
representing women and women's organizations. It lobbied the government
to take women's views into account and include them in public debate.
Children.--All births must be registered within 42 days in the
district where the baby was born. Unregistered births were not common,
and there were no reports of lack of birth registration as a cause for
the denial of public services. Local authorities have procedures for
the late registration of babies whose births are not registered within
42 days. Birth within the territory of the UK before 1983 conferred
British citizenship for most people. Since 1983, a child becomes a
British citizen if he is born in the UK and one of his parents is a
British citizen or legally settled resident.
Child abuse remained a problem, although there were no reliable
figures on its prevalence. In Northern Ireland it is a criminal offense
to fail to report most offenses against children; England, Wales, and
Scotland do not have such laws; however, civil servants charged with
the care, education, and welfare of children are ``responsible'' for
their protection. The minister for children coordinated government
policy concerning children and young persons in England and Wales. In
Northern Ireland there was a commissioner for children. In Scotland the
Ministries of Education, Young Persons, and Communities supervised
similar programs designed to protect and provide assistance to minors.
Public attention was drawn during the year to a case where a
nursery worker and two accomplices sexually abused a number of children
at the nursery and engaged in distribution of pictures of the children.
In December the worker and her accomplices were convicted. Two of the
three were jailed indefinitely, and the other was awaiting sentencing
at year's end. This case arose after the sentencing during the year of
a woman and her boyfriend to five years and life in prison,
respectively, in the case of a child known as ``Baby P,'' who died as a
result of abuse, despite knowledge by social services agencies that
abuse was taking place.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal. The maximum penalty for
aiding, abetting, counseling, procuring, or carrying out this practice
is 14 years' imprisonment. FGM was most often practiced by immigrant or
refugee groups on girls aged seven to nine from Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Somalia, West Africa, and Yemen. The Department of Health estimated in
2006 that approximately 74,000 women had undergone FGM. During the year
the Department of Health in conjunction with several NGOs and
universities began a study to better understand the scope of FGM in the
UK, with England's chief nursing officer stating that up to 24,000
young girls were at risk. In 2006 the Metropolitan Police Service and a
number of NGOs began an awareness and prevention campaign focused on
the problem.
The UK has a statutory rape law. It is illegal for a person over 18
to have sex with a person under 16 years old, unless the younger person
is over 13 and the adult reasonably thought the younger person to be
over 16. Penalties range from fines to 14 years' imprisonment. The law
prohibits child pornography and provides for a maximum sentence of 10
years' imprisonment.
Penal reformers and children's groups continued to criticize the
government's reliance on antisocial behavior orders (ASBOs), civil
``warnings'' that can limit children's access to a geographic area or
impose tailored curfews. ASBOs were introduced to prevent youths from
interacting with the courts and youth services as a result of minor
infractions. However, youth who subsequently violate ASBOs could be
arrested and would enter the criminal system. Opponents contended that
the ASBOs led to criminal records for youth whose behavior in the past
would have been seen as ``kids being kids.'' According to one expert,
more than 1,000 youths had been incarcerated for violating the ASBOs
since their inception in 2000. Critics claimed that police were too
quick to issue the orders for such minor infractions as excessive
loudness or congregating in large numbers, violations that some
children's advocates described as inevitable. Some experts contended
that a third of youths receiving the orders had mental or behavioral
problems that did not permit them to understand the orders.
In her annual report issued in January, Anne Owers, the chief
inspector of prisons, criticized the use of physical restraint on child
prisoners and also reported that a significant number of young
prisoners felt unsafe or had been victimized by other inmates.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of
trafficking; however, there were reports that persons were trafficked
to, through, and within, the country.
There were no official statistics on the number of trafficking
victims. In a 2008 report, police estimated (based on arrests,
including from raids on bordellos and statements from those intercepted
at the borders) that between 6,000 and 18,000 women and children were
engaged in prostitution involuntarily, the majority trafficked from
abroad. Regions of origin included Central and Eastern Europe--
primarily the Balkans and the former Soviet Union--and Asia, including
China. Most victims were women trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Women, men, and children were also trafficked for labor exploitation in
domestic service, agricultural and rural labor, construction, and
catering.
In 2008 law enforcement agencies completed operation Pentameter 2,
a crackdown on forced prostitution; prosecution of cases from the
operation continued during the year. As of February, police had
identified 164 victims of sex trafficking in 35 police-force areas,
including 13 girls between the ages of 14 and 17. All but one of the
victims were female. The operation netted 406 suspects, 47 percent of
whom were Chinese or Asian, 34 percent EU nationals, and 57 percent
female. Sixty-seven suspects were charged with human trafficking, of
whom 15 were convicted of trafficking, eight were convicted of other
offenses, and 37 were not convicted. Some cases were still ongoing.
More than 600 brothels were raided during the operation, most in
private homes. In a report on the Pentameter 2 operation, authorities
noted that, since prostitution is not a crime, police often had
difficulty distinguishing victims of trafficking and forced
prostitution from those who engaged in prostitution voluntarily. The
report also noted that an increasing number of persons forced into
prostitution were born in the country.
On April 1, the UK implemented a national referral mechanism for
identifying and referring trafficking victims.
In May the Guardian newspaper reported that it had obtained a copy
of a government report stating that criminal gangs had been using a
children's home near Heathrow Airport to traffic children. The report
said that at least 77 children were suspected to have been trafficked.
In October the Guardian published another investigative article that
claimed that the government's efforts had resulted in many fewer
arrests than previously expected and that trafficking might not be as
great a problem as antitrafficking campaigners suspected.
Antitrafficking advocates countered that the police were not well
trained in identifying victims and their lack of success in finding
victims and perpetrators did not mean that trafficking was not a
significant problem.
There were also reports that children were trafficked into the
country and forced to work as domestic servants, beggars, pickpockets,
drug couriers, or in sweatshops and restaurants.
Authorities believed that organized gangs were behind most cases of
trafficking for commercial exploitation. NGOs claimed that Albanian
gangs were heavily involved in prostitution rings in London that used
trafficked women. Gangs from Asia appeared to be increasingly involved
in trafficking women from that area. Prosecutors also uncovered Eastern
European and Chinese involvement in labor trafficking. Traffickers
often lured women by false advertisements of work as restaurant staff,
maids, and childcare providers. Some victims expected to work in the
sex trade but were deceived about working conditions by the traffickers
and exploited upon arrival.
Traffickers used a variety of means, including use of valid travel
documents, false documentation, and smuggling of aliens past border
checks. Authorities believed traffickers frequently used Heathrow
Airport as a transit point, primarily for trafficking between European
destinations.
Trafficking for prostitution, sexual exploitation, or forced labor
carries a maximum sentence of 14 years' imprisonment. The law applies
to both citizens and residents and to acts committed domestically or
abroad. The law also prohibits such related acts as keeping a brothel
and causing, inciting, or controlling prostitution for gain. There are
severe penalties for such offenses as causing, inciting, controlling,
arranging, or facilitating the prostitution of a child. The law also
criminalizes paying for sexual services of a child, as well as travel
abroad for the purpose of obtaining sexual services from children.
The Home Office was the lead antitrafficking agency. Other cabinet-
level departments involved in antitrafficking included the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, the Department of Trade and Industry, the
Department for Education and Skills, the Crown Prosecution Service, and
the Department for International Finance and Development. The Serious
Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) handled trafficking investigations
nationally. The UK Human Trafficking Center (UKHTC) shared trafficking
intelligence with SOCA and developed training modules for attorneys
prosecuting traffickers. The government assisted with international
investigations of trafficking.
Immigration officers and airline personnel were trained to identify
potential victims of trafficking. The UKHTC developed training programs
that enabled police academies to add trafficking to the list of core
police competencies. The ``Paladin'' program at Heathrow specifically
screened for vulnerable children. Authorities provided short-term
residence permits for victims of trafficking who cooperated with
authorities in prosecuting their traffickers.
The government continued funding the Poppy Project, which provided
support services to female victims of trafficking for sexual
exploitation who were willing to assist law enforcement authorities.
The government did not prosecute victims of trafficking who were
violating prostitution or immigration laws; however, authorities could
deport them to their countries of origin.
Local social services and charities provided services to
trafficking victims. The Poppy Project ran a national outreach service.
Local social service agencies were responsible for child victims of
trafficking, who were usually placed in the foster care system. The
government and the NGO community maintained an active dialogue
concerning protection services for victims.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and other state services. The law mandates access to
buildings for persons with disabilities, and the government effectively
enforced this requirement in practice.
The law requires that all public service providers (except in the
transportation sector) make ``reasonable adjustments'' to ensure their
services are available to persons with disabilities. The law forbids
employers from harassing or discriminating against job applicants or
employees with disabilities.
The mandate of the EHRC, an independent organization funded by the
government, included work on behalf of persons with disabilities to
stop discrimination and promote equality of opportunity. The commission
provided legal advice and support for individuals, a hotline for
persons with disabilities and employers, and policy advice to the
government. The commission may also conduct formal investigations,
arrange conciliation, require persons to adopt action plans to ensure
compliance with the law, and apply for injunctions to prevent acts of
unlawful discrimination. The EHRC also has a mandate for combating
discrimination based on race, sex, religion and belief, sexual
orientation, and age, and some disability advocates argued this led to
a dilution of efforts on behalf of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits racial
discrimination, but Travellers (a distinct nomadic ethnic group with
its own history and culture), as well as persons of African, Afro-
Caribbean, South Asian, and Middle Eastern origin, at times experienced
mistreatment on racial or ethnic grounds.
The law authorizes police to order Travellers' caravans to move on
from any rest area or other roadside location. Before the enactment of
this provision in 2003, such locations were among the Travellers'
primary stopping places. Travellers' organizations also reported that
local governments across the country sought to evict them from so-
called ``illegal encampments.'' In a high-profile case that has
continued for a number of years Travellers fought an eviction order by
the town council of Basildon, in Essex, seeking to remove them from the
Dale Farm Traveller Settlement. The court initially ruled that the
council could not remove the Travellers but during the year another
court reversed this ruling. At the end of the reporting period, the
Basildon Council had awarded a contract to a company to carry out the
eviction, but the eviction had not taken place.
The British Crime Survey recorded 12,299 racially or religiously
aggravated crimes and 25,755 incidents of racially or religiously
aggravated harassment or public fear, harm, or distress.
During the year several dozen Eastern Europeans moved away from
Belfast due to the extensive abuse they had been subjected to due to
their national origin. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
reported 990 racially motivated incidents from April 2008 through March
2009, up by 1.4 percent from the preceding 12-month period. The PSNI
reported 771 racially motivated crimes, including 302 violent crimes,
during the same period.
In October 2008 Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced that the
government would reappraise recruitment and promotion practices in
police forces in England and Wales. London's mayor also announced his
own inquiry into race and the London Metropolitan Police, commonly
known as Scotland Yard.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation; however,
sporadic incidents of homophobic violence were reported. The law
encourages judges to impose a greater sentence in assault cases where
the victim's sexual orientation is a motive for the hostility, and many
local police forces demonstrated an increasing awareness of the problem
and trained officers to identify and moderate these attacks. Numerous
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender NGOs existed and operated
freely. Dozens of gay pride marches and other activities took place in
locations throughout the country legally and with no interference by
the authorities.
In 2008 Stonewall, a gay-rights organization, released the results
of a survey, conducted by the online polling service YouGov, which
found that found that 20 percent of all gay respondents had suffered
some form of hate crime, yet only 1 percent of hate crimes led to
convictions. The Crown Prosecution Service released a report on
December 16 stating that 1,090 homophobic crimes had been transferred
to it in 2008-09, of which 65.1 percent resulted in charges being
pressed. The service prosecuted 1,013 homophobic cases, 80.5 percent of
which resulted in a conviction.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of violence or discrimination against persons with HIV infection during
the year.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of
workers, except those in the armed forces, public sector security
services, and police forces, to form and join independent unions
without previous authorization or excessive requirements, and workers
exercised this right in practice. Freelance or agency workers were not
entitled to these rights. The law compels employers with 21 or more
employees to recognize unions so long as the majority of workers have
endorsed union representation However, small enterprises of fewer than
21 employees are effectively denied the right of representation by
trade unions. Approximately 26 percent of the workforce was unionized.
In September the Trade Union Congress reported that membership
decreased by approximately 300,000 during the year, but this was likely
due to the fact that the economy lost 600,000 jobs. Given the large
number of lay-offs, the membership percentage may have actually
increased. Coverage was most widespread in the public sector, where
almost 60 percent of workers were unionized. In contrast, 17 percent of
private sector workers were unionized. Manufacturing, transport, and
distribution trades were highly unionized. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without interference, and the government
protected this right in practice. Workers have the right to strike and
freely exercised it during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective
bargaining is protected in law and was freely practiced. Unions and
management typically negotiate collective ``agreements,'' less formal
than collective bargaining contracts. Collective agreements are
considered as ``implied'' in individual work contracts and are legally
enforceable as such. They covered approximately 35 percent of the
workforce. There were no reported instances of antiunion
discrimination.
Six Kosovo construction workers were unfairly dismissed from their
jobs after they involved the Union of Construction, Allied Trades, and
Technicians, the construction workers' union, in a workplace dispute.
The workers took the case to court, where the judge ruled in their
favor and awarded them 46,000 pounds ($73,000).
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The government
prohibits forced and compulsory labor, including by children; however,
there were reports of forced labor by men, women, and children. Police
estimated that between 6,000 and 18,000 women and children, the
majority trafficked to and within the country from Central and Eastern
Europe and Asia, engaged in involuntary prostitution. Women, men, and
children were also trafficked to and within the country for labor
exploitation and worked as domestic servants in private homes, beggars,
pickpockets, and drug couriers, and in sweatshops, restaurants,
agricultural and rural settings, construction, and catering.
Unaccompanied foreign children, including girls from China, were
subjected to sexual exploitation and forced labor. Hundreds of young
children, many from Vietnam and China, were subjected to debt bondage
by Vietnamese organized-crime gangs and forced to work on cannabis
farms.
Traffickers controlled their victims through insistence that they
repay endless ``debts'' for room and board and travel expenses, by
withholding their travel documents, misleading them about law
enforcement and immigration penalties, and threatening violence against
them or their families.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace,
and the government generally enforced these laws effectively; however,
children were forced into prostitution and forced labor. Large numbers
of children under age 18 work, mostly in ways permitted by the law.
However, anecdotal evidence from social workers made clear that many
children work longer or later hours than the law allows and many do not
have the proper work permits. In many cases this was voluntary, and the
children's parents agreed to or encouraged the child's working. In
other cases, children were found working illegally in restaurants,
farms, factories, the sex industry, and in cleaning and other low-paid
service-sector jobs with long hours and low pay. Many of these children
did not attend school. These problems affected migrant children
disproportionately, but legally resident children were affected as
well.
The law prohibits the employment in any capacity of children under
13. Those under 16 are not permitted to work in an industrial
enterprise, including transportation or street trading; their work
hours are strictly limited and may not interfere with school
attendance. Children under 16 may work as part of an educational
course. Independent NGOs claimed that as many as two million school-age
children were involved in part-time employment. Children age 13 to 16
must apply for a work permit from a local authority, and the local
authority's education and welfare services have primary responsibility
for oversight and enforcement. Authorities effectively enforced these
laws. The Departments of Health, Trade and Industry, and Education and
Skills also have regulatory responsibilities related to child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage, which
ranged from 3.53 to 5.73 pounds (approximately $5.65 to $8.15) per
hour, depending on the age of the employee, did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family; however, government
benefits, including complete free universal access to the National
Health Service, filled the gap. Tax authorities may issue compliance
orders against employers that are not paying the minimum wage, but
employment tribunals handle disputes. The government aggressively
monitored employer efforts to bring pay practices into compliance with
minimum wage law. Unions and NGOs were also actively involved in
ensuring employees' awareness of their rights.
The law limits the workweek to 48 hours when averaged over a 17- to
26-week period; however, the regulations do not apply to senior
managers and others who can exercise control over their own hours of
work. There are also exceptions for the armed forces, emergency
services, police, domestic workers, sea and air transportation workers,
and fishermen. Workers can opt out of the 48-hour limit. The law
provides for one day of rest per week, 11 hours of daily rest, and a
20-minute rest break when the working day exceeds six hours. The law
also mandates a minimum of four weeks of paid annual leave, including
eight national holidays. However, the average worker received five
weeks of paid annual leave plus eight bank holidays as part of
collective agreements. An individual employee may agree through a
contract to work overtime for premium pay. The law does not prohibit
compulsory overtime, but overtime is limited by the 48-hour week
restriction.
The law stipulates that the health and safety of employees not be
placed at risk, and it was effectively enforced by the Health and
Safety Executive (an arm of the Department of Work and Pensions), which
could initiate criminal proceedings in appropriate cases. Workers'
representatives also actively monitored enforcement of the law. Workers
may legally remove themselves from dangerous work conditions without
jeopardy to their continued employment. In 2008-09 the Advisory,
Conciliation, and Arbitration Service reported more than 43,000 cases
received from employment tribunals on grounds of unfair dismissal,
which can include dismissals for safety-related reasons.
__________
NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
----------
ALGERIA
Algeria is a multiparty republic of approximately 36 million
inhabitants whose head of state and government (president) is elected
by popular vote to a five-year term. The president has the
constitutional authority to appoint and dismiss cabinet members and the
prime minister. A November 2008 constitutional amendment eliminated
presidential term limits. On April 9, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
won reelection to his third term in office in a contested election.
Some opposition parties boycotted the election, arguing restrictions on
freedom of association skewed the election outcome in favor of the
incumbent. A state of emergency implemented in 1992 remained in effect
during the year, although the government mostly enforced provisions
restricting assembly and association. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
Restrictions on freedom of assembly and association significantly
impaired political party activities and significantly limited citizens'
ability to change the government peacefully through elections. Failure
to account for persons who disappeared in the 1990s and address the
demands of some advocacy groups for families of victims remained
significant problems. Reports of abuse and torture occurred but were
fewer than in previous years. There were also reports of official
impunity, abuse of pretrial detention, poor prison conditions, limited
judicial independence, and restrictions on freedom of speech, press,
and assembly. Additionally, there were limitations on religious
freedom, problems with security-based restrictions on movement,
corruption and lack of government transparency, discrimination and
violence against women, and restrictions on workers' rights.
Terrorist groups committed a significant number of attacks against
civilians, government officials, and members of security forces.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
Information on terrorism-related violence in the country was
difficult to verify independently. The Ministry of the Interior (MOI)
infrequently released information concerning the total number of
terrorist, civilian, and security force deaths. During the year,
security forces killed, injured, or arrested approximately 1,300
suspected terrorists. According to press reports of official estimates,
the total number of deaths was 804. Of these deaths, suspected
terrorists killed 66 civilians and 220 security force members; security
forces killed an estimated 518 suspected terrorists. These numbers
increased from the 321 deaths reported in 2008.
Most of the terrorist attacks during the year were attributed to
the terrorist group al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which
emerged in January 2007 after the Salafist Group for Preaching and
Combat (GSPC) allied itself with al-Qa'ida in 2006.
The year was marked by significant violence. On March 9, a suicide
bomber killed two communal guards in Tadmait, 43 miles east of Algiers.
On June 17, terrorists ambushed, shot, and killed 18 national
gendarmerie officers and injured dozens more near the town of Mansourah
in Bordj Bou Arreridj. On July 29, terrorists attacked a military
supply convoy in Damous, 90 miles west of Algiers, killing 23 and
wounding seven others. On October 22, terrorists killed seven and
wounded three Algerian security guards working for a Canadian water
project. AQIM claimed responsibility for all of these attacks. Minister
of the Interior Noureddine Zerhouni stated in July 2008 that an
estimated 400 terrorists operated in the country.
b. Disappearance.--Enforced disappearances, reportedly numbering in
the thousands, were a significant problem during the 1990s and
continued to be a topic covered in the media and raised by local and
international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). During a March 6
conference in Geneva, representatives of the government's human rights
advisory office, the National Consultative Commission for the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights (CNCPPDH), stated that 8,023 persons
were missing or disappeared as a result of government actions between
1992-99. The government had stated previously that approximately 10,000
additional persons were missing or disappeared from terrorist
kidnappings and murders. NGOs reported that security forces had played
a role in the disappearances of approximately 8,000 persons.
In 2007 the government signed the International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances but had not
ratified it by year's end. Law 06-01 of 2006 provides measures for
compensating victims of disappearances. For courts to hear charges of
disappearance, the law requires at least two eyewitnesses. Many of the
disappearances in the 1990s were later attributed to the security
forces; however, the government did not prosecute security force
personnel, and there was no evidence that the government investigated
cases it acknowledged security forces caused.
In 2005 voters approved by referendum President Bouteflika's
proposed Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which ended the
Ad Hoc Mechanism established in 2003 to account for the disappeared.
The charter went into effect in 2006, granting amnesty to and
preventing investigation into the conduct of the National Popular Army,
the security forces, state-sponsored armed groups, and persons who
fought on behalf of the government.
The amnesty also covered certain persons involved in Islamist
militant and terrorist activities. Persons implicated in mass killings,
rapes, or bomb attacks in public places were not eligible for amnesty.
Some local NGOs, including SOS Disparus, Djazairouna, and the Algerian
League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH), criticized the charter
for enabling terrorists to escape justice.
In a February 9 report, the UN Human Rights Council Working Group
on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances stated that in 2008 it
transmitted 768 cases to the government, which were allegedly
attributed to disappearances by government forces between 1992 and
1999. In May 2008 the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) reported its
concerns that Law 06-01 provides impunity for members of armed groups
and state officials and that the government had not yet initiated
proceedings to investigate the fate of the disappeared. UNCAT also
expressed concern that the government had not publicized the criteria
for compensating family members and required those compensated to waive
their right to seek civil damages against the state.
Families of the disappeared experienced complications and delays in
receiving compensation. In October 2008 CNCPPDH president Farouk
Ksentini, the government's human rights advisor, stated that 97 percent
of families of the disappeared had accepted compensation under the
charter. On September 1, the Ministry of National Solidarity (MNS)
Minister Ould Abbes stated the government had paid 11 billion dinars
($150 million) in compensation to families. According to the
government, as of the end of 2008, 25,316 claims had been filed for
compensation under the charter. Authorities approved 13,866 claims and
had paid compensation on 12,339 of these claims.
Armed criminals conducted abuses against civilians including
kidnappings, false checkpoints, and extortion. In May 2008 Interior
Minister Zerhouni reported that 115 of 375 kidnapping cases in the
previous two years were related to terrorism.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, NGO and local
human rights activists reported that government officials sometimes
employed them to obtain confessions. Government agents can face prison
sentences of between 10 and 20 years for committing such acts, and some
were tried and convicted in 2008. Nonetheless, impunity remained a
problem.
Local human rights lawyers maintained that torture continued to
occur in detention facilities, most often against those arrested on
``security grounds.''
In December 2008 a court in Blida sentenced three police officers
to three years in prison for torture. In May 2008 a court in Blida
placed four police officers, accused of torturing five suspects at the
police station in Cheraga, under judicial control and ordered their
temporary detention. The prosecutor in Blida originally asked for
prison sentences of 12 years for each officer and sought a seven-year
prison sentence for the police chief of the station. The court dropped
the charge against the police chief and one of the four officers placed
under judicial control. The victims said that following their arrest
the officers used a taser on them in order to extract confessions in a
case involving a stolen car.
On September 16, during a visit to El Harrach prison Minister of
Justice Tayeb Belaiz announced that he would not tolerate prison
officials who abuse prisoners, regardless of rank. Belaiz said the
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) prosecuted and jailed 14 prison workers for
mistreating prisoners.
In February 2008 human rights NGO Alkarama reported that after a
protest by inmates related to prayer room space, prison guards
handcuffed, stripped, and beat approximately 80 prisoners with iron
bars and sticks.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally did not meet international standards. Overcrowding was a
problem in many prisons. According to human rights lawyers, the problem
of overpopulation was partially explained by an abusive recourse to
pretrial detention. In 2008 the CNCPPDH conducted 34 prison visits and
highlighted concerns with overcrowding, insufficient bed space, as well
as poor lighting, ventilation, nutrition, and hygiene.
According to Mokhtar Felioune, the director general of the Prisons
Administration, there were 59,000 prisoners in the country's penal
system held in 127 prisons. In 2007 Felioune stated there were 54,000
persons held in the prison system. Prisons held men and women
separately. In some cases, overcrowding meant that juveniles were held
with adults; however, in general the government maintained separate
juvenile detention centers. Pretrial detainees were held separately
from convicted prisoners.
During the year, the government permitted the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Red Crescent Society to visit
regular, nonmilitary prisons. ICRC visits to persons held in places of
detention run by the MOJ and to those detained in police stations and
gendarmeries were carried out in accordance with ICRC standard
practices. The government denied other human rights observers visits to
military and high-security prisons and detention centers.
On April 1, an amendment to the penal code went into effect
permitting the substitution of community service for prison sentences
for first-time offenders with a maximum jail sentence of three years.
During a July 23 conference, Felioune said the new law was designed to
reduce recidivism and to alleviate overcrowding in prisons.
In June 2008 Felioune announced that 7,547 prisoners benefited from
temporary release as part of a government effort to reduce overcrowding
in the country's prisons. Felioune also noted that 1,390 prisoners
benefited from work and study release programs while 8,268 received
parole for good conduct.
In a May 2008 report, UNCAT expressed concern over reports that the
Department for Information and Security (DRS), the military
intelligence agency tasked with internal security, maintained secret
detention centers inside military barracks that operated outside
judicial authority.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, abuse of pretrial detention
occurred in practice. In 2008 the head of the government-appointed
CNCPPDH said the abuse of pretrial detention tarnished the image of the
country's justice system.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
force, consisting of more than 140,000 members, falls under the control
of the MOI and has national jurisdiction. The National Gendarmerie,
under the Ministry of Defense (MND), also performs police-like
functions outside urban areas. Organizationally, the DRS reports to the
MND and exercises internal security functions, but it also performs
functions comparable to the police in terrorism cases. Police and
gendarmes were generally effective at maintaining order. All members of
the security forces are provided a copy of a code of conduct
establishing regulations for conduct and sanctions for abuses.
Corruption existed, and the media focused especially on the customs
police. According to press reports, 960 customs officials faced
disciplinary commissions for official negligence or corruption charges
between 2005 and 2008. Customs officials reported 215 disciplinary
cases during the first quarter of 2008; 118 cases resulted in official
reprimands, and nine cases resulted in suspensions.
Impunity remained a problem. The government did not provide
disaggregated public information on the numbers, infractions, or
punishments of police, military, or other security force personnel.
The criminal code provides mechanisms to investigate abuses. The
MOJ and the MND cooperated with the ICRC in implementing seminars on
incorporating international humanitarian law principles into legal
practices and military training curricula.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--According to
the law, the police must obtain a summons from the Prosecutor's Office
to require a suspect to appear in a police station for preliminary
questioning. Summonses also are used to notify and require the accused
and the victim to attend a court proceeding or hearing.
The government issues warrants under three different circumstances:
to bring an individual from work or home to a court, to execute a
prosecutor's approved request to place a person into custody pending
trial, or to arrest a suspect considered to be a flight risk. Police
may make arrests without a warrant if they witness an offense. Lawyers
reported that procedures for warrants and summonses were usually
carried out properly.
The constitution specifies that a suspect may be held in detention
for up to 48 hours without charge. If more time is required for
gathering additional evidence, the police may request that the
prosecutor extend the suspect's detention to 72 hours. Those suspected
of terrorism or subversion may be held legally for 12 days without
charge or access to counsel. In practice the security forces generally
adhered to the 48-hour limit in nonterrorism cases.
Prolonged pretrial detention remained a problem. The law does not
provide a person in detention the right to a prompt judicial
determination of the legality of the detention. Persons charged with
acts against the security of the state, including terrorism, may be
held in pretrial detention as long as 20 months according to the penal
code; the prosecutor must show cause every four months for continuing
pretrial detention.
Judges rarely refused prosecutorial requests for extending
preventive detention, which can be appealed but was rarely overturned.
Should the detention be overturned, the defendant can request
compensation. In 2008 the prison administration reported pretrial
detainees represented 13 percent of the individuals held by prison
authorities.
There is no system of bail, but in nonfelony cases suspects are
usually released on ``provisional liberty'' while waiting for trial.
Under provisional liberty, suspects are required to report weekly to
the police station in their district and are forbidden to leave the
country.
Most detainees have prompt access to a lawyer of their choice and,
if the detainee is indigent, the government provides a lawyer. The
penal code requires detainees in pretrial detention to be informed
immediately of their right to communicate with family members, receive
visitors, and be examined by a doctor of their choice at the end of
detention. In addition, any suspect can request a medical examination
once on police premises or before facing the judge. In practice,
however, detainees were typically examined only at the end of their
detention. Reports that these rights were not extended to detainees
continued during the year.
On July 23, Hakim Hamdane died of a chronic respiratory condition
in Mustapha Pacha hospital while he was in pretrial detention in
Serkadji Prison. An Algiers court was investigating Hamdane's
involvement in a fraud scheme at the state power company Sonelgaz. The
court held Hamdane in pretrial detention while conducting the
investigation, despite his respiratory condition. Hamdane was cleared
of the charges two days after his death.
According to human rights NGO Alkarama, Adel Saker was arrested in
May 2008 and reappeared in Skikda prison on April 12 after being held
incommunicado by the DRS. Police subsequently filed formal terrorism
charges against him.
On June 23, the World Organization Against Torture reported that
Moussa Rahli was arrested March 17 and held incommunicado until April
20, when he appeared in a military prison in Blida. Authorities charged
Rahli with belonging to a terrorist group. He was permitted access to
his family and a lawyer.
In July 2008, authorities charged Kamal Akkache with belonging to a
terrorist organization. Amnesty International (AI) reported that
authorities held Akkache without charge for 10 months in 2007.
Authorities acquitted Mohamed Fatmia of terrorism charges during the
year. Fatmia was detained in Serkadji prison in 2008 and was held
incommunicado throughout 2007. Human rights advocates reported that
authorities continued to hold Mohamed Rahmouni at the military tribunal
in Blida on alleged terrorism charges but had granted Rahmouni access
to a lawyer.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the president exercises supreme
judicial authority, and the executive branch limited judicial
independence. The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial;
however, in practice authorities did not always completely respect
legal provisions regarding defendants' rights and denied due process.
The High Judicial Council is responsible for judicial discipline
and the appointment of all judges. President Bouteflika serves as the
president of the council.
The judiciary is composed of civilian courts, which hear cases
involving civilians facing charges not related to security or
terrorism, and military courts, which can hear cases involving
civilians facing security and terrorism charges. Regular criminal
courts can try cases involving security-related offenses at the local
level. The family code draws on aspects of Shari'a (Islamic law), but
there are no Shari'a courts. Legal decisions are based on the country's
civil and criminal codes.
Military courts in Oran, Blida, Constantine, and Bechar try cases
involving state security, espionage, and other security-related
offenses involving military personnel and civilians. Each tribunal
consists of three civilian judges and two military judges. Although the
president of each court is a civilian, the chief judge is a military
officer. Defense lawyers must be accredited by the military tribunal to
appear. Public attendance at the trial is at the discretion of the
tribunal. Appeals are made directly to the Supreme Court. Military
tribunals try cases, but they only occasionally disclose information on
proceedings. There was no public information available on any cases
that were tried before the tribunals during the year.
The nine-member Constitutional Council reviews the
constitutionality of treaties, laws, and regulations. Although the
council is not part of the judiciary, it has the authority to nullify
laws found unconstitutional, confirm the results of any type of
election, and serve as the final arbiter of amendments that pass both
chambers of the parliament before becoming law.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent and have the
right to be present and consult with an attorney, provided at public
expense if necessary. Most trials are public and nonjury. Defendants
can confront or question witnesses against them or present witnesses
and evidence on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys
occasionally were denied access to government-held evidence relevant to
their cases. Defendants have the right to appeal. The testimony of men
and women has equal weight under the law.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees during the year.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary was neither
fully independent nor impartial in civil matters and lacked
independence in some human rights cases. Family connections and status
of the parties involved reportedly influenced some decisions.
Individuals may bring lawsuits, and there are administrative processes
related to amnesty, which may provide damages for human rights
violations and compensation for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions; however, in
practice government authorities infringed on citizens' privacy rights.
According to rights activists, the government monitored the
communications of political opponents, journalists, human rights
groups, and suspected terrorists. Security officials reportedly
searched homes without a warrant.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the government restricted
these rights in practice through accusations of defamation and informal
pressure on publishers, editors, and journalists.
Individuals generally were able to criticize the government
privately without reprisal. However, citizens generally self-censored
public criticism. The government attempted to impede criticism by
monitoring political meetings.
The law specifies that freedom of speech must respect ``individual
dignity, the imperatives of foreign policy, and the national defense.''
The state of emergency decree, introduced in 1992 and still in effect,
gives the government broad authority to restrict civil liberties and
take legal action against what it considers to be threats to the state
or public order. In recent years the portion of the decree most
enforced has been the provision requiring prior government approval for
public gatherings. A 2006 presidential decree continues to criminalize
speech about the conduct of the security forces during the internal
conflict of the 1990s.
Radio and television were government-owned and broadcast coverage
favorable to the government. During nonelection periods, opposition
spokesmen generally were denied access to public radio or television.
Some opposition parties were denied access to television. These
limitations were less evident for radio. Political parties and
independent candidates received the same amount of radio access time
during the three-week campaign period prior to the April 9 presidential
election and prior to the 2007 legislative and local elections. Several
opposition parties said that their daily media allotment during the
three-week period was the first time they had been allowed media access
since the last election cycle.
The country's print media consisted of numerous publications that
supported or opposed the government to varying degrees. According to
Ministry of Communication statistics, 29 newspapers circulated in
excess of 10,000 copies each. The government owned two French-language
and three Arabic-language newspapers. Many political parties, including
legal Islamic parties, had access to the independent press and used it
to express their views. Opposition parties also disseminated
information via the Internet and published communiques.
The law permits the government to censor, levy fines, and imprison
members of the press. The government directly and indirectly censored
and intimidated the media into practicing self-censorship. The
government used defamation laws to harass and arrest some journalists,
and some members of the press faced retaliation for criticizing
government officials. Other journalists and many political cartoonists,
however, regularly criticized the government.
The law defines defamation broadly, and the penal code imposes
prison terms of up to 24 months and fines of 50,000 to 500,000 dinars
($695 to $6,945). Defamation covers ``the insult'' of government
figures, including the president, members of parliament, judges,
members of the military, and ``any other authority of public order.''
Furthermore, a 1990 law protects Islam from defamation, controls access
to external information, and outlaws writing that threatens national
unity. In 2001 the government amended laws to criminalize writing,
cartoons, and speech that insult or offend the president, parliament,
judiciary, or armed forces.
The government used these defamation laws regularly to pressure
editors, journalists, and the owners of printing houses. In an April 20
letter to President Bouteflika, the international NGO Committee to
Protect Journalists expressed concern for ``the rising incidence of
press freedom violations.'' In December 2008 Reporters without Borders
(RSF) criticized the defamation laws as ``repressive legislation.''
Omar Belhouchet, editor of the French-language newspaper El-Watan,
faced government pressure throughout the year for articles published in
his newspaper. In December 2008 authorities brought a case against
Belhouchet and reporter Salima Tlemcani for allegedly libeling a faith
healer in a 2004 article. An Algiers court sentenced both to three
months in prison and a fine of 50,000 dinars ($695). The case remained
pending at year's end. The charges against Belhouchet in connection
with three libel cases relating to articles Belhouchet published
several years ago about airfare increases and police killings of
demonstrators were also pending. Belhouchet and Tlemcani remained free
at year's end.
On January 6, freelance journalist Hafnaoui Ghoul said unknown
persons threatened him near his home in Djelfa. He claimed that
authorities did not investigate the incident. According to RSF,
officials have targeted Ghoul for years repeatedly detaining, beating,
and persecuting him for his writing. At year's end Ghoul faced 16
pending lawsuits by local officials related to his articles on
corruption.
During a February 11 appeal hearing, a Mascara court sentenced
Layadi El-Amine Yahia, a journalist for Le Carrefour d'Algerie, to one
year in prison and fined Yahia 20,000 dinars ($280) for libel in an
article implicating Mascara's commerce director in corruption. The
court had earlier acquitted Yahia, who was unaware of the government's
appeal of his acquittal. Yahia appealed the most recent decision, but
the court had yet to set a date for the hearing at year's end.
On March 2, authorities in Ghardaia detained news Web site Al-Waha
editor Nedjar El-Hadj Daoud in connection with a 2005 defamation case
but subsequently released him on March 4 for medical reasons. On May
11, a Ghardia court sentenced Daoud to six months' imprisonment in a
lawsuit related to an article published in 2006 involving then-
presidential chief of staff Labri Belkheir. According to RSF, Daoud
faced 20 pending defamation complaints in Ghardia.
According to RSF, the government banned three French publications--
L'Express, Marianne, and Le Journal du Dimanche--in the week preceding
the April 9 election for content ``contrary to national values.'' Each
magazine contained articles that criticized the election atmosphere. On
March 7, the government banned another foreign publication, Afrique
Magazine, because of an article titled ``Algeria, Twilight of the
Generals.''
On April 4, authorities denied Tunisian journalist and human rights
activist, Sihem Bensedrine, entry at Algiers airport. The LADDH had
invited Bensedrine to monitor the media prior to the April 9
presidential election. Some foreign journalists noted long delays in
obtaining visas to cover the election. Authorities denied Le Monde
journalist Florence Beauge accreditation prior to the election after
she wrote a series of articles critical of the government.
On July 17, a Tebessa court sentenced Ennahar correspondent Rabah
Lamouchi to six months in jail on charges of defamation and for lacking
a press credential. Tebessa authorities arrested Lamouchi on June 9 and
later released him on December 13 after the completion of his jail
sentence. Ennahar editor Anis Rahmani pointed out that individual media
outlets, not the government, issue press accreditations, adding that
the authorities' action undermined press freedom.
There were no developments in the 2007 appeal of Saad Lounes, who
was given a one-year sentence for tax fraud on the basis of a complaint
by the Ministry of Commerce dating to 1995. Lounes faced legal pressure
for more than 10 years while he operated the only private printing
press in the country.
In 2008 an appeals court reduced the 2007 sentence of journalist
Dhil Talal, convicted of defamation for an article exposing a
government ministry's monetary losses, to a fine of 5,000 dinars ($70)
and a six-month suspended prison sentence. During the year there was no
decision on Talal's September 2008 appeal of his reduced sentence.
The government exercised considerable economic leverage on the
media. Most newspapers were printed at government-owned presses.
The government continued to influence the independent press through
the state-owned advertising company, Agence Nationale d'Edition et de
Publicite (ANEP), which decided whether independent newspapers would
benefit from advertisements placed by state-owned agencies and
companies. ANEP, and therefore the government, controlled the largest
source of income for most newspapers. As has been the case in recent
years, independent advertisers played a considerably smaller, but
increasingly visible, role in advertising revenue.
During the October Algiers Book Fair, officials banned three titles
by well-known government critics: The Village of the German, by Boualem
Sansal; Kill Them All, by Salim Bachi; and Poutakhine, by Mehdi El
Djezairi. At the 2008 book fair, the Ministry of Religious Affairs
(MRA) banned the sale of 1,471 religious titles. Shortly before the
2008 book fair, the government banned the printing of vocal government
critic Mohamed Benchicou's latest book, The Diary of a Free Man. During
the 2007 book fair, government officials confiscated and banned a
previous book by Benchicou, The Jailhouses of Algiers.
Access to print and broadcast media for Amazigh culture continued
to grow. As in recent years, Tamazight (the Amazigh or Berber language)
programming also increased on the non-Berber language channels, as did
advertisements in Tamazight on all television and radio channels. In
2007 the government created an Academy and a Superior Council of the
Tamazight language, announcing that Tamazight is a national language.
The government continued restrictions on both the local and the
international media's coverage of issues relating to ``national
security and terrorism.'' Al-Jazeera's office remained closed, after
the government banned it from operating in the country in 2004 for
broadcasting a program featuring opposition figures criticizing the
government. Several international journalists had their accreditations
denied.
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reuters maintained offices, and
the government reaccredited both in February. In June 2008, the
government revoked the AFP and Reuters bureau chiefs' press
accreditations in response to allegedly inaccurate reports the agencies
filed on terrorist attacks in the country.
Internet Freedom.--Access to the Internet was generally unimpeded;
however, the government monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms. On
August 16, the government enacted a new law on cybercrimes that
establishes procedures for using electronic data in prosecutions and
the responsibilities of service providers to cooperate with
authorities. On November 9, Minister of Post and Information Technology
Hamid Bessalah announced that his ministry was creating a National
Center for Internet Data Exchange to protect Internet users from
inappropriate content, cybercrime, and hackers.
Internet service providers can face criminal penalties for the
material and Web sites they host, especially if subject matters are
``incompatible with morality or public opinion.'' No cases were brought
during the year. The Ministries of Justice, Interior, Post, and
Information Technology have oversight responsibilities.
According to 2008 International Telecommunication Union data, there
were 12 users per 100 inhabitants in the country.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academic freedom generally
was restricted in the same manner as freedom of expression. Academic
seminars and colloquiums occurred without governmental interference,
but there were delays in issuing visas to international participants
and instances where authorities denied international experts entrance.
On the margins of the October Algiers Book Fair, authorities prevented
anthropologist Tassadit Yacine from holding an October 30 conference on
the work of Jean Amrouche, a Berber writer from the Kabylie who died in
1960.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association; however, the
government severely restricted the exercise of these rights in
practice.
Freedom of Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of
assembly; however, the emergency decree and government practice
continued to curtail this right. A 2000 decree banning demonstrations
in Algiers remained in effect. Authorities required citizens and
organizations to obtain permits from the government-appointed local
governor before holding public meetings. The government frequently
granted licenses to political parties, NGOs, and other groups to hold
indoor rallies, although licenses were often granted on the eve of the
event, thereby impeding publicity and outreach.
The LADDH reported continuing difficulties in obtaining permission
to hold outdoor meetings and seminars. Groups opposing the Charter on
Peace and Reconciliation had difficulty securing permission to hold
public gatherings.
On May 25, local authorities denied the LADDH authorization to hold
a three-day training workshop for journalists at a hotel in Algiers.
Algiers city authorities provided no explanation for the refusal.
On February 10, police prevented a sit-in organized by contract
teachers who attempted to demonstrate near the presidential offices. In
July and August 2008, police prevented a similar series of weekly sit-
ins by trade unions and contract teachers. The police blocked walking
routes to prevent persons from gathering. Eyewitnesses reported the
police pushing and shoving participants but no beatings.
SOS Disparus, an NGO representing relatives of persons who
disappeared during the internal conflict of the 1990s, continued to
hold weekly sit-ins in front of CNCPPDH headquarters. On August 30, 50
families gathered near the CNCPPDH to commemorate AI's International
Day of the Disappeared. On July 16, authorities denied SOS Disparus
authorization to hold a seminar on victims of enforced disappearance in
the 1990s. Algiers city officials cited the need to maintain public
order as the reason for the refusal. On December 9, police prevented
SOS Disparus from staging a demonstration commemorating the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights near the First of May market in Algiers.
In 2007 security forces banned an international seminar on forced
disappearances organized by several NGOs. The government denied visas
for Roberto Garreton, a UN expert on human rights, and Anne Laurence
Lacroix, deputy director of the World Organization Against Torture, to
participate.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of
association; however, the government and the emergency decree severely
restricted this right in practice. The MOI must approve all political
parties before they may be legally established. The government
restricted the registration of certain NGOs, associations, and
political parties on ``security grounds'' but declined to provide
evidence or legal grounds for refusing to authorize other organizations
that could not be disqualified on security grounds. The government
frequently failed to grant official recognition to NGOs, associations,
religious groups, and political parties in an expeditious fashion. The
MOI may deny a license to or dissolve any group regarded as a threat to
the government's authority or to public order. The law implementing the
2006 amnesty prohibits political activities by anyone responsible for
having used religion leading to the ``national tragedy,'' that is, the
internal conflict of the 1990s.
The government issued licenses and subsidies to domestic
associations, especially youth, medical, and neighborhood associations.
The MOI regarded organizations unable to attain government licenses as
illegal. Domestic NGOs encountered bureaucratic obstacles to receiving
financial support from abroad. Although not illegal, financial support
from abroad is conditioned on a series of authorizations from the
ministries of interior and national solidarity. These authorizations
were difficult to obtain. According to the MOI, there were 81,000
registered associations, 5,000 of which were active during the year.
SOS Disparus remained unrecognized and continued to operate but
faced government interference.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, but in practice the government restricted religious freedom.
The constitution declares Islam to be the state religion and prohibits
institutions from engaging in behavior incompatible with Islamic
morality. More than 99 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim. The
constitution prohibits non-Muslims from running for the presidency.
Non-Muslims may hold other public offices and work within the
government; however, human rights observers reported that the
government did not promote such workers and that some hid their
religious affiliation.
The Ministries of National Education and Religious Affairs strictly
required, regulated, and funded the study of Islam in public schools
and monitored all Koranic schools to prevent extremist teachings. In
September 2008 local press reported that the MRA dismissed 53 imams and
closed 42 locations used for unauthorized Islamic worship.
In February 2008 the government began enforcing a law that
regulates non-Muslim religious associations. The law limits the
practice of non-Muslim religions and restricts public assembly for the
purpose of worship. The law requires organized religious groups to
register with the government, controls the importation of religious
texts, increases punishments for individuals who proselytize Muslims,
and treats transgressions as criminal rather than civil offenses.
According to reports from church leaders, approximately 22 churches
that lacked government recognition reopened and held services. In 2008
the government ordered the closure of 27 churches for alleged
noncompliance with the ordinance during the year. Church groups said
the government denied the visa applications of some religious workers,
citing the government ban on proselytizing.
The Catholic Church was the only non-Islamic religion registered to
operate in the country. Protestant, Anglican, and Seventh-day Adventist
churches had pending registration requests with the government and
reported no government interference in their holding services. In 2008
members of a church in Ouadhia said they attempted to apply for
registration 12 times. In each instance, local authorities refused to
accept the documents. Other churches operated without registration,
some openly, while others secretly practiced their faith in homes.
On July 2, the MRA approved the registration of a Jewish
association headed by a lawyer from Blida. The MRA authorized the
association in accordance with the law.
In 2008 the government pressured domestic pastors, religious
converts, and one foreign Catholic priest, accusing some of breaking
the law's provisions banning proselytism.
In January 2008 a court in Maghnia issued a one-year suspended
prison sentence to a foreign Catholic priest for praying with
Cameroonian migrants in an unauthorized place of worship. Upon appeal
he received a reduced suspended prison sentence of two months and a
fine of 20,150 dinars ($280), which he appealed. The appeal was pending
at year's end.
The MRA provided financial support to mosques and trained, paid,
and regulated the appointments and sermons of imams. However, officials
stated that they rarely interfered with sermons beyond an advisory
capacity. The penal code provides for prison sentences and fines for
preaching in a place of worship without the authorization of both
religious and national authorities. All persons, including imams
recognized by the government, are prohibited from speaking during
prayers at the mosque in a manner that is ``contrary to the noble
nature of the mosque or likely to offend the cohesion of society or
serve as a pretext for such actions.'' The government required imams to
obtain permits to hold night prayers during Ramadan
In November 2008 local press reported that some imams filed
censorship complaints with the MRA after they faced penalties for
failing to address the November 1 anniversary of the country's
revolution in their sermons. The ministry denied these claims.
Conversion is not illegal under civil law, and apostasy is not a
criminal offense. In March 2008 authorities charged Habiba Kouider with
``practicing a non-Muslim religion without a permit.'' The prosecutor
asked that Kouider be sentenced to three years in prison. Kouider was
traveling by bus when police questioned her and found her to be
carrying Bibles and other religious materials. At year's end the case
remained pending.
During 2008 authorities arrested nine Christian converts for
various combinations of proselytizing, blasphemy, and illegally
practicing a non-Muslim faith. Courts sentenced each to prison terms
and fines. A court acquitted five and gave two-month suspended prison
sentences and fines of 100,000 dinars ($1,390) to three. One case
remained pending at year's end.
On September 1, police arrested two citizens in Ben Aknoun for
eating and drinking during daylight hours in Ramadan. On September 2,
an Algiers prosecutor transferred them to El-Harrach prison. A day
later authorities released both citizens and dropped all charges.
The government monitored activities in mosques for possible
security-related offenses, barred their use as public meeting places
outside of regular prayer hours, and convoked imams to the MRA for
``disciplinary action'' when deemed appropriate.
The government restricted the importation of religious literature
(including Islamic literature) intended for widespread distribution and
infrequently arrested persons carrying such materials for personal use.
In recent years non-Islamic religious texts, music, and videos were
available for purchase in some stores in larger cities. The government-
owned radio station provided broadcast time for Protestant and Catholic
radio broadcasts. The government prohibits the dissemination of
literature portraying violence as a legitimate precept of Islam.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The country's 1992-2002 civil
conflict pitted self-proclaimed radical Muslims belonging to the Armed
Islamic Group and its later offshoot, the GSPC--now known as AQIM--
against moderate Muslims. During the year radical Islamic extremists
issued public threats against all ``infidels'' and ``apostates'' in the
country, both foreigners and citizens. The country's terrorist groups
generally did not differentiate between religious and political
killings.
The country's Jewish population numbered fewer than 2,000 persons,
and there were no functioning synagogues. Anti-Semitic articles,
political commentary, and cartoons appeared regularly in the Arabic-
language press. The government did not promote antibias education, and
there is no hate crime legislation.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement; however, the government restricted the exercise of this
right in practice.
The government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Under the 1992 emergency decree, the interior minister and the
provincial governors may deny residency in certain districts to persons
regarded as threats to public order. The government also maintained
restrictions for security reasons on travel into the four southern
provinces of Ouargla, El-Oued, Laghouat, and Ain-Salah, where much of
the hydrocarbon industry and many foreign workers were located. The
same decree permits the minister of the interior to place individuals
under house arrest. AI reported that the measure was used to assign a
residence to individuals already detained in DRS barracks, thus
concealing prolonged arbitrary detention.
The government did not permit young men eligible for the draft, who
had not yet completed their military service, to leave the country
without special authorization; however, such authorization was granted
to students and to persons with special family circumstances.
The family code does not permit anyone under 18 to travel abroad
without a guardian's permission.
The law does not provide for forced exile, and it was not known to
occur.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol. It
is also a party to the 1969 African Union Convention Governing the
Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem in Africa. Its laws provide for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. However,
there were no reports that the government granted refugee status and
asylum to new refugee applicants during the year. According to the
UNHCR, the government did not accept UNHCR-determined refugee status
for individuals from sub-Saharan Africa fleeing conflict. During the
year 144 asylum seekers, mostly sub-Saharan Africans, registered with
the UNHCR. The UNHCR granted asylum status to 23 persons. There were
reports that the government deported some asylum seekers after trials
without legal counsel. Refugees holding valid UNHCR documentation were
less likely to be deported. The government provided informal assistance
to an estimated 1,000 Tuaregs in the south fleeing conflict in Mali and
Niger. However, authorities did not extend legal protections to an
estimated 1,400 asylum seekers from sub-Saharan Africa residing in
Algiers.
The government provided protection to an estimated 90,000 Sahrawi
refugees who left the Western Sahara after Morocco took control of the
territory in the 1970s. The UNHCR, World Food Program, Algerian Red
Crescent, and other organizations also assisted Sahrawi refugees.
Neither the government nor refugee leadership allowed the UNHCR to
conduct a registration of the Sahrawi refugees.
From September 8 to 10, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio
Guterres visited Algiers and the Sahrawi camps near Tindouf. Guterres
discussed expanding UNHCR-sponsored family visits between the camps and
Western Sahara and urged government officials to strengthen asylum
institutions and allow the International Organization for Migration to
open an office in the country.
In practice the government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their freedom would
be threatened, as was the case with the Sahrawi refugees. However, the
government did not provide protection to those fleeing conflict in sub-
Saharan Africa.
Sahrawi refugees lived predominantly in camps near the city of
Tindouf, administered by the Popular Front for the Liberation of the
Saguia el Harma and Rio de Oro (Polisario), an organization that claims
sovereignty over Western Sahara. The remote location of the camps and
lack of government presence resulted in lack of access to employment,
basic services, education, police, and courts.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully through periodic elections based on universal
suffrage. However, restrictions on freedom of assembly and association,
as well as restrictions on political party activities, limited this
right.
Elections and Political Participation.--The constitution mandates
presidential elections every five years. In October 2008 President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his intention to seek parliamentary
approval for a set of constitutional amendments that included removal
of presidential term limits. In November 2008 the parliament approved
the proposed amendments by a wide margin with minimal debate.
A contested, multiparty presidential election was held on April 9
in which the incumbent was elected to a third term. Official election
statistics indicated that President Bouteflika won the election with
90.2 percent of the votes and a voter turnout of 74.6 percent.
Opposition parties and defeated candidates estimated voter turnout as
between 18 and 55 percent.
Election observers from the Arab League, African Union, and
Organization of the Islamic Conference stated in a press conference
that the April 9 election was fair and transparent. Some international
experts commented, however, that observers monitored only election-day
procedures and were not on the ground to evaluate preelection
activities. Others noted that the complexity of some election
procedures created room for fraud and government influence. Two
opposition parties, the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) and the
Socialist Forces Front (FFS), boycotted the election, arguing that
restrictions on freedom of association disadvantaged potential
challengers and made the outcome of the election a foregone conclusion.
The LADDH pointed to a lack of critical debate in the media and
favorable treatment of the incumbent by state-owned media.
There were complaints during the three-week campaign period that
public areas dedicated to election propaganda did not display each
candidate's materials equally. Some candidates reported interference
from local election committees when organizing meetings with voters and
filed complaints with the National Election Commission. On March 21,
the Party of Liberty and Justice (PLJ) reported that one of its
campaign buses was vandalized by a group of youths as PLJ's candidate
left a meeting with supporters in the Algiers suburb of Bab El Oued. On
March 29, authorities arrested an FFS official in Tizi Ouzou for
distributing pamphlets calling for a boycott of the election. On April
4, police blocked a group of RCD party members who attempted to march
in an Algiers suburb to encourage voters to boycott the election. In
general all candidates received equal access to television and radio
media as stipulated in the electoral code.
Multiparty parliamentary elections were held in May 2007 for the
lower house, but not all political parties were allowed full access to
the electoral process. The MOI disqualified the Islamist party Islah on
the grounds that its leader had not been elected in a recent party
congress.
Multiparty local elections were held in November 2007, but the
election process was marred by irregularities and charges of fraud. No
monitoring of the vote counting process was allowed at the local,
district, or national level.
There were reports of restrictions placed on opposition political
parties. Opposition candidates complained that the MOI regularly
blocked registered parties from holding meetings and denied them access
to larger and better-equipped government conference rooms while
facilitating the activities of the pro-Bouteflika National Liberation
Front (FLN). The law requires that potential political parties receive
official approval from the MOI to be established. To obtain approval a
party must have 25 founders from across the country whose names must be
registered with the MOI. July 2007 amendments to the electoral law
stated that a party must receive 4 percent of the vote or have received
at least 2,000 votes in 25 wilayas (provinces) in one of the last three
legislative elections to participate in national elections.
On May 19, the PLJ, whose leader Mohammed Said was a candidate in
the April presidential election, applied to the MOI for accreditation.
The application was pending at year's end. The Union for Democracy and
the Republic party, which originally applied for accreditation in 2004,
had also not received a decision from the ministry.
From October 21 to 23, the RCD organized a series of training
seminars for its members on various political topics, including civil
society and democratic transition. The RCD reported that several
foreign speakers invited to participate did not attend because of
delays in receiving their visas.
Membership in the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), a political party
banned in 1992, remained illegal. In July 2008 Wafa party leader Ahmed
Taleb Ibrahimi announced that he was withdrawing from politics after
the government's continued refusal to register his party because of its
perceived ties to the banned FIS. No party may use religion or ethnic
heritage as a basis to organize for political purposes. The law also
bans political party ties to nonpolitical associations and regulates
party financing and reporting requirements.
There were three women in the cabinet. Women also held 30 of the
389 seats in the Popular Assembly of the Nation, the lower legislative
chamber, and four of the 144 seats in the Council of the Nation, the
upper chamber. A woman led the Workers Party, and three major political
parties--FLN, National Rally for Democracy, and Rally for Culture and
Democracy--had women's divisions headed by women. The country did not
have a quota system to require election of women to a certain
percentage of seats in the parliament.
The ethnic Amazigh (Berber) minority, of approximately nine million
centered in the Kabylie region, participated freely and actively in the
political process and represented one-third of the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties of two to 10 years in prison
for official corruption; however, the government did not implement the
law effectively. The World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators
reflected the existence of a corruption problem.
In 2006 the government passed a law establishing a national
anticorruption program, although parliamentarians removed a provision
that required elected and senior officials to declare their assets and
lifted parliamentary immunity in certain cases. The parliamentarians
argued that the existing penal code was sufficient to punish corruption
offenses and that the decision to lift parliamentary immunity should
reside solely with the parliament. In 2006 the president issued three
decrees to implement provisions of the anticorruption legislation. The
three presidential decrees and the penal code address the types of
offenses that the removed provisions were intended to punish. The
decree also stipulates the formation of an anticorruption agency, but
it had not been established by year's end. High-level government
officials were subject to financial disclosure laws established by two
presidential decrees published in 2006.
Irregularities, including the excessive use of private agreements
often affected public procurement. According to the Ministry of Public
Works, following the president's 2005 statement that the use of private
agreements, including sole-source contracts, would be prohibited,
government agencies began implementing a public tender policy for all
infrastructure and large government projects. For those public tenders,
evaluations were not released to participating companies, and
evaluation methods and techniques were not clearly defined. Some
agencies, however, continued to use direct contracts for public works
projects.
The government took action on several high-profile cases of
official corruption during the year. On April 27, DRS officials in
Annaba arrested Hassan Fellah, businessman and vice president of the
Annaba local assembly, on charges of fraud, money laundering, and
bribery to gain public office. Authorities alleged that Fellah was part
of a criminal group involved in trafficking scrap metal and that Fellah
paid bribes to be placed on a candidate list during a local assembly
election.
On May 30, the customs inspector general stated in an interview on
state radio that authorities arrested 202 customs officers during the
year on charges of bribery. According to the Customs Workers' Union, 90
customs officers faced disciplinary boards during the first trimester
of the year for official misconduct. Forty-three officers received
demotions in rank, and the government dismissed seven officers. In 2007
65 customs officials were charged with corruption.
According to an August 15 press report, the court of Cheraga
charged four Algiers police officers with trafficking stolen cars.
Authorities placed one of the officers in pretrial detention in El
Harrach prison. The court placed the three other officers under
judicial control pending the outcome of their trial.
On October 7, an Algiers court began questioning high-level
government officials suspected of extortion and influence peddling in
awarding contracts to foreign companies involved in the construction of
the East-West highway, one of the country's largest infrastructure
projects. Authorities arrested and levied corruption charges against
Secretary General of Public Works Mohamed Bouchama and a DRS colonel
who was an MOJ advisor. On December 9, authorities indicted the
Ministry of Public Works chief of staff, Ferachi Belkacem, in
connection with the same case. Authorities placed Belkacem under
judicial control. At year's end the outcome of the trial remained
pending.
On December 1, the press reported a corruption scandal in the
customs service dating back 10 years. Authorities charged five customs
executives, six customs agents, and five waste exporters with forgery,
filing false declarations, underinvoicing, and embezzlement of public
funds. The report estimated losses between 1998 and 2001 at 100 billion
dinars ($1.2 billion). Officials arrested the five customs executives
and placed the remaining suspects under judicial control pending the
outcome of their trial.
According to a December 16 press report, the inspector general of
finance conducted 128 audits and issued 160 investigation reports on
corruption during the year.
In May 2008 press reports quoted MOI officials as saying that since
2007, 1,325 employees of municipal and provincial governments were
subject to legal proceedings for wasting public funds, forgery, and
bribery. According to the report, authorities convicted 324 employees,
while the others remained under investigation or had trials pending.
Although permitted under the constitution, authorities restricted
access to government information. There is no law facilitating access
to information. Throughout the year the MOJ, in cooperation with the
United Nations Development Program, improved access to information
about the country's judicial system and developed a modern information
management system for penitentiaries. Citizens may now request personal
legal records from the courts and receive the documents the same day.
Lack of government transparency remained a serious problem. The
government did not release many economic statistics. All ministries
have Web sites, but not all were updated. The MOJ provides information
on citizens' rights and legislation.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government continued to restrict and harass some local NGOs and
impeded the work of international NGOs. Although some human rights
groups, including the Algerian League of Human Rights (LADH) and LADDH,
were allowed to move about freely, the most active and visible
organizations reported interference by government authorities,
including surveillance, monitoring of telephone calls, difficulty in
securing meeting spaces, and difficulty in obtaining approval for
international speakers to speak on sensitive issues.
The government was not publicly responsive to reports and
recommendations from domestic human rights NGOs and interfered with
attempts by some domestic and international human rights groups to
investigate and publish their findings. Domestic NGOs must be licensed
by the government and are prohibited from receiving funding from abroad
without approval from the Ministry of National Solidarity and the MOI.
However, approximately 100 unlicensed NGOs, such as women's advocacy
groups and charity organizations, operated openly. Unlicensed NGOs did
not receive government assistance, and citizens were at times hesitant
to be associated with these organizations.
The most active independent human rights group was the LADDH, a
legally recognized NGO with members throughout the country. The LADDH
was not permitted access to government officials for human rights
advocacy or research purposes or to prisons, except for normal lawyer-
client consultations. The smaller LADH, an independent organization
based in Constantine, was licensed, and members throughout the country
monitored individual cases.
On October 8, authorities in Algiers denied the LADDH's request to
hold a seminar on the death penalty in a local hotel. LADDH moved the
conference venue to its downtown office space and held the meeting
without incident.
The government rarely approved requests for registration. However,
on October 28, the Association of Algerian Women Managers and
Entrepreneurs reported that its request for registration was approved
after a five-year wait.
NGOs not legally recognized by the MOI cannot conduct
investigations. Sometimes, however, even legally recognized NGOs were
prevented from conducting investigations. For example, the LADDH did
not have access to prison camps or detention centers.
International NGOs continued to experience delays in obtaining
visas, and outright refusals occurred. Delays in processing visa
applications prevented some NGOs from conducting programming during the
year. However, during the year the government granted visas to
personnel of several organizations that had not previously been able to
obtain visas. The government maintained that legislation did not allow
branches of foreign NGOs to operate legally in the country.
In November a representative of the NGO National Democratic
Institute (NDI) visited Algiers to meet with political and civil
society actors after the government issued a visa in October. This was
the first visit of an NDI official since 2007.
Freedom House representatives attended an October 2-3 forum in
Algiers on democratic reform in the Arab world, organized with the
independent Arabic-language newspaper, El Khabar.
According to local AI representatives, in November AI explored the
possibility of visiting the country, but at year's end had not received
a response to its request. AI officials have not visited the country
since 2005 and were denied visas in 2006. Human Rights Watch secured
permission for a visa but at year's end had not yet formally applied
for one.
In March 2008 the prime minister urged foreign diplomatic missions
to respect diplomatic courtesy and warned civil society and political
organizations about holding meetings (with foreign missions) that
``undermine the country's internal affairs.'' In April 2008 Interior
Minister Zerhouni told an audience of parliamentarians that
international NGOs in the country were not ``helping or building'' the
country.
The international NGO Handicap International and local NGO the
National Foundation for Health Promotion and Research Development
(FOREM), both of which worked on children's rights, reported no
difficulty conducting investigations.
In 2007 Yakin Erturk, UN special rapporteur on violence against
women, visited the country. However, the government continued to deny
requests for visits from the UN Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances (pending since 1997), the UN special
rapporteur on torture (pending since 1997), and the UN special
rapporteur on extrajudicial executions (pending since 1998).
The CNCPPDH is the government-established advisor for human rights.
On August 27, the government issued an ordinance establishing CNCPPDH's
legal status on the basis of law rather than presidential decree. The
ordinance also changed the procedures to appoint CNCPPDH members by
establishing a review of nominations intended to ensure that
appointments reflect a broad spectrum of civil society. Directed by
Farouk Ksentini, the CNCPPDH is composed of 22 members from
governmental bodies and 23 from civil society and NGOs. The
nongovernmental members included representatives of Islamic religious
organizations, the Red Crescent Society, and women's rights advocacy
groups. The president approves nominees, and the CNCPPDH's budget and
secretariat come from his office. The CNCPPDH is mandated to report on
human rights issues, coordinate with police and justice officials,
advocate domestic and international human rights causes, mediate
between the government and the population, and provide expertise on
human rights issues to the government.
The public generally viewed the CNCPPDH as progovernment. As in
previous years, the group delivered its complete annual report only to
the president and provided a public abstract, thus rendering it
difficult to measure the effectiveness of the organization's work. On
March 9, prior to the August 27 ordinance, the International
Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions expressed
concern that the CNCPPDH was established by presidential decree and
that the appointment and dismissal of members was not transparent.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on birth, race,
gender, language, and social status. In general the government enforced
the nationality and family codes, although women continued to face
legal and social discrimination.
Women.--Rape, spousal and nonspousal, occurred. The law
criminalizes nonspousal rape but does not address spousal rape. Prison
sentences for nonspousal rape range from one to five years. Claims
filed by women for rape and sexual abuse continued to face judicial
obstacles; however, women's rights activists reported that law
enforcement authorities had become more sensitive to the issue. During
the year women's rights activists reported a significant increase in
reports of violence against women.
Spousal abuse occurred. The penal code states that a person must be
incapacitated for 15 days or more and present a doctor's note
certifying the injuries before filing charges for battery.
The national police reported that 4,800 women were victims of
assault during the first half of the year. The same report stated that
police registered 9,517 complaints of violence against women in 2008.
According to the CNCPPDH, approximately 4,500 women were victims of
assault during the first half of 2008. Police statistics for that
period reported 2,675 cases of physical assault, 1,359 cases of abuse,
144 cases of sexual assault, and four deaths. Approximately 20 percent
of assailants were identified as male family members. During the year a
national study showed that 67.9 percent of women acknowledged that
spousal abuse occurred.
Although police stated that violence against women was widespread
in large cities, a 2007 study published by the National Institute of
Public Health (INSP) showed that violence against women was more
frequent in rural areas and among the less educated; however, it was
less likely to be reported in such cases because of societal pressures.
During the year local women's NGOs, including SOS Femmes en
Detresse, the Wassila Network, and Bent Fatma N'Soumer, spoke out
against violence in the family. SOS Femmes en Detresse and the Wassila
Network provided judicial and psychological counseling to abused women.
Women's rights groups experienced difficulty in drawing attention to
spousal abuse as an important social problem, largely due to societal
attitudes. Several rape crisis centers run by women's groups operated,
but they had few resources. The Working Women section of the General
Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) established a counseling center with a
toll-free number for women suffering from sexual harassment in the
workplace. The call center did not operate during most of the year due
to budget constraints. SOS Femmes en Detresse operated one call center
in Algiers and a second call center in Batna. During the first eight
months of the year, the Algiers call center received 2,533 calls; the
Batna call center received 1,340 calls.
According to the penal code, prostitution is illegal; however, the
INSP and female advocacy groups reported that prostitution was a
growing problem.
The punishment for sexual harassment is one to two years'
imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 dinars ($695 to $1,390).
The punishment is doubled for a second offense. The police stated that
107 sexual harassment cases were reported to the police in 2008. The
INSP reported that 50 sexual harassment cases were brought to court in
2007. The majority of reported cases of harassment occurred in the
workplace. SOS Femmes en Detresse provided legal advice and counseling
to 640 women. During 2007 at least 500 women sought legal advice from
the organization; however, the majority of women seeking assistance did
not file formal complaints.
The government did not impose restrictions on the right of couples
and individuals to decide the number, timing, and spacing of their
children. There were no restrictions on access to contraceptives.
During the year the Health Ministry's Office of Family Planning
conducted a public health awareness campaign. According to the office,
62 percent of women regularly use contraceptives. Government hospitals
provided skilled attendance during childbirth as well as obstetric and
postpartum care and equally diagnosed and treated women for sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV.
The constitution provides for gender equality; however, some
aspects of the law and many traditional social practices discriminate
against women. The family code is based in large part on Shari'a. The
family code prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims, although
this regulation was not always enforced. A woman may marry a foreigner
and transmit citizenship and nationality in her own right to both her
children and spouse. Muslim men may marry non-Muslim women. Under the
law children born to a Muslim father are Muslim, regardless of the
mother's religion.
Women can seek divorce for irreconcilable differences and violation
of a prenuptial agreement. In a divorce the law provides for the wife
to retain the family's home until children reach 18 years of age.
Custody of children normally is awarded to the mother, but she may not
make decisions on education or take the children out of the country
without the father's authorization. In practice more women retained the
family's home when they had custody of the children.
The family code affirms the Islamic practice of allowing a man to
marry as many as four wives. In practice, however, this occurred in 1
to 2 percent of marriages.
The amendments to the family code, in practice, supersede the
Shari'a requirement that a male sponsor consent to the marriage of a
woman. Although this requirement has been formally retained and the
sponsor continues to contract the marriage, the woman may choose any
male that she wishes to be the sponsor.
Women suffered from discrimination in inheritance claims. Women
were entitled to a smaller portion of an estate than male children or a
deceased husband's brothers. The law explains that such a distinction
is justified because other provisions require that the husband's income
and assets be used to support the family, while the wife's remain, in
principle, her own. However, in practice women did not always have
exclusive control over assets that they brought to a marriage or that
they earned.
Married women under 18 years of age may not travel abroad without
permission from their husbands. Married women may take out business
loans and use their own financial resources.
Despite constitutional and legal provisions providing gender
equality, in practice women faced discrimination in employment. Leaders
of women's organizations reported that discriminatory violations were
common.
In urban areas, there was social encouragement for women to pursue
a higher education or a career. Girls graduated from high school more
frequently than boys. According to 2006 official statistics, females
represented 60 percent of the medical profession, 55 percent of the
media profession, 30 percent of the upper levels of the legal
profession, and more than 60 percent of the education profession. In
addition, 36 percent of judges were women. Women served at all levels
in the judicial system, and female police officers were added to some
precincts to assist women with abuse claims. Of the 8.7 million
workers, 1.5 million were female, representing 18 percent of the
workforce. Women may own businesses, enter into contracts, and pursue
careers similar to those of men.
Children.--Citizenship and nationality can be transmitted from the
mother or father. Under the law, children born to a Muslim father are
Muslim, regardless of the mother's religion.
The government provides free education for children through high
school. Education is compulsory until the age of 16 years. According to
a study by the Office of National Statistics released in 2008, 96.5
percent of children attended primary school, while 62.8 percent of
children attended middle and secondary school. The study noted that a
child entering primary school has a 93 percent chance of reaching the
last year of primary education. Boys and girls generally had the same
access to education. Girls from rural areas were slightly more prone to
leave school because of familial financial and cultural reasons, while
sons were often given educational priority. Beginning in the 2006-07
scholastic year, the Tamazight language was taught officially in
primary schools, starting in the fourth grade, in 17 predominantly
Berber provinces.
The government provided free medical care for all citizens,
including children with disabilities, albeit in generally rudimentary
facilities, and to both sexes equally.
The government was generally committed to protecting the welfare,
rights, health, and education of children. Child abuse is illegal but
continued to be a problem. NGOs that specialized in the care of
children cited continued instances of domestic violence against
children, which they attributed to the ``culture of violence''
developed since the civil conflict of the 1990s and the social
dislocations caused by the movement of rural families to the cities to
escape terrorist violence. Experts assumed that many cases went
unreported because of familial reticence. The local NGO FOREM estimated
that approximately 10,000 children suffered some form of abuse. FOREM
stated that 805 children were victims of sexual abuse according to
statistics for the first five months of the year.
The criminal code prohibits solicitation for prostitution and
stipulates prison sentences of between 10 and 20 years when the offense
is committed against a minor under the age of 18 years. According to
the law, the age of consensual sex is 16 years. The law stipulates a
prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years for rape when the victim is
a minor. The law prohibits pornography and establishes prison sentences
of between two months and two years as well as fines up to 2,000 dinars
($28).
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes. There were unofficial reports that persons were
trafficked through the country. On March 8, the government's
antitrafficking law entered into force. The new law criminalizes
trafficking in persons for the purposes of forced labor and sexual
exploitation and stipulates prison terms of three to 20 years. The
country is a transit point to Europe and primarily a destination
country for men and women from sub-Saharan Africa trafficked for forced
labor and sexual exploitation. There were no indications of official
government involvement in trafficking.
Forced prostitution and domestic servitude of migrants from sub-
Saharan Africa occurred as they transited through the country, with the
help of smugglers, seeking economic opportunity in Europe. The
government does not compile official statistical estimates of the
severity of trafficking. There were no government assistance programs
for victims, nor were there any information campaigns about
trafficking.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or the provision of other state services, although, in
practice the government did not effectively enforce these provisions.
The law provides protection, including free medical care, for persons
with disabilities, especially children; however, there was widespread
social discrimination against persons with disabilities. No government
buildings were accessible to persons with disabilities. Public
enterprises, in downsizing their work forces, generally ignored a
requirement that they reserve 1 percent of jobs for persons with
disabilities. Social security provided payments for orthopedic
equipment. The MNS provided some financial support to healthcare-
oriented NGOs; however, for many NGOs this financial support
represented approximately 2 percent of their budgets. The MNS
maintained that there were 1.5 million persons with disabilities in the
country. However, according to the Algerian Federation of Wheelchair
Associations, there were three million persons with disabilities living
in the country.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code criminalizes
public homosexual behavior for males and females, and there is no
specific legal protection for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and
transgender (LGBT) persons. The law stipulates penalties that include
imprisonment of two months to two years and fines of 500 to 2,000
dinars (($7 to $28). If a minor is involved, the adult may face up to
three years' imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 dinars ($138).
There was societal discrimination against homosexual conduct, but
no reported violence or official discrimination. While some LGBT
persons lived openly, the vast majority did not.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV/AIDS is considered
a shameful disease in the country. According to 2007 statistics
released by the Ministry of Health, 2,100 citizens were HIV-positive,
and 736 persons suffered from HIV/AIDS. There were 54 centers offering
free testing services to detect HIV/AIDS. Only 51 percent of women
noted use of condoms to prevent infection. During the year the Health
Ministry and the NGO AIDS Algerie launched an HIV/AIDS prevention
campaign, stressing the need to avoid discrimination, especially in the
workplace, against those with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution allows workers to
join unions of their choice but requires workers to obtain government
approval to form a union. The law on labor unions requires the Ministry
of Labor (MOL) to approve or disapprove a union application within 30
days and allows for the creation of autonomous unions. However, the
government may invalidate a union's legal status if its objectives are
determined to be contrary to the established institutional system,
public order, good morals, or the laws or regulations in force. There
are no legal restrictions on a worker's right to join a union.
Approximately two-thirds of the labor force belonged to unions. The
UGTA was the only legally recognized labor confederation. The UGTA
includes national unions that are specialized by sector.
Unions have the right to form and join federations or
confederations. Unions may also recruit members at the workplace. In
practice attempts by new unions to form federations or confederations
were obstructed by delaying administrative maneuvers, such as delays in
processing registration requests. Since 1996 the Autonomous Unions
Confederation, which functions without official status, has attempted
unsuccessfully to organize the autonomous unions. The government did
not allow the autonomous union of public sector workers (SNAPAP) to
register as a national confederation. SNAPAP and other autonomous
unions faced government interference throughout the year, including
official obstruction of general assembly meetings and police harassment
during sit-in protests.
The law permits unions to affiliate with international labor bodies
and develop relations with foreign labor groups. For example, the UGTA
is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
However, the law prohibits unions from associating with political
parties and also prohibits unions from receiving funds from foreign
sources. The courts are empowered to dissolve unions that engaged in
illegal activities.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice, subject to some conditions. Under the state of
emergency decree, the government can require public and private sector
workers to remain at work in the event of an unauthorized or illegal
strike. According to the law on industrial relations, workers may
strike only after 14 days of mandatory conciliation or mediation. On
occasion the government offered to mediate disputes. The law states
that decisions reached in mediation are binding on both parties. If no
agreement is reached in mediation, the workers may strike legally after
they vote by secret ballot to do so. A minimum level of public services
must be maintained during public-sector service strikes.
The law provides that all public demonstrations, protests, and
strikes receive prior government authorization. During the year strikes
and labor meetings occurred in various sectors, including the
construction, medical, port facility, and education sectors.
In January health workers and university medical professors went on
strike to demand better working conditions and salaries. The protest
shut down most nonemergency hospital services for almost five days. In
February secondary school teachers protested in 40 schools in Algiers
and Bejaia to demand higher salaries and state benefits. In March
health worker unions called a three-day strike following Prime Minister
Ouyahia's statement that the government refused a 15 percent salary
increase. Transportation workers organized strikes to demand better
social services in March and April. In June, 11,000 taxi drivers held a
half-day strike to protest the government's weak enforcement of
licensing rules.
On November 9, autonomous teachers' unions called a nationwide,
unlimited strike to demand improved compensation benefits and working
conditions. Some workers were temporarily detained and fingerprinted
after organizing sit-ins. Workers ended the strike on November 23 after
education ministry officials agreed to discuss some demands and
reinstate allowances and bonuses that had not been paid since January
2008.
The authorities generally tolerated strikes but continued to
enforce a ban on marches and demonstrations in Algiers in effect since
2001.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining for all unions, and the government
permitted the exercise of this right, in practice, for authorized
unions. According to the UGTA, 8.7 million workers are covered by
collective bargaining agreements. The UGTA signed 218 collective
bargaining agreements between 2000 and 2007, including sector-wide
collective bargaining agreements and salary agreements covering
industry, public works, and services. The UGTA is the only union
authorized to negotiate collective bargaining agreements.
The law prohibits discrimination by employers against union members
and organizers and provides mechanisms for resolving trade union
complaints of antiunion practices by employers.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor; however, there were
reports from the MOL that such practices occurred.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits participation by minors in dangerous, unhealthy, or
harmful work or in work that is considered inappropriate because of
social and religious considerations. The minimum legal age for
employment is 16 years, except for apprentice positions. In order to be
an apprentice, minors must have the permission of a legal guardian. In
2006 the MOL stated that only 95 ``young workers'' were identified
during site visits performed by labor inspectors at 5,847 companies.
The MOL made some surprise inspections of public sector enterprises,
but it did not consistently enforce relevant statutes in the
agricultural or private sectors.
In 2005 the MOL reported a rate of child participation in the labor
force of 0.56 percent. That figure was challenged in 2007 by FOREM, a
children's rights watchdog group financed by the EU. According to
FOREM, in the eight most populous provinces, 6 percent of children of
age 10 years and younger participated in the labor force, while 63
percent of children between the ages of 13 to 16 years participated.
The survey found children working a variety of hours in small
workshops, on family farms, and especially in informal trades and
street vending. During a November 25 conference on children's rights,
FOREM representatives stated that there were approximately 300,000
children under 16 years of age working in the country.
The MOL is responsible for enforcing child labor laws, but
enforcement was hindered by a lack of sufficient human resources. In
2006 and 2007, FOREM implemented a public awareness campaign to
encourage children to remain in school until 16 years of age, rather
than participating in the workforce.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of
15,000 dinars ($208) per month did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. The minimum wage was raised to this
level during the year by a tripartite social pact between business,
government, and labor. Autonomous unions, which were not included in
tripartite talks, reported the increase was inadequate and would not
affect the majority of workers who already earn more than the minimum
wage. The previous tripartite negotiation occurred in 2006 and
established a minimum wage of 12,000 dinars ($166). MOL inspectors were
responsible for ensuring compliance with the minimum wage regulation;
however, enforcement was inconsistent.
The standard workweek was 37.5 hours with one 10-minute break and
one hour for lunch per day. Employees who worked beyond the standard
workweek received premium pay on a sliding scale from time-and-a-half
to double-time, depending on whether the overtime was worked on a
normal workday, a weekend, or a holiday. In general the MOL effectively
enforced labor standards, particularly in the civil service and in
public sector companies; however, enforcement was less efficient in the
private sector because of low union density.
The law contains well-developed occupational, health, and safety
standards, but MOL inspectors did not enforce these regulations
effectively. There were no reports of workers being dismissed for
removing themselves from hazardous working conditions. Because
employment was usually based on detailed contracts, workers rarely were
subjected to unexpected conditions in the workplace. If workers were
subjected to such conditions, they first could attempt to renegotiate
the employment contract or, failing that, resort to the courts;
however, the high demand for employment in the country gave an
advantage to employers seeking to exploit employees. Economic migrants
from sub-Saharan Africa working in the country without legal
immigration status were not protected by the country's labor standards,
making them vulnerable to exploitation.
__________
BAHRAIN
Bahrain is a monarchy with a population of approximately 1,050,000,
including approximately 530,000 who are citizens. King Hamad Bin Isa
Al-Khalifa is the head of state and all branches of government. The
king appoints a cabinet of ministers; approximately half are members of
the minority Sunni Al-Khalifa ruling family. The 2002 constitution
reinstated a legislative body with one elected chamber, the Council of
Deputies, and one appointed chamber, the Shura Council. All registered
political societies participated in the 2006 parliamentary and
municipal elections, which were marred by allegations of gerrymandering
and vote rigging in some races. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
Citizens did not have the right to change their government. The
government restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of speech,
press, assembly, association, and some religious practices. Domestic
violence against women and children persisted, as did discrimination on
the basis of gender, religion, nationality, and sect, especially
against the Shia majority population. Trafficking in persons and
restrictions on the rights of foreign resident workers remained
problems.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings during the
year.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there
were allegations during the year that security forces employed them.
Local human rights observers were critical of the tactics used by
specialized police units responding to tire burnings and other such
disturbances; in some cases, rioters threw Molotov cocktails and other
projectiles at police.
On several occasions, police detained dozens of young men in
connection with small but frequent skirmishes between police and youths
throwing rocks and, at times, Molotov cocktails. These youths routinely
alleged that security forces beat them in custody. Security forces
denied the accusations, and some opposition political activists
expressed doubt about some of the allegations.
On October 13, a judge acquitted 19 defendants of charges relating
to the 2008 death of a police officer in Karzakan. According to local
media sources, the presiding judge said that the defendants' claims
that they confessed under duress had influenced his verdict. On
November 11, the public prosecutor's office appealed the verdict, and
at year's end a date for the hearing had not been set.
Following December 2007 protests, security forces arrested and
detained dozens of protestors in the Adliya jail. Some detainees
reported that judicial interrogators beat and electrocuted them in
prison; officials denied the allegations of abuse. A court-appointed
medical team examined the detainees, subsequently testifying that they
could neither prove nor disprove the defendants' accusations of abuse.
In July 2008, the High Criminal Court sentenced 11 of the 15 defendants
to between one and seven years' imprisonment; King Hamad subsequently
pardoned them on April 11.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, although the
government did not permit any independent inspections by human rights
observers. Throughout the year some detainees alleged that pretrial
detention facility guards physically abused them, a charge the
government denied. Court-ordered medical examinations in 2008 of those
alleging abuse were inconclusive. There were no similar reports of
abuse from prison detainees.
According to the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), as of May 9
there were more than 500 prisoners in the system, including 57 women.
Total prison capacity is unknown. Men were held in separate facilities
from women, and juveniles were held separately from adults.
On May 9, the BHRS inspected the women's prison in Isa Town. The
BHRS reported no major problems, although the report indicated the
cells were not designed for their current occupancy of eight to 10
women.
On June 3, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
officials provided training to managers of detention facilities and
human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on prison management,
health and safety at detention centers, medical ethics, and treatment
of prisoners. ICRC officials did not visit prisons during the trip. The
country's Red Crescent Society officials reported that ICRC officials
had not visited prisons since the release of all political prisoners in
2000.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions, although there were some allegations to the
contrary.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the
Interior (MOI) is responsible for public security. The MOI controls the
public security force and other specialized security units that are
responsible for maintaining internal order. The Bahrain Defense Force
(BDF) is responsible for defending against external threats and
provides internal security. The security forces were generally
effective in maintaining internal order.
A widespread lack of transparency made corruption in the security
services difficult to assess. The press reported that in a number of
cases, authorities jailed or fined law enforcement officials for
misconduct, most often for accepting bribes.
In November 2008, the MOI announced that it disciplined 23 police
officers during the year for committing human rights abuses. They
received prison time and/or fines. The MOI maintained a hotline for
citizens to report police abuses; however, many in the Shia community
believed the MOI condoned police misconduct and therefore did not
report allegations of abuse. In practice the MOI responded to
allegations of abuse and public complaints by establishing temporary
investigation committees. These committees did not issue public reports
of their findings.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--To apprehend a
felon suspect, police must present evidence to a judge who will decide
whether to issue an arrest warrant. Police and security forces must
transfer suspects to the public prosecutor's office within 48 hours,
and they generally respected that requirement in practice. Within seven
days of arrest, a detainee must appear before a judge in the public
prosecutor's office. Judges may grant bail to a suspect and regularly
did so. If the judge decides the suspect is a flight risk or a danger
to society, they may allow up to an additional 45 days of detention
while the public prosecutor conducts an investigation. This process may
continue through subsequent reviews by different judges, but pretrial
detention may not exceed six months.
The 2006 counterterrorism law allows the public prosecutor to
detain a terrorism suspect for five days. Upon request the public
prosecutor may extend this period based on the needs of the
investigation for up to 10 more days. At the end of this period, the
detainee must be transferred to the public prosecutor and questioned
within three days. The public prosecutor must then decide to issue a
detention order or to release the detainee. The detention order may not
exceed 60 days.
Detainee access to attorneys was often restricted in the early
stages of detention; attorneys must seek a court order to confer with
clients and then coordinate with officials at the detention facility
for access. The state provided counsel to indigent detainees. Detainees
were generally allowed prompt access to visiting family members.
Amnesty.--On April 11, the king announced amnesty for 178 persons,
including many charged for rioting. After some initial confusion, the
government determined that the defendants in the Ma'ameer attack and
the killing of a police officer in Karzakan in 2008 were not covered by
the amnesty, and their trials would continue.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
According to the constitution, the king appoints all judges by
royal decree. The king also serves as chairman of the supreme judicial
council, the body responsible for supervising the work of the courts
and the public prosecutor.
The legal system is based on a mix of British civil law, common
law, Shari'a, and traditional laws. The judiciary consists of civil law
courts and Shari'a courts.
The civil law courts adjudicate all civil and commercial cases,
criminal cases, and personal status cases among non-Muslims. The courts
of minor cases (the lower courts and the Court of Execution) have one
judge, and the high courts have three judges with jurisdiction over
felonies, personal status cases, and appeals.
Shari'a courts have jurisdiction over personal status cases
involving citizen and noncitizen Muslims. There are separate courts for
Sunni and Shia Muslims, each of which has three levels: the Shari'a
court, the High Shari'a Court, and the High Shari'a Court of Appeal.
The High Shari'a Court of Appeal is composed of a minimum of two
judges. In the event of a disagreement, the Ministry of Justice and
Islamic Affairs (MOJIA) provides a third judge, and the decision is
based on a majority vote. There are 13 judges in the Sunni Maliki
Shari'a courts and 14 judges in the Shia Ja'afari Shari'a courts.
The Constitutional Court provides final and binding ruling on the
constitutionality of laws and statutes. The court's membership consists
of a president and six members, all appointed by the king to nine-year
terms that may not be abridged.
The BDF maintains a separate court system that tries only military
personnel accused of offenses under the military code of justice. The
MOI has a similar system for trying police officers.
Trial Procedures.--According to the constitution, defendants are
presumed innocent until proven guilty. Civil and criminal trial
procedures provide for an open trial. There are no jury trials. By law
and in practice, defendants have the right to prompt consultation with
an attorney of their choice within 48 hours, and the government
provided counsel to indigent defendants. Defendants are present during
trial proceedings, and have the right to present witnesses and evidence
on their behalf and question witnesses against them. No law governs
defendants' access to government-held evidence, and the government
often reviewed evidence prior to defendants' access to it. Defendants
have the right to appeal. Women's legal rights varied according to Shia
or Sunni interpretations of Islamic law.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens may bring civil
suits before the court seeking cessation of, or damages for, human
rights violations; however, the government maintained that the 2001
general amnesty granted immunity for alleged human rights violations
committed before 2001.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice except
under the provisions of the law and under judicial supervision. The
government is required to obtain a court order before monitoring
telephone calls, e-mail, and personal correspondence. Many Shia
believed there were extensive and sophisticated police informer
networks, but they were unable to provide concrete evidence.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and press ``provided that the fundamenatal beliefs of
Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not
prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused.'' Freedom of
press is also subject to applicable press laws. Both censorship and
self-censorship took place.
The law forbids any speech or discussion infringing on public order
or morals. In private settings, individuals openly expressed critical
opinions regarding domestic political and social issues. There was also
considerable freedom of expression on the Internet, in letters to the
editor, and occasionally on state-run television call-in shows.
The government did not own any print media, but the Ministry of
Culture and Information (MOCI) exercised considerable control over
local privately owned print media. The government owned and operated
all radio and television stations and vetted the selection of the
country's Al-Jazeera correspondent. Radio and television broadcasts in
Arabic, Farsi, and English from countries in the region, including by
satellite, were received without interference.
The government enforced, at its discretion, the press law to
restrict freedom of speech and press. The law provides for fines of as
much as 10,000 dinars ($26,500) and prison sentences of at least six
months for criticizing Islam or the king or inciting actions that
undermine state security, as well as fines of up to 2,000 dinars
($5,300) for 14 other offenses. These offenses include publicizing
statements issued by a foreign state or organization before obtaining
the consent of the minister of information, publishing any reports that
may adversely affect the dinar's value, reporting any offense against
the head of a state that maintains diplomatic relations with the
country, or publishing offensive remarks toward an accredited
representative of a foreign country because of acts connected with the
person's position.
Government censorship occurred. MOCI representatives actively
monitored and blocked local stories on sensitive matters, especially
those related to sectarianism and national security or criticism of the
royal family, the Saudi royal family, and judges. Journalists also
practiced widespread self-censorship. According to some members of the
media, government officials contacted editors directly and asked them
to stop writing about certain subjects or asked them not to publish a
press release or a story. There were reports that the government paid
journalists to represent the 2006 parliamentary elections favorably. In
addition the MOCI Press and Publications Directorate reviewed all books
and publications prior to issuing printing licenses. The MOJIA reviewed
books that discussed religion.
On April 11, the Constitutional Court overturned an article of the
press and publication law that held publishing companies and publishers
responsible for the content of the publications they distributed.
Because of the ruling, the government may only punish publishers if
they defy a judicial decision to revoke a publication's license.
However, on June 22, the MOCI suspended the publication of Arabic daily
Akhbar Al Khaleej for one day after the newspaper published an
editorial by a Shura Council member criticizing Iranian political and
religious leadership.
Internet Freedom.--The government restricted use of the Internet,
which residents accessed in their home, workplace, or Internet cafes.
The number of Internet users more than doubled from 2004 to 2008,
rising from 202,000 to 435,000 users.
The government was a major shareholder in the Bahrain
Telecommunications Company (Batelco), the country's principal
telecommunications company, which prohibited user access to Internet
sites considered antigovernment or anti-Islamic. Reportedly, the
government did not monitor e-mail use. The government continued to
invoke the press code to justify the questioning of some journalists
and bloggers. By law Web site administrators face the same libel laws
that apply to print journalists, and Web masters are held jointly
responsible for all content posted on their Web sites or chat rooms.
The government regularly monitored and attempted to block local
access to numerous Web sites, including local blogs and chat sites,
human rights Web sites, Web sites containing information about Arab
Christians, and the Wa'ad political society's Web site. Public
discussion of blocked Web sites was widespread, and many users were
able to access blocked sites through alternate servers.
On January 14, the minister of culture and information ordered all
telecommunications companies and Internet service providers to block a
number of political, human rights, commercial, and pornographic Web
sites for violating the press and publication law, transgressing local
values, and impairing national unity. According to an October 18
article in Alwasat newspaper, the government blocked approximately 100
Web sites during the year. The MOCI decree also ordered that proxy
servers be blocked, prohibiting their use to bypass the decree. On
January 24, the telecommunications regulatory authority threatened to
revoke the license of any operator violating the decree. On February
19, Wa'ad filed a civil lawsuit against MOCI for blocking its Web site,
and MOCI ordered the block removed. On April 19, MOCI announced that
the government had decided to unblock a number of the Web sites;
however, some remained blocked at year's end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. Some academics
self-censored, avoiding contentious political issues.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of free assembly,
but the law restricts the exercise of this right, and security forces
intervened in some demonstrations during the year. Organizers must
submit requests for public gatherings or demonstrations to the MOI at
least 72 hours in advance. Three citizens from the proposed
demonstration area must sign the application. If there is no response
to the request, the gathering may proceed. The law prohibits public
gatherings near hospitals, airports, commercial centers, designated
security-related facilities, or funeral processions. The law prohibits
gatherings between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., unless the chief of public
security or his deputy gives written permission. The law states that
funeral processions may not be turned into political rallies and that
security officials may be present at any public gathering. The head of
public security must notify the organizers about any official changes
to the request (such as location, time, or route) at least 48 hours
prior to the event. Organizers of an unauthorized gathering face prison
sentences of three to six months.
The government specifically limited and controlled political
gatherings. The law regulates election campaigns and prohibits
political activities at worship centers, universities, schools,
government buildings, and public institutions. The government did not
allow ma'tams (Shia religious community centers) or other religious
sites to be used for political gatherings without permission.
Antigovernment demonstrations occurred regularly in numerous Shia
villages around the country. Bands of Shia youth, allegedly instigated
by members of the unregistered Haq Movement and the newly organized al-
Waf'a Islamic Movement, regularly appeared at both registered and
unregistered demonstrations where, according to Shia community members
and MOI officials, they burned tires and trash and threw Molotov
cocktails and stones at riot police.
Police often dispersed demonstrations with tear gas. Local human
rights NGOs alleged that riot police used tear gas against peaceful
demonstrators; however, the MOI countered that it used tear gas in
response to attacks by demonstrators. Periodically security forces
fired rubber baton rounds at the ground to disperse demonstrations, and
on a number of occasions, security forces allegedly ricocheted shotgun
pellets from the ground to disperse rioters as a last resort.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to
freedom of association; however, the government limited this right in
practice. Although the government does not allow the formation of
political parties, it authorized registered political societies to run
candidates and participate in other political activities.
The government required all groups to register: civil society
groups with the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD), political
societies with the MOJIA, and labor unions with the Ministry of Labor
(MOL). The government decided whether the group was social or political
in nature based on its proposed bylaws. The law prohibits any activity
by an unlicensed society and any political activity by a licensed civil
society group.
To apply for registration, a political society must submit its
bylaws signed by all founding members, a list of all members and copies
of their residency cards, and a financial statement identifying the
society's sources of funding and bank information. The society's
principles, goals, and programs must not run counter to Shari'a law or
the national interest, as interpreted by the judiciary, nor may the
society be based on sectarian, geographic, or class identity.
A civil society group applying for registration must submit its
bylaws signed by all founding members and minutes of the founding
committee's meetings, containing the names of founding members, their
professions, their places of residence, and their signatures. The law
grants the MOSD the right to reject the registration of any civil
society group if it finds the society's services unnecessary, already
provided by another society, contrary to state security, or aimed at
reviving a previously dissolved society. Associations whose
applications are rejected or ignored may appeal to the High Civil
Court, which may annul the MOSD's decision or refuse the complaint.
The MOSD continued to deny the National Committee for the
Unemployed registration as a civil society group because of the
political nature of its activities. The MOSD also rejected the Bahrain
Youth Human Rights Society's (BYHRS) application, allegedly because of
its ties to the dissolved Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and
because some of its members were younger than 18. The November 2008
legal proceedings filed by the MOSD against the BYHRS president,
Mohammed Al-Maskati, who was accused of running an unlicensed NGO,
remained pending.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution states that Islam is the
official religion and that Shari'a is a principal source for
legislation. The constitution provides for freedom of conscience, the
inviolability of worship, and the freedom to perform religious rites
and hold religious parades and meetings, in accordance with the customs
and laws of the country; however, the government placed some limits on
the exercise of these rights. The law requires all religious groups to
obtain a permit from the MOJIA to operate and hold religious meetings.
Depending on a group's activities, it may also need approval from the
MOSD, the MOCI, and the Ministry of Education. The constitution
prohibits speech considered blasphemous or anti-Islamic.
The Baha'i congregation, repeatedly denied registration in previous
years, continued to gather and worship freely without government
interference. Numerous Christian churches operated freely, although
several could not successfully register and were ordered to close. Most
of these cases related to zoning concerns and neighbors' complaints
about parking near houses used as unregistered churches. Other
religious minorities, including Sikhs and Hindus, practiced freely.
The government controlled and provided funding to official
religious institutions, including Shia and Sunni mosques, Shia ma'tams,
Shia and Sunni waqfs (religious endowments), and the religious courts.
New mosques depended on the government's nontransparent land allocation
process. Allocation reportedly was not proportionate to the Shia
community's relative population in the country.
Islamic studies are mandatory for all public school students;
however, curriculum in the public schools is broadly based on the Sunni
Maliki school.
Although the law prohibits proselytizing by non-Muslims, it does
allow for distribution of religious publications and other religious
media in general, so long as the material is not anti-Islamic.
The government scrutinized carefully those who chose to pursue
religious study in Iran.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Government and societal
discrimination against the majority Shia population remained a problem.
Sunnis received preference for employment in sensitive government
positions and in the managerial ranks of the civil service. The defense
and internal security forces were also predominantly Sunni, and few
Shia members attained high-ranking positions. During the year fewer
than one percent of new recruits in the armed forces were Shia;
however, the MOI increased efforts to recruit Shia into unarmed
security agencies such as traffic and community police. In the private
sector, Shia tended to work in lower-paid, less-skilled jobs.
Educational, social, and municipal services in most Shia neighborhoods
were inferior to those in Sunni communities. Unlike previous years,
there were no reports of religious discrimination in university faculty
employment.
The Jewish community had approximately 36 members, one of whom
serves as the country's ambassador to the United States. Jews practiced
their faith privately without government interference; due to the small
size of the Jewish community, the country's sole synagogue remained
closed. Some anti-Jewish political commentary and editorial cartoons
appeared, usually linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, without
government response.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other personsof concern.
The law provides that the government may reject applications to
obtain or renew passports for ``reasonable cause,'' but the applicant
has the right to appeal such decisions before the High Civil Court. In
practice authorities relied on determinations of national security when
adjudicating passport applications.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports
of forced exile or return from exile during the year. Some political
oppositionists who refused the 2001 amnesty remained in self-imposed
exile.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, and
the government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice, the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. Such individuals generally had access to certain social
services, education, and employment.
Stateless Persons.--In past years, the government offered
citizenship to several thousand stateless ``Bidoon'' persons, mostly
Shia of Persian origin. However, according to Freedom House, Bidoon and
citizens who spoke Farsi as their first language continued to encounter
discrimination in society and the work force. On October 11, the
minister of interior stated that more than 68,000 persons were granted
citizenship since 2002 in an effort to resolve the problem of stateless
individuals.
Citizenship is derived from one's parents. By law foreign women who
marry citizens are eligible for citizenship after five years of
marriage; however, foreign men who marry citizens are not entitled to
citizenship, and women cannot transmit their nationality to their
children. The Bahrain Women Association (BWA) reported that as of
September, the organization was aware of 175 women with stateless
children. In 2006 King Hamad issued a decree granting citizenship to
some children of citizen mothers and noncitizen fathers; however,
children born to such families since the decree are stateless.
The law clearly defines naturalization requirements, but the
adjudication process for naturalization applications was not
transparent. Opposition groups claimed the government regularly ignored
naturalization rules to manipulate demographics for voting and to
maintain Sunni domination of police and defense forces. According to
these opposition groups, the government was more lenient with
naturalization requests from foreign residents in the security forces,
while Shia and other applicants experienced delays in processing of
their cases. The government occasionally granted citizenship to Sunni
residents from neighboring countries. The government stated that some
Saudis who had received citizenship were the grandchildren of Bahraini
citizens who had emigrated to Saudi Arabia and had a legal right to
citizenship. Accurate figures for the number of foreigners naturalized
in recent years were not readily available. Stateless persons had
access to certain social services, education, and employment. Stateless
persons were eligible to receive housing and other government services;
however, they were excluded from receiving scholarships.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens do not have the right to change their government or their
political system; however, the constitution provides for a
democratically elected Council of Deputies, the lower house of
parliament. The king appoints the prime minister, who then proposes
cabinet ministers. Members of the ruling Al-Khalifa family held all
strategic cabinet ministry positions and approximately half of
ministerial slots. The bicameral national assembly consists of the 40-
member popularly elected Council of Deputies and the 40-member
appointed Shura (Consultative) Council. The king may dissolve the
Council of Deputies at his discretion; he also has the power to amend
the constitution and to propose, ratify, and promulgate laws. Both
councils may question government ministers (except the prime minister),
and the Council of Deputies may require a minister's resignation with a
two-thirds majority vote of no confidence. The Council of Deputies may
introduce a resolution indicating it cannot cooperate with the prime
minister, in which case the joint national assembly would have the
option to pass the resolution by a two-thirds majority, requiring the
king to dismiss the prime minister or to dissolve the Council of
Deputies. A no-confidence vote has never arisen.
Elections and Political Participation.--All registered political
societies, including the four that boycotted the 2002 elections,
participated in the 2006 Council of Deputies elections. Although no
international observers participated, the government permitted nine
local civil society groups, including the Bahrain Human Rights Watch
Society (BHRWS) and the Bahrain Society for Public Freedoms, access to
poll stations to observe voting. The Bahrain Transparency Society and
the BHRS joined efforts to form the Election Monitoring Joint Committee
(EMJC) and trained more than 200 local observers. The government asked
a foreign organization involved in political party training and
election observation to leave the country during the campaign process
and elections.
In its February 2007 report, the EMJC stated there were no
widespread attempts to influence the outcome of the elections, although
it noted that candidates did not cease campaign activities 24 hours
before voting opened, as the law required. Official polling station
observers did not report significant problems during the voting
process, although there were allegations that the government
manipulated general poll center vote counts against opposition
candidates in several close races. Many opposition figures, including
Shia activists, alleged that the government gerrymandered the districts
to protect Sunni interests.
The government did not allow the formation of political parties,
but 15 political societies, which received some government funding and
operated like political parties, chose candidates for parliamentary and
municipal elections, campaigned for political office, developed
political platforms, held internal elections, and hosted political
gatherings. Political societies were highly critical of provisions in
the law requiring them to notify the MOJIA before contacting political
groups abroad.
The law prohibits civil society groups from engaging in political
matters; however, the government permitted such activity at its
discretion.
There were 10 women in the Shura Council and one in the Council of
Deputies. Two women served as cabinet ministers, three women sat as
judges in the criminal courts, and one was a judge in the
Constitutional Court.
Shia and Sunni citizens have equal rights before the law; however,
Sunnis dominated political life although Shia comprised the majority of
the citizen population. Twenty Shura Council members were Shia Muslims,
19 were Sunni, and one was Christian. Four of the 23 cabinet ministers
were Shia, including a deputy prime minister.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not always implement the law effectively,
and some officials reportedly engaged in corrupt practices with
impunity. Significant areas of government activity continued to lack
transparency. As in previous years, there was no government agency
respobsible for combating official corruption. On December 8, the
minister of the interior announced plans to establish an anticorruption
unit within his ministry's Criminal Investigation Directorate. The law
does not require government officials to provide financial disclosures,
nor does it provide citizens access to government-held information.
The annual National Audit Bureau report released on November 5
detailed financial irregularities affecting a number of ministries and
agencies. The report did not state whether government employees would
be prosecuted for corruption.
On June 8, the high criminal court found the former CEO of the
quasi-governmental housing bank for trade and finance guilty of
embezzling 1.5 million dinars ($4 million) and sentenced him to 10
years' imprisonment. The ruling was the first guilty verdict in a major
corruption case in many years.
On June 21, authorities charged the executive director of the
Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD) and two other BIPD
officials with fraud and embezzlement. The case remained pending at
year's end.
The corruption case against two former managers at the state-owned
aluminum firm, Alba, continued. Media reports and information from NGOs
indicated that the corruption probe might involve former top executives
at the firm, as well as former government officials.
In November 2008, the Lower Criminal Court sentenced the manager of
a cleaning company to three years' imprisonment and a 5,000 dinar
($13,250) fine for attempting to bribe the new minister of
municipalities. His lawyer appealed the case, and the appeal process
remained pending at year's end.
In 2007 the Ministry of Industry and Commerce filed a complaint
with the public prosecutor accusing nine employees of embezzlement. On
January 20, the court found four innocent and sentenced the other five
to between one and five years' imprisonment. The five appealed the
case. The case remained pending at year's end.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Restrictions on freedom of association and expression hindered
investigation and public criticism of the government's human rights
policies; however, local and international NGOs published reports on
human rights during the year. There were three major human rights
groups that reported on issues of concern: the BHRS, which, while
independent, was widely viewed as allied with the socialist legacy
party Wa'ad; the BHRWS, which considered itself independent, although
some of its leaders were also members of the royally appointed Shura
Council, and its former president serves as an ambassador; and the
unregistered BCHR which, although the government dissolved it in 2004,
it continued to issue reports and often coordinated its activities with
the unregistered oppositionist Haq Movement. Senior government
officials met with civil society organizations to discuss human rights,
transparency, and the organizations' reports.
On November 11, the king issued a decree establishing a national
institution for human rights. The government-funded entity's stated
purposes include protecting human rights in accordance with
international commitments, receiving complaints pertaining to human
rights, and preparing regular human rights reports. The government
planned to announce the composition of the national institution in
2010.
In recent years, the government has allowed increased interaction
between local civil society groups and international human rights
organizations. During the year, citizen members of Amnesty
International carried out several activities without government
interference.
Although the law prohibits foreign NGOs from registering with the
government, the government generally did not interfere with such NGOs'
activities provided it did not perceive these activities as interfering
in the political system. In previous years, the government provided
written warning to foreign NGOs it believed had interfered in internal
political matters.
On April 11, the International Federation of Journalists
established its first Middle East regional hub in the country.
On June 3, the ICRC visited the country for the first time since
2002 to conduct training on prison and detention facility management
for government officials and local NGOs.
In April 2008, the UN Human Rights Council held a session on the
country's human rights practices as part of the Universal Periodic
Review mechanism. Some human rights NGOs, including the BHRS, BHRWS,
the Bahrain Transparency Society, and BCHR, alleged that the government
did not inform them of the deadline for submission of concurrent
reports. The NGOs attended the review and submitted their own reports.
The UN Development Program maintained an office in the country, and
it advised the government to develop mechanisms to encourage respect
for human rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equality, equal opportunity, and the
right to medical care, welfare, education, property, capital, and work
for all citizens. These rights were protected unevenly, depending on an
individual's social status, sect, or gender.
Women.--Rape is illegal; however, the law does not address spousal
rape. Rape was not a major problem in the country. The press reported
cases of men arrested for the crime, including a few cases in which
fathers of rape victims sought lighter sentences for perpetrators.
No government policies or laws explicitly addressed domestic
violence. Spousal abuse of women was widespread, particularly in poorer
communities. Women rarely sought legal redress for violence, and there
was little public attention devoted to the problem. The Batelco Care
Center for Family Violence continued to offer free medical,
psychological, legal, and social assistance to victims of violence,
primarily women and children. It also operated an abuse hotline that
recorded 421 cases (154 men, 352 women, 75 children) involving domestic
abuse during the year. According to the center's chairwoman, the center
received 491 cases from January through August. According to the
Bahrain Women's Union, an independent women's NGO, 72 female citizens
reported domestic abuse at the hands of their husbands between
September 2008 and this past September.
Prostitution is illegal, although it did occur. Most prostitutes
were foreign women, and some were victims of trafficking. Customers
were primarily foreign residents and tourists.
Sexual harassment is prohibited by law but remained a widespread
problem for women, especially foreigners working as domestics and in
other low-level service jobs. The press reported a number of cases of
men arrested for sexually harassing women. Article 350 stipulates
penalties of imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of 100 dinars
($265) for committing an ``act of indecency with a female.''
Reproductive health services, including birth control and maternity
care, were available free of charge to all women. Health centers
required women to obtain spousal consent in order to undergo
sterilization; however, this consent requirement did not apply to
provisions of other family planning services.
On January 13, the government asked parliament to enact a bill that
would codify and standardize personal status law, or family law, for
both Sunni and Shia residents, who have traditionally administered
parallel court systems. In response to Shia opposition to the proposed
changes in the Shia system, the government withdrew the original bill
and sent parliament a new bill that addressed Sunni personal status law
only. Parliament passed, and on May 27 the king ratified, the Sunni
personal status law. At year's end, the government continued to work
with the Shia community toward a new Shia law.
Women faced discrimination under the law. A woman cannot transmit
nationality to her spouse or children. Women have the right to initiate
divorce; however, religious courts may refuse the request. In divorce
cases, the courts routinely granted mothers custody of daughters
younger than age nine and sons younger than age seven. Custody usually
reverted to the father once the children reached those ages. Regardless
of custody decisions, the father retained guardianship, or the right to
make all legal decisions for the child, until the child reached the age
of 21. A noncitizen woman automatically loses custody of her children
if she divorces their citizen father without just cause.
Women may own and inherit property and represent themselves in all
public and legal matters. In the absence of a direct male heir, Shia
women may inherit all property; however, Sunni women without a direct
male heir inherit only a portion as governed by Shari'a, and the
brothers or male relatives of the deceased divide the balance. In
practice better-educated families used wills and other legal maneuvers
to mitigate the negative effects of these rules.
Labor laws prohibit discrimination against women; however,
discrimination against women was systemic in the country, especially in
the workplace. There were numerous reports of employers mistreating
noncitizen women working as domestic servants. The influence of
religious traditionalists sometimes hampered women's rights. On
December 2008, the central bank stated that women constituted 17
percent of the private sector workforce and 48 percent of the
government workforce.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents. Women cannot
transmit their nationality to their children; therefore, children of
some citizen mothers and noncitizen fathers are born stateless.
Primary education is compulsory for citizens and is provided free
of charge to citizens and legal residents. Government-run primary
schools are segregated by sex, though children are subject to the same
curricula and textbooks. Schooling is compulsory for children through
the age of 14, and is provided free of charge to citizens and legal
residents through grade 12.
NGOs reported they have observed an increase in the number of child
abuse cases in recent years, but it is not clear whether abuse cases
have increased or there is greater willingness to report abuse. Shari'a
courts, not civil courts, deal with crimes involving child abuse,
including violence against children. NGOs expressed concern over the
lack of consistent, written guidelines for prosecuting and punishing
offenders and over the leniency of penalties involving child abuse
cases. The Be Free Center, an offshoot of the BWA that focuses on child
abuse awareness and prevention, received 300 to 400 e-mails each month
from child abuse victims.
The government generally honored its commitment to children's
welfare through enforcement of related civil and criminal laws and an
extensive social welfare network. On June 30, a new law went into
effect granting resident children born to citizen mothers and
noncitizen fathers free access to some social services, including
health care and education, although at year's end some NGOs reported
the law was not yet fully implemented.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes, in line with the 2000 UN Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and
Children, which the country ratified in 2004. However, trafficking in
persons continued to be a significant problem.
The country was a destination for persons trafficked from Southeast
Asia, South Asia, the Horn of Africa, and East European and Central
Asian states. Reports also indicated the country was a transit point
for workers from these regions to Europe. Some victims were trafficked
for commercial sexual exploitation, but victims were most commonly
trafficked for unskilled construction and domestic labor.
According to the Migrant Workers Protection Society (MWPS), the
principal traffickers were illegitimate recruiting companies in source
countries. Traffickers used debt bondage, contract substitution, and
threats of legal action against their victims. The MWPS reported that
victims often recruited additional victims from their home regions in
an attempt to pay off debt.
Under the law, traffickers face fines of 2,000 to 10,000 dinars
($5,300 to $26,500) and mandatory prison sentences of as long as 10
years for each offense, with anyone trafficking a person on behalf of a
corporation facing a fine of up to 100,000 dinars ($265,000) and the
same mandatory prison sentences. ``Aggravating circumstances,''
including trafficking of a woman or a child younger than 15, double the
fine and prison sentence. However, since the promulgation of the
January 2008 antitrafficking statute, there has only been one
prosecution: a Thai woman was convicted in December 2008 of trafficking
three compatriots into commercial sexual exploitation. No Bahraini
citizens were charged in this case.
The government established a 10-person unit within the MOI's
Criminal Investigation Directorate focused on trafficking in persons.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) headed a committee that set
trafficking policy and included representatives from the Ministries of
Interior, Justice, Information, and Social Development, as well as the
Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) and three NGOs. The MOSD
headed another committee charged with evaluating and determining the
status of victims that included representatives from the MOFA, MOI, and
the LMRA. During the year, the government's Dar Al-Aman shelter for
abused and migrant women housed women who fled from employers, although
NGOs indicated that only a fraction of trafficked or runaway women used
this facility.
On July 1, to eliminate some of the practices involved in labor
trafficking, the LMRA implemented new visa rules for migrant workers in
the public and private sectors to reduce the incidence of employers
holding workers' passports or otherwise restricting their movement. The
new rules also targeted the illegal practice known as ``free visas,''
whereby an employment sponsor enabled a laborer to enter the country
under the cover of working for the sponsor and then allowed the worker
to find other work, at an often exorbitant fee payable to the sponsor.
On August 1, new rules went into effect that allow foreign workers to
change jobs without employers' permission, subject to certain time
limits. In practice, however, some employers continued to hold foreign
workers' passports and used other such coercive measures to prevent
mobility. Moreover, these reforms did not cover the country's
approximately 70,000 migrant domestic workers, the group that was most
vulnerable to trafficking.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law protects the rights of persons
with disabilities, and a variety of governmental, quasi-governmental,
and religious institutions are mandated to support and protect persons
with disabilities. New public buildings in the central municipality
must include facilities for persons with disabilities. The law does not
mandate access to nonresidential buildings for persons with
disabilities.
There were no reports of discrimination against persons with
disabilities in employment, education, or access to health care.
Children with learning disabilities, physical handicaps, speech
impediments, and Down syndrome were enrolled in specialized education
programs in public schools. The government did not fund private
programs for children with disabilities who could not find appropriate
programs in public schools.
The law requires the government to provide vocational training for
persons with disabilities who wish to work. The law also requires any
employer of more than 100 persons to hire at least 2 percent of its
employees from the government's list of workers with disabilities;
however, the government did not monitor compliance. The government
placed persons with disabilities in some public sector jobs.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law grants citizenship to
Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 15 years and non-
Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 25 years. There was
a lack of transparency in the naturalization process, and there were
numerous reports that the citizenship law was not applied uniformly.
For example, there were allegations that the government allowed foreign
Sunni employees in the security services that had lived in the country
for less than 15 years to apply for citizenship. There were also
reports of Arab Shia that had resided in the country for more than 15
years and non-Arab foreign residents that had resided more than 25
years who had not been granted citizenship.
Although the government asserts that the labor code for the private
sector applies to all workers, the International Labor Organization has
noted that, in practice, non-national migrant workers faced
discrimination in the workplace.
On March 21, a Sunni Pakistani civilian, Mohammed Riyadh, died of
burns he suffered after Shia rioters firebombed his vehicle on March 7.
Due to his ethnicity, attackers assumed the victim was an undercover
police officer monitoring activity in the village. Ten Shia men were
subsequently arrested and charged with murder. At year's end, the trial
remained ongoing.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not criminalize
homosexual relationships between consenting adults at least 21 years of
age; however, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activities were
not socially accepted, and discrimination was common. There were no
reports of violence specifically targeting individuals based on their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The media reported on
few cases of HIV/AIDS. There were no reports of societal violence or
discrimination based on persons with HIV/AIDS. The government mandated
screening of newly arrived migrant workers for infectious diseases,
including HIV/AIDS; migrant workers found to be HIV-positive faced
deportation.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law grants workers, including
noncitizens, a limited right to form and join unions. Members of the
military are prohibited from joining unions. In the private sector,
workers may form unions without prior authorization. Public sector
workers may join private sector trade unions and professional
societies, but trade unions are prohibited in the public sector. All
unions must join the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions
(GFBTU). The law allows for the establishment of additional
federations; however, at year's end, there were none. According to the
GFBTU, approximately 18 percent of the labor force was unionized, with
employees from the six major state-owned firms making up 52 percent of
total trade union membership.
The law prohibits unions from engaging in political activities,
although union officials participated in public forums regarding
workers' rights. The GFBTU did not report any government interference
in its activities.
The law states that the right to strike is a legitimate means for
workers to defend their rights and interests; however, this right was
restricted. The law prohibits strikes in certain sectors the government
deemed essential. They included the oil, gas, education,
telecommunication, transportation, and health sectors, as well as
pharmacies and bakeries. For workers permitted to strike, the law
requires a lengthy process of conciliation followed by mandatory
arbitration. Workers must approve a strike with a two-thirds majority
in a secret ballot and provide two weeks' notification to the MOL
before conducting a strike. There were four legal strikes and no
illegal strikes during the year. Although government sources held that
the arbitration provision did not preempt the right to strike, the law
does not specify that a union may proceed to a strike vote if it
disagrees with the arbitrator's decision.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively. Employers
and the government are required to treat unions as independent judicial
entities. In the private sector, the law prohibits antiunion
discrimination and employer interference in union functions. The
government generally protected this right. The law also provides
protection to workers who are terminated for their union activities.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred, particularly among domestic
workers and those working in the informal sector. There were no reports
of forced or compulsory child labor.
Foreign workers, who made up 56 percent of the workforce (76
percent of the private sector workforce), were particularly vulnerable
to forced labor. In some cases, foreign workers arrived in the country
under the sponsorship of an employer and then switched jobs, while
continuing to pay a fee to their original sponsor, which made it
difficult to monitor and control their employment.
In numerous instances, employers withheld salaries from foreign
workers for months or years and refused to grant them permission to
leave the country. The government and the courts generally worked to
rectify abuses that were brought to their attention. The fear of
deportation or employer retaliation prevented many foreign workers from
making complaints to authorities.
The government conducted an extensive awareness campaign, yet many
foreign workers were unaware of their rights under the law. The
government published pamphlets on foreign resident workers' rights in
several languages, provided manuals on these rights to local diplomatic
missions, and operated a telephone hotline for victims.
On August 1, new rules went into effect to allow migrant foreign
workers (excluding domestic workers) to change jobs without employers'
permission, subject to certain restrictions. LMRA officials report that
some workers have changed employers under the new rules, although local
NGOs asserted that many in the construction industry are unaware of
this change.
Labor laws do not fully cover domestic workers. There were numerous
credible reports that domestic workers, especially women, were forced
to work 12-to 16-hour days, had to give up their identity documents to
employers, had little time off, were malnourished, and were subject to
verbal and physical abuse, including sexual molestation and rape.
Between 30 and 40 percent of attempted suicide cases in the
government's psychiatric hospitals were foreign domestic workers.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits child labor and establishes protections for children from
workplace exploitation, and the government effectively enforced these
laws. Some children were believed to work in family-run businesses, but
the practice was not widespread.
The minimum age for employment is 16 years. The MOL makes rare
exceptions on a case-by-case basis for juveniles between the ages of 14
and 16 who have an urgent need to assist in providing financial support
for their families. Minors may not work in industries the Ministry of
Health deems hazardous or unhealthy, including construction, mining,
and oil refining. Minors may work no more than six hours a day and may
be present on the employment premises no more than seven hours a day.
These regulations do not apply to family-operated businesses in which
the only other employees are family members.
According to NGOs, MOL inspectors enforced child labor laws
effectively in the industrial sector; child labor outside that sector
was monitored less effectively. During the year, the ministry employed
43 labor inspectors. In March the MOL organized a workshop for law
enforcement officers, judges, prosecutor, lawyers, NGOs, and employers
to discuss child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage. Unskilled foreign laborers in particular did not earn as much as
their home countries' guidelines suggested. For example, the
Philippines imposed a minimum wage of 80 dinars ($212) for domestic
workers and required a contract signed by the two parties and approved
by the Philippines Embassy. The law allows employers to consider
benefits for foreign workers such as annual trips home, housing, and
education bonuses as part of the salary.
The MOL enforced the labor law and mandated acceptable conditions
of work for all adult workers except domestic workers, including a
maximum workweek of 48 hours, with special permission required by MOL
for work in excess of 60 hours per week. By law Muslims may not be
required to work more than six hours per day and 36 hours per week
during Ramadan. Workers are entitled to one day of rest after six
consecutive days of work and to annual paid vacations of 21 days after
one year of service. Work in excess of 48 hours per week is to be paid
at a rate of 25 percent above the normal wage if conducted during the
day and 50 percent if completed at night. In practice many foreign
domestic workers worked more than 60 hours per week and did not receive
overtime. The labor inspectorate conducted periodic comprehensive
inspections of private sector enterprises, including verification of
employee hours and wages.
According to NGOs, workplace safety standards were adequate, but
inspection and compliance were substandard. The MOL set occupational
safety and health standards and sporadically enforced them with a team
of eight engineers from multiple specialties. Inspectors had the
authority to levy fines and close worksites if employers did not
improve conditions by specified deadlines. During the year, the media
reported several workplace deaths owing to a combination of inadequate
safety procedures, worker ignorance of those procedures, and inadequate
safety standards for equipment. Exact figures were not available.
Particularly hazardous sectors included construction and automotive
repair.
In 2008 trained inspectors visited labor camps to verify whether
workers' accommodations met required safety and hygiene standards.
During the year, inspectors visited 1,316 labor camps, of which 113
failed the inspection because of safety issues such as gas and
electricity problems, overcrowding, poor hygiene, and general
disrepair. Inspectors cited poor hygiene in warnings issued to 138
camps, as well as part of their rationale for the closure of 28 camps.
The inspectors were authorized to inspect only premises that had a
commercial registration, not private homes where most domestic workers
resided and worked, or unregistered ``private'' camps where many
unskilled laborers lived.
Reports of employers and recruiting agencies beating or sexually
abusing foreign women working in domestic positions were common.
Numerous cases were reported to local embassies, the press, and police;
most victims were too intimidated to sue their employers, although they
had the right to do so. If the victim brings a suit against the
employer, the plaintiff cannot leave the country for the duration of
the case. The MWPS continued to support several victims who took their
cases to court, but compensation to victims was reportedly low.
When a worker lodges a complaint, the MOL opens an investigation
and often takes remedial action. The MOL reportedly received 4,216
complaints during the year, including complaints from domestic workers.
On average there were 11 complaints from domestic workers per month.
Ministry officials stated that they were able to resolve most of these
cases through mediation in the ministry. The public prosecutor took up
the remaining cases for investigation. Complaints brought before the
MOL that cannot be settled through arbitration must be referred to the
court within 15 days.
On January 4, the government delayed until May 1 implementation of
a 2008 decree requiring companies to transport workers in buses as of
January 1. A few companies continued to transport foreign resident
workers in open trucks on benches, and accidents, sometimes fatal,
resulted. Authorities issued 213 citations for violating the ban during
May and June. Penalties ranged from 40 to 120 dinars ($106 to $318).
A ministerial decree prohibits outdoor work between the hours of
noon and 4 p.m. during July and August. Health officials reported a
decrease in the number of heatstroke cases from 1,154 cases in 2007,
prior to the decree, to 814 during the year. According to the MOL, it
fined 29 companies 50 to 300 dinars ($132 to $792) per worker for
allegedly violating the ban during the year, an increase from 21 in
2007.
__________
EGYPT
The National Democratic Party (NDP) has governed the Arab Republic
of Egypt, which has a population of approximately 83 million, since the
party's establishment in 1978. The NDP continued to dominate national
politics by maintaining an overriding majority in the popularly elected
People's Assembly and the partially elected Shura (Consultative)
Council. The government derives its governing authority from the 1971
constitution and subsequent amendments. Executive authority resides
with the president and the cabinet. In 2005 President Hosni Mubarak won
a fifth consecutive six-year term with 88 percent of the vote in the
country's first presidential election, which was marred by low voter
turnout, charges of fraud, and government efforts to prevent opposition
candidates from participating effectively. The civilian authorities did
not always maintain effective control of security forces, which
committed numerous serious abuses of human rights.
The government's respect for human rights remained poor, and
serious abuses continued in many areas. The government limited
citizens' right to change their government and continued a state of
emergency that has been in place almost continuously since 1967.
Security forces used unwarranted lethal force and tortured and abused
prisoners and detainees, in most cases with impunity. Prison and
detention center conditions were poor. Security forces arbitrarily
arrested and detained individuals, in some cases for political
purposes, and kept them in prolonged pretrial detention. The executive
branch exercised control over and pressured the judiciary. The
government's respect for freedoms of association and religion remained
poor during the year, and the government continued to restrict
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The government partially
restricted freedom of expression.
There were steps forward in specific areas. The government
promulgated procedures for members of unrecognized religions, including
the Baha'i faith, to obtain national identification documents and
reportedly issued 17 such documents and 70 birth certificates to Baha'i
during the year. The government also permitted the newly formed Real
Estate Tax Collectors Union, the country's only independent labor
union, to operate. For the first time in the country's history, a UN
special rapporteur and an independent expert visited at the
government's invitation.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government did
not commit any politically motivated killings; however, security forces
committed arbitrary or unlawful killings during the year. The Egyptian
Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) claimed there were eight cases of
arbitrary deprivation of life during the year as a result of police
brutality.
At year's end the government had not publicly taken corrective
action to investigate or prosecute the April 2008 killing by security
forces of four individuals during violent clashes between police and
protesters in Mahalla el Kubra, a textile town in the Nile Delta, or
the November 2008 killing by Central Security Forces (CSF) of three
Bedouin tribesmen in the North Sinai during demonstrations that
followed the CSF killing of a suspected drug smuggler.
On March 16, an appeals court in the city of Suez convicted and
sentenced police officer Alaa Maqsud to 15 years in prison for
murdering Mohammed Ibrahim in 2007 in Suez following an altercation
over Ibrahim's driver's license.
On April 19, the El Menia Criminal Court sentenced police officer
Ahmed Anwar to one year in prison for beating to death a pregnant
woman, Mervat Abdel Sattar, in October 2008. On July 8, the Cairo
Appeals Court upheld the verdict. At year's end Anwar was in prison.
In November 2008 in Aswan, police officer Mohamed Labib allegedly
shot and killed Abdel Wahab Abdel Razeq after entering the wrong
apartment in pursuit of a drug dealer. Police detained Labib following
the killing and his ensuing trial. On December 24, a court acquitted
Labib and released him from custody.
In June 2007 the EOHR reported that Ahmed Abdel Salam Ghanem died
after an exchange of gunfire between supporters of the NDP and
independent candidates.
On May 27, the North Giza Criminal Court sentenced police officers
Hassan Mohammed Hassan and Maher Hussein Mohammed to five years in
prison for throwing Nasser Sediq Gadallah off a balcony in 2007.
b. Disappearance.--The EOHR claimed there were 73 cases of
disappearances from 1992 to April but noted that it had confirmed 17 of
the individuals were no longer missing. According to the National
Council for Human Rights, Ahmed Ismail Al Sheikh disappeared from a
prison in Damanhour in the Delta in May 2008. The government and the
prison gave the family contradictory accounts of his whereabouts.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Article 42 of the constitution prohibits the infliction of
``physical or moral harm'' upon persons who have been arrested or
detained; however, the law fails to account for mental or psychological
abuse, abuse against persons who have not been formally accused, or
abuse occurring for reasons other than securing a confession. Police,
security personnel, and prison guards often tortured and abused
prisoners and detainees, sometimes in cases of detentions under the
Emergency Law, which authorizes incommunicado detention indefinitely,
subject to a judge's ruling. The government rarely held security
officials accountable, and officials often operated with impunity.
Domestic and international human rights groups reported that the
Ministry of Interior (MOI) State Security Investigative Service (SSIS),
police, and other government entities continued to employ torture to
extract information or force confessions. The EOHR documented 30 cases
of torture during the year. In numerous trials defendants alleged that
police tortured them during questioning. During the year activists and
observers circulated some amateur cellphone videos documenting the
alleged abuse of citizens by security officials. For example, on
February 8, a blogger posted a video of two police officers, identified
by their first names and last initials, sodomizing a bound naked man
named Ahmed Abdel Fattah Ali with a bottle. On August 12, the same
blogger posted two videos of alleged police torture of a man in a Port
Said police station by the head of investigations, Mohammed Abu
Ghazala. There was no indication that the government investigated
either case.
The government investigated torture complaints in some criminal
cases and punished some offending police officers. Courts sentenced
officers to terms of one to six years in prison and ordered officers to
pay compensation to victims in some cases. According to the government,
in 2008 the Office of the Public Prosecutor referred 38 cases of cruel
treatment and torture to the criminal courts and one to a disciplinary
tribunal; the prosecutor also requested administrative sanctions on
defendants in 27 cases. According to the government, during the year
the public prosecutor referred nine cases of cruel treatment to the
criminal courts and one case to a disciplinary tribunal; it also
requested administrative sanctions in 10 cases. Of these cases,
according to the government, courts tried and convicted one police
officer for torture, acquitted another officer, and had not ruled in
two other cases in the first six months of the year. Also in the first
six months of the year, the time period for which the government
provided information, 16 police officers faced MOI disciplinary action
for committing abuse or torture.
In December 2008 the official government-run news service reported
that the MOI's deputy minister for legal affairs, Hamid Rashid, told
the People's Assembly that the ministry had suspended 280 police
officers from duty due to charges of human rights violations and was
investigating the charges. Rashid did not specify the time period over
which the MOI actions occurred. Rashid also told the People's Assembly
that the ministry had discharged 1,164 lower-ranking police officers
for misconduct and abuse of power.
Police and the SSIS reportedly employed torture methods such as
stripping and blindfolding victims; suspending victims by the wrists
and ankles in contorted positions or from a ceiling or door frame with
feet just touching the floor; beating victims with fists, whips, metal
rods, or other objects; using electric shocks; dousing victims with
cold water; sleep deprivation; and sexual abuse, including sodomy.
There was evidence that security officials sexually assaulted some
victims or threatened to rape them or their family members. Human
rights groups reported that the lack of legally required written police
records often effectively blocked investigations.
During the year human rights groups and the media documented cases
of abuse and harassment of journalists and bloggers who reported on
controversial topics.
According to multiple NGO sources, police tortured Mona Thabet
twice, first on January 19 at a police station in the Shubra
neighborhood of Cairo after she filed a complaint regarding the alleged
police torture of her husband, and again on February 13 at her home in
the same neighborhood. The alleged torture included beating, shaving
her head, burning with cigarettes, and cutting. At year's end the
government had closed its investigation, citing lack of evidence.
In May 2008, according to multiple NGO sources, police officers in
Mansoura tortured by beating and electric shocks 17-year-old Rami
Ibrahim to force his confession to the rape and murder of a four-year-
old child. On April 25, Mansoura Juvenile Court convicted Ibrahim and
sentenced him to 15 years in prison; however, on December 30, an
appeals court acquitted Ibrahim.
In July, according to NGO sources, security forces used electric
shocks and sleep deprivation to torture members of an alleged terrorist
cell arrested for allegedly smuggling weapons to Gaza, among other
charges.
On March 28, Damanhur Criminal Court sentenced police corporal
Ahmed Antar Ibrahim to six years' imprisonment for his April 2008
assault inside a courthouse in Kafr Al Dawwar on the director of the Al
Nadim Center for the Psychological Rehabilitation of Torture Victims
and antitorture activist, Magda Adly, and her colleague, Mona Hamed.
Ibrahim subsequently confessed that police intelligence officer Ahmad
Maklad of the Kafr Al Dawwar Police Station ordered him to attack Adly.
Although implicated in the Hussein family's torture allegations, Maklad
was never investigated. Ibrahim's retrial began in December.
Authorities did not publicly announce investigating or taking any
corrective action in the following 2007 cases: the case of 100
detainees affiliated with the Islamic Jihad, who alleged that police
officers tortured and abused them; the alleged detention and torture of
Fawzi Hassan and his children; the illegal detention of 40 individuals
in Alexandria; and the torture by assistant investigations officer
Ashraf Morgan of lawyer Ahmed Abdel Aziz.
Throughout the year the MOI awarded compensation to members of
Islamic groups consistent with court orders from previous years.
On March 26, a judge released police officer Islam Nabih from
prison. Nabih was sentenced to a three-year prison term in 2007 for
assaulting and sodomizing Cairo minibus driver Imad El-Kabir in 2006.
At year's end Nabih had rejoined the MOI as a police officer.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions and
conditions in detention centers remained poor. According to observers,
prison cells were overcrowded, with a lack of medical care, proper
hygiene, food, clean water, and proper ventilation. Tuberculosis was
widespread; abuse was common, especially of juveniles in adult
facilities; and guards brutalized prisoners.
The government did not publicly announce any investigations into
the June 2008 alleged beating of detainees from the El-Mahallah
demonstrations; the July 2008 alleged beating of a foreign detainee; or
the killing of one prisoner and injury of 25 others during a September
2008 prison riot in Assiut, following the alleged torture of a
prisoner.
Although separate prison facilities existed for men, women, and
juveniles, adults were not always separated from juveniles. Visits and
visitors to prisoners accused of political crimes or terrorism were
subject to restrictions. Pretrial detainees were sometimes held with
convicted prisoners.
The government did not permit visits to prisons or other places of
detention by independent human rights observers during the year,
despite repeated requests from the International Committee of the Red
Cross and other domestic and international human rights monitors. Some
prisons remained completely closed to the public. As required by law,
the public prosecutor continued to inspect all regular prisons during
the year. In November 2008 the People's Assembly Committee on Human
Rights announced its decision to visit police stations randomly and
inspect detention centers to determine whether they complied with human
rights standards. According to the National Council for Human Rights
(NCHR), a committee delegation visited four police stations in Cairo
and reported on overcrowding and lack of ventilation. According to the
NCHR, in April officials from the Office of the Public Prosecutor
visited 80 police stations and detention centers throughout the
country. SSIS detention centers were excluded from all inspections. The
government reported inspecting 63 prisons and 298 police stations
during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, during the year police and
security forces engaged in such practices, including continued large-
scale detentions of hundreds of individuals without charge under the
Emergency Law, which was extended in April 2008 for two years.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MOI controls local
police forces, which operate in large cities and governorates; the
SSIS, which conducts investigations; and the CSF, which maintains
public order. SSIS and CSF officers are responsible for law enforcement
at the national level and for providing security for infrastructure and
key officials, both domestic and foreign. Single-mission law
enforcement agencies, such as the Tourist and Antiquities Police and
the Antinarcotics General Administration, also work at the national
level.
The security forces operated under a central chain of command and
were considered generally effective in combating crime and terrorism
and maintaining public order. There was no systematic prosecution of
security personnel who committed human rights abuses.
According to observers, there was widespread petty corruption in
the police force, especially below senior levels. The government
claimed to investigate corruption and other instances of police
malfeasance using a nontransparent internal affairs mechanism, but it
failed to investigate many credible allegations of torture and
mistreatment by police and security forces. Courts convicted at least
five police officers in murder cases and three in torture cases.
Working with the UN Development Program, the government continued
to provide human rights training for thousands of judicial and law
enforcement officials.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Individuals
may be arrested and detained under the Emergency Law or the penal code,
both of which give the government broad powers.
The Emergency Law allows arrest without a warrant and detention of
an individual without charge for as long as 30 days, after which a
detainee may demand a court hearing to challenge the legality of the
detention order. A detainee may resubmit a motion for a hearing at one-
month intervals thereafter; however, there is no limit to the detention
period if a judge continues to uphold the order or if the detainee
fails to exercise the right to a hearing, and there is no possibility
of bail. Many detainees under the Emergency Law remained incommunicado
in state security detention facilities without access to family members
or to lawyers before their cases were transferred to trial, and some
faced torture in detention.
Arrests under the penal code occurred openly and with warrants
issued by a district prosecutor or judge. A prosecutor must bring
charges within 48 hours following arrest or release the suspect.
Detainees under the penal code sometimes were not informed promptly of
charges against them. Authorities may hold a suspect for a maximum of
six months while they investigate the case. There was a functioning
system of bail for persons detained under the penal code. In criminal
cases, defendants have the right to counsel promptly after arrest and
access to family members at the discretion of the court; however, they
often faced obstacles and were unable to secure regular access to
either.
Notwithstanding the prevailing state of emergency and the
government's use of the Emergency Law's provisions, the government
continued to rely on the penal code for the majority of criminal
investigations and prosecutions. In recent years authorities detained
thousands of persons administratively under the Emergency Law on
suspicion of terrorism or engaging in prohibited political activity,
including dozens of terrorism suspects in the Sinai in 2006. Amnesty
International (AI), the Human Rights Association for the Assistance of
Prisoners (HRAAP), and other NGOs estimated that the government
continued to hold approximately 5,000 persons in administrative
detention without charge or trial, most of whom were members of Islamic
extremist groups arrested in the 1990s. The quasi-governmental NCHR
estimated that 1,000 detainees remained in prison under the Emergency
Law.
An estimated 300 Bedouins remained in detention. Observers claimed
that security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained Bedouin in the
Sinai without charge, sometimes en masse after security incidents.
During the year there were cases of pretrial detention exceeding
legal limits. Failure to implement judicial rulings regarding the
release of detainees remained a problem.
Amnesty.--On October 5, President Mubarak pardoned 150 prisoners on
the occasion of the October 6 holiday commemorating the 1973 Arab-
Israeli war.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary was subject to
executive influence and corruption. The president may invoke the
Emergency Law to refer any criminal case to the emergency or military
courts, where the accused does not receive most of the constitutional
protections of the civilian judicial system. The government continued
to use the Emergency Law to try nonsecurity cases in these courts and
to restrict many other basic rights. The constitution provides for the
independence and immunity of judges and forbids interference by other
authorities in the exercise of their judicial functions. The government
generally respected judicial independence in nonpolitical cases in
civilian courts. Emergency courts were not independent, as the
Emergency Law stipulates that all emergency court verdicts are subject
to the president's review and allows the president to modify sentences
handed down by the judges. The Emergency Law also allows the president
to replace two of an emergency court's three civilian judges with
military judges.
The president appoints all judges upon recommendation of the Higher
Judicial Council, a constitutional body composed of senior judges.
Judges receive tenure, limited only by mandatory retirement at age 70.
Only the Higher Judicial Council may dismiss judges for cause, such as
corruption. Headed by the president of the Court of Cassation, the
council regulates judicial promotions and transfers.
In the civil court system, there are criminal courts, civil courts,
administrative courts, family courts, and the Supreme Constitutional
Court. There are three levels of regular criminal courts: primary
courts; appeals courts; and the Court of Cassation, which represents
the final stage of criminal or civil appeals. Civil courts hear civil
cases, and administrative courts hear cases contesting government
actions or procedures; both systems have upper-level courts to hear
appeals. The Supreme Constitutional Court hears challenges to the
constitutionality of laws or verdicts in any of the courts.
Emergency courts share jurisdiction with military courts over
crimes affecting national security. The president can appoint civilian
judges to emergency courts upon the recommendation of the minister of
justice or military judges upon the recommendation of the minister of
defense. Military courts were established under the code of military
justice Law No. 25 of 1966. Under the code of military justice, the
president can refer civilians to military courts for certain offenses
in the penal code, such as acts harmful to the security of the
government or deliberate destruction of property to harm national
security. A 2007 amendment to the law includes an appeal mechanism,
which lawyers were sometimes able to use to bring cases on behalf of
their clients. Military verdicts were subject to review by other
military judges and confirmation by the president, who in practice
usually delegated the review function to a senior military officer.
Defense attorneys claimed that they were not given sufficient time to
prepare and that military judges tended to rush cases involving large
numbers of defendants.
On March 10, an administrative court rejected a motion by Muslim
Brotherhood (MB) second deputy chairman Khairat El Shater and 24 other
civilian MB members contesting their transfer to a military tribunal.
Shater and 17 MB members appealed the decision before the Supreme
Military Appeals Court. The application was rejected on November 18. In
April 2008 a closed military tribunal had sentenced El Shater and his
colleagues, seven in absentia, to prison terms ranging from three to 10
years on charges of money laundering. On December 14, nine MB members
involved in the case were released from a military prison after serving
their full three-year terms. El Shater and 13 other MB members
convicted in the case remained in prison at year's end.
The government stated that referral to emergency courts usually was
limited to terrorism or national security cases and major drug
trafficking cases.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence.
There are no juries. Trials are usually public; however, observers
needed government permission to attend court sessions. Human rights
activists were generally able to attend trials in civilian courts but
were excluded from most military trials. Defendants have the right to
counsel in civilian courts, and the government provides a lawyer at the
state's expense if the defendant does not have counsel; however,
detainees in certain high-security prisons continued to allege that
they were denied access to counsel or that such access was delayed
until trial, thus denying them time to prepare an adequate defense.
Defendants in military courts also have the right to counsel, but
lawyers complained they did not have full access to their clients. The
law allows defendants to be present and to question witnesses against
them and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. The law
provides defendants and their attorneys the right to access government-
held evidence against them.
In civilian courts defendants have the right of appeal up to the
Court of Cassation. Sentences by military courts and death sentences in
civilian criminal courts are subject to confirmation by the president.
The president may alter or annul a decision of an emergency court,
including a decision to release a defendant.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The government held detainees,
including many MB activists, for several weeks to several months or
longer and did not permit international humanitarian organizations
access to political prisoners.
The government arrested and detained hundreds of MB members and
supporters without formal charge or trial. According to the government,
it arrested MB members because of their ``illegitimate actions and
communications with foreign parties relevant to security and public
order.'' According to public statements by the MB, approximately 217 of
their leaders and members remained in prison at year's end. On February
18, a court released Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) party leader and 2005
presidential runner-up Ayman Nour on medical parole. On November 4,
Nour announced that the government had denied him permission to travel
to the United States. The government reportedly restricted Nour's
ability to work as a lawyer or journalist, to sell property, and to
open a bank account. In May the government began a new wave of arrests
of MB leaders and members, who faced charges including membership in a
prohibited international organization and money laundering. On November
17, the public prosecutor released on bail MB Guidance Council member
and secretary general of the Arab Doctors Union Abdel-Monem Abou el-
Fotouh. Fotouh had been held without formal charge since June 28.
Approximately 20 members of the prohibited Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami
(Islamic Liberation Party) remained in prison at year's end. In 2004
the Supreme State Security Emergency Court convicted 26 men linked to
Hizb al-Tahrir for belonging to a prohibited organization. Several of
the defendants, including three British citizens, alleged they had been
tortured to compel them to sign confessions.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals had access to
civil courts for lawsuits relating to human rights violations, and
filed such lawsuits; however, the courts were not entirely independent,
especially in politically high-profile cases.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for the privacy of the home,
correspondence, telephone calls, and other means of communication;
however, the Emergency Law suspends the constitutional provisions
regarding the right to privacy, and the government used the Emergency
Law to limit these rights. Furthermore, authorities in terrorism cases
may disregard constitutional protections of privacy of communications
and personal residences.
Under the law, police must obtain warrants or court orders before
undertaking searches and wiretaps, but some human rights observers
alleged that the government routinely violated the law. Police officers
who conducted searches without proper warrants were subject to criminal
penalties, although courts seldom imposed such penalties. The Emergency
Law empowers the government to place wiretaps, intercept mail, and
search persons or places without warrants. Security agencies frequently
placed political activists, suspected subversives, journalists,
foreigners, and writers under surveillance, screened their
correspondence (especially international mail), searched them and their
homes, and confiscated personal property.
On July 10 and 11, according to NGO sources, police broke into the
home of Alaa Al-Gamal, a journalist from the independent weekly
newspaper Sawt Al-Uma who had written articles critical of the
government.
In March 2008, according to the Al Nadim Center and the Association
for Human Rights Legal Aid (AHRLA), police chief of investigations Ali
Kedr and officers Hossam Abdel Moneim and Mahmoud Al Deeb of the Menia
Al Nasr Police Station allegedly raided the home of private citizen
Ibrahim El Sayed Metwally because of a debt he owed. The officers
severely beat and verbally abused Metwally's mother and siblings.
Metwally's sister claimed the officers detained her, beat her with a
stick, and threatened to strip her. In May 2008 press reports stated
that the Al Daqahleya Public Prosecution had begun an investigation.
There were no further updates as of year's end.
Authorities did not investigate the 2007 home raid of writer and
blogger Mohamed Mossad Yaqout.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the government partially
restricted these rights in practice through harassment, censorship, and
arrests and detentions, sometimes under the Emergency Law and in other
instances under provisions of the penal code that prohibit incitement
of discrimination on grounds of sex, origin, language, religion or
belief, and acts damaging to an individual's honor or a family's good
name. Nevertheless, citizens and journalists openly expressed their
views on a wide range of political and social issues, including
vigorous criticism of senior government officials and policies and
direct criticism of the president in the independent press, on
satellite television, and on blogs. During the year there was public
debate about political reform, succession, human rights, corruption,
press freedom, and related issues.
During the year a number of opposition political activists,
journalists, and NGOs continued to advocate for political reform and
openly criticized the government. Government actions--including
arrests, wide-scale detentions of MB members, harassment of independent
journalists and activists, and government restrictions on civil society
organizations--led many observers to charge that the government sought
to curtail criticism and activism.
The penal code and the press and publications law govern press
issues. The constitution restricts ownership of newspapers to public or
private legal entities, corporate bodies, and political parties. There
were numerous restrictions on legal entities seeking to establish
newspapers, including a limit of 10 percent ownership by any
individual; the government apparently enforced this limit unevenly. The
government owned stock in the three largest daily newspapers, which
generally followed the government line, and the president appointed
their top editors. The government also controlled the licensing,
printing, and distribution of newspapers, including independent papers
and those of opposition political parties that frequently criticized
the government and gave greater prominence to human rights abuses than
did state-run newspapers. The daily independent newspapers Al-Masry Al-
Youm, Al-Shurouq, Al-Dostour and Al-Youm Al-Sabya, which focused on
domestic politics, offered significant, critical coverage of
controversial topics. In July the independent paper Al-Badeel closed
for financial reasons.
NGO observers estimated that during the year the government revoked
the licenses of at least five news publications. In April a court
revoked the license of Ibdaa magazine, published by the Ministry of
Culture, in a suit filed by a private individual that accused the
magazine of publishing a poem insulting to religion. On June 15, the
Supreme Administrative Court reversed the decision and reinstated the
license.
The Ministry of Information owned and operated all ground-based
domestic television and radio stations. Independent satellite stations
Al Hayat, Al-Mihwar, Dream TV, and OTV/OnTV operated without direct
government control. The government blocked reception of at least one
foreign channel, the Iranian Al-Aalam satellite channel.
Security personnel continued to detain, harass, and assault
journalists during the year.
On March 16, a court in Damanhour sentenced Al Fagr journalist
Kamal Murad to six months' imprisonment and fined him 100 pounds ($18)
for allegedly insulting a police officer in Rahmaniyah in June 2008. On
July 1, a Damanhour appeals court overturned the prison sentence but
increased Murad's fine to 200 pounds ($36). Authorities took no action
to investigate the alleged assault on Murad by Rahmaniya police
officers Mohammed Badrawy, Amr Allam, and Mohamed Basiouni. Murad had
reportedly been taking photos of police beating farmers in Ezbat Mohram
to coerce them to sign leases with a local businessman. Human rights
organizations alleged that the officers arrested Murad because he had
previously reported on the 2007 high-profile police torture case of
Imad El-Kabir; the officers reportedly referred to Murad as ``the one
who sent the officer to jail for three years.''
During the year opposition party and other independent newspapers
published articles critical of the president and foreign heads of state
generally without being charged or harassed. Private individuals
continued to file politically and nonpolitically motivated suits
against journalists. Individuals filed libel suits under the portion of
the press and publication law that forbids malicious and
unsubstantiated reporting. Under the law, an editor in chief could be
considered criminally responsible for libel contained in any portion of
a newspaper, and journalists faced fines of as much as 20,000 pounds
($3,650) and as long as five years in prison for criticizing foreign
leaders or the president. The Moltaqa Forum for Development and Human
Rights Dialogue reported that between January and March 57 journalists
from 13 newspapers appeared in court in 28 lawsuits. At year's end,
according to a domestic NGO, an estimated 60 defamation suits, some of
which were filed by NDP members, were pending against the leading
independent newspaper, Al-Masry Al-Youm.
On January 31, a Cairo appeals court upheld fines against four
independent newspaper editors for publishing articles ``insulting''
senior ruling NDP officials but struck down the one-year prison
sentences imposed in a 2007 civil ruling.
On February 10, a court fined independent newspaper editor Yasser
Barakat 40,000 pounds ($7,290) for allegedly defaming member of
parliament Mustafa Bakry in a series of 2007 and 2008 articles
criticizing Bakry's government connections and business dealings. On
June 24, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Barakat to six months in
prison for allegedly defaming Bakry in a 2007 newspaper article. On
July 6, police arrested and imprisoned Barakat to carry out the
sentence; however, the public prosecutor released Barakat from prison
on July 11, pending the case's appeal.
In April police in Minya arrested Mounir Saad Hanna, a local
government clerk, for writing an unpublished poem that allegedly
insulted President Mubarak. A local court subsequently sentenced him to
three years in prison. On July 18, a Minya appeals court acquitted
Hanna, and he was released on July 20.
In June the MOI filed assault charges against Alaa Al-Gamal, a
journalist at the independent weekly Sawt Al-Uma. Al-Gamal had written
a series of articles critical of the MOI. At year's end the case
remained under investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office.
On July 4, a Cairo court fined Mohammed Barakat, a reporter for the
independent daily Al-Dustour, 15,000 pounds ($2,730) for defaming NDP
official Ahmed Ezz in an article speculating whether Ezz played a role
in the July 2008 murder of Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim. Observers
believed the court's decision was based on the article's lack of
sourcing and was not politically motivated.
On January 27, the public prosecutor referred a criminal case
against Saad Eddin Ibrahim, founding chairman of the Ibn Khaldun Center
for Development Studies, to the State Security Prosecutor's Office for
investigation. In November 2008 Hossam Mustafa, leader of the Free
Republican political party, brought the criminal case against Ibrahim
for allegedly committing ``espionage'' by publishing articles asserting
that Ibrahim had convinced a foreign government to withhold economic
assistance to the country because of lack of progress on reform. On May
25, a Cairo appeals court reversed an August 2008 court ruling against
Ibrahim in a civil lawsuit by an NDP activist for ``tarnishing Egypt's
image'' in a series of articles and speeches on democracy. The ruling
overturned Ibrahim's two-year prison sentence and 10,000 pounds
($1,821) fine. The appeals court also ruled that other pending civil
lawsuits against Ibrahim on similar grounds be referred to the public
prosecutor for potential investigation. Ibrahim lived in self-imposed
exile outside the country since 2007.
The Emergency Law authorizes censorship for reasons of public
safety and national security. Domestic media practiced self-censorship
due to fear of government reprisal. The government regularly
confiscated publications by Islamists and other critics of the state,
and it increasingly ceded confiscatory authority to government-
controlled Al-Azhar University and authorities acted on the
university's recommendations to confiscate publications
In April 2008 the Nilesat network, a government-owned satellite
transmission company, stopped the broadcast of Al-Hiwar, a privately
owned London-based channel, without prior notice. Al-Hiwar had featured
talk shows such as People's Rights, which had hosted prominent
government critics such as Ibrahim Eissa. At year's end the network
remained prohibited.
On February 26, a Cairo court fined editors Magdy El Galad and
Abass El Tarabily of the independent newspapers Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al
Wafd and three reporters from the newspapers 10,000 pounds ($1,820)
each for violating a press prohibition on reporting on the murder trial
of former member of parliament Hisham Talat Mustafa; on May 21, Mustafa
was convicted of ordering the July 2008 murder of Lebanese pop singer
Suzanne Tamin.
In June author Mohammed Al-Sharkawy went on trial in connection
with a lawsuit filed by an NDP member accusing him of using profanity
and depicting nudity in his graphic novel Metro. Observers believed the
suit was politically motivated due to the novel's criticism of the NDP
and the government. On November 21, a court fined Sharkawy 5,000 pounds
($910) and prohibited the novel.
On December 27, a court fined Adel Hamouda, the editor of the
independent weekly newspaper Al-Fagr 10,000 pounds ($1,820) for
defaming NDP Assistant Secretary-General Ahmed Ezz. The paper had
written that Ezz compelled his wife to resign from a position in the
NDP. Observers believed the decision was politically motivated. Hamouda
was one of the four editors fined by an appeals court in January for
insulting a senior NDP official.
According to one NGO observer, the government prohibited three
books during the International Book Fair in Cairo.
In April 2008 authorities confiscated 5,000 copies of a book
written by former senior police officer Amr Afifi. The book discussed
legal procedures relating to interactions with police officers,
including investigations, arrests, and inspections, and it explained
citizens' rights vis-a-vis security forces. Afifi subsequently fled the
country and remained in self-imposed exile at year's end.
On October 5, the government's Supreme Press Council revoked the
license of the weekly newspaper Al-Balagh Al-Gadid, effectively
shutting it down. The action was in response to an article in the
newspaper alleging that police questioned a group of named popular male
actors for engaging in a gay prostitution ring. On October 6, the
newspaper's editor stated publicly that his source was a senior police
officer, but observers believed the paper had no evidence for its
allegations.
Throughout the year the government routinely searched imported
written material to confiscate items deemed insulting to religious
sensibilities.
Internet Freedom.--According to 2008 International
Telecommunication Union statistics, approximately 14 percent of the
country's inhabitants used the Internet, which the government actively
promoted through low-cost access. According to the government, during
the year there were more than 160,000 blogs in the country, and
approximately 20 percent of them focused on politics, 15 percent on art
and culture, 7 percent on religion, 6 percent on personal issues, 4
percent on science and technology, and 2 percent on social issues.
According to the government, 68 percent of blogs were in Arabic, 10
percent in English, and 20 percent combined Arabic and English. On rare
occasions during the year, the government blocked access to some Web
sites and monitored the Internet. According to Arabic Network for Human
Rights Information (ANHRI), during the year the government continued to
implement an August 2008 regulation requiring Internet cafes to gather
personal information of Internet users, including names, e-mail
addresses, and telephone numbers.
During the year police harassed, detained, and allegedly abused
certain bloggers and Internet activists. On January 20, a court fined
blogger Tamer Mabrouk 42,500 pounds ($7,750) for defaming the Trust
Chemical Company by accusing it of polluting a lake near the Suez
Canal. On May 26, an appeals court upheld the decision, reduced the
fine to 2,500 pounds ($460), and ordered Mabrouk to pay the company
40,000 pounds ($7,290) in compensation.
On February 6, the SSIS detained pro-Palestinian blogger and
activist Dia Eddin Gad under the Emergency Law without charge after he
insulted President Mubarak on his blog as a ``Zionist, an agent for
Israel, and a loser.'' On March 23, the ANHRI released a public
statement accusing the government of placing Gad in solitary
confinement, depriving him of medical care, and threatening to kill
him. On March 27, the SSIS released Gad. According to the government,
the SSIS arrested Gad under the Emergency Law because his activities
posed a threat to public order.
On June 30, customs officials held blogger Wael Abbas for 13 hours
at Cairo International Airport upon his return from a conference in
Sweden where he had criticized the government. Customs officials seized
some of his personal property, including his laptop computer.
On July 22, the SSIS detained three MB-affiliated bloggers--Magdy
Saad, Abd El Rahman Ayyash, and Ahmed Abu Khalil--and held them for
appoximately a week before releasing them. The three bloggers had
criticized trials of MB members in military courts and voiced support
for MB detainees.
In October 2008 the SSIS arrested blogger Hany Nazir under the
Emergency Law following his blogging on allegedly sensitive religious
issues. The MOI rejected several court orders for his release after his
incarceration began. In August the ANHRI publicly asserted that prison
officials attempted to pressure Nazir to convert to Islam in exchange
for his release. At year's end Nazir remained in prison. According to
the government, the SSIS continued to detain Nazir under the Emergency
Law for his own security, in light of public anger toward him because
of his blogging.
On November 11, a court sentenced blogger Wael Abbas in absentia to
six months in prison for allegedly damaging a neighbor's Internet line.
Observers believed the court decision was a politically motivated
reaction to Abbas' blogging, which was often critical of the
government. At year's end Abbas remained free, pending his attendance
at a subsequent court session.
On March 10, the SSIS released blogger and activist Mohammed Adel,
who was previously affiliated with the MB. The SSIS had held Adel in
detention since November 2008. SSIS officers allegedly seized many of
Adel's books and CDs from his home and tortured him in detention.
Adel's blog called for MB detainees to be released. According to the
government, the SSIS arrested him for illegally entering Palestinian
territory.
Blogger Karim Amer, jailed in 2006 and convicted and sentenced in
2007 to four years in prison for ``denigrating religion'' and insulting
President Mubarak, remained in prison at year's end. On December 22, a
Cairo court rejected Amer's appeal.
Blogger and activist Musad Abu Fagr, jailed in 2007 under the
Emergency Law following posts about the Sinai Bedouins' difficulties,
remained in prison at year's end. The government blocked several court
orders for his release.
On September 29, the government detained Swedish journalist and
blogger Per Bjorklund at the airport, preventing him from entering the
country, and deported him on October 1. Bjorklund had lived in the
country for the previous three years and had written critically about
labor issues.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted
academic freedom through various means. It selected deans rather than
permitting the faculty to elect them, justifying the measure as a way
to combat Islamist influence on campus. It also restricted some
academic travel. Professors published articles in academic journals
covering a wide range of topics, but observers assessed that professors
practiced degrees of self-censorship regarding commentary on sensitive
issues such as the military, the security forces, and government
corruption.
The Ministry of Culture must approve all scripts and final
productions of plays and films. The ministry censored foreign films to
be shown in theaters but was more lenient regarding the same films in
videocassette or DVD format. Government censors ensured that foreign
films made in the country portrayed the country in a favorable light.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but the
government restricted the exercise of this right. Citizens must obtain
approval from the MOI before holding public meetings, rallies, and
protest marches. Protests may not be held in or near places of worship,
per a 2008 ministerial decree. The MOI refused to grant permits for
some political events, and the government tightly controlled public
demonstrations, including some meetings on private property and
university campuses. In January, during attacks on Gaza, the government
prevented many demonstrations from proceeding in Cairo by deploying
large numbers of riot police to stop protesters from gathering and to
forcibly break up demonstrations. The government generally permitted
such demonstrations to proceed outside Cairo. At some demonstrations
throughout the country, police and protesters clashed, resulting in
injuries to both sides. During the January demonstrations, police
arrested several hundred protesters, releasing most of them after
holding them between two and 24 hours. Most detentions did not exceed
24 hours. A large percentage of the protesters arrested were reportedly
MB members.
On January 2, at a demonstration in downtown Cairo, police beat
unconscious an Al-Masry Al-Youm journalist covering the event. The
journalist was treated at a local hospital and subsequently discharged.
On January 9, the MB and other opposition groups organized a ``day of
anger and solidarity with Gaza,'' and thousands of protesters
demonstrated in several cities outside Cairo. More than 50,000
protesters demonstrated outside the central mosque in Alexandria. On
January 9, police and approximately 1,000 protesters clashed in El-
Arish in the Northern Sinai, resulting in injuries to both sides.
Protesters reportedly damaged shops and cars.
Throughout the year authorities sometimes showed little tolerance
for peaceful demonstrations by opposition groups and activists
protesting government policies. Police sometimes responded to political
demonstrations in large numbers to contain the size and effectiveness
of the demonstrations, and they sometimes used excessive force. In
certain demonstrations police detained suspected organizers, some of
whom alleged mistreatment in detention.
On February 6, SSIS officers arrested Egyptian-German pro-
Palestinian activist, student, blogger, and filmmaker Philip Rizk
following a small, peaceful rally in Ismailia to call for opening the
Rafah border crossing with Gaza. On February 11, the SSIS released Rizk
after subjecting him to physical and mental abuse. According to the
government, the SSIS arrested Rizk because he had not followed
procedures to request and receive permission to hold the rally.
In the seven days before a planned strike on April 6, police
arrested approximately 15 activists affiliated with the April 6
Movement, who were planning the strike, and generally released them
within 24 hours. Police reportedly beat some of the activists in
custody and while breaking up an April 4 courthouse demonstration in
the Delta protesting some of the arrests. Throughout the year police
briefly detained members of the April 6 Movement who distributed
leaflets and planned political events.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association; however, the government significantly restricted the
exercise of this right. The minister of social solidarity has the
authority to dissolve NGOs by decree, and the law requires NGOs to
obtain permission from the government before accepting foreign funds,
apart from donations from foreign governments with established
development programs in the country. On April 27, the EOHR received a
letter from the Ministry of Social Solidarity reminding it of the
ministry's right to dissolve the organization for receiving
unauthorized foreign funding. The EOHR had received funding from a
Moroccan NGO for a Cairo conference in January on press freedom. On May
10, the EOHR received a letter from the ministry stating that the
ministry did not intend to dissolve the EOHR. On September 27, security
forces arrested 15 MB members in three provinces (Beni Suef, Giza, and
Sharqiya) on charges of recruiting for an illegal organization. On
November 21, the MB announced that a Cairo court had ordered the
release of Gamal Heshmat and nine others. On November 26, the MB
announced that the MOI released Heshmat on medical grounds.
Throughout the year the Ministry of Social Solidarity delayed or
did not grant permission for some NGOs to receive foreign funding. In
one case the ministry prevented an NGO from distributing 1,100 human
rights-themed children's books produced through a foreign government
grant.
Throughout the year the government prevented some NGOs from holding
human rights-themed conferences at hotels in different cities.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
belief and the practice of religious rites; however, the government
restricted the exercise of these rights. According to the constitution,
Islam is the official state religion and Shari'a (Islamic law) the
primary source of legislation. Religious practices that conflict with
the government's interpretation of Shari'a are prohibited.
The government continued to sponsor ``reconciliation sessions''
following sectarian attacks, which generally prevented the prosecution
of perpetrators of crimes against Copts and precluded their recourse to
the judicial system for restitution. This practice contributed to a
climate of impunity that encouraged further assaults. Members of non-
Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by the government
generally worshipped without harassment; however, Christians and
members of the Baha'i faith, which the government does not recognize,
faced personal and collective discrimination in many areas. Religious
groups seeking recognition must submit a request to the MOI, which
determines whether in its view the group would pose a threat to
national security or social order. The MOI also consulted leading
religious figures, particularly the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church
and the sheikh of Al-Azhar. The last official recognition of a
religious group occurred in 1990. The government does not recognize
marriages of citizens adhering to faiths other than Christianity,
Judaism, or Islam nor does it recognize conversions of Muslim-born
citizens to other religions.
On June 13, the Cairo Administrative Court ruled against Maher El-
Gohary, a convert from Islam to Christianity, who had filed suit on the
basis of constitutional guarantees of religious freedom to compel the
government to issue him an identity document listing his religion as
Christian.
The law prohibits blasphemy and the ``denigration of religions.''
Although there were no reported prosecutions, the government detained
members of religious groups whose practices deviated from mainstream
Islamic beliefs and whose activities were believed to jeopardize
communal harmony. The law prohibits Baha'i institutions and community
activities, and the Baha'i religion is not recognized. On March 16, the
Supreme Administrative Court dismissed a legal challenge filed by an
Islamist lawyer to block the implementation of a January 2008 court
decision directing the MOI to issue identification documents to members
of the country's Baha'i community. Previously, all such documents
specified the holder's religion as Muslim, Christian, or Jewish. Many
Baha'is were unwilling to accept such a document because they
considered that it would require them to give false testimony
concerning their faith. On April 14, the MOI published a decree
authorizing members of ``nonrecognized religions'' to obtain
identification documents with a dash in the mandatory religious
identification space. Egyptian Baha'is reported that the government
issued 17 national identification cards and 70 birth certificates to
Baha'is during the year.
The government failed to redress laws and government practices that
discriminate against Christians. The law requires non-Muslims to obtain
a presidential decree to build new worship facilities. MOI regulations,
issued in 1934 under the Al-Ezabi decree, specify 10 conditions that
the government must consider before a presidential decree for
construction of a new non-Muslim place of worship can be issued. The
conditions include the requirement that the distance between a church
and a mosque be at least 100 meters (328 feet) and that approval of the
neighboring Muslim community be obtained before a permit to build a new
church may be issued.
The law also requires non-Muslims to obtain a governor's approval
to repair, renovate, or expand existing church complexes. While Decree
291 of 2005 delegates this authority, which was formerly held by the
president, to the governors, loopholes in the law were exploited to
prevent its implementation. For example, some local authorities refused
to process applications without ``supporting documents'' that were
virtually impossible to obtain (e.g., a presidential decree authorizing
the existence of a church that had been established during the
country's monarchical era). Church and lay leaders maintained that
security forces blocked them from using permits that had been issued
and, at times, denied them permits for repairs to church buildings and
for the supply of water and electricity to existing church facilities.
As a result, congregations generally continued to wait years to be able
to build and repair church properties.
The constitution requires elementary and secondary public schools
to offer religious instruction. Public and private schools provided
religious instruction according to the faith of the student.
The government did not carry out forced conversions; however, there
were again claims of Muslim men forcing Coptic women and girls to
convert to Islam. Reports of such cases were disputed and often
included inflammatory allegations and categorical denials of kidnapping
and rape. Most cases involved a female Copt who converted to Islam when
she married a male Muslim. Government authorities detained and harassed
some converts from Islam to Christianity and pressured them to revert
to Islam.
On June 15, the Court of Cassation granted Kamilia Lotfy custody of
her 14-year-old twin sons, overruling a September 2008 Alexandria
Appeals Court decision that gave custody to the boys' father following
his conversion from Christianity to Islam. The Court of Cassation
ruling affirmed for the first time the right of a non-Muslim to retain
custody of children until the age of 15 following the conversion of a
spouse to Islam. Human rights groups, however, criticized the court for
failing to address the policy that considers children younger than 15,
whose parents convert from Islam, to be Muslim.
Neither the constitution nor the civil and penal codes prohibit
proselytizing, but police harassed or arrested some individuals
proselytizing on charges of ridiculing or insulting the ``heavenly
religions'' (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) or inciting sectarian
strife.
Jehovah's Witness leadership reported that authorities monitored
the homes, telephones, and meeting places of members of Jehovah's
Witnesses. The government also reportedly maintained regular and
sometimes hostile surveillance of Muslim-born citizens who were
suspected of having converted to Christianity.
Authorities monitored and occasionally placed restrictions on
religious materials (both published in the country and imported) as
they did other written materials.
The government prohibited women and girls in public primary schools
from wearing the niqab, or face veil. Girls in secondary or preparatory
schools could wear a face veil only upon a parent's written request to
the school.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal religious
discrimination and sectarian tension continued during the year. In a
May report, the quasi-governmental NCHR expressed alarm at growing
sectarian conflict. In March Muslim villagers in the Sohag governorate
attacked and burned homes of their Baha'i neighbors.
On August 20, authorities released two Copts, held in detention
without charges since May 2008, who had been accused of killing a
Muslim during the armed attack by Muslim Bedouins on the Abu Fana
Monastery. A December 2008 court order requiring their release was not
implemented. According to a credible human rights organization, their
release came after an agreement was reached in which the monastery
dropped criminal charges against the attackers. Two Muslims, held since
the attack, were also released. There were no charges filed against the
assailants, who assaulted the monastery and abducted and abused the
monks.
The constitution provides for equal public rights and duties
without discrimination based on religion or creed, and the government
generally upheld these protections; however, government discrimination
against non-Muslims existed. The government continued to discriminate
against non-Muslims in public sector employment and in admission to the
publicly financed Al Azhar University.
Anti-Semitism in the media was common, although less prevalent than
in recent years. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts directed
toward the country's approximately 125 Jews. However, anti-Semitic
sentiments frequently appeared in both the progovernment and
independent press. According to the Middle East Media Research
Institute (MEMRI), a series of clerics appeared on Al-Rahma TV
conveying anti-Semitic messages, such as celebrating the Holocaust and
praising the humiliation that the Holocaust inflicted on Jews. Anti-
Semitic editorial cartoons and articles depicting demonic images of
Jews and Israeli leaders, stereotypical images of Jews along with
Jewish symbols, and comparisons of Israeli leaders with Hitler and the
Nazis were published throughout the year, particularly during and
following the attacks on Gaza in January. The government reportedly
advised journalists and cartoonists to avoid anti-Semitism. Government
officials insisted that anti-Semitic statements in the media were a
reaction to Israeli government actions against Palestinians and did not
constitute anti-Semitism.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice, albeit with some notable exceptions. Citizens and foreigners
may not travel in areas of the country designated as military zones.
Males who have not completed compulsory military service may not travel
abroad or emigrate, although this restriction may be deferred or
bypassed under special but unclear circumstances. Baha'i men of draft
age had difficulty obtaining passports because, according to some
reports, the Ministry of Defense would not issue military service
exemption certificates, a requirement for draft-age men who have not
served in the military to obtain passports. The Baha'i did not have
national identification cards because they are unable to establish that
they have fulfilled or are exempt from military service obligations. An
unmarried woman younger than 21 must have permission from her father to
obtain a passport and to travel, and police reportedly required such
permission for married women in practice, although the law does not
require it. Authorities occasionally held individuals at the airport to
delay or prevent altogether their travel for what appeared to be
political reasons. The government also used travel prohibitions to
punish dissidents.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the government did not
use it during the year; a number of citizens remained outside the
country in self-imposed exile.
The government did not consistently cooperate with the Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol, and
the 1969 OAU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems
in Africa. The constitution includes provisions for the granting of
refugee status or asylum; however, the country has no national
legislative framework or system for granting asylum. The government
admits refugees on the understanding that their presence in the country
is temporary and that the UNHCR assumes full responsibility for the
determination of refugee status on behalf of the government.
In practice the government sometimes did not provide protection
against the expulsion or forced return of refugees to countries where
their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion. The government continued to forcibly repatriate
Eritrean asylum seekers, although fewer were returned during the year
than in 2008, when more than 1,300 were returned. The basic problem of
forced return has not been resolved. According to AI, between December
23, 2008, and January 18, the government forcibly returned to Eritrea
approximately 100 Eritrean asylum seekers, who were apprehended
attempting to enter Israel. AI stated that the asylum seekers faced
likely torture in Eritrea. Hundreds of other Eritrean asylum seekers
were being held in detention centers in Nekhl and elsewhere in the
country at year's end.
Refugees also faced violence by security forces, abuse, and
discrimination.
There was a consistent flow of Eritrean, Sudanese, and other
African asylum seekers, who attempted to migrate illegally through the
country to Israel during the year. Since May border police shot and
killed at least 17 African migrants attempting to cross the border into
Israel. Many more migrants were injured in shootings at the border, and
more than 400 were arrested in the first seven months of the year and
charged with attempting an unlawful crossing of the country's eastern
border with Israel. Those apprehended were tried in military courts
that, according to AI, did not meet international standards for fair
trial. The migrants were subsequently sentenced to one year in prison
and were subject to deportation following completion of the sentence.
The government maintained that these measures were necessary to ensure
security along the border and combat smuggling. The UNHCR did not have
access to those arrested to determine their refugee status. At year's
end the government had not taken action to prosecute any of the
officers involved in these incidents.
According to an October 25 press report, Hawa Shogar, a female
refugee from Darfur, said lack of employment opportunities, rising food
prices, and the global economic crisis compelled her and her husband
Ahmed to try to go to Israel, where they heard other Africans were
getting jobs. They borrowed $500 and gave it to a Bedouin smuggler.
They joined 23 other Sudanese and Eritreans, carrying their possessions
in small plastic bags. As they approached the border, an Egyptian
patrol fired into the air and stopped their trucks. Her husband said
that some of the migrants tried to flee and were shot, at least one
fatally.
According to a December 11 report in a foreign publication, police
shot at Eritrean Yirgalam Beyene and her three children as they tried
to cross the border into Israel. During the incident, her 21-year-old
son Iskender and three-year-old daughter Rosa were shot. While Rosa
survived, Iskender later died from his wounds in a Sinai hospital. They
were among a group of some 20 asylum seekers from Eritrea, Darfur, and
southern Sudan trying to cross the border that night.
Imprisoned refugees were held in small cells with convicted
criminals, where they had limited or no access to sunlight for periods
of three to five months, no access to medical treatment, and poor food.
African prisoners often faced race-related beatings and discrimination.
Refugees continued to face limitations with regards to access to
work, education, and health services. African refugees in particular
faced harassment by the SSIS, restrictions on employment, poor housing,
limited access to health care and education, and societal
discrimination based on race. Iraqi refugees faced restrictions on
employment and on access to health and education services.
Representatives of stateless refugees living in Cairo expressed
concern that such refugees often did not qualify for protection under
the local refugee apparatus. Stateless persons comprised less than 1
percent of all registered refugees. Nearly all stateless persons, many
of whom were the children of Eritrean fathers and Ethiopian mothers,
lacked refugee status and were not considered citizens by either of
their parents' countries. They received no monetary assistance, lacked
the ability to work, and were isolated from other members of refugee
communities.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides that citizens shall elect the president
every six years and the 454-seat People's Assembly every five years.
The constitution also provides that two-thirds of the 264-member Shura
Council, the upper house of parliament, are elected and one-third are
appointed by the president. Shura Council terms are six years, with
half of the council's elected seats contested every three years. There
continued to be limitations on citizens' rights to change their
government peacefully.
Elections and Political Participation.--In July 2008 the country
held parliamentary by-elections for four vacant parliament seats in
Kafr Al Sheikh and Alexandria. MB-affiliated candidates ran for three
of the seats, but the NDP won all four. The MB subsequently accused the
government of rigging the vote to favor the NDP. The four seats had
been vacant since a legal challenge during the 2005 parliamentary
election, which international monitors were not permitted to observe.
The government also barred international observers from the 2005
presidential election, which was marred by low voter turnout and
charges of fraud. In October 2008 the country held parliamentary by-
elections for two seats in Fayoum (Utssa Constituency). The NDP won
both contested seats, which had been vacant since a legal challenge
during the 2005 parliamentary election.
In February the country held parliamentary by-elections for one
seat in Minya (Samalout), which became vacant following the death of an
NDP member of parliament. The NDP candidate won the seat.
In March and May, there were parliamentary by-elections for a seat
in Cairo (Masr El Qadima Constituency) and another in Alexandria
(Moharram Bek Constituency), which became vacant following the death of
an NDP member of parliament. The NDP candidate won the seat.
In August there were parliamentary by-elections for two vacant
seats in Qaliuybia, and the NDP won both seats.
The NDP continued to dominate national politics by maintaining an
overriding majority in the People's Assembly and the Shura Council. It
also dominated local governments, mass media, labor, and the public
sector and controlled licensing of new political parties, newspapers,
and private organizations. The law prohibits political parties based on
religion, and the MB remained an illegal organization; however,
independent MB-affiliated members of parliament continued to
participate in parliament. In previous years the government refused to
grant official registration to at least 12 political parties that had
filed applications. In August the political parties committee rejected
the Al-Wasat Party's application for registration.
There were nine women in the 454-seat People's Assembly and 21 in
the 264-seat Shura Council. Two women served among the 32 ministers in
the cabinet. On June 14, the parliament passed a law to allocate a
quota of 64 parliamentary seats for women, effective in 2010.
There were six Christians (five appointed, one elected) in the
People's Assembly, 10 Christians (all appointed) in the Shura Council,
and two Christians in the cabinet. Christians, who represent 8 to 12
percent of the population, held fewer than 2 percent of the seats in
the People's Assembly and Shura Council. A Copt served as one of the
country's 28 governors in Qena. According to available information,
there were very few Christians in the upper ranks of the security
services and armed forces. No other minorities served in political or
other high-ranking positions.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
the government did not consistently and effectively implement the law,
and impunity was a problem. The media routinely reported on confirmed
cases of low-level corruption, including the fraudulent alteration of
official documents, embezzlement, and bribery. The Central Agency for
Auditing and Accounting (CAA) is the government's anticorruption body
and submits biennial reports to the People's Assembly that are not
available to the public. The CAA stations monitors at state-owned
companies to report corrupt practices. Observers did not judge the CAA
to be effective.
On March 11, the Safaga Misdemeanor Appeals Court sentenced ferry
owner and Shura Council member Mamdouh Ismail in absentia to seven
years in prison in connection with the 2006 Al-Salaam Bocaccio 90 ferry
sinking, which killed more than 1,000 persons. In addition the court
sentenced two other defendants to three years' imprisonment for
negligence. In July 2008 the Safaga Misdemeanors Court had acquitted
Ismail, along with five other defendants, of failing to offer
assistance in the 2006 sinking. Ismail's relationship with presidential
chief of staff Zakaria Azmi had sparked public debate about corruption.
At year's end Ismail remained in London, where he fled immediately
after the sinking.
There were no financial disclosure laws for public officials, nor
was there a legal framework stipulating how citizens could access
government information. In practice the government was not generally
responsive to requests for documents regarding government activities
and did not provide reasons for its lack of responsiveness. The
government released public statements and held press briefings for
foreign and domestic journalists. According to the government,
ministries provided publications and pamphlets to citizens who
requested information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Government restrictions on NGO and international organization
activities, including limits on domestic organizations' ability to
accept foreign funding, continued to limit investigation of and
reporting on human rights abuses.
Local independent human rights NGOs included the EOHR, the HRAAP,
the Arab Penal Reform Organization, AHRLA, the Cairo Institute for
Human Rights Studies, the EIPR, the Ibn Khaldun Center, the Arab Center
for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, the
Arab Network for Human Rights Information, the Nadim Center for the
Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture and Violence, and the Egyptian
Center for Women's Rights (ECWR). Informal coalitions of Internet
activists and bloggers continued to play a significant role in
publicizing information about human rights abuses. Although
nonregistered organizations generally were allowed to conduct
operations, they did so in technical violation of the NGO law with the
prospect of government interference or closure.
The government did not demonstrate a consistent approach to
cooperating with human rights NGOs, sometimes harassing them or
restricting their activities. For example, the government prevented
some NGOs from holding certain conferences and events during the year.
Government officials were selectively cooperative and responsive to
some NGOs' views. Throughout the year the government met with a range
of NGOs to discuss legislation related to human rights. The government
generally allowed international human rights NGOs to establish informal
operations, and Human Rights Watch maintained an office in the country.
Other organizations, such as AI, made periodic visits as part of their
regional research program and were able to work with domestic human
rights groups. In April 2008 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs withdrew
approval for the International Federation for Human Rights to open a
regional office in Cairo. At year's end the NGO was still waiting for
official approval. The National Democratic Institute, the International
Republican Institute, and the International Foundation for Electoral
Systems, which provided technical assistance in support of expanded
political and civil rights, remained unregistered but were able to
pursue limited activities.
The government cooperated selectively with the UN and other
international organizations. For the first time in history, it
permitted the visits of a UN special rapporteur and a UN independent
expert.
From April 17 to 21, Martin Scheinin, the UN special rapporteur on
the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms
while countering terrorism, visited the country and met with government
officials and NGOs. The special rapporteur's August 3 report to the UN
General Assembly noted that the visit focused on the government's draft
counterterrorism law and that he had requested a follow-up trip to
visit places of detention and observe legal proceedings. On October 14,
Scheinin issued a report to the UN Human Rights Council that expressed
concern about the long-standing Emergency Law's ``restrictions on
fundamental rights and freedoms,'' and called for lifting the law
``with a view to restoring the rule of law and full compliance with
human rights.''
From June 21 to 28, Catarina de Albuquerque, the UN independent
expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to
safe drinking water and sanitation, visited the country to meet with
government officials and visit relevant sites. In a public statement on
June 28, de Albuquerque noted the government's ``vision and a strategy
with the objective of providing access to safe drinking water and
sanitation for all.accompanied by significant political will, at the
highest levels, and incredible amounts of money.'' She outlined
recommendations for the government to improve drinking water quality,
sanitation facilities for clean water, and the affordability of clean
water.
According to the UN on November 29, the government did not agree to
visit requests from six special rapporteurs and one working group. The
requests were made by the special rapporteur on the independence of
judges and lawyers; the special rapporteur on the situation of human
rights defenders (requested in 2003 and renewed in 2008); the special
rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief (requested in 2005); the
special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment (requested in 1996 and 2007); the Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention (requested in 2008); the special rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions (requested in 2008);
and the special rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution,
and child pornography (requested in 2009).
The NCHR is a consultative subsidiary of the Shura Council that
monitored government abuses of human rights, formally submitted citizen
complaints to the government, and issued reports critical of the
government. On May 6, the NCHR issued its fifth annual report on the
status of human rights in the country, covering 2008 and the first
quarter of 2009. The report called on the government to lift the state
of emergency, address mistreatment of citizens in detention centers,
improve judicial supervision of prisons and detention centers, provide
the draft counterterrorism law to the NCHR for review, lift
restrictions on political parties and NGOs, issue new election
regulations, follow up on the implementation of political rights, and
enforce citizenship rights. The People's Assembly had a Human Rights
Committee that human rights activists deemed ineffective.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equality of the sexes and equal
treatment of non-Muslims; however, aspects of the law and many
traditional practices discriminated against women and religious
minorities. The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race,
ethnic origin, language, religion or creed.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, prescribing penalties of 15 to 25
years' imprisonment or life imprisonment for cases involving armed
abduction. The number of cases investigated was small because women
were reluctant to report rape. Spousal rape is not illegal. According
to a 2007 study by the National Center for Criminal and Social
Research, there were approximately 20,000 cases of rape annually.
Although the law does not prohibit domestic violence or spousal
abuse, provisions of law relating to assault in general may be applied
with accompanying penalties. However, the law requires that an assault
victim produce multiple eyewitnesses, which is a difficult condition
for a domestic abuse victim. Domestic violence continued to be a
significant problem. Several NGOs offered counseling, legal aid, and
other services to women who were victims of domestic violence. The
quasi-governmental National Council for Women (NCW) trained law
enforcement personnel and attorneys on increasing their efforts to
combat domestic violence against women. The NCW also held sessions to
train women on how to report domestic violence to attorneys and law
enforcement personnel.
The law does not specifically address honor crimes, in which a man
violently assaults or kills a woman, usually a family member, because
of a perceived lack of chastity. There were no reliable statistics
regarding the extent of honor killings, but observers believed such
killings took place during the year, particularly in rural areas.
Prostitution and sex tourism were illegal but continued to occur,
particularly in Cairo and Alexandria. Prostitution existed in cities
and in some rural areas. Sex tourism existed in Luxor and Sharm El-
Sheikh. Street children were subject to prostitution. Most sex tourists
came from Europe and the Persian Gulf region.
There is no specific law criminalizing sexual harassment, but the
government prosecuted sexual harassment under a statute titled Public
Exposure and the Corruption of Morals. Sexual harassment remained a
serious problem. A 2008 ECWR survey found that 83 percent of Egyptian
women and 98 percent of foreign women in the country had been sexually
harassed and that approximately half of women surveyed faced harassment
daily. In June, to combat increasing rates of sexual harassment, the
Ministry of Islamic Endowments distributed a book entitled Sexual
Harassment: Its Reasons and How to Address It to imams and preachers in
all governorates. The ECWR noted the step but criticized the book's
discussion of sexual harassment, which included blaming women for
triggering harassment.
The Ministry of Population and Families conducted a public
awareness campaign to encourage smaller families.
The Ministry of Health distributed contraception, provided
personnel at no cost to attend births, postpartum care to mothers and
children, and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases at no cost.
The government did not restrict citizens' family planning decisions.
According to the government, the maternal mortality rate in 2008 was 55
deaths per 100,000 live births, an improvement from 75 deaths per
100,000 live births in 2002. NGO observers reported that poor health
care contributed to the maternal mortality rate, and that government
family planning information and services were not adequate to meet the
needs of the entire population. NGOs expressed concern over lack of
access to reproductive information and services for adolescent girls.
The law provides for equality of the sexes; however, aspects of the
law and traditional practices discriminated against women.
Laws affecting marriage and personal status generally corresponded
to an individual's religion. For example, a female Muslim citizen may
not marry a non-Muslim man without risking arrest and conviction for
apostasy; under the government's interpretation of Shari'a, any
children from such a marriage could be put in the custody of a male
Muslim guardian. Khul divorce allows a Muslim woman to obtain a divorce
without her husband's consent, provided she is willing to forgo all her
financial rights, including alimony, dowry, and other benefits. The
Coptic Orthodox Church permits divorce only in specific circumstances,
such as adultery or conversion of one spouse to another religion. A
Muslim female heir receives half the amount of a male heir's
inheritance, and Christian widows of Muslims have no inheritance
rights. A sole Muslim female heir receives half her parents' estate,
with the balance going to the siblings of the parents or to the
children of the siblings if the siblings are deceased. A sole male heir
inherits his parents' entire estate. A woman's testimony is equal to
that of a man in courts dealing with all matters except for personal
status, such as marriage and divorce.
Labor laws provide for equal rates of pay for equal work for men
and women in the public sector, although this did not always happen in
practice. Educated women had employment opportunities, but social
pressure against women pursuing a career was strong. Women's rights
advocates claimed that Islamist influence and other traditional and
cultural attitudes and practices inhibited further gains. According to
2007 government figures, women filled 19 percent of private sector
jobs, 29 percent of public sector jobs, and 22 percent of the total
workforce. According to 2006 government figures, women's average
monthly wages were approximately 80 percent of men's average monthly
wages. On June 10, President Mubarak appointed Hend Hanafy as president
of Alexandria University. Hanafy, who took office for the 2009-10
academic year, was the country's first female university president.
During the year the government continued to implement a 2004 law
that grants citizenship to those born to either Egyptian fathers or
mothers. The law previously conferred citizenship only on those born to
Egyptian fathers.
At year's end the Supreme Judicial Council had not ruled on the
2006 cases of two female attorneys, Fatma Lashin and Amany Talaat, who
had challenged the government's refusal to appoint them as public
prosecutors. A variety of government offices promoted women's legal
rights. The Ministry of Social Solidarity operated more than 150 family
counseling bureaus nationwide to provide legal and medical services.
The NCW proposed and advocated policies to promote women's empowerment
and designed development programs to benefit women. It also provided
assistance to women facing discrimination in employment and housing,
domestic violence, sexual assault, and child custody disputes. A number
of active women's rights groups also worked to reform family law,
educate women on their legal rights, promote literacy, and combat
female genital mutilation (FGM).
Children.--Citizenship is derived through a combination of the
principles of birth within the country's territory (jus soli) and from
one's parents (jus sanguinis). The government generally attempted to
register all births but faced resistance from citizens in some remote
areas of the country, such as the Sinai. The government worked with
NGOs in an attempt to address this problem.
FGM remained a problem, but the government addressed it seriously,
and FGM rates declined from previous years. According to government
information, between 2005 and December, it received 4,821 reports of
FGM cases from citizens. In 2008 the minister of family and population
stated publicly that FGM rates in Upper Egypt were 65 percent but did
not exceed 9 percent in northern governorates. In June 2008 the
People's Assembly criminalized FGM except in cases of medical
necessity, with penalties of three months to two years in prison or a
fine of up to 5,000 pounds (approximately $911).
The Ministry for Population and Families continued its campaign to
combat FGM through public outreach and prosecutions. The ministry
partnered in these efforts with NGOs, the Justice Ministry, and the
public prosecutor. In cooperation with the ministry's public outreach,
which included renunciation ceremonies, the ministry made announcements
through the year that certain villages were FGM-free.
Although reliable data were lacking, several NGOs, including the
Hope Village Society, the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, and the
Alliance for Arab Women, reported that child marriages, including
temporary marriages intended to mask prostitution, were a significant
problem. In June 2008, as part of the Child Law amendments, the
government raised the legal age of marriage from 16 to 18. The
amendments also allow the mother of a child whose father is unknown to
receive a birth certificate for the child under the mother's name.
On May 12, an Alexandria court, using the Child Law's
antitrafficking provisions and other criminal laws, convicted two
Egyptian men of forcing eight street children into prostitution. The
court sentenced Mohammed Kamel Al-Zangeery to life imprisonment with
labor and Ramadan Abdel Salaam El-Sayed to 15 years in prison with
labor. On October 19 and 22, a court in the Delta Governorate of
Gharbeya sentenced two marriage registrars to two years in prison for
registering the marriages of hundreds of girls younger than 18.
According to press reports, many of the marriages involved short-term
relationships between underage Egyptian girls and male tourists.
The Ministry of Social Solidarity offered shelters for street
children, but many children chose not to seek refuge there. The
shelters closed at night, forcing the children back onto the street.
The Ministry for Population and Families offered a hotline for street
children and abused children and in January established a day shelter
to rehabilitate male street children that also provided literacy
training, computer training, and health care.
On January 26, the Tanta Criminal Court upheld the death sentences
of Ramadan Abdel Rahman Mansour and Farrag Mahmoud Al Sayed and the 18-
to 45-year prison sentences of four others for kidnapping, deceiving,
molesting, and murdering 24 street children in 2006. At year's end the
death sentences had not been carried out.
Trafficking in Persons.--There is no comprehensive law prohibiting
trafficking in persons. However, other laws, such as the labor code and
the 2008 child law amendments, were used to prosecute traffickers. The
government prosecuted trafficking-related cases under laws prohibiting
commercial sexual exploitation, with a maximum penalty of seven years'
imprisonment and forced labor. Under the child law amendments, an
individual who sells, buys, or offers a child for sale may be sentenced
to at least five years' imprisonment and fined as much as 200,000
pounds ($36,500).
The country was a source, transit point, and destination for women
and children trafficked primarily for the purposes of forced labor and
sexual exploitation. The ECWR reported that Egyptian women and girls
were sexually exploited through ``temporary marriages'' to tourists
from the Persian Gulf region. Traffickers brought East European women
through the country to Israel for sexual exploitation. Children were
trafficked from rural areas in the country for work as domestic
servants or laborers in agriculture. Street children--both boys and
girls--were at high risk for being trafficked into prostitution and
forced begging. Young female Sudanese refugees, including those under
18, may be coerced into prostitution in Cairo's nightclubs by family
members or Sudanese gang members.
Marriage brokers were known to facilitate some ``temporary
marriages.'' Organized crime groups usually facilitated East European
women's transit through the country to Israel. Local gangs were often
responsible for exploitation of street children.
In May the government prosecuted two men under the 2008 Child Law
amendments and the antiprostitution law for forcing eight street
children into prostitution. One defendant received a sentence of life
imprisonment, and the other received an eight-year sentence. In October
the government prosecuted two marriage registrars for registering the
marriages of hundreds of underage girls, also in violation of the 2008
Child Law amendments. Courts convicted both and sentenced them to
prison.
Sixteen government agencies were involved in antitrafficking
efforts under the auspices of the National Coordinating Committee to
Combat and Prevent Trafficking in Persons, chaired by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs deputy assistant minister for human rights and
international social affairs.
The government continued to lack a formal victim identification
program, and there were reports that police at times harassed and
arrested street children for allegedly violating prostitution or other
laws, rather than treating them as victims. The government offered
minimal protection services to victims during the year. It continued to
operate a child abuse hotline and launched a new hotline in August to
provide family consultations and investigate child-related trafficking
complaints, especially those involving child marriages. There was no
evidence of government officials participating in or condoning
trafficking.
The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) formed a
new antitrafficking unit to provide services and training and held
several workshops during the year. In February the NCCM released a
manual to train parents, doctors, and nurses on how to protect newborn
babies from being kidnapped from hospitals and subjected to
trafficking.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides that all businesses
must designate 5 percent of their positions for persons with physical
or mental disabilities; however, there are no laws prohibiting
discrimination against persons with disabilities in education, access
to health care, or the provision of other state services, nor are there
laws mandating access to buildings or transportation. Widespread
societal discrimination continued against persons with disabilities,
particularly mental disabilities, resulting in a lack of acceptance
into mainstream society. Government-run treatment centers for persons
with disabilities, especially children, were poor.
On April 26, the People's Assembly passed the Law for the Care of
Mental Patients, which provides a bill of rights for patients in mental
health facilities, increases safeguards on the involuntary admission of
patients to mental health facilities, and prohibits solitary
confinement or physical restrictions patients except in exceptional
cases.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Solidarity
share responsibility for protecting rights of persons with
disabilities. Persons with disabilities rode government-owned mass
transit buses free of charge, received special subsidies to purchase
household products, wheelchairs, and prosthetic devices. Persons with
disabilities also received expeditious approval for the installation of
new telephone lines and received reductions on customs duties for
specially equipped private vehicles. The government also worked closely
with UN agencies and other international aid donors to design job-
training programs for persons with disabilities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Although the law does not
explicitly criminalize homosexual acts, in at least one case, police
targeted homosexual persons and arrested them on charges of debauchery.
On January 2, police arrested 10 men in Cairo on charges of debauchery.
Authorities forced the men to undergo HIV tests and anal examinations
in detention. Following a May 27 court order, police released the men
on May 30 and 31. Homosexual persons faced significant social stigma in
society and in the workplace.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV-positive
individuals faced significant social stigma in society and in the
workplace.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law permits workers to form
unions, with several significant restrictions. All unions are required
to join one of the 23 officially recognized industrial federations to
operate, and these federations must affiliate with the government-
linked Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) to be legally recognized.
In addition a minimum of 50 employees are required to form a union. In
practice there was minimal private-sector union representation, and
private-sector union representation was most often found in privatized,
formerly state-owned factories.
According to the Land Center for Human Rights, ETUF represented
approximately 4.5 million workers. ETUF influenced nomination and
election procedures for trade union officers and permitted public
authorities to intervene in union financial activities. State-owned
enterprises employed most union members, who made up approximately one-
quarter of the labor force.
Workers seeking to form unions outside of the legal framework may
face dismissal. Nevertheless, in December 2008 the country's 52,000
public-sector real estate tax collectors announced the formation of the
Real Estate Tax Collectors Authority (RETA) Union and refused to join
the ETUF. On April 22, the independent RETA presented its application
for registration to the Ministry of Manpower and Migration (MOMM). The
registration was not rejected, but the RETA union has uncertain legal
standing because it has not been formally recognized by the ETUF. ETUF
leadership filed a complaint with the public prosecutor against the
RETA union president in September. The public prosecutor interviewed
the president but took no further action.
The 2003 Unified Labor Law permits peaceful strikes, but only after
an extended negotiation process and only if the strike is announced in
advance and approved by a general trade union affiliated with ETUF. In
practice strikes were rarely, if ever, approved. According to credible
workers' rights NGOs, there were 117 strikes as of October 30 and an
additional 170 actions that did not involve a work stoppage; a general
trade union, the General Union of Textile Workers, approved only one
strike. Police rarely intervened, and intervention generally was
limited to containing protests and demonstrations to the immediate
vicinity of the workplace. To call a strike, the trade union must
notify the employer and concerned administrative authority at least 10
days in advance, giving the reason for the strike and the date it would
commence. Prior to this formal notification, approval from two-thirds
majority of the ETUF-member general trade union is necessary. The law
prohibits strikes while collective bargaining agreements are in force
or during the mediation and arbitration process. The law also prohibits
strikes in a lengthy list of ``strategic or vital'' entities, at which
the interruption of work could result in disturbance of national
security or basic services. Despite these prohibitions, strikes and
work stoppages occurred throughout the country.
Strikes were largely peaceful, despite the presence of government
security forces at larger strikes. The majority of high-profile strikes
occurred in the textile industry. With some notable exceptions, the
government generally did not interfere in strikes in either the public
or private sector, provided they did not become violent and strikers'
demands were focused on economic issues.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for collective bargaining; however, it requires tripartite
negotiations, including the employer, workers, and the government's
MOMM. In practice the requirement for tripartite negotiations was
seldom followed, and workers negotiated directly with employers. In a
few cases of strikes in the private sector, the government reportedly
involved itself in negotiations. In many cases, such as the large
state-owned textile factories in Mahalla, the government is the
employer.
The law does not permit antiunion discrimination; however, there
were reports that such discrimination occurred in practice and that
enforcement efforts were ineffective.
Labor law and practice were the same in the approximately 10
existing export processing zones (EPZs) as in the rest of the country.
The International Trade Union Confederation reported that private
sector workers throughout the country, including in special economic
zones, complained of poor working conditions and of being required to
sign letters of resignation before accepting employment to facilitate
their being dismissed at a later date.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children. Such
practices were reportedly rare. There were NGO reports that women were
sexually exploited through ``temporary marriages'' to tourists from the
Persian Gulf (see section 6).
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits children younger than 17 from working in most sectors. In
some cases employers abused, overworked, and generally endangered
working children. The law limits the type and conditions of work a
child younger than 18 may perform. In nonagricultural work the minimum
age for employment is 15. Provincial governors, with the approval of
the minister of education, may authorize seasonal work for children who
are 13 and 14, provided that duties are not hazardous and do not
interfere with schooling. Children are prohibited from working for more
than six hours per day, and one or more breaks totaling at least one
hour must be included. Several other restrictions apply to children.
They may not work overtime, during their weekly day(s) off, between 7
p.m. and 7 a.m., or on official holidays. Children are also prohibited
from working for more than four hours without a break. Children younger
than 16 are prohibited from working in 44 hazardous industries,
including agricultural work involving the use of pesticides. A person
convicted of forcing children below the minimum age to work may face a
prison sentence of three to six months.
According to recent UN, NGO, and American University in Cairo
estimates, between 2.7 million and 5.5 million children worked in the
country, 70 to 80 percent in agriculture. Children also worked in light
industry, on construction sites, and in service businesses such as auto
repair shops. Press reports continued to focus attention on the
estimated 2,000 to 3,000 children working in stone quarries in Minya
and hundreds of children working in small brick factories in the Arab
Jbour area. According to NGO reports, street children in were at risk
of being sexually exploited or forced to beg.
The MOMM, working with the NCCM and the MOI, generally enforced
child labor laws in state-owned enterprises through labor inspections
and supervision of factory management, but enforcement in the informal
sector was spotty. When offenders were prosecuted, the fines imposed
were often as low as 500 pounds ($91) and thus had questionable
deterrent effect. According to the independent Hisham Mubarak Center,
the government's efforts to combat child labor in the informal sector
were ineffective. The government made progress toward eliminating the
worst forms of child labor, pursuant to the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child; however, challenges remained. The NCCM worked during the
year to provide working children with social security safeguards and
reduce school dropout rates by providing families with alternative
sources of income.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The government did not set a
private-sector minimum wage, but the private sector generally followed
public-sector compensation practices, including the public-sector
minimum wage, which frequently did not provide a decent standard of
living. Base pay commonly was supplemented by a complex system of
fringe benefits and bonuses that could double or triple a worker's base
pay.
The National Council of Wages determined working hours for
government and public-sector employees, but there were no standards for
the private sector. The law stipulates that the maximum workweek is 48
hours. Most private-sector employees worked five days per week, usually
Sunday to Thursday. Overtime for hours worked beyond 36 hours per week
is payable at the rate of 35 percent extra for daylight hours and 70
percent extra for work performed at night. The premium for work on rest
days is 100 percent, and workers are supposed to receive 200 percent
for work on national holidays. The labor law permits overtime work in
limited circumstances; the law was enforced through labor inspections.
The Ministry of Labor sets and enforces worker health and safety
standards, which also apply in the EPZs; enforcement and inspections
were uneven. The law prohibits employers from maintaining hazardous
working conditions, and workers have the right to remove themselves
from hazardous conditions without risking loss of employment.
There were reports of employer abuse of undocumented workers,
especially domestic workers. A number of private sector employers were
prosecuted during the year for abuse of domestic workers, but many
claims of abuse were unsubstantiated because undocumented workers were
reluctant to make their identities public.
__________
IRAN
The Islamic Republic of Iran, with a population of approximately
65.8 million, is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shia
Muslim clergy dominate the key power structures.\1\ Government
legitimacy is based on the twin pillars of popular sovereignty--albeit
restricted--and the rule of the supreme leader of the Islamic
Revolution. The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was not
directly elected but chosen by a directly elected body of religious
leaders, the Assembly of Experts, in 1989. Khamenei's writ dominated
the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. He
directly controlled the armed forces and indirectly controlled internal
security forces, the judiciary, and other key institutions. The
legislative branch is the popularly elected 290-seat Islamic
Consultative Assembly, or Majles. The unelected 12-member Guardian
Council reviewed all legislation the Majles passed to ensure adherence
to Islamic and constitutional principles and also screened presidential
and Majles candidates for eligibility. On June 12, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad
was reelected president in a multiparty election that many Iranians
considered neither free nor fair. Due to lack of independent
international election monitors, international organizations could not
verify the results. The final vote tallies remained disputed at year's
end. Civilian authorities did not fully maintain effective control of
security forces.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The United States does not have an embassy in Iran. This report
draws heavily on non-U.S. Government sources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The government's poor human rights record degenerated during the
year, particularly after the disputed June presidential elections. The
government severely limited citizens' right to peacefully change their
government through free and fair elections. The government executed
numerous persons for criminal convictions as juveniles and after unfair
trials. Security forces were implicated in custodial deaths and the
killings of election protesters and committed other acts of politically
motivated violence, including torture, beatings, and rape. The
government administered severe officially sanctioned punishments,
including death by stoning, amputation, and flogging. Vigilante groups
with ties to the government committed acts of violence. Prison
conditions remained poor. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and
detained individuals, often holding them incommunicado. Authorities
held political prisoners and intensified a crackdown against women's
rights reformers, ethnic minority rights activists, student activists,
and religious minorities. There was a lack of judicial independence and
of fair public trials. The government severely restricted the right to
privacy and civil liberties, including freedoms of speech and the
press, assembly, association, and movement; it placed severe
restrictions on freedom of religion. Official corruption and a lack of
government transparency persisted. Violence and legal and societal
discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities, and
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons; trafficking in
persons; and incitement to anti-Semitism remained problems. The
government severely restricted workers' rights, including the right to
organize and bargain collectively, and arrested numerous union
organizers. Child labor remained a serious problem. On November 20, for
the seventh consecutive year, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a
resolution on Iran expressing concern about the country's ``serious,
ongoing, and recurring human rights violations.''
Following the June 13 announcement of President Ahmadi-Nejad's
reelection, hundreds of thousands of citizens took to the streets to
protest. Police and the paramilitary Basij violently suppressed
demonstrations. The official death count was 37, but opposition groups
reported approximately 70 individuals died, and human rights
organizations suggested as many as 200. In August the judiciary
estimated that authorities detained approximately 4,000 persons.
Authorities continued to arrest numerous political activists throughout
the rest of the year. On August 5, with many of those arrested charged
with fomenting a ``velvet revolution,'' the head of the national
security forces, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, said in an interview that the
government was holding individuals it considered the most dangerous
offenders in Kahrizak Prison, and the rest were taken to Tehran's Evin
Prison. The Green Movement, the opposition that formed from many
disparate groups to protest the election results, organized
demonstrations throughout the country on various dates after the
election, including Qods Day (September 18), the anniversary of the
U.S. Embassy seizure (November 4), Students' Day (December 7), Grand
Ayatollah Montazeri's funeral (December 21), and Ashura (December 27).
During the December 27 protests, at least eight civilians, including
the nephew of presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, died in
confrontations with authorities. Authorities responded to all the
demonstrations with raids on opposition activists' offices. Police
reportedly arrested approximately 300 protesters and 10 opposition
leaders in relation to the December 27 demonstrations alone.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the government and its agents committed multiple acts of arbitrary
or unlawful killings during the year. During the June election
protests, scores of protesters and nonprotesting bystanders were
killed, especially during antigovernment rallies; government sources
reported the death toll at 37, opposition groups reported approximately
70 individuals died, and human rights organizations suggested as many
as 200.
On June 15, security forces shot Sohrab Arabi in the chest and
abducted him during an antigovernment demonstration. On June 19,
according to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) the International
Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI), Arabi's body arrived at the
coroner's office. It was unclear whether Arabi died immediately from
the gunshot wound or if he was first taken to a hospital for treatment.
In the days following his abduction and death, Arabi's case became
widely publicized on the Internet, and he became a symbolic figure for
the opposition.
Also on June 15, security forces arrested 47-year-old Behzad
Mohajer for his participation in a protest march, according to Iran
Human Rights Voice (IHRV). On August 1, the coroner's office returned
his body to his family. In photos authorities showed to Mohajer's
sister, the body appeared to have bullet holes in the chest.
On June 20, according to eyewitnesses, Basij militia killed Neda
Agha-Soltan in Tehran. Although she was in close proximity to an
antigovernment demonstration at the time of the shooting, her fiance'
and others report that she was not participating in the demonstration.
The video of her death appeared on YouTube and became a symbol of the
opposition movement. In the wake of their children's death, Neda Agha-
Soltan and Sohrab Arabi's mothers joined a group of women calling
themselves the Mourning Mothers, who held regular evening vigils on
Saturdays in Laleh Park during the year. According to Amnesty
International (AI) and the ICHRI, authorities repeatedly broke up the
vigil's protests, and on December 5, police arrested 15 members of the
group. By year's end all had been released on bail.
Also on June 20, security forces reportedly beat Mahmud Raisi
Najafi when he was caught up in a crowd fleeing unspecified armed
forces on his way home from work. On June 28, he died of his injuries.
Also on June 20, Basij forces shot and killed Ashkan Sohrabi, who
was participating in street protests in Tehran. He was reportedly shot
three times in the chest.
In late June Basij militia severely beat and arrested Amir Mirza.
He was subsequently sent to prison where security forces allegedly
tortured and beat him for three days. He died a few days later in
detention due to complications involving internal bleeding and
meningitis. Local human rights groups reported that authorities denied
him medical care.
On June 28, according to AI and the ICHRI, Basij forces arrested
Taraneh Mousavi when she was on her way to a demonstration at Ghoba
mosque. Reports indicated authorities detained her for five hours, and
then she disappeared. AI and the ICHRI reported an allegation that
police raped and tortured Mousavi. On July 16, authorities reportedly
informed her parents that they could pick up a burned body resembling
their daughter. According to AI, authorities subsequently took her
mother into protective custody.
On July 1, according to IHRV, plainclothes security forces arrested
Mohammad Naderipour, chairman of the student chapter in Mousavi's
election campaign, in the city of Sirjan. Forty-eight hours later, his
body was found inside his vehicle. Local human rights groups reported
Naderipour's stereo and wallet had been left untouched in the car. The
coroner determined that Naderipour's death was the result of ``a blow
by a blunt object to the back of the head.'' Authorities reportedly
demanded the family bury his body immediately; IHRV reported that
authorities wished to avoid further investigation into the causes of
Naderipour's death.
On July 9, security forces arrested university students Amir
Javadifar, Mohammed Kamrani, and Mohsen Rouhalamini during protests. On
July 16, Mohammed Kamrani died in Mehr Hospital after being detained at
Kahrizak Prison. Authorities labeled the cause of death as meningitis,
but the family told the press that his body bore the marks of severe
beating. On July 23, Rouhalamini, the son of Abdelhossein Rouhalamini,
an advisor to conservative presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei, died
under suspicious circumstances in detention. His father spoke publicly
about seeing bruises on his son's body when he picked the body up from
the hospital. On July 25, police contacted Javadifar's father and
instructed him to pick up the body of his son from the coroner's office
in Kahrizak Prison. Authorities claimed he died from a preexisting
condition, but medical reports show he had been beaten, had several
broken bones, and his toenails had been pulled out. On July 28, the
supreme leader ordered Kahrizak Prison closed (see section 1.c.). On
December 20, an investigatory committee of the judiciary confirmed
publicly that prison officials in Kahrizak Prison beat to death
Kamrani, Rouhalamini, and Javadifar, and it charged 12 prison officials
of various crimes, including murder.
On July 27, former student activist Alireza Davoudi died in a
psychological hospital under suspicious circumstances. Davoudi served
as the Isfahan spokesman for Students for Equality and Freedom in Iran
(SEF) and was editor of a student publication until he was expelled
from Isfahan University reportedly for his political activities. On
February 12, Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) officers
allegedly attacked Davoudi in his home in Isfahan and took him into
custody, where he reportedly underwent torture, including cigarette
burns, beatings, and hanging from the ceiling for three days. On April
25, authorities released him on bail awaiting trial, but his family
hospitalized him soon afterward to help him with psychological problems
stemming from the alleged torture. His family said officials warned
them not to publicize his funeral.
In September security forces arrested Saeedeh Pouraghaee for
chanting ``Allahu Akbar'' (``God is the greatest'') from the rooftop of
her home in Tehran. Before the 1979 revolution, protesters used this
chant to express resistance to the Shah's regime; during the year
protesters used the chant to express opposition to the current
government, which treated such chants as support for the opposition and
therefore considered it a crime. Two days after Saeedeh's arrest,
authorities summoned her mother to identify and claim her daughter's
body. According to Saeedeh's family, the body had been partially burned
to hide evidence of rape and torture.
On November 10, Ramin Pourandarjani, a physician who worked at
Kahrizak Prison, died under suspicious circumstances. Earlier in the
year, Pourandarjani had testified to a parliamentary committee that
authorities told him to list meningitis as the cause of death for
Mohsen Rouhalamini (see above), whom Pourandarjani claimed actually
died as a result of injuries inflicted during torture. Officials gave
conflicting reports of the cause of Pourandarjani's death, including a
heart attack and an auto accident, before police chief Ismail Ahmadi
Moghaddam announced that Pourandarjani had committed suicide by eating
a salad laced with heart medication, traces of which were found in his
blood, and that a suicide note explained he feared charges over his
alleged failure to give detainees adequate medical treatment. The
conflicting reports regarding the cause of death resulted in opposition
accusations that authorities had poisoned the 26-year-old doctor to
silence him about what he had witnessed at the prison.
The government made only limited attempts to investigate
allegations of abuses. For instance, despite numerous reports of death
and torture of arrested prisoners, the government launched
investigations only after the death of Mohsen Rouhalamini, the son of a
conservative politician.
On December 10, AI reported an allegation that 44 bodies were
buried in anonymous graves after the election. Cemetery officials said
the deceased were unidentified drug abusers, but news reports alleged
that some of the coroner reports were falsified.
There were no developments in the 2008 cases of suspicious deaths
in government custody of Ebrahim Lotfallahi, Kaveh Azizpour, Bahman
Rigi, ``Mohammed,'' or Ali Sadeqi; or the 2007 deaths of 11-year-old
Roya Sarani or Zahra Bani Ameri (also known as Zahra Bani Yaghoub). The
government did not release any reports or issue any charges that would
indicate an investigation into any of the preceding incidents.
On December 2, Canadian courts heard arguments in a civil lawsuit
against the Iranian government in the 2003 death of Zahra Kazemi, a
dual Iranian-Canadian citizen. The Kazemi family was suing the
government, including Supreme Leader Khamenei, Tehran prosecutor Saeed
Mortazavi, and prison official Mohammad Bakhshi, for 17 million
Canadian dollars ($16.2 million). The Iranian government claimed
immunity based on Canada's State Immunity Act. Kazemi, a
photojournalist arrested for taking pictures outside Evin Prison during
a student-led protest, died in custody after security forces allegedly
tortured her.
According to international press reports, authorities executed
approximately 250 individuals during the year after trials that were
conducted in secret or that did not adhere to basic principles of due
process. Exiles and human rights monitors alleged that many persons
supposedly executed for criminal offenses such as narcotics trafficking
were actually political dissidents. The law criminalizes dissent and
applies the death penalty to offenses such as apostasy (conversion from
Islam), ``attempts against the security of the state,'' ``outrage
against high-ranking officials,'' ``enemy of god,'' and ``insults
against the memory of Imam Khomeini and against the supreme leader of
the Islamic Republic.'' Public executions continued throughout the
year; AI reported that the government executed at least 14 persons in
public during the year.
On May 28, authorities hanged three Baluch men in public less than
48 hours after the People's Resistance Movement of Iran (also known as
Jondollah) bombed a crowded mosque during a worship service.
On November 11, according to the ICHRI, prison officials hanged
Ehsan Fattahian, reportedly a member of a Kurdish Marxist opposition
group, for acting against national security. Fattahian originally faced
a prison term of 10 years, but an appeals court increased the sentence
and ordered him executed. The ICHRI claimed the execution occurred
without due process and without ample evidence.
There was no further information available about the approximately
50 detainees executed in Sistan va Baluchistan province in 2007 after
reportedly unfair trials for terrorist attacks against government
officials, nor was there information about the status of seven Ahvazi
Arabs sentenced to death after allegedly unfair trials in Khuzestan
province.
The government executed individuals for crimes committed when they
were minors despite an October 2008 judicial directive banning the
practice. During the year the government executed approximately five
individuals who committed crimes as minors. As of October, according to
Iranian human rights lawyers, at least 130 juvenile offenders were on
death row, many for offenses such as homosexual conduct, apostasy, or
acts incompatible with chastity.
On January 21, the government executed Molla Gol Hassan, an Afghan
national convicted of the 2004 murder of a person known only as
Fakhreddin; he was 17 when he allegedly committed the crime.
On May 1, the government executed Delara Darabi, age 22, for a
murder she allegedly committed during a robbery when she was 17; she
later said she confessed to protect her boyfriend, who she said was the
actual killer. Authorities did not inform her lawyer that her execution
was being carried out despite a two-month stay of execution granted by
the head of the judiciary to allow for further legal review and a legal
requirement that a defendant's lawyer be given 48 hours' notice of an
execution. Darabi's family reportedly learned she was to be executed
when her executioner allowed her to call them immediately before her
hanging.
On October 11, the government executed Behnoud Shojaii in Evin
Prison for killing another boy in 2005 when he was 17, reportedly
during a street fight involving a dozen youths. According to AI,
Shojaii had no legal representation at his trial, and his family could
not afford to pay the 6.2 billion rials ($625,000) in diyeh, or blood
money, that the victim's family demanded in return for pardoning him.
While Shojaii was on death row, three individuals raised money for the
diyeh and campaigned for his release; according to local human rights
organizations, the judiciary froze the diyeh account and threatened to
arrest the individuals.
On December 17, authorities reportedly hanged Mosleh Zamani, a 23-
year-old Kurd, at Dizel Abad Prison for having had sexual relations
outside wedlock with his girlfriend when he was 17.
Adultery remained punishable by death by stoning, and on January
11, according to AI, judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said a 2002
directive suspending executions by stoning had no legal weight and
could be ignored. The law provides that a victim of stoning is allowed
to go free if he or she escapes. It is much harder for women to escape,
as they are buried to their necks, whereas men are buried only to their
waists. In December 2008 authorities in Mashhad stoned three men
convicted of adultery; two died and the third, an Afghan citizen, was
severely wounded but escaped. On March 5, according to AI, Vali Azad,
convicted of adultery, was secretly stoned to death in Lakan Prison in
Rasht. According to several sources, five to nine persons were at
imminent risk for death by stoning at year's end.
b. Disappearance.--There was an increase in reports of politically
motivated abductions during the year. Plainclothes officers or security
officials often seized journalists and activists without warning and
detained them incommunicado for several days or longer before
permitting them to contact family members (see section 1.d.). The ICHRI
issued a report on July 8 noting that arbitrary detention and
disappearances were ``widespread.'' Families of executed prisoners did
not always receive notification of their deaths (see section 1.a.).
Human rights groups reported numerous disappearances related to the
protests during the year.
On July 7, unidentified persons arrested Fayzolah Arabsorkhi, a
member of the central body of the reformist Islamic Revolution
Mujahedin Organization and former deputy minister of commerce. The
individuals did not present a warrant or identify themselves as police.
Arabsorkhi remained missing at year's end.
The Iranian-American Jewish Federation reported that 11 Jewish men
who disappeared in 1994 and 1997 remained missing. In 2007 witnesses
claimed they saw some of the men in Evin Prison.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit torture, but there were
numerous credible reports that security forces and prison personnel
tortured detainees and prisoners, especially those arrested after the
June election. In Tehran alone, 37 detained protesters, male and
female, claimed prison or security officials had raped them. Major
human rights and news organizations reported ``systematic'' torture of
individuals after the election.
Common methods of torture and abuse in prisons included prolonged
solitary confinement with extreme sensory deprivation (sometimes called
``white torture''), beatings, rape and sexual humiliation, long
confinement in contorted positions, kicking detainees with military
boots, hanging detainees by the arms and legs, threats of execution,
burning with cigarettes, pulling out toenails, sleep deprivation, and
severe and repeated beatings with cables or other instruments on the
back and on the soles of the feet. Reported practices also included
wetting prisoners before beating them with electric cables, to
intensify the abuse. Prisoners also reported beatings on the ears,
inducing partial or complete deafness; blows in the area around the
eyes, leading to partial or complete blindness; and the use of poison
to induce illness.
Some prison facilities, including Evin Prison in Tehran, were
notorious for cruel and prolonged torture of political opponents of the
government. Authorities also maintained ``unofficial'' secret prisons
and detention centers outside the national prison system where abuse
reportedly occurred. The government reportedly used white torture
especially on political prisoners, often in detention centers outside
the control of prison authorities, including Section 209 of Evin
Prison.
On June 15, according to the ICHRI, authorities arrested Saeed
Hajjarian, a former presidential advisor and prominent journalist.
During his incommunicado detention at Evin Prison, prison authorities
reportedly interrogated Hajjarian in direct sunlight at high
temperatures and then doused him with ice water, causing him to have
heart palpitations. Since sustaining a spinal cord injury in an
assassination attempt in 2000, Hajjarian has used a wheelchair and
required a number of medications; according to the ICHRI, authorities
denied him medication and allegedly give him psychotropic drugs to
weaken his mental state. On September 30, authorities released
Hajjarian after his appearance in the ``show trials'' (see section
1.e.). On October 17, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced
Hajjarian to a five-year suspended sentence for inciting postelection
unrest.
During a week of detention that began June 22, security personnel
reportedly sexually assaulted Ibrahim Sharifi, who had been arrested
for participating in antigovernment demonstrations. Sharifi went to
authorities to lodge a complaint, but they initially refused to launch
an investigation to determine the veracity of his allegations. On
August 19, former presidential candidate and head of the National Trust
Party Mehdi Karoubi and a high-ranking judiciary official took
Sharifi's testimony. Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi also requested
an interview with Sharifi. On August 20, Mortazavi's deputy interviewed
Sharifi, but rather than trying to collect details of Sharifi's
experience, he reportedly focused on gathering information to support
the assertion that Karoubi was paying Sharifi to make false claims of
torture and rape. On August 23, an unidentified man Sharifi suspected
of being a government agent warned him against testifying to a
parliamentary committee about his allegations of abuse.
On July 30, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), authorities
arrested Maryam Saberi during the commemoration of the 40th day after
the death of Neda Agha-Soltan (see section 1.a.). Saberi was arrested
after her photo appeared on a Web site connected to the Iran
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that posted pictures of protesters and
asked viewers to identify persons in the photos for arrest. According
to Saberi, prison guards raped her four times before they released her
on August 12.
On July 26, according to HRW, authorities arrested Ebrahim Mehtari,
a computer science student and political activist, whom they released
on August 1. On August 19, several officers Mehtari believed to be IRGC
members abducted him from his workplace and transferred him to a
location in eastern Tehran. Mehtari told HRW that his jailers beat him
severely and repeatedly and sodomized him with a baton or stick during
his detention. On August 24, his captors reportedly dropped him on a
street in Tehran semiconscious, bleeding, and with his hands and feet
tied; passers-by found him and took him to a hospital. The medical
examiner's office, which reports to the judiciary, examined Mehtari the
next day. The report described in detail the extent of his injuries.
When the medical examiner's office learned Mehtari had just been
released from detention, officials tried to destroy the report, but
Mehtari's father was able to make a copy of it while visiting his son
in the hospital.
Ahvazi Arabs also alleged that authorities tortured and raped
community activists during the year (see section 6, Minorities).
There were no updates in the October 2008 case of Peyman Fatahi,
hospitalized after security officials reportedly beat him severely
during questioning related to his association with the Ale-Yasin
Community, a religious society.
At year's end the government had not made public the results of its
reported investigation into the 2007 torture of three student activists
in Evin Prison, nor had it responded to HRW's April 2008 call to
investigate torture allegations by student activists and SEF members
Behrooz Karimizadh, Peyman Piran, Ali Kantouri, and Majid Pourmajid.
Authorities had arrested the four in 2007 and released them in 2008--
Karmizadh and Pourmajid in April, Piran in May, and Kantouri in
October.
Some judicially sanctioned corporal punishment constituted cruel
and inhuman punishment, including amputation for multiple theft
offenses and lashings and execution by stoning for adultery. On
November 9, international press reported that the head of the Criminal
Investigation Unit called on judges to rely more heavily on Islamic law
for sentencing and advocated the use of amputations. In January 2008
authorities in Sistan va Baluchistan province amputated the right hands
and left feet of five men convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping. In
December 2008, according to domestic press reports, prison authorities
amputated the hand of a man convicted of robbery.
During the year the government initiated limited investigations
into reports of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or
punishment; according to AI, these investigations focused more on
covering up abuses than revealing the truth or punishing those believed
responsible.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
poor. Many prisoners were held in solitary confinement or were denied
adequate food or medical care as a way to force confessions.
Overcrowding was a significant problem. Numerous prisoners complained
that authorities intentionally exposed them to extreme cold for
prolonged periods and said they lacked access to medical care in
prison.
On February 6, Amir Hossein Heshmat Saran, a political prisoner in
Karaj, died under suspicious circumstances. In an interview with the
media, his lawyer claimed his death was the result of poor prison
conditions, specifically insufficient medical care. The medical
specialist who treated Saran told Saran's wife her husband had a brain
hemorrhage and a lung infection that had spread throughout his body.
Saran was serving an eight-year sentence imposed in 2004 for
establishing the United National Front political party.
On March 18, blogger Omid Reza Mirsayafi died in Evin Prison,
reportedly due to an overdose of sedatives; the ICHRI alleged neglect
(see section 2.a., Internet Freedom).
On November 8, a domestic human rights Web site reported that
political prisoner Mansour Radpour was suffering from severe gastric
and kidney ailments and had been denied medical treatment in Ward 4 of
Gohardasht Prison near Karaj. In 2007 Radpour was convicted of
supporting terrorist organization Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) and
sentenced to three years' imprisonment.
At the end of July, Supreme Leader Khamenei ordered Kahrizak Prison
closed after detainees alleged abuse and inhumane conditions. The
prisoners were transferred to Evin Prison.
In September 2008 the UK-based International Center for Prison
Studies reported that more than 150,000 prisoners in the country
occupied facilities constructed to hold no more than 65,000 persons.
Human rights activists and international media reported cases of
political prisoners confined with violent felons. There were also
reports of juvenile offenders detained with adult offenders. Pretrial
detainees occasionally were held with convicted prisoners.
The government did not permit independent monitoring of prison
conditions by any outside groups, including UN groups or special
rapporteurs. On July 28, a parliamentary committee visited Evin Prison
to investigate conditions. At year's end its report had not been
published.
In 2007 the government granted foreign journalists a tour of Evin
Prison for the second time in two years. According to Agence France-
Presse (AFP), during the visit Tehran prison director Sohrab Soleimani
denied there were political prisoners in Evin Prison but told
journalists there were 15 prisoners in Evin on ``security'' charges.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, these practices significantly
increased during the year.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Several agencies share
responsibility for law enforcement and maintaining order, including the
MOIS, the Law Enforcement Forces under the Interior Ministry, and the
IRGC. The Basij and informal groups known as the Ansar-e Hizballah
(Helpers of the Party of God) were aligned with extreme conservative
members of the leadership and acted as vigilantes. On October 4, the
government announced the merger of the Basij into the IRGC ground
forces. While some Basij units received formal training, many units
were disorganized and undisciplined. During government led crackdowns
on demonstrations, the Basij were primarily responsible for the
violence against the protesters. The decentralized organization of the
Basij forces contributed to individual Basijis being less accountable
for their actions, further contributing to their excesses.
Corruption and impunity were problems. Regular and paramilitary
security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses, but
there were no transparent mechanisms to investigate security force
abuses and no reports of government actions to reform the abusers.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution and penal code require a warrant or subpoena for an arrest
and state that an arrested person must be informed of charges within 24
hours. Authorities rarely followed these procedures in practice.
Authorities held detainees, at times incommunicado, often for weeks or
months without charge or trial, frequently denying them prompt contact
with family or timely access to legal representation. In practice there
was neither a time limit for detention nor judicial means to determine
the legality of the detention. According to the law, the state is
obligated to provide indigent defendants with attorneys only for
certain types of crimes. The courts set prohibitively high bail, even
for lesser crimes, and in many cases courts did not set bail.
Authorities often compelled detainees and their families to submit
property deeds to post bail. Prisoners released on bail did not always
know how long their property would be retained or when their trials
would be held.
The intelligence arm of the IRGC reportedly conducted arrests
during the year. Additionally, security forces executed general
warrants to arrest protesters or those perceived as opponents of the
government. The use of these general warrants precluded the need for
individual warrants.
There were numerous reports of arbitrary and false arrests during
the year, and the trend dramatically accelerated in the aftermath of
the disputed June 12 election. On August 11, media reported the
judiciary estimated that authorities detained approximately 4,000
people in the aftermath of the election; officials claimed they
released 3,700 within a week. Human rights groups believed the number
of detainees was much higher.
On March 9, university security officers reportedly beat and
arrested Yasser Torkman, a student at Amir Kabir University and member
of the Islamic Students Organization in Tehran. University security
staff reportedly called Torkman to the university gates and told him he
was banned from classes and not permitted on campus grounds. According
to eyewitnesses, two security officers beat Torkman before taking him
away. On April 25, Torkman was released on bail of approximately two to
three billion rials ($200,000 to $300,000).
On June 13, according to AI, police arrested former government
spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh and seriously beat him, causing
injuries to his head and rib cage. After 74 days in incommunicado
detention without charge, he appeared at the August 1 ``show trial''
(see section 1.e.). On December 24, he was sentenced to six years in
prison for acting against state security, propagating lies against the
establishment, and possessing classified documents. While on a four-day
furlough during his sentencing proceedings, Ramezanzadeh told news
organizations he had spent 116 days in solitary confinement.
On June 25, plainclothes police officers arrested Mohammad
Mostafaei, the lawyer for approximately 25 juvenile offenders on death
row. On July 1, authorities released Mostafaei from Section 209 of Evin
Prison on bail of one billion rials ($100,000). Mostafaei was accused
of ``conspiring against state security'' and ``propaganda against the
system.''
On July 1, authorities arrested Clotilde Reiss, a French national
teaching assistant at Isfahan University, on charges of espionage. She
was present at the August ``show trials'' along with French Embassy
employee Nazak Afshar and British Embassy employee Hossein Rassam, who
were also charged with espionage and plotting to overthrow the
government. Reiss was released on bail and resided at the French
Embassy until her trial on December 23, which continued at year's end.
Rassam was sentenced to four years in prison. Afshar was released on
August 11.
On July 31, border guards detained three foreigners on the Iran-
Iraq border. Authorities interrogated them and held them in solitary
confinement for extended periods of time during the first months of
their detention. At year's end the three remained detained in Evin
Prison, without formal charges or contact with their families.
In November, according to the ICHRI, security forces arbitrarily
arrested scores of students throughout the country in an attempt to
stifle protests expected on Students' Day, December 7. For instance, on
November 3, media reported that authorities had arrested civil
activists and student leaders Hasan Asadi Zaidabadi and Mohammad
Sadeghi. At year's end their status and whereabouts were unknown.
During protests in December after the death of Grand Ayatollah
Montazeri and during Ashura celebrations, authorities detained 200 to
1,000 persons, according to the ICHRI and IHRV. At year's end many of
them remained in jail.
During the year, as in previous years, security forces arrested
several Iranian-American journalists and academics on charges of
espionage and ``acting against national security.'' Prison authorities
subjected the activists to harsh interrogation techniques and solitary
confinement and in most cases kept them in prison for several months.
At year's end two remained in prison.
There were no developments during the year in arbitrary arrest
cases from previous years.
At year's end Ebrahim Mirnehad remained in prison; authorities
sentenced him in September 2008 to five years' imprisonment on charges
of ``acting against national security'' and ``spreading propaganda,''
charges that, according to AI, stemmed from his public condemnation of
his brother's execution earlier in the year. Authorities reportedly did
not grant Mirnehad access to a lawyer and tortured him in custody.
In June 2008, according to AI, authorities arrested Arash and
Kamiar Alaei, physicians specializing in the prevention and treatment
of HIV/AIDS, and detained them for six months in Evin Prison without
charges or trial. In a summary trial in December 2008, the Alaei
brothers were found guilty of ``cooperating with an enemy government''
under article 508 of the Islamic Penal Code. Kamiar was sentenced to
three years' imprisonment and Arash to six years, and the two were
serving their sentences at year's end.
Pretrial detention was often arbitrarily lengthy, particularly in
cases involving alleged violations of national security laws.
Approximately 25 percent of prisoners held in state prison facilities
were reportedly pretrial detainees. According to HRW, a judge may
prolong detention at his discretion and pretrial detention often lasts
for months.
During the year the government reportedly continued to use house
arrest without due process to restrict the movement and communication
of senior Shia religious leaders whose views regarding political and
governance issues were at variance with the ruling orthodoxy; however,
there were no new confirmed instances of this practice during the year.
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, the most prominent cleric under such
restrictions, died on December 20.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides that the
judiciary be ``an independent power''; in practice the court system was
corrupt and subject to government and religious influence. After the
1979 revolution, the judicial system was revised to conform to an
Islamic canon based on the Koran, Sunna (the traditions of the
Prophet), and other Islamic sources. The constitution provides that the
head of the judiciary is a cleric chosen by the supreme leader. The
head of the Supreme Court and prosecutor general also must be clerics.
Traditional courts adjudicate civil and criminal offenses, and
Islamic revolutionary courts try offenses viewed as potentially
threatening to the Islamic Republic, including threats to internal or
external security, narcotics and economic crimes, and official
corruption. A special clerical court examines alleged transgressions
within the clerical establishment, and a military court investigates
crimes connected with military or security forces. A media court hears
complaints against publishers, editors, and writers, including Internet
cases. The Supreme Court has review authority over some cases,
including appeals of the death penalty.
Trial Procedures.--Many aspects of the prerevolutionary judicial
system survive in the civil and criminal courts. According to the
constitution and criminal procedure code, a defendant has the right to
a public trial, presumption of innocence, a lawyer of his or her
choice, and the right of appeal in most cases that involve major
penalties. These rights were not respected in practice. Panels of
judges adjudicate trials; there is no jury system in the civil and
criminal courts. In the media court, a council of 11 persons selected
by the court adjudicates cases. No defendants in any court had the
right to confront their accusers, nor were they granted access to
government-held evidence.
During the year human rights groups noted the absence of procedural
safeguards in criminal trials. On August 13, the UN special rapporteur
on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or
punishment, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders, and the vice chairperson of the working group on arbitrary
detention expressed ``serious concern'' about the situation of
detainees in the country. AI, HRW, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and
several other human rights groups specifically condemned trials in the
revolutionary courts for disregarding international standards of
fairness.
The government often charged individuals with vague crimes such as
``antirevolutionary behavior,'' ``moral corruption,'' and ``siding with
global arrogance.'' Prosecutors imposed strict penalties on government
critics for minor violations. For example, according to local news
reports, journalist Hengameh Shahidi received a six-year prison
sentence for disturbing traffic during postelection riots. Another
reformer, Behzad Nabavi, also received a six-year sentence for a
similar infraction. When postrevolutionary statutes did not address a
situation, the government advised judges to give precedence to their
knowledge and interpretation of Islamic law. The head of the judiciary
chose revolutionary court judges in part due to their ideological
commitment to the system. Secret or summary trials of only five
minutes' duration frequently occurred. Other trials were deliberately
designed to publicize a coerced confession.
On August 1, the Tehran Revolutionary Court convened the first of a
series of televised mass trials for more than 100 opposition
politicians and activists detained after the June 12 election; the
opposition referred to them as ``show trials.'' Among those on trial
were senior proreform politicians, lawyers, and journalists, including
former vice president Muhammad Ali Abtahi; journalist and former
interior ministry official Muhammad Atrianfar; intellectual and
prodemocracy activist Saeed Hajjarian; filmmaker and Newsweek reporter
Maziar Bahari (see section 2.a.); an Iranian-American academic; and
Mohsen Mirdamadi, the leader of the largest reformist party, the
Islamic Iran Participation Front. The prosecution accused the
defendants of fomenting a ``velvet revolution,'' acting against
national security, and having ties to British spies. Authorities did
not permit any of the defendants access to legal counsel prior to the
trial. Some of those charged read aloud ``confessions'' in which they
denounced former colleagues and declared there had been no fraud in the
election. There were allegations that several defendants, including
Abtahi and opposition candidate Mousavi supporters Mostafa Tajzadeh,
Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, and Mohsen Aminzadeh, underwent ``massive
interrogation'' in Evin Prison. There were also reports that
authorities tortured Hajjarian in detention (see section 1.c.).
At year's end human rights groups reported that 20 of the ``show
trial'' defendants had been sentenced to six months to 15 years in
prison; three unnamed individuals were sentenced to death. Some human
rights groups believed the decision by authorities not to release the
names of those sentenced to death was an intimidation tactic to deter
people from protesting. At year's end authorities had released a
limited number, including Bahari, Hajarian, and Abtahi, but most of the
show trial defendants remained in prison.
Opposition groups continued to question the legitimacy of the
special clerical court system. The clerical courts, which investigate
alleged offenses and crimes by clerics and which the supreme leader
directly oversees, are not provided for in the constitution, and they
operated outside the domain of the judiciary. According to a 2007 AI
report, defendants could be represented only by court-nominated clerics
who are not required to be qualified lawyers. According to the AI
report, in some cases a defendant was unable to find a cleric willing
to act as defense counsel and was tried without legal representation.
Critics alleged that clerical courts were used to prosecute clerics for
expressing controversial ideas and for participating in activities
outside the sphere of religion, such as journalism or reformist
political activities. For instance, in October, according to Tehran
chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi, the special clerical court
was preparing a case against leading opposition figure Mehdi Karoubi
for alleging that security officers raped detainees in the aftermath of
the June 12 election. At year's end there was no update on the
investigation, and no charges had been filed against Karoubi.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Statistics regarding the number
of citizens imprisoned for their political beliefs were not available,
but human rights activists estimated the number in the hundreds, not
including the approximately 4,000 to 5,000 persons detained in the
aftermath of the June election protests and the approximately 1,000
persons detained during and after the Ashura protests. Human rights
groups believed that approximately 200 persons remained in detention at
year's end. According to opposition press reports, the government
arrested, convicted, and executed persons on questionable criminal
charges, including drug trafficking, when their actual ``offenses''
were reportedly political. The government charged members of religious
minorities and others with crimes such as ``confronting the regime''
and apostasy and followed the same trial procedures as in cases of
threats to national security. During the year the government rounded up
students and political activists prior to demonstrations to prevent
them from organizing or participating in the events.
Authorities occasionally gave political prisoners suspended
sentences or released them for short or extended furloughs prior to
completion of their sentences, but they could order them to return to
prison at any time. Suspended sentences often were used to silence and
intimidate individuals. The government also controlled political
activists by temporarily suspending baseless court proceedings against
them, allowing authorities to rearrest them at any time, and it
attempted to intimidate activists by calling them in repeatedly for
questioning. Numerous observers considered Tehran public prosecutor,
Saeed Mortazavi, the most notorious persecutor of political dissidents
and critics. According to international press reports, Mortazavi was
put in charge of interrogations at Evin prison where most of the
postelection protesters were detained.
Authorities routinely held political prisoners in solitary
confinement for extended periods and denied them due process and access
to legal representation. Political prisoners were also at greater risk
of torture and abuse in detention. The government did not permit access
to political prisoners by international humanitarian organizations or
UN special rapporteurs.
The government imprisoned minority activists (see also section 6);
Kurdish human rights organizations reported that 16 Kurdish political
prisoners faced execution at year's end. The government also reportedly
held some persons in prison for years under charges of sympathizing
with outlawed groups such as the MEK.
On February 19, authorities arrested Shabnam Madadzadeh, a member
of the Islamic Association and deputy general secretary of the student
organization Tahkim Vahdat, along with her brother Farzad Madadzadeh.
Authorities accused her of disseminating propaganda against the state
and ``enmity with God.'' Despite her lawyer's protests against her
detention, the judge refused to assign a bond for her release, arguing
that she was a flight risk. As of mid-October, she was reportedly being
held in the women's general section of Evin Prison.
On March 14, police arrested Hesam Firouzi, a physician and
blogger, on the order of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, reportedly for
spreading news through his lawyer about the death of blogger Omid Reza
Mir Sayafi in Evin Prison. Firouzi was charged with acting against the
country's national security, distorting public opinion, distributing
lies, and giving refuge and medical treatment to political prisoners.
On January 6, the court sentenced Firouzi to 15 months in prison, and
he was serving his sentence at year's end.
On June 16, authorities arrested without a warrant Abdolfattah
Soltani, a prominent human rights lawyer and spokesman for the NGO
Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC). Authorities gave no reason for
the arrest but held him for 72 days, including 17 days in solitary
confinement, until his release August 27.
On June 17, authorities arrested Ebrahim Yazdi, former foreign
minister and the secretary-general of the Freedom Movement of Iran, a
civil rights organization. He was released on June 22 but rearrested on
December 28. Yazdi reportedly suffered from prostate cancer and
required constant medical attention. He remained in detention at year's
end.
On June 21, police arrested Abdollah Momeni, spokesperson for the
Alumni Association of Iran (Advar-e Tahkim Vahdat), a legally
registered political organization. On September 14, Momeni appeared at
the fifth session of the ``show trials'' and confessed to crimes
against the state, and in November authorities sentenced him to eight
years in prison. According to AI, Momeni was charged with disseminating
propaganda against the Islamic Republic by transmitting news of street
protests and colluding to harm national security. AI reported that
authorities used as evidence against him Momeni's ``contacts'' with AI
and HRW. At year's end Momeni remained in prison despite repeated calls
for his release on medical grounds.
Also in June, according to various sources, authorities arrested at
least two members of the Student Committee for the Defense of Political
Prisoners, Naseh Faridi and Ali Bikas, the latter of whom was also an
Azeri minority activist. Faridi, released on bail of 500 million rials
($50,000) on September 1, faced libel and national security-related
charges at year's end, according to IHRV. Authorities accused Bikas of
being a ``field agent for a velvet revolution'' during the show trials.
At year's end Bikas remained in prison, without access to counsel or
family members.
On July 8, police arrested Mohammad-Ali Dadkhah, a member of the
Center for Defending Human Rights and an attorney for several political
activists, at his office and charged him with meeting with ``foreign
enemies.'' On September 14, authorities released him from Evin Prison
on a 5 billion rial ($500,000) bail. HRW reported that at the time of
his arrest he was meeting with colleagues to discuss the judiciary's
proposed legislation to change the legal code to restrict the
independence of the bar association and increase the power of the
judiciary.
On July 9, authorities arrested an Iranian-American academic on
charges of espionage. The government based its case on his association
with the Open Society Institute, which the government had previously
approved, and his subscription to the Gulf/2000 mailing list run by an
unnamed American citizen, whom the prosecution identified as a CIA
agent. He was one of many politicians, academics, journalists, and
others arrested in the wake of the postelection protests, and he
appeared before the ``show trials'' in August. On October 20, he was
sentenced to 15 years in prison. At year's end his case was before the
appellate court.
On September 8, a revolutionary court sentenced Misagh Yazdan-
Nejad, a 23-year-old university student, to 14 years in Gohardasht
Prison in Karaj for participating in a ceremony in 2007 to commemorate
those killed in the 1988 mass executions of political prisoners
reportedly associated with the MEK. The government had previously
executed three of Yazdan-Nejad's uncles and imprisoned both his parents
on political grounds.
On September 11, a reformist Web site reported police detained
Mohammad Ozlati-Moghaddam, head of opposition leader Mousavi's
veterans' affairs committee, following a search of his home. At year's
end there was no update on his status or whereabouts.
Authorities continued to prevent former political prisoner Siamak
Pourzand from leaving the country to receive medical care and to join
his wife, Mehrangiz Kar, also a former political prisoner, and family
abroad.
On December 3, authorities sentenced Saeed Leylaz, an economist and
journalist, to nine years in prison for allegedly maintaining ties with
foreigners and working to overthrow the government, his lawyer told a
news agency. During the August ``show trials,'' authorities accused
Leylaz of having dealings with Hossein Rassam, an Iranian employed as a
political analyst at the British Embassy who was sentenced in October
to four years in prison for fomenting violence. Authorities also
charged Leylaz with keeping classified documents at his home,
apparently due to his possession of a public report issued by
parliament that had been posted on the Internet, according to his
lawyer. At year's end he remained in prison.
On December 28, authorities rearrested former political prisoner
Emaddedin Baghi, founder of the Committee for the Defense of Prisoners'
Rights. On November 9, authorities had prevented his travel to Geneva
to receive an award for human rights defenders from the Office of the
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Authorities had imprisoned Baghi
previously for his activities as a journalist and his campaigns against
the government's execution of juvenile offenders. At year's end Baghi
remained in prison without charge.
According to the DHRC, judicial authorities denied an appeal
request for Kurdish and women's rights activist Zeinab Bayazidi. At
year's end she was serving a four-year sentence for acting against
national security. Security forces arrested her in July 2008; she was
reportedly tried behind closed doors without access to an attorney of
her choosing.
At year's end Abbas Khorsandi, a political activist and founder of
the Iran Democratic Party, an Internet forum for political debate,
remained in Evin Prison, where authorities reportedly prevented him
from seeing a doctor despite his poor health. In July 2008, according
to human rights groups, a Tehran revolutionary court upheld an eight-
year prison sentence against Khorsandi for ``acting against national
security through formation of an illegal association.'' Security forces
arrested him at his place of business in 2007 and held him
incommunicado for three months.
There were no updates in the following 2008 cases; all individuals
were believed to be in prison at year's end: writer and student leader
Amin Ghazain Tehran; human rights lawyer Saleh Kamrani; Hadi Qabel,
reformist cleric and member of the reformist political group Islamic
Iran Participation Front; and Office for Consolidating Unity spokesman
Ali Nikunesbati.
Authorities transferred Ayatollah Mohammad Kazemeini Boroujerdi to
Evin Prison despite appeals for his release on medical grounds; at
year's end he remained in the special ward for clergy. Human rights
groups claimed he has been in solitary confinement without access to an
independent lawyer since his arrest at his home in 2006. Prior to
Boroujerdi's arrest, the government had increased pressure on him for
his belief that religion and the state should be separate.
Political prisoner Behrouz Javid-Tehrani, who spent four years in
prison for his activities during the 1999 student uprising and was
sentenced in 2005 to seven more years in prison following a secret
trial without legal representation, remained in prison at year's end.
According to human rights organizations, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary
Court of Tehran convicted Javid-Tehrani of having contact with foreign
opposition groups. At the time of the most recent conviction, Javid-
Tehrani was in solitary confinement in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj,
where he alleged security agents severely tortured him on numerous
occasions.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--By law the judiciary is
independent from the executive and legislative branches; in practice it
remained under the influence of executive and religious government
authorities. According to the constitution, the Court of Administrative
Justice, under the supervision of the head of the judiciary,
investigates the grievances of citizens with regard to government
officials, organs, and statutes. In practice citizens had limited
ability to sue the government. Citizens were not able to bring lawsuits
against the government for civil or human rights violations. Dispute
resolution councils are available to settle minor civil and criminal
cases through mediation before referral to courts.
Property Restitution.--The constitution allows the government to
confiscate property acquired illicitly or in a manner not in conformity
with Islamic law, and the government particularly targeted religious
minorities, especially members of the Baha'i faith (see section 2.c.).
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution states that ``reputation, life,
property, [and] dwelling[s]'' are protected from trespass except as
``provided by law,'' but the government routinely infringed on this
right. Security forces monitored the social activities of citizens,
entered homes and offices, monitored telephone conversations and
Internet communications, and opened mail without court authorization.
There were widespread reports that government agents entered, searched,
and/or ransacked the homes and offices of reformist journalists in an
attempt to intimidate them.
On June 26, HRW reported that Basij forces carried out raids at
night, destroying public property, entering homes, and beating
civilians in an attempt to stop nightly protest chants. On June 22,
according to a resident of the Vanak neighborhood in Tehran, Basij
forces entered the home of his cousin and destroyed doors and
automobiles in response to opposition-organized chanting in the area.
In a second report, a woman from the Velenjak neighborhood in Tehran
claimed Basij forces responded to chants during the night of June 23 by
kicking down doors or climbing over walls and entering homes through
interior doors. Once inside the homes, Basij members beat residents and
destroyed property. HRW collected similar reports of raids by Basij and
security forces in neighborhoods throughout Tehran.
During the year vigilantes continued to attack young persons
considered ``un-Islamic'' in their dress or activities, invade private
homes, abuse unmarried couples, and disrupt concerts. During the year
the government continued its crackdown on un-Islamic dress or ``bad
hijab'' (when a headcovering is brightly colored or does not completely
cover the wearer's hair). According to press reports, morality police
have stopped or detained more than two million individuals since 2007
for inappropriate hairstyles (usually related to the length of men's
hair or beards) or bad hijab. In September the BBC reported that the
morality police stopped male shopkeepers from selling women's
undergarments, and the Los Angeles Times reported stores were forced to
ensure that mannequins had appropriate dress. In December, according to
local news reports, Basij forces patrolled universities to arrest male
students with inappropriate dress or long hair, which they considered a
sign of dissent.
There were reports during the year that the MOIS harassed family
members of political prisoners and rights activists, banning them from
speaking to foreign media or traveling abroad, blocking their telephone
conversations, making false criminal charges against them, and blocking
their access to higher education.
MOIS agents reportedly threatened to arrest family members of
Kurdish political prisoner Shirko Moarefi if they protested or
publicized his execution, scheduled for November 14. The execution was
subsequently delayed, and at year's end Moarefi remained on death row.
On December 28, intelligence officers reportedly arrested Nushin
Ebadi, a professor of dentistry and sister to Nobel Prize-winning human
rights lawyer and activist Shirin Ebadi, at her home. According to
Shirin Ebadi, Nushin was not involved in human rights issues and did
not participate in any of the postelection protests. At year's end she
remained in prison.
There were also reports that authorities threatened and arrested
family members of expatriates who posted critical comments about the
country on social networking Web sites such as Facebook. According to
media accounts, an Iranian-American studying abroad reported he
received an e-mail warning him that his relatives in Iran would be
harmed if he did not delete an online petition he had created relating
to the imprisonment in Iran of a human rights activist; he claimed that
security agents arrested his father two days later and held him
briefly.
Authorities occasionally entered homes to remove satellite
television dishes, which are illegal in the country.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of expression and of the press, except when the words are
deemed ``detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam or the
rights of the public.'' In practice the government severely restricted
freedom of speech and of the press. There were no basic legal
safeguards for freedom of expression, and the government--notably the
judiciary--arbitrarily enforced censorship measures against the
independent press. Government censorship and self-censorship limited
dissemination of information during the year. The government frequently
threatened and jailed journalists as a consequence of their work, and
it closed the offices of the journalists' union in August (see section
7).
Individuals could not criticize the government publicly or
privately without reprisal, and the government actively sought to
impede criticism. On June 9, a court reportedly sentenced singer and
composer Mohsen Namjoo in absentia to five years' imprisonment for
``disrespecting religious sanctities'' based on the way he used Koranic
verses in a private 2005 recording purportedly leaked on the Internet
earlier in the year without his approval. Namjoo continued to live
outside the country at year's end.
The country's media outlets were varied, including state-controlled
television, radio, and print publications, as well as private
newspapers and magazines that cover current affairs, politics, the
arts, and sports. The government closely monitored all media outlets,
and private media lacked independence in practice. Journalists who
failed to abide by government guidelines faced intimidation, arrest, or
closure of their publications. As a result, the government held
significant influence over all media in the country. The government's
Press Supervisory Board (PSB) was responsible for issuing press
licenses, which it sometimes revoked in response to articles critical
of the government, and for examining complaints filed against
publications or individual journalists, editors, or publishers.
According to article 175 of the constitution, private broadcasting
is illegal. The government controlled and maintained a monopoly over
all television and radio broadcasting facilities through a state-
controlled entity, the Voice and Vision Organization. Radio and
television programming--the principal source of news for many citizens,
especially in rural areas--reflected the government's political and
socioreligious ideology. Satellite dishes that received foreign
television broadcasts were forbidden, and the government periodically
confiscated them from homes. For instance, on June 24, according to
HRW, uniformed police officers forced residents in the Niavaran and
Dorous neighborhoods of Tehran to take down their satellite dishes and
returned later to confiscate many dishes. Nevertheless, most satellite
dishes in individual homes reportedly continued to operate.
International media did not operate freely. The government required
foreign correspondents to provide detailed travel plans and topics of
proposed stories before it granted visas. Authorities also closely
monitored reporters and attempted to influence them to garner more
favorable coverage. The government issued standard one-week visas for
foreign journalists who entered the country to cover the June election,
but it reportedly denied most of the journalists' extension requests as
the postelection protests developed. The government also forbade
foreign journalists to report on the protests, in some cases confining
reporters to their hotel rooms or offices during the protests. Some
journalists reported authorities told them they would face arrest if
they had a camera on the streets.
According to a June 5 report from the German weekly newsmagazine
Focus, the Iranian press attache' in Berlin, Mehrzad Tabatabai,
informed Focus's country expert Andrea Hoffman that the Iranian
government would censor her reporting from inside Iran on the June
election. When Hoffman refused to accept Iranian censorship of her
reporting, the Iranian Embassy denied her visa application.
During the year the government banned, blocked, and closed
publications that were critical of the government. Public officials
often lodged criminal complaints against reformist newspapers; the PSB
referred complaints to the media court for further action, including
closure and fines. The court conducted its hearings in public with a
jury of appointed clerics, government officials, and editors of
government-controlled newspapers. Some human rights groups asserted
that the increasingly conservative media court assumed responsibility
for cases before PSB consideration. The government censored both
reformist and conservative newspapers after they published articles
contradicting the official line, and it permanently closed others,
including more than 10 national dailies such as Kalameh Sabz (June 13),
Etemad-e Melli (August 17), the business newspaper Sarmayeh (November
2), and Hayat-e no (closed December 8 after carrying reports about the
crackdown on the Student Day protests).
On January 1, the PSB closed down Farsi-language daily Kargozaran
for allegedly downplaying the actions of the Israeli armed forces
during the December 2008 military operation in Gaza and finding fault
with Hamas for its tactics during the conflict. The paper remained
closed at year's end.
On February 5, the PSB shut down the pro-Ahmadi-Nejad weekly Hemat
on the charge of ``insulting higher officials.''
On May 16, the proreform daily Yas-e Now reappeared on newsstands
after a five-year ban. The judiciary shut down the paper in 2004 after
it published a letter criticizing the mass disqualification of
candidates from the 2004 election. Later on May 16, the Commission of
Press Authorization and Surveillance, acting on orders from Tehran
prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, shut down the paper again. Mortazavi
claimed legal proceedings from the original closure in 2004 were still
under way, despite an April 11 decision by Branch 76 of Tehran's penal
court allowing the paper to open. The Yas-e Now editor wrote an open
letter to President Ahmadi-Nejad accusing him of shutting down the
newspaper to restrict the opposition's access to the public.
On June 11, the day before the presidential election, Tehran
prosecutor Mortazavi forbade pro-opposition newspapers to lead with
stories announcing their candidate's victory, according to RSF.
Authorities reportedly threatened to confiscate the printing press
Kalameh Sabaz, a newspaper owned by opposition leader Mirhossein
Mousavi, until it rewrote its front-page story that proclaimed Mousavi
had won.
On August 17, authorities banned the publication of reformist
newspaper Etemad Melli due to its publication of a critical article on
the country's detention centers.
In October the PSB revoked the publication licenses of the Shiraz-
based Tahleel-e Rooz and Tehran newspapers Farhang-e Aashti and Arman.
On November 23, authorities banned for one day the publication of
daily newspaper Hamshahri after it published a picture from the temple
of the banned Baha'i faith.
On January 1, the judiciary lifted the ban on Tehran-e Emrouz, a
daily newspaper affiliated with Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.
The government banned the paper in June 2008 after it published
articles authorities deemed offensive.
The media law forbids censorship by the government but also forbids
disseminating information that may damage the Islamic Republic or
offend its leaders and religious authorities, and censorship occurred.
Government officials also routinely intimidated journalists into
practicing self-censorship.
On September 17, according to IHRV, the Supreme National Security
Council declared illegal the publication of any news related to
presidential candidates Mehdi Karoubi or Mir-Hossein Mousavi or the
presidential election.
On December 20, according to RSF, the Ministry of Culture and
Islamic Guidance issued a directive banning print and Internet articles
about cleric Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, a critic of the government who
died on December 19. RSF also reported that broadcast of a BBC
documentary on Montazari was jammed.
At various times in 2008, government officials advised reporters
not to use the names of unauthorized political parties and to ``censor
pages which are likely to create a dispute,'' observing the country's
``religious, moral, and national sensitivities. In September 2008
former deputy interior minister Mostafa Tajzadeh said the government
imposed censorship ``to the greatest degree'' regarding nuclear policy.
During the year the government detained, jailed, tortured, or fined
numerous publishers, editors, and journalists (including Internet
media) for their reporting. The penal code states that ``anyone who
undertakes any form of propaganda against the state'' can be imprisoned
for as long as one year; the law does not define ``propaganda.'' The
law also subjects writers to prosecution for instigating crimes against
the state or national security or ``insulting'' Islam; the latter
offense is punishable by death.
In late January security agents confiscated the passport of Saeed
Razavi-Faghih, a former editorial writer for several reformist
newspapers and former member of the Office of Consolidating Unity (a
reformist student organization), and informed him of his summons to a
revolutionary court on charges of acting against national security.
Razavi-Faghih was returning to the country from France, where he had
been studying since 2004. On February 2, authorities arrested Razavi-
Faghih and sent him to Evin Prison; he was released on bail 16 days
later.
On May 1, according to RSF, during International Workers Day
demonstrations, authorities arrested several journalists, including
Alireza Saghafi, who edited the magazine Rah Ayandeh until authorities
closed it in May 2008, and Amir Yaghoubali, a journalist for the daily
Etemad. On May 26, authorities released Yaghoubali from Evin Prison,
pending his trial on charges of ``activities against national
security'' and ``disturbing public order'' based on his writings. On
June 10, authorities released Saghafi on 700 million rial ($70,000)
bail pending trial on charges related to his participation in the May 1
demonstration.
According to RSF, authorities arrested more than 100 journalists
after the June 12 election, and 30 others fled the country, the largest
exodus of journalists since the 1979 revolution. RSF reported that 43
journalists remained in detention at year's end.
On June 17, authorities detained Global Radio News freelance
correspondent and Washington Times reporter Iason Athanasiadis-Fowden,
a British-Greek citizen, in the Tehran airport as he was leaving the
country. Intelligence officials held Athanasiadis in Evin Prison for
three weeks, during which they interrogated and abused him, accusing
him of being a British spy. He was released on July 6 after 20 days of
incarceration.
On June 20, security agents reportedly arrested Mohammad Ghouchani,
a journalist and editor in chief of Etemad Meli daily, after the
newspaper published leading opposition figure Mehdi Karoubi's letter to
the Guardian Council calling for the election results to be canceled.
Authorities charged Ghouchani with ``participation in illegal
gatherings to endanger national security'' and ``writing articles
instigating unrest,'' and he appeared in two of the ``show trials.''
According to AI, Ghouchani's family paid one billion rials ($100,000)
bail on August 23, but authorities delayed his release from Evin Prison
until October 30.
On June 20, authorities arrested journalist and women's rights
defender Bahman Ahmadi-Amoee and his wife, Zhila Baniyaghoub, also a
journalist, in their home. Authorities released Baniyaghoub on August
26, but Ahmadi-Amoee remained in prison at year's end. Authorities
reportedly prevented Ahmadi-Amoee's access to legal counsel and held
him in solitary confinement for 65 days; his lawyer had no access to
any government evidence against him. In March 2008 authorities
sentenced Ahmadi-Amoee to a six-month suspended prison term for
``activity against national security.''
On June 21, authorities arrested Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar
Bahari, a reporter for Newsweek. While in detention, Bahari was held in
solitary confinement and underwent daily interrogations. Officials
reportedly forced him to make a televised confession acknowledging
Western journalists as spies. He was among the political prisoners
present during the ``show trials'' but was released on October 20. At
year's end Bahari had left the country but still faced trial on
espionage charges.
On June 30, according to IHRV, authorities arrested journalist
Hengameh Shahidi, a member of the Committee for Human Rights Reporters,
and sentenced her on December 9 to six years in prison for
participating in postelection demonstrations and ``spreading propaganda
against the holy Islamic Regime,'' based on an interview with the
``antirevolutionary'' BBC.
On December 20, authorities arrested journalist and blogger Shiva
Nazar Ahari and two of her colleagues from the Committee for Human
Rights Reporters as they were headed to Qom for Grand Ayatollah
Montazeri's funeral. On December 28, authorities arrested another
member of the organization, Nasrin Vaziri. At year's end no further
information on their arrests was available. According to human rights
organizations, authorities arrested seven of the nine leaders of the
organization during the year and pressured the group to close its Web
site. Security forces previously arrested Ahari on June 14 at her
workplace in Tehran, reportedly on charges of being a member of the MEK
and organizing demonstrations; authorities released her on bail August
23. The day before her arrest, security forces searched her home in her
absence and confiscated some of her personal possessions.
On December 27, according to international media and RSF,
authorities arrested Dubai television journalist and Syrian national
Reza Al-Bacha while he was covering demonstrations. The Ministry of
Culture and Islamic Guidance stated that Al-Bacha was not acting as a
journalist at the time of his arrest.
On December 28, according to RSF, authorities arrested Kalemeh Sabz
editor Alireza Behshtipour Shirazi. At year's end he remained in
prison.
On December 28, authorities arrested writer and journalist Mostafa
Izadi at his home. Izadi worked for the daily Sobh-e Emrouz and was
formerly editor in chief of the Ava weekly. He also authored a
biography of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri. At year's end he remained in
prison.
There were several developments in cases from previous years.
On March 26, authorities rearrested journalist and activist
Mahboubeh Karami and others as they prepared to visit families of
detained activists (see section 6, Women). In June 2008 authorities
arrested Karami after she criticized police for beating demonstrators
and detained her until August 2008.
There were no updates in the July 2008 case of Kurdish journalist
Saman Rasoulpour, charged with ``distributing propaganda against the
state'' and released on bail in August 2008.
On September 9, authorities transferred imprisoned journalist
Mohammad-Hossein Falahiezadeh to Evin Prison's medical clinic due to
his critical health situation. Falahiezadeh had served his September
2008 prison sentence for reporting on street protests by members of the
Ahvazi Arab minority, but MOIS officials reportedly stated his release
was contingent on setting bail. Human rights groups claimed this was a
ploy by government officials to keep Falahiezadeh imprisoned as they
know that he cannot afford to pay bail.
On July 11, a revolutionary court summoned Iranian Azerbaijani
journalist Said Matinpour and handed down his eight-year sentence of
one year for ``propaganda against the Islamic Republic'' and seven
years for ``maintaining relations with foreigners.'' Matinpour was
originally arrested in 2007 and held in pretrial detention until his
release on bail in February, with no contact with his family or lawyer
for most of that time. According to activists, MOIS officials tortured
Matinpour and detained his younger brother to coerce him to confess.
On July 19, the Mahabad revolutionary court began the trial of
Mohammad Sadegh Kaboudvand, a Kurdish journalist and founder of the
Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK), for allegedly spreading
antigovernment propaganda in publications on Kurdish women's rights,
according to NGO reports. Police originally arrested Kaboudvand in
2007, and he was serving a 10-year prison sentence imposed in May 2008
for establishing an illegal organization and other crimes. At year's
end he remained in Evin Prison, despite severe health problems,
including a second heart attack in December 2008.
In March 2008 a court sentenced Kurdish journalist Abdolvahed
``Hiva'' Boutimar to death for a second time on espionage-related
charges. He remained on death row at year's end. Kurdish journalist
Adnan Hassanpour, Boutimar's cousin and colleague, continued to await
his retrial on charges of espionage and working with outlaw parties.
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance must grant permission
to publish any book, and it inspected foreign printed materials prior
to their domestic release.
Internet Freedom.--NGOs reported that the government continued to
increase control over the Internet during the year as more citizens
used it as a source for news and political debate. According to 2008
International Telecommunication Union statistics, approximately 31
percent of the country's inhabitants used the Internet.
The government monitored Internet communications, especially via
social networking Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube,
with technology it purchased at the end of 2008. The government
threatened, harassed, and arrested individuals who posted comments
critical of the government on the Internet; in some cases it reportedly
confiscated their passports or arrested their family members (see
section 1.f.). Freedom House and other human rights organizations
reported that authorities sometimes stopped citizens at Tehran
International Airport as they arrived in the country, asked them to log
into their YouTube and Facebook accounts, and in some cases forced them
to delete information.
All Internet service providers (ISPs) must be approved by the
Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The government also required
all owners of Web sites and blogs in the country to register with the
Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance; in practice, this regulation
was rarely enforced. The government used filtering software to block
access to domestic blogs and some Western Web sites, reportedly
including the Web sites of prominent Western news organizations and
NGOs. According to RSF, the government blocked access to thousands of
Web sites during the year, and in some cases ISPs redirected computer
users from opposition Web sites to progovernment news sites. The
government also censored Web site content to control citizens' access
to information. According to Freedom House, content from opposition
leaders' Web sites was deleted during the year.
During the period prior to the June presidential election,
authorities blocked access to Facebook and Twitter. On election day,
authorities reportedly blocked access to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,
and other social networking sites through which individuals were
reporting on the election.
The government also imposed limits on Internet speed and
technology, making it difficult to download Internet material or to
circumvent government restrictions to access blocked Web sites. After
the June election, there was a major drop in bandwidth, which experts
posited the government may have caused in its effort to prevent
activists involved in the protests from accessing the Internet and
especially from uploading large video files.
The Press Law and Islamic Penal Code both apply to electronic
media, and the PSB and judiciary used such laws to close Web sites
during the year. In December 2008 the Tehran prosecutor general
announced the creation of a special office to review Internet and text
message-related crimes related to the June 2009 presidential election.
During the year the government prosecuted and punished persons for
peaceful expression of dissenting views via the Internet. During the
``show trials,'' prosecutors often cited activities on the Internet or
e-mails sent to foreigners as evidence of illegal activity. According
to RSF, seven bloggers remained detained at year's end.
On September 2, authorities arrested Ali Asguar Jamali, a blogger
and doctor based in the northern city of Qasvin, and other activists
for ``inciting actions against national security including protests and
insults against government officials by means of publications and
meetings,'' according to the news agency Fars. Jamali, who defends
workers' rights, writes a blog called Dr. Social-Democrat. At year's
end there was no update on his case.
On December 20, according to RSF, police arrested journalist and
blogger Mohammad Norizad. The previous evening, he had posted on his
blog that a court had summoned him by telephone to appear and answer to
charges of insulting the head of the judiciary. In December Norizad
wrote an article criticizing the new head of the judiciary, and earlier
in the year Norizad posted statements on his blog that criticized the
supreme leader. The Tehran prosecutor's office reportedly stated that
Norizad was under investigation for ``publicity against the regime and
insulting the authorities.''
During the year there were developments in several cases from
previous years.
On March 18, authorities released blogger Esmail Jafari from prison
on payment of bail pending his sentencing. In April 2008 authorities
had arrested him and seized his computer equipment, which allegedly
held photos of a demonstration in Bushehr, and in December 2008 a court
sentenced him to five months in prison for ``antigovernment
publicity.''
Also on March 18, Omid Reza Mirsayafi, a 25-year-old blogger, died
in the medical ward of Evin Prison, reportedly due to an overdose of a
medication he received from the prison clinic for depression. According
to the ICHRI, Mirsayafi died as a result of neglect by prison
authorities. In April 2008 security forces arrested Mirsayafi, and in
December 2008 a Tehran revolutionary court sentenced him to 30 months
in prison for propaganda against the state and criticism of the supreme
leader.
Internet journalist and cleric Mojtaba Lotfi continued to serve a
four-year prison sentence imposed in November 2008 for posting online a
sermon by Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, a well-known opponent
of Supreme Leader Khamenei, that criticized President Ahmadi-Nejad's
claim that Iran was ``the world's freest country.'' According to RSF,
Lotfi suffered from lung problems stemming from Iran-Iraq war injuries.
Well-known blogger, author of the first Persian-language blogging
guide, and dual Iranian-Canadian citizen Hossein Derakhshan reportedly
remained in Evin Prison, where he was subjected to psychological and
physical abuse, according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran.
Authorities arrested Derakhshan in November 2008 while he was visiting
the country.
On January 5, domestic media sources reported an appeals court in
Azerbaijan province had upheld blogger and women's rights activist
Shahnaz Gholami's six-month prison sentence. Gholami had been in Tabriz
Prison since her November 2008 arrest for publishing ``propaganda
against the Islamic Republic'' and ``jeopardizing national security.''
A court sentenced her to six months in prison. Gholami was released on
bail of 200 million rials ($20,000) on January 19.
On February 3, according to HRW and the ICHR, the Judiciary Court
sentenced four bloggers (three in absentia)--Omid Memarian, Roozbeh
Mirebrahimi, Shahram Rafizadeh, and Javad Gholamtamimi--to prison terms
of up to three years, fines, and flogging for ``participating in the
establishment of illegal organizations,'' ``membership in illegal
organizations,'' propaganda against the state,'' ``disseminating
lies,'' and ``disturbing public order,'' despite the judiciary head's
admission that the bloggers' confessions were coerced. Authorities
arrested the four in 2004 and detained them without charge at Evin
Prison until they were released on bail later the same year. All four
claimed authorities physically and psychologically abused them in
detention, including subjecting them to prolonged periods of solitary
confinement in a secret detention center without access to legal
counsel or family. Memarian, Mirebrahimi, and Rafizadeh left the
country after their 2004 release on bail and remained abroad at year's
end; Gholamtamimi continued to reside in the country. The government
had not made public the full findings of any investigation, nor had it
announced any penalties or prosecution for the abuse.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government significantly
restricted academic freedom. Authorities working with universities
continued to dismiss university professors in accordance with a 2006
presidential call for the removal of secular and liberal professors. To
obtain tenure, professors had to refrain from criticism of authorities.
According to AI, in August the Supreme Council for the Cultural
Revolution instructed the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies
to revise the humanities curriculum. Earlier in the year Supreme Leader
Khamenei had made a speech noting worrisome trends in the teaching of
humanities, including what he considered encouraging doubt of religious
principles.
According to AI, in October authorities banned from teaching five
prominent law professors from Alameh Tabatabai University's law school.
Local news reports noted that the professors taught human rights
courses at the university.
Admission to universities was politicized; in addition to
standardized examinations, all applicants had to pass ``character
tests'' in which officials eliminated applicants critical of the
government's ideology. Basij members were given advantages in the
admissions process. Student groups reported that a ``star'' system
inaugurated by the government in 2006 to rank politically active
students was still in use. Students deemed antigovernment through this
system reportedly were banned from university admission or prevented
from registering for upcoming terms. During the previous three years,
according to the ICHRI, government interference with university
admissions considerably increased with a coordinated assault by the
Ministry of Higher Education, the MOIS, and the judiciary aimed at
preventing student activists from continuing their education. On
February 2, a human rights organization reported that in the past few
years authorities had barred 58 students from matriculating at graduate
programs at universities in the country due to their prior
participation in student activism. HRW also reported during the year
that authorities used university disciplinary committees to expel or
transfer students to other universities as punishment for peaceful
political activities.
On November 10, according to the Mehr news agency, the leader of
the student Basij organization, Mohammad Saleh Jokar, announced that
6,000 Basij units would be created in the country's elementary schools.
Jokar said the action aimed to expand and promote Basij and
revolutionary ideals among young persons. He added that approximately
4.5 million students and 320,000 teachers were members of the Basij.
The government censored cultural events with stringent controls on
cinema and theater and a ban on Western music. A 2006 NGO report noted
that censorship by authorities and a culture of self-censorship
strongly inhibited artistic expression in the country. The government
monitored cultural associations and continued to crack down on
underground music groups (i.e., any group that failed to obtain a
recording license from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance),
especially those it considered inspired by Satan such as heavy metal or
other Western-type music.
In May Basij militia members and Revolutionary Guard officers
reportedly raided an underground music concert in Shiraz and arrested
104 individuals for ``immoral'' and ``Satanic'' behavior, as well as
for drinking alcohol. In October in Orumiyeh, police reportedly
arrested 12 underground musicians accused of promoting ``Satanism.''
There was no information at year's end about the status or whereabouts
of those arrested in either case.
On November 21, IHRV reported that authorities had banned
broadcasting of certain singers' music and certain songs from
government-owned radio stations for unspecified reasons. The censure
list contained the following artists' names: Shahin Aryen, Feraydoun
Aseraei, Alireza Eftakhari, Majid Akhshabi, Alireza Afshar, Mohammad
Isfehani, Esmailzadeh, Shahram Amiri, Ehsan Khajeh-Amiri, Masoud
Khadem, Hossein Zaman, Kouros Sarhangzadeh, Naser Abdullahi, Alireza
Assar, Fataali Ovaisi, Golshan, Ali Lahrasbi, Mohammad Nouri, and
Kambiz Afzali.
As the main source of production funding, the government
effectively censored domestic filmmaking. Producers were required to
submit scripts and film proposals to government officials in advance of
funding approval. Movies promoting secularism, feminism, unethical
behavior, drug abuse, violence, or alcoholism were illegal, and some
domestic directors were blacklisted. The government prevented
distribution of citizen Bahman Ghobadi's film on censorship, No One
Knows About Persian Cats.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution permits assemblies and marches ``provided
they do not violate the principles of Islam''; in practice the
government restricted freedom of assembly and closely monitored
gatherings to prevent antigovernment protests. Such gatherings included
public entertainment and lectures, student meetings and protests, labor
protests, women's gatherings and protests, funeral processions, and
Friday prayer gatherings. According to activists, the government
arbitrarily applied rules governing permits to assemble, with
conservative groups rarely experiencing difficulty and groups viewed as
critical of the government experiencing harassment regardless of
whether a permit was issued.
The government continued to prohibit and forcibly disperse peaceful
demonstrations during the year. Paramilitary organizations such as
Ansar-e Hizballah also harassed, beat, and intimidated those who
demonstrated publicly for reform. They particularly targeted university
students.
On February 5, according to AI, authorities arrested four men from
Tehran Polytechnic (Amir Kabir) University's Islamic Students
Association, Esmail Salmanpour, Majid Tavakkoli, Hossein Torkashvand,
and Koroush Daneshyar. The students had taken part in a ceremony
commemorating the life of Mehdi Bazargan, the first prime minister
appointed after the 1979 revolution. As the gathering was beginning,
authorities interrupted the ceremony and arrested approximately 20
participants, 16 of whom were later released. The four students
reportedly initiated a hunger strike in protest of their detention. No
updates were available at year's end.
On February 23, more than 1,500 Amir Kabir University students
demonstrated against the government's plan to rebury soldiers from the
Iran-Iraq War on university grounds. According to AI, security forces
arrested four Amir Kabir University students, Abbas Hakimzadeh, Mehdi
Mashayekhi, Nariman Mostafavi, and Ahmad Qasaban, along with 70 other
students during the demonstrations. Authorities later released 40 of
the students. There was no information regarding the status of the
remaining detained students at year's end.
On March 26, authorities arrested Khadijeh Moghaddam, Mahboubeh
Karami, and 10 others as they prepared to visit families of detained
activists (see section 6).
After the June 12 election and as protests continued throughout the
year, police reportedly preemptively arrested numerous student
activists.
On December 7, thousands of opposition supporters and students
gathered in Tehran and cities across the country to mark the
anniversary of the killing of three students by security forces in
1953. According to AI, security forces used excessive violence in
suppressing student-led demonstrations, where scores of protesters were
beaten and detained. In a number of instances, Basij militia and other
security forces reportedly used batons and tear gas to disperse
opposition supporters.
Many individuals who participated in demonstrations since 2006 were
imprisoned at year's end. For example, on January 31, judicial
officials from the Revolutionary Court of Tehran arrested Alieh
Eghdamdoust in her hometown of Foman to begin serving a three-year
prison sentence for participating in an ``illegal gathering'' based on
her participation in a 2006 women's rights protest in Haft Tir Square
in Tehran; she remained in Evin Prison at year's end.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the
establishment of political parties, professional associations, Islamic
religious groups, and organizations for recognized religious
minorities, as long as such groups do not violate the principles of
``freedom, sovereignty, and national unity'' or question Islam as the
basis of the Islamic Republic. The government limited freedom of
association in practice through threats, intimidation, imposing
arbitrary requirements on organizations, and arresting group leaders
and members. According to a January 9 HRW report, under the Ahmadi-
Nejad administration, municipal, provincial, and national councils--
established by 2005 regulations ostensibly to facilitate NGOs' permit
process--instead served to suppress NGO activities. Such councils
generally denied NGOs' applications without written explanation,
especially in minority regions, where those who successfully obtained
permits nevertheless faced harassment (see section 6, National/Ethnic/
Racial Minorities).
Throughout the year the government reportedly continued to exert
significant pressure on the DHRC, a Tehran NGO headed by Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi (see section 5).
The journalists' union and other labor-related groups also
continued to face problems during the year (see section 7).
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution states that Shia Islam is
the state religion and that all laws and regulations must be based on
Islamic criteria. The constitution also nominally protects other
Islamic denominations, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Judaism. In
practice the government severely restricted freedom of religion,
particularly the Baha'i faith.
The central feature of the country's Islamic system was rule by the
``religious jurisconsult.'' Its senior leadership consisted principally
of Shia clerics, including the supreme leader of the revolution, the
head of the judiciary, and members of the Assembly of Experts and the
Guardian Council.
Apostasy was punishable by death, according to Shari'a law. In
September 2008 the Majles enacted a revision to the penal code to make
conversion from Islam punishable by death for men or life imprisonment
for women. The legislature reportedly implemented the revision on a
one-year trial basis. On June 23, the Legal and Judicial Committee of
the Majles recommended removing the revision from the penal code, but
it remained at year's end. There were no reported instances of courts
imposing the death penalty for apostasy during the year.
Government rhetoric and actions created a threatening atmosphere
for nearly all non-Shia religious groups, most notably for Baha'is, as
well as for Sunni Muslims, evangelical Christians, and members of the
Jewish community. According to human rights activists, the government
grew increasingly intolerant of Sufism and increased restrictions on
Sufi houses of worship (husseiniya). If a Sufi student's faith was
revealed, the university expelled him or her. The government continued
to repress Baha'is and prevent them from meeting in homes to worship.
It banned them from government and military leadership posts, the
social pension system, and public schools and universities unless they
concealed their faith. The courts denied Baha'is the right to inherit
property, and the government does not recognize Baha'i marriages or
divorces; the government, however, accepts a notary certificate
acknowledging the union which allows couples to live together legally.
According to the law, Baha'i blood is considered mobah, meaning Baha'is
may be killed with impunity. The government repeatedly pressured
Baha'is to recant their religious beliefs in exchange for relief from
mistreatment.
On January 14, according to AI and Baha'i groups, authorities
raided the homes of 12 Baha'i and arrested six persons. One was
released shortly after he was arrested, but the other five spent two
months in prison before being released.
On February 18, Radio Free Europe reported plainclothes police
officers had destroyed a library and a religious hall at a Sufi house
of worship in Ifsahan.
On March 5, security forces arrested two Christian women, Maryam
Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, interrogated them, and
detained them in several police stations without charging them before
they appeared before Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on
March 18 to face charges of ``taking part in illegal gatherings'' and
``acting against state security.'' During their continued detention in
an overcrowded cell in Evin Prison with 27 other women, they reportedly
received no medical attention for infections and fevers. On October 7,
authorities brought them before court again and charged them with three
additional crimes: antistate activities, propagation of the Christian
faith, and apostasy. On November 18, authorities released both women
without bail, but it was uncertain whether they would face further
court proceedings based on charges against them.
On July 23, according to the Iran Minorities Human Rights
Organization, riot police and security forces arrested 20 Sufi
practitioners (dervishes) in Gonabadi who were part of a group of 200
to 300 dervishes protesting the arrest of Hossein Zareya, a local
leader. Police reportedly used force and tear gas to disperse the
crowd, injuring several dervishes. According to Radio Free Europe,
authorities had arrested Zareyi for presiding over the burial of a
dervish at the cemetery. Authorities had purportedly banned dervishes
from being buried at the cemetery for ecological reasons, but the
dervishes claimed the ban was part of a government campaign against
Sufis.
On September 27, MOIS officers in Yazd searched the home of Soheil
Rouhanifard and confiscated belongings and materials related to the
Baha'i faith. The next day, Rouhanifard appeared at the local MOIS
office in response to a summons. Authorities interrogated and released
him. He was summoned again on October 19 and arrested without charge.
At year's end he remained in prison and was not permitted family
visits.
On October 12, MOIS officers arrested Behnam Rouhanifard, brother
of Soheil Rouhanifard. Two days later authorities summoned his wife to
appear at the local MOIS office, where authorities interrogated her for
two hours. At year's end Rouhanifard's family had not heard from him
since October 17, when he was permitted to call home; his whereabouts
were unknown.
On October 31, MOIS officers searched the home of Baha'i member Ali
Bakhsh Bazrafkan, confiscated items linked to his faith, and arrested
him. Bazrafkan was a member of the former Baha'i administrative group
(Khademin) in Yasouj. According to IHRV, Bazrafkan received a 30-month
prison sentence followed by five years in exile in a remote area in the
province of Kohkiloyeh va Boyerahmad.
According to human rights groups, all seven members of the Baha'i
national leadership body, arrested in March and May 2008, and a total
of at least 48 Baha'is, 29 of whom had been arrested during the year,
were imprisoned at year's end. Authorities scheduled capital punishment
trials for the seven leaders on several occasions during the year, only
to cancel each time at the last minute. At year's end the trial date
was set for January 12, 2010.
Human rights organizations reported that the government demolished
several Sunni mosques during the year.
With the exception of Baha'is, the government generally allowed
recognized religious minorities to conduct religious education of their
adherents in separate schools, although it restricted this right
considerably in some cases. The Ministry of Education, which imposed
certain curriculum requirements, supervised the schools and must
approve all textbooks, including religious texts. Sunni leaders
reported bans on Sunni religious literature and teachings in public
schools, even in predominantly Sunni areas. The government reportedly
allowed Hebrew instruction but limited the distribution of Hebrew
texts, particularly nonreligious texts, making it difficult to teach
the language. With few exceptions, directors of private religious
schools must be Muslim. The law required all Muslim students to take
Islamic studies courses.
The government did not respect the right of Muslim citizens to
change or renounce their religion. On November 2, MOIS officers entered
a venue where a Baha'i gathering was underway. They filmed the event,
distributed forms committing participants to respond to any summons
from the local MOIS office, and arrested a man with the surname
Ghanavati. When officers asked participants if anyone was absent, Sonia
Ahmadi's name came up; the officers subsequently went to her home,
searched it, and arrested her. Some reports speculated that their
arrest was due to Ahmadi having converted Ghanavati from Islam more
than 30 years previously. At year's end both individuals remained in
prison.
Proselytizing of Muslims by non-Muslims was illegal. The
authorities continued to increase vigilance in curbing proselytism by
evangelical Christians. On October 19, authorities arrested Peyman
Kashfi, a Baha'i, after he appeared before the Tehran Revolutionary
Court in response to a summons. Prior to his arrest, an unidentified
government official demanded Kashfi be terminated from his job due to
his alleged proselytizing of colleagues. His employer refused the
demand. At year's end Kashfi was reportedly being held in Section 209
of Evin Prison.
The government, specifically the Ministry of Culture and Islamic
Guidance and the MOIS, monitored all religious activity and the
statements and views of all religious leaders, including the country's
senior Muslim religious leaders. It restricted the movements of several
Muslim religious leaders who had been under house arrest for years and
continued to detain at least one dissident cleric, Ayatollah
Boroujerdi. The government pressured all ranking clerics to ensure
their teachings conformed to (or at least did not contradict)
government policy and positions. Since the June elections, the
government has pressured proreform clerics to refrain from calling into
question the election results and from criticizing the government's
response to the demonstrations. For instance, on November 25, the
opposition Web site Rahesabz reported that Ayatollah Hashemi
Rafsanjani, a moderate cleric often critical of the current government,
would not be leading Eid Qorban prayers for the first time in several
years and that Rafsanjani would be replaced by conservative Ayatollah
Ahmad Khatami, according to an announcement by the Tehran Friday
Prayers Office. Khatami also replaced Rafsanjani in leading prayers on
Qods Day.
The government also required evangelical Christian groups to
compile and submit congregation membership lists.
President Ahmadi-Nejad continued a virulent anti-Semitic campaign,
stating in news conferences during the year that ``Zionists'' and
Israel must be destroyed.
Jewish citizens were free to travel out of the country but were
subject to the general restriction against travel by the country's
citizens to Israel. This restriction was not enforced.
The government reportedly continued to confiscate private and
commercial properties, as well as religious materials, belonging to
Baha'is. In 2006 the UN special representative on housing reported
approximately 640 documented cases of Baha'i property confiscations
since 1980, instances of numerous undocumented cases, and court
verdicts declaring confiscation of property from the Baha'is legally
and religiously justifiable. The constitution did not recognize rights
of members of the Baha'i faith, and they had no avenue to seek
restitution or compensation for confiscated property.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Government actions continued
to support elements of society who created a threatening atmosphere for
some religious minorities.
All religious minorities--including but not limited to Sunni
Muslims, Christians, Baha'is, and Sufis, and Mandeans--experienced
varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly
in employment, education, and housing. Inheritance laws favored Muslims
over non-Muslims. Broad restrictions on Baha'is undermined their
ability to practice their faith and function as a community. Baha'i
groups reported that the government often denied their applications for
new or renewed business and trade licenses. Baha'is could not teach or
practice their religious beliefs or maintain links with coreligionists
abroad. It was difficult to distinguish whether the cause of government
discrimination against Sunni Muslims was religious or ethnic as most
Sunnis are also members of ethnic minorities.
The government's anti-Israel stance, in particular the president's
repeated speeches decrying the existence of Israel and calling for the
destruction of its ``Zionist regime,'' created a threatening atmosphere
for the 25,000-person Jewish community. Government officials continued
to make anti-Semitic statements, organize events during the year
designed to cast doubt on the Holocaust, and sanction anti-Semitic
propaganda. The government also limited distribution of nonreligious
Hebrew texts and required Jewish schools to remain open on Jewish
Sabbath.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, and emigration, and
repatriation. The government placed some restrictions on these rights.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) with regard to refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq.
The government required exit permits for foreign travel for all
citizens. Some citizens, particularly those whose skills were in demand
and who were educated at government expense, had to post bond to obtain
an exit permit. The government restricted foreign travel of some
religious leaders and individual members of religious minorities and
scientists in sensitive fields, and it increasingly targeted
journalists, academics, and activists--including women's rights
activists--for travel bans and passport confiscation during the year.
The government banned travel to Israel, but this ban was reportedly not
enforced.
On March 17, authorities imposed a travel ban on human rights
lawyer and writer Naser Zarafshan. Authorities confiscated his passport
at the airport in Tehran as he was about to board a plane to Brussels
to attend a conference on the environment.
On April 7, authorities prevented academic Mehdi Zakerian from
leaving the country to take part in a conference in Italy on
international legal issues. Officials confiscated his passport and
other personal belongings, including his computer and research papers.
Zakerian, a board member of the Center for Scientific Research and
Middle East Strategic Studies, was detained for several months in
August 2008 on espionage charges based on his contacts with foreign
diplomats related to his work and research activities; no verdict had
been issued on his case at year's end.
On May 10, the government reportedly stopped DHRC deputy head
Narges Mohammadi and peace activist Soraya Azizpanah at the Tehran
airport. Mohammadi and Azizpanah were on their way to Guatemala to
speak at a conference about the role of women in democracy. Authorities
seized their passports and prevented them from traveling.
According to the New York Times, authorities prevented filmmaker
Jafar Panahi, whom authorities briefly detained after the June
election, from leaving the country to attend an October 29-November 5
Indian film festival.
A woman must have the permission of her husband, father, or other
male relative to obtain a passport. A married woman must receive
written permission from her husband before she leaves the country.
The government did not use forced external exile, but it used
internal exile as a punishment. Many dissidents practiced self-imposed
exile to be able to express their beliefs freely.
There were indications that members of all religious minorities
were emigrating at a high rate, although it was unclear whether the
reasons for emigration were religious or economic.
Protection of Refugees.--The country was a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
The law provides means for granting asylum or refugee status to
qualified applicants, and the government reportedly had a system for
providing protection to refugees, but the UNHCR did not have any
information as to how the country made asylum determinations. The
government did not consistently provide protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
As of December, approximately 980,000 refugees registered by the
Bureau for Aliens, Foreigners, and Immigrant Affairs were living in the
country; 935,600 were Afghans and 44,400 were Iraqis. Approximately 70
percent of the Afghan and Iraqi refugees in the country had lived there
for 20 to 30 years.
The number of registered Afghan refugees opting for voluntary
repatriation declined since 2007 due to a combination of factors,
including concerns about security in Afghanistan. The government
continued to postpone discussions to renew the tripartite repatriation
agreement, but at an international conference on resettlement and
repatriation held in Kabul in November 2008, the government verbally
committed to permit registered Afghan refugees to stay until they
voluntarily repatriated or resettled elsewhere.
In addition to the 935,600 registered Afghan refugees, the UNHCR
estimated as many as 1.5 million Afghans illegally resided in the
country as migrant workers. In March 2008 the government announced it
would deport all Afghans who lacked refugee documentation. According to
the UNHCR, the government deported 200,000 Afghans in the first six
months of the year and more than one million in the last three years.
On March 22, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and provincial authorities
reported that more than 1,000 children deported to Afghanistan's
western province of Herat in 2008 faced poverty and were at risk of
abuse.
There were reports of some registered refugees included in mass
deportations during the last several years, although these reports were
not officially documented. According to HRW, many of those deported
received no warning that they were being deported, and many were
separated from their families or had little time to collect belongings
and wages. Other deportees claimed they were beaten, detained, or
required to perform forced labor for several days before they were
deported. Among the deportees were vulnerable individuals and families
who required humanitarian assistance upon arrival in Afghanistan. At
the November conference in Kabul, the Iranian delegate stated that
Afghan refugees would continue to be treated as ``respected guests''
and that the two countries were discussing the issuance of 300,000
visas to Afghan workers. No new visa arrangement had been announced by
year's end.
Since 2007 authorities maintained approximately 19 ``No Go Areas''
in the country for Afghan refugees, according to the UNHCR. Refugees
were required to register and relocate in areas the government
approved; those who did not were considered unregistered and remained
subject to deportation. According to the UNHCR, the government's
reregistration campaign launched in 2008 to assist male refugees to
obtain work permits enabled more refugees to work in the country.
In July, according to the UNHCR, the government announced a policy
to treat the enrollment of all school-age children, including lawful
foreign residents and registered refugees, in the same manner. At
year's end, however, there was no information available about how the
new policy was enforced. The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
reported in 2008 that Afghan refugee children were charged fees, while
Iraqi refugee children were able attend public school for free. In some
cases, local government officials reportedly suspended education
services for refugees to encourage them to repatriate.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change peacefully
the president and the parliament through free and fair elections, but
the authority of unelected representatives over the election process
severely abridged this right in practice. The Assembly of Experts
elects the supreme leader, the recognized head of state, who may be
removed only by a vote of the assembly. The supreme leader exercises
influence over the government appointments of the 12 clerics and
religious jurists who make up the Guardian Council. The Guardian
Council then approves the list of candidates for the Assembly of
Experts, whose 86 members must also be clerics, who serve eight-year
terms and are chosen by popular vote. There was no separation of state
and religion, and clerical influence pervaded the government. The
supreme leader also approved the candidacy of presidential candidates.
Elections and Political Participation.--On June 12, the country
held its 10th presidential election, which outside observers regarded
as neither free nor fair. International observers were not allowed
entry to monitor the election results.
The Guardian Council approved only four candidates out of more than
450 prospective candidates, including 42 women and former officials.
Authorities increased censorship and surveillance during the campaign,
blocking cell phone signals and access to social networking and
opposition Web sites (see section 2.a., Internet Freedom). Conversely,
this election campaign also witnessed an unprecedented number of
televised debates between the candidates. The government also
reportedly harassed and arbitrarily arrested political activists,
members of the country's religious and ethnic minority communities,
students, trade unionists, and women's rights activists during the
preelection period. For example, on April 19, authorities detained
Mehdi Mo'tamedi Mehr, a member of the Committee to Defend Free, Healthy
and Fair Elections and the banned political organization the Freedom
Movement of Iran, after the Committee published a statement about civil
society institutions as election observers. On December 28, according
to local press reports, the MOIS summoned Mehr and other members of the
Freedom Movement, and at year's end they remained in detention. On May
27, authorities detained Emad Bahavar, also a member of the Freedom
Movement, for ``spreading propaganda against the system'' by
campaigning for presidential candidate Mousavi. According to IHRV, he
was released 96 hours later.
Anecdotal evidence suggested that authorities forced some election
observers representing opposition candidates to leave polling stations
and that millions of unused paper ballots went missing. Before all
polls closed and ballot counting had commenced, government-controlled
media announced that President Ahmadi-Nejad had been reelected in the
first round of elections, obtaining a majority of the votes. Contrary
to the election law, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei approved the
election results before the Guardian Council certified the election and
before the Interior Ministry announced the final results.
Independent analysts studied election data and concluded there were
a number of irregularities, including at least two provinces showing a
turnout of more than 100 percent and absence of long-standing regional
variations in turnout. According to official government data, President
Ahmadi-Nejad took not only all former conservative voters, all former
centrist voters, and all new voters, but also up to 44 percent of
former reformist voters, a scenario analysts questioned.
The constitution allows for the formation of political parties,
although the Interior Ministry granted licenses only to parties with
ideological and practical adherence to the system of government
embodied in the constitution. There were more than 240 registered
political organizations that generally operated without restriction or
outside interference, but most were small entities, often focused
around an individual, and did not have nationwide membership. Political
parties and candidates faced harassment during the year.
On June 19, presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi's
spokesperson reported that plainclothes police ransacked Mousavi's
offices and arrested many of his staffers. At year's end several of his
campaign members remained in jail.
On September 8, the Tehran prosecutor closed the offices of Mehdi
Karoubi, a proreform cleric and former presidential candidate, and
ordered Karoubi and his staff to leave the building. Judiciary
officials took documents, computer disks, computers, and films from the
office. Previously, Karoubi had turned over films and other materials
to a parliamentary committee documenting authorities abusing detained
protesters.
According to the Guardian Council's interpretation, the
constitution barred women and persons of non-Iranian origin or
religions other than Shia Islam from becoming president. Women were
also barred from serving as supreme leader; as members of the Assembly
of Experts, Guardian Council, or Expediency Council (a body responsible
for mediating between the Majles and the Guardian Council and serving
as a consultative council for the supreme leader); and as certain types
of judges. One of the 10 vice presidents and one cabinet minister were
women. Twelve women served in the Majles during the year.
Five Majles seats were reserved for recognized religious
minorities. Other ethnic minorities in the Majles included Arabs and
Kurds. There were no non-Muslims in the cabinet or on the Supreme
Court.
Section 4. Official Government Corruption and Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
the government did not implement the law effectively, and official
corruption remained a serious and ubiquitous problem in all three
branches of government.
Many officials expected bribes for providing even routine service.
Individuals routinely bribed officials in order to obtain permits for
illegal construction. Under President Ahmadi-Nejad, the IRGC has been a
major beneficiary of state contracts for infrastructure projects.
According to Freedom House, the hard-line clerical establishment also
grew wealthy through its control of bonyads, tax-exempt foundations
that monopolize many sectors of the economy such as cement and sugar
production.
All government officials, including cabinet ministers and members
of the Guardian Council, Expediency Council, and Assembly of Experts,
were required to submit annual financial statements to the state
inspectorate. There was no information available regarding whether
these officials obeyed the law.
Numerous government agencies existed to fight corruption, including
the Anticorruption Headquarters and the Anticorruption Task Force, both
established in 2005, as well as the Committee to Fight Economic
Corruption and the General Inspection Organization.
On February 5, media reported that a National Audit Office report
to the Majles revealed that the Oil Ministry had not returned 12
trillion rials ($1.2 billion) in oil revenues during the 2006-07 budget
to the treasury. At least one opposition presidential candidate blamed
President Ahmadi-Nejad for the missing revenue.
In November a special parliamentary commission to investigate the
government's recent privatization efforts criticized the management of
the process, singling out the sale of the Telecommunication Company of
Iran (TCI) to a company reportedly linked to the IRGC. The commission
concluded that the consortium contesting the bid was a front and that
the government essentially gave the TCI to the IRGC. A RAND Corporation
report during the year noted allegations that the IRGC controls much of
the country's black market trade.
On February 25, government officials granted bail to Abbas
Palizdar, allegedly a former member of a parliamentary committee to
investigate economic corruption, after he reportedly had served 13
months of his 10-year prison sentence for ``acting against national
security.'' Palizdar reportedly accused several prominent clerics of
money laundering during speeches he gave at Shiraz and Hamedan
universities in June 2008. The Judicial Inquiry and Review Committee
continued to deny any connection to Palizdar, who failed to provide
evidence to back his claims. Following his speeches, which were widely
circulated on the Internet, judiciary officials arrested and indicted
11 persons Palizdar named, most of them government employees, on
corruption charges.
There were no laws providing for public access to government
information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government continued to restrict the work of human rights
groups and activists and sometimes responded to their inquiries and
reports with harassment, arrests, monitoring, unlawful raids, and
closures (see also sections 1.d., 1.e., 2.a., 2.c., 6, and 7). The
government continued to deny the universality of human rights and
stated that human rights issues should be viewed in the context of a
country's ``culture and beliefs.'' In May 2008 judiciary chief Hashemi
Shahroudi told the Human Rights Task Force, an intragovernmental entity
established in 2001, that the international community uses human rights
as a weapon against Muslim majority countries.
Hundreds of domestic NGOs focused on issues such as health and
population, women's rights, development, youth, environmental
protection, human rights, and sustainable development, despite the
restrictive environment, including pressure not to accept foreign
grants. NGOs must register with the Interior Ministry and apply for
permission to receive foreign grants. According to various sources,
independent human rights groups and other NGOs faced intensifying
harassment and threat of closure from government officials as a result
of prolonged and often arbitrary delays in obtaining official
registration.
During the year the government increasingly prevented human rights
defenders, civil society activists, journalists, and scholars from
traveling abroad, particularly to attend international conferences (see
section 2.d.). Human rights activists reported receiving intimidating
phone calls and threats of blackmail from unidentified law enforcement
and government officials. Government officials routinely harassed
family members of human rights activists (see section 1.f.). Courts
routinely applied suspended sentences to human rights activists; this
form of sentencing acted as de facto probation, leaving open the option
for authorities to suddenly and arbitrarily arrest or imprison
individuals. This threat was sometimes enough to silence activists or
pressure them into providing information about other activists.
Professional groups representing writers, journalists,
photographers, and others attempted to monitor government restrictions
in their respective fields, as well as harassment and intimidation
against individual members of their professions. The government
severely curtailed these groups' ability to meet, organize, or effect
change.
Throughout the year the government reportedly continued to exert
significant pressure on the DHRC, a Tehran NGO headed by Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. According to a June 7 letter from Ebadi to
President Ahmadi-Nejad, during the year a Basij student mob attacked
Ebadi's offices and home; the government pressured at least two of the
DHRC's employees to resign; authorities prevented several DHRC members
from traveling outside the country; officials arrested and detained a
DHRC secretary, Jinnous Sobhani, for 55 days; officials regularly
summoned DHRC members for interrogation; and security officials warned
individuals not to attend the DHRC's gatherings, some of which police
dispersed. On November 22, authorities reportedly confiscated Ebadi's
Nobel Peace Prize and diploma from her safety deposit box while Ebadi
was out of the country; the medal was reportedly returned two weeks
later. Authorities also tried to tax the award money, although Ebadi
maintained the prize was exempt. On December 28, officials arrested
Ebadi's sister, a professor of dentistry.
In December 2008 security forces unlawfully raided and closed the
DHRC's offices. The raid occurred immediately before a scheduled
ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. A foreign ministry spokesperson said the government
closed the center for operating without a valid permit; the DHRC had
not received a permit at year's end despite its assertion that
authorities had approved its application in 2006. Also in December 2008
government security officers posing as tax officials raided Ebadi's
private law offices, seizing office files and computers.
Despite numerous appeals, the government denied requests from
international human rights NGOs to establish offices in or conduct
regular investigative visits to the country. The last visit by an
international human rights NGO was AI's 2004 visit as part of the EU's
human rights dialogue with the country.
The ICRC and UNHCR both operated in the country with some
restrictions. According to HRW, since the government issued a standing
invitation to all UN human rights agencies in 2002, there have been six
visits to the country by UN special human rights institutions. The
government generally ignored recommendations these bodies made and
failed to submit required reports to the UN Human Rights Committee or
the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The
government ignored repeated requests for visits by UN special
rapporteurs. On December 18, the UNGA passed a resolution expressing
``deep concern that, despite the Islamic Republic of Iran's standing
invitation to all thematic special procedures mandate holders, it has
not fulfilled any requests from those special mechanisms to visit the
country in four years and has not answered numerous communications from
those special mechanisms.'' The UNGA ``strongly urge[d] the Government
of the Islamic Republic of Iran to fully cooperate with the special
mechanisms, especially the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary
or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the Special
Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of
opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights defenders, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and
the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.''
In 2001 the supreme leader called for the creation of a human
rights task force, chaired by the judiciary chief and composed of the
ministers of intelligence, interior, foreign affairs, justice, and
culture, as well as other judicial and military officials. The
committee, which did not convene until 2006, was not considered
effective. Mohammed Javad Larijani, brother to Ali Larijani, speaker of
the Iranian parliament, and Sadeq Larijani, head of the judiciary,
headed the committee.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the constitution formally prohibits discrimination based
on race, gender, disability, language, and social status ``in
conformity with Islamic criteria,'' the government did not effectively
enforce these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape is illegal and subject to strict penalties, but it
remained a problem. Spousal rape is not illegal. Cases of rape were
difficult to document due to social stigma against the victims. Most
rape victims did not report the crime to authorities because they
feared societal reprisal such as ostracism or punishment for having
been raped. According to the penal code, rape is a capital offense, and
four male witnesses or three men and two women are required for
conviction. A woman or man found making a false accusation of rape is
subject to 80 lashes.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence. Spousal
abuse and violence against women occurred. According to a study
published in 2008 using 2005 data, 52.7 percent of women reported being
physically abused during their married lives. Abuse in the family was
considered a private matter and seldom discussed publicly, although
there were some efforts to change this attitude, particularly by the
``One Million Signatures for the Repeal of Discriminatory Laws,'' or
``Change for Equality,'' Campaign (OMSC). Some nongovernmental shelters
and hotlines assisted victims during the year.
A man may escape punishment for killing a wife caught in the act of
adultery if he is certain she was a consenting partner. According to a
police official quoted in a domestic newspaper in 2008, 50 honor
killings were reported during a seven-month period, although official
statistics were not available. The punishment for perpetrators was
often a short prison sentence.
In February, according to a local newspaper, a father killed his
16-year-old daughter for suspicious activity.
There were no reports of developments in the May 2008 case of a man
known as ``Ahmad,'' who allegedly killed his daughter after her former
brother-in-law kidnapped and slept with her, or the June 2008 case of
``Morteza,'' who allegedly killed his sister after she married a man
without her family's permission.
Prostitution is illegal, but it took place under the legal cover of
sigheh (temporary marriage). International press reports described
prostitution as a widespread problem. The problem appeared aggravated
by difficult economic conditions and rising numbers of drug users and
runaway children.
According to a May 29 AI report, an unemployed couple in Eastern
Azerbaijan province prostituted themselves to local officials. On
October 5, authorities reportedly hanged the husband, Rahim Mohammadi,
for sodomy; at year's end his wife, Kobra Babaei, awaited execution by
stoning.
In March 2008 authorities arrested and dismissed from his post
Tehran police chief Reza Zarei after he was discovered in a brothel
during a police raid. In April 2008 he was reportedly taken to the
hospital following a suicide attempt in prison. There were no further
updates in his case during the year.
There was a lack of reliable data on the prevalence of sexual
harassment in the country. Media reports indicated that unwanted
physical contact and verbal harassment occurred. There are laws
addressing sexual harassment in the context of physical contact between
men and women.
In early January a court sentenced to 30 lashes Zanjan University
deputy dean Hassan Madadi, caught on camera pressuring a female student
for sexual favors in June 2008. The female student also received a
sentence of 30 lashes. Courts suspended both punishments.
The 1993 family planning law recognizes the basic right of married
couples to decide freely and responsibly the spacing and timing of
their first three children, and to have the information and means to do
so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. According to the
law, health and maternity benefits are cut for the family after three
children. Local clinics and rural health centers disseminated
information on family planning under the guidance of the Ministry of
Health and Medical Education. There were no restrictions on the right
of married persons to access contraceptives. According to the
Population Reference Bureau, nearly 80 percent of married women of
reproductive age used family planning methods, 75 percent of whom used
modern methods of contraception. Couples who plan to marry must take a
class in family planning. Men and women received equal access to
diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. According
to UNICEF, 97 percent of women gave birth with a skilled attendant
present.
The constitution nominally provides women with equal protection
under the law and all human, political, economic, social, and cultural
rights in conformity with Islam. Provisions in the Islamic civil and
penal codes, particularly sections dealing with family and property
law, discriminate against women. Shortly after the 1979 revolution, the
government replaced those laws that provided women with increased
rights in the home and workplace with a legal system based largely on
Shari'a practices. On March 12, President Ahmadi-Nejad instructed the
relevant bodies to implement a law in which women's share of their
husband's inheritance would increase to one-fourth from the previously
stipulated one-eighth of his property. At year's end there was no
information on the law's implementation. The governmental Center for
Women and Family continued to publish reports on feminism with a
negative slant and limited the debate on women's issues to matters
related to the home.
Although a man (or boy) can marry at age 15 without parental
consent, the law states that a virgin woman or girl needs the consent
of her father or grandfather to wed, or the court's permission, even if
she is older than 18. The country's Islamic law permits a man to have
as many as four wives and an unlimited number of sigheh, based on a
Shia custom in which a woman may become the wife of a Muslim man after
a simple religious ceremony and a civil contract outlining the union's
conditions. Sigheh wives and any resulting children were not granted
rights associated with traditional marriage. The government does not
recognize marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men, or Baha'i
marriages.
A woman has the right to divorce only if her husband signs a
contract granting that right, cannot provide for his family, or is a
drug addict, insane, or impotent. A husband was not required to cite a
reason for divorcing his wife. Traditional interpretations of Islamic
law recognized a divorced woman's right to part of shared property and
to alimony. These laws were not enforced. According to a study by the
National Organization for Civil Registration quoted in a book by a
women's rights activist, more than 89 percent of women did not receive
their due alimony, and 9 percent did not receive their share of the
wedding gift (wedding contracts traditionally stipulate that in case of
divorce the groom give his bride the wedding gift for financial
support). The law provides divorced women preference in custody for
children up to age seven; divorced women who remarry are forced to give
the child's father custody. After the child reaches age seven, the
father is entitled to custody (unless the father has been proven unfit
to care for the child). The court determines custody in disputed cases.
Women sometimes received disproportionate punishment for crimes
such as adultery, including death sentences. The testimony of two women
is equal to that of one man. The blood money paid to the family of a
female crime victim is half the sum paid for a man.
Women had access to primary and advanced education. Reportedly, 65
percent of university students were women. Government officials
acknowledged the use of quotas to limit women's university admissions
in certain fields such as medicine and engineering. In addition, social
and legal constraints limited women's professional opportunities. Women
were represented in many fields, including the legislature, municipal
councils, police, and firefighters, but a woman must seek her husband's
consent before working outside the home. According to a World Economic
Forum report during the year, the unemployment rate for women, who
constituted 33 percent of the workforce, was 15.8 percent, compared
with 9.3 percent for men. Women cannot serve in many high-level
political positions or as judges, except as consultant or research
judges without the power to impose sentences.
The government enforced gender segregation in most public spaces,
including medical care, and prohibited women from mixing openly with
unmarried men or men not related to them. Women must ride in a reserved
section on public buses and enter public buildings, universities, and
airports through separate entrances.
On January 26, media sources reported that authorities fined and
suspended managers and coaches involved in the first mixed (men versus
women) soccer game since the 1979 revolution. The Esteghlal soccer
club's technical manager and both head coaches received suspensions of
six months to one year and fines of as much as 50 million rials
($5,000).
The penal code provides that if a woman appears in public without
an appropriate hijab, she can be sentenced to lashings and fined.
However, absent a clear legal definition of ``appropriate hijab'' or
the punishment, women were subject to the opinions of disciplinary
forces or judges. Pictures of uncovered or immodestly dressed women in
the media or in films were often digitally altered.
The government continued its intense crackdown against members of
the OMSC, which activists launched in 2006 to promote women's rights.
On January 30, authorities arrested three OMSC members--Nafiseh
Azad, Bigard Ebrahimi, and a person who wished to remain anonymous--
while they were collecting petition signatures and held them for
several days. Authorities charged Azad with ``acting against national
security through propaganda against the state,'' according to the ICHR.
On August 18, a judge gave Azad a one-year suspended sentence, but in
late October an appeals court acquitted her of all charges.
On March 26, according to the ICHR, security forces detained 12
members of the OMSC and the NGO Mothers for Peace--Delaram Ali,
Khadijeh Moghadam, Leila Nazari, Farkhondeh Ehtesabian, Mahboubeh
Karami, Bahara Behravan, Ali Abdi, Amir Rashidi, Mohammad Shoorab,
Arash Nasiri Eghbali, Soraya Yousefi and Shahla Forouzanfar--at a
street corner in Tehran as the group met to make traditional Nowruz
(New Year) visits to families of several political prisoners. The ICHR
suggested that security and intelligence forces must have eavesdropped
on activists' private communications to apprehend them. Judge Matin
Rasekh charged the women with ``disturbing public opinion'' and
``disrupting public order,'' and they were transferred to Section 209
of Evin Prison under MOIS control. On March 29, authorities released 10
of the activists on bail, and on April 7 and 8, they released Mahboubeh
Karami and Khadijeh Moghadam. According to lawyer Nasim Ghanavi,
Moghadam was also charged for participating in a January 11
demonstration with Mothers for Peace against the Israeli military
operation in Gaza. On May 8, the security deputy of the Tehran
Revolutionary Court summoned Moghaddam and her husband, Akbar
Khosrowshahi. They appeared in court with their attorney, and Moghadam
answered questions about assistance she gave to victims of the 2003 Bam
earthquake, as well as her advocacy on behalf of detained labor
activists and a fellow women's rights defender. Moghadam was previously
detained in April 2008 and charged with ``spreading propaganda against
the state,'' ``disrupting public opinion,'' and ``actions against
national security.''
On April 25, authorities arrested Maryam Malek in Tehran, charged
her with ``propaganda against the system'' in connection with her
membership in the OMSC, and detained her in Evin Prison. On April 29,
authorities released her on a third-person guarantee, as she could not
pay bail set at 200 million rials ($20,000).
On May 7 and 8, authorities in Qom arrested two OMSC members,
Maryam Bidgoli and Fatemeh Masjedi, along with the male author of The
Women's Movement in the East, Gholamreza Salami. Intelligence agents
searched both women's homes and took personal belongings. According to
news reports, the women had previously been investigating an honor
killing. They were released later in May.
In December, according to the IHRDC, authorities arrested Zohre
Tonkaboni and Mahin Fahimi, members of Mothers for Peace. The same
month, authorities arrested OMSC members Atiey Youseffi, Somayeh
Rashidi, and Mansourreh Shojaaiei. According to the ICHRI, Rashidi
reported authorities were holding her in solitary confinement at Evin
Prison. At year's end all reportedly remained in prison.
Several members of the OMSC, including Parvin Ardalan, remained
under suspended prison sentences and travel bans at year's end.
On January 31, a revolutionary court reportedly sentenced Mehri
Moshrefi and her husband to a two-year suspended sentence. In November
2008 authorities arrested Moshrefi, her husband, and two of her
children at a cemetery where the OMSC was staging a protest and
transferred them to Evin Prison, despite activists' claims that the
family was not involved in the gathering. Authorities held Moshrefi's
two children (one of whom was a minor) for one month, and prison
officials did not allow the family to contact their third child, who
was not with the rest of the family at the time of arrest, for more
than two weeks.
In April a court sentenced Ronek Safazadeh to six years in prison
for spreading propaganda about the government and membership in the
armed opposition group Free Life Party of Kurdistan, with which her
lawyer maintained she was only marginally involved. In 2007 security
agents arrested Safazadeh in Sanandaj for collecting signatures for the
OMSC petition.
On February 26, authorities released Hana Abdi, whom police
arrested in 2007 for collecting signatures for the OMSC petition. In
October 2008 a court reduced her five-year sentence to 18 months.
At year's end Maryam Hosseinkhah had found temporary refuge in
Ireland, and Jelvah Javaheri remained in the country, where she spent
the month of May in prison for her participation in demonstrations on
International Workers Day and faced a six-month prison sentence issued
in October. Police originally arrested both women in 2007 for
``propaganda against the system.''
Children.--Citizenship is derived by descent when a child is born
to a citizen father regardless of the child's country of birth. In
general, birth within the country's borders does not confer
citizenship, except when a child is born to unknown parents; when both
parents are noncitizens, but at least one parent was born in the
country; or when a child born to noncitizens continues to reside in the
country for at least one year after age 18.
Although primary schooling up to age 11 is free and compulsory for
all, media and other sources reported lower enrollment in rural areas
for girls than for boys.
There was little information available to reflect how the
government dealt with child abuse, including child labor. Abuse was
largely regarded as a private family matter. According a 2005 study by
the UN's Integrated Regional Information Network, child sexual abuse
was rarely reported.
The law requires court approval for the marriage of girls younger
than 13 and boys younger than 15, but it was reportedly not unusual in
rural areas for parents to have their children marry before they became
teenagers, often for economic reasons. Sex outside of marriage is
illegal.
There were reportedly significant numbers of children working as
street vendors in Tehran and other cities and not attending school.
International news reported on the plight of children of imprisoned
mothers. According to State Prisons Organization regulations, children
could stay in prison with their mothers until the age of three;
according to a report by the Association for Defending Prisoners'
Rights, children sometimes stayed through the age of six.
On December 31, according to the IHRC, authorities arrested Maryam
Zia, a leader of a child welfare organization and wife of a labor
leader. Zia was previously arrested in 2006 during a women's rights
protest in Haft Tir Square.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons.
According to publicly available information from NGOs, the media,
international organizations, and other governments, trafficking in
persons was an extensive problem, and the country was a source,
transit, and destination point for trafficking. Women and girls were
trafficked from the country to Pakistan, Turkey, Europe, and the Gulf
States for sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. Men, women,
and children from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan were trafficked
through the country to the Gulf States and sometimes to Europe for
purposes of employment. Afghan women and girls were trafficked to the
country for sexual exploitation and forced marriages. Internal
trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor also occurred.
Media reports indicated that criminal organizations played a large role
in human trafficking to and from the country.
In some cases authorities reportedly tried and convicted persons
involved in trafficking, but aspects of the law and practice--such as
punishment of victims for prostitution or adultery--hindered efforts to
combat trafficking. There was no evidence that the government took
steps to protect trafficking victims or to prevent trafficking during
the year.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities. The law also provided for state-
funded vocational education for persons with disabilities, but
according to domestic news reports, vocational centers were confined to
urban areas and were unable to meet the needs of the entire population.
Building accessibility for persons with disabilities remained a
widespread problem. The Welfare Organization of Iran is the major
governmental agency charged with protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution grants equal
rights to all ethnic minorities and allows for minority languages to be
used in the media and in schools; in practice, minorities did not have
equal rights, and the government consistently denied their right to use
their language in school. The government disproportionately targeted
minority groups, including Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, and Baluch, for
arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention, and physical abuse. These groups
reported political and economic discrimination, particularly in their
access to economic aid, business licenses, university admissions,
permission to publish books, and housing and land rights. In 2007 then
interior minister Mustafa Purmohammadi ranked ethnic divisions as one
of the biggest problems his ministry had to address. The government
blamed foreign entities, including a number of Western countries, for
instigating some of the ethnic unrest.
On January 9, HRW released a report documenting government
persecution of the 4.5 million Kurds in the country, who have
frequently campaigned for greater regional autonomy. The report
documented the government's use of security laws, media laws, and other
legislation to arrest and persecute Kurds solely for exercising their
right to freedom of expression and association (see also section 1.e.,
Political Prisoners and Detainees). According to the report, the
government consistently banned Kurdish-language newspapers, journals,
and books and punished publishers, journalists, and writers for
opposing and criticizing government policies. Although the Kurdish
language is not banned, schools did not teach it. Authorities
suppressed legitimate activities of Kurdish NGOs by denying
registration permits or bringing spurious charges of security offenses
against individuals working with such organizations. Kurds were not
allowed to register certain names for their children in official
registries.
IHRV reported that two Kurdish students who passed entrance exams
for graduate school during the year were denied admission based on
their ethnicity.
On January 13, the Sanandaj revolutionary court sentenced Kurdish
political activist Jebraeil Khosravi to a 20-year prison term for
membership in an illegal party. At year's end he remained in Bandar-
Abbas Prison.
On January 15, IHRV reported that authorities arrested Kurdish
writer Abbass Jalilian, who goes by the name ``AKO.'' In November an
appeals court upheld his 15-month sentence for espionage, issued by the
Kermanshah revolutionary court in March. His initial court proceedings
reportedly took place without his lawyer present.
On August 3, authorities released Kurdish journalist and human
rights activist Massoud Kordpour after he completed his one-year prison
term in Mahabad Central Prison. In August 2008 security forces arrested
Kordpour on espionage charges related to interviews he gave to foreign
media outlets. Authorities reportedly held Kordpour incommunicado for
several months.
In July the Supreme Court upheld Farrad Kamangar's February 2008
death sentence for ``endangering national security'' based on his
alleged involvement with the Turkey-based Kurdish Workers Party.
Kamangar, superintendent of high schools in Kamayaran, was affiliated
with a number of civil society organizations, including the local
teachers' union, an environmental group, and the HROK. The court also
sentenced fellow Kurdish activists Ali Heydarian and Farhad Vakili to
death, and all three remained on death row at the end of the year.
Authorities originally arrested the three men in 2006 because of their
human rights activism.
Foreign representatives of the Ahvazi Arabs of Khuzestan claimed
their community of two to four million in the country's southwest
encountered oppression and discrimination, including the lack of
freedom to study and speak Arabic. Ahvazi and human rights groups
alleged torture and mistreatment of Ahvazi Arab activists, including
allegations that in September IRGC intelligence officers raped two
female activists.
In October relatives of seven men sentenced to death for killing a
clergy member in Ahwaz told local human rights organizations that
authorities had tortured them to coerce confessions.
Ethnic Azeris comprised approximately one-quarter of the country's
population, were well integrated into government and society, and
included the supreme leader among their numbers. Nonetheless, Azeris
complained that the government discriminated against them, banning the
Azeri language in schools, harassing Azeri activists or organizers, and
changing Azeri geographic names. Azeri groups also claimed a number of
Azeri political prisoners had been jailed for advocating cultural and
language rights for Azeris. The government charged several of them with
``revolting against the Islamic state.''
On May 26, media sources reported that 16 ethnic Azeris were
injured during clashes with police in the city of Tabriz; 15
demonstrators were arrested. Protests also took place in the town of
Orumiyeh and in Tehran. The demonstrations commemorated 2006 riots in
Tabriz and other cities protesting a newspaper caricature depicting
Azeris as cockroaches.
In a series of arrests beginning in July 2008, police reportedly
detained at least eight Azeri-Iranian students in Tabriz and charged
them with ``establishing illegal groups in order to disrupt national
security'' and ``propaganda against the state.'' According to AI, the
student activists were campaigning for greater cultural and linguistic
rights, including the right to education using the Azeri language and
the right to celebrate Azeri culture and history. In October 2008
authorities released all but one on bail; the remaining prisoner,
Dariush Hatemi, was released in November 2009.
No updates were available in the case of a group of Azeri cultural
rights activists--including author Hasan Rashedi, poet Mehdi Naimi
Ardabili, writer Alireza Sarafi, and journalist Saeed Mohammadi
Moghalani--whom authorities arrested in September 2008 at an Iftar
celebration. Authorities held the men incommunicado and without charge
for several weeks before releasing them on bail in November 2008.
Local and international human rights groups alleged serious
economic, legal, and cultural discrimination against the Baluch
minority during the year. Baluch journalists and human rights activists
faced arbitrary arrest, physical abuse, and unfair trials, often ending
in execution. In August 2008 authorities executed Baluch journalist and
education activist Yaghoob Mirnehad in Zahedan for alleged membership
in the militant group People's Resistance Movement of Iran (formerly
Jundallah), which the government considers a terrorist group.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The Special Protection
Division, a volunteer unit of the judiciary, monitored and reported
``moral crimes.'' The law prohibits and punishes homosexual conduct;
sodomy between consenting adults is a capital crime. The law defines
transgender persons as mentally ill, encouraging them to seek medical
help in the form of gender-reassignment surgery. The government
censored all materials relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) issues. In September 2008 President Ahmadi-Nejad
called homosexual activity an ``unlikable and foreign act'' that
``shakes the foundations of society.'' The size of the LGBT community
was unknown, as many individuals feared identifying themselves. There
were active LGBT NGOs in the country, but most activities to support
the LGBT community took place outside the country.
According to a November 4 HRW report, three men--Mehdi P., Moshen
G., and Nemat Safavi--faced execution based on homosexual conduct
allegedly committed when they were minors. At year's end they were
still believed to be in prison. According to HRW, the last confirmed
death sentences for homosexual conduct were handed down in 2005,
although there were allegations of executions related to homosexual
conduct in 2006 and 2007. The punishment of a non-Muslim gay man or
lesbian was harsher if the gay man or lesbian's partner was Muslim.
Punishment for homosexual behavior between men was more severe than for
such behavior between women.
The government provided grants of as much as 45 million rials
($4,500) and loans of as much as 55 million rials ($5,500) for
transgender persons willing to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Human rights activists and NGOs reported that some members of the gay
and bisexual community have been pressured to undergo gender
reassignment surgery to avoid legal and social persecutions in the
country. In September international newspapers reported that a family
court allowed the first transsexual marriage between a woman and her
male partner, previously also a woman.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS
reportedly faced discrimination in schools and workplaces. The
government supported programs for HIV/AIDS awareness and generally did
not interfere with private HIV/AIDS-related NGOs. Government hospitals
diagnosed and treated AIDS patients free of charge.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to
establish unions; in practice the government did not permit independent
unions. A national organization known as Workers' House was the sole
authorized national labor organization. It served primarily as a
conduit for government control over workers. The leadership of Workers'
House coordinated activities with Islamic labor councils in industrial,
agricultural, and service organizations comprising more than 35
employees. According to the ICHRI, these councils, which consisted of
representatives of workers and a representative of management, were
essentially management-run unions that undermined workers' efforts to
maintain independent unions, but they nonetheless frequently blocked
layoffs and dismissals in support of workers' demands. During the year
the government pressured workers to join the government-sponsored
councils.
The 1990 labor code stipulates that workers may establish an
Islamic labor council or a guild at any workplace, or that workers may
appoint an official representative. The law strongly favors Islamic
labor councils; no other form of representation is allowed in a
workplace where such a council has been established. Although Workers'
House oversees Islamic labor councils, the Interior Ministry, the
Ministry of Labor, and the Islamic Information Organization draft
councils' constitutions, operational rules, and election procedures.
Restrictions on the ability of workers to associate continued
during the year as the government and the judiciary regularly abused
the justice system to imprison and silence labor activists.
On April 26, authorities arrested Sajad Khaksari, the 25-year-old
son of Mohammad Khaksari and Soraya Darabi, leaders of the Teachers'
Trade Association, which the government banned in 2007. Authorities
first arrested Sajadin in 2006 for his writings in a union publication
and again in January for taking photographs of a government building.
His April arrest was for attending an ``illegal teachers' gathering''
in front of the parliament. On June 6, a revolutionary court acquitted
him of all charges, and an appeals court commuted the six-month prison
sentence for his first arrest. In the aftermath of the postelection
crackdown on activists, the prosecutor ordered the court to send
Sajad's file to a different revolutionary court branch that retried
him, without his lawyer present, and sentenced him to one year in
prison on the charges for which he had been acquitted. Sajad appealed
the sentence and was reacquitted on two of the three charges. The final
charge had yet to be heard by a public court in Tehran at year's end.
On March 8, media sources reported that MOIS agents raided the
residence of Ali Nejati, president of the board of directors of the
Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company Workers' Syndicate, and arrested Nejati
and five others. On the evening of February 28, MOIS agents had
previously raided and searched his home and confiscated some documents
related to the syndicate. After holding him in solitary confinement for
one month, authorities tried and convicted him of ``propaganda against
the system'' in connection with interviews he gave about working
conditions. On October 12, another court convicted Nejati and four
others--Mohammed Heydari Mehr, Feridoun Nikoufard, Jalil Ahmadi, and
Ghorban Alipour--on charges related to union activity in 2007. The
court sentenced each to four to six months' imprisonment followed by
four- to six-month suspended sentences. At year's end the men remained
in prison.
On May 1, authorities reportedly arrested 100 to 200 people in
Laleh Park in Tehran during International Workers Day (May Day)
celebrations. Detainees included members of trade unions, journalists,
women's and children's rights activists, and others active on behalf of
civil society. On May 2, authorities released 25 men and two women on
third-party guarantees. All remaining detainees were reportedly sent to
Ward 240 of Evin Prison where, according to those who were released,
the detainees suffered mistreatment and were not allowed contact with
their families or lawyers. According to the Iran Free Trade Union's Web
site, authorities demanded that bail of approximately 500 million rials
($50,000) be posted for some of the detainees, including Jafar
Azimzadeh, Shahpour Ehsani, and Bahram (Issa) Abedini. At year's end
there had been no developments on the status of the detainees.
On June 14, during a general crackdown on dissidents, authorities
arrested Iranian Teachers' Organization head Alireza Hashemi and
detained him for 25 days. At year's end he remained under a three-year
suspended sentence on charges related to a 2007 protest calling for
teachers to receive pay and benefits equal to those of government
employees.
On August 6, security officers closed the offices of the
Association of Iranian Journalists (AIJ) immediately before a union
general meeting and President Ahmadi-Nejad's swearing-in. On December
28, according to RSF, plainclothes men arrested the spokesperson for
the organization. In June 2008 the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
threatened to dissolve the AIJ because it allegedly failed to uphold
its internal regulations. According to RSF, authorities sought removal
of the association's executive committee on grounds of alleged
procedural irregularities in voting during its general assemblies. The
AIJ held internal elections to satisfy the Ministry of Labor's concerns
but had yet to receive approval at the end of the year.
On February 18, authorities reportedly flogged two female labor
activists, Sussan Razani and Shiva Kheirabadi, in Sanandaj Central
Prison for participating in International Workers Day celebrations in
May 2008. Razani received a sentence of 70 lashes and a nine-month
suspended sentence, and Kheirabadi received 15 lashes (originally 40,
but reduced by an appeals court) and a four-month suspended sentence.
The court sentenced two other labor activists, Abdullah Khani and Syed
Ghalib Husseini, to prison terms and flogging for participating in the
same event.
Also on February 18, authorities released trade union member and
writer Mohsen Hakimi from Evin Prison, where he allegedly endured
physical and psychological abuse. In December 2008 security agents
reportedly arrested Hakimi on unspecified charges.
There was no further information about the 2007 case in which nine
members of the Hamedan Teachers' Association were sentenced to 91 days'
imprisonment for ``participating in unlawful strikes'' and for closing
schools; the pending trial of labor activist Mahmoud Salehi, former
head of the Saqqez Bakery Workers' Union, after he completed a one-year
term in prison in April 2008 for ``acting against national security'';
or bus driver syndicate leaders Mansur Ossanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, who
remained in prison at year's end on charges from 2007. AI noted that
Ossanlu was named in the general indictment of the ``show trials'' in
August and that authorities denied Ossanloo medical care.
The law prohibits public sector strikes, and the government
considered unlawful any strike deemed contrary to government economic
and labor policies, including strikes in the private sector, but
strikes occurred. According to an October 2008 UNGA report, security
forces continued to respond with arbitrary arrests and violence to
workers' attempts to create associations or conduct labor strikes over
wages.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers did not
have the right to organize independently or to negotiate collective
bargaining agreements freely. According to the International Trade
Union Confederation, labor legislation did not apply in export
processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The labor code
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by
children; however, there were reports that such practices occurred.
Female citizens were trafficked internally for the purpose of forced
prostitution.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits employment of minors younger than 15 and places
restrictions on employment of minors younger than 18. The government
did not adequately enforce laws pertaining to child labor, and child
labor was a serious problem. The law permits children to work in
agriculture, domestic service, and some small businesses, but prohibits
employment of minors in hard labor or night work. There was no
information regarding enforcement of these regulations.
According to government sources, three million children were
prevented from obtaining education because their families forced them
to work. Unofficial sources claimed the figure was closer to five
million. There were reportedly significant numbers of children--
primarily Afghan but also Iranian--working as street vendors in major
urban areas. Traffickers also exploited children for forced commercial
sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude as beggars and laborers.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law empowers the Supreme
Labor Council to establish annual minimum wage levels for each
industrial sector and region. On March 18, media reported that the
government increased the minimum monthly wage by 20 percent to 2.6
million rials ($260), which labor groups stated did not provide a
decent standard of living for workers and their families. International
media reported that government wages returned to their previous monthly
minimum in July after the election. There was no information regarding
mechanisms to set wages, and it was not known whether minimum wages
were enforced.
The labor law does not cover an estimated 700,000 legal workers, as
it applies in full only to workplaces with 10 or more workers.
Workplaces with fewer than five workers or in export processing zones
are exempt from all labor laws. Afghan workers, especially those
working illegally, often were paid less than the minimum wage. During
the year the government continued to deport illegal Afghan migrant
workers, some of whom may have been unregistered refugees (see section
1.d., Protection of Refugees).
The law establishes a maximum six-day, 48-hour workweek with a
weekly rest day, normally Friday, at least 12 days of paid annual
leave, several paid public holidays.
The law establishes a safety council chaired by the labor minister
or his representative protects workplace safety and health. Labor
organizations outside the country have alleged that hazardous work
environments were common and resulted in thousands of worker deaths
annually. The quality of safety regulation enforcement was unknown, and
it was unknown whether workers could remove themselves from hazardous
situations without risking the loss of employment.
__________
IRAQ
Iraq, with a population of approximately 29 million, is a republic
with a freely elected government led by Prime Minister Nouri Jawad al-
Maliki. The current administration assumed office in 2006 after the
Council of Representatives (COR) approved a unity government composed
of the major political parties. The 2005 COR elections establishing
this government met internationally recognized electoral standards for
free and fair elections, and the results of the elections reflected the
will of the voters, according to the final report of the International
Mission for Iraqi Elections.
During the year, the general security situation in the country
improved substantially. Violence decreased to the lowest level since
2004, although attacks on military, police, and civilians continued.
Compared to the previous year, civilian deaths from violence during the
year fell 47 percent to an average of seven civilian deaths per day and
Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) deaths from violence fell by 52 percent to
an average of 1.4 ISF deaths per day. Successful ISF operations
contributed to decreasing violence by consolidating government control
of areas Shia special groups and other extremists previously dominated.
Sectarian killing declined due to the continued observance, except by
some breakaway factions, of a series of unilateral ceasefires the Shia
militia Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) first announced in 2007, and the continued
efforts of ``Sons of Iraq'' (SOI) neighborhood security forces --
initiated in 2007 and 2008 and mostly affiliated with Sunni tribal
groups -- to undermine the influence of the terrorist group Al-Qa'ida
in Iraq (AQI) and other largely Sunni extremists.
During the year, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and Ministry of
Defense (MOD) increased the numbers of trained security forces to more
than 655,000, an increase of 65,000 from the 590,000 present at the end
of 2008. The ISF assumed control of cities on June 30 from
Multinational Force-Iraq (MNF-I) and, despite major coordinated
terrorist attacks in August, October, and December, generally
maintained law and order effectively. Civilian authorities generally
maintained control of the ISF. Continuing violence, corruption, and
organizational dysfunction undermined the government's ability to
protect human rights.
During the year the following significant human rights problems
were reported: arbitrary or unlawful killings; insurgent and terrorist
bombings and executions; disruption of authority by sectarian,
criminal, and extremist groups; arbitrary deprivation of life;
disappearances; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment or punishment; impunity; poor conditions in pretrial
detention and prison facilities; denial of fair public trials; delays
in resolving property restitution claims; immature judicial
institutions lacking capacity; arbitrary arrest and detention;
arbitrary interference with privacy and home; other abuses in internal
conflicts; limits on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and
association due to sectarianism and extremist threats and violence;
limits on religious freedom due to extremist threats and violence;
restrictions on freedom of movement; large numbers of internally
displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees; lack of protection of refugees
and stateless persons; lack of transparency and significant widespread
corruption at all levels of government; constraints on international
organizations and nongovernmental organizations' (NGOs) investigations
of alleged violations of human rights; discrimination against and
societal abuses of women and ethnic and religious minorities; human
trafficking; societal discrimination and violence against individuals
based on sexual orientation; and limited exercise of labor rights.
Insurgent and extremist violence, coupled with weak government
performance in upholding the rule of law, resulted in widespread and
severe human rights abuses. Although their influence and ability to
attack has significantly weakened since 2007, terrorist groups such as
AQI and other extremist elements continued to launch highly destructive
attacks, attempting to fuel sectarian tensions and undermine the
government's ability to maintain law and order. Extremist and AQI
attacks continued against ISF and government officials. AQI and other
extremists also conducted high-profile bombings targeting urban areas,
particularly prominent government buildings, Shia markets, and mosques,
and killing Shia religious pilgrims. Religious minorities, sometimes
labeled ``anti-Islamic,'' were often targeted in the violence.
Insurgents also carried out a number of attacks against other
civilians. During the year, despite some reconciliation and easing of
tensions in several provinces, the government's human rights
performance consistently fell short of according citizens the
protections the law provides.
The constitution and law provide a strong framework for the free
exercise of human rights. The country conducted credible and legitimate
provincial elections in 14 majority Arab provinces on January 31 and
regional elections in the three provinces that make up the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) on July 25. The prime minister and minister
of justice directed the MOD, in cooperation with other government
institutions, to transfer its civilian detainee population to Ministry
of Justice (MOJ) custody. The passage of a new electoral law on
December 6 set the stage for national parliamentary elections in early
2010.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year
there were reports that the government or its agents committed
arbitrary or unlawful killings in connection with the ongoing conflict.
According to personal accounts and numerous press reports, government
security forces caused civilian deaths during operations that targeted
and killed armed fighters or persons planning to carry out violence
against civilian or military targets.
On July 28, clashes erupted at Ashraf in Diyala Province when the
ISF attempted to establish a police presence inside the more than
3,400-person compound of the terrorist Iranian dissident group
Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The clashes resulted in the deaths of 11 MEK
members and injuries to 30 ISF officers. The government credibly
claimed the MEK provoked the clashes by staging a violent demonstration
to block the ISF from entering the compound.
Unlike in previous years, with the increased exercise of central
government authority over security forces, the phenomena of widespread
and confirmed unauthorized government agent involvement in
extrajudicial killings largely ceased. However, there were reports of
attacks by individuals posing as ISF. On November 17, west of Baghdad,
perpetrators wearing Iraqi army uniforms used silenced guns in the
execution-style killings of 13 men, including a Sunni politician from
the Iraqi Islamic Party. The victims had been kidnapped from their
homes in the villages of Abid and Khodeir Zaidan. On November 25, men
dressed in Iraqi army uniforms entered a house in the village of
Tarmiya and killed six members of a family, including women and
children.
There was virtual impunity for officials tried for extrajudicial
killings. In 2007 several high-ranking Ministry of Health (MOH)
officials who were JAM members--including deputy minister Hakim al-
Zamili--were arrested and charged with organizing the killing of
hundreds of Sunnis in Baghdad's hospitals. In March 2008 a three-judge
panel, citing a lack of evidence, acquitted the defendants, who were
released soon after. There were allegations of witness intimidation
throughout the process. At year's end an appeal by the prosecution was
pending.
Although overall violence against the civilian population greatly
decreased during the year, insurgent and terrorist bombings,
executions, and killings were regular occurrences throughout all
regions and sectors of society. On March 23, a suicide bomber attacked
a Kurdish funeral in the city of Jalula, killing 27. On August 19, a
coordinated attack on the ministries of foreign affairs and finance
killed 100 persons and injured more than 500. Four more attacks
occurred simultaneously throughout Baghdad, wounding 20 other
individuals. On September 28, a series of bombings in Baghdad, Ramadi,
Mosul, and Qadasiya killed 18 persons and wounded 55 others. On October
25, two car bombs targeting the MOJ and the Baghdad Provincial
Government headquarters exploded, killing 155 persons and injuring
approximately 500. On December 8, bombs exploded near education
facilities, judicial complexes, and other government institutions,
killing 127 persons and wounding more than 500. AQI claimed
responsibility for the coordinated Baghdad bombings targeting
government institutions on August 19, October 25, and December 8.
Incidents of terrorist attacks by female suicide bombers continued
to occur during the year. On February 13, a female suicide bomber blew
herself up in the midst of a group of Shia pilgrims on their way to
visit the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, killing 30 and wounding 80
individuals. On February 15, a female suicide bomber in Khanaqin blew
herself up inside a restaurant, killing 15 persons and injuring 13
others.
On January 21, the ISF arrested Samira Ahmed Jassim al-Azzawi, who
confessed to recruiting 80 women to carry out suicide bombing missions
in Baghdad and Diyala Province. Police linked her to a 2007 attack that
killed 12 individuals, many of whom were police recruits, and another
2007 bombing that killed 15 persons at a Sunni Awakening meeting in
Diyala. On November 30, the ISF arrested Rajaa Idan Farhan for
recruiting female bombers and for preparing an explosive belt for Ranya
Ibrahim, a failed suicide bomber arrested in Baaquba in 2008.
An estimated 515 ISF members were killed during the year. Police
officers, in particular, were targeted. On March 8, a suicide bomber
attacked a police academy in eastern Baghdad killing 28 persons and
wounding 57 others. On September 7, six army and police checkpoints in
Baghdad, Karbala, Ramadi, and Baquba were attacked with bombs and
grenades, killing approximately 21. On December 24, two explosions in
Hilla killed 25 persons, including 14 police, and wounded 105,
including 35 police.
Terrorists also targeted political institutions and leaders. On
January 16, Dawa party member Haitham Kadhim al-Husaini was shot and
killed after a campaign appearance in the Jabala district in Babil
Province. On June 12, Dr. Harith al-Obeidi, deputy chairman of the
COR's Human Rights Committee and head of the Sunni Tawafuq Front party,
was shot and killed as he left a Baghdad mosque after Friday prayers.
On July 30, a pair of explosions targeting the Iraqi Islamic Party
offices in Baquba killed five persons and injured 14. On November 22, a
gunman assassinated a member of the Executive Committee of the Iraqi
Turkoman Front political party, Yauz Ahmad Efendi, at his home in
Mosul. On December 30, two suicide bombers detonated explosives near
the governor's office in Ramadi, killing 24 persons including one
member of the provincial council and wounding 58 including the governor
of Anbar, Qasim Abed al-Fahadawi.
Terrorists also targeted religious institutions and minority groups
(see section 2.c.).
AQI attacks against SOI and Sunni tribal leaders increased during
the year. On January 24, two Awakening Council guards were killed and
two wounded when their checkpoint was attacked in Babil. On April 11, a
suicide bomber killed eight SOI members and injured 30 others while the
officers waited for their pay in Iskandariyah. On December 7, six
Awakening Council members were shot and killed in Nadeem village, north
of Baghdad.
In Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk, the three provinces comprising
the Kurdistan region, there were significantly fewer reports of
sectarian violence than elsewhere in the country.
Unlike in the previous year, there were no confirmed reports of KRG
security forces using excessive lethal force. In August 2008 residents
of Sreshma village in Erbil demonstrated in favor of improved access to
water. As they reached the Khalifan village mayor's office, the police
opened fire, killing a 15-year-old bystander and injuring four others.
The governor of Erbil suspended the chief of the Khalifan police, but
an investigation was unable to fix responsibility for the incident.
Unlike in the previous year, there were no terrorist attacks within
the Kurdistan region. There were attacks on Kurdish regional security
Peshmerga forces operating in other provinces. On October 5, a car bomb
in Shalaan village in Ninewa governorate targeting a convoy of
Peshmerga soldiers injured 12. On December 25, a car bomb targeting a
patrol of Peshmerga soldiers in the district on Sinjar in Ninewa
governorate killed three and wounded 15.
The Turkish Air Force and artillery targeted the Kurdistan Worker's
Party (PKK) sites in the Kurdistan region multiple times during the
year. During the week of February 8, these attacks killed 13 PKK
members. Iranian forces occasionally bombarded areas along the Iran-
Iraq border, targeting members of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan,
an Iranian Kurdish separatist rebel group. In August there were Iranian
mortar attacks against the border villages of Hajj Omran district in
Erbil Province, including the villages of Bwara Gurg, Dola Sebar and
Kodian Mountain.
There were no other known developments in 2008 killings.
Other parts of this report contain related information (see
sections 2.a., 2.c., and 2.d.).
b. Disappearance.--During the year kidnappings and disappearances
remained severe problems. The majority of the reported cases appeared
to be financially motivated, with large ransom demands, rather than
sectarian-based. Police believed that the majority of cases went
unreported.
Unlike in previous years, there were fewer reports that police
arrested civilians without an arrest warrant and held them for ransom.
On November 17, a Baghdad police lieutenant was arrested for the
kidnapping and murder of his neighbor's son. The officer had demanded
ransom before he killed the child. He remained in custody awaiting
trial at year's end.
Kidnappings were often conducted for ransom, and religious
minorities and children were often the target of such kidnappings.
Kidnappers who did not receive ransom often killed their victims. On
August 18, Sameer Gorgees was kidnapped in Kirkuk and held for 29 days,
during which he was tortured. The kidnappers released him on September
16 after a payment of 110 million Iraqi Dinars (ID) (approximately
$100,000) ransom. On September 14, unknown assailants abducted Soran
Abdul-Qadir, head of human rights and democracy programs for Norwegian
People's Aid's in Sulaymaniyah. He was found alive three days later in
Kirkuk, showing signs of physical abuse. In July his home was
vandalized and he received death threats. On October 3, Iman Elias
Abdul Karim was kidnapped in Kirkuk and his body found a day later. The
MOI Human Rights office reported that it investigated 525 missing
person cases during the year; results were pending.
Five British men (a computer expert and four bodyguards) were
kidnapped in 2007. Peter Moore, the computer expert, was released
unharmed on December 30, while the bodies of three of the four
bodyguards were returned on June 19 and September 3 to the United
Kingdom. The whereabouts of the fifth man remained unknown at year's
end. Fifteen Americans, four South Africans, four Russian diplomats,
and one Japanese citizen who were abducted since 2003 remained missing.
There was no further information on the 2007 kidnapping of the Ministry
of Science and Technology acting undersecretary, Samir Salim al-Attar.
Until its fall in 2003, the former regime caused the disappearance
of many thousands of persons. Additional mass graves from that period
were discovered during the year. On May 12, a mass grave was discovered
containing 100 bodies in the province Diwaniyah. The victims were
thought to be Kurds killed prior to 1991 by the former regime. On May
15, the Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR) announced that it had
discovered three mass graves in the Qadissiya district west of Najaf.
The graves were estimated to contain 3,000 bodies, mostly of Kurds
killed during the Al-Anfal campaign in 1988. On December 19, the
government announced the discovery of a mass grave near Kirkuk that
contained dozens of bodies believed to be those of Kurds killed between
1988 and 1991.
More recent mass graves were also discovered. On February 14,
officials found a mass grave in al-Midaan village north of Baghdad
containing 40 persons killed in 2006 by Sunni insurgents in the area.
On May 25, a mass grave containing eight bodies believed to be victims
of AQI was found in the city of Baqubah.
Other parts of this report contain related information (see
sections 1.b. and 2.a.).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
The constitution expressly prohibits torture in all its forms under
all circumstances, as well as cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
During the year there were documented instances of torture and other
abuses by government agents and similar abuses by illegal armed groups.
The government's effectiveness in adhering to the rule of law in these
circumstances faced obstacles from ongoing large-scale violence,
corruption, sectarian bias, and lack of civilian oversight and
accountability, particularly in the security forces and detention
facilities.
During the year local and international human rights organizations,
the MOHR, and the human rights directorates of the MOI and MOD
continued to report allegations of torture and abuse in several MOI and
MOD detention facilities, as well as in KRG security forces' detention
facilities. A MOHR prisons report for 2009 indicated that there were
326 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment at MOI facilities,
152 cases at MOD facilities, 14 cases at Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs (MOLSA) facilities, one case at MOJ facilities, and 12 in
Peshmerga facilities in the Kurdistan region during that year.
As in previous years, reports of abuse at the point of arrest and
during the investigation period, particularly by the MOI's Federal
Police and the MOD's battalion-level forces, continued to be common.
Allegations of abuse included beatings, sexual assault, and death
threats.
On February 8, the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCC-I) found
three defendants guilty of terrorism charges stemming from a 2007
improvised explosive device attack that killed former Babil Province
police chief Qais Hamza Abud al-Mamouri. The CCC-I issued life
sentences rather than imposing the death penalty due to credible
evidence that the defendants had been tortured while in police custody
awaiting trial.
On February 14, thousands of protesters called for Diyala
provincial police chief Ghanim al-Quraishi to be fired for several
incidents of torture; he was relieved of duty in mid-August.
On May 17, three detainees at the MOI Al Forsan detention facility
in Ramadi were allegedly tortured. The MOI brought charges against five
officers for their role in the abuse. On June 10, prison guards
allegedly tortured and raped female detainees at an MOI detention
facility in the Adamiya neighborhood of Baghdad. Two MOI officers were
charged, but there were no updates at year's end.
On June 11, three members of the COR alleged that 11 detainees had
been subject to abuse and torture by MOI officials, including 11 at an
MOI facility in the Rusafa district and 10 at Diwaniyah prison.
Following these claims, prisoners at the 11th Iraqi Army detention
facility went on a hunger strike for a day in protest of their own
conditions before receiving government assurances of an investigation.
On June 18, the government established a committee to investigate the
claims and charged 40 police officers for abuse. According to
government reports, one general, two colonels, two majors, and two
lieutenants were suspended pending additional investigation into
charges of detainee abuse. There were no updates on their cases at
year's end.
There were indications that some disciplinary action was taken
against security forces accused of human rights abuses and some
judicial follow-up in torture cases. During the year the MOI Human
Rights Directorate, with a staff of 50 investigators, opened 55
investigations into human rights abuse cases and sent 15 cases to court
for further investigation. At year's end nine of the 15 investigations
had substantiated allegations of torture against 14 officers including
one general, five colonels, and three majors.
There were fewer reports of torture or abuse in the MOJ's pretrial
detention facilities than in MOI or MOD facilities.
The KRG's Antiterrorist Law allows abusive interrogation under
certain conditions, and such practices reportedly occurred in some
detention facilities run by the KRG internal security forces (Asayish)
and party-affiliated intelligence services Parastin of the KDP and
Zaniyari of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Allegations of
abuse included stress positions, broken fingers, and application of
electric shocks. A MOHR report on prison conditions in the Kurdistan
region noted that inspectors had observed signs of ``systemic torture''
in Asayish detention facilities, although cases in prisons run by KRG
social welfare authorities were limited to isolated instances.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Despite a law mandating
that detention facilities be under the sole control of the MOJ, four
separate ministries operated detention facilities: the MOJ, MOI, MOD,
and MOLSA, whose facilities are exclusively for juvenile detention. KRG
social welfare authorities operated prisons in the KRG, and KRG
security authorities operated pretrial detention facilities. KRG
internal security forces and KRG intelligence services operated
separate detention facilities as well. Kurdish authorities operated
eight detention facilities that combined pretrial and postconviction
housing and eight additional internal security pretrial detention
facilities.
Although the government had not yet adequately resourced the MOJ
with the personnel, supplies, equipment, and facilities to assume
complete control over all detention operations throughout the country,
there was significant progress in transferring MOD detainees to MOJ
detention facilities.
At year's end there were 11 MOJ prisons and seven MOJ pretrial
detention facilities. Under the direction of the previous acting
minister of justice, the Baghdad Central Prison (formerly Abu Ghraib)
was reopened in November 2008 with a plan to hold as many as 5,000
posttrial prisoners. A prison riot occurred on September 10 that
damaged the facility and required relocation of the entire prison
population of 2,630 inmates. At year's end the MOJ did not have plans
to reopen or further use Baghdad Central Prison, and to accommodate the
relocation of its inmates, the MOJ formally activated the 3,000-bed
posttrial facility at Chamchamal in Sulaymaniyah Province.
MOI detention facilities comprise an estimated six Federal Police
facilities and 294 Iraqi Police facilities. There are an estimated
1,200 smaller MOI police holding stations throughout the country
managed, staffed, and operated by the Federal Police, Iraqi Police
Services, Criminal Investigations Division, and the National
Investigative and Information Agency. Although there were no
independently verified statistics, it was estimated that the MOI
facilities held as many as 8,000 pretrial detainees.
The MOD operated 27 Iraqi Army pretrial detention centers for
detainees captured during military raids and operations. There were
reports of unofficial detention centers throughout the country. The MOD
lacks the legal authority to detain civilians and is required to
transfer detainees to MOI or MOJ facilities within 24 hours. In May the
MOD began transferring its civilian detainees to MOJ custody. At year's
end an estimated 75 percent of MOD detainees (approximately 1,500
persons) had been transferred. Approximately 650 civilian detainees
remained in MOD custody at year's end, the majority located in a
detention facility in the International Zone in Baghdad, operated by
the 56th Iraqi Army Brigade, and the Old Muthanna Airfield in Baghdad,
operated by the 54th Iraqi Army Brigade.
The majority of individuals in MOI and MOD facilities were pretrial
detainees. Overcrowding of pretrial detainees remained a problem in all
detention facilities throughout the country, due to slow case
processing. For example, the MOI Khamees detention center in Diyala,
with a capacity of 200 inmates, held more than 450 in unsanitary
conditions, according to an April report of the UN High Commissioner on
Human Rights.
The MOJ is the only government entity with the legal authority to
hold, care for, and guard posttrial detainees. The total capacity of
MOJ's Iraqi Corrections Service (ICS) facilities was 20,295 beds (not
including emergency capacity), which included 304 dedicated beds for
women. The total number of prisoners in the ICS was 20,223, 47 percent
of whom were pretrial detainees.
In MOI and MOD detention facilities, conditions and treatment of
detainees were generally reported as poor. The MOI Human Rights
Directorate conducted 120 inspections during the year and found that
most facilities had shown improvement from the previous year, but
overcrowding remained widespread. Many lacked adequate food, exercise
facilities, medical care, and family visitation. Limited infrastructure
or aging physical plants in some facilities resulted in marginal
sanitation, limited access to water and electricity, and poor quality
food. Medical care in MOI and MOD detention facilities was not provided
consistently, and there continued to be allegations of abuse and
torture in some facilities. At the MOD's detention center in the
International Zone in Baghdad, detainees were denied family visits or
access to counsel, were held in overcrowded cells, and exhibited
evidence of torture and abuse.
Despite limited resources and funds, MOJ detention facilities
provided detainees with better treatment and living conditions than MOI
and MOD detention facilities. Medical care in MOJ's ICS prisons in some
locations exceeded the community standard. ICS personnel made
significant progress in meeting internationally accepted standards for
prisoner needs. The MOJ is responsible for training ICS guards and
correctional executive management staff, providing the facilities with
necessary supplies and equipment, addressing overcrowding, facilitating
case processing, and providing prison rehabilitation programs.
The ICS internal affairs department monitored abuse or violations
of international standards for human rights in prisons. Allegations of
abuse have resulted in the disciplining of ICS officers in some cases.
During the year there were two allegations that ICS staff abused
detainees.
The law mandates that women and juveniles be held separately from
adult males. Although this law was generally observed, in some cases
women were held in the same detention facility as men, but in
segregated quarters and cellblocks. An MOD inspection of a facility in
Baghdad's International Zone found women at the facility, albeit in
separate cells. Juveniles were also occasionally held with adults. MOD
inspections of its own International Zone facility and Old Muthanna
detention facilities found juveniles living in the same cells as adult
detainees. Additionally pretrial detainees and convicted prisoners were
sometimes held in the same facility due to space limitations.
During the year MOLSA's juvenile facilities improved. In June the
Tobschi juvenile facility in Baghdad completed renovations and
increased its capacity from 265 to 327 beds. The current population at
Tobschi is 279 pretrial juveniles. The Kharq juvenile facility remained
overcrowded, with a capacity of 245 and a total population of 435
posttrial juveniles. There have been no reported instances of abuse or
mistreatment in MOLSA facilities.
KRG security authorities operated male pretrial detention
facilities and KRG social welfare authorities operated male posttrial
and female and juvenile pretrial and posttrial detention facilities in
the Kurdistan region. The national MOHR and a KRG human rights official
visited several detention facilities run by KRG social welfare
authorities during the year. The KRG internal security forces and the
KRG intelligence services operated separate detention facilities.
Domestic and international human rights NGOs and intergovernmental
organizations generally had access to pretrial and posttrial
facilities. Access by independent organizations to the facilities of
the KRG internal security and intelligence services was limited to the
MOHR, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and UN.
National detention facilities permitted visits by representatives
of the national MOHR and members of parliament, and KRG detention
facilities permitted visits by the national MOHR and KRG human rights
authorities. In accordance with a directive from the prime minister,
the national MOHR continued its own program inspecting every detention
facility monthly apart from those run by the KRG, which were inspected
jointly. The MOHR's fourth annual report covering 2009 was generally
critical of prison standards across the country and addressed general
conditions and populations of detention facilities, judicial processes,
and torture allegations. It reported 326 confirmed cases of torture or
abuse within the MOI, 152 cases within the MOD, 14 cases within MOLSA,
12 cases in Peshmerga facilities in the Kurdistan region, and one case
in the MOJ for the year. The Higher Judicial Council (HJC) was
investigating the cases at year's end.
Domestic and international human rights NGOs and intergovernmental
organizations generally did not have access to national MOI detention
and pretrial facilities, although the MOHR initiated a program during
the year to train NGOs in how to conduct prison inspections. Some
intergovernmental organizations had access to similar facilities of the
KRG internal security and intelligence forces. Only the ICRC visited
several detention facilities and prisons under the MOI, MOD, MOLSA, and
MOJ around the country and had access to KRG detainees, some of whom
were held in Asayish facilities. The ICRC visited these facilities in
accordance with standard modalities. During the year the ICRC carried
out 76 visits to 26 central government detention facilities. The ICRC
also regularly visited 32 KRG detention facilities.
Other parts of this report contain related information (see
sections 1.d. and 5).
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution provides for
protection against arbitrary arrest and detention without a warrant,
except in extreme exigent circumstances as provided for in a state of
emergency. In practice there were many instances of arbitrary arrest
and detention.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISF consists of MOI
security forces and MOD military forces. The MOI exercised its
responsibilities throughout the country, except in the KRG area. These
responsibilities include providing internal security through police and
domestic intelligence capabilities, facilities protection, and
regulating all domestic and foreign private security companies. The ISF
also has responsibility for emergency response, border enforcement,
dignitary protection, firefighting, and internal monitoring of the
conduct of MOI personnel. The army, under direction of the MOD, also
plays a part in providing domestic security.
The MOI security forces include several components: the 292,700-
member Iraqi Police Service deployed in police stations; the 43,800-
member Federal Police, overwhelmingly Shia and organized into commandos
and public order police; the 40,000-member Border Enforcement Police;
and the 83,000 Facilities Protection Service security guards deployed
at MOI direction at individual ministries. The MOI was responsible for
approximately 600,000 employees, 10 percent of the country's male labor
force.
During the year the security services exhibited greater integration
of the SOI into the ISF, strengthened chain of command and control, and
fewer shortages of personnel and equipment. Total trained ISF numbers
grew to at least 655,000 from 590,000 in 2008, enabling the ISF to
improve operations against extremist activity. Although oversight by
MOI and MOD Internal Affairs increased, problems continued with all
security services, arising from sectarian divisions, corruption, and
unwillingness to serve outside the areas in which personnel were
recruited. The effort of the head of the Federal Police to have police
serve in provinces other than their home provinces to reduce corruption
was partially successful.
The ability of the overwhelmingly Shia ISF to convince Sunni
communities that the ISF was not biased in enforcement remained a
problem. Government efforts to pay the approximately 94,000 SOI
personnel, mostly Sunnis, and integrate them into full-time government
employment positions (20 percent with state security agencies and 80
percent with civil ministries) continued on a largely successful
course. Legitimate complaints about payment delays persisted, in part
because the country operated principally as a cash economy. Although
the government's stated goal was to transition all 50,000 of the
Baghdad SOI into government positions by the end of the year, this did
not occur. The government did successfully transition more than 37,000
of the SOI during the year. Suspected government targeting and arrest
of SOI personnel for alleged previous insurgent of Ba'athist activity
continued to be a point of tension between the Sunni population and the
government. Since October 2008, 43 SOI leaders have been arrested, and
33 remained in custody at year's end.
The KRG maintained its own regional security forces, the Peshmerga,
as set forth in the constitution. The two main parties of the Kurdish
region maintained ties to these Peshmerga units as well as to other
security and intelligence units currently outside KRG or central
government control. KRG security forces and intelligence services were
involved in the detention of suspects in KRG-controlled areas. The
variety of borders and areas of authority remained a cause of
confusion, and therefore concern, with regard to the jurisdiction of
security and courts.
During the year the KRG merged its two KDP and PUK-based Peshmerga
forces under an entity for Peshmerga affairs. KRG internal security
forces remained separated in practice along party lines. On April 5, in
Sulaymaniyah, the chief judge of the province and the head of the PUK
branch of the KRG internal security forces signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU), acknowledging the supremacy of the civilian court
system in all security matters. Through the MOU, KRG internal security
forces pledged not to carry out arrests and other actions without court
authority.
Central government and KRG authorities often did not maintain
effective control over security forces, despite increased efforts.
In April 2008 the MOI established the Internal Security Forces
disciplinary and criminal court system to adjudicate disciplinary
violations and crimes committed by MOI police. The court began hearing
cases in July 2008. Although the MOI Internal Security Forces Courts
continued to process cases during the year, their effectiveness in
holding high-level officials accountable for serious violations
remained unproven. There are five regional courts: Erbil, Mosul,
Baghdad, Hillah, and Basrah. All but the First Regional ISF Court, in
Erbil, heard cases. A court of cassation heard appeals in Baghdad. The
regional courts have reviewed 5,937 cases, returned 1,475 cases for
further investigation, issued 1,495 sentences, and had 814 cases
pending as of July.
In July alone the Internal Security Forces Courts convicted and
sentenced 272 police and acquitted two. Courts sentenced six police
officers to five to 15 years, eight police officers to one to five
years, and 258 police officers to less than one year in jail. Two
police officers were assessed fines.
Between January and July, MOI Internal Affairs closed 391
investigations. Of the closed cases, 128 were referred to the court
system for adjudication and 105 to the Commission of Integrity for
further inquiry. Auditors identified 140 billion ID (approximately $112
million) in improper expenditures.
In an environment where allegations did not often lead to
convictions, there were more allegations of MOI and MOD abuses than in
the previous year. There were continuing reports of torture and abuse
throughout the country in many MOI police stations and MOD facilities;
the incidents generally occurred during the interrogation phases.
Unlike in the previous year, MOI employees accused of serious human
rights abuses were generally investigated and punished rather than
transferred. The MOI Internal Affairs division punished 103 officers
and opened 66 new investigations into wrongdoing.
Investigative judges rarely pursued security force officials for
suspected crimes because the law permits the minister responsible for
the suspect to block an arrest warrant by withholding agreement.
Permission was rarely given during the year to prosecute higher-level
officials.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution prohibits ``unlawful detention'' and mandates that
preliminary investigative documents be submitted to an investigative
judge within 24 hours from time of arrest, a period that can be
extended only by one day. For offenses punishable by death, the
defendant can be detained for as long as necessary to complete the
judicial process. Law enforcement authorities reportedly continued to
detain and search individuals without an arrest warrant after the state
of emergency law expired in 2007, although there were no reliable
statistics available on such incidents.
In practice many detainees have been held for months or years
without access to defense counsel or without being formally charged or
brought before a judge. Police and army personnel frequently arrested
and detained suspects without judicial approval. MOHR and MOD Human
Rights Directorate inspections of the MOD detention facilities in the
International Zone and at Old Muthanna Airfield found many detainees
without case files or valid detention orders. Security sweeps sometimes
were conducted throughout entire neighborhoods or provinces. For
example, on September 19, the police arrested 33 men in Baqubah who
were wanted for alleged terrorist activity. Police often failed to
notify family members of the arrest or location of detention, resulting
in incommunicado detention.
At year's end the number of detainees in government hands was
estimated at 29,000, not including those in central government
facilities in the KRG or Asayish and KRG intelligence service
facilities. At year's end the ICS held 19,751; the MOI, an unverified
number estimated at 8,000; the MOD, 650; and the MOLSA, approximately
700. The KRG total was approximately 2,200, not including central
government facilities in the KRG or Asayish and KRG intelligence
service facilities.
In practice few detainees saw an investigative judge within the
legally mandated time period. Many complained they did not see the
investigative judge until months or sometimes years after arrest and
detention. Incommunicado detention took place. Lengthy detention
periods without judicial action were a systemic problem. The lack of
judicial review was due to a number of factors that included
undocumented detentions, backlogs in the judiciary, slow processing of
criminal investigations, and an insufficient number of judges. A
February 20 UN Security Council report noted that many detainees were
deprived of their liberty for months or even years, often in poor
conditions. There were allegations of detention beyond judicial release
dates as well as unlawful releases.
In April the MOJ, with assistance from the international community,
took action regarding pretrial detainees who had been in the Rusafa
Prison Complex without movement on resolving their cases. This MOJ
initiative represented the first step by the government to identify and
implement a process for moving cases against pretrial detainees toward
resolution. The MOJ began by identifying 936 pretrial detainees the MOD
had arrested who were in need of case processing. By year's end 365 of
the MOD detainees had received case processing, and another 190 had
been released. In August the MOJ completed a second survey of pre-trial
detainees at Rusafa, which identified 1,209 pretrial detainees who had
been arrested and had been in pretrial confinement for more than six
months. At year's end 340 of the detainees had received some level of
court action on their case, resulting in the release of 262
individuals.
There were reports that KRG internal security units detained
suspects incommunicado and without an arrest warrant and that they
transported detainees to undisclosed detention facilities.
Police across the country continued to use coerced confessions and
abuse as methods of investigation.
The law allows release on bond, and in practice criminal (but not
security) detainees were generally released on bail.
Judges are authorized to appoint paid counsel for the indigent and
did so in practice. Some attorneys appointed to represent detainees
complained that poor access to their clients after their appointment
hampered adequate attorney-client consultation.
Amnesty.--The COR passed a general Amnesty Law that became
effective in February 2008. Pursuant to the law, the HJC formed an
amnesty committee in each province headed by four judges and a
prosecutor to review all detainee cases and, when appropriate, to
recommend release. The law, designed to foster national reconciliation
because detainees are disproportionately Sunni, allowed amnesty for
certain cases predating the passage of the law. It was not applicable
for detainees sentenced to death, and it excluded from amnesty other
specified crimes, such as murder and acts of terrorism. Since passage
of the Amnesty Law, the HJC has reviewed more than 171,000 cases and
determined that more than 137,000 cases affecting individuals who were
fugitives, on bail, or held in pretrial and posttrial confinement--a
total of 25,000 detainees--were eligible for amnesty. Since the Amnesty
Law came into effect, there have been more than 35,000 persons granted
amnesty and more than 19,000 detainees released, according to MOHR
data.
In 2007 the Kurdistan National Assembly passed a General Amnesty
Law for the KRG. A KRG human rights official reported that more than
644 of the approximately 1,054 convicted prisoners in KRG social
welfare authorities' prisons received amnesty by the end of 2007, which
was the only year in which the KRG Amnesty Law was in effect.
Other sections of this report contain related information (see
sections 2.a. and 2.d.).
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary. Although the judicial system was credited with
efforts to maintain an independent stance, unstable circumstances in
the country rendered the judiciary weak and dependent on other parts of
the government. Threats and killings by insurgent, sectarian, tribal,
and criminal elements impaired judicial independence in many places.
The courts in Baghdad were notable exceptions, particularly the Central
Criminal Court of Iraq (CCC-I), Kharkh, and the Felony Court, Rusafa,
(formerly the Rusafa CCC-I), which operated in heavily guarded
locations. The MOI agreed to supplement security for judges and allowed
judges to select which police officers would be assigned to their
security detail. Approximately 2,000 police officers under MOI
authority have been assigned to protect judges.
Judges frequently faced death threats and attacks. On October 16, a
judge from Ninewa Province was among those killed in a suicide bombing
at a mosque in Mosul. This was the only judge killed during the year,
although there were several instances of attempted killings, assaults,
and attacks on judges and their family members.
Although individual judges were generally viewed as objective and
courageous, judges were vulnerable to intimidation and violence. There
were reports that criminal cases at the trial level or on appeal to the
Court of Cassation were decided by corruption or intimidation. Unlike
in the previous year, there were few reports that court-issued detainee
release orders were not consistently enforced.
Security threats hindered the ability of citizens to access courts
and the judicial system. Witness intimidation continued, and witnesses
to criminal trials often failed to attend trials and testify due to
threats against them.
The law also restricted the free investigation of wrongdoing.
Section 136(b) of the criminal procedure code gives ministers the
opportunity to review and prevent the execution of arrest warrants that
sitting judges presiding over criminal investigations have issued
against ministry employees. This provision provided immunity to
selected government employees and enabled a component of the executive
branch to terminate proceedings initiated by the judicial branch.
During the year permission was given to arrest only lower-level
ministry employees under Section 136(b).
The HJC, an administrative body of sitting judges from the Federal
Supreme Court, the Court of Cassation, and the appeals courts, manages
and supervises the judiciary at all levels--investigative, trial,
appellate, and supreme court. The HJC also includes representatives of
the Judiciary Oversight Committee (a judicial oversight board that
hears charges of judicial misconduct) and regional judicial councils.
Although implementing legislation for the constitutionally created HJC
received its second reading in the COR in July 2008, it had yet to be
enacted by year's end. On October 25, a suicide car bomber heavily
damaged the MOJ building, which housed the headquarters of the HJC.
Despite the damage to the building, the HJC continued its operations
with minimal interruption and continued to manage and supervise the
judiciary from alternate headquarters. The attack on the HJC
headquarters on October 25 and a subsequent attack on December 8 on the
Old Kharkh Courthouse (temporary headquarters of the Court of
Cassation) did not cause any long-term disruption to the HJC as an
institution.
The constitution provides for an independent judiciary in all
regions.
In 2007 the KRG passed the Judicial Power Law, which attempted to
create a more independent judiciary. The Kurdish Judicial Council
(KJC), which had been part of the executive branch's MOJ, became
legally independent and took responsibility for its own budget, human
resource management, and reporting. KRG judicial authorities no longer
have direct operational control over the judiciary, the KRG financial
authorities relinquished control of the KJC's budget, and the chief
justice was appointed by other judges and not by the executive branch.
Nonetheless, the executive continued to influence cases in politically
sensitive areas, such as freedom of speech and the press. According to
an April report from Amnesty International (AI) on the Kurdistan
region, a KRG judge who wrote a newspaper article in which he
criticized Asayish interference in the judicial process was
subsequently threatened by a senior Asayish official to stop such
comments or face adverse consequences.
The judicial system includes civil courts that address domestic,
family, labor, employment, contract, and real and personal property
claims. Challenges to the judgments rendered in these civil proceedings
go first to the appeals courts of the provinces in which the trial
courts sit; after that, secondary appeals may be made to the Court of
Cassation. The Law on Criminal Proceedings provides for the use of
traditional tribal justice. Usually, arbitration (al-Fasil) is accepted
in all governorates or other forms of extrajudicial procedures. Cases
are referred to government courts when tribal arbitration is unable to
reach a verdict. The CCC-I, located in Baghdad, hears cases involving
serious criminal offenses, including detainees referred for
prosecution. It has nationwide discretionary investigative and trial
jurisdiction over all criminal violations, with focus on terrorism,
governmental corruption, organized crime, sabotage, and sectarian or
ethnic violence. The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed in a December
2008 report that the CCC-I seriously failed to meet international
standards of due process and fair trials. The failures reported
included long periods of pretrial detention without judicial review,
inability to pursue a meaningful defense or challenge evidence, and
abuse in detention to extract confessions. The lack of judicial review
was due to a number of factors, whose relative weight was difficult to
assess, including a large number of pre-trial detainees, undocumented
detentions, backlogs in the judiciary, slow processing of criminal
investigations, and an insufficient number of judges.
In addition to the criminal and civil trial and appellate courts,
the court system includes a Federal Supreme Court (FSC), the
jurisdiction of which is limited to resolving disputes between branches
of government or between the federal government and the provinces
(governorates) and reviewing the constitutionality of laws,
regulations, procedures, and directives of the various branches and
units of government throughout the country. The Presidency Council
appointed the nine members of the FSC. Like the HJC, the FSC had yet to
see its proposed implementing legislation enacted by year's end, but
this has not hindered the court's operations.
In 2003 the Governing Council created the Iraqi High Tribunal
(IHT), formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal, to try persons accused of
committing war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and specified
offenses from July 17, 1968, through May 1, 2003. After a trial, the
IHT in 2006 sentenced Saddam Hussein to death based upon his conviction
for crimes against humanity relating to the killing of 148 villagers
from Ad-Dujayl following an alleged 1982 assassination attempt. Two
other regime members, Barzan al-Tikriti and Awad al-Bandar, were also
convicted and sentenced to death at the same time for similar crimes.
The verdicts were confirmed on appeal and they were executed in 2006
and 2007.
In the 2007 Anfal trial, Ali Hassan al-Majid, widely referred to as
``Chemical Ali,'' and two codefendants, Sultan Hashem Ahmed and Hussein
Rashid Mohammed, were convicted of genocide and related charges and
sentenced to death. The sentences were upheld on appeal. Codefendants
Farhan Jubouri and Saber Abdel Aziz al-Douri were sentenced to life
imprisonment, and Taher Tawfiq al-Ani was acquitted. The Anfal trial
concerned the deaths of an estimated 182,000 Kurdish men, women, and
children, caused in part by the use of chemical weapons. The death
sentences had not been carried out at year's end because of a dispute
between the Prime Minister's Office and the Presidency Council (the
president and two deputy presidents) over whether the sentences had to
be affirmed by the Presidency Council. In February 2008 the Presidency
Council ratified the death sentence of Ali Hassan Al Majid. Sunni vice
president Tariq Al Hashimi and Shia vice president Adel Abdul Mahdi
signed the ratification. Mahdi also signed the decree on behalf of
President Jalal Talabani. The death sentence for Ali Hassan Al Majid is
the only IHT death sentence the Presidency Council has ratified.
In 2007 the IHT began its third trial, the 1991 Intifada case, in
which 15 defendants were charged with crimes against humanity in Maysan
and Basrah Provinces. The 15 defendants were high-level members of the
former regime and key military and Ba'ath Party officials, including
Ali Hasan Al-Majid. In December 2008 the IHT sentenced al-Majid and
Abdul Ghani Abdul Ghafour to death. Former minister of defense Sultan
Hashim Ahmad al-Tai was sentenced to 15 years (al-Tai already had been
sentenced to death for his role in Anfal). After appellate review, four
defendants received life sentences, Sultan Hashim and five others were
sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment, and three defendants were
acquitted. The events in other provinces involving the 1991 Shia
uprising remained under investigation. The prosecutor subsequently
appealed the acquittals of two defendants and the sentences of the two
others. Those cases were sent back to the trial chamber for
reconsideration, and the trial chamber heard additional evidence. Upon
reconsideration, the two defendants who were acquitted were convicted
and sentenced to 15 years each. The two defendants who were sent back
to the trial chamber for sentencing had their sentences increased from
15 years to life.
In April 2008 the IHT began its fourth trial, the merchants' case,
in which the former regime in 1992 blamed merchants for shortages and
high prices. At that time a ``Special Court'' was convened, and 42
merchants brought before the court were convicted and executed within
hours. The eight defendants included former deputy prime minister Tariq
Aziz. On March 11, a verdict in the case was announced. Two defendants,
Sabawi Ibrahim and Watban Ibrahim, Saddam Hussein's half-brothers, were
sentenced to death. One defendant was acquitted. The remaining
defendants received sentences varying from life to six years'
imprisonment. Tariq Aziz was convicted and sentenced to 15 years'
imprisonment. The verdict and sentence were appealed. The appeals court
left the conviction and sentences intact with the exception of the
forfeiture of movable and immovable assets, which was vacated.
In July 2008 the IHT began its fifth trial, the Friday Prayers
trial, involving the Shia protests of 1999 after Saddam's agents killed
the Shia leader and father of Muqtada, Mohamed Sadiq al-Sadr. The Third
and Fourth Iraqi Army corps, overseen by Ali Hassan al-Majid, quashed
the protests. Fourteen defendants, including Ali Hassan al-Majid and
Tariq Aziz, stood trial. The prosecution presented its case at the end
of 2008, the defendants then presented their evidence, and on March 2,
the trial chamber announced its verdict. Of the 13 defendants, three
were acquitted, including former foreign minister Tariq Aziz. Three
defendants were convicted and sentenced to death. Four defendants were
sentenced to life imprisonment. The remaining defendants were sentenced
to between six and 15 years' imprisonment. On appeal the verdicts and
sentences were upheld with the exception of the portion requiring the
forfeiture of the movable and immovable assets, which was vacated.
Two additional cases were referred to the trial chamber. The
Halabja case, which included five defendants and began in December
2008, involved chemical attacks on the Kurdish town of Halabja that
resulted in the death of more than 5,000 civilians. In December 2008
the trial began of 25 defendants who were part of the former regime and
were allegedly involved in the persecution of Dawa party members. At
year's end the trial court in the Halabja case was preparing to
announce its verdict, and the Dawa Party case remained in litigation.
On April 7, the IHT began the Ethnic Cleansing case, in which 13
defendants were charged with involvement in forcibly relocating Kurds
from Kirkuk to other areas of the country. The case ended with a
verdict on August 2 acquitting five defendants and convicting the
remaining eight. All prison sentences in the case ranged from six to
seven years. The prosecutor appealed three of the acquittals. The case
remained under consideration by the appeals court.
In September the IHT issued a warrant for the arrest of Dr. Abdel
Basit Turki, head of the Board of Supreme Audit, responsible for
auditing the financial records of all central government institutions.
Turki was charged with ``wasting national wealth'' during his time as a
senior government official under Saddam Hussein's regime, in particular
for the transfer of billions of dollars in cash out of the country
prior to Saddam's removal. The allegations fall under the jurisdiction
of the IHT due to their nature and the time period in which the
offenses were allegedly committed.
During the year the IHT continued to investigate a number of crimes
allegedly committed by members of the former regime, including other
atrocities following the 1991 uprising, the draining of the southern
marshes, and the invasion of Kuwait. The IHT also dropped charges
against some detainees. At year's end the IHT had nine trials in
process.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and judges--investigative, trial, and appellate--generally
sought to enforce that right. An accused person is considered innocent
until proven guilty and has the right to privately retained or court-
appointed counsel. One of the significant challenges facing the
criminal trial courts was insufficient access to defense attorneys.
Many defendants met their lawyers for the first time during the initial
hearing. Defense attorneys were provided at public expense if needed.
In May 2008 the Baghdad Legal Defense Center opened at the Rusafa
Detention Complex, providing 25 attorneys, including three female
attorneys, to assist the 7,500 detainees in the facility. Since the
center's opening, the attorneys have met with more than 10,000
detainees, including detainees held at the Rusafa women's prison.
The criminal justice system is based on a civil law regime similar
to the Napoleonic Code. It is fundamentally inquisitorial, not
adversarial, in form and content. The system focuses on the search for
the truth, initiated and pursued almost exclusively by judges whose
role is to assemble evidence and adjudicate guilt or innocence.
Investigative judges, working collaboratively with judicial
investigators, and in some cases with police officers, are responsible
for interviewing witnesses, assembling evidence, examining suspected
criminals, and generating files on the results of the investigative
work. Although prosecutors and defense attorneys frequently
participated in pretrial investigative hearings, their roles were, for
the most part, limited to recommending the pursuit of certain lines of
investigation, including posing suggested questions of witnesses and
defendants. They rarely appealed decisions of judges about the manner
and scope of their investigations.
Three-judge panels are responsible for trying accused persons in
public trials based largely on the results of judicial investigations.
During those trials, all three judges on the panel can question the
defendants, but in almost all cases the presiding judge is the one who
questions the defendants; witnesses may testify at these proceedings.
The prosecutor and the defense attorney may make brief closing
statements.
After deliberation among the members of the panel, the presiding
judge announces the verdict and, in the case of a conviction, the
sentence. Criminal judgments of conviction and acquittal may be
appealed to the Court of Cassation, a judicial panel that reviews the
evidence assembled in the investigative and trial stages and renders a
decision.
The constitution provides for the establishment of military courts,
but only military crimes committed by the armed forces and the security
forces may come before such courts. The MOI courts investigate and try
crimes committed by MOI employees related to their employment.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year there appeared
to be an orchestrated political campaign against Sunni politicians from
Diyala Province with arrest warrants issued for four members of the
provincial council, the deputy governor, and a member of the parliament
from Diyala. On May 18, Iraqi Special Forces affiliated with the prime
minister entered the Diyala Provincial Council during the regular
weekly meeting and arrested Abdel Jabbar Ali Ibrahim, a member of the
provincial council and head of the Sunni Accordance Front bloc in the
council. Ibrahim was arrested on terrorism-related charges and taken to
a detention facility in Baghdad, where he remained in custody at year's
end. Arrest warrants were also issued against provincial council
members Ismail Ibrahim Farhan, Dhiyab Sa'ad Khalil, and Hashem Ali al-
Hayali, but the prime minister reportedly suspended the warrants
following requests from senior Sunni parliamentarians. An arrest
warrant was issued for al-Hayali's wife, Taysir Mashadani, who served
as a member of the COR and as a result had immunity. On November 22,
the deputy governor, Muhamad Hassayn Jasim, was arrested on charges
related to terrorism financing. He was being held in a MOD detention
facility at year's end. A former Sunni provincial council member,
Hussayn al-Zubaydi, continued to be detained on murder charges since
his August 2008 arrest, although he was found not guilty of terrorism-
related charges in September.
There was little information available concerning persons detained
in Kurdish Asayish facilities.
The Political Prisoners Organization, a quasi-governmental
organization with 500 employees, worked on behalf of Saddam-era
political prisoners to reintegrate them into society and the work
force. It provided former prisoners with monthly stipends of 500,000 ID
($430) and was generally considered an effective organization.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The country has a legal
framework, as well as an independent and impartial judiciary, for
dealing with civil issues in lawsuits seeking damages for or cessation
of human rights violations. Administrative remedies also exist.
However, during the year the priorities of an understaffed judiciary
and government administration focused on issues more directly related
to security, and these procedures and remedies were not effectively
implemented.
Property Restitution.--There was a problem with serious delays in
adjudicating claims for property restitution. The Commission for the
Resolution of Real Property Disputes (CRRPD), formerly the Iraq
Property Claims Commission, is governed by a 2006 law and is an
independent governmental commission. Its purpose is to resolve claims
for real property confiscated, forcibly acquired, or otherwise taken
for less than fair value by the former regime between 1968 and 2003,
for reasons other than land reform or lawfully applied eminent domain.
The CRRPD process was intended primarily to benefit those whose land
was confiscated for ethnic or political reasons as part of the former
regime's ``Arabization'' program and other policies of sectarian
displacements. The previously announced June 2007 deadline for filing
claims was extended and remained open at year's end.
By year's end the CRRPD had received more than 157,000 claims
nationwide since its founding and reportedly reviewed and adjudicated
more than 76,000 claims nationwide of which more than 12,000 related to
Kirkuk. The claims were handled through a technically complex process,
but most claims were resolved in a matter of months. There is a CRRPD
appellate commission in Baghdad consisting of seven judges. Since 2003,
the wafadin, Arabs previously settled in the Kirkuk region under Saddam
Hussein's anti-Kurdish policies, have returned to their prior homes in
the center and south of the country and applied for compensation. Since
the CRRPD was established, 28,000 wafadin have applied for compensation
to the Article 140 committee, which resolves claims for wafadin who
seek compensation for returning to their original provinces. Approval
for compensation has been given to 16,500, and 10,917 wafadin have
received compensation and in theory have returned to their original
provinces.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution mandates that authorities not enter
or search homes except with a judicial order. The constitution also
prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy. In practice security
forces often entered homes without search warrants and took other
measures interfering with privacy, family, and correspondence, although
this happened less than in previous years.
Under the constitution the COR may consent to a state of emergency
upon the joint request of the president and the prime minister. Under
this authority the prime minister may authorize authorities to detain
suspects and search them, their homes, and their work places. The law
provides that all such actions must be pursuant to an arrest or search
warrant unless there are extreme exigent circumstances. The state of
emergency lapsed in 2007 and was not renewed. There were reports that
law enforcement activities sometimes continued as if the state of
emergency was still in effect, but to a lesser degree than in the
previous year. Police were instructed to comply with legal warrant
requirements but sometimes reportedly entered homes without search
warrants.
In the KRG-controlled provinces, there was pressure on citizens to
join the PUK party in the province of Sulaymaniyah and the KDP party in
the provinces of Erbil and Dohuk.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution broadly provides
for the right of free expression, provided it does not violate public
order and morality.
Despite this protection of freedom of expression, the law provides,
if authorized by the prime minister, for fines or a term of
imprisonment not to exceed seven years for any person who publicly
insults the COR, the government, or public authorities. The law also
restricts media organizations expressing support for the banned Ba'ath
Party or for ``alterations to Iraq's borders by violent means.'' In
practice the main limitation on the exercise of these rights was self-
censorship due to fear of reprisals by the government, political
parties, and insurgent and sectarian forces.
There were several hundred daily and weekly publications, as well
as dozens of radio and television stations at the national, regional,
and local levels, broadcasting in Arabic, Kurdish (two dialects),
Turkmen, and Syriac. Most media outlets were strongly influenced by
political parties in their publications and broadcasts.
The government acted to restrict media freedom in some
circumstances. During the January 31 provincial elections, there were
widespread reports of the ISF refusing to allow journalists to enter
polling stations and in some cases detaining them until after voting
had ended. In Basrah prison guards beat approximately 15 photographers
and destroyed their equipment when they attempted to film inmates
casting their votes at Minah Prison.
On September 14, bodyguards from the Baghdad Provincial Council
severely beat a group of 10 journalists and photographers from Al-
Iraqiyah television channel as the media workers were on their way to
cover a council meeting. The bodyguards forced the group out of their
car and beat them with rifle butts, hands, and clubs.
The law prohibits reporters from publishing stories that defame
public officials. Many in the media complained that these provisions
prevented them from freely practicing their trade by creating strong
fears of persecution. There was widespread self-censorship.
On May 22, a court ordered Internet news site Kitabat to pay one
billion ID (approximately $867,000) in damages in a lawsuit Prime
Minister Maliki filed. The suit, prompted by a Kitabat story alleging
nepotism within the prime minister's senior staff, was later withdrawn
by the prime minister. In May 2008 the Iraqi National Intelligence
Service filed suit for 1.1 billion ID (approximately $1 million) in
damages against the United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper for describing
Prime Minister Maliki as ``authoritarian''; the agency also called for
the closure of the paper's Baghdad bureau. On November 12, a court
ordered the Guardian to pay damages to the prime minister. The news
organization, which continued operating in the country, reported that
it would appeal the ruling.
Media workers often reported that politicians pressured them not to
publish articles criticizing the government. They offered accounts of
intimidation, threats, and harassment of the media by government or
partisan officials. The government frequently used the threat of legal
action against media workers. In a June letter to Prime Minister
Maliki, the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory and CPJ called for an end
to government agencies filing politically motivated lawsuits against
journalists and publications, noting that ``high-ranking government
officials have used lawsuits as a political tool to obstruct and
silence the news media.''
In April the government threatened to close the Baghdad offices of
Al-Hayat newspaper and Al-Sharqiya, a television station, based on
charges of misinformation stemming from allegations that both media
outlets inaccurately quoted a high-ranking general regarding the
rearrest of recently released Sunni SOI members. A government-owned
newspaper, Al-Sabah, also printed the quotes but did not face legal
action. On April 13, the New York Times reported that security forces
in Karbala confiscated satirical cartoons depicting Prime Minister
Maliki and other government officials. The cartoons had been displayed
as a part of a street exhibit in Karbala.
Following a July 28 bank robbery involving members of vice
president Adel Abdul al-Mahdi's security team, journalist Ahmed Abd al-
Hussein wrote an article insinuating that an unnamed political party
was behind the robbery and intended to use the stolen money to advance
its political aims. The vice president's party, the Islamic Supreme
Council of Iraq (ISCI), threatened legal action against al-Hussein's
employer, Al-Sabah newspaper. During a widely broadcast Friday sermon,
ISCI politician and religious leader Sheikh Jalal Eddin al-Saghir
criticized the media's involvement in political matters and called for
the journalist to be tried and put to death. Hussein went into hiding
for a brief period but resumed work at Al-Sabah. The editor in chief of
the paper, however, was relieved of his position in October in what
many observers interpreted as a rebuke related to the coverage of the
robbery.
In compliance with regulations introduced in July, all book imports
were subject to inspection by the Ministry of Culture (MOC). Books
produced and published within the country required MOC approval before
going on sale. According to the MOC, new vetting procedures applying to
imports were established to stop the entry of literature promoting
sectarianism.
The threat of violence, targeted and indirect, continued against
the country's media community, although less so than in previous years.
Violence against the media, primarily by insurgent groups and
government security forces, was common, and media workers reported that
they engaged in self-censorship to avoid retaliatory attacks by
government or elected officials. Despite multiple killings of
journalists during the year, the CPJ noted that there were no
convictions for these or previous killings of journalists. On May 1,
Al-Baghdadia correspondent Alaa Abdel-Wahab was killed and another
journalist wounded when a bomb attached to Abdel-Wahab's vehicle
exploded in Mosul. On the same day, two employees of Al-Iraqiyah
television station were severely injured when a bomb attached to their
vehicle exploded in Baghdad. On November 23, Diyar TV journalist Emad
Al-Ebadi survived an assassination attempt when unknown assailants shot
him in the neck and head. It was widely believed that the attack was
retaliation for Al-Ebadi's frequent televised criticism of
parliamentary and government figures. MOI officials and judicial
authorities continued investigating the circumstances of the shooting.
Security forces frequently harassed local journalists. On July 8,
three journalists working for satellite television station Ifaq were
beaten and detained for five hours when police and SOI forces stopped
them near the city of Ramadi. The journalists were riding in a vehicle
clearly marked with press designators. The incident prompted
journalists in Babil Province to hold a protest condemning the attack.
Later that month SOI members stopped and beat a Radio Sawa reporter in
Baghdad when he displayed his press identification card. According to
NGO Reporters Without Borders, one of the SOI members involved in the
assault berated the journalist for working for a foreign media agency.
On July 4, government officials announced the arrest and confession
of three men suspected in the 2006 abduction and killing of well-known
Al-Arabiya journalist Atwar Bahat and two of her crew members near
Samarra.
In the Kurdistan region a 2008 law passed by the regional
parliament provided for media freedom, but enforcement was not
consistent. Under the 2008 law, imprisonment is no longer a penalty for
publication-related offenses. Journalists continued to be tried,
convicted, and imprisoned under the 1969 penal code.
The Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS) documented 44 lawsuits
against journalists during the year in the Kurdistan region,
approximately one-third under the penal code. According to syndicate
officials, the 2008 law is the sole basis for prosecution of
journalists for publication offenses, but the law allows for
prosecution on the basis of offending public morals and other crimes.
Public officials regularly resorted to punitive fines through legal
actions against individual media outlets and editors, often for
publishing articles on alleged corruption.
On April 23, the KRG official for martyrs and victims of Anfal,
Chnar Sa'ad, filed four defamation lawsuits against Jihan magazine
editor in chief Nabaz Goran seeking damages of one billion ID
($869,000) and imposition of a travel ban following an article
reporting on the minister's two-month trip to London. The court ruled
on the first of Goran's four defamation cases on December 7 and fined
Goran seven million ID ($5,830). Goran filed an appeal with the higher
court on December 8 and was awaiting the appellate decision at year's
end. On December 7, the court ruled in the second of the four cases,
and instead of imposing a fine, it permanently blocked Goran from
traveling abroad. The third and fourth cases remained pending decisions
by the lower court. Government and party officials filed five other
defamation lawsuits against Goran during the year.
At the beginning of August, the KRG human rights authorities filed
a criminal lawsuit under the penal code seeking prosecution of the
owner (a KRG employee) and the editor of the new Kurdish language
magazine Balga. The magazine had published two partially blacked-out
photographs of women journalists as part of an article questioning the
standards of professionalism and workplace ethics of their employer,
the Wusha Media Group. A ministry spokesman told news outlets that the
publication of the photographs degraded the status of women in the
Kurdish region and amounted to a violation of individual rights.
In January 2008 President Talabani filed a defamation lawsuit
against the editor in chief of Hawlati newspaper for reprinting an
article appearing in the foreign press alleging that the president
embezzled public funds. On March 15, a Sulaymaniyah court fined the
newspaper 13 million ID ($48,700) and the editor in chief 3 million ID
(USD $2,600) for defaming the president. The fines were upheld on
appeal. Hawlati had three lawsuits brought against it during the year,
including one by KRG human rights authorities.
Libel remains a criminal offense in the Kurdistan region, and
judges may issue pretrial arrest warrants for journalists on this
basis. Journalists were sometimes imprisoned while police investigated
the veracity of published information. When named in a lawsuit,
journalists were typically detained at police stations and were not
released until they posted bail. Police often keep journalists in
custody during investigations.
On March 18, local police arrested Soran Omar, a journalist with
Rega magazine, after he was named in a libel lawsuit filed by the
former director of the Chwarqurna District's Municipality. Omar had
accused the former director of corruption and abuse of power. Omar was
sent to Rania's main prison, where he posted bail of three million ID
($2,500) and was released.
In June, Hawlati editor in chief Kamal Rauf was detained after a
former KRG human rights official filed a defamation lawsuit against
him. Hawlati had published an opinion article criticizing the MOHR for
not strongly condemning the killing of Lvin journalist Soran Mama Hama
in Kirkuk in July 2008. Rauf was taken into custody for two hours until
he was released on bail.
Journalists in the Kurdish region asserted that they routinely
encountered personal intimidation by KRG officials, security services,
tribal elements, and business leaders. Local estimates of the number of
violations against journalists in the Kurdistan region ranged from a
few dozen to more than 100. According to an April 14 AI report, most
media outlets avoid criticizing the KRG, its internal security forces
and intelligence agencies, and the two main political parties.
Political parties owned or had significant influence over all but a few
newspapers based in the region. The April Guidelines of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that criticism of the ruling
PUK and KDP in the Kurdish region resulted in intimidation, beatings,
arrest and detention, and extrajudicial killings, with journalists
particularly at risk.
On October 27, several armed men confronted and assaulted Nabaz
Goran, the editor of the independent weekly Jihan, on the street
outside his Erbil office. After the beating, Goran closed the
magazine's Erbil office and fled to Sulaymaniyah. The directorate
general of the Erbil internal security forces issued a statement after
the attack but had not investigated the attack by year's end.
In July 2008 Lvin magazine reporter Soran Hama was killed during
the magazine's investigation of alleged criminal activity by KRG
internal security forces operating in Kirkuk. Although the KRG
reportedly opened an investigation, there was no tangible result by
year's end.
In October 2008 three men were arrested in a plot to assassinate
Ahmed Mira, editor in chief of Lvin magazine. On April 29, the first
court hearing of the trial of at least two suspects charged in the plot
commenced. After six sessions ending August 9, a Sulaymaniyah criminal
court sentenced two of the three suspects to six years' imprisonment
and acquitted the third for lack of evidence. Mira claims the third was
employed by the Parastin, the KDP intelligence apparatus. Before the
trial judicial officials performed a limited investigation, and the
trial judge refused Mira's request to admit the full evidence into
court, including evidence the Asayish collected. The case was on appeal
at year's end.
During the period leading up to the Kurdistan region's
parliamentary elections in July, media outlets not controlled by the
major political parties raised credible allegations of incidents of
violence and intimidation against them by government officials and
party supporters.
On July 27, supporters of the ruling KDP party surrounded the Erbil
offices of KNN Television and Rozhnama newspaper (both belonging to the
Wusha Media Group, affiliated with the opposition Change (Goran)
movement) and fired gunshots into the premises. During the night of
October 12, passengers in two cars opened fire with guns on the same
offices. No prosecutions have been brought as a result of these actions
or 15 other incidents against journalists, which the Kurdistan
Institute for Human Rights recorded during the election campaign. The
Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate registered five incidents during the
same period.
Internet Freedom.--There were government restrictions on access to
the Internet. On August 2, in accordance with a directive from the
Council of Ministers, the MOI announced efforts to block Web sites that
``negatively impact Iraqi society, values and security.'' According to
MOI officials, Web sites that benefit the cultural, scientific,
technical, social, economic, and tourism fields of knowledge will not
be blocked.
Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of
views via the Internet, including e-mail. Direct Internet access was
generally low due to a lack of infrastructure in homes; however, the
prevalence of Internet cafes contributed to extensive usage among
youth. On August 4, the government announced it would require Internet
cafes to officially register or be subject to closure. According to
International Telecommunication Union 2008 data, there were an
estimated 14,900 Internet subscribers and 275,000 users.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. Social, religious,
and political pressures restricted the exercise of freedom of choice in
academic and cultural matters. In all regions, various groups
reportedly sought to control the pursuit of formal education and
granting of academic positions. During the year extremists, insurgents,
and terrorists targeted cultural figures such as doctors, academics,
and scientists. The president of the University of Mosul received
numerous threats and many faculty members from universities throughout
the country departed for other locations within the country or abroad.
Staff and students have intimidated other professors. In December 2008
the dean of the college of medicine at the University of Mosul was shot
in the abdomen but survived.
In the central and southern parts of the country, there were a
number of reports of threats by extremists, or insurgent groups against
schools and universities, urging them to modify activities, favor
certain students, or face violence. Educational institutions often
complied with the threats. On October 14, the prime minister closed
Mustansiriya University for a week due to increased violence at the
university by a student group, including alleged torture and rape of
other students and killing of professors and administrators since 2005.
According to the MOHR, insurgents killed 340 university professors
and 446 students between 2005 and 2007. In 2007 the Ministry of
Displacement and Migration (MODM) reported that at least 30 percent of
professors, doctors, pharmacists, and engineers had fled the country
since 2003. In the past year, improved security led to reports from
some universities and hospitals in Baghdad, Basrah, Babil, Karbala, and
Anbar that some professors and other professionals began to return to
their jobs, but no comprehensive statistics were available.
Other parts of this report contain related information (see
sections 1.b. and 1.d.).
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
peaceful demonstration, and the government generally respected this
right in practice, although there were reports of abusive KRG practices
against protestors. The emergency law was in effect until 2007, giving
the prime minister the authority to restrict freedom of movement and
assembly pursuant to a warrant or extreme exigent circumstances. In
general this emergency law did not prevent peaceful assembly, although
it was used often to impose curfews. Police in the central and southern
parts of the country generally did not break up peaceful demonstrations
except when participants violated a curfew. Following the lapse of the
state of emergency, the government continued to claim the right to
declare curfews in late evening and on holidays in response to security
threats.
Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that KRG
security forces killed or detained demonstrators protesting government
acts.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to
form and join associations and political parties and specifically
mandates that this right be regulated by law. The government generally
respected this right in practice, except for the legal prohibition on
expressing support for the Ba'ath Party. Within the KRG provinces, some
major labor unions and associations were directly affiliated with the
PUK in Sulaymaniyah and the KDP in Erbil and Dohuk.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution proclaims Islam as the
official religion of the state. The constitution provides for full
religious rights for all individuals ``such as Christians, Yazidis, and
Mandean Sabeans,'' but it stipulates that no law may be enacted that
contradicts the established provisions of Islam. The constitution also
states that no law may be enacted that contradicts principles of
democracy or the rights and basic freedoms stipulated in the
constitution, including freedom of thought, conscience, and religious
belief and practice for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Although the
government generally endorsed these rights, violence by terrorists,
extremists, and criminal gangs restricted the free exercise of religion
and continued to exert pressure on other groups to conform to extremist
interpretations of Islam's precepts.
The government publicly called for tolerance and acceptance for all
religious minorities and took steps to increase security at places of
worship, especially during religious holidays and following security
incidents. Frequent attacks on places of worship and religious leaders,
as well as sectarian violence, hampered the ability of citizens to
practice their religion freely.
Regardless of religious affiliation, women and girls were often
threatened for refusing to wear the hijab, for dressing in Western-
style clothing, or for failing to adhere sufficiently to strict
interpretations of conservative Islamic norms governing public
behavior. Numerous women, including Christians, reported opting to wear
the hijab after being harassed for not doing so.
There were also allegations of religion-based employment
discrimination during the year. Several ministries reportedly hired and
favored employees who conformed to the religious preference of the
respective minister.
During the year there were allegations that KRG officials engaged
in discriminatory behavior against religious minorities in the disputed
territories. Christians and Yazidis living north of Mosul claimed that
government officials confiscated their property without compensation
and began building settlements on their land. Some Assyrian Christians
alleged that the KDP-dominated judiciary in Ninewa Province routinely
discriminated against non-Muslims and failed to enforce judgments in
their favor. There were reports that Yazidis faced restrictions when
they entered the KRG-controlled disputed internal boundary areas and
had to obtain KRG approval for finding jobs in areas within Ninewa
Province administered by the KRG or under the security protection of
the Peshmerga.
Yazidi and Shabak political leaders alleged that Peshmerga forces
regularly committed abuses against and harassed their communities in
Ninewa Province. Minority leaders alleged that Kurdish forces
intimidated minority communities into identifying themselves as Kurds
and supporting their inclusion in the KRG. Yazidi political
representatives also reported that they were not allowed to pass
through security checkpoints in areas controlled by Peshmerga as they
traveled from Baghdad to their communities in the north.
The KRG denied allegations that it ordered or condoned violent
incidents directed at Christians and other minorities. Most of these
allegations came from minorities living in the disputed territories.
Many non-Muslims reside in northern disputed regions and the Kurdistan
region, and many sought refuge there from other parts of the country
where pressures to conform publicly to narrow interpretations of
Islamic tenets were greater.
In 2007 the MOI's Nationality and Passport Section canceled
Regulation 358 of 1975, which prohibited the issuance of a national
identity card to those claiming the Baha'i faith. In 2007 the
government issued identity cards to a small number of Baha'is, but
later in the same year the Nationality and Passport Section's legal
advisor halted issuance, claiming that the Baha'is had been registered
as Muslims since 1975 and citing a government regulation preventing the
conversion of ``Muslims'' to another faith.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Conservative and extremist
Islamic elements continued to exert pressure on society to conform to
their interpretations of Islam's precepts. Although these efforts
affected all citizens, non-Muslims were especially vulnerable to this
pressure and violence because of their minority status and their lack
of a tribal structure to provide protection.
Sunnis also continued to claim general discrimination during the
year, alleging an ongoing campaign of revenge by the Shia majority for
the abuses of Shia under the former regime, and also because of a
widespread perception that the insurgency was composed primarily of
Sunni extremists and former regime supporters with whom the majority of
Sunnis sympathized.
Shia in Sunni-dominated neighborhoods, Sunnis in Shia-dominated
neighborhoods, and religious minorities in both Sunni- and Shia-
dominated neighborhoods reported receiving death threat letters
demanding that they leave their homes, and in many cases individuals
either complied or were killed. These incidents occurred less
frequently than in the previous year, partially due to the increasing
capabilities of the ISF and displacement of persons from mixed
neighborhoods in previous years.
In general, religious minorities played a small role in political
life, especially at the national level, where they lacked much
representation. At the provincial level, minorities have been elected
to serve on the provincial councils in five governorates, although
their influence on decisions concerning security and economic
development was limited by the number of seats they controlled.
The combination of discriminatory hiring practices by members of
the majority Muslim population, attacks against non-Muslim businesses,
corruption, and the overall lack of rule of law had a detrimental
economic impact on the non-Muslim community and contributed to the
departure of significant numbers of non-Muslims from the country.
Many Yazidi towns in Ninewa lie in areas disputed between the KRG
and the central government and suffered from poor municipal services.
The KRG provided some services to these areas, including payment of
salaries for Yazidi religious instruction at some state-funded schools.
Religious extremists, including terrorist groups and Shia special
group members, targeted places of worship and individuals because of
their religious identity.
Religious leaders, groups, and centers were targeted for killings.
On July 12, a coordinated series of bombings at six Christian churches
in Baghdad killed four persons and left more than 20 wounded. On July
31, five Shia mosques were bombed in Baghdad in a coordinated attack
that resulted in at least 29 killed and 136 wounded. On October 16, a
gunman attacked worshippers at the Taqwa mosque in the town of Tal Afar
and then detonated an explosive vest, killing 15 people, including the
mosque's imam, Abdual-Satar Hassan, and wounding approximately 100
others. On November 26, bomb attacks against St. Ephrem's Chaldean
Church and St. Theresa's Convent in the city of Mosul caused extensive
damage to the buildings, but no casualties. On December 15, bombs
detonated outside the Syriac Catholic Church of the Annunciation and
the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in Mosul, killing five
individuals and wounding 40. On December 24, a bomb targeting a
procession to commemorate Ashura, an important Shia religious holiday,
killed six persons and wounded 26 in Sadr City, and another explosion
in the city of Karbala killed one and wounded 12 individuals. On
December 27, a bomb killed five persons celebrating Ashura in the town
of Tuz Khormato.
During August and September, a wave of attacks targeted minority
communities in the north. On August 7, a truck bomb in the village of
Shirakhan killed 37 Shia Turkmen. On August 10, two truck bombs
destroyed the village of Khazna near Mosul where approximately 10,000
Shabaks lived. The attack killed 34 and wounded 200. On August 13, a
suicide bombing at a cafe in the village of Sinjar killed 21 Yazidis.
On September 9, a truck bomb exploded in the Kakai village of Wardek in
Ninewa Province, killing 20 persons and wounding 40 others.
During the year Sabean-Mandaeans, who were few in number and lived
in small groups spread across the country, continued to report criminal
and extremist elements targeted them because of their religious
identity and their perceived wealth. On April 19, three Sabean-Mandaean
goldsmiths were among seven jewelers killed in a coordinated daytime
robbery in Baghdad. Three other Sabean-Mandaeans were severely injured.
Four suspects in the killings were arrested, tried, and sentenced to
death. On August 6, a Sabean-Mandaean, We'am Abdul Nabi Lazem, was
killed in his shop in the Iskan district of Baghdad. On September 19,
four masked men using silenced pistols and knives killed two Sabean-
Mandaean goldsmiths, Farqad Faiq Authman and Muhand Qasim Abdul-Razzaq,
in their shops in the city of Basrah.
According to a 2009 report published by the Hammurabi Human Rights
Organization, a domestic NGO, 12 Christians were kidnapped during the
year. On May 15, a Christian missionary was kidnapped in Kirkuk and
held for eight days before mediation by tribal chiefs and local imams
led to their release. On November 23, gunmen kidnapped a Christian oil
industry worker on his way to work in the city of Kirkuk. On December
28, a Christian university student, Sarah Edmond Youkhana, was
kidnapped in Mosul by an organization identifying itself as the
``Islamic State of Iraq'' (see also section 1.b.).
Islamist militants continued to target stores that provided goods
or services considered inconsistent with Islam. Islamic extremists
bombed, looted, and defaced liquor stores in Baghdad and elsewhere. For
example, on May 9, an alcohol merchant in the al-Shurta district of
Baghdad was killed after storekeepers in the area received anonymous
warnings to close their shops. Liquor store operators in Basrah
received occasional threats from Islamist militants, but there were no
recorded acts of violence during the past year.
The country's Jewish population was virtually nonexistent as a
result of both voluntary and forced emigration over decades. Even so,
anti-Semitic sentiment remained a cultural undercurrent. Among other
provisions, the citizenship law precludes Jews who emigrated from
regaining citizenship.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report atwww.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/ .
Other parts of this report contain related information (see
sections 2.d., 4, and 5).
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for the
right of free movement in all parts of the country and the right to
travel abroad and return freely. The government generally respected
these rights. There were some limitations in practice, particularly
regarding travel into and residence in the Kurdistan region.
Restrictions by provinces on the entry of new internally displaced
persons (IDPs) had little impact as there was little new displacement
during the year. Some IDPs were unable to access the Public
Distribution System in the governorate in which they were displaced.
The World Food Program and the ICRC delivered food rations to these
IDPs.
The government generally cooperated with the UNHCR and other
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to
IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern, although effective systems to assist these individuals were
not completely established by year's end.
Under the state of emergency, the prime minister can restrict
movement pursuant to a warrant, impose a curfew, cordon off and search
an area, and take other necessary security and military measures (in
the Kurdistan region, only in coordination with the KRG). Although the
state of emergency lapsed in 2007, the government invoked these powers
in practice over the course of the year. In response to security
threats, the government continued to declare curfews and to take other
necessary military and security measures of limited duration after the
state of emergency expired.
There are no KRG laws that restrict movement across the areas
administered by the KRG, but due to security procedures in practice
this was not always the case. Citizens (of any ethnicity, including
Kurds) crossing into the region from the south are obliged to stop at
checkpoints, undergo personal and vehicle inspection, and receive
permission to proceed. Officials from the Directorate of Checkpoints,
who report KRG security authorities, take photographs of travelers and
issue a temporary pass. Officials prevent individuals from entering
into the region if deemed a security threat. Entry for Arab males was
reportedly more difficult than for others. The officer in charge at the
check point has the right to decline entry into the region.
To accommodate increasing numbers of summer and holiday visitors,
the KRG security authorities worked out agreements with other provinces
whereby tourist agencies submitted names of visitors in advance for
pre-clearance. Visitors must show where they are lodging and how long
they intend to stay.
The MOI's Passport Office maintained a policy of requiring women to
obtain the approval of a close male relative before receiving a
passport. On May 8, KRG prime minister Nechirvan Barzani declared that,
unlike in the rest of the country, women older than the age of 18 would
be able to obtain passports without obtaining the approval of a close
male relative in the KRG-administered areas.
The constitution expressly prohibits forced exile of all native-
born citizens. The injunction also applies to naturalized citizens,
unless a judicial decision establishes that the naturalized citizen was
granted citizenship on the basis of material falsifications. Forced
exile did not occur.
There were no known government restrictions on emigration. There
were few reports of citizens having difficulty obtaining passports.
Exit permits were required for citizens leaving the country, but the
requirement was not enforced.
There were allegations during the year that some of the 3,400
members of the MEK terrorist organization located at Ashraf were denied
the right to leave under threat of reprisal from MEK leaders. These
allegations were corroborated by several former Ashraf residents who
had fled the camp. Individuals claimed to have been subjected to
psychological and physical abuse, including threats of reprisal against
family members and solitary confinement in Ashraf to discourage
defections.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--In 2006 and 2007, sectarian
militia and terrorist actions provoked fear and chaos leading to large-
scale movements of Sunni and Shia populations from mixed Sunni/Shia
areas toward areas of greater sectarian homogeneity and to displacement
inside and outside the country of members of the Christian and other
religious minorities. With increased homogeneity, as well as
improvements in security and a lessening of sectarian tensions in many
areas, the flow of displacement reversed, with some 400,000 IDPs and
refugees returning to their homes since 2008. The total number of
displaced remained high, however. The UNHCR estimated that there were
approximately 2.76 million IDPs in the country, an estimated 1.5
million of whom were displaced by sectarian violence following the 2006
destruction of the dome of Al-Askariya Mosque and Shrine in Samarra, a
Shia holy site. Approximately 200,000 were displaced between 2003 and
2005, and the remainder were displaced prior to 2003, according to the
UNHCR.
At year's end the KRG hosted approximately 134,000 post-February
2006 IDPs, according to the UNHCR. Another 635,000 in the north were
Kurds displaced from southern and central regions during the previous
regime but were largely considered to have established permanent
settlements in the KRG. Hygiene and sanitation for IDPs were generally
better in the KRG than in other areas, but shelter, food, and other
concerns remained critical. There were fewer reports than in 2008 of
threat letters delivered to Shia and Sunni residents warning them to
leave their homes or face death, but Christian residents in the
disputed areas in the north and in Baghdad received continued threats
during the year. Of the 1.4 million Christians included in the 1987
census, only 500,000 to 800,000 remained, according to media reports.
Most IDPs lived with families or rented houses in the host
community. Other IDPs occupied abandoned buildings, public buildings,
or homes other displaced families had abandoned. Some lived in ad hoc
``clusters'' or settlements located throughout the country. The UNHCR
identified 75 settlements in Baghdad, some 175,000 residents. Other
IDPs rented homes or lived with friends or family members. According to
the UNHCR, Baghdad hosted 572,000 post-2006 IDPs.
A significant number of IDPs and a small number of refugees have
begun to move back into former residences, particularly in Baghdad.
According to information UNHCR collected, on average 14,085 IDPs and
3,168 refugees returned to their homes each month during the year.
There is a legal and administrative process for restitution of
property and eviction of squatters, along with a system of grants and
stipends for returnees and evictees. The government offered stipends of
one million ID ($870) to returning families who de-registered as IDPs
or refugees. As of mid-November, according to the MODM, 37,739 families
had received the grant and another 16,130 more claims were being
processed. There were two returns assistance centers in Baghdad and one
in Diyala where prospective returnees could present documents verifying
their IDP status and property ownership and ask the ISF to evict
illegal occupants. In districts where returns occurred, the ISF
reportedly evicted several thousand squatters with minimal violence.
The Council of Ministers also authorized a rent subsidy totaling
900,000 ID (approximately $780), paid in installments over six months,
to all registered IDPs who vacated the homes of other displaced
persons. According to UN and NGO sources, few families actually
received the stipends, although the MODM claims that 230,000 families,
87 percent of the post-February 2006 Samarra-bombing caseload, received
them. NGOs and other returnee families complained that the bureaucratic
process involved in obtaining the returnee grants and the stipends was
overly burdensome, requiring documents that many returnees no longer
possessed and letters from authorities in both their locations of
displacement and return. The expense and time of the process
effectively deprived many families of authorized assistance.
The government has no comprehensive policy for undoing sectarian
cleansing, but it did encourage returns to secure areas where violence
had occurred previously. Council of Ministers Decree 262 of July 2008
provided stipends to IDPs who vacate the homes of the displaced. Prime
Ministerial Order 101, issued in August 2008, provided displaced
persons with government resources to access their homes in Baghdad.
Prime Ministerial Order 54 of July extended Order 101 to Diyala
Province, the second-largest locus of returns after Baghdad. The
government appointed Ambassador Sadiq Rikabi, an advisor to the prime
minister, as coordinator of IDPs and refugee issues. Despite these
measures, many humanitarian organizations and Sunni leaders, including
deputy prime minister Rafi al-Issawi, cited the lack of steps to
reverse the worst of sectarian cleansing, declaring that the government
wished to discourage Sunni Arab refugees and IDPs from returning.
Government officials vigorously denied these charges. Practical
obstacles often discouraged greater numbers of returns. The
government's property restitution policy depended on individual
requests for restitution from property owners, and these requests often
became bogged down in an overburdened legal system. There was no
wholesale eviction of squatters from neighborhoods.
The government, through the MODM, allowed IDPs access to domestic
and international humanitarian organizations, collected information
about IDPs, and provided some protection and assistance in the form of
humanitarian supplies. Nonregistration limited IDPs' access to basic
services and legal documentation to receive food rations from the
public distribution system. The government did not target IDPs or
forcibly return them under dangerous conditions.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
Its laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status,
and the government has not established a system for providing
protection to refugees. In practice, the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of persons to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
The government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian
organizations to provide protection and assistance to 12,000
Palestinian refugees. Generally, refugee groups of Turkish and Iranian
Kurds in the KRG reached a high level of integration. For the majority
of the 9,173 Iranian Kurds whom the UNHCR registered as refugees in the
north, local integration remained the best and most likely option. For
the 15,758 Turkish Kurds whom the UNHCR registered as refugees, the
UNHCR's strategies included voluntary repatriation and local
settlement, subject to negotiations with Turkey and the government on a
Tripartite Voluntary Repatriation Agreement and a Local Settlement/
Resettlement Protocol for those willing to remain and integrate.
Refugee groups in central and southern regions, particularly refugees
who were perceived to have been privileged by the former regime such as
Palestinians, Ahwazis in the South, and Syrian Arabs in Baghdad and
Mosul, had a lesser chance of integration and continued to face
discrimination and protection problems.
Since the end of 2007 there have been fewer reports of attacks and
arrests of refugees in central and southern Iraq. Refugees were
targeted periodically in attacks carried out by insurgents, extremists,
and criminals. According to the UNHCR, general violence in central Iraq
and targeted attacks against Palestinians decreased. Since the
beginning of the year, there has been a marked decrease in the number
of mortar attacks and raids on Palestinian residential areas of Al
Baladiyat as well as arbitrary arrests and targeted killings.
Notwithstanding improvements in security, Palestinian refugees
continued to experience a deep level of uncertainty with regard to
their place within the fabric of society. Economic challenges placed
Palestinian refugees in the lowest socioeconomic rankings; their
declining economic situation was in part attributable to a loss of
employment opportunities due to ethnic discrimination.
According to the UNHCR, approximately 50 Palestinian refugee
families left Baghdad to seek refuge in Syria and Turkey during the
year, but there were few Palestinians who tried to leave Baghdad for Al
Waleed or other refugee camps. The UNHCR reported that it worked with
MODM to provide identification cards to the 12,000 Palestinians
remaining in the country. The MOI, in coordination with UNHCR, has
issued approximately 10,000 identification cards to Palestinians, and
approximately 2,000 more were in process.
Sudanese refugees were relocated to the UNHCR's newly established
Emergency Transit Center (ETC) in Romania for third country
resettlement by the UNHCR. The 138 Sudanese, who could not return to
Sudan after 2003, were subjected to violence in Baghdad in 2004 and
2005 and fled the capital to a makeshift camp in the Anbar desert. The
Sudanese were transferred to the ETC over a two-month period beginning
in December 2008.
Threats against most refugees who had received favorable treatment
under the previous regime subsided throughout the year. Nevertheless,
lack of proper identification documentation compromised freedom of
movement and personal security for certain refugee groups, namely
Palestinians and Syrians in Baghdad and Ahwazis in Basrah.
Other parts of this report contain related information (see
sections 1.a., 1.d., and 2.c.).
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
In 2005 citizens voted in a referendum to adopt a permanent
constitution that included protections of human rights including the
right of citizens to change their government peacefully through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Citizens exercised this right in 2005 when they elected the 275 members
of the COR. The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq had sole
responsibility for administering the 2005 referendum and elections.
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) was established in
2007, with nine COR-appointed IHEC Commissioners.
Elections and Political Participation.--The 2006 final report of
the International Mission for Iraqi Elections stated that the 2005
national elections met internationally recognized electoral standards
for free and fair elections and that the election results reflected the
will of the voters.
Political parties and candidates had the right to propose
themselves or be nominated by other groups. The government did not
restrict political opponents, nor did it interfere with their right to
organize, seek votes, or publicize their views, apart from the legal
prohibition on supporting the Ba'ath Party.
The country's political parties tended to be organized along either
religious or ethnic lines. Shia Islamist parties, such as the ISCI, al-
Dawa al-Islamiyya Party, and Sadrist Trend, as well as Kurdish
nationalist parties such as the KDP and PUK, were the predominant
political forces. Other political players included the Sunni Iraqi
Islamic Party and ethnic minority parties, such as the Assyrian
Democratic Movement. Membership in some political parties conferred
special privileges and advantages in employment and education. The KDP
and PUK reportedly give preference in government employment to their
respective members.
A 2008 law on provincial, district, and sub-district elections
provided for provincial council elections in the 14 provinces other
than Tameem (Kirkuk) and the provinces of the KRG by January 31, and
district and sub-district elections within six months of provincial
elections. There was no specific quota for women, but entities were
required to have 25 percent representation of women on their list of
candidates, as the constitution required. In November 2008 the COR
amended the law to grant six seats to minorities. Christians received
three seats, one each in Baghdad, Ninewa, and Basrah; Yazidis and
Shabaks received one seat each in Ninewa; and Sabean-Mandaeans received
one seat in Baghdad. Some minorities, including Christians, expressed
concern about the number of seats reserved for them at the provincial
level in Baghdad and Ninewa. They claimed the number was far less than
demographic weight would indicate. Minorities were also eligible to
compete for general seats.
Provincial elections took place on January 31. Approximately 14,600
candidates competed for 440 seats on 14 provincial councils. Candidates
were elected through a hybrid open-list system under which voters could
choose to vote for only a party or a candidate and his or her party.
Approximately 7.5 million voters (51 percent of eligible voters) turned
out at 39,000 polling stations in 14 provinces. Approximately 100,000
domestic observers, 400 international observers, 400 international
media, and 1,200 domestic media members visited polling sites during
the day. Election day was largely peaceful. The IHEC announced
preliminary results on February 5. The IHEC reviewed approximately
2,000 electoral complaints. On March 26, the Electoral Judicial Panel
ruled on 593 appeals, and the IHEC Board of Commissioners certified the
final election results. Nationwide, Prime Minister Maliki's State of
Law Coalition won 123 seats, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council
loyalists (Shia) won 53 seats, followers of Muqtada al-Sadr (Shia) won
41 seats, former prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's National Reform
Trend (Shia) won 23 seats, former prime minister Ayad Allawi's National
Iraqi List (secular) won 21 seats, the National Accordance Front
(Sunni) won 21 seats, the National Hadba Gathering (Sunni Nationalist)
won 19 seats, and Saleh al-Mutlaq's Iraqi National Project (Sunni) won
19 seats. The most common problems reported during the provincial
elections related to voters who were unable to locate their names on
the voter lists at the polling stations. Although some small parties
and some minorities complained about the IHEC and the voter lists, and
journalists reported mixed assessments of media freedom, the population
broadly accepted the results of the January 31 provincial elections.
The 2008 Law of Governorates Not Incorporated into a Region
(Provincial Powers Law) went into effect when the new provincial
councils were seated, granting them more discretion in coordinating
with the national government to provide resources and services such as
gasoline, security, health care, and education to the local population.
On July 25, the Kurdistan region held closed-list parliamentary
elections as well as a popular vote for the KRG presidency. The IHEC,
working through the Kurdistan Regional Electoral Office in Erbil,
administered the elections, which citizens and international observers
alike viewed as successful and leading to a peaceful transition of
power in the KRG. Incumbent KRG President Masoud Barzani won the
Kurdistan region's first popular vote for the presidency with 69.6
percent of the vote. In the race for the 111-seat parliament, the KDP-
PUK retained its majority of seats, but dropped from 104 to 59 seats.
The Change List (Goran) political movement, headed by former PUK deputy
secretary general Nawshirwan Mustafa, won 25 seats, and the four-party
Service and Reform List won 13 seats. The Islamic Movement in Kurdistan
won two seats. Eleven seats were allocated to minorities under a quota
system: five seats for Christians, five seats for Turkmen, and one seat
for Armenians. One Yazidi candidate was also elected.
In the months following the July 25 elections, the Change movement
documented hundreds of names of government employees, especially
members of the security services (police, Asayish, and Peshmerga) whose
employment was terminated, allegedly for supporting the Change List.
President Barzani formed a committee authorized to investigate the
allegations, but there were no tangible results by year's end.
On December 4, an unknown gunman shot Sardar Qadir, a well known
Change movement supporter and likely candidate in the national
parliamentary elections, twice in the thigh while sitting inside the
home of a close friend. The incident and ensuing recovery caused Qadir
to withdraw his name as a Change candidate for national office.
On December 6, the COR agreed to an amended national elections law
to govern parliamentary elections in 2010. The law established a
multidistrict, open-list election and expanded the number of seats in
the parliament from 275 to 325. Of those seats, the law reserves five
for Christians as well as one each for Yazidis, Shabaks, and Sabean-
Mandaeans.
In the 2005 election, female voter turnout was reportedly as high
if not higher than male turnout. The 2005 national elections law
provides for the election of women to the COR, aiming to achieve a
minimum of one-quarter female representation.
There were 75 women elected to the COR, which was more than 25
percent of the membership. Women chaired two of the 24 standing
committees. There were five female ministers of 37 in the cabinet: the
ministers of state for women's affairs and provincial affairs; and the
ministers of human rights, environment, and housing and construction.
Three cabinet members were from religious and ethnic minority groups:
the minister of human rights, the minister of industry and minerals,
and the minister of youth and sports.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
Although the law provides criminal penalties for official
corruption, large-scale corruption pervaded the government, and public
perception of government corruption and impunity continued to be
strong. Intimidation and political influence were factors in some
allegations of corruption, and officials sometimes used the ``de-
Ba'athification'' process to pursue political and personal agendas.
During the year prosecution of corruption cases increased, but
officials combating corruption faced persistent political, social, and
capacity restraints. Credible information on the nature and extent of
corruption in the judiciary was lacking, but such corruption was widely
believed to exist.
Anti-corruption institutions were fragmented, and their interaction
was hampered by a lack of consensus about their role, partly due to a
lack of effective legislation as well as to insufficient political will
to eliminate widespread corruption. Lack of accountability continued to
be widespread, reinforced by several statutory provisions, unclear
regulatory processes, and limited transparency.
The law does not provide public access to government information
for citizens or noncitizens, including foreign media. Government
officials who were required by law to file financial disclosure
reports, such as ministers, governors, and parliamentarians, increased
their compliance from the previous year. By year's end 100 percent of
the Council of Ministers and the Presidency Council had submitted their
reports, and 35 percent of members of parliament had complied with the
regulation. The government was not powerful enough to enforce required
financial disclosure reports in all cases.
The Commission of Integrity (COI), established in 2004 as the
Commission on Public Integrity, is the government body charged with
preventing and investigating cases of corruption in all ministries and
other components of the government nationwide (except for the KRG). The
COI, with a staff of approximately 1,300, reports to the commissioner
of integrity, and the COR and has the authority to refer cases for
criminal prosecution.
According to a prime ministerial order, the COI may not initiate
cases and has instructed the ministerial inspectors general (IGs) to
perform all initial investigations. In practice this order has placed
the ministers in control of any investigation of corruption within
their own ministry. There are documented instances where the ministers
have ordered major corruptions investigations to be dropped.
The government also has a system of 36 IGs. There is an IG assigned
to each ministry, as well as an IG for the municipality of Baghdad, the
Property Resolution Commission, the Hajj and Omrah Commission, the
Commission of Political Prisoners, and the country's multiple religious
endowments. The mandate of the IGs, with approximately 1,800 total
staff, is to audit, inspect, and investigate to reduce fraud, waste,
and abuse. The country's oldest anticorruption agency, the Board of
Supreme Audits (BSA), performs external audits of government ministries
and agencies. The BSA also audits the offices of the prime minister,
Presidency Council, and presidency of the COR, as well as expenses
claimed by members of the COR.
Aside from the three core institutions of the COI, the IGs, and the
BSA, the COR maintains an Integrity Committee charged with oversight of
executive branch and anticorruption agencies. By executive order, the
prime minister created the Joint Anticorruption Council in 2007 to
integrate anticorruption initiatives; it includes representatives of
the COI, IGs, BSA, COR's Integrity Committee, and HJC, and is chaired
by the Council of Ministers secretary general.
The media also continued to cover corruption issues, exposing
wrongdoing and promoting public awareness of anti-corruption
institutions. NGOs worked to expose corruption, although their physical
capacity to do so was limited.
In June the COI launched a new antibribery campaign at the behest
of the prime minister, consisting of public awareness efforts and
administrative steps across ministries to reduce opportunities for low-
level bribery.
In August 2008 the KRG established a corruption committee, composed
of government officials, to review levels of corruption and make
recommendations on how to prevent corruption. The KRG contracted an
international accounting firm to study KRG institutions and make
recommendations on anticorruption measures. In July KRG prime minister
Nechirvan Barzani announced the summary results of the accounting
firm's report, including a recommended anticorruption strategy.
Although the new cabinet, led by KRG prime minister Barham Salih,
reaffirmed its intent to implement the anticorruption strategy, it had
yet to do so by year's end.
During the year 972 anticorruption cases were sent for prosecution
as a result of COI investigations compared to 398 in 2008, and 150 in
2007. The number of convictions was approximately 285, compared to 98
for the previous year. At year's end the COI had issued 133 warrants
against senior government officials of director general rank or higher.
In May the COR questioned minister of trade Abd Falah al-Sudani
regarding allegations of corruption and mismanagement within his
ministry. Al-Sudani resigned from his post on May 14. He was then
charged with corruption and arrested on May 30 while fleeing the
country for Dubai. Al-Sudani's brother, Sabah al-Sudani, was also
arrested after he was stopped with 170 million ID ($150,000) and
attempted to bribe a police officer. Three ministry of trade officials
involved in the case, including the director general of the Grain
Importation Board, were convicted of negligence in their duties; one
received a two-year prison sentence and the other two received a one-
year sentence. Al-Sudani was awaiting trial at year's end.
On September 6, the deputy minister of transportation, Adnan al-
Obaidi, was arrested after investigators recorded him taking a 115
million ID ($100,000) bribe. According to reports, a foreign security
firm had approached the COI alleging that al-Obaidi had asked for a
bribe of 575 million ID ($500,000) to renew the firm's contract. Al-
Obaidi's trial was held in December and he was sentenced to eight years
on charges of soliciting a bribe.
In November the head of the Baghdad Provincial Finance Office and
several of her relatives were arrested for the theft of more than 23
billion ID ($20 million). Government authorities worked in coordination
with neighboring countries to arrest the individuals involved in the
theft, as well as recover a substantial portion of the stolen funds.
The suspects remained in custody at year's end.
The COI became increasingly active in vetting civil servants and
candidates for public office. In September the COI began publishing
names of public officials who relied on falsified educational
credentials to gain government jobs.
The commissioner of integrity and several IGs lacked full authority
due to the fact that their names had not been submitted for
parliamentary confirmation, as required by law.
The constitution provides immunity from arrest to COR members
unless the member is caught in a criminal act or charged with a felony
and the COR overturns immunity by a majority vote.
The law in practice permits ministers to halt corruption
proceedings against their employees. As in previous years, ministries
effectively stalled investigations by failing to provide information or
not complying with requests for officials to appear in court. The prime
minister's approval is required before corruption cases proceed against
members of the Presidency or the Council of Ministers. Information on
specific instances of the prime minister and ministers using these
tactics during the year was not available. Judicial authorities
reported that the practice constituted a significant obstacle to the
prosecution of corruption cases.
The central government and the KRG maintained inflated public
payrolls. Ministries and public sector institutions employed
nonexistent ``ghost'' employees, and political patronage was common at
all levels of government. Ministries were beginning to establish
automated payroll deposits and conduct workplace audits with the BSA to
cut back on ``ghost'' employees. Rates of absenteeism and desertion
among the ISF continued to decrease. During the year in the KRG there
were roughly one million employees on the government payroll out of a
total population of approximately 3.9 million.
There were allegations in numerous provinces of politicization of
personnel matters, including reports from Anbar, Babil, and Baghdad. In
June the governor of Babil Province ordered the removal of 15
provincial employees from the government payroll, as they had been
hired illegally. Allegations that he acted out of political motivations
followed this action. There were also reports of dismissals in the KRG
as reprisals for civil servants who were supporting opposition party
Goran. These personnel cases had not been adjudicated at year's end.
According to an external assessment, the MOI fired an estimated
3,000 employees on administrative corruption charges between 2006 and
June 2009, although no information was available on how many had been
prosecuted.
Political parties subjected the COI to a number of high-level
attempts to influence prosecutions. Members of the legislature also
reportedly attempted to pressure the court on numerous occasions.
There were reports in all 18 provinces, at the national and
regional levels, of opaque public tender processes, favoritism in
contracting, and excessive discretion of public officials in
procurement decisions. Corruption along the country's borders existed
as well; the GOI worked independently and with the international
community to address structural and capacity issues.
Local and foreign business organizations in the KRG complained that
the KRG did not publicly tender contracts in sufficient time to allow
local business owners to compete, and that political and personal
favoritism determined the results.
Anti-corruption, law enforcement, and judicial officials, along
with members of civil society and the media, continued to face threats
for vigorous pursuit of corrupt practices. There was widespread
intimidation, but there were fewer killings and attacks than the
previous year against COI employees, inspection personnel, witnesses,
and family members involved with COI cases.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government extended minimal cooperation with NGOs and with the
UN and its agencies on human rights issues, generally citing security
restrictions. In May 2008 the government signed a headquarters
agreement with the ICRC, granting it legal status and permanent
representation in the country. The COR had not ratified the agreement
by year's end, but the ICRC benefited nonetheless from all of its
provisions.
In comparison to previous years, the ICRC had greater access to
visit detainees at central government detention facilities due to
verbal agreements with the MOI, MOJ, and MOLSA that grant unrestricted
ICRC access to all detention facilities except the Counter Terrorism
Center (CTC) detention facility. The ICRC and central government did
not formalize an agreement granting the ICRC unrestricted access to all
sites during the year, but the ICRC was able to conduct inspections and
the prime minister publicly declared that only the ICRC and the MOHR
had unrestricted access to all detention facilities in the country
except those of the KRG.
The ICRC had a separate agreement with the KRG for unrestricted
access to KRG detention facilities. They formally renewed the agreement
on December 20. The previous authorization dated from 1992.
All nongovernmental investigations of alleged human rights
violations continued to be restricted. The government attributed
restrictions to the security situation and its policy of allowing only
the MOHR and the ICRC unrestricted access to detention facilities. The
government generally did not permit detention center or prison visits
by NGOs. The MOHR did meet with domestic NGO monitors and responded to
their inquiries by opening MOHR investigations into alleged violations.
The MOHR also initiated a program to train representatives of 32
domestic NGOs to visit and monitor prison conditions.
During the year activity and advocacy by the country's relatively
new NGOs remained weak overall. At the end of the year more than 6,000
NGOs were registered, although according to the director of the NGO
Office, only approximately 1,800 were operational, including 235 human
rights NGOs and 181 women's rights NGOs. The majority of domestic human
rights NGOs were affiliated with a political party or with a particular
sect and frequently focused human rights efforts along sectarian lines.
Branches of international NGOs and NGOs serving women did not generally
subscribe to this pattern.
The Council of Ministers Secretariat (COMSEC) NGO Assistance Office
continued to impede the activities of NGOs through onerous registration
processes and excessive documentary requirements. Only one office in
the country, located in Baghdad, accepted registrations for NGOs.
During the year COMSEC NGO Assistance Office representatives
continued unannounced and intimidating visits to some NGOs , demanding
photographs, passport details, names, and addresses of all staff and
their family members.
The poor security situation continued to severely limit the work of
NGOs.
The Kurdish areas had a stronger NGO community, although many
Kurdish NGOs were closely linked to the PUK and KDP political parties.
The KRG and Kurdish political parties generally supported humanitarian
NGO activities and programs.
The KRG strongly criticized a report AI released in May assessing
the human rights situation within the Kurdish areas. KRG officials
denied that Kurdish internal security forces continued to hold
detainees without trial and denied AI's reports of abuse within
detention facilities. The KRG also criticized a November HRW report
detailing its treatment of minority communities in disputed territories
between the central government and KRG.
Although no ombudsman existed, for the first half of the year the
national MOHR and the KRG human rights authorities focused on raising
awareness and knowledge of human rights and conducting prison visits.
Each ministry reported to its respective prime minister. Following
parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan region, the KRG MOHR was
eliminated when the KRG reduced the number of ministries from 40 to 19,
and the director general began to report to KRG judicial authorities.
By year's end the KRG had introduced draft legislation to the Iraqi
Kurdistan Parliament to create a separate department attached to the
KRG Council of Ministers to assume the role of the former ministry.
The MOHR published a report on prison conditions during the year.
The KRG published no similar report. The national MOHR attempted to
monitor human rights abuses and advocate for and assist victims, and it
issued public reports on prisons and detention centers, minorities, and
victims of terrorism. Limited resources and poor cooperation from other
ministries limited the ministry's effectiveness. The effectiveness of
KRG human rights authorities was limited by a lack of trained personnel
and effective follow-up throughout the government on human rights
issues. KRG human rights authorities and the KRG's Honor Killing
Monitoring Commission, established in 2007, were active on women's
issues, particularly on steps to end honor killings. KRG human rights
authorities collated and published monthly data on honor killings.
In November 2008 the COR's Committee on Human Rights passed
legislation establishing an Independent High Commission on Human
Rights. In December 2008 the legislation was ratified. As of December
31, a Committee of Experts to select the Commission's directors had
been formed, but the COR had not ratified its membership. The
government had not contributed any funds, and support from the
international donor community was limited. The COR committee also
advocated publicly for raising standards in government detention
facilities and prisons. In 2007 the KRG's legislative body, the IKP,
formed a special committee to deal with human rights and detainee
issues, but did not issue any public reports.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides that all citizens are equal before the
law without regard to gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality,
religion, or origin. The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of
race, disability, or social status. The government did not effectively
enforce these provisions.
Women.--The constitution provides for equal treatment before the
law without discrimination based on gender; in practice, discrimination
existed, and enforcement of equal treatment was uneven. The general
lack of security in the country and increasingly conservative societal
tendencies had a serious negative impact on women.
The penal code prohibits rape, does not address spousal rape, and
imposes a maximum sentence of seven years' imprisonment for rapists. It
was difficult to estimate the incidence of rape or the effectiveness of
government enforcement of the law.
The constitution prohibits all forms of violence and abuse in the
family, school, and society. Anecdotal evidence from local NGOs and
media reporting indicated that domestic violence often went unreported
and unpunished with abuses customarily addressed within the family and
tribal structure. Harassment of legal personnel working on domestic
violence cases, as well as a lack of police and judicial personnel,
further hampered efforts to bring perpetrators to justice.
There are no specific laws that concern domestic violence. Under
the penal code, a husband is legally entitled to punish his wife
``within certain limits prescribed by law or custom.'' Existing laws
were widely unenforced, including those on domestic violence.
During the year NGOs reported that domestic violence against women
remained a serious problem, although no reliable statistics existed.
Domestic violence was also widespread in the Kurdistan region,
including beatings, shootings, and burnings. Women have an unequal role
in the family and in the social structure of the region. Although
technology has made it easier for women to contact others outside their
immediate family, this has led to sometimes violent disputes over whom
a woman can talk to or what she can do outside the home. For the first
eight months of the year, the domestic NGO Human Rights Data Bank
recorded 363 incidents of battery against women, 295 reported threats,
40 murders, and 32 sexual assaults.
Honor killings remained a serious problem. Legislation in force
permits honor considerations to mitigate sentences.
According to the UNHCR in April, honor killings were prevalent in
all parts of the country. For the first nine months of the year, the
domestic NGO Human Rights Data Bank recorded 314 burn victims (125
instances of self-immolation and 189 cases of burning), compared with
234 burn victim during the same period in 2008.
A KRG human rights official reported in December 2008 that the KRG
does not consider an honor killing legally different from murder, thus
making punishment for an honor killing equal to punishment for murder.
The nature of the crime makes it difficult for authorities to find
sufficient evidence to prosecute cases. KRG human rights authorities
reported that for the year 2008, 117 women died in honor killings, but
for 200, the KRG reported a total of 528 honor killings. The UN
Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and civil society observers
considered both figures to be low. In April 2008 KRG internal security
forces arrested three persons accused of an honor killing in
Sulaymaniyah but later released them, according to press reports. The
suspects reportedly fled the country.
In May 2008 the KRG Violence Against Women Commission, under the
direct supervision of the prime minister and deputy prime minister,
created monitoring boards to ensure that the courts uphold and enforce
the region's existing laws to protect women. The commission also
recommended that ``komalayati'' bodies, or traditional panels led by
village elders to reconcile disputes, no longer play a role in deciding
legal cases. Nonetheless, komalayati boards continued to play a role at
year's end.
Private shelters for women existed, but space was limited. Shelters
closely protected information regarding their locations. Some NGOs
worked with local community mental health workers, employed by the MOH,
who provided assistance to victims of gender-based violence. Other NGOs
worked to provide legal assistance to these victims. Victims of
domestic violence received no substantive assistance from the
government. Authorities frequently attempted to mediate between women
and their families to try to work out a peaceful solution for the women
to return home. Other than returning to their families, there were few
options for women who were housed at shelters.
Prostitution is illegal. During the year reports of prostitution
increased. According to the NGO Organization for Women's Freedom in
Iraq, some women resorted to prostitution to provide for their
children. There was no evidence that ISF specifically targeted
prostitutes for harassment.
Since the fall of the Saddam regime in 2003, there have been no
restrictions on reproductive rights, including number and spacing of
children and access to both contraceptives and information on family
planning. However, according to an August 2008 UNAMI report, a total of
10.8 percent of married women throughout the country had an unmet need
for contraception. Many women who gave birth in public or private
health institutions received inadequate medical care due to a lack of
essential drugs, transport to referral institutions, and medical
personnel lacking training in emergency obstetric care. Women were at
increased risk of poor birth outcomes with high rates of anemia, short
birth intervals, early marriage, and early pregnancy. There were no
reliable statistics for on access to diagnosis and treatment of
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, due to cultural
sensitivities.
Although the constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of
gender, in practice conservative societal standards impeded women's
abilities to exercise their rights. Throughout the country women
reported pressure to wear veils. Islamic extremists targeted women for
undertaking normal activities, such as driving a car and wearing
trousers, in an effort to force them to remain at home, wear veils, and
adhere to a conservative interpretation of Islam. Islamic extremists
also reportedly continued to target women in a number of cities,
demanding they stop wearing Western-style clothing and cover their
heads while in public.
The Ministry of State for Women's Affairs, with an approximately
18-person professional staff, functioned primarily as a policy office
without an independent budget or the ability to hire more employees. On
February 3, the minister of state for women's affairs, Dr. Nawal
Al'Samara'e, resigned, citing insufficient resources and limited
authority to implement programs and policies to improve conditions for
women.
Weak labor laws and the lack of an equal opportunity employment law
left women vulnerable to arbitrary dismissal. The security situation
disproportionately affected women's ability to work outside the home.
The MOLSA Social Care Directorate administered social care
institutions, among them institutions for orphans and the elderly.
Women who were heads of single-parent households received a moderate
cash stipend from the ministry if they could prove they were widows.
Bureaucratic challenges, including lack of a spouse's death certificate
and confusion about how to obtain the stipend posed serious challenges
for the women. In addition, the budget for this assistance did not meet
the need.
Children.--Article 18 of the constitution states that anyone who is
born with at least one Iraqi parent shall be considered a citizen. The
government in general was committed to children's rights and welfare,
although it denied benefits to noncitizen children. Their families had
to pay for services that were otherwise free, such as public schools
and health services. Except for several hundred Palestinian families,
they were not eligible for the national food rationing program.
Primary education is compulsory for citizen children for six years,
and 89 percent of students reached the fifth grade. Education is free
for children at all levels.
NGOs and international organizations noted increasing numbers of
street children since mid-2007.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is not illegal and is a common
practice, especially in the rural areas of the Kurdistan region.
Several NGOs that work to halt FGM had anecdotal evidence that in rural
villages as many as 90 percent of women have undergone the procedure,
and in urban areas as many as 30 percent. The government offered no
substantive assistance for victims of FGM.
Although there were no statistics, a tradition of marrying young
girls (14 or older) continued, particularly in rural areas.
MOLSA operated 21 orphanages for older children in Baghdad and the
provinces, housing a total of 376 children, as well as and 36 nurseries
for young children.
In 2007 a center in Baghdad for children with disabilities was
discovered to be housing 24 severely malnourished boys from three to 15
years old. Arrest warrants were issued for three employees of the
orphanage; two were arrested and one remained at large at year's end.
Following the incident, the Office of the Inspector General at MOLSA
conducted an investigation, which was referred afterward to the COI.
Despite laws against child labor, children often worked illegally
on farms or in street commerce. In accordance with the country's labor
law, MOLSA established an inspection service to ensure compliance with
the law as it relates to prohibitions on child labor in the private and
public sector.
In April 2008 the UN special representative for children in armed
conflict issued a report that highlighted widespread child recruitment
into armed insurgent groups throughout the country. During the year
child recruitment into insurgent groups remained a problem, and
insurgent groups increasingly recruited children through financial
incentives to carry out attacks. There were no reports of the
government engaging in this practice.
The KRG runs children's homes that house approximately 300 orphans,
most of whom are from rural areas.
Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution prohibits forced labor,
slavery, slave trade, trafficking in women or children, and the sex
trade. There were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and
within the country. The government maintains a committee chaired by the
MOHR with representatives from the MFA, MOI, and MOLSA to examine
trafficking problems; this committee has no authority to implement its
recommendations.
Although reliable statistics did not exist, some government
officials believed the country was a source and destination country for
hundreds of men and women trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
and involuntary servitude. Children were trafficked within the country
and abroad for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women
were trafficked within the country, as well as to Syria, Jordan,
Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran, for the purpose
of commercial sexual exploitation. The country is also a destination
for men and women trafficked from Georgia, India, Pakistan, Indonesia,
Nepal, the Philippines, Uganda, and Sri Lanka for involuntary servitude
as construction workers, cleaners, and handymen. Women from the
Philippines and Indonesia were trafficked into the Kurdish territory
for involuntary servitude as domestic servants or were coerced into
prostitution. Some of these foreign workers were offered fraudulent
jobs in Kuwait or Jordan but were then tricked or forced into
involuntary servitude in Iraq instead; others went to the country
voluntarily but were subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude
after arrival. There were also reports of trafficking in human organs
to other countries.
On August 18 and 30, 14 Ugandan women who had been trafficked for
the purpose of labor exploitation were repatriated with the assistance
of the government. Criminal charges were brought against two
individuals believed to be responsible. The case remained pending at
year's end.
Anecdotal evidence and media reports suggested that employees of
orphanages and charitable institutions trafficked individuals from
these institutions. MOLSA and the Ministry of State for Women's Affairs
continued to accuse private orphanages of involvement in these
activities and stated that a private orphanage in Sadr City trafficked
young girls for forced prostitution. There were also reports that
criminal gangs used threats and blackmail to exploit teenage boys
sexually for commercial and other motives.
Both the MOI and KRG security authorities have responsibility for
trafficking-related issues. The demands of the security situation
relegated trafficking to a lower priority. Trafficking crimes were not
specifically enumerated in MOI statistics on criminal activity.
International NGOs worked with the central government to develop
antitrafficking legislation and to provide assistance to trafficking
victims, particularly in the KRG.
There is little information about trafficking in persons in the
Kurdistan region. Third country nationals reportedly have been
trafficked into the region to work as manual laborers, including
garbage collectors, and women have been reportedly trafficked to work
as prostitutes.
According to the government, the MOHR presented a number of
educational workshops on trafficking through the National Institute for
Human Rights. Three workshops were held in Baghdad in cooperation and
coordination with the Ministry of Youth and Sports. At the start of the
2009-10 school year, several instructional workshops were conducted for
students in schools and colleges. These workshops focused on the
effects of trafficking in persons, the processes the perpetrators use,
and methods of prevention.
Victims of trafficking reportedly were prosecuted for a number of
crimes, including prostitution and document and passport fraud. There
were also documented cases of female victims kept in ``protective
custody'' in detention centers to deter violence against them by their
families and traffickers. Few shelters existed in the country; most
were run by NGOs. There were no reports of government officials
participating in or condoning trafficking.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination in
employment, education, access to health care, and other state services
against persons with physical disabilities. The government enforced the
law in the government sector, but not in the private sector.
MOLSA operated several institutions for the education of children
and young adults with disabilities. It also operated workshops and
associations to provide employment opportunities to persons with mental
disabilities.
Eighteen institutes operated in Baghdad and the provinces outside
the KRG for persons with mental and psychological disabilities and
housed approximately 800 persons. There were 34 institutes assisting
approximately 1,870 persons throughout the country for persons with
physical disabilities, including homes for visually impaired and
hearing impaired persons, vocational/rehabilitation homes, and homes
for elderly persons. The government, through the prime minister's
office and MOH, provided benefits for thousands of veterans with
disabilities, many of whom supplemented their benefits with some
employment.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnically, the country's
population includes Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and
Armenians. The religious mix is likewise varied. Many consider the
Assyrians and Chaldeans to be a distinct ethnic group. These
communities speak a different language, preserve Christian traditions,
and do not define themselves as Arabs.
The constitution identifies Arabic and Kurdish as the two official
languages of the state. It also provides the right of citizens to
educate their children in their mother tongue, such as Turkmen, Syriac,
or Armenian, in government educational institutions in accordance with
educational guidelines or in any other language in private educational
institutions.
During the year discrimination against ethnic minorities was a
problem. There were numerous reports of Kurdish authorities
discriminating against minorities in the disputed territories under the
de facto control of the KRG, including Turkmen, Arabs, Yazidis, and
Assyrians. According to these reports, authorities denied services to
some villages, arrested minorities without due process, took them to
undisclosed locations for detention, and pressured minority schools to
teach in the Kurdish language. Ethnic and religious minorities in
Tameem (Kirkuk) frequently charged that Kurdish security forces
targeted Arabs and Turkmen. Within the three provinces of the KRG there
was little evidence of KRG discrimination against religious and ethnic
minorities. Minority communities operate their own schools and are
represented both in the parliament and executive branch of the KRG.
Palestinians reportedly experienced arrest, detention, harassment,
and abuse by police, by individuals pretending to be police, and by the
general public. A 2006 citizenship law prevents Palestinians from
obtaining citizenship or Jews who emigrated to other countries from
reclaiming citizenship.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was no law specifically
prohibiting the practice of homosexuality, although paragraph 394 of
the penal code prohibits the act of ``buggery.'' The law calls for
imprisonment only if the ``victim'' is under the age of 18. There was
no data on how often, if ever, persons were prosecuted for buggery.
During the year there were reports of discrimination and violence
against gay men and lesbians, mostly by nongovernmental actors. Press
reports in April indicated that approximately 60 gay men had been
murdered during the first four months of the year, most of them in
Baghdad. According to UNHCR, during the year approximately 30 boys and
men from Baghdad were murdered because they were gay or perceived to be
gay. On April 4, local and international media reported the discovery
of the bodies of nine gay men in Sadr City. Three other men were found
tortured but alive. Numerous press reports indicate that some victims
were assaulted and murdered by having their anuses glued shut or their
genitals cut off and stuffed down their throats until they suffocated.
The government did not endorse or condone these extra-judicial
killings, and the MOI publicly stated that killing men or lesbians was
murder.
On May 29, Muqtader al-Sadr, leader of the JAM militia, ordered
that the ``depravity'' of homosexuality be eradicated. Although he
publicly rejected outright violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgendered (LGBT) individuals, reports attributed the killings of
gay men to radical Shia militias, as well as to tribal and family
members shamed by the actions of their LGBT relatives.
Authorities had not announced any arrests or prosecutions of any
persons for killing, torturing, or detaining any LGBT individuals by
year's end.
Other parts of this report contain related information; see
sections 1.c, 2.c., and 6.d.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution provides the right
to form and join unions and professional associations, subject to
regulating law. Labor Law 150 of 1987, enacted by the Saddam regime and
still in force, designated trade union organizations as ``playing an
effective role in the organization of labor relations, in the
protection of workers' rights, and in the development of their
personalities.'' However, it declared virtually all public sector
workers to be government ``executives,'' legally ineligible to form or
to join unions. The provision in effect eliminated unions and the right
of association from the large public sector. Although the number of
formal unions and associations remains undefined, workers have
generally been organized along sectoral lines stemming largely from
state employment. The largest sectors with the most active unions or
associations are oil/petrochemical, industrial and defense
manufacturing, and education.
In the private sector, the 1987 Trade Union Organization Law allows
employees to form workers' committees, with limited rights of
association, in private sector work sites employing more than 50
workers. Originally, this was also intended to remove the right of
association from a majority of private sector workers because most
private sector businesses employ fewer than 50 workers. Decree 8750 of
2005, which cancelled unions' leadership boards, froze their assets,
and formed an inter-ministerial committee to administer unions' assets
and assess their capacity to resume activity, also inhibited union
activity.
The legal and regulatory framework, combined with violence,
insecurity, high unemployment, and maladapted labor organizational
structures inhibited the exercise of labor rights. Nevertheless, labor
organizations in the country's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were
active during the year, and there were no reports that the government
attempted to stifle protests. There were reports of worker
dissatisfaction during the year. In February and March, employees of a
Kirkuk-based state-owned cement company refused the changes a foreign
investor made in the plant operations. As a result of the protests, the
investor walked away from the project. In July employees of a state-
owned oil company in Basrah expressed dissatisfaction with a proposed
oilfield service agreement with a foreign oil company.
Despite remaining legal restrictions, MOLSA continued to work with
the International Labor Organization (ILO) during the year to finalize
a draft labor code to supersede the 1987 laws and the 2005 decree and
conform to international statutes, as well as to retrain ministry staff
in applying its provisions. The draft labor code--which is tied closely
to proposed changes to the social safety net--remained under review in
committee in the Shura Council at year's end.
The MOLSA Labor Directorate has jurisdiction over the labor code,
child labor, wages, occupational safety and health issues, and labor
relations. Although the private sector only expanded modestly during
the year, workers in the private sector continued to enjoy the right to
form workers' committees at work sites employing fewer than 50 persons.
In the public sector, workers in SOEs continued to enjoy the benefits
of 2008 reforms and exercised their right to expression by speaking out
publicly against perceived government or foreign investor threats to
their livelihoods. Employees at moribund SOEs continued to draw state
salaries, although they were in many cases underemployed or not
engaging in work at all. While private sector unions have the right to
seek government arbitration for labor disputes, but not the right to
strike. There were no instances of private sector workers organizing or
giving voice to concerns regarding labor practices during the year.
MOLSA recognized private sector unions belonging to the General
Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW). The GFIW formed in 2005 when the
Iraqi Federation of Workers' Trade Unions, the General Federation of
Trade Unions, and the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions merged.
MOLSA continued to monitor workplace safety and workers' rights in
coordination with these unions but could not register 11 new
independent unions until the new ILO-compatible legislation is enacted.
The constitution states that every citizen has the right to
demonstrate and strike peacefully in accordance with the law; however
the extant 1987 labor code rules out the existence of public sector
labor unions capable of carrying out industrial action and prohibits
striking in the public and private sectors. During the year workers at
a government-owned oil company in Basrah continued to openly oppose the
Ministry of Oil's plans to bring in private sector technical advisors
to assist the government with more efficient extraction techniques. The
same workers protested and publicly opposed the Technical Service
Agreement between the government and a foreign oil consortium regarding
the Rumaila oilfield outside Basrah. The workers' concerns were
mollified when they learned that the terms of the proposed contract
stipulated no change to employment numbers and mandated the percentage
of citizens to be hired. There were no reported reprisals by the
government against the labor leaders at the oil company.
The government was the largest employer in the country; reliable
estimates indicate the public sector accounted for approximately 30 to
35 percent of the total workforce. There were no government-sponsored
prosecutions or attacks on trade union activists during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The extant 1987
labor code in practice ruled out the existence of labor unions able to
carry out free and independent union activity and therefore effectively
prohibited independent organizing and collective bargaining in the
public and private sectors.
Because unions have no legal power to negotiate with employers,
proactive protection of workers' rights through collective bargaining
and written collective contracts is not possible. Unions were able to
play a supportive role in labor disputes, and they had the right to
demand government arbitration, a process the government has only
recently begun to address in its commercial courts and judicial
training. The 1987 Trade Union Organization Law defined ``labor
disputes'' as collective conflicts arising between workers and
employers over the provisions of the labor code and/or individual
employment contracts. Government labor courts were empowered to rule on
labor code violations and disagreements. MOLSA officials, who were also
charged with ensuring that public and private sector employers provided
workers government-mandated social security, pension, health care, and
other benefits regardless of company size, readily acknowledged that
enforcing these social safety net laws was more difficult without the
partnership and cooperation of strong unions.
Foreign workers continued to experience resistance from municipal,
provincial, and some national government elements. At the small Ahdab
oilfield south of Baghdad, local officials and residents voiced
opposition to the presence of legal Chinese guest workers conducting
service work at the field.
The absence of collective bargaining and collective contracts at
national and local levels significantly diminished unions' power to
defend workers' rights pertaining to their access to social protection.
The laws and decree did not prohibit antiunion discrimination by
employers or others.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor. According to press reports, foreign workers
were sometimes subjected to abusive forced labor. Foreign workers were
also reportedly induced, tricked, or forced to enter the country for
work via nearby countries in the construction and household labor
sectors. In some cases, they were the victims of involuntary servitude
involving high indebtedness, passport confiscation, and virtual
imprisonment, or fraud amounting to involuntary servitude and
trafficking. The MOI, in coordination with MOLSA, reviews applications
for special worker status. According to MOLSA, most applications are
denied to protect domestic workers and industry. When the government
uncovered cases of exploitation of foreign workers, it worked in
conjunction with international organizations to repatriate the victims.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
constitution and law prohibited the worst forms of child labor. The
government was not able to enforce these laws effectively. The law
limits working hours for workers younger than 18 and prohibits their
employment in dangerous occupations. The minimum age for employment was
15 years. Employment of anyone younger than 16 in work detrimental to
health, safety, or morals is prohibited. The MOLSA Child Labor Unit
continued to enforce child labor standards, but its work suffered from
insufficient personnel and budget resources. The ISF continued to make
slow but steady progress in its ability to pursue and interdict
nonviolent crimes such as child labor violations.
Poor families routinely used children to augment their income-
earning potential. This work often took the form of seasonal labor in
rural areas or begging or peddling in urban settings. There were
anecdotal reports of children working in hazardous family-owned
automobile shops or on construction sites. Recent unconfirmed reports
alleged the sale of children for indentured servitude.
The government introduced a targeted, means-tested social safety
network program in 2005 to reduce poverty and to protect children
against deteriorating living conditions in their households. By year's
end one million families had received benefits and services
administered by MOLSA. The package included a child allowance,
conditional upon school attendance; the government also funded programs
to assist former and current street children. International
organizations and NGOs funded additional projects to enhance the
protection of children.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Wages are set by contract in the
private sector and set by the government in the public sector. The
national minimum wage for a skilled worker was less than 12,000 ID
(approximately $10) per day and for an unskilled worker less than 5,250
ID ($4.50) per day. The standard workday is eight hours with one or
more rest periods. Up to four hours of overtime work per day is
permitted, and premium pay for overtime is required. The Central
Organization of Statistics and Information Technology reported that the
average salary was approximately 2,400,000 ID ($2,085) per year, an
increase over the previous year's figure of 1,788,000 ID ($1,550).
These earnings remained only marginally above poverty level and did not
provide an adequate standard of living for a worker and family.
According to international governmental organizations, NGOs, and
press reports, some foreign workers in the country were subjected to
abusive treatment, including confiscation of travel and identity
documents, confinement, physical abuse, unwanted sexual advances,
delayed or no pay, forced daily and weekly overtime, and hazardous
working conditions; no legal action to protect works or bring
perpetrators to justice was reported.
The MOLSA occupational safety and health component had staff
located throughout the country. The law provides that workers have the
right to remove themselves from a situation endangering health and
safety without prejudice to their employment.
__________
ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Israel is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with a population of
approximately 7.5 million, including Israelis living in the occupied
territories. Israel has no constitution, although a series of ``Basic
Laws'' enumerate fundamental rights. Certain fundamental laws, orders,
and regulations legally depend on the existence of a ``State of
Emergency,'' which has been in effect since 1948. The 120-member,
unicameral Knesset has the power to dissolve the government and mandate
elections. The February 10 elections for the Knesset were considered
free and fair. They resulted in a coalition government led by Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces within Israel. (An annex to
this report covers human rights in the occupied territories. This
report deals with human rights in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights.)
The government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, although there were problems in some areas. There were
several high-profile cases involving corruption by political leaders.
Institutional, legal, and societal discrimination against Arab
citizens, Palestinian Arabs, non-Orthodox Jews, and other religious
groups continued, as did societal discrimination against persons with
disabilities. Women suffered societal discrimination and domestic
violence. The government maintained unequal educational systems for
Arab and Jewish students. While trafficking in persons for the purpose
of prostitution greatly decreased in recent years, trafficking for the
purpose of labor remained a problem, as did abuse of foreign workers.
Palestinian rocket and terrorist attacks killed four and injured 34
civilians in Israel during the year; such attacks killed three at the
start of hostilities on December 27 and 29, 2008. There were 125
rockets and 70 mortar shells fired into Israel from Gaza since the end
of Operation Cast Lead on January 21, and 850 rockets and mortar shells
during the hostilities, compared with 1,750 rockets and 1,528 mortar
shells in 2008.
In response to a sharp increase in the number and frequency of
rocket attacks into Israel prior to and following the expiration of
Hamas' agreed period of ``calm'' on December 19, 2008, the Israeli Air
Force launched Operation Cast Lead, consisting initially of airstrikes
on December 27 against Hamas security installations, personnel, and
other facilities in the Gaza Strip, followed on January 3 by ground
operations. Hostilities between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters
continued through January 18, and the Israeli withdrawal of troops was
completed on January 21. Human rights organizations estimated the
number of dead at close to 1,400 Palestinians, including more than
1,000 civilians, and the wounded at more than 5,000. According to
government figures, Palestinian deaths totaled 1,166, including 295
noncombatant deaths. The discrepancy over civilian deaths largely
centered on whether the 248 Hamas police officers killed were
considered civilians. There were 13 Israelis killed, including three
civilians. Further information on the human rights situation in Gaza
and the West Bank is in the Annex.
The President of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) established the
United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict to investigate
Israeli violations of international human rights and humanitarian law
in the context of military operations in Gaza, whether before, during,
or after Operation Cast Lead. On September 29, Justice Richard
Goldstone, who headed the mission, presented the report (commonly known
as the ``Goldstone report'') to the HRC in Geneva. The Goldstone report
investigated 36 incidents of alleged violations by the IDF in Gaza, as
well as alleged violations by Palestinians. This reflected an effort by
Goldstone to broaden the scope of his report beyond the original
mandate, which was limited only to violations by Israel. Among its many
conclusions, the report claimed that members of the IDF were
responsible for deliberate targeting of civilians, for the destruction
of critical infrastructure in Gaza, and for using weapons such as white
phosphorous in highly populated areas, all of which it deemed to be
violations of international humanitarian law. The Goldstone report was
widely criticized for methodological failings, legal and factual
errors, falsehoods, and for devoting insufficient attention to the
asymmetrical nature of the conflict and the fact that Hamas and other
Palestinian militants were deliberately operating in heavily populated
urban areas of Gaza. The government of Israel also sharply rejected the
charge that it had a policy of deliberately targeting civilians. IDF
military advocate general Mandelblit was responsible for reviewing all
allegations relating to Operation Cast Lead, including those contained
in the Goldstone Report. At the end of the year, Mandelblit's
investigations were ongoing.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit politically motivated killings.
On September 3, the Central District Court found Shahar Mizrahi, a
police officer, guilty of manslaughter in the 2006 shooting of Mahmoud
Ghanayem in the town of Baka El Gharbia. The court sentenced Mizrahi to
15 months in jail and a 15-month suspended sentence. Authorities did
not suspend him from duty during the trial or after the conviction.
Mizrahi claimed that he suspected Ghanayem of car theft; the car
belonged to the victim's father. Mizrahi appealed, claiming that it was
a life-threatening situation; the appeal was pending before the Supreme
Court at year's end.
An appeal was pending at year's end regarding the Department for
Investigations against Police Officers' (DIPO) closure for lack of
evidence of its inquiry into the March 2008 beating and subsequent coma
and death of Sabri al-Jarjawi, a 25-year-old Bedouin from the Negev. A
friend of al-Jarjawi, who was present during the incident, stated that
two police officers attacked al-Jarjawi without provocation. According
to a police statement, the two officers resorted to force after one of
the two Bedouin men assaulted one of the officers.
At year's end, an internal Israel Prison Service (IPS)
investigation was ongoing into the 2007 killing of a Palestinian
prisoner, Mohammed al-Askar, during a riot at Ketziot Prison. Prisoners
alleged that security forces improperly used crowd-dispersal weapons,
including rubber bullets and beanbag projectiles. The IPS investigation
was on hold pending the outcome of legal proceedings in the Be'er Sheva
Magistrate Court regarding the cause of death.
On June 15, the Haifa District Court acquitted the border policeman
involved in the 2006 killing of Nadim Milham, an Israeli Arab who was
killed in his home during a weapons search.
An investigation was ongoing at year's end into the charge filed
November 12 against Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, a resident of the West Bank
settlement Shvut Rachel, in an allegedly politically motivated 1997
killing of Samir Akram Balbisi, an Arab taxi driver in Jerusalem (see
sections 1.c. and 6 and the Annex for other charges against him).
Documents released in December showed the investigation had stalled in
2000 following an Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet)
interrogation when Teitel passed a polygraph test, although the
investigation had identified Teitel as the sole suspect since the day
after the murder.
Palestinian terrorists routinely fired rockets and mortars from the
Gaza Strip into Israel. According to the government, Palestinians fired
125 rockets and 70 mortar shells into Israel from Gaza since the end of
Operation Cast Lead in January and 850 rockets and mortar shells during
the operation in Gaza, down from 1,750 rockets and 1,528 mortar shells
in 2008. Rocket, mortar, and sniper fire from the Gaza Strip killed
four civilians during the year.
According to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) B'Tselem,
Israeli military operations killed an estimated 1,003 Palestinians in
Gaza throughout the year, including in January as a result of Operation
Cast Lead. The campaign targeted Hamas security installations,
personnel, tunnels, and other facilities in the Gaza Strip. IDF
military advocate general Mandelblit was responsible for reviewing all
allegations relating to Operation Cast Lead, including those contained
in the Goldstone report. At year's end, field and military police
investigations continued and the military advocate general had referred
approximately 140 cases for criminal investigations (see Annex). The
IDF killed 21 Palestinians in the West Bank during the year.
During 2008 the Military Investigative Police launched 323
investigations with regard to cases of death, violence, and property
damage against Palestinians. In these cases, the military advocate
general filed 26 indictments against 31 soldiers suspected of
committing criminal offenses against Palestinians. There were 18
convictions, two acquittals, the closure of three cases by the military
advocate general, and three cases pending as of year's end (see Annex).
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--A 1999 High Court of Justice ruling held that, although
torture and the application of physical or psychological pain are
illegal, ISA interrogators may be exempt from criminal prosecution if
they use such methods in extraordinary ``ticking bomb'' cases.
On July 6, the High Court of Justice rejected a motion brought by
three Israeli NGOs seeking to charge the ISA with contempt of court.
The NGOs had argued that ISA interrogators applied more often than the
court intended the exemption for use of such methods in extraordinary
``ticking bomb'' cases.
During the year NGOs filed numerous complaints alleging that
security forces tortured or abused Palestinians from the occupied
territories, including after arrests during the Gaza operation (see
Annex).
On December 28, the NGO Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
(PCATI) reported on the lack of investigations of torture allegations,
noting that, since 2001, not one investigation had resulted from more
than 600 complaints of torture by ISA agents. On July 5, PCATI filed a
suit with the Supreme Court against the use of painful shackling, based
on a report it released in June. The case was pending at year's end.
On December 22, police arrested two border guards following a DIPO
investigation into suspicions that they beat and stole 700 NIS
(approximately $184) from a Sudanese man in Eilat. The case was pending
at year's end at the Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court.
On September 9, the Supreme Court dismissed the April 2008 petition
of five human rights NGOs against the ISA's alleged psychological use
of family members during interrogations. The court stated that it was
forbidden to use threats, false promises, and charades relating to a
detainee's family members as a form of pressure; additionally, the
court noted that the attorney general clarified the ISA guidelines for
interrogators as a result of the petition, explicitly forbidding such
practices. The court dismissed the case because it found no evidence of
such practices actually in use.
Unlike the previous year, when it received four complaints, the NGO
Hotline for Migrant Workers (Hotline) reported no complaints regarding
immigration police violence.
On October 7, Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, a radical member of the
settlement movement, was arrested and remained in custody while other
charges were under investigation. In September 2008 Teitel allegedly
planted a pipe bomb at the doorstep of prominent Hebrew University
professor and critic of the settlements Ze'ev Sternhell, who was
wounded by the bomb. After the attack, police found flyers near
Sternhell's home calling for the establishment of a new state in the
West Bank based on Jewish religious law. The flyers, signed in the name
of an unknown Jewish extremist group called the Army of the State
Liberators, also offered 1.1 million NIS ($289,000) to anyone who
killed a member of the NGO Peace Now.
In November evidentiary hearings began following a DIPO
investigation and a criminal indictment against three police officers.
In June 2008 they reportedly detained and severely beat east Jerusalem
resident Tareq Abu Laban.
In November a military court acquitted the two soldiers involved in
the July 2008 fight with two Druze families on a beach near Haifa. The
court found that the soldiers' actions were taken in self-defense in
response to being hit first and that hospital records did not
substantiate the claimed injuries of the complainant.
As of year's end, an evidentiary hearing had not been held on the
case of two policemen, Iyad Huzeyl and Dani Havery, who were indicted
in October 2008 for assault involving grievous injury against Fadi
Darab'i, an undocumented Palestinian laborer, in April 2008 at a
construction site in the town of Gan Yavneh. An evidentiary hearing was
scheduled for October 2010 at the Beer Sheva Magistrate Court.
As of year's end, there had not been an evidentiary hearing in the
2006 case of three border police officers--Eliran Levy, Moshe Yekutiel,
and Almit Asarsa--indicted on charges of aggravated assault for abusing
Abd Tareq Ahrub, a West Bank resident detained for being in Jerusalem
without a permit.
As of year's end, the Supreme Court had not ruled on a 2007
government appeal of a district court decision not to dismiss a lawsuit
filed against the state by Lebanese citizen Mustafa Dirani, who charged
that Israeli security forces tortured and raped him during
interrogations between 1994 and 2004.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The law provides prisoners
and detainees the right to conditions that do not harm their health or
dignity. While various organizations found deficiencies, conditions in
IPS facilities for common criminals and security prisoners generally
met international standards according to international and domestic
NGOs. (Conditions in four facilities for detainees are covered in the
Annex.) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regularly
monitored IPS facilities, interrogation facilities, and the two IDF
provisional detention centers. The Israel Bar Association (IBA) and
public defenders were permitted to inspect IPS facilities. Overcrowding
remained a problem in some sections of 11 out of 15 prisons, according
to the June annual report of the Public Defender's Office that covered
conditions in prisons and detention centers in 2008. Regulations
require at least 48 square feet of living space per person, but spaces
were as low as 19 square feet per person in one holding cell in one
prison.
The Public Defender's June report covering conditions in prisons
and detention centers in 2008 noted some improvements but found grave
deficiencies in the infrastructure of most prison facilities and the
living conditions in many of them. In response to the 2008 report that
convicts in one-third of the prisons visited complained of violent and
humiliating treatment, the Warden's Investigation Unit within the
National Police (which is independent of the IPS) found complaints to
be unfounded. In 2008 the IPS created a permanent team to examine
violence within the penal system, recommend treatment, and conduct
training. The recommendations resulted in the renovation of 15 prison
wings during the year.
The government acknowledged the need to improve conditions for
Palestinian security prisoners in response to an August 2008 IBA report
on Sharon and Hadarim prisons that noted, among other points, poor
health conditions for security prisoners.
According to the government, the IPS renovated family waiting areas
outside 15 prisons and upgraded rooms to meet lawyers in all IPS
facilities during the year. Reports by the Public Defender's Office,
official comptrollers, and other government authorities noted a
significant improvement in prisoners' living conditions.
In July the NGO Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I) report
noted that the Ministry of Health rejected NGO calls to publish
procedural guidelines for medical staff to report observations of
suspected physical abuse of prisoners. PHR-I also noted that the
ministry refused to extend ``whistleblower'' protection to IPS doctors
reporting possible instances of torture.
According to the NGO Adalah, as of July, there were 7,731 Arab
security prisoners and detainees out of a total of 12,990 Arab
prisoners; there were 16 Jewish Israeli security prisoners out of a
total of 6,552 Jewish prisoners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions for all citizens. Non-Israeli residents of the Israeli-
annexed Golan Heights were subject to the same laws as Israeli
citizens. Noncitizens of Palestinian origin detained on security
grounds fell under military jurisdiction even if detained in Israel
(see Annex).
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISA under the
authority of the prime minister combats terrorism and espionage in the
country and the occupied territories (see Annex). The National Police,
including the Border Police and the Immigration Police, are under the
authority of the Ministry of Internal Security. Police corruption
generally was not a problem.
The DIPO reviews complaints against police officers and may impose
disciplinary measures or recommend indictments. The DIPO hired and
trained 15 civilian investigators in 2008, replacing the police
investigators who staffed the former Police Investigations Department,
which human rights groups had criticized for lacking the independence
necessary for adequate investigation of allegations against police
officers. The DIPO was staffed by 19 civil investigators and 25 police
investigators.
The police carried out training programs in coordination with
academic institutions and human rights NGOs to promote human rights
awareness and cultural sensitivity. During the year the National Police
provided mandatory Arabic language and culture classes for all new
cadets.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Suspects in
nonsecurity cases are apprehended openly with warrants based on
sufficient evidence and issued by an authorized official and generally
were informed promptly of charges against them. The law provides that
an arrested citizen is considered innocent until proven guilty and has
the right to habeas corpus, to remain silent, to be represented by an
attorney, to contact family members, and to receive a fair trial. The
government may withhold evidence from defense lawyers on security
grounds; however, the evidence must be made available to the court. A
bail system exists, and a decision denying bail can be appealed.
As a general practice, noncitizens of Palestinian origin detained
for security violations were not granted bail. An individual suspected
of a criminal offense may be held without charge for 24 hours before
being brought before a judge, with limited exceptions allowing for up
to 48 hours.
Persons detained on security grounds may fall under one or more of
the legal regimes described below.
Under a 2006 ``temporary law'' on criminal procedures that has
twice been renewed, the IPS may hold individuals suspected of a
security offense for 48 hours without judicial oversight, with limited
exceptions allowing up to 96 hours before being brought before a
district court presiding judge. Administrative detention was used as an
exception when intelligence sources could not be presented as evidence
in regular criminal proceedings. The law, which was set to expire again
in December 2010, allows the court to authorize holding a detainee for
up to 20 days without an indictment and, by barring access to a lawyer,
to hold a detainee incommunicado for up to 21 days with the approval of
the attorney general. The court may decide to impose further extensions
without the detainee being present or informed of the hearing. An
administrative detainee has the right to appeal any decision to
lengthen detention.
In another legal regime for administrative detention, the 1979
Emergency Powers Law allows the Defense Ministry (MOD) to detain
persons administratively without charge for up to six months, renewable
indefinitely. Such detainees, almost all of whom were Palestinians in
the West Bank, were permitted legal representation within seven days,
with limited exceptions for up to 21 days with the attorney general's
approval. If necessary, the government provided free legal
representation. The military court may rely on classified evidence
denied to detainees and their lawyers. Detainees can appeal their cases
to a military court of appeals and ultimately to the Supreme Court.
The third legal option for pretrial detention relies on the 2002
Illegal Combatant Law, which permits holding a detainee incommunicado
for 14 days without review by a district court judge, denying access to
counsel for up to 21 days with the attorney general's approval, and
indefinite detention subject to twice-yearly district court reviews and
appeals to the Supreme Court. In June 2008 the government extended for
an additional four years a ``temporary provision'' that exempts law
enforcement personnel from the law requiring them to film and audio
record all interrogations of detainees suspected of security offenses.
Amendments to the law in 2008 expanded its internment powers, which may
be exercised in the event of ``widespread hostilities, ``an occurrence
which has not happened to date.
In October the Israeli NGOs HaMoked and B'Tselem jointly published
a study called Withholding Trial, Administrative Detention of
Palestinians by Israel and the Internment of Unlawful Combatants Law,
released in October, on the situation of security detainees. The study,
which included comments by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), found that
the authorities held in detention nine residents of the Gaza Strip
under this law as of September.
Human rights groups alleged military commanders in the occupied
territories used administrative security detention orders based on
``security reasons'' even when the accused posed no clear danger. The
NGO PCATI complained these laws removed the standard procedural
safeguards from security suspects, who were the most vulnerable to
torture and mistreatment.
At year's end, according to the NGO B'Tselem, there were 278
administrative detainees in IPS detention centers. The government
reported 286 such detainees on December 20; none was a minor. Most
administrative detainees were held for less than one year, with 26
administrative detainees held consecutively for more than two years.
Mahmoud Azan, whom the government considered an al-Qa'ida member, had
been imprisoned according to a deportation order, not administrative
detention, for more than 10 years. He was released during the year to
the Gaza Strip because the government found no country to accept him.
On March 24, PCATI, the Israeli NGO the Association for Civil
Rights in Israel (ACRI), and Adalah withdrew their 2008 petition to the
Supreme Court that called for the cancellation of the 2006 temporary
law on detaining security suspects. The organizations withdrew the
petition to protest the court's January 14 decision to hear secret
evidence provided by the state on the constitutionality of a law in the
absence of the petitioners and the public. The petitioners argued that
the court's unprecedented decision to hear secret evidence had no legal
basis, contradicted previous Supreme Court judgments, and set a
precedent that could harm future judicial review of laws that violate
human rights. At year's end, a separate 2008 challenge to the law by
the Public Defenders' Office remained pending.
According to MOJ figures at the end of the year, administrative
detainees constituted 3.8 percent (286) of the 7,522 security related
detainees. In 2008 the Military Court of Appeals reviewed 1,880
detainee appeals and accepted 273, for which the length of detentions
were either reduced or eliminated. There were 443 appeals by the
military prosecution of which 354 were accepted.
The law provides that a foreign national suspected of immigration
violations be afforded a hearing within four days of detention. They
have the right to, but no guarantee of, legal representation. According
to Hotline, interpreters in Ketsiot, where most asylum seekers were
detained, were rarely present during hearings despite a 2002 written
commitment by the government to the Supreme Court to provide
interpreters. According to Hotline, persons held in immigration
detention rarely were released pending judicial determination of their
status. Moreover, if the detainee's country of origin had no diplomatic
or consular representation, the individual could remain in detention
for months. According to Hotline, at the end of 2008, more than 1,000
detainees (more than 100 of them children) were waiting for
determination of their asylum claims.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government respected this provision in
practice. The judiciary has ruled against the executive, including in
security cases. For example, on November 19, the Supreme Court voided
amendment 29 to the Prisons Ordinance that allowed privately operated
prisons. On December 29, the Supreme Court ruled against an IDF
prohibition on all non-Israeli vehicles on highway 443, a major West
Bank highway on which approximately 40,000 Israeli vehicles commute
between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The court gave the IDF five months to
reply with an alternative security solution for the road that was
closed to non-Israeli vehicles in 2002 following multiple Palestinian
terrorist attacks that killed five Israelis in 2001.
The judicial branch comprises magistrate courts, six district
courts, and the Supreme Court, which also sits as the High Court of
Justice.
Magistrate courts adjudicate misdemeanors and lesser civil
disputes. District courts adjudicate felonies, serious civil cases,
appeals from the magistrate courts, and several other largely
administrative matters. There are also military, religious, labor
relations, and administrative courts. The High Court of Justice
exercises judicial review over the other branches of government and can
exercise power on matters that are not within the jurisdiction of any
other court or tribunal. The High Court of Justice is a court of first
instance for claims against the government. Its members also sit as the
Supreme Court and hear appeals of lower court rulings, Knesset
elections, administrative detentions, prisoners' petitions, and rulings
of the Civil Service Commission and bar association. Religious courts
have jurisdiction over matters of personal status for their adherents;
there are no civil courts for marriage or divorce for the hundreds of
thousands of citizens for whom religious courts are not a legal option.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. However,
administrative detainee hearings are not trials and do not follow trial
procedures.
By law, an arrested citizen is considered innocent until proven
guilty. There are no trials by jury. Trials are public except when the
court determines that a closed trial is required to protect state
security, foreign relations, a party's or witness's right to privacy,
or a sexual offense victim. Security or military trials may be open to
independent observers at the discretion of the court but not to the
general public. All indigent defendants facing trial and imprisonment
receive mandatory representation. According to the government, counsel
represented all defendants in district and Supreme Court trials and in
approximately 80 percent of cases in the magistrate courts.
Defendants have the right to question witnesses against them, to
present witnesses on their behalf, to access evidence (except when the
court determines such access would compromise state security), and to
appeal.
Military courts provide some, but not all, of the procedural rights
granted in civil criminal courts. The 1970 evidentiary rules governing
trials under military law of Palestinians and others applicable in the
occupied territories are the same as evidentiary rules in criminal
cases. According to the MOJ, the law does not permit convictions to be
based solely on confessions, and in order to convict the prosecution
must present additional, often secret evidence to the court. Secret
evidence is often used in military trials and is not available to the
defendant or counsel. Counsel may assist the accused in such trials,
and a judge may assign counsel to defendants. Indigent detainees do not
automatically receive free legal counsel for military trials, but in
practice almost all detainees had counsel even in minor cases. The
defendant and the public are read the indictment in Hebrew and, unless
the defendant waives this right, in Arabic. In past years, many
indictments were translated into Arabic, but since, according to the
government, no requests for translations were made, the practice during
the year was to provide written translations of indictments into Arabic
only upon request. At least one interpreter is present for simultaneous
interpretation in every military court hearing, unless the defendant
waives that right. Defendants can appeal through the Military Court of
Appeals and petition the High Court of Justice.
In the past military courts treated Palestinian minors who were 16
and 17 years old as adults, but a juvenile court began operating in the
West Bank on September 29, following a July 29 security directive to
separate minors from adult detainees. According to the government,
legal counsel is provided in all cases, and pretrial detention is
minimized. The chief of military prosecution in the West Bank must
approve in advance each arrest of a minor. Sentencing of minors is
similar to that implemented in courts in Israel. As of December 20, the
IPS held 7,144 security prisoners, of whom 43 were under the age of 16,
and 254 were between 16 and 18 years old. No administrative detainees
were minors.
There are also custodial courts and four deportation courts to
address the removal of illegal immigrants.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
citizen political prisoners or detainees (see Annex).
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--An independent and
impartial judiciary adjudicates lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, human rights violations. Administrative remedies exist,
and court orders were usually enforced.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law provides for protection of privacy of the
individual and the home. In criminal cases the law permits wiretapping
under court order; in security cases, the MOD must issue the order.
Under emergency regulations authorities may open and destroy mail on
the basis of security considerations.
The law provides for police officers and other public investigators
to request court orders to obtain personal information from private
communications companies, including landline and cellular telephones
and Internet service providers. To access private communications
records, investigators must demonstrate that their goal is to save or
preserve life, investigate or prevent crime, or seize property in
accordance with the law.
Separate religious court systems adjudicate personal status, such
as marriage and divorce, for the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze
communities. Jews can marry only in Orthodox Jewish services, although
the great majority of Jewish Israelis are not Orthodox. Civil
marriages, marriages of some non-Orthodox Jews, marriages in non-
Orthodox ceremonies, or marriage to a non-Jew must take place outside
the country to be legal. According to the NGO New Family Organization,
more than 5,000 couples married in civil ceremonies abroad each year,
most in Cyprus, and then registered in Israel's population register.
Procedures for divorce from such marriages and changing one's personal
status in the population register were unclear; a divorce must take
place abroad, as the Supreme Court has ruled that the Rabbinical Court
cannot dissolve such marriages, since they were not performed according
to Halachic law. The government allows consular marriages as long as
both parties have no religion or belong to a religious community that
the state does not recognize.
Many Jewish citizens objected to exclusive Orthodox rabbinic
control over aspects of their personal lives. Approximately 310,000
citizens who immigrated, either as Jews or as family members of Jews,
are not considered Jewish by the Orthodox Rabbinate. They cannot be
married, divorced, or buried in Jewish cemeteries within the country.
The estimated 20,000 Messianic Jews, who considered themselves to be
Jews, also often experienced this infringement in their personal lives
due to the Orthodox Rabbinate not considering them as Jewish. A 1996
law requiring the government to establish civil cemeteries has not been
fully implemented, although eight civil cemeteries exist.
The authority to grant status (citizenship and residency) to a non-
Israeli spouse, including Palestinian and other non-Jewish foreign
spouses, resides with the Ministry of Interior (MOI). On July 27, the
Knesset extended for another year the temporary 2003 Citizenship and
Entry Law, which prohibits a citizen's Palestinian spouse from the
occupied territories not only from acquiring citizenship by marriage,
but also from residing in the country. Palestinian male spouses who are
35 or older and female spouses who are 25 or older may apply for
temporary visit permits. The Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens
in Israel (Mossawa) claimed the law affected more than 21,000 families,
including couples with long-standing marriages. The government
originally enacted the law following 23 terrorist attacks involving
suicide bombers from the occupied territories who had gained access to
Israeli identification through family unification.
After the Supreme Court upheld the law, the Knesset expanded it to
bar family reunification in cases where one spouse is a non-Jewish
citizen of Iran, Iraq, Syria, or Lebanon. During the year Israeli human
Rights NGOs and international organizations continued to criticize this
ban, which primarily affects Palestinian spouses of Arab citizens of
Israel, who constitute the majority of Israelis married to residents of
the occupied territories. On June 24, in response to a petition by
Kayan (an Arab Israeli NGO), PHR-I, and ACRI, the Supreme Court
demanded an explanation within six months from the government for its
refusal to grant social and health insurance to an estimated 5,000
Palestinian spouses of citizens who were granted ``staying permits'' to
reside legally in Israel. In December the court ordered the government
to provide a temporary solution within a month that would be in place
until an official policy could be formulated.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press; while the government generally respected these
rights, in practice there were some restrictions. Individuals may
criticize the government publicly and privately without reprisal, but
the law prohibits hate speech and incitement to violence, and the 1948
Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance prohibits expressing support for
illegal or terrorist organizations. The government imposed a blanket
ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza during the offensive, which
ended on January 23.
The country has 13 daily newspapers, at least 90 weekly newspapers,
more than 250 periodicals, and a number of Internet news sites. All
newspapers were privately owned and managed. Laws dating from the
British mandate require MOI licenses for newspapers and allow the
minister, under certain conditions, to close a newspaper.
The state-owned Israel Broadcast Authority controls the Hebrew-
language Israel Television and an Arabic-language channel, as well as
Kol Israel (Voice of Israel) radio, which airs news and other
programming in Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages. The Second
Television and Radio Authority, a public body, supervises the two
privately owned commercial television channels and 14 privately owned
radio stations.
In 2007 a cable company, HOT, dropped the Christian network Daystar
TV following complaints about proselytizing. After legal challenges,
HOT restored Daystar TV in early 2008 to subscribers.
All media organizations must submit to military censors materials
that deal with specific military issues as well as strategic
infrastructure issues, such as oil and water supplies. The censor's
decisions may be appealed to the High Court of Justice, and the censor
cannot appeal a court judgment. The MOI has no authority over the
military censor.
All foreign journalists operating in the country need Government
Press Office accreditation.
News printed or broadcast abroad is subject to security censorship.
The government did not fine newspapers or other mass media for
violating censorship regulations during the year. However, on June 14,
a Jerusalem court sentenced journalist Khader Shaheen and Muhammad
Sarhan under a plea bargain to two months in prison and a six-month
suspended sentence for breaching the military censorship law during the
Gaza offensive and ``neglectfully delivering information'' to the
enemy. Police arrested the two men, a correspondent and a producer, for
the Arabic-language Iranian satellite news channel Al-Alam, on January
5 and held them for 10 days on charges of divulging secret information
and transmitting information to the enemy in wartime. The charges were
filming and broadcasting live to Iran the IDF movements toward Gaza a
half hour before the January 3 start of the ground offensive in spite
of censorship restrictions. According to the international NGO
Committee to Protect Journalists, dozens of other news outlets reported
similarly on troops and equipment at the time, but authorities
prosecuted only Shaheen and Sarhan. Their appeal to the Supreme Court
was pending at the end of the year.
The government prohibited all citizens, including journalists, from
entering Gaza; those who entered were subject to legal penalties such
as fines and restraining orders. The Supreme Court reviewed and upheld
this policy, based on the ongoing, armed conflict between Israel and
the terrorist organizations. On May 12, authorities detained Haaretz
reporter Amira Hass as she returned to Israel after repeatedly entering
and spending four months in the Gaza Strip. She was not arrested but
was released on condition that she would not reenter Gaza. Several
other journalists were warned, but none were arrested or indicted.
Beginning in November 2008, the government prevented foreign
journalists from entering the Gaza Strip. In November 2008 the Foreign
Press Association in Israel filed a petition to the High Court of
Justice requesting that it overturn the ban. On six occasions in
December 2008, 54 journalists were allowed to cross. In December 2008,
the court requested the state to put in place a procedure for entry,
but with the start of the land operation on January 4, the government
decided it could not implement the procedure due to the change in
security circumstances. All restrictions on movement were removed on
January 23, immediately following the conclusion of Operation Cast
Lead.
On February 2, Syrian journalist Atta Farhat, editor of the Arabic
Web site Golan Times and the Golan Heights correspondent for Syrian
television and for the Syrian daily Al-Watan, was sentenced after 18
months in detention to a three-year jail term for ``contact with a
foreign agent.'' The Nazareth District Court convicted him along with
Yosef Shams, who was additionally convicted of delivering information
to the enemy with intent of harming state security, according to a plea
bargain and admission following a hearing of the prosecution's
evidence. The court found that Shams and Farhat had, for more than a
year prior to their 2007 arrest, communicated knowingly with a Syrian
army officer, delivering messages to each other and working to fulfill
his requests. Shams was also fined 25,000 NIS (approximately $6,600)
and given a three-year suspended sentence. He was reportedly arrested
at his home in the Golan Heights village of Buq'ata after covering a
peaceful demonstration in the Golan Heights by Israeli peace activists.
His articles in the Syrian press and on the Web site described living
conditions in the Golan Heights.
Internet Freedom.--There were generally no restrictions on Internet
access. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression
of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, although the government
monitored cellular and landline telephones and Internet service
providers for security purposes. The International Telecommunication
Union reported that approximately 50 percent of the country's
inhabitants were Internet users in 2008.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were generally no
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
Universities are required to justify to the IDF acceptance of
Palestinian students from the occupied territories. According to
revised government criteria submitted in response to a 2007 High Court
of Justice order, as many as 70 students from the West Bank may pursue
graduate studies in Israeli universities at any given time, provided
there is no practical alternative and the chosen program is not in a
field that could provide knowledge or skills that could be employed to
harm the country. Students from Gaza are not eligible to apply (see
Annex).
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected this right in practice.
According to data collected by Mossawa, police arrested or invited
for questioning approximately 700 Arab citizens of Israel during and
directly after the Gaza war. Although most were invited by the police,
the ISA allegedly often conducted the questioning. Although the arrests
ranged from disturbing the traffic to being a security risk, no charges
were filed, and they were all released, usually the same day, although
some were held as long as four days.
Israeli Arab NGOs claimed that the police made selective arrests
that limited freedom of peaceful assembly and expression for Arab
citizens of Israel and human rights activists. For example, on January
6, according to Mossawa, police units arrested peaceful protesters in
Wadi Nisnas and students at the University of Haifa, allegedly for
making statements against the war in Gaza. Police sent the arrested
Israeli Arab students immediately to the Haifa district regional jail.
Some students complained, according to Mossawa, that special
counterterror police units called ``Yassam'' treated them violently,
humiliated them, made racist statements, and threatened to damage their
academic and future careers. The Haifa District Court released all the
students and reportedly criticized the commander of the police district
for limiting the freedom of expression of the students. In at least one
case, the court released the suspect on bail on condition of not
attending unauthorized or unlicensed demonstrations.
Haifa Police arrested Mossawa Center Director Jafar Farah and
others at a February 8 protest organized against political party
Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Lieberman. They were protesting his
attendance at a conference in Haifa due to his derogatory remarks
against Arab Israelis during the election campaign. A judge rejected
the police request to detain Farah in custody for 24 hours and put him
under house arrest instead.
At year's end, a DIPO investigation continued into a September 2008
complaint by the NGOs Adalah and the Arab Association of Human Rights
concerning police behavior during clashes with 15,000 Arab Israeli
demonstrators in May 2008 in the former Arab village of Safouriya, now
a Jewish community. There were conflicting claims about responsibility
for violence during the ``Nakba'' (catastrophe in Arabic) demonstration
that marked the anniversary of the establishment of the State of
Israel. The NGO Adalah released video footage that, according to press
reports showed police beating or kicking some demonstrators in the head
and face as they sat handcuffed on the ground. According to press and
NGO reports, police attacked several local and international
journalists, including a CNN correspondent, and in some cases
confiscated cameras and erased footage.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the right of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion,
and the government generally respected this right in practice.
The Basic Law and Declaration of Independence identify the country
as a ``Jewish and democratic state,'' while also providing for full
social and political equality, regardless of religious affiliation. In
practice the government recognized only Orthodox Jewish religious
authorities in personal and some civil status matters concerning Jewish
persons.
The government implemented policies including marriage, divorce,
education, burial, and observance of the Sabbath based on Orthodox
Jewish interpretation of religious law, and allocations of state
resources favored Orthodox Jewish institutions. According to government
figures, during the year the budget for religious services and
religious institutions for the Jewish population was 96 percent of
total funding. Religious education amounted to more than 1.1 billion
NIS ($263 million) of the approximately 1.5 billion NIS ($405 million)
of the overall budget. Religious minorities, comprising slightly more
than 20 percent of the population, received approximately 55 million
NIS ($14.5 million).
On May 19, the High Court of Justice ruled that the government,
which supports private conversion schools, must fund private conversion
classes operated by the Reform and Conservative movements. The court
acted on a petition by the Israel Religious Action Center of the
Movement for Progressive Judaism (Reform) in Israel.
On November 18, police detained Nofrat Frankel, a 25-year-old
female medical student, for two hours but banned her from the Western
Wall for 15 days for praying while wrapped in a prayer shawl, an act
reserved for men alone in Orthodox tradition. In 2003 the Supreme Court
upheld the 1981 Protection of Holy Places law, effectively legalizing
the prohibition on women's prayer at the Western Wall and ordering the
government to construct an additional separate prayer area along the
Western Wall where women may pray wearing prayer shawls. Construction
began in 2004.
The law confers recognition on some religious communities, granting
them some authority over their members in personal status matters.
Recognized communities are: Eastern Orthodox, Latin (Roman Catholic),
Gregorian-Armenian, Armenian-Catholic, Syrian (Catholic), Chaldean
(Uniate), Greek Catholic Melkite, Maronite, Syrian Orthodox, the
Evangelical Episcopal Church, Orthodox Jewish (both Ashkenazic and
Sephardic rites), Muslim, Druze, and the Baha'i. The status of several
Christian denominations is defined by arrangements with government
agencies. Legislation enacted in 1961 afforded Muslim courts exclusive
jurisdiction in matters of personal status concerning Muslims, although
the state regulates judicial appointments to these courts. Secular
courts have primacy over questions of inheritance, but parties may
bring cases to religious courts by mutual agreement. Muslims also may
bring alimony and property division matters associated with divorce to
civil courts.
Many religious communities were not recognized. Unrecognized
communities generally practiced their religion freely and maintained
communal institutions but were ineligible to receive government funding
for religious services. Since 1970 no additional religions or Christian
denominations have been recognized. Major Protestant denominations that
have been in the country for many years, such as the Anglicans,
Assemblies of God, Baptists, and Lutherans, among others, were not
recognized. Four religious communities have applied for state
recognition, but their applications have been pending for years: the
Ethiopian Orthodox, the Coptic Orthodox, the Evangelical Lutheran
Church, and the United Christian Council in Israel, an umbrella
organization for many Protestant churches in the country.
Both recognized and unrecognized religious communities complained
of difficulties receiving clergy visas for their representatives. Until
2007 clergy were granted five-year resident visas; since then, many
were either denied visas altogether or granted only one-year visas.
While there was no official regulation limiting religious visa holders
to 10 years of residency within the country, the MOI has refused the
renewal of visas before 10 years; after 10 years of residency, one may
apply for permanent residency. While recognized religious communities
only needed visa approvals through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA), unrecognized religious communities' visas had to be approved
additionally through the MOI to justify stays longer than five years.
During the year the MOI refused to renew religious visas for a
Protestant denomination's primary representative and for the director
of the Garden Tomb, a major Protestant pilgrimage site, despite MFA
approvals in both cases, simply due to the length of time they had
lived in the country, although no such regulation regarding period of
residence existed.
Under the Law of Return, the government grants immigration and
residence rights to individuals who meet established criteria defining
Jewish identity. Included in this definition is a child or grandchild
of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew, and the
spouse of a grandchild of a Jew. The government uses a separate, more
rigorous standard based on Orthodox Jewish criteria to determine the
right to full citizenship, entitlement to government financial support
for immigrants, the legitimacy of conversions to Judaism performed
within the country, and Jewish status for purposes of personal and some
civil status issues.
The 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law protects all holy sites, but
the government implemented regulations only for 137 Jewish sites,
leaving Muslim and Christian sites neglected, inaccessible, or
threatened by property development. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
and other well-known sites have de facto protection as a result of
their international importance; however, community mosques, churches,
and shrines faced threats from developers and municipalities that
Jewish sites did not face. Christian pilgrimage sites around the Sea of
Galilee faced regular threats of encroachment from government planners
who wanted to use parts of the properties for recreational areas. The
law provides for a hearing of objections to any plan or construction,
including submissions by representative bodies such as the NGO Arab
Center for Alternative Planning.
On March 16, the Supreme Court rejected Adalah's 2004 petition
requesting that the government promulgate regulations for the
protection of Islamic holy sites. The government maintained that the
promulgation of specific regulations, including determining how to
expand the list of holy sites, was not necessary to preserve and
protect the holy sites of any religion since the law provided for the
protection of all holy sites of all religions.
Offering or receiving material inducements for conversion, as well
as converting persons under 18 years of age, remained illegal unless
one parent was of the religion to which the minor wished to convert.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints refrained from
proselytizing under an agreement with the government. While officially
legal, missionaries faced harassment and discrimination by some Haredi
(ultra-Orthodox Jewish) activists and organizations and certain local
government officials.
The legal defense NGO Jerusalem Institute of Justice (JIJ) alleged
that MOI officials denied services to certain citizens based on their
religious beliefs. The JIJ had 70 such cases during the year, including
many dealing with MOI attempts to revoke citizenship or failure to
process immigration applications from persons entitled to citizenship
under the Law of Return, if it was determined such persons held
Messianic or Christian beliefs. The JIJ's petitions to the Supreme
Court in two such cases for a finding of contempt of court against the
MOI continued at year's end.
The MOI refused to implement the April 2008 Supreme Court decision
according to which 12 Messianic Jewish immigration applicants, born to
Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers, are entitled to receive
citizenship.
The MOI has also revoked citizenship due to religious belief. On
July 30, the Supreme Court overturned the MOI's 2008 decision to revoke
the citizenship of a family who immigrated in 1997 under the Law of
Return. The court found no evidence of falsified information regarding
Jewish identity although the wife was Christian and the husband a
Messianic Jew. The MOI's 2008 interrogation centered on the couple's
religious convictions.
Foreign tourists suspected of being Messianic Jews, belonging to
religious minorities, or of being ``missionaries'' were detained and
sometimes refused entry into the country at the airport. The JIJ and
some religious leaders claimed that many cases involved direct
questions of religious affiliation and beliefs. There were a number of
press reports that the MOI inserted notations into its border control
computers to identify alleged ``missionaries,'' influenced by Yad
L'Achim's antimissionary work. According to JIJ, the MOI has forced
some visitors to sign a pledge to abstain from missionary activity as a
precondition of release, and on March 13, required in addition a
189,199 NIS ($50,000) bail from a Christian family visiting from Hong
Kong.
The petition of Barbara Ludwig, a German graduate student whom the
MOI denied a visa renewal based on its determination that she was a
Messianic Jew, was still pending at the end of the year. She was
arrested in April 2008 for two days for failing to maintain a valid
student visa and was criticized by the MOI for alleged ``missionary''
activity.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports of societal
abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice.
Relations among religious groups were often strained.
Non-Orthodox Jews complained of discrimination and intolerance by
members of ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups as did persons who consider
themselves Jewish but who are not considered Jewish under Orthodox law.
As in past years, ultra-Orthodox Jews in some neighborhoods of
Jerusalem and other ultra-Orthodox enclaves periodically harassed or
assaulted women whose appearance they considered immodest.
The public bus service operated sex-segregated transportation for
some Haredi Jews. Some Haredi passengers also tried to impose sex
segregation on some mixed buses. According to press reports, women who
refused to sit in the rear of such buses were regularly harassed.
Following a petition against the legality of sex-segregated public
buses and a High Court of Justice recommendation, the government
established a committee that recommended on October 27 the end of
compulsory gender segregation on the bus lines, emphasizing that the
segregation entailed discrimination and coercion. The Supreme Court
ordered the transportation minister to respond to the report within two
and half months.
During the year Haredi Jews threw rocks at passing motorists to
protest driving on the Sabbath and soccer fans from some teams chanted
``death to Arabs'' and anti-Muslim slogans during games between Israeli
Jewish and Arab teams.
On January 26, 10 young Jewish men in Tiberius beat Mohammad
Mansour with sticks and sharp objects because he was Arab. The attack
was videotaped, and the young men confessed. There was no further
information available on the incident.
On June 24, the Israel Football Association disciplined football
club Beitar Jerusalem player Amit Ben-Shushan for making racist remarks
during State Cup celebrations in May. Ben-Shushan was filmed singing
lyrics including, ``I hate all the Arabs'' with Betar fans.
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox demonstrators threw stones at Jerusalem
mayor Nir Barkat on August 9, following large ultra-Orthodox protests
in June and July against his opening of a parking garage on Saturdays
near the Old City. Following police investigations, several indictments
were served.
On November 14, approximately 1,500 ultra-Orthodox demonstrators
protested against the Jerusalem office of the firm Intel for conducting
business on the Sabbath, which it had been doing for 20 years. By
year's end, a police investigation resulted in several indictments for
violence and vandalism. On November 28, several thousand religious and
secular Israelis protested against Haredi violence and protests. On
December 27, Haredi protesters threw stones and firecrackers, injuring
two police officers in front of the Intel office.
On December 31, the Jerusalem Post reported on Haredi insulting and
spitting at priests and nuns, and defacing with graffiti and throwing
garbage and dead cats at monasteries. Haredi representatives agreed in
a meeting with Christian representatives and the Jerusalem municipality
to curb the attacks and started putting up notices discouraging such
behavior.
Small groups of Haredi youth damaged police cars in attacks on
December 23, while the police were responding to a break-in, and on
December 24, while responding to a complaint regarding a Haredi
``modesty'' patrol of a Haredi woman.
The ultra-Orthodox antimissionary organization Yad L'Achim, led by
Rabbi Shalom Dov Lifschitz, continued to harass individuals whom it
identified, often incorrectly, as ``missionaries.'' The JIJ received
more than 30 complaints during the year from Messianic Jewish and
Christian leaders regarding posters displayed in their neighborhoods
containing their photographs, names, and addresses, warning the public
to ``avoid the dangerous missionaries.''
Yad L'Achim posted such antimissionary notices regarding David
Ortiz, a Messianic Jewish leader in Ariel. In March 2008 explosives
left on his doorstep seriously injured his son, 15-year-old Ami Ortiz.
Following the attack, Rabbi Lifschitz defended the practice of actively
publicizing the identities of alleged missionaries, and the
organization's Web site continued to state, ``we fight the missionaries
in a variety of ways, some of which, due to their sensitive nature,
can't be described in detail.'' On October 7, 18 months after receiving
security video evidence of the person who delivered the package, police
arrested Yaakov Teitel, an Orthodox settler who confessed that he
targeted the Ortiz family due to their religious beliefs.
On December 2, Beit She'an police arrested two Haredi suspects for
burning the car of Eliav Levine, a Messianic Jewish leader, on December
1; Levine had moved houses to avoid repeated harassment by ultra-
Orthodox men. The JIJ reported that in April 2008 Levine's 11-year-old
daughter was summoned to her school principal's office, where the
principal allowed a rabbi and two Yad L'Achim antimissionary activists
to elicit information about her family and congregation. Two weeks
later, the girl's father's car was firebombed for the first time.
Fearing the interrogation at school was linked to the bombing, the girl
revealed the details of her interrogation, contrary to her principal's
instructions. The police were notified, but no investigation took
place. Following a public complaint filed with the Ministry of
Education, the school dismissed the principal.
On April 2, the State Attorney's Office indicted Shmuel Wispish, a
member of the ``modesty patrols,'' for rioting, blackmail, and assault
causing serious injury. Between June and August 2008, Wispish
frequently went to a computer shop in Jerusalem that was open during
the Sabbath and demonstrated against the shop, threatening employees
and customers, damaging property, and beating the shop owner.
While it is illegal to destroy books or icons deemed holy by a
religious community or to incite religious prejudice, there were no
indictments as of year's end in the May 2008 public burning of hundreds
of Christian Bibles by residents of the Tel Aviv suburb of Or Yehuda.
Deputy mayor Uzi Aharon organized the event, reportedly after he
received complaints about the Messianic Jewish presence from residents.
Aharon told the newspaper Maariv that the municipality operated a team
of activists devoted entirely to uprooting missionary activity,
including the burning of New Testaments, and that their activities were
a fulfillment of the commandment to ``burn the evil from your midst.''
On October 20, the Nazareth District Court sentenced Ashad Shibli
to nine years in prison for running over a nine-year-old girl in the
northern town of Kfar Tavor in 2007 during the Jewish holy day of Yom
Kippur, when driving is prohibited. Witnesses said that he had
previously tried to run over two other residents on the same day. The
court also sentenced Muhammad Shibli to two years imprisonment for
assisting in abandoning a person after causing injury.
On June 29, the Supreme Court ordered the Ashdod Rabbinate and the
Chief Rabbinate Council to restore the kosher license that rabbinical
authorities had torn down from the Pnina Pie Bakery in Ashdod in June
2006 after seeing a sign warning that the owner of the bakery was a
Messianic Jew. The court noted that the removal of the license, which
significantly affected the bakery's business, was solely due to the
owner being a Messianic Jew and had nothing to do with Kashrut Law. By
the end of the year, the Chief Rabbinate Council had not restored the
kosher license and a contempt of court lawsuit was pending.
In November 2008 two defendants were given suspended sentences of
two months imprisonment and 150 hours of community service for their
part in a 2006 riot during which approximately 100 ultra-Orthodox Jews
assaulted approximately 50 Christian tourists and a policeman in
Jerusalem. No one else was ever charged and no one served any time in
prison.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for these rights,
and the government generally respected them in practice for citizens
(see Annex).
Citizens generally were free to travel abroad and to emigrate,
provided they had no outstanding military obligations and no
administrative restrictions. The government may bar citizens from
leaving the country based on security considerations. In addition, no
citizen is permitted to travel to any state officially at war with the
country without government permission. All Israeli citizens required a
special permit to enter area A (the area, according to the Interim
Agreement, in which the Palestinian Authority exercises security
responsibility), although the government allowed Arab citizens of
Israel some access without the permits. Arab citizens of Israel
regularly complained of discrimination and degrading treatment by
airport security officials. A Supreme Court decision in a 2007 petition
by ACRI and Adalah regarding alleged ethnic profiling was still pending
at year's end. In February the court ordered the government to present
a comparative legal analysis of its security screening methods.
The law prohibits forced exile of citizens, and the government
respected this prohibition in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
The country has not enacted any legislation implementing the 1951
convention or 1967 protocol, but in practice it has established a
system for the reception and consideration of asylum claims. A number
of formal and informal arrangements provide for the protection of
asylum seekers. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees,
asylum seekers, and other persons of concern, although at year's end
there was no memorandum of understanding governing procedures and
cooperation between the UNHCR and the government.
The MOI's Authority for Immigration and Border Crossings implements
government policy and has authority over foreign nationals and
population issues. The authority consolidates all relevant bodies
dealing with immigration issues, including asylum seekers. During the
year the MOI opened an office in Lod for asylum seekers to register to
receive documents allowing legal residence; without such documents,
asylum seekers were subject to arrest. On July 1, the government took
over from the UNHCR the process of registering and conducting refugee
status determinations for all asylum seekers. Hotline reported that
many refugees and asylum seekers complained of harsh and racist
treatment at the office, inefficiency, refusals to renew papers, and
lost documents. For example, on July 28, an MOI Asylum Seekers Division
official attacked an Eritrean national, according to a complaint by
Hotline. There was no further information available on the incident.
At the office in Lod, 25 officers registered newly arrived asylum
seekers, conducted a nationality determination, and provided temporary
visas. Those with disputed nationalities are not given temporary
status. Eritreans and Sudanese are given temporary protection and are
not required to undergo refugee status determinations; all others are
expected to report to the MOI's Refugee Status Unit (RSD) for
determination of their refugee claim. According to the UNHCR,
approximately 300 asylum seekers who claimed to be Eritrean were
determined by the government to be Ethiopian. The UNHCR reported that
approximately 10 of these disputed cases were deported to Ethiopia in
December. The UNHCR noted that there is no appeals process for cases of
disputed nationality and has advocated that these persons go through
the RSD asylum procedure. Until July 1, when the MOI took
responsibility, the UNHCR conducted refugee status determination
interviews and made recommendations to the National Status Granting
Board (NSGB). The NSGB is the agency responsible for deciding refugee
status. Some NGOs, including the Tel Aviv University Refugee Rights
Clinic, did not consider the NGSB procedures transparent and complained
that the board met infrequently and approved very few cases.
The asylum seekers had access to the UNHCR and NGOs, and the
government reported that they were also able to approach police and the
courts regarding any claims.
Health services were provided for minors who stayed continuously in
the country for a period of six months and were not insured by the
National Health Insurance Law; there is a monthly fee of 185 NIS
($48.60). Those services do not apply to previous health conditions or
to children of parents who are residents of the Palestinian Authority.
By law the government should provide education to all children
living in the country, regardless of their status in the MOI's
population registry. NGO and media reports cited instances in which
children of asylum seekers allegedly were not provided access to the
country's educational system due to decisions by local school and
government officials.
According to the state comptroller's annual report to the Knesset
in May, between 2000 and 2007, 8,377 Africans requested refugee status
and political asylum, and 109 were granted refugee status.
At year's end, the government estimated there were approximately
18,000 asylum seekers in the country, of whom approximately 4,000 were
Sudanese, and between 5,000 and 7,000 were Eritrean. As of October,
2,525 asylum seekers had registered as Eritreans or Sudanese and
received temporary status; 948 had completed the RSD interview but had
not yet been referred to the NSGB; 520 had been considered by the NSGB,
with five under appeal procedures; and 284 had turned to the courts
after the NSGB rejected their appeals.
On June 30, the number of refugees and asylum seekers registered
with the UNHCR was 14,117. The largest groups were Eritrean (4,726),
Sudanese (4,588), Ivorian (1,000), Nigerian (867), Ethiopians (808),
and others (2,128).
The UNHCR reported that in 2008 new arrivals were estimated at 500
per month, but through May such arrivals had decreased to approximately
200 per month. Most asylum seekers entered through Egypt.
As of year's end, the Supreme Court had not decided the question,
raised in 2007, of whether it was safe to return asylum seekers to
Egypt.
Domestic and international NGOs and the UNHCR protested
``coordinated returns'' or ``hot returns'' of some asylum seekers to
Egypt because of allegations that those individuals were later sent
back to their countries of origin in violation of international
agreements against refoulement. On July 2, several NGOs petitioned the
High Court of Justice requesting an interim injunction to halt the
``Coordinated Immediate Return Policy,'' claiming it violated the
principle of nonrefoulement. Among other complaints, the NGOs charged
that, according to international law, soldiers conducting the
assessments at the border were not qualified to identify asylum seekers
or to conduct asylum procedures without external supervision.
Hotline reported that, between January and September, there were 23
incidents of ``coordinated return'' during which 217 asylum seekers
were deported, with 1,626 persons detained and sent to the Ketsiot
facility. In its petition on July 2, Hotline submitted the testimony of
an IDF soldier to the Supreme Court describing alleged incidents of
``hot returns'' he had witnessed at the Egyptian border in June.
According to the testimony, officially Egypt refused to accept asylum
seekers back into its territory but there was a field-level
understanding between the border forces that the Egyptians would
receive persons captured at the border or soon after crossing. NGOs
asserted that these arrangements were ad hoc agreements between
Egyptian and Israeli border commands and not a uniform policy.
Hotline charged that the government failed to answer 250 requests
that the UNHCR had reviewed, leaving the asylum seekers either in jail
or residing in the country. These individuals were subject to possible
deportation as long as their status in the country remained
undetermined.
In some instances the government took swift action to reject asylum
claims. For example, on August 4, the MOI's Infiltrator Identification
Unit rejected claims by 600 persons claiming to be Sudanese or
Eritrean. Of those persons, 150 reached UNHCR offices shortly
thereafter with letters from the MOI stating their procedures were
complete and they had to leave the country within seven days.
Refugees recommended by the UNHCR or the MOI and recognized by the
NSGB received six-month, renewable visas. A refugee's status is
evaluated after one year. No legal option exists for a refugee to
become a naturalized citizen.
Those denied asylum and unwilling to leave may remain in
immigration detention indefinitely. Some newly arrived illegal migrants
were placed in hotels, kibbutzim (cooperative communities), and other
work situations. The UNHCR reported that the MOI released an unknown
number of asylum seekers from detention in 2008 without reference to
the Immigration Tribunal and the UNHCR. Hotline reported that most
asylum seekers who entered during the year were taken to the Ketziot
facility and released after several months under geographically
restricted conditions.
In July the MOI rescinded its 2008 ``Hadera-Gadera'' decision that
restricted asylum seekers' movement through the country. Asylum seekers
now receive a visa without movement restrictions that does not
explicitly permit or prohibit employment.
The government did not grant asylum to persons from states with
which it was officially at war, such as Sudan, but stated that it
attempted to find a third country to accept them. With the assistance
of a Christian faith-based NGO, approximately 30 Sudanese were
voluntarily returned to their homes in Southern Sudan. The UNHCR
verified the voluntariness of the process.
The UNHCR estimated that the majority of asylum seekers do not
enjoy the right to work or access to some health services, although
employment is often tolerated. Refugees without the formal right to
work were not protected by law. Children of asylum seekers were
permitted to attend school.
Refugees and asylum seekers were not, as a group, the target of
xenophobic violence. On June 18, Yaakov Ganot, head of the Immigration
Administration, said in an interview regarding refugees and asylum
seekers that ``99.9 percent of them are here for work,'' are ``not
asylum seekers,'' and ``not at any risk.''
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--The country is a
parliamentary democracy with an active multiparty system. Relatively
small parties, including those primarily supported by Arab Israelis,
regularly win Knesset seats. The law requires that a party obtain 2
percent of the vote to win Knesset seats. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
resigned after declining to run in a Kadima Party primary election in
September 2008. When Kadima Party head Tzipi Livni was unable to form a
government, Olmert remained as caretaker prime minister until a new
government was formed after free and fair February 10 elections. On
March 31, following protracted negotiations, Benjamin Netanyahu became
prime minister of a Likud-led coalition government.
The Basic Law prohibits the candidacy of any party or individual
denying the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish
people or the democratic character of the state, or that incites
racism. Otherwise, political parties operated without restriction or
outside interference.
At year's end, the 120-member Knesset had 22 female members. The
Knesset included 10 Arabs, including one woman, and three Druze. The
22-member cabinet included two women, but no Arabs; four women were
deputy ministers, including one Druze. Five members of the 15-member
Supreme Court, including its president, were women. An Arab Christian
was on the Supreme Court, but no Muslim or Druze citizens have served.
On January 21, the Supreme Court overturned a January 12 Central
Elections Committee (CEC) decision to ban the Knesset's two Israeli
Arab political parties, the United Arab List-Ta'al and Balad, from
participating in the February elections on the grounds that they do not
recognize the state and call for armed conflict against it. The CEC is
comprised of 30 members of all party factions, chaired by a Supreme
Court judge. Israeli Arab and other human rights NGOs argued before the
Supreme Court that the ban was part of a trend to undermine the
political legitimacy of Arab citizens of Israel.
Throughout 2008 and during the climax of the national election
campaign in February, there was continuing political incitement
reflected in the media against the Arab community in the country.
Incitement came from members of the Knesset and high profile party
leaders. Some Arab members of the Knesset also incited the Arab public
against the Jewish majority.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally sought to implement the law. Impunity was not
a problem. Media routinely reported on corruption. The national police,
the state comptroller, the attorney general, and the finance ministry
accountant general were responsible for combating official corruption.
Senior officials were subject to comprehensive financial disclosure
laws. There were no reports of judicial corruption during the year.
During the year the government investigated and prosecuted several
senior political figures for alleged misconduct.
On June 24, the Tel Aviv District Court sentenced former finance
minister Abraham Hirchson to five years and five months in prison for
stealing 1.8 million NIS (approximately $460,000) from the National
Labor Federation. Hirchson was convicted by the Tel Aviv District Court
of larceny, executive theft, fraud, breach of trust, illicitly
obtaining funds, money laundering, and falsifying corporate documents.
On September 24, while serving the sentence, Hirchson began an appeal
process.
On August 2, police recommended to the attorney general that he
indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on bribery, money laundering,
obstruction of justice, and other charges. There was no decision at
year's end.
On August 30, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz indicted former prime
minister Ehud Olmert along with his former chief of staff, Shula Zaken,
on three charges involving breach of trust, falsifying corporate
documents, and fraudulent conduct. Olmert was also charged with tax
evasion, and Zaken was charged with illegal eavesdropping. At year's
end, two other charges were dropped, while one investigation regarding
Olmert's political appointments remained pending. Olmert and Zaken both
pled not guilty to all charges. At year's end, the trial continued. An
additional six persons were indicted on related charges, including
former tax authority chief Jacky Matza, three tax authority officials
and two businessmen.
On September 1, former minister Shlomo Benizri began serving a
four-year prison term after his conviction in 2008 on charges of
bribery, fraud, and breach of trust for crimes committed between 1996
and 2001, when he was minister of health and minister of social
affairs. The court initially fined Benizri 80,000 NIS ($20,000) and
sentenced him to 18 months in prison, but the government appealed and
the High Court of Justice increased the fine to 250,000 NIS
(approximately $66,000) and increased his sentence to four years.
At year's end, former president Moshe Katsav's trial continued for
obstruction of justice, rape, and sexual assault (see section 6,
women).
At year's end, the trial of Knesset member Tzachi Hanegbi
continued. Hanegbi was on trial for fraud, breach of trust, election
bribery, and politically motivated civil service appointments of
members of the Likud party headquarters and their relatives while he
was environmental protection minister. Hanegbi was indicted, together
with his former director general, Shmuel Hershkovitz. Courts concluded
the trials of members of the Knesset (MKs) Yaakov Edri and former MK
Yitzhak Ziv due to lack of evidence. Investigations of MKs Ruhama
Avraham, Roni Bar On, and Haim Katz ended in 2008 without criminal
charges or civil penalties.
The government did not effectively implement its 1998 Freedom of
Information Law. Many government bodies did not disclose their internal
regulations as required, and others failed to publish annual reports.
The 2008 state comptroller's report found that approximately half of
government authorities investigated did not make available to the
public their administrative directives or procedures for requesting
information or services.
At year's end, consideration of a 2005 freedom of information ACRI
petition remained ongoing. In 2007 the High Court of Justice began
deliberations on the ACRI petition, demanding that the IDF and the MOD
make their unclassified archives available to a journalist for research
purposes. In May 2008 the IDF and MOD responded by annulling part of
the procedures in dispute and shortening the limitation periods on
archival materials.
On February 25, the Jerusalem District Court ordered the MOJ to
provide PCATI with details on how it handled torture allegations
against the ISA; on April 30, the MOJ provided PCATI with the
information relating to complaints filed from 2005-07. The Ministries
of Interior and Housing began publishing at mid-year their
administrative directives and procedures for requesting information and
services.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Numerous domestic and international human rights groups operated
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their
findings on human rights cases. Government officials were cooperative
to varying degrees, and routinely invited domestic NGOs, including
those critical of the government, such as ACRI, Mossawa, Adalah, PHR-I,
and Gisha, among others, to participate in Knesset hearings on proposed
legislation. An MFA unit maintained relations with certain
international and domestic NGOs. The government responded publicly to
criticisms that it believed to be unfounded.
Under the 1980 Law of Associations, NGOs must register and pay
annual fees. Some registered NGOs were eligible to receive funding from
government ministries. According to government figures, such funding
amounted to approximately 2.5 billion NIS ($715 million) per year.
Government funding for NGOs disproportionately favored Jewish NGOs,
especially those that promote ``traditional and religious Jewish
activities.''
During the year the MOI, operating under a 2002 order, barred entry
to all foreign nationals affiliated with certain Palestinian human
rights NGOs and solidarity organizations (see Annex). The government
claimed this was done on an individual basis, not according to the
activities or platform of the NGOs with which they were affiliated. The
government did not permit the NGOs B'Tselem, Human Rights Watch (HRW),
or Amnesty International to enter the Gaza Strip through any of the
border crossings Israel controlled during Operation Cast Lead.
Following the July 15 release of the NGO Breaking the Silence's
report of 26 soldiers' testimonies alleging human rights violations
during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, the government publicly announced
its intention to wage an ``aggressive battle against NGOs'' which it
deemed ``biased against'' the country. The government asked the United
Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands to stop providing funding to
Breaking the Silence. No country ceased funding. Ten human rights
groups protested the government's raising the issue of foreign
financing of some NGOs, releasing a joint statement on August 2
demanding that the government ``cease all activity meant to instill
fear and silence or harm vital organizations that operate legitimately,
and allow them to engage freely in public discourse and various
activities.''
In September the Israeli Gaza District Coordination Office informed
three Israeli human rights organizations that inquiries regarding
petitions for Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip would only be
accepted from the Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee, which originated
the petitions. The human rights organizations characterized this action
as an attempt to impede the activities of human rights organizations
and registered their protest with state and military authorities,
particularly as they related to appeals for urgent medical treatment.
In November, the decision was effectively reversed when the Coordinator
of Government Activities in the Territories issued its new guidelines.
The government cooperated fully with a UN Board of Inquiry
investigation into incidents that affected UN personnel, premises, and
operations during the conflict in the Gaza Strip. It did not cooperate
with UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict led by Richard
Goldstone.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
marital status, political beliefs, disability, or age.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, and the law
doubles the penalty if the perpetrator assaults or rapes a relative.
The government reported 770 rape cases and 122 indictments during the
year.
At year's end former president Moshe Katsav's trial for rape,
sexual assault, and obstruction of justice was ongoing (see section 4).
Although the Equality of Women Law provides equal rights for women
and protection from violence, harassment, exploitation, and
trafficking, domestic violence against women was a problem. As of
September. women had filed 10,871 domestic violence complaints with the
police, of which 2,403 were still being investigated, 4,368 were
transferred to the State Attorney's Office, 353 were heard by courts,
and 3,747 were closed.
The Social Affairs Ministry provided a battered women's shelter and
operated a hotline. The police operated a call center to inform victims
about their cases. Women's organizations provided counseling, crisis
intervention, legal assistance, and shelters.
Women's rights NGO Kayan and PHR-I petitioned the Supreme Court to
require the Ministry of Health to provide health care to battered women
living in shelters and to those who were without legal status in the
country. According to Kayan, the two organizations' aim was to provide
an alternative for women who opted to return to abusive partners to
obtain the health care refused by the state.
At year's end, the government reported that the charges against
Mahmoud Abu-Ghanem concerning the December 2008 killing of his sister
Dalia were likely to be dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
According to Kull al-Arab newspaper, human rights activist Ayidah Tuma-
Sulayman, head of the Association of Women Against Violence, charged
that at least three women were the victims of honor killings
Kayan staged a wide public protest against the publication of a
user's question on Panet, the fourth most popular Arabic-language Web
site in the country. The user asked whether it was acceptable to murder
his cousin, who had compromised the ``family honor.'' Kayan and eight
other women's organizations demanded that the question be removed from
the site and that police become involved in the case. Police took no
action.
Prostitution is not illegal and was widespread but not highly
visible. The law prohibits operation of brothels and organized sex
enterprises, but there were numerous media reports of Russian-connected
prostitution operations.
Sexual harassment is illegal. The Prevention of Stalking Law and
the Prevention of Family Violence Law require that suspected victims be
informed of their right to assistance.
As of September, authorities opened 209 sexual harassment files, of
which 81 were still under investigation, 42 cases had been transferred
to the State Attorney's Office, two had been heard by courts and 84
were closed. Of the closed cases, 27 were closed for lack of evidence,
23 for lack of public interest, four for lack of guilt, and 30 because
the offender was unknown.
``Modesty patrols'' harassed Haredi women in Haredi communities. On
March 15, the Jerusalem District Court sentenced Elhanan Buzaglo to
four years' imprisonment and required him to pay 10,000 NIS ($2,600) in
compensation to the victim. The ``modesty patrols'' had paid Buzaglo
8,000 NIS ($2,100) to assault and threaten a woman who had divorced her
husband and abandoned her religious way of life. Buzaglo and four other
persons beat the woman at her home and threatened to kill her if she
did not move out of the house. The court condemned the ``modesty
patrols'' organization and urged the organization to prevent its
members from committing such crimes. The suspected senior member of the
``modesty patrols'' was also arrested in August 2008 but was not
indicted due to a lack of evidence.
Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number,
spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to
do so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception
and skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care was widely
available. Women and men were given equal access to diagnostic services
and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
In the secular judicial system, women and men enjoyed the same
rights, but religious courts restricted the rights of Jewish and Muslim
women. A Jewish woman is allowed to initiate divorce proceedings, but
her husband must give his consent to make the divorce final. Because
some men disappear or refuse to grant the divorce, thousands of so-
called ``agunot'' (chained women) may not remarry or give birth to
legitimate children. Rabbinical tribunals may, and sometimes did,
sanction a husband who refused divorce but still did not grant a
divorce without his consent. Jewish women married to Jewish men do not
have redress to civil courts; only religious courts can rule on
personal status issues.
A Muslim woman may petition for and receive a divorce through the
Shari'a courts without her husband's consent under certain conditions,
and a marriage contract may provide for other circumstances in which
she may obtain a divorce without her husband's consent. A Muslim man
may divorce his wife without her consent and without petitioning the
court.
During the year the Organization for Economic Development and
Cooperation (OECD) reported that only 23 percent of Arab women were
part of the formal labor force. Arab and Haredi Jewish women were
concentrated in low paid employment.
A May 6 Yediot Aharanot article described a new regulation at the
ultra-Orthodox Shas' Maayan Torah education network that prohibits
female workers from working without a head covering that completely
covers their hair. Many Haredi women expressed disagreement with the
new regulation that also bans the use of wigs as head coverings.
According to its Web site, the Yad L'Achim's antiassimilation
department receives approximately 1,000 calls per year identifying
Jewish women who become involved with foreign workers or Arab men. Yad
L'Achim responded in some cases by what it termed ``launching military-
like rescues from hostile Arab villages and setting the women up in
'safe' houses around the country, where they can build new lives for
themselves.'' A December ``rescue'' from Gaza of Oshrit Ohana and her
four children, reportedly coordinated with the IDF and Interior
Minister Eli Yishai, was widely popular among the public, but critics
claimed such ``rescues'' sometimes disregarded the will of the women
involved.
Although the law prohibits discrimination based on gender in
employment and wages and provides for class action suits, complaints of
significant wage disparities between men and women persisted.
The government enacted a number of programs to improve the status
of women in the work place and society. The Authority for the
Advancement of the Status of Women in the Prime Minister's Office
approved 200 scholarships for higher education for Druze, Bedouin, and
Circassian female students in the north. The Authority held
professional training courses in Arab, Druze, and Circassian
localities. The Ministry of Education established a department
dedicated to the promotion of gender equality within the school system.
In August women comprised 43.5 percent of officers of government
corporations.
During the year Haneen Zoabi became the third female Arab citizen
of Israel to serve in the Knesset and the first to serve on behalf of
an Israeli Arab political party (Balad).
Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within or outside of the
country to at least one Israeli citizen parent. There were 2.4 million
children in the country, comprising 33 percent of the population.
The number of children without citizenship was increasing,
according to the National Council for the Child (NCC). As of April,
there were 145,855 children without citizenship, a 17 percent increase
since 2001. Three-fourths of them were Palestinian residents of
Jerusalem, who had blue identity cards but not Israeli citizenship.
Another 38,000 were children of legal work migrants. Children of
illegal immigrants were not included nor were more than 1,000 child
asylum seekers.
According to an NCC report published on February 8, social services
described 309,141 children as at risk of abuse in 2008; 2,000 children
were hospitalized due to physical or sexual abuse within the family.
Education is compulsory through the ninth grade. The government
operated separate school systems for Hebrew-speaking children, Arabic-
speaking children, and Orthodox Jews. Ultra-Orthodox Haredi political
parties continued to oppose government regulation of their government-
funded school systems. In the Arabic school system, Arabic, English,
Hebrew, and Jewish studies are compulsory courses from elementary
school through matriculation. In the Hebrew school system, Arabic, one
of the country's official languages, is required from grades seven to
nine, but according to the NGO Abraham Fund Initiatives, this
requirement was not enforced in most schools.
Trafficking in Persons.--Trafficking in persons for the purposes of
both prostitution and labor is prohibited under the law. The country
was a destination for trafficking for the purposes of labor and
prostitution. Neither the government nor NGOs could quantify accurately
the extent of the problem.
The NGO Hotline was critical of the lack of enforcement of the
trafficking law regarding forced labor in agriculture; the MOI unit
responsible for reducing human trafficking did not provide information
leading to a single criminal investigation in the June to October
period. Some NGOs and media reports expressed concern that internal sex
trafficking of citizens for the purposes of prostitution was on the
rise. The government focused on illegal alien cases that were often
classified as prostitution rather than trafficking.
The government reported that most victims of trafficking for
prostitution in the country came from the former Soviet Union,
primarily from Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, and Uzbekistan.
Antitrafficking and women's advocacy NGO Isha L'Isha also reported
trafficking of women from China, the Philippines, Mongolia, Belarus,
and Lithuania for prostitution. Organized crime groups trafficked women
for prostitution, luring them with promises of service sector jobs.
Some reportedly sold women to brothels.
Hotline reported it did not see new women trafficked for
prostitution from the countries cited above during the year, but it
remained concerned about possible sex trafficking of female migrant
workers and refugees. A Knesset Research and Information Center report
released on October 20 stated that police had opened more trafficking
related cases than in the previous year, which resulted mostly in the
closing of brothels, pandering, and some trafficking cases. Although
investigations increased, the report did not state that trafficking
increased. The report also criticized the Immigration Administration
for failing to locate trafficking victims or prosecute exploiting
employers.
On March 7, following a two-year investigation that included
cooperation with Belarus authorities, Tel Aviv police arrested 12
persons suspected of operating an international human trafficking ring.
The newspaper Haaretz reported that, among those arrested, was the
person suspected of operating the ring that had smuggled hundreds of
women from the former Soviet Union into the country in recent years,
forcing the women under threat of violence to engage in prostitution in
clubs and brothels.
On March 29, eight Israelis were indicted for operating a
multimillion dollar international human trafficking ring over the
previous decade involving hundreds of women. The chief suspect in the
case, Rami Saban, was charged with 23 felony offenses, including
conspiracy to commit a crime, operating a brothel, managing a brothel,
solicitation, forcing a person to leave the country of residence to
work as a prostitute, assault, forgery, money laundering, and harassing
witnesses.
The penal code stipulates that coercion to engage in prostitution
is a criminal offense, punishable by four to 20 years' imprisonment,
depending on the specific crime. Civil law verdicts have begun to favor
the victims, and most verdicts involved compensation, although NGOs
expressed a need for larger compensation awards.
Hotline charged that the law does not cover some forms of
trafficking, including ``trafficking to obtain financial advantage'' or
a ``flying visa,'' whereby a worker pays a commission to an agency in
the home country to get a work permit but arrives to find there is no
job. In such cases, the worker does not have a valid permit under the
law and is subject to arrest and deportation. The government responded
that such cases were financial fraud offenses, rather than trafficking,
because the freedom of the migrant worker was not restricted.
During the year police conducted nine criminal investigations on
trafficking in persons for the purpose of engaging them in prostitution
and arrested 13 suspects. Police opened 269 cases of managing a
property for the purpose of engaging in prostitution. Police also
opened 82 pandering cases, some of which were originally trafficking
cases that were filed as pandering charges due to a lack of evidence.
Police opened 10 cases of causing a person to leave the country for the
purpose of prostitution, 20 cases of abduction for the purpose of
trafficking or a sexual offence and 16 cases of publication of
prostitution services. Between January and August, authorities closed
18 Tel Aviv brothels, opened 331 cases for trafficking or related
offenses, and arrested 69 suspects.
Victims of labor trafficking varied by sector. The largest groups
were Thai agricultural workers, Chinese construction workers, and
domestic and nursing care workers from the Philippines, India, Nepal,
and Sri Lanka. Hotline noted that workers employed as caregivers were
particularly vulnerable to having their visa status revoked when their
employers failed to arrange their visas.
The labor law criminalizes trafficking for slavery, forced labor,
prostitution, pornography, sexual abuse, and organ selling, and
provides a maximum sentence of seven to 20 years' imprisonment
depending on the offense. In 2008 the State Attorney's Office and the
Immigration Administration jointly filed the first indictment for
forced labor under the new amendments to the trafficking law. The case
remained pending at year's end. Authorities opened 61 cases for
trafficking in persons for labor and forced labor, 28 cases of
withholding passports, and eight cases of exploitation of vulnerable
populations.
The Tel Aviv shelter Maagan, the only government-operated shelter
for victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, had a
capacity for 50 women and housed 26 women and seven children during the
year. The Atlas shelter for male victims of slavery and forced labor
housed 21 men. At year's end, there were 13 women, five children, and
one man in these shelters. The government reported that all trafficking
victims in the shelters received temporary visas and work visas if
requested. Although there was some improvement in the situation, Isha
L'Isha reported it was difficult to admit trafficked women into a
shelter if they had children, and that trafficking victims living
outside the shelter remained without medical insurance.
The Legal Aid Law provides free legal aid to every victim of
trafficking and slavery.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or the provision of other state services. Legislation
mandates access to buildings and transportation, as well as
accommodations for persons with disabilities in services and the work
place. The government effectively enforced the laws with limited
success but had not formulated specific regulations. Societal
discrimination, segregation in many areas, and lack of accessibility
persisted in employment and housing.
The Commission for Equal Rights of People with Disabilities (CERPD)
within the MOJ is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. It receives public inquiries, provides legal advice and
represents clients, educates, and promotes best practices. It took
legal action in the areas of accessibility and employment and issued
regulations to ensure disabled access to services and public sites.
However, improvements were slow, according to Bizchut, a domestic NGO
that advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities. The CERPD's
annual report showed a 53 percent employment rate for persons with
moderate disabilities and an employment rate a 31 percent rate for
persons with severe disabilities.
Various ministries and agencies maintained responsibility for
persons with disabilities. The Division for Integrating Persons with
Disabilities in the Labor Market, within the Ministry of Industry,
Trade, and Labor, examines and promotes employment for persons with
disabilities. On August 1, an amendment to the National Insurance Law
came into effect that allows persons who receive a disability pension
to earn more by permitting a combination of income and pension, rather
than requiring the total forfeiture of the disability pension.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services provides out-of-
home placement and sheltered employment for persons with cognitive,
physical, and communication disabilities. It also handles criminal
investigations when persons with certain disabilities, either victims
or offenders, are referred by the police. In 2008 police referred 668
persons with disabilities for such special investigations.
The National Insurance Agency provides financial benefits and
stipends, the Ministry of Health provides mental health and
rehabilitation services, and the Ministry of Education provides special
education services. However, Bizchut criticized the lack of services
actually provided to mainstreamed pupils, which effectively limited
their integration into regular class settings.
Television stations include subtitles or sign language, and the
courts accommodate testimony from persons with intellectual
disabilities or mental illness. The law mandates accessibility to
public transportation, but it was not always available. Most train
stations maintained access for persons with disabilities; however, as
of September, approximately 40 percent of buses did not have such
access.
There were approximately 1.2 million persons with self-reported
disabilities in the country, according to Bizchut.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Arab citizens of Israel
continued to suffer various forms of discrimination in public and
private life. Tensions between Arabs and Jews also remained high in
areas where the two communities overlap, such as Jerusalem, the
Galilee, and Negev, and in some mixed cities with historically separate
Jewish and Arab neighborhoods.
On November 30, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court indicted two Border
Guard officers for assaulting an Arab resident of Jerusalem. Officers
Maor Malianker and Yossi Dahan allegedly beat Muhtaseb Muqtada with a
baton in a cemetery on November 17. Malianker was also indicted on two
other counts for allegedly using a radio device to hit a Jerusalem
resident and falsely reporting he was attacked during a search.
In March 2008 a police officer from the town of Kfar Saba
reportedly attacked two Arab citizens of Israel while shouting, ``death
to Arabs.'' Another police officer who witnessed the attack intervened
to prevent injury. No further information was available.
The Tel Aviv District Court had not issued its verdict at year's
end in the case against Eliyahu Aharoni, who had been indicted for
conspiracy to commit arson out of a racist motive. In October 2008
police arrested six young Jewish men in Tel Aviv for allegedly
firebombing three Arab apartments in a Jewish neighborhood in Tel Aviv
to incite anti-Arab sentiment and rioting from Acre (Akko) to Jaffa and
other mixed neighborhoods around Tel Aviv. The other five men were not
indicted due to lack of evidence.
During the year the Israel Land Fund NGO continued its program to
purchase Arab land throughout Israel and market it to Jewish buyers,
including in the diaspora; the organization claimed that all the land
belonged to Jewish people and described as a ``danger'' the purchase of
Jewish-owned lands by non-Jews.
Throughout 2008 and during the climax of the national election
campaign in February, media and political incitement against the
Israeli Arab community continued from members of the Knesset and high-
profile party leaders, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman,
whose election campaign appeared to polarize relations between Arabs
and Jews. Lieberman called one Israeli Arab member of Knesset a
terrorist.
Public debate continued over the suggestion of some Jewish
politicians of ``transferring'' communities of Arab citizens from
Israel to the Palestinian territories (in return for transferring
Jewish settlements in the West Bank to Israel) as part of a negotiated
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Arab citizens of Israel
overwhelmingly condemned the proposal, while Jewish opinion ranged from
support to condemnation. Members of Yisrael Beiteynu, a right-wing
party headed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, advocated the idea
in media interviews at public gatherings throughout the year.
The High Court of Justice ruled on January 7 that the National
Insurance Institute (NII) should provide forms in Arabic in addition to
Hebrew, and accepted the state's notification that applications
submitted in Arabic would be processed. The NII provides a wide variety
of assistance programs, such as old-age and survivors, maternity,
children, work injury, general disability, and more. Prior to the
January ruling, documents submitted for claims had to be translated
into Hebrew.
In July the transport minister decided to Hebraicize all road
signs, applying uniform rules to the appearance of approximately 2,500
destinations in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Adalah claimed this was
contrary to a 2002 Supreme Court judgment that obliged mixed cities to
add Arabic to the traffic, warning, and informational signs. The
transport minister's decision would entail the replacement of all road
signs with new signs that show the Hebrew names of places in Arabic
letters, regardless of the common and historical Arabic or English name
of the place. For example, ``Jerusalem'' would become ``Yerushalayim''
in Hebrew, English, and Arabic, and ``Al-Quds'' (the Arabic name for
Jerusalem) would cease to exist on the road signs. As of year's end,
the attorney general had not replied to the July 15 letter Adalah sent
demanding the cancellation of the transport minister's decision, but
the Ministry of Transportation was inspecting claims regarding the
policy.
Approximately 93 percent of land was in the public domain, and the
Jewish National Fund (JNF), whose statutes prohibit sale or lease of
land to non-Jews, owned approximately 12.5 percent. In 2005 the
attorney general ruled the government cannot discriminate against Arab
citizens of Israel in marketing and allocating lands it manages,
including those of the JNF. As an interim measure, the government
agreed through the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) to compensate the
JNF for any land leased to an Arab by transferring an equal amount of
land from the ILA to the JNF. Legal petitions against the JNF policy of
leasing public land only to Jews were ongoing at year's end.
On August 3, the Knesset passed the Israel Land Administration Law.
The new law institutes broad land privatization; permits land exchanges
between the state and the JNF, the land of which is exclusively
reserved for the Jewish people; allows lands to be allocated in
accordance with ``admissions committee'' mechanisms and only to
candidates approved by Zionist institutions working solely on behalf of
the Jewish people; and grants decisive weight to JNF representatives in
a new Land Authority Council, which would replace the ILA.
Competing claims to ownership of land provoked conflicts during the
year, particularly in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
A joint 1956 project of the UN Relief and Works Agency and the
Jordanian government gave houses in the neighborhood to 28 Palestinian
1948-refugee families. Court decisions have upheld settler
organizations' claims to the property dating from the Ottoman era.
Demonstrations organized by the advocacy groups Israeli Committee
Against House Demolition, Rabbis for Human Rights, and the
International Solidarity Movement have occurred on a weekly basis,
resulting in arrests and court orders barring some activists from the
area for 30 days, according to press reports.
Advocacy organizations defending the rights of Arab citizens of
Israel have challenged the demolition of illegal buildings in the Arab
sector on grounds that the government unfairly restricted building
permits and rezoned open space areas to exclude Arabs from expanding
built-up areas. The controversy has been acute in East Jerusalem,
particularly in Sheikh Jarrah, where land zoning restricted the
development of new residences near Arab neighborhoods and height
restrictions limited buildings to six stories. Arab areas near the Old
City were restricted to two stories to preserve the historic nature of
the area, whereas authorities permitted six- and eight-story structures
in predominantly Jewish areas equally near the Old City.
New construction is illegal in towns that do not have an
``authorized detailed plan'' for development, which is the legal
responsibility of local authorities. In the country's 46 unrecognized
Bedouin villages, all buildings were illegal, since there were no
recognized local authorities to promote an authorized detailed plan.
In 2004 the Supreme Court ruled, in a case regarding priority areas
for education, that omitting Arab towns from specific government social
and economic plans was discriminatory. At year's end, according to the
government, master plans were completed for 62 of the country's 128
Arab communities, while 58 communities were engaged in the process of
developing master plans.
According to the Harvard International Human Rights Clinic, between
January and August, authorities demolished 97 Bedouin homes. On
December 15, authorities demolished the entire Bedouin ``village'' of
al-Atrash, consisting of at least 12 structures, under a 1996 Beer
Sheva Magistrate Court decision that removed Abdulla al-Atrash and his
family for trespassing near an IDF firing range. The Al-Atrash family
had withdrawn their appeal in 2002.
On December 13, the government adopted a new national priorities
area map, complying with a 2006 Supreme Court ruling that government
policy was discriminatory because it included only four Arab
communities among the 539 communities slated for special funding for
development. The new national priority plan provides special funding
for approximately two million Israelis and includes communities
constituting 40 percent of Israeli Arabs. However, the national
priority plan now includes areas in the West Bank, encompassing
approximately 110,000 Jewish settlers who would receive the special
funding as well, although funding for their housing was specifically
excluded.
The law exempts Arab citizens of Israel from mandatory military
service. Citizens who do not perform military service enjoy fewer
social and economic benefits. Arab citizens of Israel generally were
ineligible to work in companies with defense contracts or in security-
related fields. Arab citizens were underrepresented in most fields of
employment, including government, despite an affirmative action program
begun to promote their hiring (including Druze and Bedouin) in the
civil service. According to the government, 6.67 percent of government
employees in August were Arab citizens.
The law requires that minorities have ``appropriate
representation'' in the civil service and on the boards of government-
owned corporations. As of August, Arabs (including Druze and
Circassians) filled 8.7 percent of the board seats of state-run
companies. Of the 55,000 persons working in government-owned companies,
1 percent were Arab.
On March 29, Israel Railways dismissed 40 Arab crossroads safety
inspectors because they had not served in the military. On April 7 and
19, the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court suspended implementation of the
dismissals and, on September 6, issued an injunction, finding
discrimination against workers who had not served in the military.
In June 2008 the government started a National Civil Service
program for citizens not drafted for military service, giving Arab
citizens, Haredi Jews, and Orthodox Jewish women the opportunity to
serve in their own communities for more than a year and be eligible for
the same benefits accorded military veterans. Of the 12,000 volunteers
during the 2008-09 academic year, more than 1,000 were Arab citizens,
half or whom served in education, a quarter in welfare, 22 percent in
health, and the remainder in road accident prevention and legal and
environment work.
Resources devoted to the education of Arab children were inferior
to those devoted to Jewish children in the public education system. The
OECD estimated that public spending on children in Arab localities was
at least one-third lower than for children in Jewish municipalities.
There was an average of 25 Jewish schoolchildren per classroom, while
Arab children averaged 29 per classroom. There was a growing need for
Arabic-speaking classes, as Arab students comprised 23 percent of high
school students, 27 percent of junior high students, and 28 percent of
elementary students.
The Israeli Druze community comprised approximately 8.3 percent of
the minority population, and the Circassian community numbered some
3,000. Males of both communities were subject to the military draft,
and the majority accepted willingly. Some Bedouin and, to a much lesser
degree, other Arab citizens not subject to the draft also served
voluntarily.
The Bedouin population was the most disadvantaged. Half of the
160,000 Bedouin lived in poverty, but with basic state services, in
seven state-planned and eight recognized communities. The seven state-
planned townships were among the eight poorest communities in the
country, according to a March 2008 HRW report. The other half of the
country's Bedouin lived in at least 46 unrecognized villages, which did
not have water and electricity and lacked educational, health, and
welfare services. The unrecognized villages, made up mostly of tents
and shacks, evolved as a result of the government's refusal to
recognize Bedouin land claims based on traditional usage prior to the
establishment of the state.
Government planners noted there were insufficient funds to relocate
Bedouin living in unrecognized villages to new towns and that the
average Bedouin family could not afford to purchase a home in existing
towns; however, the government maintained a program to encourage such
movement by providing low-cost land and compensation for demolition of
illegal structures for those willing to move to designated permanent
locations. Many Bedouin complained that moving to government-planned
towns required giving up claims to land they had lived on for
generations, while the government claimed it was difficult to provide
services to clusters of buildings throughout the Negev that ignored
planning procedures.
On January 18, the government accepted the December 2008 report of
the Goldberg Committee for Regulation of Bedouin Settlements in the
Negev, which urged the government to regularize the situation where
possible and increase services and assistance.
As of year's end, the Supreme Court had not ruled on a 2006 Adalah
appeal of the Haifa District Court decision not to overturn a Water
Tribunal decision denying water services to unrecognized villages.
The approximately 20,000 non-Israeli residents of the Golan Heights
are subject to Israeli authority and Israeli law. Israel accords them
permanent resident status, but most of them are Druze and citizens of
Syria who largely have refused or have been denied Israeli citizenship.
As legal residents, they received Israeli travel documents and held
identity cards that entitled them to many of the same social benefits
as Israeli citizens. Druze communities in the Golan Heights received
support for municipal services and infrastructure maintenance The four
Druze local authorities received a total of 25.7 million NIS ($6.8
million) in general financial grants for local authorities, as set by
the Public Committee for Reform within the Israel Land Administration,
and were allocated 1.3 million NIS ($348,000) from the MOI for
development (see Annex for discussion of Palestinian residents of East
Jerusalem).
The government prohibits Druze citizens, like all citizens, from
visiting Syria. The government allowed noncitizen Druze from the Golan
Heights to visit holy sites in Syria through the ICRC-managed
pilgrimage program, but it has prevented family visitations since 1982.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, Acts of Violence Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits discrimination
based on sexual orientation, and the government generally enforced
these laws.
Gay Pride rallies occurred peacefully in Tel Aviv on June 12 and in
Jerusalem on June 25, with only one incident in which police arrested
an egg-throwing protester in Jerusalem. There was police authorization
and protection for the marchers. There were demonstrations in an ultra-
Orthodox section of Jerusalem against the march.
On August 1, a masked gunman killed Nir Katz, 26, and Liz Trobishi,
16, and wounded 15 others in the offices of the NGO GLBT Israel in Tel
Aviv. At year's end, a high priority police investigation continued.
High-level politicians, including the president and prime minister,
were quick to condemn the attacks. Settler Yaacov Teitel (see sections
1.a., 1.c., 6, and the Annex) was arrested on October 7 after posting
signs in Hebrew in an ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem praising
the attack in Tel Aviv, but police did not charge him with these
killings.
A number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
organizations operated freely. They included Jerusalem Open House,
which runs an LGBT Health Awareness Campaign, and Aswat, a lesbian
advocacy organization of Arab citizens of Israel that works to promote
LGBT rights and to combat homophobia in the Arab community.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal violence and
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS existed in isolated cases.
In August several media reported on three national-religious
``private'' schools in Petah Tikvah that refused to admit some 30
Ethiopian Jewish students. Despite a court order, 11 recent immigrants
from Ethiopia had yet to be admitted to the schools by the end of the
year. These unofficial, but state-recognized schools received as much
as 75 percent of their funds from the state, which guaranteed in
principle, but did not effectively enforce equality. The president and
prime minister quickly condemned the refusal to admit the students, and
Education Minister Gideon Saar threatened to cut off funding from the
schools if they did not accept the students by the first day of school.
Mayor Itzik Ohayoun made a deal with the city's religious schools for
expanded integration of more than 100 Ethiopian students, but did not
exercise his power to force the schools to accept all the students by
the end of December, four months into the school year.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Effectively implemented laws
concerning the right of association provide that citizens may join and
establish independent labor organizations. Most unions belong to
Histadrut (the General Federation of Labor) or to a smaller rival
federation, the Histadrut Haovdim Haleumit (National Federation of
Labor). Both are independent. There were no restrictions on collective
bargaining agreements, and no prior government approval was required.
The law provides for protection for workers from discrimination
resulting from their membership in or activity with a labor
organization. The government reported that litigation stemming from
discrimination of this kind was negligible.
Labor laws also apply to noncitizens, although with modifications,
and enforcement was not adequate, according to Hotline. A legally
resident migrant worker may join Histadrut, may vote in the elections,
and is eligible for all its services, as long as the employee pays
membership fees. In an organized workplace, one who does not want to be
a member must pay a trade union fee of 0.8 percent of salary.
The government sets annual quotas for foreign workers. Through
October 50,000 permits had been issued for nurses, bringing the number
of permits issued for foreign workers to approximately 88,500 in the
year. This number constituted 38 percent of the foreign work force.
Nonresident Palestinians may join Israeli trade unions and organize
their own unions in Israel. As of September 30, the government issued
25,661 working permits for nonresident Palestinian employees.
Unions have the right to strike, and workers exercised this right.
If essential public services are affected by a strike, the government
may appeal to labor courts for back-to-work orders during continued
negotiations. Worker dismissals and the terms of severance arrangements
traditionally have been the central issues of disputes.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively, and these
laws are enforced. Collective agreements cover approximately 58 percent
of all workers. The law specifically prohibits antiunion
discrimination, and none was reported. The Collective Agreements Law
was amended in August to include a provision that obligates an employer
to negotiate with an employee organization.
Collective bargaining agreements extend to nonunion workplaces in
the same sector. To obtain a job, foreign workers usually paid agency
fees, collected overseas, that reportedly ranged from 12,000 NIS
($3,000) to 80,000 NIS ($20,000) per worker. Chinese construction
workers paid the highest fees.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and criminalizes
gradations of labor exploitation. According to the OECD review, the
laws concerning minimum employment conditions and foreign workers were
not effectively enforced.
The law provides that foreign laborers have legal status, decent
working conditions, health insurance, and a written employment
contract; nonetheless, some employers forced individual laborers who
entered the country, legally and illegally, to live under conditions
that constituted involuntary servitude. In a major reorganization of
the immigration and employment law-enforcement functions during the
year, responsibility for noncitizen workers was moved from the
Immigration Police in July to the new Population, Immigration, and
Border Crossings Authority under MOI oversight. This office has the
authority to arrest and detain workers, but not the authority to
enforce labor or trafficking laws against employers. As a result,
according to Hotline, even in cases when an illegal worker was detained
when working, inspectors were not able to charge the employer with
labor law violations, or even illegal employment.
There were numerous documented cases, but few resulting employer
prosecutions, concerning foreign laborers living in harsh conditions,
subject to debt bondage, and restricted in their movements.
On July 14, Kav LaOved provided legal representation at the
Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on behalf of an Indian migrant worker,
employed as a caregiver, who had been ordered by the court to remain at
her job. The caregiver had informed her employer that she wanted to
leave her job and gave him due notice. The employer's son argued that
the worker had committed to take care of his mother for a year from the
date of her arrival, with no option of leaving earlier, and asked the
court to order the worker to continue working until at least December
21. The court agreed to the request and issued a temporary court order
forcing the worker to continue but annulled the order after Hotline
objected.
In August, following a complaint by Kav LaOved, a criminal
indictment was filed in the Be'er Sheva Magistrate's Court against the
agricultural company Katif Venture and Development Ltd. and some of its
employees, charging them with employing Thai and Nepalese agricultural
workers in inhumane conditions. The charges included making the
employees work for 15-20 hours each day, seven days per week, paid well
below the minimum wage with no overtime compensation; constantly
threatened to accelerate their work pace lest they be returned to their
countries; and prohibition from using a telephone. The workers were
also required to live in extremely crowded conditions in temporary
buildings that were completely exposed to the elements. The employers
were charged with exploitation, fraud, and causing injury by
negligence.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws
provide for protection of children from exploitation in the workplace
and prohibit forced or compulsory labor; the government generally
enforced these laws.
Children at least 15 years of age, who have completed education
through grade nine, may be employed as apprentices. Those who are 14
may be employed during official school holidays in light work that will
not harm their health. Working hours for those 16 to 18 years old are
restricted in all sectors. During the year the Labor Laws Enforcement
Division in the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor (MITL) initiated
230 investigations, investigated more than 600 employers for allegedly
violating the Youth Employment Law, filed 43 indictments against
employers, and imposed 757 administrative fines, totaling approximately
10 million NIS ($2.6 million).
The Labor Law Enforcement Division also conducted national
campaigns regarding employment terms of youth to promote the
implementation of youth labor laws, especially during summer vacation.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Labor Inspection Service,
along with union representatives, enforced labor, health, and safety
standards in the workplace. Resource constraints affected overall
enforcement, and according to the OECD, the country had a general
problem of failing to enforce its labor laws.
The minimum wage is updated on April 1 of each year and is set at
47.5 percent of the average monthly wage. The minimum wage during the
year was 3,850 NIS (approximately $1,000) per month for a 43-hour week.
There are reduced minimum wages for youths and persons with
disabilities. The government considered the minimum wage, supplemented
by special allowances for citizens, to provide a citizen worker a
decent standard of living. Some union officials, NGOs, and social
commentators disputed this claim. Noncitizen workers did not receive
the special allowances. Histadrut reported that enforcement by the
Labor Inspection Service in the MITL improved during the year. Resource
constraints limited inspections, particularly of conditions in the
settlements where many Thai work.
The law allows a maximum 43-hour workweek at regular pay. Premium
pay was 125 percent for the first two hours and 150 percent for any
additional hours, with a limit of 15 hours of overtime per week.
Histadrut reported that Israeli and foreign workers operated under the
same rules.
Documented foreign workers were entitled to many of the same
benefits as citizens but not to national health care. Employers were
legally required to provide such insurance, and most employers did so.
All labor laws also apply to undocumented foreign workers. Enforcement
of labor law in the home health care sector, which employs numerous
foreign workers, was particularly difficult because caregivers live and
work in isolated, individual settings.
An employer must obtain a government permit to hire non-Israeli
workers who live in the occupied territories. Most Palestinians from
the occupied territories working legally in the country were employed
on a daily basis and, unless employed on shift work, were not
authorized to spend the night in the country. According to Histadrut,
there were approximately 50,000 legal nonresident Palestinian workers
during the year.
The government required Palestinians to have permits to travel from
the occupied territories to Israel, including for employment. According
to the government, there were 23,873 Palestinians who possessed valid
work permits at the end of the year, of whom an estimated 5,000 had
permits to stay long-term while the rest were supposed to commute
daily. There were unknown numbers of Palestinians who worked in Israel
without permits and thousands who had daily permits, who remained
overnight without permission.
According to the government, foreign workers can remove themselves
from a dangerous work situation and seek alternate employment. Kav
LaOved maintained that particularly in the case of agricultural
workers, no comprehensive system for such removal existed by year's
end. During the year the MOI changed procedures so that employees no
longer received work permission through a specifically named employer.
All workers could challenge unsafe work practices through government
oversight and legal agencies.
Through November the Enforcement Division of the Foreign Workers
Department in the MITL imposed 1,662 administrative fines on employers
of foreign workers for violating the Foreign Workers Law, totaling
14,605,958 NIS ($3,844,000). Through September, 849 indictments had
been filed regarding violation of the Foreign Workers Law by employers,
and 196 fines totaling 1,923,000 NIS ($506,000) had been imposed on
employers of foreign workers for violating the Minimum Wage Law.
Thai agricultural workers, Chinese construction workers, and
nursing care workers from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the
Philippines--particularly women--were at greatest risk for abuse. On
September 1, the government recertified private nursing companies'
caregiver licenses, giving special attention to capacity of dealing
with the widespread employment of foreign workers in the field. In
February the MOI assumed responsibility from MITL for possible
cancellation of health care workers' residence permits.
Brokers and employers collect hiring fees from migrant workers. The
government limited such fees to 3,135 NIS (approximately $895) per
worker, but NGOs claimed that many foreign workers continued to pay as
much as 80,000 NIS ($23,000). Through September, the government held
124 hearings on canceling or restricting permits to employ foreign
workers, resulting in 51 restricted or canceled permits.
The government reported that, during 2008 and up to October 15, 47
permits to recruit foreign workers in the nursing field were completely
revoked. Investigations and administrative hearings led to the closure
of some recruitment agencies.
Workers may contest deportation orders, but lack of fluency in
Hebrew placed them at a considerable disadvantage. Interpreters were
provided when available, but no court-appointed attorneys were
provided. According to Hotline, the lack of interpreters in various
governmental agencies continued to be a ``grave problem,'' and public
information in languages other than Hebrew was hard to obtain.
______
THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES (INCLUDING AREAS SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION
OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY)
Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, the West Bank, and
East Jerusalem during the 1967 War. During the year, the Palestinian
population of the West Bank was approximately 2.4 million, and Gaza's
population totaled 1.6 million. There were an estimated 260,000 Arabs
living in East Jerusalem with residency permits rather than Israeli
citizenship. Approximately 190,000 Israeli citizens, including a small
number of Arab citizens of Israel, also lived in East Jerusalem;
Israelis in the West Bank numbered approximately 300,000.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has a democratically elected
president and legislative council. The president appoints the prime
minister who forms a cabinet in consultation with the president; the PA
exercised varying degrees of authority over the Palestinian population
in the West Bank because of the Israel Defense Force's (IDF) continuing
presence, little authority in Gaza, and none over Israeli residents of
the West Bank or Arab residents of East Jerusalem.
In 2005 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas won 62 percent of the vote in a presidential election regarded as
generally free and fair. In 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)
elections, Hamas, a terrorist organization, backed candidates under the
``Reform and Change Movement'' ticket and won 74 of 132 seats in
elections that generally met democratic standards. In March 2007 Hamas
formed a national unity government (NUG) with the Fatah party, but
after three months Hamas staged a violent takeover of PA government
installations in Gaza and killed hundreds in the Fatah movement and PA
security forces. President Abbas then dismissed the NUG and appointed a
cabinet of independents led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad that has
governed the West Bank, while elements of the former Hamas government
formed the ruling authority in Gaza where it selectively applied the
laws and legal structures of the PA.
President Abbas and his subordinates controlled PA security forces
in the West Bank. Armed militias and terrorist organizations were still
active in some areas. In Gaza, Hamas controlled security forces. Other
armed factions and terrorist organizations were active in Gaza. The
Israeli government maintained effective control of its security forces.
International and Palestinian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
reported PA torture, arbitrary and prolonged detention, poor prison
conditions, impunity, corruption, and lack of transparency. Domestic
abuse of women, societal discrimination against women and persons with
disabilities, and child labor remained serious problems. In Gaza there
were reports that Hamas security forces continued to kill, torture,
kidnap, arbitrarily detain, and harass Fatah members and other
Palestinians with impunity. Hamas and other Palestinian factions in
Gaza shelled civilian targets in Israel. In Gaza there were reports of
corruption, abuse of prisoners, and failure to provide fair trials to
those accused. Hamas also strictly restricted the freedom of speech,
religion, and movement of Gaza residents, and promoted gender
discrimination against women. Residents of Gaza continued to be denied
the right to political participation and to choose their government.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza launched rockets and
mortars against civilian targets in Israel.
International, Palestinian, and Israeli NGOs severely criticized
Israeli military operations in Gaza for conflict abuses in similar
terms. Concerning the West Bank, Israeli and Palestinian NGOs reported
that Israeli authorities used excessive force, abused civilians and
detainees, tortured Palestinian detainees, failed to take proper
disciplinary actions, improperly applied security internment
procedures, maintained austere and overcrowded detention facilities,
imposed severe restrictions on internal and external freedom of
movement, and limited cooperation with NGOs. A partially completed
Israeli-built separation barrier isolated portions of the West Bank and
restricted Palestinian movement and access to West Bank land west of
the barrier.
In response to a sharp increase in the number and frequency of
rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza shortly prior to and following the
formal expiration of the ``calm'' on December 19, 2008, the IDF
launched Operation Cast Lead, consisting initially of airstrikes
December 27, targeted against Hamas security installations, personnel,
and other facilities in the Gaza Strip, followed on January 3 by ground
operations. The operation concluded in mid-January. Human rights
organizations estimated the number of dead at 1,400 Palestinians,
including more than 1,000 civilians, and the wounded at more than
5,000. According to Israeli government figures, Palestinian deaths
totaled 1,166, including 295 noncombatant deaths.
The president of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) established the
United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict to investigate
Israeli violations of international human rights and humanitarian law
in the context of military operations in Gaza, whether before, during,
or after Operation Cast Lead. On September 29, Justice Richard
Goldstone, who headed the mission, presented the report (commonly known
as the ``Goldstone Report'') to the HRC in Geneva. The Goldstone report
investigated 36 incidents of alleged violations by the IDF in Gaza, as
well as alleged violations by Palestinians. This reflected an effort by
Goldstone to broaden the scope of his report beyond the original
mandate that was limited only to violations by Israel. Among its many
conclusions, the report claimed that members of the IDF were
responsible for deliberate targeting of civilians, for the destruction
of critical infrastructure in Gaza, and for using weapons like white
phosphorous in highly populated areas, all of which it deemed to be
violations of international humanitarian law. The Goldstone report was
widely criticized for methodological failings, legal and factual
errors, falsehoods, and for devoting insufficient attention to the
asymmetrical nature of the conflict and the fact that Hamas and other
Palestinian militants were deliberately operating in heavily populated
urban areas of Gaza. The government of Israel also sharply rejected the
charge that it had a policy of deliberately targeting civilians. IDF
Military Advocate General Mandelblit was responsible for reviewing all
allegations relating to Operation Cast Lead, including those contained
in the Goldstone Report. At the end of the year, Mandelblit's
investigations were ongoing.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Killings by
Palestinian security forces occurred infrequently compared to previous
years. Palestinian terrorist groups' killings remained a serious
problem, particularly in the Gaza Strip, as did killings by Hamas-
controlled security forces. Israeli military actions in Gaza in January
caused significant civilian casualties.
According to statistics maintained by the Israeli government and by
the United Nations Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs
(UN OCHA), 27 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem died in
clashes with Israeli security forces during the year. B'Tselem reported
that 22 Palestinians in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem) were
killed by Israeli security. Of them, four were killed while
participating in hostilities, 13 were killed while not participating;
B'Tselem did not know whether the remaining five were killed while
participating in hostilities.
According to Israeli government figures, Palestinian deaths
resulting from Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip in
December 2008 and January 2009 totaled 1,166, including 295
noncombatant deaths. Human rights organizations estimated the number of
dead at 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 1,000 civilians, and
the wounded at more than 5,000.
Palestinian factional violence resulted in 12 Palestinian
fatalities and 29 Palestinian injuries in the West Bank over the period
from January until September 28. Killings by Palestinian security
forces occurred infrequently compared to previous years. Palestinian
terrorist groups' killings remained a serious problem, particularly in
the Gaza Strip, as did killings by Hamas security forces.
Palestinian factional violence resulted in 12 Palestinian
fatalities and 29 Palestinian injuries in the West Bank over the period
from January until September 28.
According to Israeli government statistics, Palestinian terrorist
acts emanating from the West Bank killed five Israeli civilians,
including two policemen. No Israeli civilians died in violence
emanating from the Gaza Strip, although the Israeli government
attributed the death of 10 IDF soldiers killed during and immediately
after IDF military operations in Gaza in January to terrorist action.
In the West Bank, four prisoners held in PA correctional facilities
died in custody during the year. Mohammad Jamil al-Haj died on February
8 in Preventive Security Organization (PSO) custody, and Fadi Hamadneh
died on August 10 in the custody of the General Intelligence (GI)
Service. An internal PA investigation ruled both deaths suicides by
hanging. In two other cases, that of Majd al-Barghouti, who died on
February 24 of heart failure while in the custody of the GI, and
Haitham Amre, who died of injuries sustained during detention on June
15 in GI custody, an internal PA investigation found PA security forces
culpable. The deaths of these two prisoners resulted in an internal PA
investigation that led to the jailing, demotion, or disciplining of 43
PA security officials.
According to local media and to the quasi-governmental Independent
Commission on Human Rights (ICHR), masked gunmen affiliated with Hamas
unlawfully executed at least 32 persons during the year. In most cases,
allegations that the victims had collaborated with Israel accompanied
the killings.
There were 20 documented cases of masked gunmen shooting and
killing escaped prisoners from December 28, 2008 to the end of January,
during the unrest accompanying the Israeli military operations in Gaza;
at least 12 of the victims were imprisoned for allegedly
``collaborating with the enemy.''
On April 16, Hassan al-Sayfi, general inspector in Gaza's Interior
Ministry, told Human Rights Watch (HRW) that a committee he heads had
completed investigations into two deaths in detention and authorities
accepted recommendations, suspending from duty and filing charges
against the police officers involved. In two other cases, the committee
was continuing its investigations, but no further information was
available at year's end.
There were no updates on investigations into the 2008 deaths of
Taleb Mohammed Abu Sitta in Hamas police custody or Bassam Anani, who
died of injuries after Hamas police detention.
Israeli human rights organizations reported a lack of protection
for civilians during the Israeli incursion into Gaza. Among the 1,385
estimated casualties in Israel's military operations in Gaza at the
beginning of the year, B'Tselem reported that civilians accounted for
773, or more than half, of those killed. According to the Israeli
government, Hamas operated within civilian populations. The government
of Israel reported that 295 deaths in the operation were civilians.
Four Israeli civilians and 10 soldiers were killed in combat or as a
result of rocket and mortar fire.
HRW documented allegations in seven cases that Israeli soldiers
shot and killed 11 Palestinian civilians, including five women and four
children, who were in groups waving white flags to convey their
civilian status.
According to HRW, on January 7, Israeli tanks stopped at the house
of Khalid 'Abd Rabbo. According to three family members who witnessed
the incident, an Israeli soldier fired on two women and three girls who
had come out of the house holding makeshift white flags, killing two
and wounding two seriously. At year's end, the Israeli military police
were conducting an investigation into the incident.
In a January 13 incident reported by both HRW and B'Tselem, IDF
soldiers shot and killed several members of the al-Najar family in
Khuza'a village, east of Khan Yunis. Reportedly, while waving a white
flag Rawiya al-Najjar attempted to lead a group of family members,
several of whom also carried white flags, out of their neighborhood,
following orders from soldiers in tanks and militarized bulldozers. She
was shot first, then other members of the al-Najar family were shot and
killed.
On January 20, two days after hostilities ended, IDF Chief of Staff
Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi ordered five special command investigations to
focus on five types of alleged violations of the Law of Armed Conflict:
incidents harming multiple civilians, damage to UN and international
facilities, firing on medical facilities, destruction of private
property and infrastructure, and use of weaponry containing phosphorus.
At least 60 of these investigations are operational debriefings held by
the army under the Military Justice Law. The operational debriefing
delays a criminal investigation; the information provided cannot be
released or used as evidence in a court of law.
On July 29, the government released preliminary findings from some
of the IDF investigations into approximately 100 complaints that it
received from all sources, including NGOs, international organizations,
and the media. The field investigations concluded that many allegations
were false; all conclusions remained to be reviewed by the military
advocate general who could order additional field investigations and
whose decisions would be subject to review by the attorney general and
the Supreme Court.
At year's end the government had convicted one soldier, sentencing
him to seven months in prison for the theft of a credit card. Field and
military police investigations continued and the military advocate
general had referred approximately 140 cases for criminal
investigations.
According to a September 2008 Yesh Din study, the Israeli Military
Police Criminal Investigation Division (CID) launched 1,246 criminal
investigations between September 2000 and 2007 into cases in which
soldiers were suspected of killing, injuring, and committing criminal
offenses against Palestinian civilians. Of the 1,246 investigations
opened, 6 percent (78) led to indictments against a total of 135
soldiers. Only 13 of those indictments charged soldiers with killing
civilians. As of September 2008, five soldiers had been convicted for
the deaths of four civilians, 113 had been convicted of at least one
offense, four had been acquitted of all charges, eight had their cases
dismissed, and 10 cases were still pending.
Of 1,805 criminal investigations opened by the MPCID into suspected
offenses of all kinds by soldiers against Palestinian civilians and
their property, approximately 6 percent (105 cases) resulted in
indictments against 180 defendants. Thirteen of those indictments
charged soldiers with killing civilians. From 2000 through year's end,
Israeli military courts convicted one soldier of manslaughter and four
soldiers of negligence in the deaths of three Palestinians and one
British national, according to Yesh Din. At year's end Yesh Din
reported that 143 defendants were convicted of various offenses, eight
defendants were acquitted of all charges, and 10 had their indictments
dropped by the prosecution. Proceedings regarding five defendants were
still underway.
Human rights organizations complained the IDF-through the military
judge advocate general--initiated investigation often many months (at
times more than a year) from the time of the incident, making it
difficult to find evidence or identify witnesses and victims, and that
the unit responsible for investigations had very few Arabic speakers to
take testimonies from witnesses.
In July 2008, in one of several incidents connected to protests
against construction of the separation barrier near Na'alin village,
11-year-old Ahmed Moussa was shot with live fire by an IDF soldier
responding to demonstrations near the village. On August 4, Yousif
Ahmed Amira died after being shot by IDF soldiers in the head with two
rubber-coated bullets on July 30. In August 2008 an internal affairs
unit at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) informed B'tselem it had opened
an investigation into Amira's death.
In 2006 the High Court ruled that targeted killings were not per se
illegal, but each case must be meticulously examined through an
independent investigation. During the year Israeli forces targeted and
killed two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. A missile fired from a
helicopter killed Khaled Harb Khaled Sh'alan, a 23-year-old resident of
Gaza City on March 4. In January 2008 Hussein Faiz Hussein Shameyah, a
25-year-old resident of Khan Yunis, was injured while riding a motor
scooter and died 12 days later in February 2008.
During the year reports continued of Palestinians being killed in
the Gaza perimeter zone, as in previous years. Israel declared this
area off-limits to Palestinians in response to attacks against Israelis
originating in those areas.
In May 2008 Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets warning Gazans to
stay 300 meters from the boundary or risk being shot, doubling the size
of the buffer zone. According to OCHA, Israeli soldiers have prevented
Gazan farmers from accessing areas as far as 1,000 meters from the
border by firing warning shots. Several civilians have been killed when
they entered this Gaza Strip perimeter zone. In July 2008 Israeli fire
killed a mentally impaired 15-year-old boy, and in August 2008 injured
a 60-year-old. No information regarding investigations into either case
was available at year's end.
IDF prosecutors informed B'tselem that the 2007 cases of the deaths
of 14-year-old Ahmed Sabri Suliman Ali Abu Zubeida and 13-year-old
Zaher Jaber Muhammad al-Majdalawi were pending, and there were no
developments in investigations into the deaths of 11-year-old Yahya
Ramadan Atiyyah Abu Ghazala, eight-year-old Sarah Suliman Abdallah Abu
Ghazala, or Nafia Abu Musaid.
In 2007 10-year-old Abir Aramin died from a wound to the back of
the head as she was leaving school during clashes between Israeli
Border Police and Palestinians. The Jerusalem district prosecutor
closed the investigation for lack of evidence. In June 2008 Yesh Din
filed a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice challenging the
government's decision to close the case without filing an indictment.
In the hearing held in October a panel of judges ordered the government
to submit all investigation material collected for the court's review.
At year's end there was no decision from the court.
There were no developments in the 2007 killings of the following
Israelis in the West Bank: Erez Levanon, Ahikham Amihai, David Rubin,
or Ido Zoldan.
b. Disappearance.--There were fewer reports of politically
motivated kidnappings and disappearances in connection with internal
Palestinian conflict than in previous years, largely due to improved
security conditions in the West Bank.
Hamas security operatives in the Gaza Strip carried out
extrajudicial detentions based on political affiliation during the
year; information about the whereabouts and welfare of those detained
was not consistently or reliably available, nor were those detained
offered due process or access to family and legal counsel.
There were no developments in the 2007 abduction and killing of
Maher Halim Daoud Juri.
In 2006 Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) and Hamas militants
tunneled from Gaza to Israel, killed two soldiers, and abducted a
third, Gilad Shalit. At year's end Shalit had not been released.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The PA Basic Law prohibits torture or use of force against
detainees; however, international human rights groups reported that
torture was a problem. During the first part of the year abuse of
prisoners by PA security forces was widespread. Following the deaths of
four prisoners in PA custody during the year, Prime Minister Fayyad
ordered security commanders to stop the practice of torture and abuse
in Palestinian jails. The PA also made public statements to the effect
that mistreatment of prisoners would no longer be considered acceptable
in PA detention facilities.
In October the PA launched an investigation into prisoner abuse in
PA facilities, dismissed or disciplined 43 security officers for
prisoner abuse, and invited international NGOs and media to investigate
PA detention facilities. At year's end international and local media
and NGOs reported improved conditions and a significant reduction in
physical abuse of prisoners in PA facilities.
Torture by Gaza Hamas Executive Force was not restricted to
security detainees but also included persons associated with the Fatah
political party and those held on suspicion of ``collaboration'' with
Israel. Hamas took no action to investigate reports of torture.
Documentation of abuses was limited, due partly to fear of retribution
by victims and the lack of access to Gaza prisoners for PA officials
and many NGOs.
Palestinian NGOs alleged in previous years that the PA pressured
individuals not to communicate allegations of abuse to NGOs. However,
during the year, the PA provided all security forces with written
guidelines for interrogation and detention, including a section on
prisoner's rights.
The PA Military Intelligence (MI) organization in a number of cases
reportedly exceeded its legal authority to investigate other security
services' officers and detained civilians suspected of ``security
offenses'' such as terrorist activities. Local human rights NGOs
claimed that PA security forces used disproportionate force during
arrest and capture operations, causing unnecessary injury.
A July 29 HRW report documented abuses by Hamas security forces
against Fatah-affiliated officials in Gaza and by Fatah against Hamas
members and supporters in the West Bank. During and after the conflict
in Gaza, masked gunmen beat and maimed by shooting dozens of known
Fatah members, especially from the PA security services.
The ICHR said masked gunmen deliberately inflicted bullet wounds to
the legs of at least 49 people between December 28, 2008 and January
31. In January and February, HRW interviewed three men who had been
shot in the legs, reportedly by Hamas security forces. Two were Fatah
supporters; one was a former member of the Preventive Security Force of
the PA, who had been overheard on the street criticizing Hamas.
Abductions and severe beatings are another major concern. According
to ICHR, unidentified perpetrators physically abused 73 Gazan men from
December 28, 2008 to January 31, breaking legs and arms. HRW documented
one case of what appeared to be a politically motivated house arrest.
Israeli actions in Gaza and in the West Bank resulted in serious
nonlethal injury and property and infrastructure destruction, as well
as deaths as noted in section 1.a. At least 1,168 Palestinians were
injured, the vast majority by the IDF in Gaza, but some by the IDF and
Israelis who lived in West Bank settlements.
Between January 1 and September 28, the IDF conducted 1,199
incursions into West Bank Area A, according to UN agencies. During the
same period, the IDF conducted 262 incursions into West Bank refugee
camps in areas A, B, and C. (See below under ``Role of the Police and
Security Apparatus'' for definitions of Areas A, B, and C.)
Israeli law, as interpreted by a 1999 High Court decision,
prohibits torture and several interrogation techniques but allows
``moderate physical pressure'' against detainees considered to possess
information about an imminent terrorist attack. The decision also
indicates that interrogators who abuse detainees suspected of
possessing such information may be immune from prosecution. Human
rights organizations reported that ``moderate physical pressure'' has
been used in practice to include beatings, requiring an individual to
hold a stress position for long periods, and painful pressure on
shackles and restraints applied to the forearms. Israeli NGOs,
including B'Tselem and HaMoked, continued to criticize what they termed
abusive Israeli detention practices, including isolation, sleep
deprivation, protracted handcuffing, and psychological abuse.
In May the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) issued its Concluding
Observations on Israel. In its report, the CAT raised questions about
what it categorized as ``numerous, ongoing and consistent allegations''
of torture and mistreatment by Israel of Palestinians. Israeli
authorities reported that the IDF thoroughly investigated all events in
which IDF soldiers allegedly used unjustified force.
At year's end two policemen from the Ma'ale Adumim police station
who were arrested in March 2008 for severely abusing a Palestinian from
Bethany remained under house arrest, and investigations continued,
according to the Israeli NGO the Public Committee Against Torture in
Israel (PCATI).
The Israeli High Court ruled on July 1 in favor of changing the
indictments filed against the soldier and commander who were involved
in the 2008 shooting of Ashraf Abu Rahma, so as to reflect the gravity
of the offenses. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and
partner human rights organizations, who had filed the petition to
change the indictments, expressed satisfaction with the decision,
saying it conveys a crucial message that protection of human rights
must be a primary consideration for law-enforcement agencies. In July
2008 in Na'alin village, an IDF soldier shot Ashraf Abu Rahma in the
foot at close range with a rubber-coated bullet, while Abu Rahma was
handcuffed and blindfolded. The soldier who fired the shot alleged that
the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Omri Borberg, ordered him to shoot.
In August 2008 Borberg was charged with conduct unbecoming an officer
and reassigned by the IDF chief of staff from his duties as commander
of the 71st Armored Battalion. Later in August 2008 ACRI filed a
petition with the High Court seeking to compel the judge advocate
general to file a more serious charge. In October 2008 the High Court
asked the IDF to consider charging a more serious crime, and in
November the military advocate general announced that the original
charge would not be changed.
Israeli and Palestinian NGO and press reports stated the IDF was
insufficiently responsive to violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers
in the West Bank against Palestinians. Advocacy group Yesh Din reported
that 90 percent of Israeli police investigations into cases in which
Israeli citizens were accused of committing offenses against
Palestinians were closed without being solved.
Settlers committed violent acts against civilian Palestinians with
reportedly little or no intervention by Israeli security forces.
Throughout the year, settlers attacked shepherds living in Um al-
Khayr close to Karmel and Ma'on settlements in the southern West Bank.
On April 10, two male settlers attacked an eight-month-pregnant woman
near Ma'on settlement. The men, whose faces were covered, pushed her to
the ground, kicked her, and beat her with sticks. B'Tselem reported
that Hebron police in May said three suspects were interrogated, but
the complainant could not identify any of them. B'Tselem had not
received further updates.
There were no updates in the 2007 attacks on the following
Palestinians(: Amin Saud Mahmoud Hasuna, his brother Yasser, and Jalal
al-Batsh.
In 2007 the Hebron police opened an investigation into Jewish
Quarter resident Yifat Alkobi's verbal and physical assault on the Abu
Aysha family, which was documented on video and broadcast on the media.
At year's end there was no information available on the status of the
investigation.
There were no developments in the 2007 beating of children from the
Abu Hatah family in Hebron by settlers from Kiryat Arba or in the 2007
case of 15 Israelis from Ma'on settlement, who attacked two shepherds
from Mufaqara.
There were no further developments or investigations had not
concluded in the following 2006 claims of beatings and other abuse: of
an the Israeli Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) detainee from the
village of Koud at Kishon Detention Center, or by IDF soldiers at al-
Fawar checkpoint, in Ramin Plain, and in Bil'in village.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--PA prison conditions were
poor, and the PA prison system remained significantly inadequate for
the prison population it served (many prisons were destroyed during the
Second Intifada and not rebuilt). Conditions of detention and
imprisonment varied widely. PA Civil Police prisons remained severely
overcrowded during the year, due to a lack of facility spaceSpace and
capacity issues also negatively affected the availability of medical
care and vocational and other programs for inmates in civil police
prisons.
During the year the PA generally permitted the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to detainees and allowed
regular inspections of prison conditions; however, the PA denied access
to some detainees within 14 days following their arrests as the law
provides. The PA also permitted monitoring of its prisons by the ICHR
and by Palestinian NGOs. Human rights groups, humanitarian
organizations, and lawyers in past years reported difficulties gaining
access to specific detainees varied, depending on which security
organization managed the facility. The PA Civil Police held as many as
700 prisoners in its eight prisons during the year; juveniles were
approximately 4 percent of the prison population, and women less than 2
percent, according to PA statistics. Women and juveniles were housed
separately from male prisoners.
At the end of the year, PA intelligence services, including the
PSO, GI, and MI, held an estimated 230-240 security detainees
separately from the general population. Persons held by the
intelligence services were detained according to the same legal
framework as those in civil police prisons, and their cases were
subject to review by civilian and military courts, depending on the
case.
Gaza prison conditions were reportedly poor, and little information
was available. Detention facilities were reportedly inferior compared
to international legal or humanitarian standards.
The ICRC conducted monitoring visits to some prisoners in Gaza but
was denied permission by Hamas authorities to visit captured IDF
soldier Gilad Shalit.
IDF detention centers were reportedly less likely than Israeli
Prison Service (IPS) prisons to meet international standards, with
some, such as the Offer detention center, providing living space as
small as 15 square feet per detainee. The Israeli MOJ stated that the
IDF is continuously maintaining and improving the living conditions in
two detention centers for the temporary holding of detainees in the
West Bank. For example, the Ethicon detention facility was recently
renovated. A 2007 petition filed by PCATI before the High Court that
asked for improved holding cells, regular toilet access, drinking
faucets, three daily meals, and improved ventilation for detainees was
still pending in November.
HaMoked reported that the IDF held dozens of Palestinians captured
during hostilities in Gaza in January in newly-dug pits, exposed to
winter weather, without sanitary facilities, and with insufficient food
and blankets. Some of these pits were allegedly located in or near
combat zones. After removing prisoners from pits, the IDF failed to
inform families of the detainees of their whereabouts.
Israel permitted independent monitoring of prison conditions by the
ICRC. The Israeli Bar Association and NGOs sent representatives to meet
with prisoners and inspect conditions in prison, detention center, and
IDF facilities. Human rights groups reported delays and difficulties in
gaining access to specific detainees, frequent transfers of detainees
without notice, and the limited ability of families of Palestinians
imprisoned in Israel to visit.
According to the NGO Palestinian Prisoners Club, Israel held 24
Palestinian prisoners in some form of solitary confinement in 2008.
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody 16 years and older were
treated and housed as adults. Legislation requires that detained minors
under the age of 16 must be separate from adult detainees. The
government stated that the IPS held 318 security prisoners under the
age of 18, of which 285 were between the ages of 16-18 (168 detained
and 117 convicted), and 33 were under the age of 16 (18 detained and 15
convicted). According to B'Tselem, as of December 31, the IPS detained
299 prisoners, 42 of whom were under the age of 16. Of the 299
detainees, 128 had been sentenced, 18 of them under the age of 16. The
NGO Defense for Children International--Palestine Section (DCI-
Palestine) estimated that 700 Palestinians under the age of 16 were
arrested and prosecuted in military courts in 2008 (the most recent
year for which data were available). Of the 265 cases that DCI-
Palestine represented in 2008, 229 were before the military courts, 26
were appeals before the Israeli Military Court of Appeals, and 10
involved administrative detention orders.
Since 2004 Israel has authorized several private doctors to visit
prisons and has increased medical attention; however, prisoners
continued to claim inadequate medical care.
According to B'Tselem, approximately 6,800 Palestinians were held
in Israeli civilian prisons and military detention facilities at year's
end. The overwhelming majority of them were in facilities operated by
the Israeli Prison Service. Approximately 5,000 were serving criminal
sentences.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Palestinian law prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention. It allows police to hold detainees
without charge for 24 hours and with court approval for up to 45 days.
A trial must start within six months or the detainee must be released.
In practice the PA detained a number of prisoners without charge for
more than 24 hours, and prisoners regularly failed to reach trial
within the six-month limit. PA officials rejected Hamas' charges that
the PA detained individuals during the year solely on the basis of
their Hamas affiliation, and presented evidence that many of these
individuals had been charged with criminal offenses under civil or
military codes.
Reportedly Hamas widely practiced arbitrary detention in Gaza.
Israeli law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention. However, some
reports suggested security services did not always observe these
prohibitions. Palestinian security internees were under the
jurisdiction of military law, which permits 10 days' detention without
allowing access to a lawyer or appearing before court. There is no
requirement that a detainee have access to a lawyer until after
interrogation, a process that may last weeks. The ICRC must be notified
of arrests within 12 days after they occur and be allowed to visit
detainees within 14 days after an arrest.
In East Jerusalem and in the West Bank, Palestinian protesters or
activists alleged arbitrary detention by Israeli security officials at
public demonstrations in several instances, including at weekly
protests against the separation barrier held in the West Bank village
of Bil'in.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--In PA-controlled areas
of the West Bank, Palestinian police were normally responsible for law
enforcement for Palestinians and other non-Israelis. In the Gaza Strip,
forces under Hamas's control maintained security. Press and NGO reports
suggested Hamas enforced strict control across all sectors of society.
Hamas police reportedly facilitated and benefited from illegal activity
in some cases, such as the operation of smuggling tunnels.
Six PA security forces operated in the West Bank. The PA Civil
Police have primary responsibility for civil and community policing.
The National Security Force (NSF) conducts gendarmerie-style security
operations in circumstances which exceed the capabilities of the Civil
Police. The Military Intelligence agency, which is a sub-unit of the
NSF, handles intelligence and criminal matters involving PA security
force personnel, including accusations of abuse. The General
Intelligence service is responsible for external intelligence gathering
and operations; the Preventive Security Organization is responsible for
these matters internally. The Presidential Guard protects facilities
and provides dignitary protection. The Civil Defense service provides
emergency services.
PA security services are under the operational control of the
minister of the interior. The National Security Force's Military
Intelligence wing is responsible for investigations into allegations of
abuse and corruption involving PA security forces, and can refer cases
to court. Foreign observers and West Bank residents considered PA
security forces more effective than in previous years in both
counterterrorist operations and provision of public securityand law and
order.
Hamas exercised control in Gaza, including over police and security
forces.
Israeli authorities maintained a West Bank presence through Israeli
security forces that consisted of the IDF, the Israeli Security Agency
(ISA or Shin Bet), the Israeli National Police (INP), and the Border
Police. Israeli authorities investigated and punished abuse and
corruption, although there were reports of failures to take
disciplinary action in cases of abuse.
In West Bank Palestinian population centers (mostly ``Area A'' by
the Oslo-era agreements), the PA has formal responsibility for security
and civil control, while Israeli security forces have the right of
``hot pursuit.'' In practice Israeli military authorities have since
2002 conducted regular security operations in Area A cities. In Area B
territory in the West Bank, which is comprised mostly of small villages
and farmland, the PA is assigned civil control--including civil
policing--but Israel retains responsibility for security control. In
Area C, which contains Israeli settlements, military installations, and
open countryside, Israel retains full civil and security control.
d. Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--PA law
provides for prompt judicial determination of the legality of
detention, and this provision was largely but not uniformly observed in
practice. PA law allows police to hold detainees without charge for 24
hours and with court approval for up to 45 days; it requires that a
trial must start within six months, or the detainee must be released.
In several reported cases, PA security forces detained persons without
warrants and without bringing them before judicial authorities within
the required timeframe. Due largely to limited judicial capacity, those
detained rarely saw their cases go to trial within the six-month limit,
and were not generally released when this limit expired. Bail and
conditional release were available in cases in which judicial
authorities deemed it appropriate. Suspects were in some cases denied
access to lawyers, families, or doctors. Authorities informed detainees
of the charges against them, although sometimes not until
interrogation.
In a number of security-based cases, the PA sought military
judicial review and court orders for detention for civilians suspected
of terrorist activity. In several of these cases, the PA disregarded
civilian court orders requiring the release of these suspects, citing
countervailing military court orders.
In Gaza, Hamas reportedly detained a large but unverifiable number
of persons during the year, largely without recourse to legal counsel,
judicial review, or bail. Many of these detentions were apparently
politically based, and targeted former PA officials or Fatah party
members, according to various sources. Abusive conditions were
widespread, as were allegations of torture.
Israeli Military Order 1507 permits detention for 10 days before
detainees are allowed to see a lawyer or appear before court. Israeli
Military Order 1369 provides for a seven-year prison term for anyone
not responding to a summons in security cases.
Suspects in Israeli military custody are entitled to an attorney,
but authorities can defer access to an attorney during interrogation,
which can last up to 90 days. Israeli authorities stated that policy is
to post notification of arrests within 48 hours, but senior officers
may delay notification for up to 12 days. A military commander may
request a judge to extend this period indefinitely. Evidence for
administrative detentions in security cases was often unavailable to
the detainee or his attorneys due to security classification, but
available to the court.
A military judge can issue administrative security detention orders
for up to six-months, renewable indefinitely.
B'Tselem and HaMoked released a report in October asserting that
military judicial authorities were holding 335 Palestinians under
``administrative detention'' without charging them with a crime. They
called this an abuse of the administration detention status for
detainees, and called on the military authorities to charge or release
them.
As of 2008, 37 of the 132 members of the PLC remained in jail in
Israel, including 33 from the terrorist group Hamas, three from Fatah
and one from the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP). Of those, 20 were awaiting trial, four remained in
administrative detention, and 13 were serving sentences. Addameer
Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association reported that, as of
year's end, 18 PLC members were imprisoned, although they did not
specify their political affiliations.
Palestinian lawyers representing Palestinians held in Israeli
military custody inside Israel were generally provided access to their
clients, although impediments to movement and access on West Bank roads
and/or at crossings often made consultation difficult and caused trials
and hearings to be postponed. The government frequently delays
notification to foreign government officials after detaining their
citizens in the occupied territories.
During the year HaMoked reported the continuation of an ISA
practice that B'Tselem noted two years previously, specifically,
isolation from the outside world whereby detainees are prevented from
meeting with attorneys, ICRC representatives, and their families during
the initial interrogation or for its duration. They also reported sleep
deprivation, protracted handcuffing, insults and humiliation, threats,
and naked body searches.
According to the MOJ, in some cases the IPS will keep the person
interrogated separate for a few days in order to prevent leakage of
information that may disrupt the interrogation. In such cases,
according to the Justice Ministry, the detainee meets with
representatives of the ICRC, IPS personnel and, if required, medical
personnel. The MOJ states that ISA interrogations are conducted
according to clear directives, which prohibit sleep deprivation and
insulting behavior. According to the government, the IPS does not hold
detainees in separate detention punitively or to induce confessions,
but rather only when a detainee threatens himself or others and only
when other options have been exhausted.
Israeli human rights organizations reported that Israeli
interrogators used psychological abuse more frequently in recent years,
including threats of house demolition or of questioning elderly
parents, and kept prisoners in harsh conditions, including solitary
confinement for long periods.
Of the more than 600 complaints filed in recent years which the
Official in Charge of Interrogees' Complaints investigated, PCATI
reported none were forwarded for a Police Investigation Department
(PID)criminal investigation. For example, PCATI reported that an
investigation had not been completed into the case of Jalal Sawafta,
whom the ISA arrested in February 2008 and whose parents were brought
to the interrogation room and asked to convince Sawafta to confess to
involvement in rigging a car to explode. The ISA interrogator allegedly
threatened to demolish the family home if Sawafta's parents did not
convince Sawafta to confess.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The Palestinian Basic Law of 2002,
amended in 2005, provides for an independent judiciary. Both Hamas
authorities in Gaza and the PA in the West Bank apply a Palestinian
legal code that is composed of elements of Ottoman, Egyptian (in Gaza),
Jordanian (in the West Bank), British Mandate, Israeli military, and
modern Palestinian law.
In the West Bank, a High Judicial Council maintained authority over
most court operations. Military courts, established in 1995 and guided
by the 1979 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Penal Code, have
jurisdiction over security personnel and crimes by civilians against
security forces. There is a nine-judge court for election issues. The
High Judicial Council maintained authority over most legal proceedings.
The PA generally respected judicial independence and the autonomy of
the High Judicial Council in practice.
Prior to the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007, Palestinian law in the
Gaza Strip was administered by judges affiliated with the Palestinian
High Judicial Council, whose head is appointed by the PA President. In
2007 Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh replaced PA-appointed
prosecutors and judges in Gaza with Hamas appointees. The PA declared
the action illegal; however, courts operated by Hamas appointees
continued to function in Gaza throughout the year.
In some cases involving investigations by PA intelligence services,
civilian defendants were presented to the PA's military court system.
Palestinian NGOs have criticized the practice of trying civilian
defendants in military courts, while the PA has defended the practice
based on the security nature of the crimes involved.
PA courts were inefficient, lacked staff and resources, and often
did not ensure fair and expeditious trials. A severe shortage of funds
and judges and an absence of lawyers and witnesses, due in part to
restrictions or delays on the movement of judges, lawyers, defendants,
witnesses, and evidence, resulted in significant backlogs in both
criminal and civil cases.
Progress was made in some areas, notably in prosecutorial record-
keeping and judicial coordination, but significant shortfalls remained.
Israeli law provides for an independent judiciary, and the
government generally respected civil court independence in practice.
The IDF tried Palestinians accused of security offenses (ranging from
rock throwing to membership in a terrorist organization to incitement)
in military courts. Israeli law defines security offenses as including
a range of charges. Israeli military courts rarely acquitted
Palestinians charged with security offenses; sentences occasionally
were reduced on appeal. Israeli civil law, as applied to the
Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, provides for an independent
judiciary, and the government generally respected the independence of
the civil courts in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The Independent Judiciary Law provides for the
right to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced
this right. Trials are public, except when the court determines privacy
is required by PA security, foreign relations, a party's or witness's
right to privacy, or protection of a victim of a sexual offense or
``honor'' crime. The law provides for legal representation, the right
to question and present witnesses, to review government-held evidence,
and to appeal. Authorities generally observed these rights in practice.
PA law allows the death penalty for certain offenses, including
types of treason and murder. In recent years, a number of PA death
penalty convictions have been issued by military courts applying the
PLO Revolutionary Penal Code of 1979.
In April 2008 a PA military court in Hebron sentenced Imad Saad to
death for collaboration with Israel. At year's end his sentence had not
been carried out because it had not been ratified by PA President
Abbas.
Israelis living in settlements in the West Bank and in East
Jerusalem were tried under Israeli law in the nearest Israeli district
court.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--As of 2008 Palestinian sources
estimated the PA imprisoned 22 persons suspected of collaboration with
Israel During the year seven persons were arrested on charges of
collaboration and other charges.
Hamas detained several hundred individuals allegedly because of
their political affiliation and held these individuals for varying
periods of time. Numerous allegations of denial of due process were
associated with these detentions. Many of those held in Gaza as Israeli
collaborators reportedly were released in 2007 after Hamas took over
(see section 1.d.).
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The PA civil and
magistrate courts handled civil suits. A citizen can file a suit
against the government including on matters related to alleged abuses
of human rights.
The execution of court orders was not systematic. In Gaza civil
suits may be filed, but the judiciary was reportedly not impartial and
independent.
Israeli law permits Palestinians residing in the occupied
territories to seek compensation for death, injury, or property damage
at the hands of the IDF, but a 2002 law denies Palestinians the
possibility of obtaining compensation in most cases for injuries
resulting from illegal acts by Israeli security forces. Amendments in
2005, which the High Court in 2006 partially overturned, added
obstacles to Palestinian plaintiffs seeking compensation.
Property Restitution.--In the West Bank, Israeli military officials
continued to demolish homes and other buildings constructed by
Palestinians in areas of the West Bank under Israeli civil control on
the basis that these buildings lacked Israeli planning permission.
Compensation was generally not offered in these cases. Properties 300
meters from the separation barrier or IDF military installations also
remained subject to demolition or confiscation.
When the IDF offered opportunities for compensation, subject to an
appraisal, verification, and appeals process, Palestinians generally
refused, citing a desire not to legalize the confiscation. Due to
documentation uncertainties dating from the Ottoman period, a
traditional land tenure system with communal, family, and individual
rights commingled, and Israeli-imposed definitions of land ownership,
Palestinians have had difficulty verifying ownership in Israeli courts
(see section 1.f.).
During the year Jerusalem municipal officials demolished 65
Palestinian homes and other buildings constructed without municipal
permits. Inhabitants of the demolished properties were not compensated,
and in many cases were required to pay the cost of the demolition.
Israeli NGOs, including Ir Amim and Bimkom, and Palestinian NGOs
argued that in both the West Bank and Jerusalem, Israeli authorities
placed often insurmountable hurdles on Palestinian applicants for
construction permits, including the requirement that they document land
ownership in the absence of a uniform post-1967 land registration
process, high application fees, and requirements that new housing be
connected to often-unavailable municipal sewage, water, and electric
lines.
Most demolitions targeted Bedouin and herder communities, and East
Jerusalem homes. In these areas, Israeli policies prevent most
Palestinians from obtaining building permits, according to OCHA.
In 2008 the Israeli planning rights NGO, Bimkom, reported that
official data between 2000 and September 2007 showed 1,626 buildings
were demolished and 4,820 buildings received demolition orders in Area
C, which is designated under the Oslo accords as West Bank land under
full Israeli civil and military authority. In the same time frame in
Area C, 5.6 percent of Palestinian applications for building permits in
were approved (91 of 1,624).
From January to August, Israeli authorities demolished 180
structures in Area C, including 56 residential structures, which
affected 711 persons, including 421 children. Demolished residences in
East Jerusalem also included Bedouin and herder communities.
On June 4, the IDF demolished 68 structures, including 20 inhabited
residential structures, in the herding community of Ras al-Ahmar in the
Jordan Valley, displacing 139 persons, including 72 children. A water
tank, tractor, and a trolley were confiscated. Some of the families
whose homes and property were destroyed had been living in their
village since at least the 1950s. In another incident, on May 31, 19
households in the village of al-Hadidiya received evacuation and stop
work orders, affecting 151 Palestinians, including 80 children. Of
these, the IDF gave 49 persons 48 hours to implement the orders. On
June 1, 14 persons, including eight children, were displaced after
carrying out demolition orders for their own structures. On September
29, the IDF delivered seven new demolition orders to al-Hadidiya.
In March 2007 the Israeli Ministry of Finance transferred to the
government ownership of 7.5 acres of olive orchard known as ``Mufti's
Grove'' in East Jerusalem's Shaykh Jarrah neighborhood. In April 2007
the government leased the land to the Ateret Cohanim settler group. In
December 2007, responding to a petition submitted by Arab Hotels
Company Limited contesting ownership of Mufti's Grove, the High Court
of Justice set a September 26 hearing date, which was subsequently
delayed. At year's end no hearing had taken place.
In August the court ruled against two Palestinian families living
in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shaykh Jarrah and ordered the
families to be evicted, affecting a total of 53 persons, including 20
children. The properties were turned over to the Nakhalat Shimon group,
which international human rights organizations described as a settler
association. Jewish families moved into the properties immediately.
In July the Jerusalem Municipality approved plans to construct two
apartment buildings on the East Jerusalem site of the historic Shepherd
Hotel, owned by the Husseini family from 1945 to 1967, confiscated as
absentee property by the government of Israel in 1967, and privately
purchased in the 1980s. The plans require the demolition of portions of
the hotel. At year's end construction had not begun, although NGO
sources stated that no legal hurdles remained.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The PA required the attorney general to issue warrants
for entry and searches of private property; however, Palestinian
security services often ignored these requirements. Hamas authorities
in Gaza often interfered arbitrarily with personal privacy, family, and
home, according to reporting from local media and NGO sources.
Palestinian gunmen fired on Israeli forces and booby trapped homes
and apartment buildings. In response, the IDF raided and often
destroyed buildings allegedly harboring militants. These actions often
resulted in civilian casualties.
Under occupation orders, only IDF officers of lieutenant colonel
rank and above could authorize entry into Palestinian private homes and
institutions in the West Bank without a warrant, based upon military
necessity. Authorities stated that violating this order entailed
punishment, but there were no reported cases of IDF soldiers punished
for acting contrary to this requirement.
The law, High Court rulings, and an IDF order prohibit Israeli
forces from using ``human shields,'' but the prohibition reportedly was
not always observed. When complaints are registered, according to the
MOJ, the Investigative Military Police (IMP) open investigations.
According to Amnesty International, Israeli soldiers used
civilians, including children, as human shields, endangering their
lives by forcing them to remain in or near houses which they took over
and used as military positions. Amnesty International also reported
that some were forced to carry out dangerous tasks such as inspecting
properties. At year's end the IDF was investigating alleged use of
human shields, including in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya.
According to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs July report,
Hamas used human shields by hiding behind civilian facilities and
endangering civilians, including women and children by using them to
protect military sites from IDF attack.
In 2008 one human shield complaint against the IDF was submitted;
an investigation followed. There was no information concerning any
disciplinary action taken. After a 2007 complaint about use of a human
shield caught on television, there was no information on what
punishment the IDF personnel received.
In January the IDF permanently sealed portions of the home of the
parents of the person who attacked the Mercaz Harav yeshiva (religious
seminary) in Jerusalem in 2008. The parents were not suspected of
association with the crime.
As in previous years, settlers vandalized Palestinian olive groves
numerous times. In October, in one of a series of similar incidents,
local media reported that residents of the West Bank settlement of
Yitzar used chainsaws to cut down approximately 150 olive trees in the
Palestinian village of Burin. According to the NGO Rabbis for Human
Rights, IDF restrictions on Palestinian movement and access aimed at
preventing settler violence against Palestinians and their property
during the olive harvest in many cases prevented farmers from accessing
their fieldsto harvest their crops.
Palestinian villages in the south Hebron hills and south of Nablus
were particularly affected by settler violence.
On December 11, settlers are believed to have set fire to a mosque
in the West Bank village of Yasuf. Prosettlement graffiti was
spraypainted at the site of the arson, which damaged the prayer hall
and destroyed a number of religious texts. Israeli authorities made a
number of arrests in the arson, but at year's end all suspects had been
released from custody.
There was no update on the investigation into the June 2008 attack
on Tamam al-Nawaja and the proceeding against Daniel Avraham, who was
arrested in 2008 and charged with possession of weapons and endangering
lives when a large stone thrown at a vehicle injured three
Palestinians.
In September 2008 Yesh Din reported that police regularly failed to
bring charges in cases of alleged settler violence against
Palestinians. A continuing review of 205 cases determined that 163
files had been closed, with 13 resulting in indictments and 149 closed
without charges; the most common reasons cited were lack of evidence
and unknown identity of the attacker.
According to asurvey by the UN Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the UN Development
Program (UNDO) citing the UN OCHA August report, during military
operations in Gaza in December 2008 and January, 6,400 homes were
destroyed and 52,900 sustained minor damage.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The Basic Law for the PA provides
every person the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and
expression, orally, in writing, or through any other form. The PA does
not have laws providing for freedom of press. In 1995 a press law was
approved by then PA president Yasser Arafat. Although never ratified by
the Palestinian Legislative Council, PA institutions have applied
aspects of it as de facto law. Self-censorship continues to occur as a
result of continued imposed social, political, and security pressures.
Both the PA security forces in the West Bank and members of the
Hamas security apparatus in Gaza continued to restrict freedom of
speech and press. In the West Bank, PA security forces closed media
offices, confiscated equipment, and prevented the delivery of
newspapers and reportedly assaulted journalists during demonstrations.
In Gaza individuals publicly criticizing authorities risked reprisal,
and Hamas affiliates assaulted journalists during demonstrations.
Three Palestinian daily and several weekly newspapers, monthly
magazines, and three tabloids were published in effectively one media
market. Several official and independent news agencies and online news
websites functioned. The PA operated one television and one radio
station. There were approximately 30 independent television and 25
independent radio stations. Since 2008 several factional satellite
stations have been launched, including the pro-Hamas Al-Quds, started
in November 2008, and pro-Fatah Al-Filastiniya, which closed at year's
end. Violence between Hamas and Fatah resulted in polarization of the
Palestinian press. Working conditions for journalists in Gaza
deteriorated noticeably during the year; however, some international
news outlets maintained offices in Gaza.
Since the Hamas military takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007,
the PA has maintained a distribution ban in the West Bank on the pro-
Hamas Al-Risala twice-weekly and Filistin daily, both Gaza-based
publications. Since that time pro-Hamas journalists in the West Bank
continued to be exposed to threats by PA security services. Prime
Minister Salaam Fayyad also ordered the suspension of Al Jazeera's West
Bank bureau on July 15, the day after it aired allegations against
President Abbas. On the July 14 edition of Al Jazeera's ``Behind the
News'' (Ma Wara' al-Khabar), high ranking PLO and Fatah official Faruq
al-Qaddumi accused Abbas and his adviser Muhammad Dahlan of
participating in what he said was an Israeli plot to assassinate former
Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat. PA authorities lifted the suspension
order several days later.
In July 2008, Hamas banned distribution of the three West Bank
dailies in Gaza. In August 2008, the ban was lifted against independent
daily Al-Quds but remained in place against independent daily Al-Ayyam
and the official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. According to officials
from those newspapers, Hamas demanded that its own newspapers, Al-
Risalah and Filistin, be allowed to circulate in the West Bank before
it would lift the ban against the two West Bank-based papers. In
February 2008 a Hamas-run court in Gaza ruled in support of banning the
distribution of the independent daily Al-Ayyam, while sentencing the
paper's editor and its main political cartoonist (both resident in the
West Bank) to suspended jail terms. The decision was the result of a
court case alleging defamation filed by several Hamas legislators over
a political cartoon published in the paper in 2007. On February 12,
Hamas once again permitted Al-Ayyam to distribute its daily while
keeping its ban on Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, the official PA daily.
Hamas closed down all Fatah-affiliated broadcast outlets in Gaza.
The Fatah-allied Palestinian TV and Voice of Palestine radio buildings
in Gaza City were taken over by Hamas gunmen and closed. Both stations
have since continued operating from Ramallah. Two other Fatah-
affiliated radio stations in Gaza, Al-Hurriyah and Al-Shabab, were
forced off the air by Hamas at the same time and did not resume
operations during the year.
Only pro-Hamas broadcast media and PFLP-affiliated radio outlet
Voice of the People have operated in Gaza since June 2007. In 2007
Hamas closed Voice of the People for two and a half months and again
between August 2 and August 6. It has since resumed broadcasting.
According to Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), since 2006 at least nine
news media outlets ceased operations in Gaza, three of which were state
owned and six privately owned.
Hamas security personnel broke into the Ramattan News Agency office
in Gaza on October 10, prompting the agency to close its West Bank and
Gaza offices in November. A Ramattan spokesperson stated that such
practices violate the law and freedom of the press and speech. Citing
continued harassment, Ramattan said they would be unable to operate. A
young man told HRW that in January he had criticized a Hamas leader in
a conversation on the street. He believed his remark was overheard by
someone in the area. That evening, more than a dozen armed men with
black masks took him from his home and shot him three times in the
lower legs and ankles.
Israeli authorities placed limits on certain forms of expression,
ordering that in East Jerusalem displays of Palestinian political
symbols were punishable by fines or imprisonment, as were public
expressions of anti-Israeli sentiment and of support for terrorist
groups. Authorities reviewed Arabic publications for security-related
material. As a general rule, Israeli media covered the occupied
territories, except for combat zones where the IDF temporarily
restricted access, but closures, curfews, and checkpoints limited the
ability of Palestinian and foreign journalists to do their jobs (see
section 2.d.). The IDF forbade all journalists from entering Gaza
during military operation in December and January.
In 2007 IDF soldiers shot al-Aqsa television cameraman Imad Ghanem
while he was filming an IDF operation in al-Bureij Camp in Gaza; he
subsequently lost both legs. As of December the case was pending. On
July 10, the IDF closed the independently owned Afaq TV in the West
Bank city of Nablus. According to press reports, the IDF closed the
station for one year, accusing it of affiliation with a terrorist
entity.
Internet Freedom.--There were no PA restrictions on access to the
Internet or reports that the PA monitored e-mail or Internet chat
rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression
of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.No information was
available on restrictions on access to the Internet in Gaza. The IDF
central military censor began to monitor blogs, according to a March 25
IDF announcement. According to 2008 International Telecommunication
Union data, there were nine users per 100 Palestinians.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--In the West Bank, the PA did
not place restrictions on academic freedom and cultural events. During
the year Palestinian authorities did not interfere with education;
however, restrictions on movement adversely affected academic
institutions in the West Bank and Gaza and violence affected them in
Gaza (see section 2.b.).
In Gaza, Hamas continued to remove Fatah-affiliated employees from
all sectors, including firing several principals and teachers. On
October 7, Hamas authorities seized control of al-Aqsa University while
the university's president was in the West Bank. Hamas reportedly
collected information about faculty and students at other Gaza-based
universities. In August Hamas authorities ordered female students to
wear conservative Islamic clothing, including a headscarf and long-
sleeved dress. School faculty was ordered to maintain gender
segregation in the workplace.
Israeli authorities continued to prohibit Palestinians from
undergraduate university study in Israel and did not permit students
from Gaza to attend West Bank universities. Israel's High Court of
Justice on December 9 ruled to prohibit Berlanty Azzam, a 22-year-old
Palestinian student at Bethlehem University, from returning to
Bethlehem to complete her studies. According to the Israeli NGO Gisha,
the High Court upheld the government's and the army's decision to
deport Azzam to Gaza, despite failing to provide evidence for their
claims regarding Azzam's status in the West Bank.
According to OCHA, Israeli authorities prevented many Palestinian
cultural events they perceived to be associated with Palestinian
political ambitions. Several times during the year, the Ministry of
Public Security closed the Palestinian National Theater, al-Hakawati,
for lack of proper licenses. The theater and event organizers claimed
the performances did not require a license and that the closures were
intended to reduce Palestinian cultural activity in Jerusalem. Also on
September 11, Israeli police shut down a traditional Muslim holiday
meal at the Seven Arches Hotel in Jerusalem, citing the attendance of
PA officials .
Israeli authorities banned events in Jerusalem related to the Arab
League's designation of Jerusalem as the 2009 ``Capital of Arab
Culture.'' On March 21, Israeli police closed down eight events in
Jerusalem and arrested 20 individuals.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--Palestinian law permits public meetings, processions, and
assemblies within legal limits. It requires permits for rallies,
demonstrations, and large cultural events, but authorities rarely
denied them. The PA prohibited calls for violence, displays of arms,
and racist slogans, although it rarely enforced these provisions.
Following 2007 Fatah-Hamas clashes in Gaza, Hamas banned rallies
and impeded freedom of assembly for Fatah members. In April 2008 Hamas
decreed that any public assembly or celebration in Gaza required prior
permission, in contradiction to the PA Basic Law.
Israeli security forces used force against Palestinians and others
involved in demonstrations, and military orders banned public
gatherings of 10 or more persons without a permit. Since 2005
Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists demonstrated each
week in Bil'in and other Palestinian villages to protest the
construction of the separation barrier. On several occasions, soldiers
tear gassed, beat, or injured demonstrators with rubber bullets.
Israeli forces detained activists, holding some of them without charge
for periods of up to three weeks. In the last six months of the year,
the IDF detained at least 31 residents of Bilin, and in neighboring
Nilin, 91 persons were arrested since mid-2008. In addition, five
members of the Palestinian NGO Bil'in Popular Committee Against the
Wall were arrested late in the year on suspicion of incitement. Among
them, Abdullah Abu Rahma was arrested on December 10 and charged with
illegal possession of weapons based on his possession of spent tear gas
canisters that Israeli forces fired on demonstrators during the weekly
demonstrations.
Freedom of Association.--In the West Bank, the PA law allowed for
freedom of association, but it was sometimes limited in practice.
In July 2008, after an explosion on a Gaza beach, Hamas closed at
least 45 NGO offices. Most of the NGOs were Fatah-affiliated, but a
number were politically independent.
Prominent Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem, such as the
Chamber of Commerce and Orient House, remained closed by Israel on
grounds they operated under PA supervision, in contravention of Oslo
Agreements.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The PA Basic Law states that Islam is the
official religion and that the principles of Islamic law shall be the
main source of legislation, and also calls for freedom of belief,
worship, and performance of religious rites, unless they violate public
order or morality. In PA-administered areas, religion must be declared
on identification documents, and personal status legal matters must be
handled in ecclesiastical courts.
Unlike in previous years in Gaza, there were no reports of
discrimination against residents based on their religion during the
year.
In the West Bank, the PA's Ministry of Religious Endowments and
Religious Affairs (Awqaf) constructed and maintained mosques and paid
salaries of imams. Christian clergymen and charitable organizations
received limited financial support. The PA did not provide financial
support to any Jewish institutions or holy sites in the occupied
territories; these areas were generally under Israeli control. The PA
required that religion be taught in PA schools and provided separate
instruction for Muslims and Christians.
Jerusalem religious courts only handled personal status issues such
as marriage and divorce involving Jerusalem legal residents or Israeli
citizens. In cases of inheritance, custody, and division of property as
a result of a divorce, the parties to a suit have the option of seeking
a judgment from the civil courts.
There were no developments in the 2007 kidnapping and killing in
Gaza of Rami Khader Ayyad, or the arson at a synagogue near the
settlement of Dolev in the West Bank.
Israeli authorities generally respected religious freedom and
permitted all faiths to operate schools and institutions; however,
security-based restrictions and societal abuses and discrimination
contributed to non-Jews' inability to exercise freedom of worship
during the year, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights
organizations.
Security-based access restrictions requiring a permit to enter
Jerusalem prevented many Muslim and a small number of Christian
worshippers from reaching holy sites in the city, especially during
religious holy days. For security reasons, the Israeli government
required West Bank Palestinians to obtain permits to enter Jerusalem, a
policy which, in practice, prevented virtually all West Bank
Palestinians and male Muslim worshippers with Jerusalem identification
cards under a certain age (usually 50) from attending Friday prayers at
the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, the third holiest site in Islam. An
ongoing dispute between the Muslim administrators of the Haram al-
Sharif/Temple Mount over Israeli restrictions on the Muslim
administration's attempts to carry out repairs and physical
improvements on the compound and its mosques remained unresolved at
year's end. Israeli authorities restricted many West Bank and virtually
all Gaza residents from entering Jerusalem during Ramadan. At times,
the Israeli government made efforts to lessen the impact of security
impediments on the religious communities.
Religious workers from Christian organizations in Jerusalem and the
West Bank found it increasingly difficult to obtain or renew visas.
Since 2007 clergy who left the occupied territories and wished to
return to or visit their parishes were required to apply for new,
single-entry visas at Israeli consulates abroad, a process that often
took months and caused some clergy to prefer to remain rather than risk
leaving their congregations without pastoral guidance. Volunteers at
religious institutions in Jerusalem began reporting in July that the
Israeli Ministry of Interior refused to renew their visas, instead
offering them ``receipts'' to indicate that their visas were under
review. At the end of the year, the Ministry of Interior had not
explained the new practice.
As in past years, the shortage of foreign clergy impeded the
functioning of Christian congregations and other religious and
educational institutions.
Many national and municipal policies on residential zoning,
demolitions, and confiscations disproportionately affected non-Jewish
residents. According to the NGO Ir Amim and others, the intent of this
disparity was to limit or diminish the non-Jewish population of the
city. Israel's construction of the separation barrier, particularly in
and around Jerusalem, and strict closure policies severely limited
access to mosques, churches, and other holy sites. The barrier also
inhibited the population's ability to practice their religious rites,
and seriously impeded the work of religious organizations that provided
education, healthcare, and other humanitarian relief and social
services to Palestinians, particularly in and around Jerusalem.
Israeli law also restricted the ability of Israeli Jews to reach
places of worship under Palestinian control. Israeli police escorted
persons to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount in Jerusalem; these
personsreportedly wished to assert the right of Jews to worship at the
site. However, non-Muslims were not permitted to worship at the shrine.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In both the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank, unofficial Palestinian media frequently published and
broadcast material that included anti-Israeli content. Rhetoric by
Palestinian terrorist groups included expressions of anti-Semitism, as
did sermons by some Muslim religious leaders. Some Palestinian
religious leaders rejected the right of Israel to exist. Hamas's al-
Aqsa television station carried shows for preschoolers extolling hatred
of Jews and suicide bombings.
Israeli settler radio stations broadcasting from the West Bank
often depicted Arabs as subhuman and called for expulsion of
Palestinians from the West Bank. Some of this rhetoric contained
religious references.
The PA Ministry of Education and Higher Education completed the
revision of its primary and secondary textbooks in 2006. International
academics concluded the textbooks did not incite violence against Jews,
but showed imbalance, bias, and inaccuracy. Some maps in Palestinian
textbooks did not depict the current political reality, showing neither
Israel nor the settlements. Palestinian textbooks, used in Palestinian
schools, as well as in Jerusalem municipality-administered schools in
East Jerusalem, inconsistently defined the 1967 borders and failed to
label areas and cities with both Arabic and Hebrew names.
Israeli police arrested five settlers on suspicion of having
committed arson at a mosque in the West Bank village of Yasuf on
December 11, and questioned several others. The investigation continued
at the end of the year, although no suspects remained in custody.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state/g/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The Basic Law provides for freedom of
movement, and the PA generally did not restrict freedom of movement.
The IDF restricted the movement of Palestinians and heightened
these restrictions at times, citing military necessity. Barriers to
movement affected virtually all aspects of life, including access to
places of worship, employment, agricultural lands, schools, hospitals,
and the conduct of journalism and NGO activities. During the year the
IDF relaxed restrictions at several checkpoints that had posed
significant barriers to movement.
During the year the Israeli government continued to ease
restrictions on movement and access within the West Bank, resulting in
an increase of freedom of movement for Palestinians between West Bank
urban centers. However, there has not been a significant improvement in
access to land and resources in Area C, areas where Israel had full
civil and security control, or to areas affected by construction of the
separation barrier.
According to OCHA there were 578 obstacles to movement inside the
West Bank (excluding crossing points located along the 1967 border, but
including 69 fully manned checkpoints, 21 occasionally manned
checkpoints, and 488 ``unstaffed obstacles,'' including earth mounds,
cement roadblocks, road gates, earthen walls, trenches, and road
protection fences, as of November. During the year, of the 71 gates or
checkpoints along the separation barrier, 40 were accessible only to
Palestinians with permits. Operating hours of the accessible gates were
limited and erratic, although announced. Palestinians saw closures as
erratic and harmful to reaching workplaces, schools, places of worship,
and health services. For example, during the last six months of the
year, the IDF removed two staffed checkpoints that controlled access
into Qalqiliya and Nablus. The IDF also reduced staffing at four
checkpoints that control access into Ramallah, Jericho, Qalqiliya, and
Salfit. Crossing procedures were relaxed at some checkpoints to the
east of the separation barrier, lifting permit requirements, extending
operating hours, and performing fewer searches and random checks on
documentation. OCHA reported that the IDF removed 46 earth mounds and
roadblocks that had prevented vehicular access to main routes from
various communities, mostly in the southern West Bank.
Between January and October, OCHA recorded 3,078 ``temporary''
checkpoints in the West Bank, a weekly average of 76.2, due to arrests
or other operations.
On March 11, the Israeli High Court barred human rights defender
Shawan Jabarin, director of Al-Haq, a Palestinian Human Rights NGO,
from traveling outside the West Bank without holding a hearing. Based
on evidence that Jabarin and his lawyer were not allowed to see, the
court refused to lift a travel ban imposed on him by military order in
2006.
The Israeli government continued construction of a separation
barrier along parts of the Green Line (the 1949 Armistice line) and in
the West Bank, albeit at a slower pace than in earlier years. According
to OCHA, approximately 58 percent of the 709-kilometre-long (441 mile-
long) barrier was complete at year's end. When completed, approximately
85 percent of the route will run inside the West Bank and in Jerusalem.
The route of the barrier will separate approximately 9.5 percent of the
West Bank, totaling 135,000 acres, including parts of Jerusalem, from
the remainder of the West Bank. Areas near the barrier or its projected
route are designated military zones where Palestinians were not able to
obtain building permits.
A 2004 International Court of Justice advisory opinion concluded
that construction of the barrier was in a number of aspects contrary to
international law. Israeli government policy was to build the barrier
on public lands where possible, and where private land was used,
provide opportunities for compensation. On September 9, the Supreme
Court ordered the state to dismantle and reroute sections of the
separation barrier near the villages of Far'un, Khirbet Jabara, al-Ras,
Sur, Jayyus, and Falamiah, effectively returning an estimated 1,500
acres of land to the Palestinian side of the barrier. ACRI, an Israeli
NGO that submitted the petition, reported that the court ruled that
serious flaws marred Israel's determination of the barrier's route.
According to ACRI, instead of the stated goal of defending security
concerns, the barrier often followed the interests of expanding
settlements and yet-to-be-built neighborhoods near Jerusalem.
By the end of the year, work was ongoing to implement a 2006 high
court ruling to change the route of the barrier near al-Nabi Elias
village. The government had not begun work to implement court rulings
from 2005 and 2007 to reroute the barrier near Alfe Menashe settlement
and Bil'in village.
Palestinians filed a number of cases with the High Court
challenging the route of the barrier, several of which remained active
at year's end. In November the Jaba'a village council filed a petition
to the High Court demanding the removal of the security barrier
constructed near their land, claiming that it has prevented villagers
from working their land for years. According to the petitioners, the
fence annexed a significant portion of land into Neve Ya'akov
settlement.
During the year thousands of Palestinian schoolchildren who resided
on the eastern side of the barrier had to cross gated checkpoints to
attend school in Jerusalem. For example, students from Bir Nabala,
which is surrounded by the barrier, were prohibited from crossing near
their homes; instead, they were forced to take hour-long detours of
seven to 10 miles to pass through the Rafat/Masyion and Qalandiya
checkpoints to reach school.
In December the High Court ruled that barring Palestinians from
using Highway 443, which crosses the West Bank southwest of Ramallah
near Jerusalem, was disproportionate to security needs and ordered the
IDF to find suitable alternative security arrangements within five
months. Since 2006 a military order has prohibited nearly all
Palestinians from using Highway 443. Human rights organizations said
that land for Highway 443 had originally been expropriated to improve
transportation for Palestinians between Ramallah and outlying villages,
but that the road was eventually closed to Palestinians based on
security justifications. At year's end no decisions had been publicized
on how and when Highway 443 would open to Palestinians.
Palestinians residing in the closed area (the ``seam zone'')
between the barrier and the Green Line numbered approximately 50,000
and required IDF permanent resident permits to live in their homes.
In the northern West Bank, a military order closed the seam zone in
2003. Those living in the seam zone faced restricted access to health
and education services and were cut off from family and social networks
which were located on the West Bank.
UN agencies reported difficulty accessing seam zone communities in
the northwestern West Bank, particularly Barta'a al-Sharqiya in the
Jenin Governorate. Private security companies employed by the Israeli
government controlled points of access through the barrier, and
international organizations and local human rights groups claimed these
companies did not respond to requests to move goods and officials
through the barrier. UN agencies have been unable to directly access
this area since late 2007 due to excessive demands for searches of UN
officials based on their nationality.
The barrier also affected a number of farmers whose land and water
resources were located between the barrier and the Green Line. Since
2003 Palestinians in the northern West Bank require visitor permits to
reach and cultivate their land in the closed area. Access is channeled
through particular gates designated on the permit. Restricted
allocation of these permits and the limited number and opening times of
the gates have severely curtailed agricultural practice and undermined
rural livelihoods, including for farmers from the Palestinian villages
of Biddu and Beit Ijza. Lack of access resulted in a significant
deterioration in harvest quality and quantity, adversely affecting the
livelihoods of the farmers concerned.
Israeli authorities frequently prohibited travel between some or
all West Bank towns. Such ``internal closures'' were supplemented,
during periods of potential unrest and during major Israeli, Jewish,
and Muslim holidays, by ``comprehensive, external closures,'' which
precluded Palestinians from leaving the West Bank. The IDF imposed
temporary curfews confining Palestinians to their homes during arrest
operations.
Since 2007 Israel has enforced a strict blockade of Gaza, seriously
impeding persons and goods from entering or leaving. Following
hostilities in Gaza in January, Israel severely tightened restrictions
at crossings into the Gaza Strip. International and Israeli human
rights organizations described this action as ``collective punishment''
of the residents of Gaza, as it restricts access to basic goods and
restricts civilians desiring to go abroad temporarily or change their
place of residence permanently.
Following its December 2008-January 2009 combat operations in the
Gaza Strip, Israel enforced a near-total blockade on the entrance of
reconstruction materials to repair damaged homes, schools, and civilian
infrastructure. A limited supply of fuel and spare parts to fix and
maintain the electrical system were allowed into Gaza, including
industrial diesel for Gaza's only power plant and cooking gas. By
November only one-third of needed cooking fuel was entering Gaza. The
sewage and water systems were also frequently inoperable due to lack of
spare parts and fuel, and ensuing power outages. The IDF prevented
demining teams from bringing in explosives to destroy unexploded
ordnance into Gaza. In the last quarter of the year, the IDF allowed
more materials into Gaza. For example, in late December the IDF
announced that 100 truckloads of window glass would be permitted entry
to Gaza for the commercial market. The IDF also allowed cement to be
brought in.
In response to Qassam rocket fire, the IDF announced in 2005 that
Palestinians should keep a distance of 140 meters (450 feet)from the
Gaza perimeter fence and declared the former northern settlement block
a ``no-go'' zone. Entry into this area for the 250 Palestinian
residents requires prior coordination with the IDF. Although the
official buffer remained 140 meters, Palestinians were in some
instances prevented from approaching areas as far as one kilometer
(0.62 mile) from the fence. According to OCHA, due to continuing IDF
military activities, Palestinian farmers have been unable to reach
their fields in the former northern settlement block since 2007.
According to the ICRC, at least 30 percent of the arable land in Gaza
lies within this buffer zone, which can extend up to one kilometer from
the fence. Locals reported that farmers fear to work in this area.
Gazans' access to Israel and Egypt for medical treatment remained
highly restricted, although Israel did allow thousands of medical cases
to be treated in its hospitals during the year. IDF soldiers at
checkpoints sometimes subjected Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS)
ambulances from the West Bank to delays or refused entry to Jerusalem.
Patients were moved across checkpoints from one ambulance to another.
The PRCS reported 440 incidents of delay or denial of access by the IDF
in the West Bank from January to September. The MOJ stated that reports
of physical or verbal attacks against PRCS employees were investigated.
PRCS employees reported being objects of verbal or physical abuse on 30
occasions through October.
Palestinians not resident in the Jordan Valley generally were
unable to drive on the main north-south route, Highway 90. They have
been prohibited from driving across the four main access points since
2007, after the killing of two Israeli policemen, but can travel by
public transportation, in cars belonging to residents, or in cars that
receive specific permission.
West Bank and Gaza residents can enter Jerusalem only with an
Israeli-issued travel permit. During the year Israeli authorities
prohibited passage between Gaza and the West Bank, except for a very
limited number of Palestinians holding Israeli permits. During the
month of Ramadan, only Palestinian men over 50 and women over 45 were
permitted to enter Jerusalem without a permit. Palestinians under the
age limit were required to seek a permit.
During the year students were allowed to leave Gaza only when
escorted by foreign diplomats or contractors of the country accepting
them for study. From January to October, Gisha, the Israeli NGO Legal
Center for Freedom of Movement, estimated that western diplomats have
escorted a few hundred students from Gaza through Israel and the West
Bank to Jordan, whence they traveled to third countries to study. Egypt
also began allowing students to travel through Rafah Crossing. From
January to October, Gisha estimated that 895 students traveled out of
1,896 who registered to do so. A handful of students from Gaza accepted
for university study abroad were prevented from traveling to Jerusalem
to apply for visas and were therefore prevented from leaving for
further education abroad.
The IDF since 2000 has banned Gazan students from studying in the
West Bank or Israel, and limited West Bank Palestinians from university
study in East Jerusalem and Israel (see section 2.a.).
The PA issued passports for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Because there were no commercial flights from the occupied territories
and permits to use Ben Gurion airport were not available, travelers
departed by land to Jordan or Egypt. Foreign citizens of Palestinian
ethnicity had difficulty obtaining or renewing visas permitting them to
enter Israel from either Ben Gurion airport or land entry points.
Palestinians with Jerusalem identification cards issued by the
Israeli government needed special documents to travel abroad. Upon the
individual request of Palestinians, the Jordanian government issued
them passports.
In 2000 Israel stopped updating changes in address for Palestinians
who moved from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. As a result, thousands
of Palestinians, originally from Gaza but living in the West Bank for
many years, continued to hold ID cards with home addresses in Gaza.
Israel has taken the position that Palestinian residents with home
addresses registered in the Gaza Strip are forbidden to be in the West
Bank without special permits, which it began issuing under exceptional
circumstances in 2007. Israel has declared those who do not hold a
permit are subject to arrest for illegal presence in the West Bank, and
during the year arrested and forcibly transferred some of them to Gaza.
In March, in response to court petitions submitted by the HaMoked
to the Supreme Court on behalf of Palestinians who had been prohibited
from relocating to the West Bank, the government announced a new
procedure, setting stringent conditions for those wishing to change
their registered address from Gaza to the West Bank. Criteria include
that the applicant be an orphan, invalid, or elderly person with no
remaining family members in Gaza to care for them. As of October
thousands of Palestinians living in the West Bank whose registered
addresses were in Gaza remained in danger of being forcibly expelled to
Gaza, and hundreds of families living in the two areas remained
divided.
Residency restrictions affected family reunification. Israeli
authorities did not permit Palestinians who were abroad during the 1967
War, or whose residence permits the government subsequently withdrew,
to reside permanently in the occupied territories. It was difficult for
foreign-born spouses and children of Palestinians to obtain residency.
Palestinian spouses of Jerusalem residents must obtain a residency
permit and reported delays of several years in obtaining them.
Palestinians in Jerusalem also reported delays in registering newborn
children. In September 2007 the Israeli High Court ordered
reconsideration of the freeze on family unification in the West Bank.
There were no further developments or response by the government by
year's end.
The Basic Law prohibits forced exile, and the PA under President
Abbas did not use forced exile. In practice Israeli revocations of
Jerusalem identification cards amounted to forced exile and have
continued in recent years. According to HaMokedin 2008 the Ministry of
the Interior revoked the Israeli residency status of 4,577 residents of
East Jerusalem, including 99 minors. The number of cases of revocation
of residency in 2008 alone is equal to approximately one half the total
number of cases of residency revocation between 1967 and 2007. Reasons
for revocation include having acquired residency or citizenship in a
third country, living abroad for more than seven years, or, most
commonly, being unable to prove a ``center of life'' in Jerusalem.
The Displacement Working Group chaired by OCHA estimated during the
year that at least 619 persons were displaced as a result of 108
residential structure demolitions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Internal displacement in the West Bank was primarily the result of
actions by the government, including home demolitions, land
expropriation, and revocation of Jerusalem residency rights.
Planning in the West Bank also left Palestinian homes vulnerable to
demolition, particularly in Area C where Israel had full civil and
security control. On January 26, ACRI and the Israeli NGO Rabbis for
Human Rights submitted a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice
on behalf of the Palestinian residents of Khirbet Tana, defending
against a government decision which allowed the state to destroy all of
the village's houses but one. At year's end, the IDF had not
implemented orders to demolish most of the structures in Aqaba village,
another Area C village without a town plan.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Internal displacement in Gaza
was significant, resulting from damage to housing and flight from
conflict areas during combat operations in December 2008-January 2009.
During that period, UNRWA provided direct protection to civilians
through the provision of emergency shelter for approximately 50,000
displaced persons in UNRWA facilities, and distributed food and nonfood
relief items and first aid care to the wounded. Throughout the year,
UNRWA continued to provide financial assistance to approximately 17,000
refugee families whose homes were destroyed or damaged, as well as its
continued food assistance to 750,000 refugees. UNRWA continued to
provide psychological support and counseling, including to children
traumatized by the conflict, through its community mental health
program.
The PA provided some assistance to those displaced through rental
subsidies and financial assistance to reconstruct demolished houses.
International response and assistance to those affected by the Gaza
conflict improved significantly during the course of the year under the
direction of OCHA and with coordination from UNRWA and the ICRC.
During the year neither Israel nor the PA forcibly returned IDPs to
their original residences under dangerous conditions.
According to UNRWA, the Israeli government obstructed IDP access to
UNRWA-provided humanitarian assistance in refugee communities in Gaza
and parts of the West Bank. UNRWA's mandate is to provide education,
health care, relief, and social services to registered Palestinian
refugees, who comprise 70 percent (1.1 million) of Gaza's population
and 30 percent (770,000) of the West Bank's population. From January to
September, UNRWA recorded 465 incidents in which Israeli security
forces completely blocked access. In addition to reported incidents,
lengthy detours to reach affected areas were necessary to overcome
Israeli obstacles.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government Elections and Political Participation
In 2006 the 132-member Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) was
elected in a process under the Basic Law that international observers
concluded generally met democratic standards in providing citizens the
right to peacefully change their government. Hamas-backed candidates
participated in the 2006 PLC elections under the name ``Reform and
Change Movement,'' rather than ``Hamas,'' and won 74 of 132 seats.
Fatah won 45 seats; independents and candidates from third parties won
the remaining seats. The PLC lacked a quorum and did not meet during
the year (see section 1.d.).
In 2005 Palestinians elected Mahmud Abbas as PA president. Seven
candidates competed in a vigorous election campaign. In both the 2005
presidential election and the PLC election, the Israeli government and
the PA followed mutually agreed guidelines for Palestinians residing in
Jerusalem to vote, but not all Palestinians were allowed to vote in
East Jerusalem, and those who could were required to do so via the Post
Office, complicating their efforts to vote.
During the year there were 17 women in the 132-member PLC (which
was not called into session) and three women in the 16-member cabinet.
There were seven Christians in the PLC and two in the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
Palestinian law provides criminal penalties for official
corruption.
In Gaza local observers and NGOs alleged instances of Hamas
complicity in corrupt practices, including involvement by the Hamas
Executive Force.
Greater transparency existed in the West Bank, where PA ministers
were subject to financial disclosure laws, and the PA attorney
general's office had official responsibility for combating government
corruption.
PA law requires official PA institutions to ``facilitate''
acquisition of requested documents or information by any Palestinian,
but it does not require PA agencies to provide such information.
Reasons for denial generally referred to privacy rights and security
necessity.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Palestinian human rights groups and several international
organizations generally operated without PA restriction, and officials
cooperated with their efforts to monitor the PA's human rights
practices. According to the PA Ministry of Interior, approximately
4,700 NGOs are registered and 1,700 were active in the West Bank at the
end of the year.
PA officials usually cooperated with and permitted visits by UN
representatives or other organizations such as the ICRC. Several PA
security agencies, including the General Intelligence Service and the
Civil Police, appointed official liaisons with human rights groups.
The quasi-governmental ICHR serves as the PA's ombudsman and human
rights commission. The ICHR issued monthly and annual reports on human
rights violations within Palestinian-controlled areas. ICHR also issued
formal recommendations to the PA, including a public letter in December
calling on the PA to reconsider the use of the death penalty. PA
security forces in the West Bank entered UNRWA facilities four times.
In Gaza, Hamas authorities increasingly required international and
local aid organizations providing emergency assistance to coordinate
relief efforts with the Hamas-controlled ``Ministry of Social
Affairs.'' Several Gaza-based NGOs reported that Hamas prevented aid
groups from distributing assistance after they refused to comply with
Hamas regulations. Gaza-based NGOs reported that Hamas representatives
appeared at their offices to ensure compliance and summoned NGO
representatives to police stations for questioning. In December the
Hamas-controlled ``Ministry of National Economy'' in Gaza confiscated
several shipments of aid entering Gaza, although in most cases Hamas
authorities returned the shipments to the distributing organization
within days.
On December 16, Hamas authorities detained an international NGO
staff member for six hours. In the last few months of the year, Hamas
authorities began harassing Mercy Corps' Gaza office about the status
of Mercy Corps programs. On June 17, Hamas authorities took direct
control of the Patients' Friends Benevolent Society. Gaza-based
contacts reported that Hamas has effectively taken control of
approximately two dozen Gaza-based development and civil society
organizations.
Israeli, Palestinian, and international NGOs monitored the Israeli
government's practices in the Occupied Territories and published their
findings, although restrictions on freedom of movement in the West
Bank, fighting, and access restrictions in Gaza made it difficult to
carry out their work. The Israeli government permitted some human
rights groups to publish and hold press conferences and provided the
ICRC with access to most detainees.
PA security forces in the West Bank entered UNRWA facilities four
times. Palestinian militants entered UNRWA installations on three
occasions in Gaza from January to June. The IDF entered UNRWA
facilities seven times between January and October, usually in the
course of arrest operations in the West Bank. The Israeli MOJ stated
any interference in UN facilities was based on an examination by
appropriate authorities. UNRWA recorded multiple incidents during the
year of IDF soldiers at checkpoints harassing or pointing weapons at UN
staff.
Israeli forces damaged a number of UNRWA facilities during
hostilities in December-January in the Gaza Strip. Three installations
suffered direct hits from Israeli ordnance causing death or injury to
those in the installations, and two installations were struck by debris
or the effect of Israeli ordnance landing adjacent to the installation,
killing six persons and injuring 35. On January 5, an IDF aerial strike
killed three men who had sought shelter at the Asma Elementary Co-Ed A
School. On January 6, eight persons were injured when mortar rounds
struck near the Jabalia Preparatory Boys C School, which was in use as
a temporary emergency shelter. On January 15, artillery struck the
UNRWA Gaza Training Centre and Field Office compound, injuring one
staff member and two men who had sought shelter in the compound, and
causing a fire that destroyed the warehouse containing food, medicine,
and other supplies. On January 17, IDF ordnance struck the Beit Lahia
Elementary School while the school was being used as an emergency
shelter, killing two young boys and injuring 13 persons. During the
period from January 1 to January 19, a further 23 UNRWA installations
suffered property damage from Israeli strikes on or near the UN
installations.
In September the IDF Gaza District Coordination Office informed
three Israeli human rights organizations that petitions for
Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip would only be accepted from the PA
Civil Affairs Commission, the official PA body responsible for
coordination with Israel on civilian issues. Israeli human rights
organizations characterized this action as an attempt to impede the
activities of human rights organizations and registered their protest
with the Israeli government and military authorities, citing the right
of Palestinians to choose an advocate to represent their interests.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Women.--Rape is illegal under PA law, but the legal definition does
not address spousal rape. PA law does not explicitly prohibit domestic
violence, but assault and battery are crimes. According to HRW, few
cases were successfully prosecuted. According to the Palestinian
Central Bureau of Statistics, violence against wives, especially
psychological violence, was common in the West Bank and Gaza. A woman
must provide two eyewitnesses (who are not relatives) to initiate
divorce on the grounds of spousal abuse.
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), conditions in Gaza
were associated with increased levels of violence against women. In
2007 two in five women in Gaza reported being victims of violence, up
from one in five in 2006. There were a handful of NGO-funded women's
shelters in the West Bank; there were no shelters in Gaza. Women
generally approached village or religious leaders for assistance. ICHR
reported nine ``honor'' killings in the Palestinian territories during
the year.
Prostitution is illegal and it was not openly practiced. A December
report by the Palestinian organization SAWA (All Women Together Today
and Tomorrow) based on interviews conducted in 2008 claimed that a
small number of Palestinian women were forced into prostitution. SAWA
said they found no evidence of an organized human trafficking network;
rather, they found small, private initiatives by Palestinians.
The law provides for equality of the sexes, but personal status law
and traditional practices discriminate against women. Palestinian labor
law states that work is the right of every capable citizen and
regulates the work of women. However, during the year the rate of
female participation in the workforce did not exceed 14 percent
compared to 67 percent for males in the West Bank. Women endured
prejudice and, in some cases, repressive conditions. Cultural
restrictions associated with marriage occasionally prevented women from
completing mandatory schooling or attending college. Families often
disowned Muslim and Christian women who married outside their faith.
Local officials sometimes advised such women to leave their communities
to prevent harassment.
For Muslims in the West Bank and Gaza, personal status law is
derived from Shari'a (Islamic law), as set out in the governing 1976
Jordanian Status Law, which includes inheritance and marriage laws.
Women can inherit but not equally. Men may take more than one wife but
rarely do in urban areas (the practice is more common in small
villages). Women may add conditions to marriage contracts to protect
their interests in divorce and child custody but rarely did so.
Children often stayed with the mother; according to local practice, men
were considered responsible for paying child support and alimony.
Ecclesiastical courts rule on personal status issues for Christians.
Couples and individuals in the West Bank and East Jerusalem had
access to contraception, although there were unmet resource needs with
regard to information and means regarding timing and spacing of
children. Among married women of reproductive age in Gaza and the West
Bank, 28 percent of births occurred in less than an 18-month interval
following a previous birth. The most recent data available, gathered by
the Palestine Demographic Health Service in 2004, estimated that
approximately one-third of Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip and West
Bank used contraception. High workload, poor compensation, and resource
shortages continued to affect skilled attendance during labor and
postpartum care (much of which was provided by midwives) in the
Occupied Territories. While both governmental authorities and community
and international NGOs operated HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and
screening programs, limited information was available about the gender
breakdown of these efforts.
Children.--Israel registers births of Palestinians in Jerusalem.
The PA registers Palestinians born in the West Bank and Gaza, and
Israel requires that the PA pass this information to the Israeli Civil
Administration. As the PA does not constitute a state, the PA does not
determine ``citizenship'' alone. Children of Palestinian parents can
receive a Palestinian ID (issued by the Israeli Civil Administration)
if they are born in the occupied territories to a father who holds a
Palestinian ID. The PA Ministry of the Interior and the Israeli Civil
Administration both play a role in determining a person's eligibility.
Education in Palestinian-controlled areas is compulsory from age
six through the ninth grade. Education is available to all Palestinians
without cost through high school.
Statutory rape is considered a felony by the PA, based on the
Jordanian penal code of 1960, which also outlaws adultery and all forms
of pornography. The minimum age for consensual sex is 18. Palestinian
judges reportedly issued harsher sentences to persons involved in
pornography if the images included children. Punishment generally
consists of prison time, which can last up to seven years.
Child abuse was reported to be a widespread problem. A 2006 HRW
study cited a Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics survey
indicating high levels of domestic violence, aggravated during times of
political violence. There were no updated statistics during the year.
The Basic Law prohibits violence against children; however, PA
authorities rarely punished perpetrators of familial violence.
International and domestic NGOs promoted educational, medical, and
cultural services for children in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and East
Jerusalem, and other groups specialized in the needs of children with
disabilities.
OCHA reported that between January 1 and October, eight Palestinian
minors were killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. An armed
settler killed one minor and unexploded ordnance killed another. A
total of 119 children were injured in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Of this number, 64 injuries were due to settler violence. According to
the IDF, 89 children under the age of 16 were killed in Gaza. B'Tselem
reported that 318 of the 762 civilian fatalities were minors under age
18.
Trafficking in Persons.--Palestinian law does not specifically
prohibit trafficking in persons, and there were no reports that persons
were trafficked to, from, or within the occupied territories.
Persons With Disabilities.--The Basic Law states all Palestinians
are equal. There is no reference to discrimination or disability.
Access to public facilities was not mandated. There was societal
discrimination against Palestinians with disabilities.
Poor quality care for Palestinians with disabilities continued to
pose problems. The PA depended on NGOs to care for those with physical
disabilities and offered substandard care for mental disabilities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityPalestinian law, based on the
Jordanian Penal Code of 1960, prohibits homosexual activity, although
in practice the PA did not prosecute individuals suspected of
homosexuality. Cultural and religious traditions reject homosexuality,
and Palestinians alleged that PA security officers and neighbors
harassed, abused, and sometimes arrested homosexuals because of their
sexual orientation. Israeli press reported that an unidentified
homosexual Palestinian male from the West Bank petitioned the State of
Israel for protection, due to fear that his community would reject and
possibly harm him. Israeli courts were reviewing the case at the end of
the year.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The PA Ministry of
Health provided treatment and privacy protections for patients with
HIV/AIDS; however, societal discrimination against affected individuals
was high.
The High Court on August 6 ruled that an ultra-orthodox school in
the West Bank settlement of Emmanuel must stop separating students
based on their ethnicity and remove all signs of discrimination. Since
2007 the school had separated students of different ethnic backgrounds
and required them to wear different uniforms.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law permits workers to form and
join independent unions of their choice, and this was respected in
practice. Labor unions in Gaza continued to operate despite a severely
weakened economy. However, Hamas in many cases replaced Fatah-
affiliated union leaders with Hamas members or sympathizers, and during
the year a number of non-Hamas-affiliated labor union activists were
detained by Hamas.
The two most active unions were the General Union for Palestinian
Workers and the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU).
The PGFTU was a member of the International Trade Union Confederation.
Both were registered with the PA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Workers in Jerusalem may establish unions but may not join West
Bank federations. Despite this, the West Bank-based PA Employees' Union
and Teachers' Union counted East Jerusalem members among their ranks,
and Israeli authorities rarely took steps to enforce this restriction
unless high-profile events or senior PA officials were involved.
Workers holding Jerusalem identity cards may belong to the Israeli
General Federation of Labor (Histadrut), although they may not vote in
Histadrut elections.
PA law provides for the right to strike. In practice, however,
strikers had little protection from retribution. Prospective strikers
must provide written warning two weeks in advance of the basis for the
strike (four weeks in the case of public utilities), accept Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) arbitration, and are subject to
disciplinary action if they reject the result. If MOLSA cannot resolve
a dispute, it can be referred to a special committee and eventually to
a court. Accordingly, in practice the right to strike remained
questionable.
PA employees organized fewer strikes than in the previous year, in
large part because the PA had been able to pay salaries during the past
year in the West Bank. In general PA employees staged strikes over
nonpayment of wages or to demand payment of arrears. There were no
reports of private sector strikes during the year.
Individual offices within the PA ministries in Gaza conducted
strikes and work stoppages against Hamas-led public offices in Gaza
throughout the year. Public sector health care workers and teachers
held extended strikes against Hamas for reported discrimination against
non-Hamas-affiliated PA employees. At year's end these types of strikes
continued in Gaza with reduced rates of participation compared to
earlier strikes.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
protects collective bargaining, and this has been enforced in certain
cases. However, there were reports that PA enforcement of collective
bargaining rights for unions serving other than PA employees was
limited in recent years. Collective bargaining agreements covered 20
percent of workers. Antiunion discrimination and employer interference
in union functions are illegal, and the government enforced these
prohibitions. Most unions in the West Bank and Gaza served PA
employees, and negotiations on labor issues occurred between union
leadership and the prime minister's office. Trade unions of non-PA
employees have had good relations with the PA and have received PA
permission to operate and negotiate on PA contracts. According to the
NGO United Civilians for Peace, Palestinians working in West Bank
settlements reported hostile responses to their efforts to organize
unions.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law states that
work is a right and that the PA will strive to provide it to any
capable individual. MOLSA interpreted this statement to prohibit forced
and compulsory labor, including by children. PA labor law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age of Employment.--
Children under the age of 15 are not permitted to work in PA-
administered areas, and this prohibition is enforced through PA
Ministry of Labor factory visits and inspections. Hiring of children
aged 15-18 for limited types of employment is permitted under set
conditions, including limited hours and a prohibition on operating
certain types of machines and equipment. The law states that children
shall not be allowed to perform work that might damage their safety,
health, or education, and prohibits working at night, hard labor, and
travel beyond their domicile. However, many underage children worked on
family farms and in shops, as street vendors, or in small enterprises.
The UN estimated that hundreds of children were forced to find work,
particularly in Gaza, as the declining economy made it difficult for
families to find adequate resources.
The PA had eight child labor inspectors for the West Bank.
Information on respect for child labor laws in Gaza was not available
at the end of the year. MOLSA stated that Palestinian children working
in Israeli settlements faced security problems, exploitation, and
harassment since there was no enforceable law to monitor and protect
child laborers, and there were no Israeli inspectors in West Bank
settlements and industrial zones. The Israeli MOJ stated that permits
for Palestinians to work in Israeli settlements are not issued to
residents of the West Bank who are younger than 18, except in the
Jordan Valley, where work permits may be issued to persons age 16 and
above.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no minimum wage in
Palestinian-controlled areas. Prior to 2000, average wages for full-
time workers provided a decent living standard; however, living
standards dropped significantly over the past nine years due to
increases in cost of living that outpaced salary increases. Average
wages in the occupied territories were approximately$1,100 per month.
The NGO United Civilians for Peace and the Israeli NGO Kav laOved
reported that the Israeli minimum wage was generally the highest wage
paid to Palestinians working in settlements, and that they complained
of receiving much lower wages than Israelis working in the same areas.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the
unemployment rate in the third quarter of the year was 36 percent in
Gaza and 17 percent in the West Bank. In September the World Bank
reported that two-thirds of Palestinians lived below the official
poverty line and were unable to support themselves and their families
without international assistance. In October OCHA reported that 88
percent of the Gaza population lived in poverty and depended on
international assistance.
MOLSA reported that most employees work at least 50 hours each
week; the maximum official work week is 48 hours. There were reports
that PA employees were pressured to work additional hours to be
promoted. Employers are required to allow Christians to attend church
on Sunday if the employee desires. Some employers offered Christians
the option of taking Sunday off, rather than Friday.
Palestinians reported that they continued to receive wages lower
than the Israeli minimum wage, despite a 2007 high court ruling that
Israeli labor laws apply to relations between Palestinian workers and
Israeli employers in settlements in the occupied territories. The
ruling granted Palestinian workers the same rights and benefits as
workers in Israel. However, several cases brought by Palestinians
against Israeli employers who offered less than the minimum wage were
still pending in Israeli courts. The Municipality of Ma'ale Adumim
applied a 1965 Jordanian labor law to Palestinian employees, which
denied them some social benefits that are part of Israeli labor law,
such as rehabilitation pay, pensions, travel expenses, and education
funding.
MOLSA was responsible for safety standards, but its enforcement
ability was limited. The ministry stated new factories and workplaces
met international health and safety standards, but older ones did not.
Employees of small construction and service firms were at greatest risk
for work place injuries, according to union officials. Unions
complained that the PA did not effectively monitor smaller worksites
which were at times below legal standards for safety. Palestinians who
work in Israel must contribute to the National Insurance Institute and
are eligible for limited benefits.
__________
JORDAN
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy ruled
by King Abdullah II bin Hussein. It has a population of approximately
six million. The constitution concentrates executive and legislative
authority in the king. The multiparty parliament consists of the 55-
member House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan), appointed by the king, and a
110-member elected lower house, the Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-
Nuwwab). The 2007 Chamber of Deputies and municipal elections by and
large went smoothly; however, local observers alleged some
irregularities. Authorities effectively controlled the security forces,
but there were some instances in which domestic and international
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) accused members of the police and
security forces of using unnecessary force and committing human rights
abuses.
The government respected human rights in some areas, but its
overall record continued to reflect problems. The government restricted
citizens' right to change their government, and the electoral law led
to significant underrepresentation of urban areas and citizens of
Palestinian origin in the Chamber of Deputies. Domestic and
international NGOs reported cases of arbitrary deprivation of life,
torture, poor prison conditions, impunity, arbitrary arrest and denial
of due process through administrative detention, prolonged detention,
and external interference in judicial decisions. Citizens continued to
describe infringements on their privacy rights. Restrictive legislation
and regulations limited freedom of speech and press, and government
interference in the media and threats of fines and detention led to
self-censorship, according to journalists and human rights
organizations. The government also continued to restrict freedoms of
assembly and association. Religious activists and opposition political
party members reported a decline in government harassment; however,
legal and societal discrimination remained a problem for women,
religious minorities, converts from Islam, and some persons of
Palestinian origin. Local human rights organizations reported
widespread violence against women and children. The government
restricted labor rights, and local and international human rights
organizations reported high levels of abuse of foreign domestic
workers.
On March 31, a new trafficking-in-persons law came into effect,
followed on August 25 by new domestic worker regulations; the
government used both during the year to investigate and prosecute a
limited number of trafficking-in-persons cases. On July 28, the
judiciary established a special honor crime tribunal that subsequently
sentenced two perpetrators to 15 year murder sentences in both cases
tried before the court. These were the first honor killing cases in
which the judge did not significantly reduce the sentence due to claims
of mitigating circumstances.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
during the year that the government or its agents committed unlawful
killings.
On November 8, Saddam Al Saoud died of injuries allegedly sustained
in police custody at the Al Hussein Police Station. On October 17,
police arrested Al Saoud during a fight between street vendors in
Amman. On October 18, authorities transferred an unconscious Al Saoud
to a private hospital. Al Saoud's family said police caused Al Saoud's
injuries when they hit him on the head with a gun. The Public Security
Department (PSD) investigated the case, arrested six police officers,
and charged them with two felonies: death caused by hitting and abuse
of PSD regulations. At year's end cases against the officers were
ongoing.
On November 14, Fakhri Kreishan died of injuries sustained during
an altercation with police two days earlier in the southern city of
Ma'an. A police officer reportedly hit Kreishan in the head with a
baton as he prevented the arrest of a fugitive wanted for theft by
worthless check who had taken refuge in his house. Police prosecutors
investigated the case, arrested the police officer, and charged him
with two felonies: death caused by hitting and abuse of PSD
regulations. At year's end the case before the police court was
ongoing.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, international
NGOs continued to allege that torture and mistreatment in police and
security detention centers remained widespread. Nevertheless, some
domestic NGOs claimed that recent reform efforts had reduced cases of
torture and mistreatment in police and security detention centers.
Article 208 of the penal code prohibits torture by public
officials, including psychological harm, and provides penalties of as
long as three years' imprisonment for the use of torture, with hard
labor if serious injury occurs. The PSD interpreted hard labor to mean
a three- to 15-year sentence. Human rights lawyers found the law
ambiguous and supported amendments to better define ``torture'' and
strengthen sentencing guidelines. During the year there were no
prosecutions for torture under this article.
Local and international NGOs criticized the use of special police
prosecutors and courts to try PSD personnel accused of torture and
police misconduct. As part of the reform process, the government gave
civilian prosecutors authority to assist in investigation of torture
allegations, although such cases were tried in a police court.
The February 9 report by the National Center for Human Rights'
(NCHR) on prison conditions cited a decrease in the number of
complaints of torture and mistreatment in the country's correctional
and rehabilitation centers (CRCs). The NCHR reported nine complaints in
2008 of mistreatment or torture in CRCs. One complaint was stayed at
the plaintiff's request, one was closed for lack of evidence, one was
referred to the police court, four resulted in administrative
punishment, and two were pending. As of September 1, the PSD's human
rights office had received 28 complaints of mistreatment in CRCs. Six
complaints were stayed at the request of the plaintiffs, six were
referred to the unit commander, and 16 were referred to the police
court.
International organizations continued to claim that torture
remained a widespread practice. On April 15, the Arab Organization for
Human Rights (AOHR) released its 2008 report on the country, describing
continued beating and torture of prison inmates. An October 2008 report
by Human Rights Watch (HRW) cited interviews with prisoners alleging
mistreatment, which HRW concluded often amounted to torture. Treatment
detailed in the interviews included beatings with cables and sticks and
suspension in metal cuffs for hours at a time. Political prisoners,
including Islamists convicted of crimes against national security,
reportedly received greater abuse than other prisoners. The report also
documented the severe lack of punishment and failure to investigate
abusive guards. The 2007 report by the UN special rapporteur on torture
described police and security forces as practicing ``widespread''
torture based on ``consistent and credible allegations.''
Three prominent local organizations claimed reductions in cases of
torture and mistreatment in the country's prisons, crediting government
efforts to create incentives to attract qualified prison personnel,
provide personnel with human rights and antitorture training, and
increase investigation of complaints. However, the organizations
maintained that the government should undertake additional reforms,
including stronger antitorture legislation, increased monitoring, and
eliminating police courts.
On February 9, Islamist prisoners and their families alleged that
prison guards tortured and abused the prisoners in the Swaqa and
Jweideh Prisons. Two reputable local human rights organizations found
no evidence that such beatings or other harsh treatment occurred and
claimed that the prisoners had alleged torture to stop transfers based
on prisoner classification. The PSD reportedly conducted an
investigation and agreed with this assessment.
Unlike in prior years, there were no new public claims of torture
by defendants before the State Security Court. On April 15, three of
five men who claimed to have been tortured from 2007 to May 2008
received five-year sentences. The other two men were acquitted due to
lack of evidence. The government found their torture claims baseless,
as they also found the January 2008 torture claims of two men accused
of exporting weapons to the West Bank whose criminal cases were ongoing
at year's end.
On May 14, the State Security Court sentenced Nidal Momani, Tharwat
Draz, and Sattam Zawahra to death for plotting to kill a foreign leader
while visiting the country in 2006, but it immediately commuted their
sentences to 15 years' imprisonment. In 2007 and 2008, the defendants
claimed they had been beaten and psychologically pressured to confess.
A police investigation of Ali Utoum's alleged 2007 abduction and
beating concluded that no such abduction or beating occurred.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Local NGOs maintained that
prison and detention center conditions improved during the year but
concluded that significant problems remained, including overcrowding,
understaffing, inadequate food and health care, and ineffective
prerelease and postrelease programs. During the year the PSD increased
the number of visits prisoners can receive. In an August 21 statement,
HRW cited prisoner complaints about small cell size, extreme heat,
seizure of books and personal belongings, and lack of a mosque or
exercise area. Some detainees reported abuse and mistreatment at the
hands of guards during the year. Hunger strikes remained common, but
prison riots and allegations of mistreatment reportedly decreased. The
PSD and the NCHR were two organizations that received prisoner
complaints of poor prison conditions.
The PSD reported that some prisoners went on hunger strike during
the year to protest mistreatment, poor prison conditions, and a
prisoner classification system under which some prisoners had been
moved to different wards or prisons based on the type of crime, number
of offenses, and other factors. According to HRW authorities sometimes
denied water to hunger strikers, placed them in solitary confinement,
and prevented family visits; however, domestic human rights
organizations that met with the prisoners contradicted the HRW reports.
On February 24, the Institute of Forensic Medicine, part of the
Ministry of Health, issued a report stating that prison clinic
conditions were unsuitable and deteriorating and that inmates did not
have access to basic health services. The report also criticized the
lack of psychiatric treatment and follow-up.
An investigation committee, led by the PSD and including a civilian
prosecutor, found no evidence of wrongdoing by prison personnel during
the April 2008 Muwaggar Prison riot in which three inmates died when
rioters set mattresses on fire.
As of December 1, there were approximately 8,500 inmates in CRC
facilities roughly estimating full capacity. The government generally
held men, women, and juveniles in separate prison and detention
facilities; however, pretrial detainees were often held in the same
detention facilities as convicted prisoners. The General Intelligence
Directorate (GID) held some persons detained on national security
grounds in separate detention facilities. According to the NCHR, GID
detainees are generally held in solitary confinement and are not
allowed to meet unsupervised with visitors. Islamist prisoners in
Jweidah were held in a separate wing and kept in small-group isolation.
International and domestic NGOs also reported that in some instances
Islamist prisoners faced harsher prison conditions than other inmates.
The government permitted local and international human rights
observers to visit prisons and to conduct private interviews in
prisons. During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) visited prisoners and detainees in all prisons, including those
the GID and the military intelligence directorate held, according to
standard ICRC modalities. The NCHR conducted routine and unannounced
prison inspections during the year, including visits to GID facilities.
In July parliament passed an amendment enabling all Ministry of Justice
(MOJ) personnel to visit detention centers at any time.
The government initiated a process of large-scale prison reform
during the year and started the process to transfer CRC management from
the PSD to the MOJ. The PSD also instituted an incentive program,
including additional leave and financial incentives, to attract the
best potential candidates for a range of CRC personnel, and it worked
with the NCHR and ICRC to develop a training program for all CRC staff.
At year's end the government was constructing five new CRCs with cells
that meet international standards, raising the number of prisons from
13 to 18. The government also began providing minimum wage and social
security benefits for inmates working in prison, no-cost medical days
with a range of specialists, a rehabilitation program for newly
incarcerated high-risk prisoners, and increases in frequency of family
visits. In 2008 the NCHR noted the GID had begun providing better
psychological care to detainees.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention. According to local and international human rights
groups, the government did not always observe these prohibitions in
practice. The governors of the country's 13 provinces continued to use
the Crime Prevention Law routinely to detain individuals
administratively without due process.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PSD controls
general police functions. The PSD, GID, gendarmerie, Civil Defense
Directorate, and military share responsibility for maintaining internal
security. The gendarmerie, established in 2008 from elements of the
PSD, assists police in emergencies, provides diplomatic security, and
responds to riots, protests, and demonstrations. The Civil Defense
Directorate is responsible for public safety during natural disasters
and civil disturbances. The PSD and gendarmerie report to the interior
minister with direct access to the king when necessary, and the GID in
practice reports directly to the king.
Civilian authorities maintained control over security forces. The
government uses mechanisms to investigate abuse and corruption, but
some allegations of impunity remained.
Citizens may file complaints of police abuse or corruption with the
PSD's human rights office or with one of 50 police prosecutors
stationed throughout the country. Complaints of abuse and corruption by
the gendarmerie may be filed directly with the gendarmerie. A GID
liaison officer receives complaints against the GID and refers them to
GID personnel for investigation. Complaints against the PSD,
gendarmerie, and GID may also be filed with the NCHR or several other
NGOs. The PSD's preventive security office is tasked with investigating
allegations of police corruption. The PSD and gendarmerie tries their
personnel internally with their own courts and prosecutors.
Allegations of torture and mistreatment continued, according to
numerous credible observers. From January 1 to December 20, citizens
filed 376 complaints against PSD personnel, of which 42 related to
police abuse. Of the 42 cases, 12 were sent to the police court for
prosecution and 22 resulted in internal discipline. In 2008 citizens
filed 454 complaints against PSD personnel, of which 91 related to
police abuse. Of the 91 cases, 18 were sent to the police court for
prosecution, and nine resulted in internal discipline such as firing,
demotion, or leave without pay.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law allows
suspects to be detained for up to 24 hours without a warrant in most
cases. The criminal code requires that police notify authorities within
24 hours of an arrest and that authorities file formal charges within
15 days of an arrest. Human rights observers claimed that police
continued to make arrests before obtaining warrants and prosecutors did
not file charges or seek extensions in a timely manner. The period to
file formal charges can be extended as long as six months for a felony
and two months for a misdemeanor. Local NGOs stated that prosecutors
routinely requested extensions and judges granted them. This practice
generally lengthened pretrial detention for protracted periods. At
year's end approximately 800 persons were reportedly being held in
prison without formal charge. Bail is allowed under the penal code and
used in some cases. Some detainees reported not being allowed timely
access to a lawyer, but authorities generally permitted family member
visits. Authorities appointed lawyers to represent indigent defendants
charged with felonies although legal aid services remained minimal.
There were allegations of long periods of incommunicado detention in
GID facilities; however, in 2008 the NCHR noted the GID had improved
its practices in informing families of detentions and detainees'
whereabouts.
The State Security Court gives judicial police, charged with
conducting criminal investigations, authority to arrest and keep
persons in custody for 10 days; this authority includes arrests for
alleged misdemeanors. In cases purportedly involving state security,
the security forces arrested and detained citizens without warrants or
judicial review, held defendants in lengthy pretrial detention without
informing them of the charges against them, and did not allow
defendants to meet with their lawyers, at times until shortly before
trial. Defendants before the State Security Court usually met with
their attorneys at the start of a trial or only one or two days before.
A case may be postponed for more than 48 hours only under exceptional
circumstances determined by the court. In practice cases routinely
involved postponements of more than 10 days between sessions with
proceedings lasting for several months. In most cases the accused
remained in detention without bail during the proceedings. Several
inmates were in detention without charge at year's end.
Under the Crime Prevention Law, provincial governors may detain
individuals suspected of planning to commit a crime or those who
allegedly shelter thieves, habitually steal, or constitute a danger to
the public; those accused are subject to imprisonment or house arrest
as ``administrative detention'' without formal charges. A detention
order may be for as long as one year, but governors can impose new
orders to prolong detentions. Governors routinely abused the law,
imprisoning individuals when there was not enough evidence to convict
them, prolonging detentions of prisoners whose sentences had expired,
and incarcerating women at risk of being honor crime victims. The NCHR
and other human rights organizations called for the abolishment of the
Crime Prevention Law, noting that 16,050 administrative detentions
occurred during the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the judiciary's independence in
practice was compromised by allegations of nepotism and the influence
of special interests. An international organization also reported
interference by senior judges in junior judges' cases. The Judicial
Council, a committee led by the president of the Court of Cassation,
comprises other high-ranking judges from various courts and the MOJ.
The council approves judicial appointments after initial nominations by
the MOJ, and it assigns and evaluates judges. The executive branch,
through the MOJ, controls most judicial functions, giving the
government the ability to influence judicial decisions. The Judicial
Council continued to lack the internal capacity to effectively manage
judicial administrative and financial matters that would ensure its
independence. There were allegations during the year that the former
council's head reassigned judges or forced them to retire early for
personal instead of policy reasons.
The judicial system consists of civil, criminal, commercial,
police, security, military, and religious courts. Most criminal cases
are tried in civilian courts, which include administrative courts;
courts of first instance; courts of appeal; the High Court of Justice,
convened for specific cases; and the Court of Cassation, the highest
court. The State Security Court, headed by two military officers and
one civilian as judges, has jurisdiction over offenses against the
state and drug-related crimes by civilians and military personnel.
Defendants convicted in the Security Court may, in some instances,
appeal the verdict to a civilian appellate court. The PSD and
gendarmerie have internal police courts that have jurisdiction over all
cases involving their personnel. Either party in a police court verdict
may appeal the decision to a civilian appellate court. The religious
courts are subdivided into Shari'a courts and tribunals for non-
Muslims. Shari'a courts have jurisdiction over all matters relating to
the personal status of Muslims, including marriage, divorce, and
inheritance. Christian courts have jurisdiction over marriage and
divorce cases among Christians, but Shari'a is applied in inheritance
cases.
Trial Procedures.--The law presumes that defendants are innocent.
All civilian court trials, including state security court trials, are
open to the public unless the court determines otherwise. Juries were
not used. Defendants are entitled to legal counsel (at public expense
for the indigent only in cases involving the death penalty or potential
life imprisonment). In July the government passed an amendment that
made court rulings legally binding without the presence of the
defendant, although an attorney for the defendant must be present for
the verdict to be valid. The law was being implemented at year's end.
Defendants could present witnesses on their behalf and question
witnesses presented against them. Defense attorneys were generally
granted access to government-held evidence relevant to their clients'
cases. Defendants can appeal verdicts; appeals were automatic for cases
involving the death penalty. In the State Security Court, defendants
convicted of felonies had the right to appeal their sentences to the
Court of Cassation, which is authorized to review issues of both fact
and law. All citizens were accorded these rights. Civil, criminal, and
commercial courts accord equal weight to the testimony of men and
women; however, in Shari'a courts the testimony of two women was equal
to that of a man in most circumstances.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Citizens and NGOs alleged that
the government continued to detain a few individuals during the year,
including political opposition members, for political reasons, and that
governors continued to use administrative detentions for what appeared
to be political reasons. In a few cases, the media or human rights
organizations reported that authorities kept detainees in solitary
confinement and denied them access to lawyers.
On September 9, the court of conciliation acquitted Hassan Abu-
Shawer of his remaining charge of dishonoring the flag. In 2007 police
arrested Abu-Shawer, a 19-year-old student, during a protest by the
Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim
Brotherhood. In April 2008 the State Security Court acquitted him of
``fueling national discord'' and released him two months later.
Authorities released the five IAF members arrested in Zarqa and
Aqaba in 2007 without charge shortly after their arrest.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
judiciary in civil matters. Individuals may bring lawsuits related to
human rights violations and did so during the year. The High Court of
Justice hears administrative complaints. The courts are open to all
residents. Courts also have jurisdiction over any person in a civil or
criminal matter, including lawsuits in which the government is a
plaintiff or a defendant.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary interference in private
matters. In practice the government did not respect this prohibition.
Citizens widely believed that security officers monitored telephone
conversations and Internet communication, read private correspondence,
and engaged in surveillance without court orders of persons deemed
threats to national security.
The law requires that security forces obtain a warrant from the
prosecutor general or a judge before conducting searches or otherwise
interfering with these rights. During the year foreign migrant workers
with valid work and residency permits reported police forcibly entered
their homes without warrants as part of a joint police and labor
inspection campaign to verify the legal status of workers.
A few religious activists reported that the GID withheld
certificates of good behavior required for job applications or to open
a business, or threatened not to allow their children to enter or
graduate from university.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, in practice the government
imposed some restrictions on these rights. Journalists reported that
the threat of detention and imprisonment under the penal code for a
variety of offenses and stringent fines of as much as 20,000 dinars
($28,000) under the press and publications law for defamation led to
self-censorship. The government's use of ``soft containment'' of
journalists, such as financial support, scholarships for relatives, and
special invitations, led to significant control of media content.
Citizens generally were able to criticize the government, although
they reported exercising caution in regard to the king, the royal
family, the GID, and other topics deemed sensitive, such as religion.
On October 25, a group of men beat opposition figure Layth Shbeilat
in an Amman bakery. Shbeilat and many local observers connected the
assault to a lecture he presented at the Socialist Thought Forum two
days earlier in which he called for increased efforts to fight
government corruption and the need to question and hold officials
accountable. The government denied the linkage and the alleged
involvement of security forces in the assault. The PSD reportedly
initiated an investigation; no findings had been released by year's
end.
In December 2008 authorities prevented Egyptian citizen Gamal Eid,
executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information,
from entering the country, detained him for six hours at the airport,
and returned him to Cairo. Eid claimed he was targeted for his 2006
criticism of the government.
The government restricted media freedom. Media organizations and
journalists reported that the government influenced the appointment of
editors in chief at some major publications, whether by virtue of
officials' positions on the boards of directors of government-
affiliated publications or through undisclosed contacts. The government
has a majority share on the board of directors for one major daily
newspaper and a minority share in another. Independent print media
existed, including several major daily newspapers; however, such
publications must obtain licenses from the state to operate.
To work legally for government-affiliated publications, journalists
must be members of the Jordan Press Association (JPA), which reportedly
has denied membership to some practicing journalists. The JPA prevented
several leading columnists from establishing an independent columnists'
club during the year. The JPA sued the club, stating it violated the
JPA law, which grants the JPA sole authority to regulate and oversee
media affairs. Club founders, some of whom were not JPA members,
stressed that the club was not regulatory in nature but would instead
serve as a forum for members to discuss news developments and engage
with political figures. The JPA dropped the lawsuit after the
columnists agreed to come under the JPA umbrella, but the columnists
subsequently ceased to pursue the club's formation.
According to a survey during the year, 70 percent of journalists
thought the government used ``soft containment'' to control the media
at a medium to high degree.
The governmental Audiovisual Commission has authority to recommend
rejection of a broadcast license without a stated reason. When covering
controversial subjects, government-owned Jordan Television and Radio
reported only the government's position.
International satellite television and Israeli and Syrian
television broadcasts were available and unrestricted. On June 30, the
government closed the Arabic-language Al-Alam and English-language
Press TV satellite television stations, both of which were funded by a
foreign government. The government claimed it closed the stations due
to lack of accreditation and registration.
The law provides foreign media operations freedom of expression;
however, there was at least one report of government violence against
foreign journalists during the year, as well as reported instances of
government harassment and court actions against journalists and other
writers based on their work.
On January 9, gendarmerie officers reportedly attacked an Al
Jazeera television crew of citizens, including Amman bureau chief Abu
Hilala, and cameramen Malik al-Laham, Muhammad al-Huwaiti, and Safwan
al-Awawida. According to the journalists, after police dispersed a
crowd protesting near the Israeli embassy, a group of plainclothes men
assisting with dispersing the demonstration threatened Hilala when he
attempted to interview them. Hilala allegedly sought protection from a
nearby group of uniformed officers, but they responded by beating him
and the other journalists with their batons. The government condemned
the attack and established an investigation committee, headed by the
PSD; however, the government had not released any investigation results
by year's end.
On June 21, a court sentenced poet and Al Arab Al Yawm reporter
Islam Samhan to one year in prison and a fine of 10,000 dinars
($14,200) on charges of slandering Islam and insulting ``religious
sentiment'' for his use of Koranic verses and prophets in his poetry.
Samhan was arrested in October 2008, two weeks after the Grand Mufti,
the country's highest religious authority, issued a fatwa (religious
opinion) calling him an ``infidel'' and an ``apostate.'' At year's end
Samhan was free on bail pending an appeal of the court's ruling.
Journalists claimed the government used informants in newsrooms and
that intelligence officials monitored reporting. Editors reportedly
received telephone calls from security officials instructing them how
to cover events or to refrain from covering certain topics or events,
although this practice reportedly declined during the past year.
Government officials also reportedly bribed journalists to influence
their reporting.
The annual report by the Amman-based National Center for Defending
the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) stated that the government used
detention and prosecution or the threat of prosecution to intimidate
journalists. According to a CDFJ survey during the year, 94 percent of
1,200 journalists interviewed practiced some sort of self-censorship
due to government interference or the threat of fines or detention.
Ninety-eight percent of the journalists stated they would not criticize
the armed forces; 54 percent, the government; 77 percent, tribal
leaders; and 81 percent would not raise religious issues. Sixty-eight
percent of respondents believed that government interference in the
media has increased in recent years.
The government requires the media to obtain approval prior to any
filming or photographing. Journalists reported during the year that
intelligence personnel confiscated photos of public events they were
covering.
The law provides punishment of as long as three years' imprisonment
for insulting the king, slandering the government or foreign leaders,
offending religious beliefs, or stirring sectarian strife and sedition.
The government fined journalists for such crimes during the year.
According to the CDFJ, more than 45 journalists had cases pending
before a Jordanian court having been charged with a range of
violations, including slander, contempt of court and violating laws,
such as the penal code, press and publications law and state security
law.
On August 5, a court fined a journalist Ali Sneid from the Al Anbat
daily newspaper 8,000 dinars ($11,400) for criticizing a former
minister of health in an article about water pollution in Manshyet Bani
Hassan, in Mafraq Governorate.
Four of the five Ad-Dustour, Al-Arab Al-Yawm, and Al-Rai editors
and reporters sentenced to three months in jail in March 2008 for
contempt of court and defamation paid fines in order not to serve their
three-month sentences, which were upheld by an appellate court during
the year. The other reporter's case was still pending in the court
system at year's end. Four of the journalists were indicted after
publishing commentary on a Higher Judicial Council ruling, and the
fifth was indicted for defamation after criticizing a government
official.
El-Ekhbariya editor in chief Fayez Al-Ajrashi, arrested in October
2008 on criminal charges of ``inflaming sectarian strife'' and ``sowing
national discord,'' remained on bail pending a court decision at year's
end. Ajrashi alleged both complaints were linked to his articles
criticizing Amman governor Sa'ad Al-Manaseer's record and exposing
cases of corruption.
The government continued to enforce bans on the publication of
selected books for religious, moral, and political reasons. Some
foreign films were edited prior to release.
On December 24, the Council of Ministers approved a code of conduct
to guide the government's relationship with the media. According to the
government, the code is designed to guarantee a free, independent media
without government interference and influence. For instance, under the
code the government may not use advertisement revenue to influence
reporting, officials may not give financial incentives or gifts to
journalists, practicing journalists may not simultaneously hold
government positions, and all media subscriptions by the government
were cancelled in favor of direct purchase. The media largely viewed
the code as a positive step, although critics raised some concerns,
such as the adverse impact on small weekly papers that rely
significantly on government subscriptions.
Internet Freedom.--The government controlled access to certain
Internet content during the year, but Internet access remained largely
unfettered. Citizens and activists widely believed that the government
monitored electronic correspondence and Internet chat sites and,
therefore, they practiced self-censorship over such media. According to
2009 International Telecommunications Union data, approximately 28
percent of the country's inhabitants used the Internet.
In 2008 the Ministry of Interior (MOI) issued instructions for
monitoring Internet cafes for reasons of security, including the
installation of cameras in Internet cafes to monitor users. The new
measures, which reportedly were enforced during the year, require cafe
owners to register users' personal data, hand over records of Web sites
users visit, and prevent access to questionable Web sites, as defined
by the MOI.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government placed some
limits on academic freedom. Members of the academic community claimed
there was an ongoing intelligence presence in academic institutions,
including monitoring of academic conferences and lectures.
On September 7, the National Campaign for Defending Students'
Rights criticized the interference of security bodies in student
activities, especially in university student council elections.
Security personnel reportedly told students for whom to vote. The group
also noted that universities had punished or expelled students for
distributing literature expressing solidarity with Palestinians. The
AOHR concurred with the group's findings and demanded that students be
allowed to express opinions freely.
On July 29, the Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment giving
university boards of trustees and their search committees the authority
to choose and hire a university president. Previously, this authority
lay with the state.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but the
government restricted this right. The Public Gatherings Law, as amended
in 2008, stipulates that organizations do not need approval to hold
routine internal meetings and activities but that routine public
meetings--including workshops and training sessions--require approval.
Governors are not required to provide a legal reason for denial of
permission to hold an event, and there is no standard in the law for
what constitutes an impermissible public gathering. If an organization
fails to apply for permission for an event, its members face
imprisonment from one to six months and a fine of as much as 3,000
dinars ($4,300). The government's response period was shortened from 72
to 48 hours and, if a governor does not issue a response within 48
hours, applicants are entitled to hold the event without legal
liability.
From early January--at the outbreak of the military operation in
Gaza--until January 29, the government suspended the requirement for
advance approval of demonstrations and protests. More than 600 protests
and demonstrations, including more than 80 by the Muslim Brotherhood,
were held throughout the country during the suspension.
Throughout the year several civil society organizations and
political parties accused the government of being stringent in issuing
permits for public gatherings based on political factors rather than
security concerns. Governors sometimes denied requests for peaceful
demonstrations and civil society gatherings. In some cases the
government granted approval at the last moment, making it difficult for
organizers to plan events.
On multiple occasions during the year, the Amman governor
reportedly denied the IAF permission to hold rallies, protests, or
other events, including a rally in Al-Muqabalayn to thank citizens for
their support of Gaza, a protest in front of the Egyptian embassy to
denounce the closing of the Rafah crossing and the conflict in Gaza,
activities to celebrate Jerusalem as the 2009 Arab Culture Capital, a
protest in support of Al Aqsa Mosque, and a protest regarding the
murder of an Egyptian woman by a German national.
On April 25, the Irbid governor reportedly denied a small political
party permission to hold a festival to celebrate Jerusalem having been
named the 2009 Arab Culture Capital.
On at least three occasions during the year, including the response
to a sit-in by port workers in Aqaba (see section 7.a.), government
forces allegedly used excessive force to break up protests and
demonstrations.
On January 9, gendarmerie forces used batons, tear gas, and water
cannon to disperse protesters throwing rocks and shouting harsh
language outside the Israeli embassy. The gathering was to protest
Israeli operations in Gaza. The gendarmerie maintained a neutral stance
throughout most of the protest but eventually used aggressive tactics
to disperse the protesters. The government formed an investigation,
headed by the PSD, but it had released no information by year's end.
On July 5, gendarmerie forces used batons to disperse a sit-in at
the Ministry of Agriculture to protest the import of Israeli fruit and
vegetables. During altercations with gendarmerie forces, several
protesters were reportedly injured, and the gendarmerie briefly
detained four protesters. The police stated the sit-in was illegal, as
organizers had not obtained the required approval to hold the event.
The government indicated it would investigate the gendarmerie's
tactics, but no results of any investigation had been made public by
year's end.
Twenty IAF supporters imprisoned during a licensed protest in 2007
were released without charge shortly after their arrest.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of
association, but the government limited this freedom in practice. The
law gives a newly formed registrar's office in the Ministry of Social
Development (MSD) the right to reject applications to register a
organization or to receive foreign funding for any reason, and it
prohibits the use of associations for the benefit of any political
organization. The law also gives the registrar significant controls
over the internal management of associations, including the ability to
dissolve associations; appoint new boards of directors; send government
representatives to any board meeting; prevent associations from merging
their operations; and appoint an auditor to examine an association's
finances for any reason. The law requires associations to inform the
registrar of board meetings, submit all board decisions for approval,
disclose members' names, and obtain MOI security clearances for board
members. The law includes severe penalties, including fines of as much
as 10,000 dinars ($14,200). The registrar's advisory board is chaired
by the minister of social development and includes representatives from
seven other government bodies and four civil society representatives.
At year's end the prime minister had not appointed the civil society
representatives.
The government introduced, and the parliament passed, amendments to
address a few of the restrictions resulting from the 2008 revised law,
which began implementation on September 17. The amendments abolished
the use of prison sentences as a penalty for violating the
associations' law. The amendments also established the registrar's
office and required the cabinet to respond within 30 days to an
association's request to receive foreign funding; absent a response,
the funding is considered approved. Civil society leaders worried that
the amendments did not sufficiently address the oversight powers
granted to the government in 2008. During the year the government did
not deny any organizations permission to register or to receive foreign
funding.
Although the government proposed amending the law during the year
to allow all religious groups to provide social and volunteer services
in the country, the Chamber of Deputies changed the language in the
amendment to permit only Muslim and Christian groups such rights.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom to
practice the rites of one's religion, provided that religious practices
are consistent with ``public order and morality,'' and it stipulates
that there be no discrimination in the rights and duties of citizens
based on religion. The government continued to impose some restrictions
on religious freedom in practice, and the constitution also requires
that Islamic law, which forbids the conversion of Muslims to another
religion, govern citizens' personal status.
The state religion is Islam, which effectively restricted the
religious freedom of members of other denominations, especially in
terms of family law. The king appoints the Grand Mufti, the country's
most influential religious authority, who has the authority to issue
religious fatwas. The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Trusts appoints
imams, provides mosque staff salaries, manages Islamic clergy training
centers, and subsidizes certain activities sponsored by mosques.
Christian denominations and other religions must be accorded legal
recognition by the government to own land and administer sacraments,
including marriage. For the recognition of Christian denominations, the
prime minister confers with the Council of Church Leaders, a group of
the leaders of recognized Christian churches. The denomination must
have citizens among its constituency and must be recognized by the
Middle East Council of Churches. Christian religious leaders stated
that the MOI conducted background investigations of church leaders.
On January 21, the cabinet officially made the Council of Church
Leaders the government's reference point for all Christian affairs. The
council serves as the administrative body for all Christian churches to
facilitate official business with the government. Unrecognized
Christian denominations, although they do not have full membership on
the council, must also conduct business with the government through the
council.
The government did not recognize (but registered as
``associations'') the Baptists, Free Evangelicals, the Church of the
Nazarene, Assemblies of God, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nonrecognition meant
these denominations were not allowed to form their own courts to govern
the personal status matters of its members, but were granted benefits
of societies, such as tax-exempt status. Christian denominations such
as the United Pentecostal Church and Jehovah's Witnesses did not have
society status; however, these nonrecognized denominations conducted
most religious services and activities without interference. Several
Christian denominations operated schools in several cities that were
open to adherents of all religions, such as the Baptist, Orthodox, and
Latin schools.
The government also did not recognize the Druze or Baha'i faiths,
and it discriminated against Baha'is. The government did not recognize
marriages conducted by the Baha'i Assembly, although Baha'is could
receive documentation, such as passports, on the basis of such
marriages. Baha'is were not permitted to register properties or
endowments in the name of the Baha'i community. The government also
continued to stigmatize the Baha'is by recording dashes in the religion
field of their national identity cards. It categorized Druze as Muslims
on these documents and required that atheists associate themselves with
a recognized religion for official identification purposes.
There are no restrictions on collective worship as long as worship
practices do not violate the law. Unlike in 2008 no religious workers
or pastors stated that authorities prevented them on security grounds
from conducting meetings or conferences in hotels or public venues
during the year.
Public schools provide Muslim students mandatory religious
instruction, during which Christian students are allowed to leave the
classroom. Christian students in private and public schools must learn
verses from the Koran and Islamic poetry in Arabic and social studies
classes in preparation for mid-year and end-of-year exams. The
constitution provides that congregations have the right to establish
schools for the education of their own communities, ``provided that
they comply with the general provisions of the law and are subject to
government control in matters relating to their curriculums and
orientation.''
The application of Shari'a law on personal status matters prohibits
conversion from Islam to another religion. In apostasy cases decided by
the Shari'a court, converts from Islam have lost their inheritance,
children, spouse, and civil rights. Conversion to Islam is allowed. A
few converts from Islam to Christianity reported the GID questioned
them after family members complained to authorities about the
conversion. These converts reported that the GID withheld certificates
of good behavior that are required for job applications or to open a
business, or threatened to not allow their entry into or graduation
from university. Other converts reported no harassment by authorities
and, in at least one case, officials positively intervened to mediate
an understanding between a convert and family members.
Neither the constitution nor the law explicitly prohibits
proselytizing; however, the government restricted efforts to
proselytize Muslims. A few religious leaders reported the GID summoned
them during the year for questioning on their church's activities and
church membership, although this practice reportedly decreased during
the year.
The government monitored sermons at mosques and required that
preachers refrain from commentary that ``might instigate social or
political unrest.'' Some Christian churchgoers reported the presence of
security police outside churches on several occasions during the year.
Security officials reportedly did not state a reason for their presence
but reportedly questioned some churchgoers. Some churches welcomed the
presence for security reasons.
The publication of material that slanders or insults religion is
prohibited with fines of as much as 20,000 dinars ($28,400).
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Some Muslims who converted to
other religions reportedly faced societal discrimination, threats, and
abuse from their families and Muslim religious leaders. There were also
reports that interfaith romantic relationships led to ostracism.
Unrecognized religious groups, such as the Baha'is, also reported
societal discrimination. Iraqi Mandaeans residing in the country
complained that individuals who did not understand their faith
interfered in their baptismal rituals in prior years, causing them to
change baptism locations. During the year, the government required that
Mandaeans give authorities one month's notice prior to a baptism for
the government to provide security.
Anti-Semitism was present in the media, and editorial cartoons,
articles, and opinion pieces sometimes depicted negative images of Jews
without government response. Aside from expatriates, there was no
resident Jewish community in the country.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2009/
index.htm
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, there were some restrictions. The government
generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA), and other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
The law requires that a minor obtain written permission from the
father to apply for a passport. Consular officers and activists
encountered cases of mothers who reported that they were prevented from
departing with their children because authorities enforced requests
from fathers to prevent their children from leaving the country. The
GID sometimes withheld passports from citizens for alleged security
reasons. Employers or authorities sometimes held the passports of
foreign workers.
Some persons of Palestinian origin living in the country were
citizens and received passports; however, the government reported that
there were approximately 165,000 Palestinian refugees, mostly of Gazan
origin, who did not qualify for citizenship. Approximately half of
these persons received two-year passports that do not connote
citizenship. West Bank residents without other travel documentation
were eligible to receive five-year passports that do not connote
citizenship. Local and international human rights organizations
continued to charge that the government did not consistently apply
citizenship laws, especially in cases in which passports were taken
from citizens of Palestinian origin, citing cases where national
identification numbers were revoked. The government maintained this
policy was in line with its efforts to implement the government's
disengagement from its former claims to the West Bank. For example,
government officials stated that a national number may be revoked if an
individual obtains Palestinian travel documents, works for any part of
the Palestinian Authority, or does not renew a family reunification
permit. Activists complained that the disengagement regulations did not
outline such procedures, that the process was not transparent, and that
the MOI appeal process was virtually nonexistent. Claimants reported
that appeals were not resolved to their satisfaction. Human rights
activists also claimed that former residents of Palestinian origin
remained outside the country and the government refused to renew their
passports at embassies overseas.
The law prohibits internal and external forced exile, and the
government did not use forced exile in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. Its
laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and
the government has not established a formal system of providing
protection to refugees'' and does not have any national legislation
pertaining to the status and treatment of refugees)). The government
respected the UNHCR's eligibility determinations regarding asylum
seekers, including those who entered the country clandestinely. A 1998
memorandum of understanding between the government and the UNHCR
contains the definition of a refugee, confirms the principle of
nonrefoulement, and allows recognized refugees a maximum stay of six
months, during which period the UNHCR must find a durable solution. In
practice the government provided protection against the expulsion or
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion.
The UNRWA and the government continued to provide basic services,
such as limited health, education, and social services, to Palestinian
refugees during the year. At year's end approximately two million
Palestinian refugees were registered with the UNRWA.
The government granted nationality to approximately 700,000 persons
displaced from former territories of the country during the 1967 war.
An additional 120,000 persons displaced during the 1967 war held
temporary residency permits, and an additional 200,000 Palestinian
refugees were also estimated to be living in the country without any
direct assistance.
The government generally recognized the UNHCR's requests to grant
temporary protection for all Iraqi asylum seekers, including new
arrivals, rejected asylum or resettlement cases, and recognized
refugees whose cases had been suspended by resettlement countries. In
May 2008 the government began requiring Iraqis to obtain visas before
entering the country. The government estimated there were 450,000 to
500,000 Iraqi refugees in the country, whereas some NGOs estimated
100,000 to 200,000. As of October 31, a total of 46,656 Iraqi refugees
in the country were registered with the UNHCR. Most registered refugees
received legal and material assistance from the UNHCR and other
international and nongovernmental humanitarian organizations. The
government provided education and health care to Iraqis and tolerated
the prolonged stay of many Iraqis beyond the expiration of the visit
permits under which they entered the country. During the year the
government also decided to waive any overstay fines and exit fees for
those returning to Iraq. Few Iraqi refugees received work permits due
to bureaucratic hurdles and significant overstay fines they would have
to pay prior to applying for such permit.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens the right to change their monarch
or government. The king appoints and dismisses the prime minister,
cabinet, and the House of Notables; dissolves parliament; and
establishes public policy. Citizens may participate in the political
system through their elected representatives in the Chamber of
Deputies. The cabinet, based on the prime minister's recommendation,
appoints the mayors of Amman, Wadi Musa (Petra), and Aqaba, a special
economic zone. The mayors of the other 93 municipalities are elected.
The king proposes and dismisses extraordinary sessions of
parliament and may postpone regular sessions for as long as 60 days.
For example, the king decreed the start of an extraordinary session on
June 11 and dismissed the session on August 10. On November 23, the
king dissolved parliament when he called for parliamentary elections in
the final quarter of 2010. If the government amends or enacts a law
when parliament is not in session, it must submit the law to parliament
for consideration during the next session; however, such
``provisional'' laws do not expire. Although they are technically
subject to action by parliament when it returns to session, in practice
they remain in force in the absence of legislative action. For example,
on October 15, the king issued a royal decree approving amendments to
the Social Security Law and placing them in provisional status.
Previous parliaments have largely ignored controversial temporary
legislation, indefinitely extending the life of several temporary laws.
Elections and Political Participation.--The country held nationwide
multiparty parliamentary and municipal elections in 2007. The NCHR, the
opposition IAF, and other local observers alleged a number of
irregularities, including vote buying, multiple voting, transfer of
votes, and exploiting armed forces personnel to vote en masse for
progovernment candidates. There were no local or international
observers present for the municipal elections, and a limited number of
local observers for the parliamentary elections.
On December 16, the newly formed government, two days after being
sworn in, formed an interministerial committee, headed by the prime
minister, to revise the electoral law ahead of parliamentary elections
scheduled for 2010. On the same date, the government formed another
interministerial committee under the direction of the prime minister to
finalize and implement a decentralization plan. At year's end, the two
committees had not yet completed their work. The constitution states
that elections must be held within four months of parliament's
dismissal or the previous parliament is reinstated. The king, however,
has the authority to extend this period based on special circumstances.
Upon dissolving parliament, the king called for elections past the four
months in order for the government to first amend the electoral law and
complete a decentralization plan.
The government routinely licensed political parties and other
associations but prohibited membership in unlicensed political parties.
The High Court of Justice may dissolve a party if it concludes that the
party violated the constitution or the law. The law stipulates that a
political party must have a minimum of 500 founding members from five
governorates. Opposition parties, including small parties dissolved in
2007 after the law's enactment, complained that the law was
unconstitutional and obstructed political dynamism. Political analysts
and opposition parties also called on the government to take active
measures to promote party development, including amendments to the
electoral system that would place greater emphasis on parties.
Political parties, NGOs, and independent candidates found the
registration process onerous and costly. Parties criticized the GID's
annual screening process of founding members. Political parties
complained that the mandated public funding of 50,000 dinars ($71,100)
was insufficient to operate effective campaigns.
The electoral law led to significant underrepresentation in urban
areas. Amman's second district has more than 200,000 constituents and
was granted four representatives, but Karak's sixth district has
approximately 7,000 constituents and was granted three representatives.
Many analysts asserted that the current electoral system is unfair and
creates a weak, unrepresentative parliament that is intended to reduce
the representation of areas heavily populated by citizens of
Palestinian origin in favor of tribal interests. The law allows voters
to choose one candidate in multiple-seat districts. In the largely
tribal society, citizens tended to cast their vote for members of the
same tribe.
Citizens of Palestinian origin, estimated to be more than half of
the total population, are underrepresented at all levels of government
and the military. The law reserves nine Chamber of Deputies seats for
Christians and three for either the Circassian or Chechen ethnic
minorities, constituting an overrepresentation for these minorities. No
seats were reserved for the relatively small Druze population, but they
were permitted to hold office under their government classification as
Muslims. The law also stipulates that Muslims must hold all seats not
reserved for specified minority religions. In 2007 King Abdullah
appointed four Christians to serve in the House of Notables. Christians
served as cabinet ministers and ambassadors. The government
traditionally reserves some positions in the upper levels of the
military for Christians (4 percent); however, Muslims held all senior
command positions.
Women have the right to vote. Seven women served in the House of
Notables, four in the cabinet, and one as governor. Seven women also
served in the Chamber of Deputies (six seats are reserved for women)
until its dissolution on November 23. The law provides a 20 percent
quota for women in municipal council seats.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government increased investigations of alleged corruption; however,
there were few convictions for corruption during the year, raising
criticisms that officials enjoyed impunity. The use of family,
business, and other personal connections to advance personal business
interests was widespread; there were allegations of lack of
transparency in government procurement, government appointments, and
dispute settlement. A study by the Jordan Transparency Forum released
on December 9 found that 81.3 percent of citizens believed favoritism
was still rampant despite government efforts to curb corruption.
In March the Audit Bureau released its annual report, which
highlighted instances of corruption and violations of handling public
money.
As of June 30, the Anticorruption Commission had investigated 432
cases of corruption, referring 67 for legal action. The cases dealt
with fraud, misuse of public office, forgery, bribery, and
embezzlement, as well as cases related to food and drug laws. Despite
increased investigations, some local observers questioned the
commission's effectiveness due to the dearth of investigations
involving senior officials or large government projects, despite
allegations.
In one high-profile case, the commission investigated employees at
the Greater Amman Municipality accused of forging signatures to obtain
unauthorized changes in job titles and bonuses. Four employees were
charged with forgery. In another high-profile case, the government
formed an ad hoc committee to investigate the embezzlement of 1.2
million dinars ($1.68 million) from the Ministry of Agriculture; the
investigation was ongoing at year's end.
Citizens filed more than 2,400 complaints against public agencies
with the governmental Ombudsman Bureau from the office's opening in
February until December 10. The bureau rejected 1,071 of the complaints
because they did not fall under its mandate, but it resolved 86
complaints through reconciliation and provided 59 citizens with advice
about how to proceed with their cases; the remainder of the complaints
remained under investigation. The Bureau is charged with investigating
complaints regarding any decision or action by public offices or their
employees. On December 29, the government also established an office in
the Ministry of Public Sector Development to receive citizen
complaints.
The law requires certain government officials to declare their
assets privately; in the event of a complaint, the chief justice may
review the disclosures. Under the law failure to disclose assets could
result in prison sentences from one week to three years or fines from
five to 200 dinars ($7 to $280). At year's end officials failing to
submit a disclosure had not been punished.
The law provides for public access to government information that
is a matter of legal record but allows requests to be denied for
reasons of ``national security, public health, and personal freedoms.''
Journalists criticized the law, claiming it permits the government to
deny requests without justification. A December 2008 study by the Al
Urdun Al Jadid Research Center showed that 58 percent of journalists
were unaware of the law, and nearly 85 percent did not know they had
the right to request information. Fifty percent of journalists who had
attempted to obtain government information characterized the
government's response as inadequate, and 13.8 percent said their
requests triggered verbal abuse. In a Higher Media Council survey
released in July 2008, nearly half of the journalists surveyed reported
difficulty accessing information or said their requests had been denied
outright.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups operated in the
country with some restrictions. The 2008 Associations Law gave the
government the ability to control NGOs' internal affairs, including
acceptance of foreign funding. NGOs were generally able to investigate
and report publicly on human rights abuses throughout the year although
government officials were not always cooperative or responsive. Senior
government officials accused local human rights organizations of having
``Western'' or foreign agendas and focusing only on the negative
aspects of an issue. Major local human rights observers included the
NCHR and several independent organizations, such as the MIZAN Law Group
for Human Rights, the Amman Centre for Human Rights Studies, the AOHR,
the CDFJ, and the Adaleh Center for Human Rights Studies. Government
entities met with and participated in many projects these organizations
undertook.
The government generally cooperated with international NGOs, the
UN, and other international governmental organizations. Unlike previous
years no observers reported being unable to meet with security
detainees held incommunicado. Senior government officials accused some
international human rights organizations of paying local citizens to
overstate human rights abuses.
Although the government provided the NCHR most of its funding, the
NCHR's reporting was largely regarded as objective and critical. Some
local human rights groups and activists complained that the NCHR did
not speak out sufficiently during the year on some controversial
issues, including students' rights, citizenship, and religious freedom.
The prime minister appoints the NCHR board chair and commissioner
general. On May 3, the NCHR issued its fifth annual report on the state
of human rights in the country, highlighting positive developments and
a range of continuing human rights problems, including excessive use of
administrative detention; new restrictions on the right to establish
associations; limitations on media freedom, including legal action
against journalists; poor protection of foreign workers, especially
domestic workers; and insufficient mechanisms to prevent torture.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution states that all citizens are equal under the law
and prohibits discrimination based on race, language, and religion;
however, discrimination on the basis of gender, disability, and social
status is not specifically mentioned. The penal code does not address
discrimination, thereby severely limiting judicial remedies.
Women.--Violence and abuse against women continued, including
widespread domestic violence, numerous honor crimes, and spousal rape.
In rural areas violence against women was reported more frequently than
in major cities, but women's rights activists speculated that many
incidents in cities went unreported. In a survey of women in rural
southern areas that the Higher Population Council and Ministry of
Health released on January 16, 30 percent of women 15 to 49 years old
reported psychological abuse and 20 percent reported physical abuse. A
2007 demographic health survey conducted by an international
organization showed that 32 percent of women older than 15 years of age
had suffered physical violence. NGOs reported similar numbers and, in
some cases, slightly higher numbers.
The law stipulates a sentence of at least 10 years' imprisonment
with hard labor for rape of a girl or woman age 15 years or older.
Spousal rape is not illegal. The PSD Family Protection Unit (FPU)
treated and investigated 243 cases of sexual assault as of December 20.
A woman may file a complaint against her spouse for physical abuse
with the FPU, certain NGOs, or directly with judicial authorities;
however, in practice familial and societal pressures discouraged women
from seeking legal remedies. The 2007 demographic health survey showed
that only 22 percent of domestic violence victims sought any form of
assistance.
In 2008 the Jordan Center for Social Research conducted a survey
indicating that women often did not admit they were subjected to
violence and did not seek help because they were afraid of breaking up
or damaging the reputation of their families. The results also showed
some degree of acceptance of abuse, particularly among less educated
women. Of the respondents who reported a case of violence, 83 percent
identified their husband, father, or brother as the perpetrator. Most
women are not aware of services available to victims of such violence.
From January 1 to December 20, the FPU forwarded 767 complaints of
domestic violence for prosecution. Spousal abuse is technically grounds
for divorce, but husbands can claim religious authority to strike their
wives. Violators of protection orders may face as long as six months in
prison. The government-run shelter, Dar al-Wafaq, assisted
approximately 806 victims of domestic abuse during the year; it
provided reconciliation and counseling services to victims and their
families and worked with NGOs to provide services such as legal and
medical assistance. The FPU continued to operate a domestic violence
hotline during the year and received inquiries and complaints via the
Internet and e-mail. The NGO Jordanian Women's Union maintained a
hotline for victims of domestic violence and provided shelter to abuse
victims. The Jordanian River Foundation operated a child and family
center in East Amman that provided shelter and assistance to domestic
violence victims. On February 11, the quasigovernmental Jordanian
National Commission for Women launched a women's complaint office to
receive gender-related complaints from domestic violence to
discrimination.
Authorities prosecuted the 24 reported instances of homicides
related to honor crimes that occurred during the year. Activists
reported that additional honor crimes likely went unreported. An
Information and Research Center study released on October 1 on the
causes of honor crimes in the country showed a high correlation between
poverty and education with honor crimes. The study found that 73
percent of victims since 2000 were classified as poor, a group that
constituted only 30 percent of the country's population. The brother of
the victim was the perpetrator in 76 percent of the cases and the
father in 13 percent.
On July 28, the chief judge of the criminal courts announced the
establishment of a special criminal court tribunal to hear all honor
crime cases. In its first ruling on October 12, the tribunal issued a
15-year murder sentence to a 21-year-old man, convicted of stabbing and
killing his married sister in the Jordan River Valley in 2008, because
she allegedly slept with a man other than her husband. This sentence
marked the first time a lower court issued a full murder sentence in an
honor crime case without granting some form of leniency. On December 8,
the tribunal issued the same sentence in its second honor crime case.
Prior to the tribunal's ruling, some lower courts handed down 15-
year sentences for second-degree murder during the year; in every case
the court immediately cut the sentence in half. Judges have the
discretionary right, but not obligation, to reduce sentences by as much
as half if the victim's family does not press charges, even if the
perpetrator and victim are from the same family. In previous years the
courts usually found perpetrators of honor killings guilty of a ``crime
of passion,'' which merited a maximum sentence of three years. Although
defendants were almost always found guilty, they often received token
sentences of no more than six months. The maximum sentences for first-
and second-degree murder are death and 15 years' imprisonment,
respectively.
Despite judicial efforts the government had no plan or program to
change public attitudes toward honor crimes or to deter future
killings, and it had made no legislative changes to strengthen
sentencing guidelines. For instance, the penal code still allowed
judges to use the ``crime of passion'' Article 98 when ruling on honor
crime cases even when the crime was premeditated.
On March 20, in Zarqa a man beat to death his 19-year-old daughter
with the assistance of two of her brothers. The woman's uncle
reportedly had seen her wearing make-up in a location other than where
she was supposed to be running errands. The father was charged with
premeditated murder; the case was pending at year's end.
On October 17, in the Jordan River Valley, a man publicly stabbed
his 24-year-old daughter 16 times on a main street and prevented
passersby from approaching until the police arrived. Before the murder
the man reportedly had his daughter examined by a doctor who determined
she was pregnant out of wedlock. The father was charged with
premeditated murder; the case was pending at year's end.
On January 28, a court sentenced the man who reportedly killed his
23-year-old sister in March 2008 in Azraq to six months in prison, the
penalty applicable for a misdemeanor. The court concluded the act was
committed in a ``moment of rage.'' The man had seen her walking in a
forested area with a houseguest. Because the man had already been
detained more than six months, he was released immediately after the
verdict.
Through the administrative detention authority granted to governors
under the Crime Prevention Act, authorities continued to place
potential victims of honor crimes in involuntary protective custody in
Jweideh Correctional and Rehabilitation Center, a detention facility
where some women have remained for more than 20 years. A woman detained
in protective custody can be released only after her family signs a
statement guaranteeing her safety and both the local governor and woman
agree to the release. Despite the safety guarantee, some women were
killed after their release from protective custody. For example, on
July 9, a man killed his sister in East Amman shortly after she was
released into his care. A human rights organization estimated that at
year's end approximately five women were in protective custody. One NGO
continued to work for the release of these women through mediation with
their families. The NGO also provided a temporary but unofficial
shelter for such women as an alternative to protective custody.
Prostitution is illegal, but police and citizens reported its
occurrence in certain restaurants and nightclubs throughout the
country.
According to the law, sexual harassment is strictly prohibited. The
law does not make a distinction between sexual assault and sexual
harassment; both carry a minimum prison sentence of four years with
hard labor. Women's groups stated that harassment was common, but
victims were often hesitant to file a complaint and rarely did so
because they often were blamed for inciting it, they feared losing
their job, or they faced pressure to keep silent.
Couples have the basic right to decide freely and responsibly the
number, spacing, and timing of their children. Contraceptives were
generally accessible to all men and women and provided free of charge
in public clinics. Almost 99 percent of births in the country take
place in hospitals with trained professionals. Comprehensive essential
obstetric, prenatal, and postnatal care is provided throughout the
country in the public and private sectors. There is no discrimination
against women for the diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other
sexually transmitted diseases.
Women experienced legal discrimination in pension and social
security benefits, inheritance, divorce, ability to travel, child
custody, citizenship, and (in certain limited circumstances) the value
of their Shari'a court testimony.
Under Shari'a as applied in the country, female heirs receive half
the amount that male heirs receive, and non-Muslim widows of Muslim
spouses have no inheritance rights. A sole female heir receives half of
her parents' estate; the balance goes to designated male relatives. A
sole male heir inherits both of his parents' property. Male Muslim
heirs have the duty to provide for all family members who need
assistance. The existing temporary divorce law allows women to seek
divorces in return for waiving financial rights, alimony, or the
retention of financial rights under specific circumstances, such as
spousal abuse. In these cases the woman has the burden of proof.
Special courts for each denomination adjudicate marriage and divorce
for Christians.
The government provided men with more generous social security
benefits than it gave women. The government continued pension payments
of deceased male civil servants, but it discontinued payments of
deceased female civil servants to their heirs. Laws and regulations
governing health insurance for civil servants do not permit married
women to extend their health insurance coverage to dependents or
spouses. However, divorced and widowed women may extend coverage to
their children.
Women's rights activists complained that the law granting women
equal pay for equal work was not enforced. Many women said traditional
social pressures discouraged them from pursuing professional careers,
especially after marriage. During the year the official unemployment
rate for women was 24 percent, compared with 13 percent for the country
as a whole. A Jordanian National Council for Family Affairs study
released on April 22 found that women were often denied basic labor
rights, such as pay equality and working hours and conditions, as
outlined in the labor law. The study called for legislative changes and
awareness campaigns to inform women of their rights.
The law states that women have the right to obtain passports
without the written permission of their husbands; unlike previous years
there were no reports that authorities required a husband's permission.
Married women do not have the legal right to transmit citizenship
to their children. Female citizens married to noncitizen men may pass
citizenship to their children only with the permission of the cabinet;
however, the public was widely unaware of this mechanism, and
permission was usually not granted in cases in which the father was of
Palestinian origin. Women may not petition for citizenship for their
noncitizen husbands. The husbands must apply for citizenship after
fulfilling a requirement of 15 years' continuous residency. Once the
husbands have obtained citizenship, they may apply to transmit
citizenship to their children. However, in practice such an application
may take years, and the government may deny the application. Such
children become stateless and lose the right to attend public school or
to seek other government services if they do not hold legal residency,
which must be applied for every year and is not guaranteed.
In one case during the year, a female citizen whose Egyptian
husband died after falling at a construction site had to reapply
annually for a residency permit for her three Egyptian citizen children
to continue to live legally in the country with their mother and to
access education and health services. The cost of applying for
residency every year was a significant burden, and the government's
approval was not a given.
Children.--Only male citizens have the legal right to transmit
citizenship to children. Children of female citizens and noncitizen
husbands become stateless and lose the right to attend public school or
to seek other government services if they do not hold legal residency,
which must be applied for every year and is not guaranteed. The
government did not issue birth certificates to all children born inside
the country during the year. The government deemed some children--
including children of unmarried women, certain interfaith marriages,
and converts from Islam to another religion--illegitimate and denied
them proper registration, making it difficult or impossible for them to
attend school, access health services, or receive other documentation.
In one such case during the year, a single mother had to bury illegally
her baby who died during childbirth because she was unable to obtain a
birth or death certificate.
Education is compulsory from ages six through 16 years and free
until age 18; however, no legislation exists to enforce the law or to
punish guardians for violating it.
During the year authorities received and investigated complaints of
physical and sexual abuse of children. A February UN Children's Fund
report stated that 71 percent of children were subjected to verbal
abuse and 57 percent had experienced some form of physical abuse in
school. On November 18, the Council of Ministers approved amendments to
civil service regulations that placed stiffer disciplinary measures,
including salary deductions and termination, on those who used corporal
punishment on children, including those in schools and juvenile
centers.
Statistics on child abuse within households were not available.
During the year two deaths caused by child abuse resulted in extensive
media coverage of the issue, widespread community outrage, and calls
for action. In February two-year-old Qusay died of a brain hemorrhage
due to shaken baby syndrome. On April 8, a woman allegedly tortured and
killed her five-year-old nephew, Yazan. Authorities were reportedly
aware of the cases of both children before the injuries that caused
their deaths. The PSD investigated both deaths, arrested suspected
family members, and tried them for premeditated murder. The defendants
remained in jail at year's end, pending the outcome of their court
cases.
During the year former and current residents and parents of
children in several MSD-operated juvenile rehabilitation centers and
orphanages reported verbal and physical abuse of children by
supervisors. For example, parents of children in an Irbid juvenile
center and former residents of an orphanage in Madaba reported physical
abuse of children. At year's end the MSD was investigating the
complaints.
The law specifies punishment for abuses against children; for
example, conviction for rape of a child younger than 15 years
potentially carries the death penalty. However, local organizations
working with abused children pointed to gaps in the legal system that
regularly resulted in lenient sentencing. For example, the penal code
gives judges the ability to halve a sentence when the victim's family
does not press charges. In child abuse cases, judges routinely accorded
leniency per the wishes of the family. Activists continued to call for
stronger minimum penalties. On July 28, the chief justice of the Higher
Judicial Council announced the formation of a child abuse tribunal
consisting of existing criminal court judges that would hear all cases
involving child abuse. On November 24, the tribunal sentenced a repeat
child molester to 14 years in prison for molesting a 15-year-old boy in
August 2008. The 24-year-old man used a gun and switchblade to threaten
the child.
The National Council for Family Affairs and other local
organizations stated that current legislation does not provide children
sufficient protection from abuse, specifically citing the legal
authorization for parents to discipline their children using force. The
government continued to fund a child protection center that provided
temporary shelter, medical care, and rehabilitation for abused children
between the ages of six to 12 years old. During the year the shelter
housed 74 abused children, of which 46 were new cases. By year's end
the FPU handled 81 cases of child abuse and 435 cases of sexual
assaults.
The current minimum age for marriage is 18 years old. With the
consent of a judge and a guardian, a child as young as 15 years old, in
most cases a girl, may be married, and this was a fairly common
practice. In 2008 judicial statistics indicate that judges granted
consent in 9,014 cases in which at least one person was between 15 and
18 years old. Instances of forced marriage as an alternative to a
potential honor killing were reported in rural areas during the year.
Trafficking in Persons.--On March 31, a new antitrafficking law
came into effect, prohibiting trafficking in persons for both forced
labor and sexual exploitation. Other statutes governing kidnapping,
assault, rape, and fraud may also be used to prosecute trafficking
offenses, including withholding passports and nonpayment of wages.
International and local observers maintained that trafficking and
forced labor of domestic workers remained a serious problem.
The country was a destination and transit point for men and women
from South and Southeast Asia trafficked for forced labor, as well as a
destination for women from Eastern Europe, Morocco, and Tunisia for
prostitution. There were some reports of women from Morocco and Tunisia
subjected to forced prostitution after arriving to work in restaurants
and nightclubs.
Registered recruitment agencies that worked with agencies in source
countries generally recruited domestic workers and foreign workers in
the garment factories
The new antitrafficking law prescribes penalties of up to 10 years'
imprisonment for forced prostitution or trafficking that involves
aggravating circumstances such as trafficking of a child or trafficking
involving a public official. Penalties for labor trafficking offenses
that do not involve aggravating circumstances are limited to a minimum
of six months' imprisonment and a maximum fine of 5,000 dinars
($7,100). The government did not actively encourage victims to pursue
investigation or prosecution of offenses, but the government
investigated and prosecuted a few egregious cases during the year.
The National Committee for the Prevention of Human Trafficking is
the primary body responsible for combating trafficking. The Committee
is headed by the minister of justice and includes representatives from
the MOI, PSD, NCHR, NCFA, MFA, and ministries of labor (MOL), industry
and trade, and health. During the year the ministries of justice,
interior, and labor established antitrafficking units to coordinate
their efforts. Within the PSD the Borders and Residency Department led
efforts to identify and investigate trafficking. A small office in the
PSD Prostitution Department focused on forced prostitution and forced
labor in restaurants and nightclubs. The government approved a joint
police-labor inspector trafficking in persons investigation unit during
the year, but it was not fully operational at year's end.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides equal rights to
persons with disabilities, who numbered around 200,000, according to
government and NGO estimates. The Higher Council for the Affairs of
People with Disabilities works with government ministries, the private
sector, and NGOs to formulate and implement strategies to assist
persons with disabilities. On July 23, the council issued national
accreditation standards for rehabilitation centers for persons with
disabilities. According to the council there are more than 15,000
students with disabilities attending 255 specialized centers and
schools.
Citizens and NGOs universally reported that persons with
disabilities faced problems accessing education, transportation, and
other services in rural areas. The Special Buildings Code Department is
tasked to enforce accessibility provisions and oversees retrofitting of
existing buildings to comply with building codes. Many private and
public office buildings continued to have limited or no access for
persons with disabilities.
The law mandates that public and private sector establishments with
between 25 and 50 workers employ at least one person with disabilities,
and establishments with more than 50 workers must reserve 2 percent of
their positions for persons with disabilities. Local organizations
received complaints from persons with disabilities regarding employers
who discriminated against them.
The government provided monetary assistance to citizens with severe
mental and multiple physical disabilities whose families earned less
than 250 dinars ($360) per month, and the Higher Council and local NGOs
operated assistance programs. For example, the council pays a portion
of education, training, or rehabilitation expenses for persons with
disabilities.
National/Ethnic/Racial Minorities
There were three groups of Palestinians residing in the country,
many of whom faced some discrimination. Those who migrated to the
country and the Jordan-controlled West Bank after the 1948 Arab-Israeli
war received full citizenship, as did those who migrated to the country
after the 1967 war and hold no residency entitlement in the West Bank.
Those still residing in the West Bank after 1967 were no longer
eligible to claim full citizenship but were allowed to obtain temporary
passports without national identification numbers, provided they did
not also carry a Palestinian Authority travel document. These
individuals had access to some government services but paid noncitizen
rates at hospitals, educational institutions, and training centers.
Refugees who fled Gaza after 1967 were not entitled to citizenship and
were issued temporary passports without national numbers. These persons
had no access to government services and were almost completely
dependent on UNRWA services.
Several human rights organizations stated that the MOI revoked
national numbers of many longtime citizens of Palestinian origin during
the year despite codified passport issuance procedures (see section
2.d.).
Palestinians were underrepresented in parliament and senior
positions in the government and the military, as well as in admission
to public universities. They had limited access to university
scholarships.
During the year there were reports of societal discrimination
against Iraqis living in the country. Some employers reportedly refused
to pay or underpaid Iraqis working illegally, and some landlords
reportedly would not rent or sell to Iraqis.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality is not illegal
in Jordan; however, societal discrimination against homosexuals
existed. There were reports of individuals who left the country out of
fear their families would punish them for their sexual orientation.
In March the municipality of Amman reportedly denied an application
to establish a gay rights organization.
In October 2008 security forces arrested four gay men in a park in
West Amman for ``lewd acts'' following a targeted operation by the
police. The individuals were placed in solitary confinement in Jweidah
Prison until they promised they would not carry out any such acts in
the future.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV/AIDS was a largely
taboo subject. Lack of public awareness remained a problem; many
citizens believed the disease exclusively affected foreigners and
homosexuals. The government continued efforts to inform the public
about the disease and to eliminate negative attitudes against persons
with HIV/AIDS, including a media strategy launched in September. The
government continued to test all foreigners annually for HIV/AIDS,
hepatitis B, syphilis, malaria, and tuberculosis, and deported
foreigners who tested HIV positive.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides citizens working in
the private sector, in some government-owned companies, and in certain
professions in the public sector the right to form and join unions, but
in practice this right was restricted. According to official figures,
more than 10 percent of the workforce was organized into 17 unions.
Foreign workers were not permitted to join unions, excluding the
country's more than 300,000 registered foreign workers from any right
of association. Some unions represented the interests of foreign
workers informally; for example, the textile union provided medical and
legal services to both migrant workers and citizens in textile
factories.
Government influence in union policies and activities reportedly
continued. The government required unions to be members of the General
Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU), the sole trade union
federation, and new unions must be approved by the MOL. The government
subsidized and audited the GFJTU's salaries and activities, and it
monitored union elections in the event of a complaint to ensure
compliance with the law. Observers claimed the government continued to
exercise influence over the GFJTU during the year.
The law permits workers to strike only under certain conditions,
including a minimum 14 days' notice to the employer and the government.
Strikes are prohibited if a labor dispute is under mediation or
arbitration. In practice workers generally went on strike without
notifying the government in advance, and the union or workers requested
penalty waivers for the illegal strike as part of subsequent labor
negotiations. During the year employees lodged 47 collective disputes,
not all of which resulted in strikes; the parties resolved 33 through
direct negotiation, and the remainder were resolved by a single
mediator, a council, the Ministry of Labor (MOL), or a court.
During the year the gendarmerie broke up several strikes deemed
illegal due to lack of prior notice and briefly detained some strikers.
On July 31, gendarmerie forces used excessive force to break up a
sit-in by workers at the general cargo port in Aqaba. Workers held the
two-day sit-in to protest job losses and a housing compensation
agreement connected to the sale of the port. One worker was severely
injured and three suffered minor injuries. The gendarmerie briefly
detained 65 protesters and in mid-August detained the protesters'
official spokesman for one day. The Aqaba governor, responsible for
security matters in the governorate, said the sit-in was illegal
because the government had not previously approved the event, and he
maintained that the gendarmerie used force only when protesters began
to violate public safety. Other observers indicated that the protesters
were peaceful. A joint PSD and gendarmerie investigation was launched
after the incident and continued at year's end.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Unions have the
right to bargain collectively, and in practice the government respected
this right, although observers stated that unions did not use such
practices as often or as effectively as they should. The constitution
prohibits antiunion discrimination, and the MOL received no complaints
of antiunion discrimination during the year.
Nearly 76 percent of the workers in the Qualified Industrial Zones
(QIZs) were noncitizens and thus were not permitted to form or
participate in unions or to engage in collective bargaining.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, except in a state of emergency
such as war or natural disaster, but there were reports of forced
labor, particularly of domestic workers. With the passage of new
domestic worker regulations in August (see section 6, Trafficking in
Persons), labor inspectors have the authority to inspect a labor
complaint in a private home only after receiving the employer's
permission or with a court order. Domestic workers can file complaints
with the MOL's Domestic Workers Directorate or the PSD.
Women, including minors with forged documents, from countries
including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines migrated to work as
domestic servants, but some were subjected to conditions of forced
labor, such as withholding of passports, restrictions on movement,
nonpayment of wages, threats, excessively long working hours, and
physical or sexual abuse. During the year the government of the
Philippines continued to enforce a ban on new workers migrating for
domestic work because of a high rate of abuse of domestic workers from
the Philippines by employers in the country. At year's end an estimated
400 domestic workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka
were sheltered at their respective embassies in Amman; most had
reportedly fled some form of forced labor.
Some Chinese, Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri Lankan, and Vietnamese men
and women encountered conditions of forced labor in a few garment
factories, including unlawful withholding of passports and late or
nonpayment of wages and overtime. However, reports of forced labor
conditions in garment factories continued to decrease substantially
from previous years, and the government actively inspected factories
and investigated allegations of forced labor in garment factories. The
MOL required violators to resolve the problem satisfactorily per the
labor law and other governing legislation and to pay fines when it
deemed appropriate. The MOL also publicized the outcomes of its
findings.
On August 25, the cabinet approved two new sets of regulations
establishing rights and working conditions for foreign domestic workers
and governing the operation of recruitment agencies; both measures were
intended to assist in combating trafficking. The domestic worker
regulations established the rights and working conditions for domestic
workers, including working hours, annual and sick leave, contact with
family in the source country, and freedom of religion. The regulations
also include employer protections. Local activists, while recognizing
the regulations as a step to protect the rights of domestic workers,
questioned the government's ability to enforce the rights due to
insufficient personnel in the labor inspectorate and employers' right
to refuse investigations. Some activists also questioned the provision
requiring domestic workers to obtain permission from their employer to
leave the home for any reason. Labor inspectors had authority to
investigate complaints only with the employer's permission; absent
permission, inspectors must obtain a warrant. Recruitment agency
regulations allow for greater monitoring and enforcement by labor
inspectors and place more stringent registration requirements on
agencies, including a minimum of six employees (including a manager
with a university degree), a 100,000 dinar ($142,100) bank guarantee,
and a 30,000 dinar ($42,600) capital requirement.
The government provided no formal protective services specifically
for victims of trafficking. A few local NGOs and embassies offered
limited services. During the year the MSD women's shelter housed a
small number of sexually assaulted domestic workers. Some foreign
workers who fled from abusive employers or faced sexual assault were
falsely charged with crimes by their employer or put into ``protective
custody.'' Some source country embassies operated their own shelters
for domestic workers fleeing their employers.
Government efforts to increase awareness of trafficking in persons,
especially of domestic workers, were minimal during the year. The MOL
continued a few initiatives to prevent trafficking efforts, including
distribution of a guidebook for domestic workers on their rights and
operation of a multilanguage abuse prevention hotline.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
labor law forbids employment for children younger than 16 years of age,
except as apprentices, but there were reports of child labor. Children
worked in mechanical repair, agriculture and fishing, construction, and
hotels and restaurants, as well as in the informal sector as street
vendors, carpenters, blacksmiths, domestic workers, and painters, and
in small family businesses. Child labor was reportedly concentrated in
larger cities, such as Amman, Zarqa, and Irbid. A 2008 Department of
Statistics study estimated the number of working children between the
ages of five to 17 years old at more than 32,000. Activists estimated
the number to be higher, as many businesses and families tended to hide
the practice.
Children younger than 18 years old may not work for more than six
hours per day, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., or during
weekends, religious celebrations, or national holidays. Children
younger than 18 years old may not work in hazardous occupations. The
law provides that employers who hire a child younger than 16 must pay a
fine of as much as 500 dinars ($710), which is doubled for repeat
offenses.
A 2007 MOL study estimated that 13 percent of working children in
the country were subjected to some form of forced labor, and 16 percent
earned 50 dinars ($71) or less per month. The average monthly salary
was 81 dinars ($115). The study stated that heavy machinery, noise
pollution, poor lighting, and exposure to chemicals were common risks
working children faced.
The government's capacity to implement and enforce child labor laws
was not sufficient to deter the practice. The MOL's Child Labor Unit
coordinates government action regarding child labor and receives,
investigates, and addresses child labor complaints. The unit had two
employees and was unable to carry out its responsibilities effectively.
During the year the government reinstated the National Committee to
Combat Child Labor and initiated development of a new national
strategy. During the year a foreign NGO trained 48 MOL inspectors on
child labor issues, including identification of child labor. Labor
inspectors have issued fines for child labor violations, but stated
they often attempted alternative approaches first, such as ensuring
safe work conditions and cooperating with employers to permit working
children to attend school concurrently
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On January 1, the national
minimum wage increased from 110 dinars ($156) to 150 dinars ($213) per
month, which did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker
and family. A tripartite committee, composed of government, private
sector, and employee representatives, determined the minimum wage after
taking into consideration a range of economic and social factors. The
increased minimum wage did not apply to workers in the garment sector,
whether they were citizens or foreigners, or to domestic workers;
however, the MOL and the garment exporters association agreed to a
nonbinding understanding that textile workers would receive a 40 dinar
($57) monthly allowance, in addition to company-provided housing and
food. MOL inspectors enforced the minimum wage but due to limited
resources were unable to ensure full compliance.
In some cases the law requires overtime pay for hours worked in
excess of the 48-hour standard workweek. The law prohibits compulsory
overtime but allows the employer to require the employee to work more
than 48 hours a week for specific purposes such as annual inventory,
closing accounts, preparing to sell goods at discounted prices,
avoiding loss to goods that would otherwise be exposed to damage, and
receiving special deliveries. In such cases actual working hours may
not exceed 10 hours per day, the employee must be paid overtime, and
the period may not last more than 30 days. Employees can lodge a
complaint directly with the MOL or through organizations such as their
union or the NCHR. Employees are entitled to one day off per week.
Provisions for domestic and agricultural workers, placed under the
labor law in 2008, were similar. A study by the Phoenix Center for
Economic and Information Studies released on September 7 revealed that
many workers in the private sector worked excessive hours and did not
receive sick and annual leave as stipulated in the labor law.
The law specifies a number of health and safety requirements that
the MOL is authorized to enforce. Workers do not have a statutory right
to remove themselves from hazardous conditions without risking the loss
of their jobs. Foreign workers were more susceptible to dangerous or
unfair conditions (see section 6.c.).
__________
KUWAIT
Kuwait is a constitutional, hereditary emirate ruled by the Al
Sabah family. The country has a population of 3.44 million, of whom 1.1
million are citizens. Local observers and the press considered the May
16 parliamentary election generally free and fair. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
The government limited citizens' right to change their government
and form political parties. There were a few reports of security forces
abusing prisoners and at least one investigation and prosecution
related to prisoner abuse. The government limited freedoms of speech,
religion, and movement for certain groups and, although widely regarded
as allowing considerably free media, occasionally limited media
freedom. The status of stateless Arab residents (called ``Bidoon'')
remained unresolved. Government corruption and trafficking in persons
remained problems. Women did not enjoy equal rights, although some
advances were made. Expatriate workers faced difficult conditions in
the domestic and unskilled service sectors.
On October 20, the Constitutional Court ruled that a woman can
obtain a passport without her husband's permission. On October 28, the
same court ruled that female members of parliament (MPs), female
candidates for parliament, and female voters are not legally required
to wear the hijab, a headscarf worn by some Muslim women, thereby
settling a contentious issue of how to interpret the 2005 women's
suffrage amendment to the 1962 election law.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Articles 53, 159, and 184 of the criminal law code
prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or
punishment; however, some police and members of the security forces
reportedly abused detainees during the year. Police and security forces
were more likely to inflict such abuse on noncitizens, particularly
non-Gulf Arabs and Asians, and there were several reported accounts of
police abuse of transgender persons. The government stated that it
investigated all allegations of abuse and punished some of the
offenders; however, in most cases the government did not make public
either the findings of its investigations or any punishments it
imposed.
In late January a court sentenced three police officers accused of
torturing a young man to two years in prison. The case was appealed on
February 10, but the Court of Appeals had not returned a verdict at
year's end.
There were no further developments concerning the allegations that
security officials abused hundreds of Bangladeshi workers in the wake
of July 2008 labor strikes.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The Central Prison Complex
houses the country's only three prisons: a low-security men's prison, a
high-security men's prison, and a women's prison. The prison complex
slightly exceeded its 4,000-person capacity; there were 211 inmates in
the women's prison and 3,834 inmates in the men's prisons. The country
also has a 1,000-person capacity deportation center in Talha that is
not part of the prison complex. The 2006 construction of new men's
prisons resulted in an improvement in prison and detention center
conditions; however, some detention facilities lacked adequate
sanitation and sufficient medical staff. Authorities reportedly
mistreated prisoners and failed to prevent inmate-on-inmate violence.
While the Ministry of Interior (MOI) gave some nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) such as the Al-Takaful Prisoner Care Society
unfettered access to prisons, the Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS)
issued a statement August 1 criticizing the MOI for barring KHRS
representatives from visiting the low-security prison. On July 7, the
parliamentary Human Rights Committee visited the Central Prison Complex
following up on an earlier visit. The committee chair expressed his
satisfaction that the MOI had dealt with sanitation problems and a lack
of medical staff observed during previous visits.
During the year the KHRS visited the Talha Deportation Center (used
as a holding facility for expatriate laborers) and stated that the
center provides detainees sufficient food and adequate medical
services.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions. There were a few reports that police sometimes
arbitrarily arrested nonnationals.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police have sole
responsibility for the enforcement of laws not related to national
security, and State Security oversees intelligence and national
security matters; both are under the purview of civilian MOI
authorities. The military is responsible for external security.
The police were generally effective in carrying out core
responsibilities; however, there were frequent reports of corruption,
especially when one party to a dispute had a personal relationship with
a police official involved in a case. There were reports that police
showed favoritism towards citizens. On September 7, police arrested and
briefly detained a foreign citizen after three Kuwaiti men beat him for
interfering in a dispute between a domestic worker and an employer; the
three Kuwaitis involved were not arrested.
There were also reports that some police stations did not take
seriously the requests of complainants, especially foreign nationals.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that police sometimes
obstructed foreign nationals' access to the justice system.
In cases of alleged police abuse, the district chief investigator
examines abuse allegations and refers cases to the courts for trial.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A police
officer generally must obtain an arrest warrant from a state prosecutor
or a judge before making an arrest, except in cases of hot pursuit.
There were few reports of police arresting and detaining foreign
nationals without a warrant during the year. The courts generally do
not accept cases without warrants issued prior to arrests. According to
the penal code, a suspected criminal may be held at a police station
without charge for as long as four days, during which authorities may
prevent lawyers and family members from visiting. In such cases lawyers
are permitted to attend legal proceedings but are not allowed to have
direct contact with their clients. If charges are filed, a prosecutor
may remand a suspect to detention for an additional 21 days.
Prosecutors also may obtain court orders for further detention pending
trial. There is a functioning bail system for defendants awaiting
trial. The bar association provides lawyers for indigent defendants; in
these cases defendants do not have the option of choosing which lawyer
will be assigned to them.
Of the 4,035 persons serving sentences or detained pending trial,
an estimated 150 were held in the ``state security ward'' on security
grounds, including some held for collaborating with Iraq during the
1990-91 occupation. Arbitrarily lengthy detention before trial was a
problem, and approximately 10 percent of the prison population
consisted of pretrial detainees.
During the year foreign nationals at the Talha Deportation Center
were generally incarcerated between 10 days and two months awaiting
deportation. Some prisoners were held for longer periods, due to court
delays.
On July 7, due to pressure from the parliamentary Human Rights
Committee, the MOI released Ahmad Al-Shammari, a Bidoon, from the Talha
Deportation Center, where he had been detained for five years.
Amnesty.--On February 28, holding to an annual tradition, the emir
freed and pardoned 99 prisoners.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary and the right to a fair trial and states that
``judges shall not be subject to any authority''; however, the emir
appoints all judges, and the renewal of judicial appointments is
subject to government approval. Judges who are citizens have lifetime
appointments; however, many judges are noncitizens who hold one- to
three-year renewable contracts. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) may
remove judges for cause but rarely does so. Foreign residents involved
in legal disputes with citizens frequently claimed the courts showed
bias in favor of citizens.
The secular court system tries both civil and criminal cases, all
of which originate with the Court of First Instance, composed of a
three-judge panel. Both defendants and plaintiffs may appeal a verdict
to the High Court of Appeals, with a three-judge panel that may rule on
whether the law was applied properly as well as on the guilt or
innocence of the defendant. These decisions may be presented to the
Court of Cassation, where five judges review the cases to determine
only whether the law was properly applied. The emir has the
constitutional authority to pardon or commute all sentences.
Shari'a (Islamic law) courts have jurisdiction over family law
cases for Sunni and Shia Muslims. Secular courts allow anyone to
testify and consider male and female testimony equally; however, in the
family courts the testimony of a man is equal to that of two women.
The Constitutional Court, whose members are senior judges from the
civil judiciary, has the authority to issue binding rulings concerning
the constitutionality of laws and regulations and also rules on
election disputes.
A martial court convenes in the event the emir declares martial
law. The law does not specifically provide for a military court or
provide any guidelines for how such a court would operate. The military
operates tribunals that can impose punishments for offenses within the
military.
Trial Procedures.--By law criminal trials are public unless a court
or the government decides ``maintenance of public order'' or
``preservation of public morals'' necessitates closed proceedings.
There is no trial by jury. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence
and have the right to confront their accusers and appeal verdicts.
Defendants in felony cases are required by law to be represented in
court by legal counsel, which the courts provide in criminal cases. The
bar association is obligated upon court request to appoint an attorney
without charge for indigent defendants in civil, commercial, and
criminal cases, and defendants used these services. Defendants have the
right to confront witnesses against them and present their own
witnesses. Defendants and their attorneys generally have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases and to appeal their
cases to a higher court. The law affords these protections to all
citizens.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however, rulings
occasionally were not enforced. Administrative punishments, such as
travel bans, are also available in civil matters.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law provides for individual privacy and the
sanctity of the home, and the government generally respected these
rights in practice. Security forces occasionally monitored individuals'
private communications and activities.
The law forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men
and requires male citizens serving in the police force or military to
obtain government approval to marry foreign nationals. In practice the
government offered only nonbinding advice in such matters and did not
prevent any such marriages.
The government may deny a citizenship application by a Bidoon
resident based on security or criminal violations committed by his or
her family members.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and the press ``in accordance with the conditions and
in the circumstances defined by law.'' In practice the government
sometimes did not respect these rights, and journalists and publishers
practiced self-censorship. According to Freedom House's annual Freedom
of the Press report, the country has a considerably free press,
including electronic media.
Individuals were able to criticize the government freely in private
and informal gatherings but could incur jail time and/or fines for
attacking Islam, the emir, or the crown prince. Pointed criticism of
ministers and other high-ranking government officials continued to be
widespread, even though authorities arrested and detained individuals,
including opposition political candidates, for incitement or criticism
of the emir.
On April 17, police detained former MP Dhaifallah Bu Ramiya for
telling an election rally that Defense Minister Shaykh Jaber Mubarak Al
Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, was not fit to become
prime minister. The former MP faced charges of disparaging the powers
of the emir, who has the right to appoint the prime minister. After
being detained for three days, Ramiya was released on bail and
continued his ultimately successful election campaign.
On April 19, police arrested and detained parliamentary candidate
Khalifa Al-Kharafi overnight; Al-Kharafi had said during a television
interview that neither the emir nor the defense minister possessed the
faculties needed to run the state. No charges were brought against him.
On June 12, authorities released an Australian woman sentenced in
April to two years in prison for insulting the emir and allowed her to
return home. The woman, arrested in December 2008, allegedly insulted
the emir while arguing with airport security guards.
The country had 14 Arabic and three English-language daily
newspapers, all of which were privately owned. Print media generally
exhibited independence and diversity of opinion, although there were
reports that media outlets sometimes practiced self-censorship to avoid
unnecessary conflict with the government. In late 2008 the government
lifted a ban dating from 2007 on the import and circulation of several
Egyptian newsletters. The government owned nine local radio and five
television stations, and there were more than 16 privately owned
television stations. In July 2008 media workers united to form an
independent journalists' union.
The law prohibits the publication of material criticizing Islam,
the emir, the constitution, or the neutrality of the courts or public
prosecutor's office. The law also mandates jail terms for anyone who
``defames religion,'' and any Muslim citizen may file criminal charges
against an author the citizen believes has defamed Islam, the ruling
family, or public morals. The number of such cases filed against
journalists and television stations continued to increase; more than
100 were filed during the year, most of which resulted in fines.
On November 22, police arrested journalist Mohammad Abdulqader al-
Jassem on charges that he made slanderous remarks against the prime
minister during a ``diwaniya,'' an informal weekly social and political
gathering. Diwaniyas have generally been considered a space for free
and open political discourse. At year's end Al-Jassem was free on bail
and awaited trial.
On December 24, upon his return into the country, police arrested
former parliamentary candidate Mohammed Al-Juwaihel on charges of
unlicensed broadcasting, making false claims, and compromising national
security. The government filed charges for public remarks broadcast by
Al-Juwaihel on his satellite outlet in which he reportedly insulted
certain MPs and made derogatory comments about Kuwaitis with dual
citizenship and those of tribal and Bidoon origin. He was released on a
5,000-dinar ($17,400) bail on December 31.
Fuad al-Hashem of the daily newspaper Al-Watan continued to refuse
to pay a 2008 fine of 7,190 dinars ($25,000) for defamation as a result
of three cases brought to court by the Qatari prime minister, who
accused Al-Hashem of harming his reputation in articles dealing with
his relations with Israel.
The MOI censored all books, films, periodicals, videotapes, and
other imported publications deemed morally offensive, although
satellite dishes were widely available and allowed some citizens to
receive unfiltered media. The MOI controlled the publication and
distribution of all informational materials.
On August 25, the MOI ordered the cancellation of the television
series Sawtik Wossel (Your Voice Has Been Heard). The show featured
parodies of various prominent political figures, including the prime
minister and the speaker of parliament. During the year columnists and
editors used their publications to discuss, and in some cases
criticize, the MOI's decision, without government interference.
The law requires a newspaper publisher to obtain an operating
license from the MOI. Publishers may lose their license if their
publications do not appear for three months in the case of a daily
newspaper, or six months in the case of a less frequent publication.
Internet Freedom.--According to 2008 International
Telecommunications Union statistics, approximately 34 percent of the
country's inhabitants used the Internet. The government monitored
Internet communications, such as blogs and discussion groups, for
defamation and security reasons. The Ministry of Communications (MOC)
continued to block Web sites deemed to ``incite terrorism and
instability'' and required Internet service providers to block other
Web sites, some political. Internet cafe owners were obligated to
obtain the names and civil identification numbers of customers and to
submit the information to the MOC upon request.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The law provides for freedom
of opinion and of research; however, academic freedom was limited by
self-censorship, and the law prohibits academics from criticizing the
emir or Islam.
The MOI reserved the right to approve or reject public events and
rejected those it deemed politically or morally inappropriate. There
were no updates in the Commercial Attorney's Office's investigation of
a hotel owner and party organizers for sponsoring a mixed-gender dance
in August 2008.
The MOI censored films for profanity, nudity, sexual contact,
kissing, and extreme violence.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected the right in practice. Organizers of public
gatherings of more than 20 persons must inform the MOI of their plans.
The law also protects diwaniyas. Many adult male citizens,
including members of the government and of the National Assembly, and
increasing numbers of female citizens hosted or attended diwaniyas to
discuss current economic, political, and social issues. A few women
held female-only diwaniyas, and a small number of diwaniyas were open
to both sexes.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association; however, the government restricted this right in practice.
The law prohibits officially licensed groups from engaging in political
activities.
The government used its power to license associations as a means of
political control. There were 73 officially licensed NGOs in the
country, including a bar association, professional groups, and
scientific bodies. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) did
not license any new NGOs during the year. There remained 149 NGOs
pending licensing by the MOSAL; many had been waiting years for
approval.
The 45 NGOs licensed prior to 2004 continued to receive an annual
government subsidy of 12,000 dinars ($41,800) for their operating
expenses, including travel to international conferences. NGOs licensed
since 2004, when the MOSAL resumed issuing licenses after a long period
of refusing to do so, received no financial assistance. The MOSAL
rejected some license requests on the grounds that established NGOs
already provided services similar to those the petitioners proposed.
The MOSAL can also reject an NGO's application if it deems that the NGO
does not provide a public service. The minister has discretion to
change a proposed NGO's name prior to licensing and sometimes did so on
the grounds that the name was too close to that of an already existing
NGO. Members of licensed NGOs must obtain permission from the MOSAL to
attend international conferences as official representatives of their
organization.
There were dozens of unlicensed civic groups, clubs, and unofficial
NGOs in the country. These unofficial associations did not receive
government subsidies and had no legal status.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion; however, the government limited this right. The constitution
protects the freedom to practice religion in accordance with
established customs, provided it does not conflict with public policy
or morals. The constitution declares that Islam is the state religion
and that Shari'a is ``a main source of legislation.''
Non-Muslim religious groups unanimously reported that the
government respected freedom of belief, but non-Muslim religious
organizations had more difficulty operating due to registration
requirements. The government did not recognize some Christian churches,
and those churches could not operate openly. Some recognized churches
complained that their quota of visas allotted by the government did not
meet their needs for clergy and other staff. Shia faced some
disadvantages in comparison with Sunnis.
Members of religions not sanctioned in the Koran, such as Baha'is,
Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs, may not operate official places of
worship, but they were allowed to worship in their homes without
government interference. There is no specific law banning the
establishment of other non-Muslim places of worship; however, in
practice the government denied permission to the few groups that
applied for licenses to build new places of worship, deterring some
religious groups from applying.
Islamic religious instruction is mandatory in all government
schools and in any private school that has one or more Muslim students.
The law prohibits organized religious education other than Islam;
however, in practice the government allowed non-Muslim religious
instruction as long as no Muslim students were taking part in the
education. The government did not interfere with religious instruction
inside private homes.
Muslims who wished to convert from Islam to another religion faced
intense societal pressure and generally had to hide their new religious
affiliation. The law prohibits naturalization of non-Muslims and
forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men; these
prohibitions effectively coerced individuals to convert to Islam.
The government prohibited non-Muslim missionaries from
proselytizing to Muslims, although they may serve non-Muslim
congregations. The Islamic Presentation Committee, under the authority
of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (MAIA), actively
proselytized to non-Muslims.
The government does not permit the establishment of non-Islamic
religious publishing companies, and only one private company had an
import license for non-Muslim religious materials.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although discrimination based
on religion reportedly occurred on a personal level, most observers
agreed it was not widespread.
During the year there were markedly fewer instances of anti-Jewish
rhetoric by the media than in previous years. There were no known
Jewish citizens and an estimated few dozen Jewish foreign resident
workers.
The MAIA's ``moderation'' project, which aimed to discourage
extremism among Muslims and improve the image of Muslims among non-
Muslims, has been dormant since the end of 2008.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution generally provides
for freedom of movement within the country; however, numerous laws
constrain foreign travel, and the government placed some limits on
freedom of movement in practice. Although the government contributed
575,000 dinars ($2 million) to the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) during the year, it was uncooperative with most
UNHCR efforts to provide implementation of protection and assistance to
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
In contrast with 2008, there were no reports of laborers claiming
they were not allowed to leave the residential camps where they lived.
Women, persons younger than 21, and Bidoon faced problems with or
restrictions on foreign travel. Although not sanctioned by law, MOI
regulations mandate that all persons younger than 21 obtain permission
from their father or another male relative to receive a passport and
travel abroad and that a married woman obtain her husband's permission
to apply for a passport. However, on October 20, the Constitutional
Court issued and began enforcing a final ruling confirming a woman's
right to obtain a passport without her husband's approval. A husband
may still request that immigration authorities prevent his wife's
departure from the country for 24 hours, after which a court order may
extend the travel ban. The government restricted the ability of the
Bidoon population to travel abroad. It permitted some Bidoon to travel
to Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj and continued to issue increasing
numbers of ``Article 17'' passports (temporary travel documents that do
not confer nationality) for Bidoon, including more than 18,000 in 2008
and more than 2,500 in January 2009.
The law also permits the government to place a travel ban on any
citizen or foreigner accused or suspected of violating the law, and it
allows citizens to petition authorities to do so. In practice this
resulted in citizens and foreigners arbitrarily being prevented or
delayed from departing the country.
The law prohibits the deportation or forced exile of citizens,
although the government can revoke citizenship of naturalized citizens
for various causes, including felony conviction and subsequently deport
individuals. The government cannot revoke the citizenship of
individuals who are born citizens.
During the year several hundred Bidoon emigrated from the country
to Australia, the United States, New Zealand, and Canada.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967. The laws do
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, there is no
system for providing protection to refugees, and the government did not
grant refugee status or asylum during the year. The country's
immigration regulations prohibit local settlement for asylum seekers.
In practice the government provided protection against the expulsion or
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion. The constitution
prohibits the extradition of political refugees; the government often
kept such persons in detention until they agreed to return to their
home country or made alternative travel arrangements, and it rarely
granted them permission to live and work in the country.
Stateless Persons.--According to the law, Kuwaiti citizenship is
derived entirely from the father; children born to citizen mothers and
nonnational fathers do not inherit citizenship unless the mother is
divorced or widowed. The law further fails to provide nonnationals,
including Bidoon and non-Muslims, the opportunity to gain nationality
on a nondiscriminatory basis.
Although the exact number of Bidoon residents was unknown, the
Ministry of Planning estimated there were more than 100,000 Bidoon in
the country at the end of 2006, the last year the government collected
those statistics. The government continued to discriminate against
Bidoon in areas such as education, employment, medical care, and
freedom of movement. Bidoon children may not attend public schools.
Although the government accepted Bidoon in an increasing number of
government positions, it barred them from enlisting in the armed
forces. Bidoon generally did not qualify for the subsidized health care
that citizens received, and the government also made it difficult for
Bidoon to obtain official documents necessary for employment or travel,
such as birth certificates, civil identification cards, driver
licenses, and marriage certificates.
There were at least two developments in Bidoon rights during the
year.
On March 25, the Court of First Instance decided to issue a
marriage certificate to a Bidoon woman married to a Kuwaiti citizen.
Based on this precedent, on April 5 and again on May 26, the same court
affirmed a Bidoon man's right to receive a marriage certificate and
birth certificates for his children. Neither the justice nor health
ministries had complied with these court orders by year's end.
On May 21, the Ministry of Health passed a resolution allowing free
access to government health clinics for any Bidoon child who had a
Kuwaiti mother (free access would end once a child turns 18, whereas
Kuwaiti citizens receive free clinic access for life). This resolution
also allows free health clinic access for life for all Bidoon whom the
Ministry of Health deemed to have disabilities.
During the year the government did not grant citizenship to any
Bidoon, despite having granted citizenship in 2008 to 573 Bidoon on the
basis of sufficient ties to the country. More than 80,000 Bidoon
citizenship requests were pending at year's end. Many Bidoon were
unable to provide documentation proving sufficient ties to the country
or present evidence of their original nationality. However, the
government maintained that the vast majority of Bidoon were concealing
their true identities and were not actually stateless.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their
representatives in the legislative branch of government, and citizens
exercised this right in practice. Citizens had only a limited, indirect
impact on control of the executive branch, as the constitution
stipulates that the country is a hereditary emirate. The elected
National Assembly must approve the emir's choice of crown prince (the
future emir) and may remove the emir from power if it declares him
unfit.
Elections and Political Participation.--On May 16, two months after
the emir dissolved the National Assembly, tribal candidates gained
seats in a parliamentary election that was generally considered free
and fair. It was the third election in three years, due to the emir's
constitutional dissolution of parliament in May 2006, March 2008, and
March 2009.
Although there is no formal law banning political parties, the
government did not recognize any political parties or allow their
formation. Nevertheless, tribal affiliations and several well-
organized, unofficial blocs closely resembled political parties in
National Assembly elections. Assembly candidates must nominate
themselves as individuals and may run for election in any of the
country's electoral districts. Tribes dominated two of the five
constituencies and exerted influence on the other three. Tribal leaders
excluded women from the tribal primaries.
On April 12, police arrested trade unionist Khalid Al-Tahous, a
parliamentary tribal candidate, for ``incitement against the state''
after he told an election rally that tribes would oppose any attempts
to enforce the law prohibiting tribal primaries. After being detained
for eight days, he apologized for his statements and was released on
bail to continue his ultimately successful election campaign.
In addition to the four women elected to the National Assembly in
May, the emir appointed a woman as minister of education. There has
been a female minister in every cabinet since 2005.
There were nine Shia members in the parliament, the most ever
elected to the National Assembly since its 1962 founding. There were
also two appointed Shia members of the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law mandates criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Twenty
percent of the respondents in a Transparency International poll
released June 3 claimed to have paid a bribe or to know someone in
their household who had done so in the past year. Respondents believed
public officials and civil servants were the most corrupt entities, and
they perceived the judiciary and parliament as less corrupt. According
to the poll, respondents thought corruption was less prevalent in the
country than experts believe it is. The Audit Bureau is the government
agency responsible for combating government corruption.
The MOSAL and MOI continued to discover dozens of cases during the
year of ministry employees forging documents to enable the importation
of foreign workers. Violations were referred to investigative bodies
within the ministries and then sent to the Attorney General's Office
for action. Courts rarely took rigorous action against the violators;
however, on October 30, a court sentenced three officials charged with
embezzlement to seven years in prison and a 3.4 million dinar ($12
million) fine.
Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
The law provides for public access to unclassified government
information by citizens and noncitizens alike. The government enforced
this law.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The law permits the existence of NGOs; however, the government
continued to deny licenses to some NGOs. NGOs may not engage in overtly
political activity and are prohibited from encouraging sectarianism.
They must also demonstrate that their existence is in the public
interest. The only local independent NGOs dedicated specifically to
human rights were the KHRS and the Kuwaiti Society for Fundamental
Human Rights. Other local licensed NGOs devoted to specific groups,
such as women, children, foreign workers, prisoners, and persons with
disabilities, were permitted to work without government interference.
An unknown number of local unlicensed human rights groups operated
without government restriction during the year. The government and
various National Assembly committees met regularly with local NGOs and
responded to their inquiries.
The government permits international human rights organizations to
visit the country and establish offices, although none operated in the
country. The International Office for Migration regional director
visited the country during the year.
The government permitted visits by international governmental
organizations and continued to cooperate fully with the work of UN
special rapporteurs for Iran and Iraq and the high-level representative
of the UN secretary-general on the issue of Kuwaiti citizens missing in
Iraq since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.
The National Assembly's Human Rights Committee is an advisory body
that primarily hears individual complaints of human rights abuses.
Committee members also visited the Central Prison during the year (see
section 1.c.).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, origin, disability,
or language; however, in practice the government did not uniformly or
consistently enforce laws against discrimination, and a number of laws
and regulations discriminated against women, noncitizens, and domestic
workers.
Women.--Violence against women continued to be a serious and
underreported problem. Rape carries a maximum penalty of death, which
the country occasionally imposes for the crime; however, spousal rape
is not a crime. The media reported hundreds of rape cases during the
year. Many of the victims were noncitizen domestic workers. Police
occasionally arrested alleged rapists, and several were tried and
convicted during the year; however, laws against rape were not always
enforced effectively. According to foreign diplomatic sources, victims
reported that the majority of police stations and hospitals handled
their cases in a professional way, but others did not.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence; cases are
tried instead as assault, and a victim of domestic violence may file a
complaint with police requesting formal charges be brought against the
alleged abuser. Each of the country's 83 police stations reportedly
received weekly complaints of domestic abuse. However, even with
documented evidence of the abuse, such as eyewitness accounts, hospital
reports, and social worker testimony, police officials rarely arrested
perpetrators of domestic violence. Noncitizen women married to citizens
reported domestic abuse and inaction or discrimination by police during
the year. A woman may petition for divorce based on injury from abuse,
but the law does not provide a clear legal standard as to what
constitutes injury. In addition, a woman must provide at least two male
witnesses (or a male witness and two female witnesses) to attest to the
injury. The courts have found husbands guilty of spousal abuse;
however, most domestic abuse cases were not reported, especially
outside the capital, and individuals reportedly bribed police officials
to ignore domestic abuse charges. Abusive husbands, if convicted,
rarely faced severe penalties. There were no shelters or hotlines
specifically for victims of domestic violence, although a temporary
shelter for domestic workers housed victims during the year.
Honor crimes are prohibited; however, the penal code reduces
penalties for such crimes to misdemeanors. The law states that a man
who sees his wife, daughter, mother, or sister in the act of adultery
and immediately kills her and/or the man with whom she is committing
adultery faces a maximum punishment of three years' imprisonment and a
225 dinar ($784) fine. There have been no reported cases of honor
crimes in recent years.
Police actively enforced laws against pandering and prostitution,
reporting 632 arrests and 351 convictions. During the year police also
uncovered numerous prostitution rings. However, according to reports
the prostitution rings were largely made up of women who were not being
forced or held captive against their will. The police Criminal
Investigation Division determined whether prostituted women were being
held against their will based on evidence of coercion, such as doors
that locked from the outside and barred windows. The government
generally deported prostituted persons to their countries of origin;
however, some were released after signing a pledge of good conduct.
Pimps, usually nonnationals, received lengthy jail terms. Some
unemployed runaway foreign domestic workers were recruited or kidnapped
and forced into prostitution.
There is no specific law that addresses sexual harassment; however,
the law criminalizes ``encroachment on honor,'' which encompasses
everything from touching a woman against her will to rape, and police
strictly enforced this law. Perpetrators face fines and jail time.
Human rights groups characterized sexual harassment against women in
the workplace as a pervasive but unreported problem.
Women enjoyed the right to decide freely and responsibly the
number, spacing, and timing of their children. Oral contraceptives were
available over the counter. A 2004 study found the contraceptive needs
of 90 percent of nonpregnant, married Kuwaiti women were being met
despite the absence of a formal family planning program.
Women have some political rights; however, they do not enjoy the
same rights as men under family law, property law, or in the judicial
system, and they continued to face discrimination in many areas.
Nevertheless, women attained prominent positions in government and
business. A parliamentary committee for women's and family affairs
exists, and female MPs made up four of its five members.
Women continued to experience legal, economic, and social
discrimination. Shari'a discriminates against women in judicial
proceedings, freedom of movement, and marriage. Inheritance is also
governed by Shari'a, which varies according to the school of Islamic
jurisprudence the different populations in the country follow. In the
absence of a direct male heir, a Shia woman may inherit all property,
while a Sunni woman inherits only a portion, with the balance divided
among brothers, uncles, and male cousins of the deceased. When the
children of a divorced woman reach age 18, she loses her right to live
in housing purchased through the government loan program, regardless of
any payments she may have made on the loan, and a female citizen
married to a noncitizen cannot, by law, qualify for the loan program.
Female citizens married to noncitizens are also required to pay annual
residence fees of 217 dinars ($756) for their husbands and children;
the law grants residency only if the noncitizen husband is employed.
Citizen women cannot pass citizenship to their noncitizen husbands or
their children. Male citizens married to female noncitizens did not
face such discrimination in law or practice.
The law provides for a woman to receive ``remuneration equal to
that of a man provided she does the same work''; however, it prohibits
women from working in ``dangerous industries'' and in trades
``harmful'' to health. In June 2008 the Constitutional Court ruled that
the housing benefits package outlined in a resolution by the Council of
Ministers for judges, attorneys general, and counselors in the legal
advice and legislation department was unconstitutional. According to
the resolution, married employees of both genders received a housing
allowance of 323 dinars ($1,125), single male employees received 217
dinars ($756), and single female employees received nothing. Educated
women maintained that the conservative nature of society limited career
opportunities, although there were limited improvements. Women made up
50 percent of the 263,000 citizens working in the public sector, 39
percent of the 57,000 working in the private sector, and 70 percent of
college graduates.
The law requires that classes at all universities, private and
public, be segregated by gender. Public universities enforced this law
more rigorously than private universities.
On March 26, the first female police officers graduated from the
Support Authority Institute at the Saad Al-Abdallah police academy.
On October 28, the Constitutional Court ruled that female MPs Rola
Dashti and Aseel Al-Awadhi did not violate the Shari'a requirement of
the electoral law by going uncovered (not wearing a hijab) and, as a
consequence, would not have their National Assembly seats revoked. The
ruling also determined that female candidates for parliament and female
voters are not legally required to wear the hijab.
Children.--The government is generally committed to the rights and
welfare of citizen children, although noncitizen children received less
support and attention. The government did not issue birth certificates
to Bidoon children despite several court decisions against the
government during the year (see section 2.d.), and many Bidoon children
could not receive free public services. The government automatically
granted citizenship to orphaned or abandoned infants, including Bidoon
infants.
For citizen children, education is free through the university
level and compulsory through the secondary level. Education is neither
free nor compulsory for Bidoon and expatriate children. Some Bidoon
children attended private schools, and some did not attend school at
all. The Charity Fund to Educate Needy Children, administered by the
MOI, MAIA, and Ministry of Education, paid school fees for more than
11,000 Bidoon children since its creation in 2003.
There was no societal pattern of child abuse.
The legal age for girls to marry is 15, but younger girls continued
to marry within some tribal groups. The MOJ estimated the prevalence at
2 to 3 percent of total marriages.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not explicitly prohibit
trafficking in persons, although it prohibits transnational slavery and
forced prostitution. Trafficking in persons was a serious problem.
The country was a destination and transit point for men and women
for forced labor. Female migrant workers were sometimes victims of
sexual exploitation. Victims came from South and East Asia, including
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, and the
Philippines, although individuals from other countries such as Ethiopia
and Eritrea also reportedly were trafficked. Hundreds of thousands of
Egyptians worked in the country, and some were subjected to
trafficking, particularly in the form of debt bondage. There were
reports that foreign workers younger than 18 were employed in homes in
the country, but most trafficking victims were adults.
Principal traffickers were sending-country labor-recruitment
agencies and host-country sponsors (employers) of foreign workers. The
primary method to obtain and transport victims was for sending-country
labor recruitment agencies to offer valid contracts to workers,
inflating salary figures and misrepresenting the labor conditions, and
then not honor those contracts. There were reports that employers gave
workers new contracts at lower salaries than those they signed
previously or deducted multiple fees from their salaries. Some
companies reportedly kept workers' debit cards and withdrew part of the
salary after the paycheck had been deposited. Workers found it
difficult to leave these situations for several reasons: employers
frequently withheld workers' passports or otherwise restricted their
movements; employees often were in debt from their travel to the
country; and employers could file or threaten to file criminal charges
against workers for absconding. Some workers also faced physical and
sexual assault as a means of forcing them to work.
Traffickers also forced some female domestic workers into
prostitution after they had escaped an abusive employer or deceived
them with a promise of a job in a different sector.
Although the law does not explicitly prohibit trafficking in
persons, traffickers may be prosecuted for transnational slavery, with
a penalty of as long as five years' imprisonment, or forced
prostitution, with a penalty of as long as five years' imprisonment or
seven years' for minors. Penalties for trafficking-related crimes range
from fines and incarceration for failure to abide by the standardized
domestic labor contract to life sentences and the death penalty for
rape. However, in most cases law enforcement efforts focused on
administrative measures, such as shutting down companies in violation
of labor laws or issuing the return of withheld passports or payment of
back wages, rather than criminal punishments for abusive employers.
During the year the MOI's Immigration Investigations Department
closed more than 700 false companies that were involved in visa trading
and trafficking in persons. The Immigration Investigations Department
also made numerous arrests, but the courts did not secure any
convictions for trafficking-related crimes. On March 11, the Court of
Appeals ruled against two defendants who had been sentenced in June
2008 to two years in prison for selling two domestic workers into sex
slavery.
The government assisted some trafficking victims; however, it
sometimes detained, prosecuted, or deported victims for acts such as
prostitution or absconding, committed as a consequence of being
trafficked. On April 14, the government reported it had convicted 351
defendants for prostitution and/or debauchery in 2008. The government
sheltered some trafficking victims in a domestic workers shelter, and
it occasionally paid for airline tickets to repatriate runaway or
abused domestic workers. The Domestic Workers Administration sometimes
brokered solutions between employers and former employees. In 2008 the
MOSAL and MOI sent officers to International Organization of Migration
(IOM) training on managing shelters and assisting trafficking victims.
Foreign workers were sometimes unable to afford airfare back home from
the country. During the year the government cooperated with the IOM to
buy plane tickets home for 400 Sri Lankan and Indonesian workers.
On August 9, the MOSAL issued a resolution to permit most foreign
workers to change employers after three years of work without having to
first secure the permission of the original sponsor. The resolution
excludes domestic workers, public sector workers, and foreign workers
involved in finance management, thereby applying to approximately two-
thirds of the country's two million foreign workers. At year's end the
MOSAL had not processed any sponsor transfer requests.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities and imposes penalties against
employers who refrain from hiring persons with disabilities without
reasonable cause. The law also mandates access to buildings for persons
with disabilities. The government generally enforced these provisions.
There were no specific reports of discrimination against persons with
disabilities; however, noncitizens with disabilities did not have
access to government-operated facilities or receive stipends paid to
citizens with disabilities, which covered transportation, housing, job
training, and social welfare.
Representatives from ministries, other governmental bodies, Kuwait
University, and several NGOs constituted the government's Higher
Council for Handicapped Affairs, which made policy recommendations,
provided financial aid to persons with disabilities, and facilitated
the integration of such persons into schools, jobs, and other social
institutions. The government supervised and contributed to schools and
job and training programs that catered to persons with special needs.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality and cross-
dressing are illegal. The law punishes homosexual behavior between men
older than 21 with imprisonment of up of to seven years; those engaging
in homosexual activity with men younger than 21 may be imprisoned for
as long as 10 years. In 2007 the National Assembly approved a law to
impose a fine of 1,059 dinars ($3,690) and/or one year's imprisonment
for those imitating the appearance of the opposite sex in public. There
are no laws that criminalize sexual behavior between women.
During the year there were more than a dozen reports of police
arresting transgender persons at malls and markets, taking them into
custody, beating them and shaving their heads, and then releasing them
without charges. For example, on March 10, MOI Criminal Investigations
Division officers raided a cafe, arresting five men for cross-dressing.
There were no official NGOs focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender matters. Societal discrimination based on sexual
orientation was common; official discrimination was less so. There was
no government response to either.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no reported
societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Unmarried men continued to face housing discrimination based solely
on marital status. Although the law prohibits single men from obtaining
accommodation in many urban residential areas, at year's end the
government had not fulfilled a plan to construct housing for them on
the outskirts of the capital.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--With the exceptions of the country's
approximately 560,000 domestic servants and an unknown number of
maritime employees, the law provides that workers have the restricted
right to join unions without previous authorization. Although 1.5
million foreign workers who are not domestic workers can join unions,
they cannot run or vote in board elections. An estimated 100,000
persons, or 5 percent, of a total workforce of two million were
organized into unions, mostly in the public sector or petroleum
industry. The law empowers the government to interfere significantly in
union activities, including the right to strike; however, the
government did not impede strikes. To hold a legal strike, a union must
obtain permission from the MOI, which did not grant permission for any
of the strikes that took place during the year.
The government restricts the right of freedom of association to
only one union per occupational trade and permits only one federation,
the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF), which comprises 15 of the 47
licensed unions. Some workers were dissatisfied with the KTUF and
instead joined the unlicensed National Trade Union Federation. The law
stipulates that any new union must include at least 100 workers, 15 of
them citizens. Both the International Labor Organization and the
International Trade Union Confederation criticized this requirement
because it discourages unions in sectors that employ few citizens, such
as the construction industry and much of the private sector.
The government essentially treated licensed unions as parastatal
organizations, providing as much as 90 percent of their budgets and
inspecting financial records. Union leaders and board members are
elected by the union members, who are citizens. It is prohibited for
unions to discuss political, religious, or sectarian issues. The law
empowers the courts to dissolve any union for violating labor laws or
for threatening ``public order and morals,'' although such a court
decision may be appealed. The MOSAL can request the dissolution of a
union through the Court of First Instance. The emir also may dissolve a
union by decree. No union was dissolved during the year. The government
denied several public sector and oil sector unions' applications for
official recognition during the year on the grounds that the law does
not allow for more than one union to represent the same profession or
organization.
The law denies domestic servants (one-third of the noncitizen
workforce) and maritime employees the right to associate and organize.
It also discriminates against more than one million other foreign
workers by denying them union voting rights, barring them from
leadership positions, and permitting them to join unions only after
five years of residence, although the KTUF stated that this last
requirement was not widely enforced in practice. During the year, for
the first time, the KTUF worked to promote the rights of noncitizen
workers, cooperating with the Embassy of Pakistan to settle the labor
disputes of several Pakistani workers in the country.
The law limits the right of workers, especially noncitizens, to
strike. Most labor disputes are resolved in compulsory negotiations; if
not, either party may petition the MOSAL for mediation. If mediation
fails the dispute is referred to a labor arbitration board composed of
officials from the Court of Appeals, the Attorney General's Office, and
the MOSAL. The law does not contain any provision ensuring protecting
strikers from legal or administrative action taken against them by the
government. Employers generally try to settle disputes with workers
themselves to retain them.
Foreign workers went on strike several times during the year. Most
striking workers were employees of cleaning and security companies who
claimed they had not received their salaries. In these instances the
MOSAL responded by attempting to negotiate a settlement between the
workers and the employers.
On April 26, more than 300 cleaning and security company workers
staged a strike, claiming they had not received their salaries for four
months. The MOSAL summoned the owner of the company and made him pay
all late wages.
On July 19, an estimated 120 cleaning workers gathered in front of
the Capital Labor Department, claiming they had not received their
salaries for more than six months and their company had not renewed
their residencies. The MOSAL summoned the owner of the company and made
him pay all late wages.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides workers, with the exceptions of domestic servants, maritime
workers, and civil servants, with the right to bargain collectively,
subject to certain restrictions; the government generally respected in
practice the rights of those workers covered by the law. Collective
agreements covered approximately 70 percent of the labor force. There
are no restrictions on collective bargaining. There is no minimum
number of workers needed for such agreements.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer
interference with union functions, and the government generally
protected those rights. Any worker alleging antiunion discrimination
has the right to appeal to the judiciary. Employers found guilty of
such discrimination must reinstate workers fired for union activities.
There were no reports of discrimination against employees based on
their affiliation with a union.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, ``except in cases
specified by law for national emergency and with just remuneration'';
however, there were reports that such practices occurred. Domestic
servitude and forced prostitution were the most common types of forced
labor.
Some foreign domestic workers, often trafficked, were victims of
forced labor. Physical or sexual abuse of female domestic workers was a
serious problem, and police and courts took action against employers
when presented with evidence of serious abuse.
There were frequent reports of domestic workers allegedly
committing or attempting suicide because of desperation over poor
working conditions or abuse. For example, on August 16, a Sri Lankan
domestic employee sustained injuries after a failed attempt to commit
suicide by jumping from a roof. She alleged that her employer had
punished her by pouring boiling oil on her and making her stand on the
roof. Authorities took the employee to the hospital and questioned her
employer.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits child labor; however, there were credible reports of
underage workers, including domestic servants.
The legal minimum age for employment is 18; however, employers may
obtain permits from the MOSAL to employ juveniles between the ages of
14 and 18 in nonhazardous trades. Juveniles may work a maximum of six
hours a day on the condition that they work no more than four
consecutive hours followed by a one-hour rest period.
There were reports that some children were trafficked to the
country to provide domestic labor, and some underage workers reportedly
falsified their ages to enter the country. There were few reports of
underage Asian girls working as domestic servants after entering the
country on false travel documents obtained in source countries.
Approximately 300 inspectors from the Labor Inspection Department
monitored private firms routinely for labor law compliance, including
laws against child labor. Noncompliant employers were fined or their
company operations were suspended.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The public sector minimum wage
for citizens was 217 dinars ($756) per month, and the public sector
noncitizen wage was 97 dinars ($338). The public sector minimum wage
provided a decent standard of living for a citizen worker and family.
There was no legal minimum wage in the private sector, except for those
domestic workers who had signed contracts in 2006 who received at least
40 dinars ($140) per month. The MOSAL implemented the minimum wage
effectively by requiring companies to provide a monthly wage report
with supporting documents.
The law establishes general conditions of work for the private
sector. The law limits the standard workweek to 48 hours (40 hours for
the petroleum industry) with one full day of rest per week and one hour
of rest after every five consecutive hours of work. These standards
were not well enforced, and domestic servants and other unskilled
foreign workers in the private sector frequently worked in excess of 48
hours a week, often with no day of rest. Workers submitted complaints
to the MOSAL's Labor Disputes Department.
The government issued occupational health and safety standards;
however, compliance and enforcement by the MOSAL appeared poor,
especially with respect to unskilled foreign laborers. A September
MOSAL report stated that in the previous 12 months approximately 20,000
industrial and commercial firms had negligently violated professional
safety standards and that 3,313 workers were injured on the job. To
decrease accident rates, the government periodically inspected
enterprises to raise awareness among workers and employers and to
ensure that they abided by safety rules, controlled pollution resulting
from certain industries, trained workers to use machines, and reported
violations. Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous
work situations without jeopardizing their continued employment, and
legal protection existed for both citizen and foreign workers who filed
complaints about such conditions. In past years government attention to
worker safety issues was limited, resulting in poor training of
inspectors, inadequate injury reports, and no link between insurance
payments and accident reports. No such cases were reported during the
year.
The law provides that all outdoor work stop between noon and 4:00
p.m. during the months of June, July, and August or when the
temperature rises to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in the shade.
The MOSAL monitored work sites to ensure compliance with these rules.
There were no reports of violations during the year.
__________
LEBANON
Lebanon, with a population of approximately four million, is a
parliamentary republic in which the president is a Maronite Christian,
the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the chamber of
deputies a Shia Muslim. On June 7, the country held parliamentary
elections international observers deemed generally free and fair. In
May 2008 parliament elected President Michel Sleiman, who serves as the
head of state. On June 27, the president and parliament appointed Saad
Hariri prime minister-designate, and Hariri formed a cabinet November 9
after lengthy negotiations. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of government security forces. UN Security Council
(UNSC) resolutions 1559 and 1701 call upon the government to take
effective control of all Lebanese territory and disarm militia groups.
Despite the presence of Lebanese and UN security forces, Hizballah
retained significant influence over parts of the country, and the
government made no tangible progress toward disbanding and disarming
armed militia groups, including Hizballah. Palestinian refugee camps
continued to act as self-governed entities and maintained security and
militia forces not under the direction of government officials.
There were limitations on the right of citizens to change their
government peacefully. Unknown actors committed unlawful killings, and
there was one reported disappearance during the year that may have been
politically motivated. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and
detained individuals. Torture of detainees remained a problem, as did
poor prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention, and long delays in
the court system. The government violated citizens' privacy rights, and
there were some restrictions on freedoms of speech and press, including
intimidation of journalists. The government suffered from corruption
and lack of transparency. There were limitations on freedom of movement
for unregistered refugees. Widespread, systematic discrimination
against Palestinian refugees and minority groups continued. Domestic
violence and societal discrimination against women continued, as did
violence against children and child labor.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful
killings. There was at least one high-profile killing by unknown
actors. On March 23, a roadside bomb blast close to Mieh Mieh, a
Palestinian refugee camp east of Sidon, killed Kamal Medhat, deputy
head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the country,
along with Akram Daher, Khaled Daher, and Mohammed Shehadeh.
There were few developments in killings by unknown actors from
previous years.
At year's end investigations were ongoing in two January 2008
explosions: one targeted a diplomatic vehicle, killing three persons
and injuring two security employees; the other killed Internal Security
Forces (ISF) Information Technology Intelligence branch head Captain
Wissam Eid and three others, and injured 36.
During January 2008 riots protesting power outages in the
predominantly Shia Muslim area of Shiyah, an unknown assailant shot and
killed an Amal movement official. In response the riots turned violent,
with protestors throwing stones and setting cars ablaze; seven
civilians died, and more than 19 were injured. In February 2008 the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) arrested 17 persons, including 11 soldiers
and three officers, for excessive use of force in containing the
protests. Authorities later released on bail the three officers, some
of the soldiers, and other individuals.
In September 2008 unknown persons planted a car bomb that killed
Druze opposition figure Saleh Aridi and injured six others. Aridi
reportedly played a major role in the reconciliation efforts of Druze
leaders Walid Jumblatt and Talal Arslan following the May 2008 conflict
with Hizballah. At year's end the investigation was ongoing.
There were no developments in investigations following several 2007
car bombing deaths, including those of member of parliament (MP) Walid
Eido and 10 others in June and MP Antoine Ghanem and eight others in
September. There were no developments in the investigation of the 2006
killings of Islamic Jihad member Mahmoud Majzoub and his brother or of
the roadside bombs in Rmeileh that injured ISF Lieutenant Colonel Samir
Shehade and killed four of his bodyguards.
It remained difficult to distinguish politically motivated crimes
allegedly committed by opposition groups or terrorists from simple
criminal acts or disputes, as the government did not exercise control
over all its territory and investigations of suspicious killings rarely
led to prosecutions.
In April 2008 Joseph and Tony Zouki, supporters of pro-March 8
Alliance MP Elie Skaff, allegedly shot and killed two Phalange party
supporters, Nasri Marouni and Salim Assi, during the inauguration of
the Phalange headquarters in Zahle. At year's end Joseph and Tony Zouki
remained at large.
In May 2008 Hizballah-led opposition fighters occupied parts of
downtown Beirut to protest two government decisions against Hizballah.
Armed clashes ensued between the predominantly Shia opposition and
Sunnis aligned with the majority. The occupiers targeted Sunni-run
political party offices and media outlets. There were also armed
clashes between Druze and Hizballah in the mountains and between Sunnis
and Alawites in the north. The May 2008 conflict reportedly resulted in
more than 80 deaths and 250 injuries.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), during the May 2008
conflict, members of the opposition groups Hizballah, Amal, and the
Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP) used small arms and rocket-
propelled grenades (RPGs) in densely populated areas of Beirut, killing
numerous civilians. For example, HRW reported opposition gunmen shot
and killed Amal Baydoun and her son, Haytham Tabbarah, with an RPG
while the two were trying to flee their Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood.
Opposition gunmen shot and injured Tabbarah's two brothers later that
day while they were trying to join their family at the hospital.
Also in May 2008, supporters of the progovernment groups Future
Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) resorted to violence
against civilians and offices associated with opposition groups in
areas under the groups' control in northern Lebanon, the Biqa', and the
Shouf. According to Hizballah, PSP fighters detained and then executed
two Hizballah followers. After examining photos of the two Hizballah
members, HRW reported PSP fighters shot at least one victim in the head
at close range. In Halba, a village in the north, armed Sunnis killed
members of the SSNP who had surrendered. According to HRW, the
judiciary has issued only one indictment related to the May 2008
clashes, against an individual who shot at civilians. Other
investigations have stalled with no prosecutions by year's end.
In May 2008 a blast killed soldier Ossama Hassan at an army
intelligence post near the northern city of Tripoli. In August and
September 2008, two separate bomb attacks targeted buses filled with
LAF soldiers on their way to work in Tripoli, killing 20 persons,
including 14 soldiers, and injuring more than 90. In October 2008 the
public prosecutor issued charges against 34 suspects accused of
carrying out terrorist attacks, including the attack on the
intelligence post and the Tripoli bus bombings. At year's end,
authorities continued to detain 26 suspects; eight others, including
Fadi Ghassan Ibrahim, remained at large. Judicial authorities also
accused Ibrahim, a suspected member of Fatah al-Islam (FAI), of killing
Brigadier General Francois el-Hajj and his bodyguard in 2007.
Four suspected members of FAI charged with leading the 2007 Ain
Alaq twin bus bombings remained in detention at year's end, without
formal convictions or progress toward a trial.
On April 29, the UN-appointed Special Tribunal for Lebanon ordered
the government to release for lack of evidence four generals suspected
of collaborating in the 2005 killing of former prime minister Rafiq al-
Hariri and 22 other individuals. The officers were Major General Jamil
Sayyed, former chief of Surete Generale (SG); Major General Ali Hajj,
former ISF head; Brigadier General Raymond Azar, former chief of
military intelligence; and Brigadier General Mustafa Hamdan, former
commander of the presidential guard.
Israeli cluster munitions from the 2006 conflict continued to kill
and injure civilians during the year. In April the UN Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL) estimated these munitions caused an ongoing average of
two civilian casualties per month. The UN Mine Action Coordination
Center estimated 560,000 to 1.1 million unexploded munitions remained,
despite ongoing removal efforts. At year's end munitions had killed 44
persons since the end of the conflict. On May 13, Israel provided
strike data to the Lebanese government to assist in explosive ordnance
disposal and demining efforts.
b. Disappearance.--There was one report of an allegedly politically
motivated disappearance during the year. On February 12, three masked
men seized Middle East Airlines' Director of Information Technology
Operational Services, Joseph Sader, as he got off a bus and walked to
his office in the Rafiq Hariri Beirut International Airport. According
to Sader's brother, the men threw Sader into a van and drove away. A
small bus carrying army personnel who also witnessed the accident
pursued but reportedly lost the van in heavy traffic. Although the ISF
was investigating the disappearance, some expressed concern at
government and security officials' refusal to discuss the case, and at
least one source claimed the kidnappers transferred Sader to LAF
intelligence, purportedly to investigate his relationship with an
acquaintance who had connections to Israel. According to press reports,
Bishop Elie Haddad, Melkite Roman Catholic Pastor of Sidon and Deir al-
Qamar, said in an interview with television channel OTV Sader was still
alive, and a local armed group without connections to Hizballah was
holding him. Sader remained missing at year's end.
In December 2008 plainclothes military intelligence officers took
Syrian citizen and United National Alliance member Nawar Abboud and two
of his employees from his office in Tripoli to al-Qubbeh military base
for interrogation. Authorities reported they released all three over
the next two days, but Abboud remained missing at year's end despite
his family's reportedly extensive efforts to find him. On November 10,
the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), the body mandated
to investigate complaints of arbitrary deprivation of liberty, declared
Abboud's disappearance to have been arbitrary. The WGAD said the
government's response to its queries on Abboud's whereabouts had been
``brief and imprecise'' and urged the government to ``show with
precision the proof that he was liberated.'' At year's end Abboud's
whereabouts were still unknown.
There were no developments in the 2007 kidnapping and killing case
of Ziad Ghandour and Ziad Qabalan, who were affiliated with PSP leader
Walid Jamblatt. In September 2008 the public prosecutor issued charges
against 14 persons, including brothers Mohammed, Shehadeh, Abdallah,
Abbas, and Ali Shamas, who remained at large at year's end.
More than 17,000 persons reportedly disappeared in the country
during the 1975-1990 war. On October 23, judicial authorities ordered
the Council of Ministers to release the official investigations report
issued in 2000, of which only a three-page summary had been previously
available. At year's end the report had not been published.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law does not specifically prohibit torture or cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and there were reports
government officials employed such practices. According to human rights
groups--including Amnesty International (AI), the Lebanese Association
for Education and Training (ALEF), and HRW--torture was common, and
security forces abused detainees. Human rights organizations reported
torture occurred in certain police stations, the Ministry of Defense
(MOD), and the ISF's intelligence branch and Drug Repression Bureau
detention facilities in Beirut and Zahle. At year's end the government
had not submitted its initial report under the Convention Against
Torture--a report due in 2001. The government also continued to deny
the use of torture, although authorities acknowledged violent abuse
sometimes occurred during preliminary investigations at police stations
or military installations where suspects were interrogated without an
attorney. Such abuse occurred despite national laws preventing judges
from accepting confessions extracted under duress.
Former prisoners, detainees, and reputable local human rights
groups reported the methods of torture and abuse applied included
hanging by the wrists tied behind the back, violent beatings, blows to
the soles of the feet, electric shocks, sexual abuse, immersion in cold
water, extended periods of sleep deprivation, being forced to stand for
extended periods, threats of violence against relatives, deprivation of
clothing, withholding of food, being deprived of toilet facilities, and
continuous blindfolding.
On January 22, LAF soldiers allegedly discovered two men engaged in
homosexual activity in the lobby of an uninhabited building in Beirut.
They dragged them to Sassine Sqaure in Beirut and severely beat them.
According to reports soldiers punched, kicked, and jabbed the men with
their rifle butts. The beating reportedly ended only when bystanders
began to intercede, but the LAF detained the men at police barracks on
the attorney general's order until their release a few days later.
On July 8, LAF officials arrested and beat Mathieu Fever, a French
citizen and son of Jean-Francois Fever, head of security for UN
agencies in the country. The LAF alleged Fever had attempted to
obstruct a convoy transferring a dangerous criminal and the convoy
repeatedly warned Fever to move. Fever had a broken leg when the LAF
released him two hours after the arrest. No new developments were
reported in this case by year's end.
From October to November 2008, authorities reportedly tortured Fadi
Anwar Sabunah, who was in detention at the MOD. According to
international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Alkarama (Dignity),
officers tortured Sabunah before he reportedly signed a confession to
end the torture. At year's end he faced criminal charges before the
Beirut military tribunal related to May, August, and September 2008
bomb attacks on LAF soldiers.
From November 2007 to February 2008, according to Alkarama, ISF
intelligence agents allegedly tortured Amer and Mosbah Hashash in
incommunicado detention at the ISF Directorate General detention center
in Beirut. Authorities reportedly tortured the brothers to force them
to sign confessions they were not permitted to read. The brothers, who
were charged with forming a terrorist group, were awaiting trial at
year's end.
In 2007 security forces arrested five men in Tripoli on suspicion
of supplying weapons to FAI. Security forces reportedly broke one
suspect's jaw while he was in detention and forced another to stand for
long periods of time, beating him severely if he tried to rest. Police
dropped charges against two suspects; the others remained in custody at
year's end.
According to the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH), on July
31, the military court sentenced Faysal Ghazi Moqalled to life
imprisonment for his 2006 interaction with the Mossad, the Israeli
intelligence agency. Moqalled originally was illegally detained for
five months in a Hizballah prison in 2006, where he was allegedly
tortured. Subsequently the MOD detained him for 20 months, and he was
allegedly tortured again. His trial on appeal was scheduled for
February 2010.
The army intelligence service arrested Mahmoud Qassem Rafeh in 2006
on suspicion of being an Israeli agent and subsequently detained him at
the MOD, where he was allegedly tortured and forced to sign a
confession. Rafeh was detained for approximately two years before he
was permitted access to a lawyer; at year's end he was in prison
awaiting trial.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions were poor and did not meet minimum international
standards. Prisons were overcrowded and sanitary conditions,
particularly in women's prisons, were very poor. NGOs working with
prisoners reported three cases of prisoner-on-prisoner rape in Roumieh
prison during the year. According to one NGO, 27 prisoners died during
the year primarily due to authorities' negligence and failure to
provide appropriate medical care. The government did not consider
prison reform a high priority.
At year's end there were 4,800 prisoners and detainees, including
pretrial detainees and remand prisoners, in facilities built to hold a
maximum of 2,500 inmates. NGOs reported at the end of the year, 138
minors and 336 women were incarcerated. Overcrowding and limited prison
facilities meant pretrial detainees were often held together with
convicted prisoners, and juveniles may have been held together with
adults during the year. Men and women are held separately in similar
conditions. The LAF carried out interrogations of security detainees in
detention centers at the MOD. Authorities held FAI prisoners in
separate cells at Roumieh prison.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights groups and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and such monitoring
took place during the year. According to its 2008 annual report, the
ICRC carried out 136 visits to 6,104 detainees in 21 prisons and
detention centers.
Nongovernmental entities such as Hizballah and Palestinian militias
also operated detention facilities.
The government made modest efforts to rehabilitate some inmates
through education and training programs. A 15-month project funded by
the European Union and implemented by the Association for Defense of
Rights and Freedoms used theater arts to help inmates express
themselves and communicate with others.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law requires judicial
warrants before arrests, except in immediate pursuit situations, but
the government arbitrarily arrested and detained persons.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISF, under the
Ministry of Interior (MOI), enforces laws, conducts searches and
arrests, and refers cases to the judiciary. The State Security
Apparatus, which reports to the prime minister, and the SG, under the
MOI, control the borders. The LAF is responsible for external security
but may also arrest and detain suspects in the country on national
security grounds. Both the State Security Apparatus and the SG collect
information on groups deemed possible threats to state security.
Government security officials and agencies and the police force are
subject to laws against bribery and extortion. In practice a lack of
strong enforcement limited the laws' effectiveness. The government
acknowledged the need to reform law enforcement behavior. The ISF
maintained three complaint hotlines. Hotline operators in North
Lebanon, South Lebanon, Biqa', and Mount Lebanon each received
approximately 50 calls per day; the Beirut operation center received
approximately 100 calls per day. If the calls indicated urgency, the
ISF dispatched its forces for assistance. During times of particular
security instability, these centers received a greater number of calls.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
generally requires a warrant for arrest and provides the right to a
lawyer, a medical examination, and referral to a prosecutor within 48
hours of arrest. If authorities hold a detainee longer than 48 hours
without formal charges, the arrest is considered arbitrary and the
detainee must be released. In such cases officials responsible for the
prolonged arrest may be prosecuted on charges of depriving personal
freedom, but charges are rarely filed. A suspect caught in the act of
committing a crime must be referred to an examining judge, who decides
whether to issue an indictment or to order the release of the suspect.
By law bail is available in all cases regardless of the charges,
although the amounts demanded may be set prohibitively high.
The law guarantees detainees prompt access to a lawyer and to
family members. However, the state does not provide legal assistance,
although the Beirut Bar Association provides lawyers for indigent
defendants.
Authorities did not observe many provisions of the law, and
government security forces--as well as extralegal armed groups such as
Hizballah--continued the practice of arbitrary arrest and detention. In
addition, the law permits military intelligence personnel to make
arrests without warrants in cases involving military personnel and
those involving alleged espionage, treason, and weapons possession.
According to the CLDH, there have been clear cases of arbitrary
detention and torture among persons detained on spying charges. For
example, the CLDH reported four individuals accused of spying
complained various security services tortured them to force them to
sign confessions.
Bureaucratic inefficiency delayed some cases. According to the
CLDH, on September 25, authorities summoned Haytham Zantout to the
Shiyah police station, where they interrogated him concerning a
financial case. Zantout spent a night at the police station and four
nights at the Baabda Court jail before authorities transferred him to
Roumieh prison. After three hearings the investigative magistrate
ordered him released on October 19. However, due to a delay in
transmitting the release order to prison authorities, Zantout was only
released on December 10, seven weeks after his ordered release date.
Palestinian refugees were subject to arbitrary arrest and detention
by state security forces and rival Palestinian factions. No statistics
on the number of such cases were available at year's end.
For example, on September 5, Hizballah reportedly arrested Salah
Ezzedine and conducted an interrogation into his alleged financial
fraud scheme before remanding him to the custody of government law
enforcement personnel. Both Ezzedine and his business partner Youssef
Faour were charged with fraud, embezzlement, distributing worthless
checks, and violating the country's fiscal law.
Human rights activists believed as of 2008 there were at least 600
Lebanese and Palestinians from Lebanon in prolonged and often secret
detention in Syria. In August 2008 Minister of Justice Ibrahim Najjar
stated in a televised interview there were 745 citizens missing in
Syria, some of them convicted criminals, and some victims of ``enforced
disappearances.'' Najjar was the first government official to classify
the detainees publicly. By year's end the Syrian government had
released 130 detainees; all of those released had been convicted as
criminals. According to NGO Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile,
at year's end the Syrian delegation to the joint Syrian-Lebanese
commission had not granted approval for the country's judges to check
on the prisoners remaining in Syrian detention, although it had agreed
in principle to do so.
Pretrial detention was a serious problem. According to ISF
statistics, of the 5,122 persons in prison in May, more than 3,200 had
yet to go to trial. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concerns about arbitrary pretrial
detention without access to legal representation and refused to support
construction of new prisons until the issue of arbitrary pretrial
detention was resolved.
Amnesty.--On July 10, President Sleiman granted amnesty to
Palestinian prisoner Youssef Shaaban, jailed since 1994 for allegedly
killing a Jordanian diplomat. Shaaban's release came several years
after the execution of the confessed killers in Jordan. Shaaban was
sentenced on the basis of confessions intelligence services extracted
from after torturing him. He had been claiming his innocence for 15
years.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary was subject
to political pressure, particularly in the appointment of key
prosecutors and investigating magistrates. Influential politicians and
intelligence officers intervened at times and used their influence and
connections to protect supporters from prosecution. Despite
intimidation generated by a series of unresolved political
assassinations by unidentified assailants beginning in 2004, the
aftermath of the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri led to the gradual
reduction of Syrian influence over the judiciary.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) appoints most judges, taking into
account the sectarian affiliation of the prospective judge. A shortage
of qualified judges impeded efforts to adjudicate cases that
accumulated during the years of internal conflict. Trial delays were
aggravated by the government's inability to conduct investigations in
areas outside of its control, specifically in the Hizballah-controlled
areas in the south and in the 12 Palestinian-controlled refugee camps
in the country.
The judicial system consists of the civilian courts, a military
court, the Judicial Council, and the Constitutional Council. There are
tribunals for the 18 government-recognized religious affiliations to
adjudicate matters of personal status, including marriage, divorce,
inheritance, and child custody according to each confession's
principles. Shia and Sunni religious communities use religious courts
that apply Shari'a principles to resolve family legal matters. There
are also religious family courts in the Christian sect and Druze
communities. There was no universal or secular personal status civil
court system, no full body of civil law, and no appeal mechanism for
the confessional courts.
The military court tries cases involving military personnel and
civilians in security-related issues, but it also has jurisdiction over
civilians in espionage, treason, weapons possession, and draft evasion
cases. Civilians may be tried for security issues, and military
personnel may be tried for civil issues. The military court has two
tribunals: the permanent tribunal and the cassation tribunal. The
latter hears appeals from the former. A civilian judge chairs the
cassation court. Defendants on trial by military tribunals have the
same procedural rights as defendants in ordinary courts.
The Judicial Council is a permanent tribunal of five senior judges
that adjudicates threats to national security and some high-profile
cases. Upon the recommendation of the minister of justice, the cabinet
decides whether to try a case before this tribunal. Defendants before
the Judicial Council have the same procedural rights as other
defendants, but there is no right to appeal, and judges have the
discretion to order the sessions, which are generally public, be
closed.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants do not enjoy a presumption of
innocence, and there is no trial by jury. Trials were generally public,
but judges have the discretion to order a closed court session.
Defendants have the right to be present at trial, to consult with an
attorney in a timely manner, and to question witnesses against them,
but they must do the latter through the court panel, which decides
whether to permit the defendant's question. Although there was no
state-funded public defender's office, the bar association operated an
office for those who could not afford a lawyer, and a lawyer was often
provided for indigent defendants, of whom 80 percent were foreigners. A
member of the Beirut Bar Association's Legal Aid Committee estimated as
many as 20 percent of such defendants believed they did not receive
proper representation. Defendants may present witnesses and evidence,
and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to
their cases. Defendants have the right of appeal. These rights
generally were observed and applied to all defendants, both citizens
and foreigners.
Palestinian groups in refugee camps operated an autonomous and
arbitrary system of justice outside the control of the state. For
example, local popular committees in the camps attempted to resolve
disputes using tribal methods of reconciliation. If the case involved a
killing, the committees occasionally transferred the perpetrator to
state authorities for trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
judiciary in civil matters. In practice it was seldom used to bring
civil lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations the
government allegedly committed. During the year there were no examples
of a civil court awarding an individual compensation for human rights
violations the government committed against them. Many potential
litigants perceived such litigation was not worth the effort because
the process was lengthy and there were few precedents of successful
outcomes.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Although the law prohibits such actions, authorities
frequently interfered with the privacy of persons regarded as enemies
of the government. The law requires police obtain warrants before
entering homes except when in close pursuit of armed attackers, and
they generally did so.
The Army Intelligence Service monitored the movements and
activities of members of opposition groups. Security services continued
to eavesdrop, although the law requires prior authorization. Defense
Minister Elias Murr stated that Law 140, which regulates eavesdropping,
was implemented as of February 3. The law allows the State Prosecutor's
Office to request permission to tap telephone calls made in connection
with ordinary crimes. It also allows the ministries of defense and
interior to request the interception of calls related to political and
terrorist activities. These ministries must first inform the Council of
Ministers of their intention to request a particular telephone tap.
Subsequently they must submit all specific requests to the relevant
authorities. The law also provides for the formation of an independent
judicial committee to receive telephone-tapping complaints and permits
security services to monitor suspected criminals' telephones. On August
17, the press reported the establishment of a new telephone-tapping
center, operated by army officers, with the capacity of recording
72,000 calls per day.
Militias and non-Lebanese forces operating outside the area of
central government authority also frequently violated citizens' privacy
rights. Various factions used informer networks and telephone
monitoring to obtain information regarding their perceived adversaries.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech and of the press, but political violence and extralegal
intimidation in recent years have led to self-censorship among
journalists. Individuals are free to criticize the government but are
legally prohibited from publicly criticizing the president and foreign
leaders.
Dozens of newspapers and hundreds of periodicals were published
throughout the country, financed by and reflecting the views of local,
sectarian, and foreign interest groups. In cooperation with the UN
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) regional
office in Beirut, the Maharat Foundation released its annual report on
the status of freedom of expression and opinion in the country for the
year 2008. It noted the law restricts the freedom to issue, publish,
and sell newspapers. The law also limits the number of political
periodical publications to 25 per day for political publications and 20
a day for provisional political publications; prohibits the release of
any publication without a prior license from the minister of
information in consultation with the Press Union; and outlaws owning or
managing a printing press without informing the Ministry of
Information. There was limited state ownership of newspapers and
periodicals; of the nine television and 33 radio stations, all but one
television and one radio station were privately owned. The majority of
media outlets had political affiliations, which sometimes hampered
their ability to operate freely in areas dominated by other political
groups and affected the objectivity of their reporting.
In November 2008 more than 15 supporters of the SSNP attacked
Future News Television reporter Omar Harqous with sticks in Beirut's
Hamra Street, injuring him in the head, neck, and chest. Harqous, who
was admitted to a hospital for treatment, filed a complaint against the
SSNP, its president, and the assailants, claiming the attack was
motivated by his political reporting and editorials and that the
assailants called him a Jew. The case was under appeal at year's end.
During the year several journalists privately reported receiving
threats from political parties, politicians, fellow journalists, and
opposition militia figures who generally threatened violence against
them and their families if they did not cease writing articles on
sensitive political issues. During the May 2008 conflict, there were
physical attacks on several journalists and photographers, and armed
Hizballah fighters closed four government-affiliated media outlets for
several days. According to the Maharat Foundation's 2008 survey, 10 of
the 61 journalists interviewed had experienced a shooting or beating in
2008, six had been threatened or intimidated, and four had been
illegally detained.
The law permits censorship of pornographic material, political
opinion, and religious material considered a threat to national
security or an offense to the dignity of the head of state or foreign
leaders. The 1991 security agreement between the government and the
Syrian government, still in effect, contains a provision prohibiting
the publication of any information deemed harmful to the security of
either state. The SG reviews and censors all foreign newspapers,
magazines, and books before they enter the country.
On October 19, the media reported the government forced a private
school to remove pages reportedly describing Hizballah as a terrorist
organization from a history book, following a complaint by former labor
minister Mohammad Fneish. Any of the recognized religions may
unilaterally request the SG ban any book. The government may prosecute
offending journalists and publications in the publications court.
Officials also used libel laws to suppress criticism during the
year. On July 31, security forces surrounded the headquarters of the
Al-Jadeed television station to serve an arrest warrant against Ghada
Eid, the host of weekly talk show Corruption, for allegedly slandering
judge Shaheed Salameh during an episode of her show. The court issued
an arrest warrant for Eid when she failed to appear at a hearing on the
case; she claimed she had not received the summons. Eid avoided arrest
on July 31 but surrendered to authorities on September 14. She was
subsequently released on six million pounds ($4,000) bail. On November
30, in a separate libel case against judge Afif Shamseddine, the press
court sentenced Eid to three months' imprisonment and a fine of 30
million pounds ($20,000). The court also demanded she read the
accusation against her aloud on the first episode of her show following
implementation of the sentence.
In September 2008 the Execution Bureau of Beirut enforced a
provisional seizure of property against Al-Jadeed in compliance with a
decision by the Court of Publications. Former justice minister Charles
Rizk had filed a lawsuit in 2007 against the head of the station's
editorial department, Maryam al-Bassam, accusing her of libel. Ruling
in favor of Rizk, the court judgment forced Al-Jadeed to pay 50 million
pounds ($33,333) to Rizk as compensation and 13 million pounds ($8,666)
to the state in penalty and judgment fees. Al-Jadeed paid the
compensation to the state but appealed to the Supreme Court to avoid
paying compensation to Rizk, who in turn requested the provisional
seizure of Al-Jadeed's property. At year's end, there were no new
developments. At year's end, authorities had not pursued most judicial
cases launched in previous years against journalists.
Internet Freedom.--The government reportedly censored some Internet
sites, but there were no reports the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could generally engage in
the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail and
Internet discussion groups. According to 2008 International
Telecommunications Union statistics, approximately 23 percent of the
country's inhabitants used the Internet. The SG and MOJ sometimes
contacted Internet service providers to block pornographic and
religiously provocative Web sites.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom, apart from libel and slander laws,
but the government censored films, plays, and other cultural events;
filmmakers, playwrights, festival organizers, and others practiced
self-censorship.
The SG reviews all films and plays, and prohibits those deemed
offensive to religious or social sensitivities. On February 16, the SG
banned director Marc Abi Rached's film Help--about a homeless boy who
meets a female prostitute living with a gay man--after having
previously granted permission to screen the film. Help was subsequently
presented at the October 7-14 Beirut International Film Festival,
during which the SG banned the films Le Chant des Mariees, Confortorio,
and Gostanza Da Libbiani for objectionable content. At year's end the
SG's ban on the public screening of the Israeli animated film Waltz
with Bashir remained in force.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.The law provides
for freedom of assembly, but the government sometimes restricted this
right in practice. The MOI required prior approval for rallies, and it
sometimes did not grant permits to groups that opposed government
positions.
Freedom of Assembly.--Unlike previous years there were no reported
cases of security forces abusing demonstrators or failing to prevent
violence against them.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, but the government imposed limits on this right. The law
requires every new organization to submit a notification of formation
to the MOI, which then issues a receipt. The MOI sometimes imposed
additional and inconsistent restrictions and requirements and withheld
receipts, turning the notification process into a de facto approval
process. In some cases the MOI sent notification of formation papers to
the security forces to initiate inquiries on an organization's founding
members. Organizations must invite MOI representatives to any general
assembly where members vote on by-law amendments or positions on the
board of directors. The MOI must then validate the vote or election;
failure to do so could result in the dissolution of the organization.
The MOI did not immediately validate the February 2008 elections of
the Israeli Communal Council, a legally registered Jewish organization
representing the small Jewish community and Jewish property owners who
do not reside in the country. As with the previous two such elections,
the MOI did not validate them until May 2008, following diplomatic
intervention.
The cabinet must license all political parties (see section 3).
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion and the freedom to practice all religious rites, provided the
public order is not disturbed. The government generally respected these
rights, but there were some restrictions.
The government must formally recognize a religious group for it to
obtain official status. A group must submit a statement of its doctrine
and moral principles for government review to ensure that such
principles do not contradict popular values or the constitution. The
group must ensure the number of its adherents is sufficient to maintain
continuity. Alternatively, religious groups may apply for recognition
through existing religious groups, all of which are variants of Islam
or Christianity. Official recognition conveys certain benefits, such as
exemption from taxes and the right to apply the recognized religion's
codes to personal status matters. Each recognized religious group has
its own courts for family law matters such as marriage, divorce, child
custody, and inheritance. Although the government did not recognize
officially some Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, and Protestant Christian
groups, the groups were allowed to practice their faith without
government interference, but the law did not recognize their marriages,
divorces, and inheritances in the country.
Protestant evangelical churches are required to register with the
Evangelical Synod, a nongovernmental advisory group that represents
those churches to the government. Representatives of some churches
complained the Synod has refused to accept new members since 1975,
thereby preventing their clergy from ministering to adherents in
accordance with their beliefs.
Although the law stipulates anyone who ``blasphemes God publicly''
may face imprisonment for as long as one year, no prosecutions or
arrests were reported under this law during the year.
The unwritten ``National Pact'' of 1943 stipulates the president,
the prime minister, and the speaker of parliament be a Maronite
Christian, a Sunni Muslim, and a Shia Muslim, respectively. The 1989
Ta'if Accord, which ended the country's 15-year civil war, reaffirmed
this arrangement but also codified increased Muslim representation in
parliament and reduced the power of the Maronite president.
Religious affiliation is encoded on national identity cards and
indicated on civil status registry documents but not on passports, and
the government complied with requests of citizens to change their civil
records to reflect changes in religious status. On February 11, the MOI
issued a circular informing citizens they would be allowed to remove
their religious affiliations from their civil registry records. The MOI
did not make public the number of persons who had taken advantage of
this option during the year. Government documents refer to Jewish
citizens as ``Israelites'' even though they are not Israeli citizens.
The law provides that only religious authorities may perform
marriages, but the government recognized civil marriage ceremonies
performed outside the country.
Although there were no legal barriers to proselytizing, traditional
attitudes and edicts of the clerical establishment strongly discouraged
such activity.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal harassment and
discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice
occurred, often in relation to political events, and the government
failed to prevent or punish such actions.
During the year there were examples of Maronite religious leaders
attempting to prevent evangelical Christians from proselytizing to
other Christians and of Druze religious figures hindering Maronite
missionary efforts.
At year's end there were approximately 100 Jews living in the
country and 6,000 registered Jewish voters who lived abroad but had the
right to vote in parliamentary elections.
During the year Hizballah directed strong rhetoric against Israel
and the Jewish population, and it cooperated in publishing and
distributing anti-Semitic literature. Al-Manar TV, controlled and
operated by Hizballah, continued to broadcast anti-Semitic material
that drew no government criticism.
On November 5, the government censored The Diary of Anne Frank from
a textbook used by the International College. The action followed a
campaign by Hizballah claiming the work promoted Zionism. Hizballah's
Al-Manar television channel ran a report condemning the book for
focusing on the persecution of Jews.
On September 28, Khaled Shebli Khelo allegedly threw a Molotov
cocktail at the Maghen Abraham synagogue, the last remaining synagogue
in the country. Security authorities arrested Khelo the same day, and
investigations into the incident were ongoing at year's end.
During the year representatives from the Israeli Communal Council
reported continued acts of vandalism against a Jewish-owned cemetery in
downtown Beirut. The government had not arrested or prosecuted suspects
for these crimes as of year's end.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights for
citizens but placed limitations on the rights of Palestinian refugees.
The government cooperated with the UN Relief and Works Agency for
Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the UNHCR, and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, and
other persons of concern.
The government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in
military and other restricted areas. On main roads and in populated
areas, security services used a few police checkpoints to conduct
warrantless searches for smuggled goods, weapons, narcotics, and
subversive literature. Government forces were unable to enforce the law
in the predominantly Hizballah-controlled Beirut southern suburbs and
did not typically enter Palestinian refugee camps.
According to UNRWA, Palestinian refugees registered with the MOI's
Directorate of Political and Refugee Affairs (DPRA) may travel from one
area of the country to another. However, the DPRA must approve transfer
of registration for refugees who reside in camps. UNRWA stated the DPRA
generally approved such transfers. The LAF granted Palestinian refugees
residing in the area adjacent to the Nahr el-Barid camp permanent
permits, which they must produce at the LAF checkpoint to enter the
area.
The law prohibits direct travel to Israel.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to international
humanitarian organizations, a significant number of persons remained
displaced as a consequence of the 1975-1990 civil war, the 2006 war,
and the 2007 displacement of Palestinian refugees from the Nahr el-
Barid camp. Many IDPs endured dangerous conditions, including lack of
food, electricity, and potable water, during their displacement and
after their return home. The Ministry of the Displaced paid
compensation to IDPs to leave illegally occupied properties, removed
debris from conflict-affected areas, provided rebuilding assistance,
and initiated infrastructure projects. The High Relief Commission
coordinated national international humanitarian assistance.
The World Bank and the Ministry of the Displaced estimated the
civil war displaced 500,000 to 800,000 persons. The government set a
2002 target date to complete returns, but as of 2002 an estimated
300,000 remained displaced. In 2006 the government reported 17,000
persons remained displaced, but others estimated only 20 to 25 percent
of the original number had returned home. Some IDPs displaced during
the civil war have neither returned home nor attempted to reclaim and
rebuild their property due to the hazardous social and economic
situation in some areas.
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, at the
height of the 2006 war between Israel and Hizballah, as many as one
million persons fled their homes; approximately 735,000 were internally
displaced, and approximately 230,000 fled to neighboring countries.
According to government estimates, 90 percent of the IDPs returned home
within four days of the ceasefire, but many homes had been destroyed,
compensation was rarely sufficient for rebuilding, and unexploded
ordnance restricted freedom of movement. In December 2008 the UNHCR
estimated 40,000 to 70,000 such persons remained IDPs. UNRWA reported
more than 20,000 Nahr el-Barid residents remained displaced at year's
end.
During the year there were no substantiated reports the government
deliberately attacked or forcibly resettled IDPs or made efforts to
obstruct access by domestic or international humanitarian
organizations.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. Its
laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status. As a
result more than 70 percent of refugees registered with the UNHCR do
not have any legal status and thus are liable to arrest for their
illegal status. In practice the government provided some protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
Authorities repatriated refugees on a voluntary basis during the
year. According to the UNHCR, domestic courts often sentenced refugees
to one month's imprisonment and fines instead of deportation. Courts
often referred to the Convention against Torture, to which the country
is a party, which states no state party shall expel, return, or
extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds
for believing he or she would be in danger of being subjected to
torture. After serving their sentences, most refugees remained in
detention unless they found employment sponsors and the SG agreed to
release them in coordination with the UNHCR.
A 2003 agreement between the SG and the UNHCR recognizes and grants
protection to non-Palestinian refugees, providing temporary relief for
those seeking determination of refugee status. Those wishing to claim
refugee status must do so within two months of arriving in the country.
The SG issues residence permits, valid for three months, during which
time the UNHCR must make a refugee status determination. The SG
extended residency permits for as long as 12 months for those to whom
the UNHCR accorded refugee status. The government granted admission and
temporary (six-month) refuge to asylum seekers, but not permanent
asylum. The SG sometimes arbitrarily detained asylum seekers at its
detention facility for more than a year and then deported them.
The second largest group of refugees in the country were Iraqis. At
year's end 10,288 Iraqis were registered with the UNHCR. The UNHCR
estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Iraqis were living in the country; many
entered the country illegally in search of jobs, education, and
security. Local NGOs and community workers estimated approximately
20,000 Iraqis were vulnerable and in need of assistance. During the
year the government provided limited services for Iraqi refugees but
had no process for regularizing their status. The government did not
take action to provide a temporary protection regime for Iraqi asylum
seekers, as advocated by the UNHCR, and the government regularly
deported Iraqis who may have had valid persecution claims. According to
the SG there were 16 detained Iraqis in the country at year's end.
During the year the SG deported 183 illegal Iraqi immigrants to Iraq.
From February 18 until June 18, the SG granted a grace period for
illegal immigrants, during which period Iraqis could regularize their
status. The SG allowed Iraqi detainees an additional three months to
arrange for new sponsors in the country if they did not wish to return
to Iraq.
By law Palestinian refugees are considered foreigners, although in
several instances they are accorded poorer treatment than other
foreigners due to the country's insistence on the principle of
reciprocity, which is prejudicial to stateless Palestinians. UNRWA has
the sole mandate to provide health, education, social services, and
emergency assistance to Palestinian refugees residing in the country as
well as in the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, and Jordan. As of June 30,
421,993 UNRWA-registered Palestinian refugees were living in or near 12
camps throughout the country. The majority of Palestinian refugees were
those displaced during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 and their
descendants. Additional Palestinians arrived in 1967 after the Six-Day
War and in the 1970s after many were expelled from Jordan.
The amount of land allocated to official refugee camps in the
country has only marginally changed since 1948, despite a four-fold
increase in the registered refugee population. Consequently, most
Palestinian refugees lived in overpopulated camps subject to repeated
heavy damage during multiple conflicts. Poverty, drug addiction,
prostitution, and crime reportedly prevailed in the camps, although
reliable statistics were not available. In accordance with a 1969
agreement with the PLO, PLO security committees, not the government,
provide security for refugees in the camps.
During and after the 2007 fighting in Nahr el-Barid, which resulted
in the displacement of an estimated 35,000 Palestinian refugees, LAF
and ISF forces arbitrarily detained and physically abused some
Palestinian refugees and citizens of other countries suspected of being
militants. The LAF interrogated many men as they left the camp and
detained those suspected of supporting or having information about FAI
(see section 1.c.). FAI attacked members of international humanitarian
organizations who attempted to enter the Nahr el-Barid camp to provide
assistance. An FAI attack on a UN aid convoy claimed the lives of two
Palestinian refugees. The Nahr el-Barid conflict caused multiple
humanitarian concerns. Palestinian refugees and Lebanese displaced by
the violence had no access to running water, sewage, or electricity for
weeks. Refugees who left the camp were treated for dehydration,
diarrhea, and stomach illnesses, and, due to security problems, UNRWA
clinics in the camp were not fully functioning. The government provided
emergency relief with assistance from UNRWA, the international donor
community, and humanitarian NGOs.
During the year there were reports members of various Palestinian
factions and foreign militias detained their rivals during clashes over
territorial control of the camps, particularly in the north and south.
At year's end 15,000 refugees had returned to areas adjacent to the
camp. Displaced communities raised concerns about their security and
freedom of movement, as security measures tightened in response to
sporadic clashes in the northern part of the country. In June 2008
UNRWA, the government, and the World Bank launched a comprehensive,
three-year plan to rebuild Nahr el-Barid camp and surrounding
communities. Reconstruction in the official camp began in November
following bureaucratic and political delays.
According to human rights observers, Palestinian refugees faced
severe restrictions in access to work opportunities. Few Palestinians
received work permits, and those who found work usually were directed
into unskilled occupations. In 2005 the minister of labor issued a
memorandum authorizing Palestinian nationals born in the country and
registered with the MOI to work in 50 (out of 72) professions otherwise
banned to foreigners. There were no indications this memorandum was
implemented consistently. Some Palestinian refugees worked in the
informal sector, particularly in agriculture and construction.
Palestinian incomes continued to decline in real terms. Iraqi refugees
also faced significant restrictions on their ability to work, with many
working in the informal labor sector. Seventy percent of registered
Iraqi refugees were men, who were particularly at risk for labor
exploitation and deportation.
Palestinian refugees residing in the country were not able to
obtain citizenship and were not citizens of any other country.
Palestinian refugee women married to citizens were able to obtain
citizenship and transmit citizenship to their children. Palestinian
refugees, including children, had limited social and civil rights and
no access to public health, education, or other social services. The
majority relied entirely on UNRWA for education, health, relief, and
social services. Children of Palestinian refugees faced discrimination
in birth registration, and many reportedly had to leave school at an
early age to earn income.
Iraqi refugees had access to both the public and private education
systems. The UNHCR reported approximately 1,000 Iraqi children were
registered in schools, and it provided grants to the children to help
defray the costs associated with attending school. Iraqi refugees also
had access to the primary health care system. The UNHCR, through NGOs,
provided secondary health care.
Property laws do not explicitly target Palestinian refugees, but
they bar persons who do not bear the nationality of a recognized state
from owning land and property, which directly and effectively excludes
Palestinians. Under this law Palestinians may not purchase property,
and those who owned property before this law was issued in 2001 are
prohibited from passing the property to their children. The parliament
justified these restrictions on the grounds it was protecting the right
of Palestinian refugees to return to the homes they fled after the
creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Other foreigners may own
limited-size plots of land.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived exclusively from the
father, which may result in statelessness for children of a citizen
mother and a noncitizen father when registration under the father's
nationality is not possible.
Approximately 3,000 Palestinian refugees were registered neither
with the UNRWA nor with the government. Also known as undocumented, or
non-ID, Palestinians, most moved to the country after the expulsion of
the PLO from Jordan in 1971. Non-ID Palestinians were not eligible for
assistance from UNRWA, faced restrictions on movement, and lacked
access to fundamental rights under the law. The majority of non-ID
Palestinians were men, many of them married to UNRWA refugees or
citizen women, who could not transmit refugee status or citizenship to
their husbands or children.
In January 2008 the government agreed to grant a new legal status
to non-ID Palestinians. By the end of 2008, the LPDC and UNRWA had
facilitated the issuance of identification cards to 1,200 non-ID
Palestinians. However, the process was suspended during the year, and
all the cards issued have expired.
At year's end the MOI had not rendered a decision on the legal
status of approximately 4,000 persons who stood to lose citizenship due
to the State Consultative Council's 2003 decision to invalidate the
1994 naturalization decree, which naturalized several thousand
Palestinians.
Approximately 1,000 to 1,500 of the 75,000 Kurds living in the
country were without citizenship despite decades of family presence in
the country. Most were descendants of migrants and refugees who left
Turkey and Syria during World War I but had been denied the right to
citizenship to preserve the country's sectarian balance. The government
issued a naturalization decree in June 1994, but high costs and other
obstacles prevented many from acquiring official status. Some held an
``ID under consideration'' that states no date and place of birth.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully in periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage; however, lack of government control over parts of the
country, defects in the electoral process, and corruption in public
office significantly restricted this right in practice. Elections for
parliament must be held every four years, and parliament elects the
president every six years to a single term. The president and
parliament nominate the prime minister, who, with the president,
chooses the cabinet.
Elections and Political Participation.--On June 7, parliamentary
elections were held in the 26 electoral districts. Observers concluded
the elections were generally free and fair, with minor irregularities.
In its final report, a EU observer team stated there were no major
irregularities; that the elections benefited from legal improvements
introduced in September 2008, such as an independent election
commission, abolition of the voter card and multiday elections, and
regulation of campaign finance and media; and voter turnout was higher
than in previous elections, at almost 52 percent compared to 43 to 45
percent in 2005. The September 2008 electoral law also established out-
of-country voting provisions for the 2013 parliamentary elections.
The cabinet must license all political parties. The government
scrutinized requests to establish political movements or parties and
monitored their activities to some extent.
The political system is based on confessional affiliation, and
parliamentary seats are allotted on a sectarian basis. There were four
major, and numerous smaller, political parties. The larger, sectarian-
based parties maintained the greatest influence in the country's
political system, although a number of smaller parties existed or were
in the process of forming.
There were significant cultural barriers to women's participation
in politics. Prior to 2005 no woman held a cabinet position. One woman
served as a member of the national unity cabinet formed in July 2008,
and two women were appointed to the cabinet formed late in the year.
Minorities were able to participate in politics to some extent.
Regardless of the number of its adherents, every government-recognized
religion was given at least one seat in parliament. Three
parliamentarians representing minorities (one Syrian Orthodox and two
Alawites) were elected in the June elections. These groups also held
high positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the LAF. As
Palestinian refugees are not citizens, they have no political rights.
An estimated 17 Palestinian factions operated in the country, generally
organized around prominent individuals. Most Palestinians lived in
refugee camps that one or more factions controlled. Refugee leaders
were not elected, but there were popular committees that met regularly
with the UNRWA and visitors.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The government provides criminal penalties for official corruption,
but the penalties were seldom enforced, and government corruption was a
serious problem. A September Transparency Lebanon report enumerated
types of corruption in the country, such as systemic clientelism;
judicial failures, especially in investigations of politically
motivated killings; electoral fraud from the absence of preprinted
ballots; and bribery. According to the report, all bureaucratic
transactions are facilitated through the payment of bribes; in addition
to regular fees, customers pay bribes of at least 60,000 pounds ($40)
for a new driver's license, 40,000 pounds ($27) for car registration,
and 4.5 million to 45 million pounds ($3,000 to $30,000) to get a
residential building permit.
In its annual National Integrity System Study, the Lebanese
Transparency Association (LTA) reported during the parliamentary
elections LTA monitors witnessed vote buying through cash donations on
election day in many electoral districts. LTA issued a press statement
the day after the elections stating acts of vote-buying occurred in
Metn, Zahle, Batroun, Zghorta, West Bekaa, and Saida. The report
indicated the value of a vote reached from 90,000 pounds ($60) to
150,000 pounds ($100) in Saida, 1,300,000 pounds ($800) in Zahle, and
up to 4,500,000 pounds ($3,000) in Zgharta.
On June 9, OTV broadcast a recording of a conversation between MP
Michel Murr and Father Elias Akkary in which Murr asked Akkary to
retrieve the preprinted ballots he had distributed on behalf of Murr's
opponent or else face the secret services. Akkary had reportedly agreed
to campaign for Murr but instead campaigned for Murr's opponent, MP
Ibrahim Kenaan.
The law requires public officials to disclose their financial
assets to the Constitutional Council, but the information was not
available to the public. The Court of Accounts, the Central Inspection
Department, the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative
Reform, the Central Bank's Special Investigation Committee, and the
Disciplinary Board were tasked with fighting corruption.
There are no laws regarding public access to government documents,
and the government did not respond to requests for documents.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without overt government restriction and
investigated and published their findings on human rights cases.
Domestic human rights groups included the Lebanese Association for
Human Rights, the Foundation for Human and Humanitarian Rights-Lebanon,
the Beirut Bar Association's Institute for Human Rights, and the
National Association for the Rights of the Disabled. Government
officials generally cooperated with NGOs, but following the 2007 Nahr
el-Barid conflict, the government obstructed a monitoring visit to the
camp conducted jointly by several international and domestic NGOs,
including HRW, ALEF, the Palestinian Human Rights Organization, and the
Palestinian Foundation for Human Rights.
The government cooperated with international governmental
organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives and other
international bodies such as the ICRC. On May 27, the ICRC released its
2008 annual report on its activities in the country. On April 22, the
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon wrote a letter to the parliamentary
human rights committee reviewing his discussion with members about
civil, political, economic, and social rights, including those of
refugees, and reporting on treaty obligations.
Parliament's Committee on Human Rights made little progress due to
the absence of a government for most of the year. At year's end there
was no evidence that the committee had begun implementing the existing
national action plan calling for legal changes to guide ministries on
protecting specific human rights and the implementation of certain
measures, such as improving prison conditions.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and it provides for equality among all
citizens. In practice some aspects of the law and traditional beliefs
discriminated against women. Although the law reserves a percentage of
private sector and government jobs for persons with disabilities, there
were few accommodations for them. Discrimination based on race,
language, or social status is illegal, but foreign domestic employees
often were mistreated, sometimes suffered physical abuse, had pay
withheld or unfairly reduced, or were forced to remain locked within
their employer's home for the duration of their contracts.
Women.--The law prohibits rape, and the government effectively
enforced the law. The minimum prison sentence for a person convicted of
rape is five years, or seven years for raping a minor. Although the law
does not provide for it, victims' families may offer rapists marriage
as an alternative to preserve family honor. Spousal rape was not
criminalized. According to the local NGO KAFA (Enough) Violence and
Exploitation, nonspousal rape was relatively common. KAFA reported 80
percent of domestic violence victims suffered spousal rape as well.
Although there were no official statistics on the number of abusers who
were prosecuted, prosecution was rare, according to KAFA.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and
domestic violence, including spousal abuse, was a problem. There were
no authoritative statistics on its extent. Despite a law that sets a
maximum sentence of three years in prison for battery, some religious
courts may legally require a battered wife to return to her home
despite physical abuse. Women were sometimes compelled to remain in
abusive marriages because of economic, social, and family pressures.
Foreign domestic servants, usually women, were often mistreated,
abused, and in some cases raped or placed in slavery-like conditions
(see section 7.c.).
The government provided legal assistance to domestic violence
victims who could not afford it, but in most cases police ignored
complaints submitted by battered or abused women. A local NGO, the
Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women, worked to reduce
violence against women by offering counseling and legal aid and raising
awareness about the problem. From January to September, KAFA assisted
98 victims of domestic violence.
The legal system was discriminatory in its handling of honor
crimes. According to the penal code, a man who kills his wife or other
female relative may receive a reduced sentence if he demonstrates he
committed the crime in response to a socially unacceptable sexual
relationship conducted by the victim. For example, although the penal
code stipulates murder is punishable by either a life sentence or
death, a defendant who can prove the killing was an honor crime
receives a commuted sentence of a maximum of seven years' imprisonment.
According to a March 2008 Agence France Presse article, although honor
crimes were not widespread in the country, every year men killed a
number of female relatives under the pretext of defending family honor.
The law on prostitution requires brothels be licensed, including
regular testing for disease. Government policy was to reject all new
license requests for brothels in an attempt to eliminate prostitution;
consequently most prostitution in the country was unlicensed and
unregulated. The SG closely monitored women working in adult clubs.
Foreign women's residency permits did not exceed six months, and they
were deported if they were caught overstaying their permits.
The law prohibits sexual harassment, but it was a widespread
problem, and the law was not effectively enforced. Social pressure
against women pursuing careers was strong in some parts of society. Men
sometimes exercised considerable control over female relatives,
restricting their activities outside the home or their contact with
friends and relatives.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There are no legal prohibitions or governmental
encumbrances to equal access under the law for reproductive health care
products or services, although the most advanced clinics and practices
were in the larger metropolitan areas. The government provided free
hospital treatment and free antiretroviral drugs for all persons living
with HIV/AIDS.
Women suffered discrimination under the law and in practice.
Many family and personal status laws, which varied widely across
the various confessional court systems, discriminated against women.
For example, Sunni civil courts apply an Islamic inheritance law that
provides a son twice the inheritance of a daughter. Immigration law
also discriminates against women, who may not confer citizenship on
their spouses and children, except widows may confer citizenship on
their minor children. By law women may own property, but they often
ceded control of it to male relatives due to cultural reasons and
family pressure. The law provides for equal pay for equal work for men
and women, but in the private sector there was discrimination regarding
the provision of benefits.
Children.--Citizenship is derived exclusively from the father,
which may result in statelessness for some children of a citizen mother
and noncitizen father (see section 2.d.).
The government did not register the births of children born in the
country to Palestinian refugees or non-ID Palestinian parents,
resulting in the denial of citizenship and restricted access to public
services, including school and health care. Children of citizen mothers
and Palestinian fathers were not granted citizenship. According to the
government Higher Council for Childhood, although Palestinian refugee
births were not officially registered, the General Directorate for
Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, which falls under the MOI, maintained
birth figures.
Iraqi, Sudanese, and Somali refugee children and children of
foreign domestic workers also faced obstacles to equal treatment under
the law, and NGOs reported ongoing discrimination against them,
although some could attend school. According to an October 2008 report
by the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), children born
in the country of migrant domestic workers had no official identity.
For Sri Lankans, Filipinos, and West Africans, the law allows a
child who is already registered in a school to have residency. Many
children of domestic workers faced marginalization and racism because
of their parents' social status. No accurate statistics on the number
of such children born in the country existed at year's end, although
Caritas estimated there were approximately 75 children.
In a joint KAFA-Save the Children Sweden study released in October
2008, 16 to 20 percent of children eight to 17 years old admitted
experiencing at least one form of sexual abuse at an average age of 10
years. The survey also showed most sexual abuse occurred at home, and
54 percent of the sexually abused children said they told someone about
the abuse, most commonly their mother. Focus group discussions revealed
a lack of knowledge about the prevalence of, or factors leading to,
child sexual abuse; and also indicated gender bias in addressing such
cases, as girls' experiences were treated with greater secrecy.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit
trafficking in persons. However, the country was a destination and
transit point for trafficked persons, and there were reports persons
were trafficked to and through the country. The government may
prosecute traffickers under criminal law on abductions. Trafficking in
persons remained a problem during the year.
The country was a destination for Eastern European, Russian, and
Syrian women who were contracted as dancers in adult clubs and sexually
exploited. Most of these women engaged in voluntary illegal
prostitution, but some reported intimidation or coercion and
restrictions on freedom of movement.
The country was also a destination for women from Africa and Asia,
usually contracted as domestic workers. Some of these workers found
themselves in situations of involuntary servitude including
restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, nonpayment of
wages, threats, and physical or sexual assault, with little practical
legal recourse.
Children were trafficked within the country for forced labor
(mostly street vending) and sexual exploitation.
A high percentage of traffickers were employers and employment
agencies.
Some foreign women became illegal workers due to their employer's
failure to renew their work and residency permits or because they fled
from their employer. The women were subject to detention, rendering
them vulnerable to trafficking when abusive sponsors used the women's
illegal immigration status to intimidate them and coerce them into
labor. Unscrupulous employers sometimes falsely accused an employee of
theft as a pretext to relinquish their contractual responsibilities to
their employees and their obligation to pay taxes and provide a return
airline ticket.
At year's end 100 Ethiopian women were in detention awaiting trial
for not having passports. The women claimed their passports had been
taken from them when they started as domestic workers or that they
never had passports. Authorities arrested most of the women on the
street after they fled from their employers. Breaking their contracts
deprived them of a guaranteed flight home on completion of their work.
The penal code stipulates that abduction be punished by hard labor
and that abductors who engage in sexual exploitation be sentenced to at
least one year in prison. According to the MOJ, there were no
prosecutions or convictions under this law during the year. NGOs and
foreign embassies reported many victims of exploitation and abuse
preferred quick administrative proceedings, which resulted in monetary
settlements and repatriations, rather than legal proceedings that were
often lengthy and difficult. Victims frequently dropped cases before
prosecution was completed in exchange for compensation. A small number
of exploited foreign workers won cases against their employers, but
nonjudicial action resolved the majority of cases. As a result workers
frequently were repatriated without further judicial action. A few
cases were referred to the judiciary for further action, although the
government took minimal steps to prosecute traffickers.
The SG, MOJ, and Ministry of Labor (MOL) have responsibilities for
combating trafficking. The MOL regulates local employment agencies that
place migrant workers with sponsors. In 2008 the MOL closed two
employment agencies for violations of workers' rights, including
physical abuse, and warned a number of others it found in noncompliance
with MOL regulations. The government did not provide trafficking
victims with shelter, legal, medical, or psychological services, or
relief from deportation. The SG allowed Caritas social workers
unrestricted access to its retention center for foreign persons to
provide detainees with counseling, assistance, and legal protection.
The SG also continued to refer potential victims to Caritas. Once
victims were identified, the government transferred them to a ``safe
house,'' and Caritas could assist them. The SG sometimes granted
victims permission to remain in the country as long as two months to
assist in investigation of their cases and prosecution of their
abusers.
The SG allows migrant workers who do not wish to be repatriated to
their home countries to change their sponsors legally by means of a
``release paper'' from the original employer. A court may order an
abusive employer to provide such a release paper as part of a decision,
or this action may be part of a negotiated out-of-court settlement.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at: www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Although prohibited by law,
discrimination against persons with disabilities continued. The Civil
Service Board, which is in charge of recruiting government employees,
continued to refuse applications from persons with disabilities. The
law stipulates at least 3 percent of all government and private sector
positions be filled by persons with disabilities, provided such persons
fulfill the qualifications for the position; however, there was no
evidence the law was enforced in practice. The law mandates access to
buildings by persons with disabilities, but the government failed to
amend building codes. Many persons with mental disabilities were cared
for in private institutions, several of which the government
subsidized.
A study by the UN Development Programme in 1990, just after the end
of the civil war, estimated one in 10 citizens--as many as 300,000
individuals--had disabilities, but the Ministry of Social Affairs had
registered only 70,000 persons for official disability cards at year's
end.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Council of Disabled
are responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
According to the president of the Arab Organization of Disabled People,
little progress has been made since the law on disabilities was passed
in 2000. Approximately 100 relatively active but poorly funded private
organizations made most of the efforts to assist persons with
disabilities.
On May 13, the MOI issued a decree to ensure accessibility to
polling stations for persons with special needs during the June
parliamentary voting. Following the decree the Lebanese Physically
Handicapped Union, sponsored by the International Foundation for
Election Systems, conducted a study mapping 1,741 polling stations
throughout the country and assessed them according to the ministry's
six accessibility criteria. The study showed that only six polling
stations out of 1,741 satisfied all six criteria.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were reports Syrian
workers, usually employed in manual labor, continued to suffer
discrimination following the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian forces, although
to a lesser extent than in previous years. According to an IRIN report,
many Syrians in the country have been attacked, robbed, beaten, and
sometimes killed over the past four years.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Discrimination against
homosexual activity persisted during the year. The law prohibits
``unnatural sexual intercourse,'' an offense punishable by up to one
year in prison. The law was sometimes applied to men engaging in
homosexual activity; it was rarely applied to women, although the
domestic NGO Helem (from the Arabic acronym for Lebanese Protection for
Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders) reported police used the
law to blackmail women.
At year's end Helem reported on December 3, a judge in the Batroun
District rendered the first decision determining ``unnatural sexual
intercourse'' does not apply to homosexual activity, which he ruled a
part of nature.
Meem, the first NGO in the country exclusively for nonheterosexual
women, hosted regular meetings in a safe house, provided counseling
services, and carried out advocacy projects for nonheterosexual women.
On February 25, Helem organized a demonstration in Beirut to
protest an attack by security forces against two gay men (see section
1.c.) and against the homophobic provisions of the law. On May 10 and
on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Helem in
coordination with Meem and Gay-Straight Alliance organized gay rights
demonstrations. The government permitted these demonstrations, and
there was no violence from any source reported against the
demonstrators.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Although there are no
discriminatory laws, Helem reported during the year at least five HIV-
positive individuals reported discrimination by dentists or hospital
staff.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law allows all workers except
government employees to establish and join unions with government
approval, and workers exercised this right in practice. The MOL must
approve the formation of any union. The MOL controlled the conduct of
all trade union elections, including election dates, procedures, and
ratification of results. The law permitted the administrative
dissolution of trade unions and forbade them to engage in political
activity.
The General Labor Confederation (GLC), the umbrella organization
for trade unions, estimated there were approximately 900,000 workers in
the active labor force. Approximately 5 to 7 percent of workers were
members of some 450 to 500 labor unions and associations, half of which
were believed to be inactive.
The law provides that unions conduct activities free from
interference, but the MOL at times interfered in union elections and
registered unions not considered representative by the GLC. Unions have
the right to demonstrate, with advance notice and approval by the MOI.
Most unions belonged to federations. There were 52 federations that
were voting members of the GLC, six of which the judiciary declared
illegal in 2007 because they had failed to obtain the required GLC
general directorate majority vote, although at year's end they remained
members. Many others were reportedly unrepresentative and created by
political interest groups to offset the votes of the 13 established
labor federations that represent workers. The GLC remained the only
organization the government recognized as an interlocutor for workers,
while approximately 13 federations that composed the ``Salvation
Committee of the GLC'' no longer participated in GLC meetings but had
not declared an official breakaway at year's end.
Palestinian refugees may organize their own unions. Because of
restrictions on their right to work, few Palestinians participated
actively in trade unions. Palestinian refugees are legally barred from
entering certain unionized professions such as engineering, law, and
medicine.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
protects the right of workers to organize and to bargain collectively,
and the government supported this right in practice. Most worker groups
engaged in some form of collective bargaining with their employers.
There is no government mechanism to promote voluntary labor-management
negotiations. The law protected workers against antiunion
discrimination, although the law was weakly enforced.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not
specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, but articles within
the law prohibit behavior that constitutes forced or compulsory labor.
Nevertheless, children, foreign domestic workers, and other foreign
workers sometimes were forced to remain in situations amounting to
coerced or bonded labor. Women from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and
Russia were trafficked and forced to provide sexual or domestic
services. Children from Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria were most subject to
forced labor.
Government regulations also prohibited employment agencies from
withholding foreign workers' passports for any reason. In practice
employment agencies and household employers often withheld domestic
workers' passports. Recruitment agencies and employers were required to
sign employment contracts with foreign workers. On February 5, the MOL
published a standardized contract to be used by all employment agencies
locally and overseas for all domestic workers. It regulates working
hours and stipulates workers be given days off for vacations and
holidays. According to NGOs assisting migrant workers, some employers
did not pay their workers regularly and some withheld their salaries
for the duration of the contract, which was usually two years. Asian
and African female workers especially had no practical legal recourse
because of their low status and isolation and because labor laws did
not protect them. Due to the prevalence of such abuse, the government
prohibited foreign women from working if they were from countries
without diplomatic representation in the country.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace,
but the government sometimes did not effectively enforce these laws.
According to 2005 UNICEF statistics, 7 percent of children between five
and 14 years old were involved in child labor. The International Labor
Organization (ILO) estimated there were 100,000 child workers, of whom
25,000 were thought to be in the tobacco industry, and a large
percentage worked in informal sectors of the economy, including
construction, agriculture, mechanics, and fisheries. Street children
worked selling goods, polishing shoes, and washing car windows.
Traffickers used children for commercial sexual exploitation and work
under hazardous conditions in sectors, such as metalwork, construction,
automobile repair, welding, and seasonal agriculture.
The minimum age for employment is 14 years old. The law requires
juveniles, defined as children between 14 and 18 years of age, undergo
a medical exam to ensure their fitness for a particular position before
beginning work. The labor code prohibits employment of juveniles
younger than 18 years old for more than six hours per day and requires
one hour of rest if work is more than four hours. Juveniles younger
than 17 years old are prohibited from working in jobs that jeopardize
their health, safety, or morals, or working between the hours of 7 p.m.
and 7 a.m. The law prohibits the employment of juveniles younger than
16 years old in industrial jobs or jobs physically demanding or harmful
to their health.
The MOL enforced these requirements through its Child Labor Unit,
established in 2001 in cooperation with the ILO. Enforcement improved
during the year, as the unit worked to train its inspectors and recruit
new ones. At year's end the MOL employed approximately 130 labor
inspectors and assistant inspectors who helped to enforce child labor
laws. The Higher Council of Childhood provided education to families
and children to help prevent child abuse.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum wage was
500,000 pounds ($333) per month, which did not adequately provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family. The minimum wage for
the private sector is set by the council of ministers; the minimum wage
for the public sector is also set by the council of ministers, but
requires additional approval from parliament.
The law prescribes a standard 48-hour workweek with a 24-hour rest
period per week. In practice workers in the industrial sector worked an
average of 35 hours per week, and workers in other sectors worked an
average of 30 hours per week. The law stipulates 48 hours is the
maximum duration of work per week in most corporations except
agricultural entities. A 12-hour day is permitted under certain
conditions, including a stipulation the overtime provided is 50 percent
higher than the pay for other hours.
The law includes specific occupational health and safety
regulations. Labor regulations require employers to take adequate
precautions for employee safety. The MOL was responsible for enforcing
these regulations but did so unevenly. Labor organizers reported
workers did not have the right to remove themselves from hazardous
conditions without jeopardizing their employment.
Some private sector firms failed to provide employees with family
and transport allowances as stipulated under the law, and did not
register them with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). Employers
sometimes registered their employees with lower salaries, to decrease
their contributions to the NSSF and their end-of-service pay to the
employee. Some companies did not respect legal provisions governing
occupational health and safety. Workers may report violations directly
to the GLC, MOL, or NSSF. In most cases they preferred to remain silent
for fear of arbitrary dismissal.
The law does not protect foreign domestic workers. Some employers
mistreated, abused, and raped foreign domestic workers, who were mostly
of Asian and African origin, or placed them in situations of coerced
labor or slavery-like conditions. Domestic workers often worked 18
hours per day and in many cases did not receive vacations or holidays.
There was no minimum wage for domestic workers. Official contracts
stipulate a wage ranging from 150,000 to 450,000 pounds ($100 to $300)
per month, depending on the nationality of the worker. Victims of
trafficking or abusive labor may file civil suits or seek legal action,
but most victims, counseled by their embassies or consulates, settled
for an administrative solution that usually included monetary
compensation and repatriation. The government did not release
information on legal actions filed, but NGOs indicated fewer than 10
legal actions were undertaken during the year. On December 9, a
criminal court judge in Batroun sentenced a woman who beat her Filipino
domestic worker to 15 days in prison, a fine of 50,000 pounds ($33),
and 10,800,000 pounds ($7,200) in compensation. The victim was in the
Philippines when the verdict was announced, and the judge refused the
request of the citizen woman to bring the victim before the court.
In 2008 the MOL closed two employment agencies for violations of
workers' rights, including physical abuse. Perpetrators of the abuses
were not further prosecuted for a number of reasons, including the
victims' refusal to press charges and lack of evidence. An unknown
number of other cases of nonpayment of wages were settled through
negotiation. According to source country embassies and consulates, many
workers did not report violations of their labor contracts until after
they returned to their home countries.
__________
LIBYA
The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is an
authoritarian regime with a population of approximately 6.3 million,
ruled by Colonel Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi since 1969. The country's
governing principles are derived predominantly from al-Qadhafi's Green
Book ideology. In theory citizens rule the country through a pyramid of
popular congresses, communes, and committees, as laid out in the 1969
Constitutional Proclamation and the 1977 Declaration on the
Establishment of the Authority of the People. After elections in March,
Secretary of the General People's Committee al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi
(prime minister equivalent) and the delegates of the 760-member General
People's Congress began three-year terms. In practice al-Qadhafi and
his inner circle monopolized political power. These authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
The government's human rights record remained poor. Citizens did
not have the right to change their government. Continuing problems
included reported disappearances; torture; arbitrary arrest; lengthy
pretrial and sometimes incommunicado detention; official impunity; and
poor prison conditions. Denial of fair public trial by an independent
judiciary, political prisoners and detainees, and the lack of judicial
recourse for alleged human rights violations were also problems. The
government instituted new restrictions on media freedom and continued
to restrict freedom of speech (including Internet and academic
freedom). It continued to impede the freedom of assembly, freedom of
association, and civil liberties. The government did not fully protect
the rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, and in some cases
participated in their abuse. Other problems included restrictions on
freedom of religion; corruption and lack of transparency;
discrimination against women, ethnic minorities, and foreign workers;
trafficking in persons; and restriction of labor rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
confirmed reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary
or unlawful killings. On May 10, the Tripoli newspaper Oea reported
that Ali al-Fakheri (also known as Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi) had been
found dead in his cell in Abu Salim prison from an apparent suicide,
and that the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) had begun an
investigation. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights
Watch (HRW) had met briefly with al-Fakheri during a visit to the
prison on April 27, but he refused to be interviewed. In a May 12
statement, HRW called on authorities to conduct a full and transparent
investigation. The NGO Amnesty International (AI) visited Abu Salim
Prison after his death in May, but authorities denied access to al-
Fakheri's guards, forensic doctors, or the autopsy report. There were
no results of the GPO investigation made public by year's end.
On August 31, the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called
for a credible and transparent inquiry into the reported 2007 trial and
sentencing to death of three unnamed individuals for the 2005 killing
of Daif al-Ghazal, a prominent opposition journalist and anticorruption
activist.
There were no developments in the case of Mohammed Adel Abu Ali,
who died in custody in May 2008 after his return to the country when
his asylum claim was denied in Europe. According to HRW, he was
tortured in detention. London-based As-Sharq Al-Awsat reported that he
belonged to the oppositionist ``al-Tabu'' Front for the Liberation of
Libya.
b. Disappearance.--In 2007 security services arrested Abdulrahman
al- Qutiwi, along with others who appeared subsequently in court to
face criminal charges. Authorities did not bring al-Qutiwi to trial.
After two years of incommunicado detention during which his whereabouts
were unknown, authorities released al-Qutiwi in mid-February.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but security personnel
reportedly routinely tortured and abused detainees and prisoners during
interrogations or as punishment. Detainees often were held
incommunicado. Foreign observers noted that incidents of torture--used
as a punishment in Internal Security Service prisons--seemed to have
decreased over the past year.
There were reports of torture and abuse during the year. On
December 10, the Qadhafi Development Foundation (QDF) released a report
on human rights practices in the country. In a statement accompanying
the release, the QDF said during the year it had received a ``large
number of complaints'' of torture during imprisonment and called for
the government to waive immunities from prosecution for officials
accused of torture. The Human Rights Society of Libya (HRSL), the QDF
subsidiary responsible for the report, noted that suspected
narcotraffickers were among those most mistreated, with punishments
including beating with sticks. On March 9, International Christian
Concern, an NGO dedicated to religious issues, alleged that four
converts to Christianity, arrested in January, had been physically
abused in detention, although no specific methods or further details
were provided (see section 2.c.). According to a June 9 HRW report,
migrants in Malta and Italy previously apprehended in Libya reported
that authorities severely abused them. On May 20, HRW interviewed an
Eritrean migrant in Rome who alleged officials in Libya beat him with
sticks and metal rods at a migrant detention facility. On September 15,
Algeria's human rights commissioner stated that 26 of 54 Algerian
prisoners released from prisons in the country as part of an annual
Revolution Day amnesty ``suffered from the effects of torture.''
In previous years the reported methods of torture and abuse
included chaining prisoners to a wall for hours; clubbing; applying
electric shock; applying corkscrews to the back; pouring lemon juice in
open wounds; breaking fingers and allowing the joints to heal without
medical care; suffocating with plastic bags; depriving detainees of
sleep, food, and water; hanging by the wrists; suspending from a pole
inserted between the knees and elbows; burning with cigarettes;
threatening with dog attacks; and beatings on the soles of the feet.
The law sanctioned corporal punishments such as amputation and
flogging, although there were no reports that such punishments were
carried out.
No further information was available at year's end concerning the
June 2008 alleged abduction, interrogation, and torture of lawyer Dhaw
al-Mansuri.
In July 2008 Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi, son of Colonel Mu'ammar al-
Qadhafi, conceded that acts of torture and excessive violence had taken
place in prisons. Al-Qadhafi denied government culpability, arguing
that the individuals responsible for the torture had acted on their own
initiative and were being tried within the legal system. At year's end
there was no information released on the progress of trials.
On April 19, Ashraf Ahmad Jum'a al-Hajuj drew attention to his suit
against the Libyan government at a preparatory meeting for the Durban
Review Conference, chaired by Libyan diplomat Najjat al-Hajjaji. Al-
Hajuj, a Palestinian doctor, was arrested in 1999 on charges that he
and five Bulgarian nurses working in Benghazi infected hundreds of
children. In January 2008 he filed suit in France and at the UN Human
Rights Commission in Geneva, arguing he was tortured repeatedly in
detention. According to his testimony, the torture included rape by a
German shepherd, fingernails ripped off, and electric shocks. He also
testified that he was present when the Bulgarian nurses detained with
him were tortured. He said most of the torture occurred during the
early period after his imprisonment in 1999. At year's end the case was
awaiting further action in a French court.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to diplomatic
missions and international organizations, prison and detention center
conditions ranged from poor to adequate. HRW and AI visited prisons
during study tours in April and May respectively, but authorities did
not allow full access to prisoners or facilities. A UK-based NGO
implementing a prison reform program in partnership with the General
People's Committee for Justice had periodic access to some facilities.
International organizations had some access to migrant detention
centers throughout the country, but that access was restricted after an
increase of at-sea interdiction of migrants begun in May led to severe
overcrowding in the centers. Pretrial detainees, who reportedly
accounted for more than half of the prison population, remained in the
same facilities as convicts. Individual prison directors were unable to
provide population estimates of their own prisons and centralized
records were not kept, according to prison authorities. Men and women
are in separate prisons and detention centers. Juvenile migrants were
generally held with mothers while in detention.
Security forces reportedly subjected prisoners and detainees to
cruel, inhuman, or degrading conditions and denied them adequate
medical care. Foreign observers noted that many of those incarcerated
had been acquitted or had served their sentences, but remained in
internal security service prisons, likely due to unresolved differences
between the internal security service administration that manages state
security prisons and the General People's Committee for Justice,
responsible for legal procedures and criminal detention facilities.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did not have an
office in the country. During the year prosecutors and directors of
several migrant detention centers participated in training sessions
implemented by the International Organization for Migration on prison
conditions and reform. International organizations reported that
individual directors were responsive regarding limited improvements in
the centers under their control, including providing office space for
relief workers to provide medical care and counseling to migrants in
detention.
On September 6, Minister of Defense-equivalent Abubakr Yunis Jabir
appointed Muhammad Bashir al-Khadhar to head an inquiry into the 1996
Abu Salim prison riot, in which a large but unknown number of prisoners
died. Yunis stated that the inquiry would be empowered to imprison any
officials found guilty of wrongdoing. Press reports indicated the
families of victims approved the appointment. Previous investigations
have resulted in an estimated 800 families receiving confirmation of
death, but officials did not provide bodies or explain the causes of
death, through mid-July. According to HRW, authorities offered
compensation of 200,000 dinars ($166,666) if a family agreed to halt
legal proceedings.
Family members of some of the victims reportedly killed in the 1996
incident attended the December 12 launch of HRW's country report on
Libya, where several family members repeated their rejection of
compensation offers and demanded that responsible officials be brought
to justice.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Sections 111 through 119 of the
criminal code establish procedures for pretrial detention and prohibit
arbitrary arrest and detention, but the government did not observe
these prohibitions. As in previous years, there were reports that
security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens. Security
services detained individuals without formal charges and held them
indefinitely without court convictions.
On January 31, police arrested former secretary general of the
Libyan human rights society QDF advisor Juma'a Atiga and charged him
with being a member of a banned organization and participating in the
killing of the Libyan ambassador in Rome in 1984. According to press
accounts, Atiga was released on February 15.
There were no developments reported in the case of regime critic
Fouad Nassar al-Mahmoudi. In 2007 security services detained al-
Mahmoudi upon his return from a long stay abroad, reportedly placing
him in incommunicado detention.
There were no developments in the case of Mahmoud Muhammad
Boushima, a government critic resident abroad since 1981, whom police
arrested during a 2005 trip to the country, according to an AI report.
During an April visit to Abu Salim Prison, HRW unsuccessfully requested
a meeting with Boushima.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The country maintains
an extensive security apparatus that includes police and military
units, multiple intelligence services, local ``revolutionary
committees,'' people's committees, and ``purification'' committees. The
result is a multilayered, pervasive surveillance system that monitors
and controls the activities and everyday lives of individuals. In
theory, military and internal security forces are under direct civilian
control under the Jamahiriya, or ``sovereignty of the masses'' system.
In practice, an inner circle of elites close to Muammar al-Qadhafi
wields effective control and uses security services to protect regime
interests. The legal basis of security service authority is unclear;
citizens have no obvious recourse against security services. Frequently
cited laws are the 1971 and 1972 ``Protection of the Revolution'' laws,
which criminalize activities based on political principles inconsistent
with revolutionary ideology.
The police and Internal Security Service share responsibility for
internal security. Armed forces and the External Security Service are
responsible for external security. In practice it was unclear where
authorities overlapped. Security forces were effective when combating
internal and external threats against the regime. Security forces
committed serious human rights abuses with impunity, including the
lengthy extralegal detentions of Boushima, Abdulrahman al-Qutiwi and
the rearrest of Jamal al-Hajj (see section 1.e.). They intimidated,
harassed, and detained individuals without formal charges and held them
indefinitely without court convictions, particularly in cases involving
the political opposition. They regularly enjoyed impunity from criminal
acts committed while performing their duties.
In November 2008 opposition members living abroad alleged that
security forces battled Toubou tribesmen in the southeastern part of
the country. Other observers within the country characterized clashes
in the town of Kufra as societal violence between Toubou and Zawiya
tribes. There were reports that between 11 and 30 civilians were killed
in the fighting.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
stipulates that authorities can detain persons for investigation for as
long as eight days after arrest. In practice security services held
detainees indefinitely, arbitrarily, and secretly. Although the law
requires that detainees be informed of the charges against them, the
requirement was not enforced in practice. The law states that for a
detention order to be renewed, detainees must be brought before a
judicial authority at regular intervals of 30 days, but in practice
security services detained persons for indefinite periods without a
court order.
The law provides for bail and access to counsel for pretrial
detainees, and a public defender for anyone unable to afford a private
attorney. Detainees reportedly did not receive information on their
right to legal representation during interrogation.
Incommunicado detention remained a problem. The government held
many political detainees incommunicado for unlimited periods in
unofficial detention centers controlled by branches of the security
services. More than 100 detainees may have been held for periods too
brief to permit confirmation by outside observers.
According to a June 9 HRW report, migrants in Malta and Italy
reported that authorities in Libya subjected them to long periods of
detention without recourse.
The law allows women and girls--some of whom were victims of
gender-based or domestic violence--who were suspected of violating
moral codes to be detained in ``social rehabilitation'' facilities for
their own protection. They can be detained indefinitely without access
to legal representation or the opportunity to contest their detention
in court. Women at these sites could only be released into family
custody, and were sometimes subjected to forced marriage to strangers.
Amnesty.--On October 15, authorities released 88 prisoners held for
membership in the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and other
jihadist groups. On July 10, the LIFG had stated that its 2007
announced merger with al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb was ``invalid''
and in August renounced violent jihad.
On August 28, as a regular part of its annual Revolution Day
commemoration, the government reportedly pardoned 2,183 prisoners. On
November 25, authorities released an additional 748 prisoners on the
religious feast of Eid al-Adha.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, but the judicial system was not independent in
practice. Although the law stipulates that every person has the right
to resort to the courts, security forces had the authority to sentence
without trial, particularly in cases involving the political
opposition. The government used summary judicial proceedings to
suppress domestic dissent. At his discretion, Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi may
interfere in the administration of justice by altering court judgments,
replacing judges, or manipulating the appeal system. The judiciary
failed to incorporate international standards for fair trials,
detention, and imprisonment. The Ministry of Justice admitted that both
inefficient bureaucracy and disagreement between the judiciary and the
Internal Security Organization led to unfair trials and detention. The
ministry reported that hundreds of prisoners that had been acquitted or
had served their sentences remained in prison due to differences in the
two responsible ministries.
The judicial system is composed of four tiers: the summary courts,
the courts of first instance, the three courts of appeal, and the
Supreme Court. The summary courts hear cases involving misdemeanors.
The decisions of this court may be appealed to the courts of first
instance, which are composed of three-judge chambers and have the
authority to adjudicate all civil, criminal, and commercial cases.
Jurors of the court of first instance apply Shari'a (Islamic law) in
family law cases. Cases from the courts of first instance may be
appealed to the three courts of appeal, which are composed of three-
judge panels. The Shari'a court of appeals hears cases from the lower
Shari'a court.
The final court of appeal is the Supreme Court, composed of five
separate chambers of five judges. The court has chambers for civil and
commercial, criminal, administrative, constitutional, and Shari'a
cases. The General People's Congress elects the presiding judge and
other members of the Supreme Court.
The Higher Judicial Council, an extrajudicial body that reviews
Supreme Court decisions for political implications, has the authority
to overturn Supreme Court verdicts or to grant amnesty in cases
involving capital punishment.
The Supreme Council for Judicial Authority is the administrative
authority of the judiciary that handles appointments, transfers, and
disciplinary matters.
A state security court is responsible for hearing national security
cases. The court's portfolio includes cases stemming from three laws:
Law 80 of the 1975 Penal Code stipulating the death penalty for
offenses against the security of the state; Law 71 of 1972, which
classifies as ``treason'' all independent political activity; and a
1969 revolutionary council decision that prohibits all forms of
peaceful political opposition. Opposition groups and international
human rights groups raised concerns that defendants in cases before the
state security court may be denied access to an attorney and that cases
are conducted in secret. The QDF called for the abolition of the court
in its December 10 report.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the presumption of
innocence, informing defendants of the charges against them, and the
right to legal counsel. Independent counsel was not always provided in
practice. The presiding judge appoints defense lawyers automatically,
even if the defendant has declined representation. In practice
defendants often were not informed of the charges against them and
usually had little contact, if any, with their lawyers. There were
cases during the year in which officials did not present defendants
with the charges against them until trial and defendants did not always
have access to evidence against them before trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--A large but unknown number of
persons were in detention or prison for engaging in peaceful political
activity or for belonging to an illegal political organization. The law
bans any group activity based on any political ideology inconsistent
with the principles of the 1969 revolution.
The government reportedly held political detainees, including as
many as 100 associated with banned Islamic groups, in prisons
throughout the country, but mainly in the Ayn Zara, Jadida, and Abu
Salim Prisons in Tripoli. In an August 31 report, HRW claimed dozens of
political prisoners remained in jails. The same report noted that ``a
number'' of political prisoners had been freed since 2008. In 2008
human rights organizations and foreign diplomats speculated there were
2,000 political detainees, many held for years without trial. Hundreds
of other detainees may have been held but for periods too brief to
permit confirmation by outside observers.
On May 20, political activist and al-Qadhafi critic Fathi al-Jahmi
died in Jordan. Authorities had regularly held him in solitary
confinement without adequate medical care before transferring him to
Tripoli Medical Center and then releasing him from custody on May 5 and
sending him to a hospital in Jordan. During his transfer, he fell into
a coma from which he did not recover, and he died 17 days later. HRW
visited him on April 25 and 26 at Tripoli Medical Center, reporting he
was frail and emaciated. Al-Jahmi told HRW officials he was not free to
leave the hospital. During the visit, HRW noted four men, presumably
security officers in plain clothes, stationed near the room.
With the exception of two weeks in 2004, the regime had
continuously detained al-Jahmi since 2002 for publicly calling for
democratic reforms and for giving media interviews criticizing the
regime.
According to HRW, the government contended that it arrested al-
Jahmi for telephoning foreign officials and ``providing them with
information with the purpose of making their countries hate the Great
Jamahiriya'' and for conspiring to serve the interests of a foreign
country. The formal charges were attempting to overthrow the
government, slandering Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi, and communicating with a
foreign official without permission. Al-Jahmi's lawyer reportedly
believed these charges could carry the death penalty.
On December 8, authorities rearrested Jamal al-Hajj in conjunction
with a defamation suit filed in June by the minister of justice. In a
September 1 report on BBC World television, al-Hajj called the Qadhafi
regime's rule a ``disaster'' and railed against European states for
``supporting this dictator.'' On March 15, Al-Hajj had been released
from one year of detention, along with Faraj Humaid. Authorities
sentenced the two men in June 2008 to terms of 12 and 15 years
respectively, on charges of attempting to foment rebellion and for
conducting unauthorized communications with a foreign government.
Abdulrahman al-Qutiwi, who had been held in incommunicado detention and
had not been seen since his arrest, was released on or about February
15. Before their arrest in 2007, al-Hajj, Humaid, and al-Qutiwi were
part of a group of 14 men, led by Idriss Boufayed, who had planned a
peaceful demonstration calling for greater political openness. Boufayed
was the head of the National Union for Reform, an opposition group he
headed in exile for 16 years until his return to the country in 2006,
two months before he was arrested the first time. The group reportedly
conducted a hunger strike to protest their lengthy pretrial detention
in overcrowded cells and alleged mistreatment. Of the 14 arrested, the
court convicted and sentenced 11 in 2008 to terms ranging from six to
25 years. One was found not guilty. Of the 11 sentenced, nine were
released in 2008, including Idriss Boufayed.
On an April 27 visit to Abu Salim Prison, HRW interviewed Abdel
Nasser Younis Meftah al-Rabassi, who was sentenced to 15 years'
imprisonment in 2003 for posting an article on an Arabic-language Web
site criticizing government corruption. According to human rights
activists and AI, he was tortured, did not have access to adequate
medical care, was held incommunicado, and was unable to hire his own
attorney.
Geneva-based Solidarity for Human Rights, which describes itself as
an independent human rights NGO focused on Libya, reported that
Muhammad Bosadra, a prisoner who reportedly negotiated with guards
during the 1996 Abu Salim Prison riots, had been transferred from
prison and put under house arrest after his release from Abu Salim
Prison on June 3. He had been held incommunicado since 2005.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens did not have
access to courts to seek damages for or demand cessation of human
rights violations. Security services intimidated, harassed, and
detained individuals extralegally and without judicial oversight. In
practice individuals did not have the right to seek redress for
security service actions in civil court. Neither judicial nor
administrative remedies generally were available for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but the government did
not respect the prohibitions. Security agencies often disregarded the
legal requirement to obtain a warrant before entering a private home.
They routinely monitored telephone calls and Internet usage, including
e-mail communication with foreign countries.
Security agencies and the revolutionary committees oversaw an
extensive network of informants engaged in surveillance for the
government. The government threatened to seize and destroy property
belonging to ``enemies of the people'' or those who ``cooperated'' with
foreign powers. Exiled government opponents reported that authorities
harassed their family members and threatened them with detention.
Authorities inflicted collective punishment on the relatives of
individuals, particularly those of convicted oppositionists.
Punishments by law include denial of access to utilities (water,
electricity, and telephone), fuel, food, and official documents; denial
of participation in local assemblies; and termination of new economic
projects and state subsidies.
In 2007 the UN Human Rights Committee noted the collective
punishment of a community in Bani Walid, where security services
reportedly burned the property of relatives of a political activist who
had been arrested after calling for a multiparty system.
There were no reports of application of the ``purge law'' that
provides for the confiscation of private assets greater than a nominal
amount. The law describes wealth in excess of such unspecified amounts
as ``the fruits of exploitation or corruption.''
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of
speech ``within the limits of public interest and principles of the
Revolution,'' but in practice the Publication Act of 1972 severely
limits the freedoms of speech and of the press, particularly criticism
of government officials or policy. The government tolerated some
difference of opinion within governmental structures in people's
committee meetings and at the General People's Congress. HRW met with a
group of journalists during an April visit to the country. While the
journalists acknowledged that restrictions on press freedoms had
generally loosened over the past years, they lamented that new freedoms
were based not in law but on ``personalities'' of those enforcing
laws--including the Publication Act, which in practice allows the
government to silence critics through slander and libel provisions.
The government prohibited all unofficial political activities. The
law permits authorities to interpret many forms of speech or expression
as illegal. The wide reach of security services and broad networks of
informants resulted in pervasive self-censorship.
The government owned and controlled virtually all print and
broadcast media. The official news agency, the Jamahiriya News Agency
(JANA), is the designated conduit for official views. Government-
controlled media neither published nor broadcast opinions inconsistent
with official policy. In 2008 the quasiofficial al-Ghad Media Group, a
QDF subsidiary controlled by Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi, launched a
satellite television station, a radio station, and two independent
newspapers. According to the NGO Reporters Without Borders, most of the
journalists at these newspapers also work for official media outlets,
and the newspapers were printed on the government's presses. Local
revolutionary committees published several small newspapers.
During the year the government nationalized all privately owned
news media, reversing the decision in 2007 to allow a few private media
outlets. On April 24, the state-run al-Jamahiriya television feed
interrupted quasiindependent al-Libiyya satellite television channel in
the middle of an interview program. According to press reports, JANA
officials took over al-Libiyya's offices and the station manager and
deputy director of al-Ghad Media Group, Abdelsalam al-Mishri, was
arrested and held for two days. On June 3, opposition Web sites
reported General People's Committee decree 226 of 2009, placing the al-
Ghad Media Group under state-run National Center for Media Services
control. All news outlets under the group's umbrella continued to
publish and broadcast through the end of the year, and Saif al-Islam
announced that al-Libiyya would relocate to London or Jordan for
business reasons. On August 20, al-Ghad-sponsored al-Mutawasit began
original programming broadcasts from Jordan. Within days, however, its
signal ran al-Jamahiriya feeds in simulcast. It had not resumed
original programming at the end of the year.
On October 21, Mohammed al-Sareet reported on Jeel Libya, a London-
based Web site, about a demonstration carried out by residents of a
state-run care center for women that had been orphaned as children
calling for the removal of the center's director for sexual harassment.
On October 22, al-Sareet was reportedly questioned by police and
subsequently charged with criminal defamation of the center's director.
Quotations attributed in al-Sareet's original reporting were retracted
by the women in subsequent coverage of the event, reportedly under
pressure from government officials. On October 31, however, the General
Prosecutor's Office charged the center's director with sexual
harassment and reportedly dropped all charges against al-Sareet.
Some outlets in Tripoli had limited quantities of international
weekly publications. Although the publications law in theory restricts
publishing rights to public entities, private companies were able to
distribute newspapers and books in practice.
Satellite television was widely available, but the government
blocked foreign programming at times.
Internet Freedom.--A single government-owned service provider
offered Internet access. The number of Internet users was small but
growing with improved broadband capability. According to 2008 data of
the International Telecommunication Union, there were approximately
82,500 Internet subscribers and 323,000 users. The government
reportedly monitored Internet communications. According to a 2009
report by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI), a partnership among several
universities to analyze Internet filtering and surveillance,
authorities selectively blocked some opposition Web sites and
occasionally blocked others, including those that advocated minority
rights. During the year most of these Web sites were accessible to
users of the state-owned Internet provider. Many Internet cafes
operated via satellite connection to Europe, bypassing potential
blocking by the state, although security services regularly monitored
Internet use at cafes. ONI reported that IP blocking took place at the
international gateway. Users were generally able to access blocked
content through proxies and Virtual Private Network.
On January 19, the Geneva-based NGO Libyan League for Human Rights
reported that six opposition Web sites operating abroad had been
hacked, with some pages replaced with proregime content. It was unclear
who was responsible for the actions. At the end of the reporting
period, all sites remained inoperative.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government severely
restricted academic freedom. Professors and teachers who discussed
politically sensitive topics faced the risk of government reprisal.
Authorities frequently denied foreigners access to schools and
university campuses. Selected students were encouraged to study abroad
and, although reportedly monitored, were provided with government
scholarships.
All cultural events require advance government approval. Any group
or individual seeking to organize a cultural event needs a government
sponsor.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law stipulates that ``individuals may meet peacefully,
and no police personnel are entitled to attend their meetings;
moreover, they are not obliged to notify the police of such
gatherings.'' The law also provides for the right to hold public
meetings in accordance with the regulations set by law. In practice,
however, the government severely restricted these rights and permitted
public assembly only with express advance approval and only in support
of its positions. Family groups of victims of the 1996 Abu Salim Prison
riots who protested in Benghazi periodically throughout the year faced
harassment, and authorities arrested four for their protests, according
to foreign opposition groups.
Freedom of Association.--The government restricted the right of
association to institutions affiliated with the government. The
government did not allow the formation of groups based on political
ideology inconsistent with the 1969 revolution.
In its December 10 report and press conference in Tripoli, LHRS
demanded that Law 19 of 1992 that restricts formation of civil society
organizations be repealed and pressed for adoption of a new law--in
draft since 2008--that would remove the ability of the state to suspend
organizations without cause.
c. Freedom of Religion.--Although there is no explicit law
guaranteeing religious freedom, the government generally respected in
practice the right to observe one's religion. Islam is the equivalent
of a state religion and is thoroughly integrated into everyday
political and social life.
The government regulated mosques, religious schools, and clerics to
ensure that all views were in line with the state-approved form of
Islam. The government strongly opposed militant forms of Islam, which
it viewed as a threat to the regime.
The World Islamic Call Society (WICS), an international educational
institution, operated a state-run university in Tripoli that provided
Muslims from outside the Arab world with a broad education in
literature, history, science, and religion. WICS also organized
vocational training programs, offered students exposure to
international academic speakers, and maintained relations with local
non-Muslim religious groups, including Christian churches.
Although there is no law prohibiting conversion from Islam, the
government prohibits efforts to proselytize Muslims and actively
prosecutes offenders. International Christian Concern, a Christian
rights NGO, reported that four citizen converts to Christianity were
detained at a state security prison in Tripoli in January and allegedly
held without charge in incommunicado detention for three months and
interrogated, abused, and pressured to reveal the names of other
converts. Two weeks before their release, the converts were reportedly
transferred to a reform and rehabilitation prison where family members
were permitted to visit them. They were released on April 21. In May
authorities released Daniel Baidoo, a Ghanaian national, after eight
years in prison. According to press reports, Baidoo had been imprisoned
for proselytizing after receiving Christian biblical tracts at a local
post office. The government permitted Christian churches to operate
freely but imposed a limit of one church per denomination per city and
monitored religious services, including Islamic services, for evidence
of political discourse.
A noncitizen female who marries a Muslim citizen is not required to
convert to Islam, but a noncitizen male must convert to Islam to marry
a Muslim woman. The government maintained the position that all
citizens were Muslims.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of
religious groups.
Although no statistics were available during the year, the
country's Jewish population was extremely small and possibly
nonexistent. There was no functioning synagogue. Discussions between
the government and representatives of the former Jewish community on
possible compensation for Jewish communal property the government
confiscated after 1948 have been ongoing since 2004. During al-
Qadhafi's trip to Rome on June 10, five representatives from the
estimated 6,000-member community of Libyan-origin Jews in Italy were
included in a meeting between al-Qadhafi and Italians expelled from the
country in the early days of the regime, while an additional unknown
number refused to attend the meeting, according to press reports.
Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi has made statements denigrating Christians and
Jews. In a March 2008 speech, echoing statements in a 2007 speech in
which he declared that all those who did not practice Islam were
``losers,'' al-Qadhafi said the Christian Bible and the Jewish Torah
are forgeries and the original versions mentioned the Prophet Muhammad.
Al-Qadhafi stated in a 2007 interview that ``Jews will go extinct
because everyone hates them.''
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law stipulates that ``each
citizen, during times of peace, may move freely, choose the place where
he or she wishes to live, and may return to the country and leave
whenever he or she chooses.'' The government generally did not restrict
freedom of movement within the country, but freedom to travel outside
the country was at times restricted by the arbitrary seizure or
nonissuance of passports. Authorities routinely held the passports of
foreign spouses of citizens when they entered the country. The widely
accepted concept of male guardianship limited women's freedom of
movement in practice, particularly travel outside the country.
The law does not allow, nor did the government impose, forced exile
as a punishment. The government continued to encourage dissidents
abroad to return and publicly promised their safety, but there were
numerous reports that the government detained dissidents who returned
from exile. The government reportedly interrogated students returning
from study abroad and at times discouraged students from studying
abroad.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
The country is a party to the Organization of African Unity Convention
Governing the Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem in Africa in
which states agree to cooperate with the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and agree that the Convention is the regional
complement to the 1951 Convention. The government has not established a
system for providing protection to refugees or asylum seekers. Domestic
laws do not recognize asylum seekers or refugees as classes distinct
from migrants in the country without residency permits. As such,
refugees and asylum seekers are subject to laws pertaining to illegal
migrants and were regularly held in detention.
In practice, the government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. During the year authorities allowed limited refugee
resettlement to third countries.
The UNHCR operated in the country assisting refugees and asylum
seekers despite the absence of a formal memorandum of understanding and
the lack of a formal mechanism for individuals seeking protection in
the country. On September 20, HRW quoted Brigadier General Mohamed
Bashir Al Shabbani, the director of the Office of Immigration at the
General People's Committee for Public Security, as saying, ``There are
no refugees in Libya. They are people who sneak into the country
illegally and they cannot be described as refugees. Anyone who enters
this country without formal documents and permission is arrested.'' On
June 11, during his visit to Italy, al-Qadhafi responded to criticism
about Libya's treatment of asylum seekers by calling the reported
situation ``a widespread lie.''
The government operated at least 10 detention centers for
undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, among others. International
organizations and some foreign diplomats had occasional access to these
detention centers. The UNHCR and the International Organization for
Migration had regular access to asylum seekers registered with the
UNHCR and irregular migrants in prisons and detention facilities. The
UNHCR staff was allowed to conduct private interviews with asylum
seekers at government-operated detention facilities with facilitation
by the quasi-NGO International Organization for Peace, Care, and Relief
(IOPCR). The UNHCR had regular access to government officials and
detained refugees through IOPCR. However, since August, coincidental
with an influx of returned migrants due to at-sea interdiction,
authorities restricted access to detention centers.
On May 6, the country began implementing joint sea patrols with
Italy to curtail the flow of migrants to Europe. Under the agreement,
the patrols return interdicted migrants to Libya, where their numbers
have swelled migration detention centers beyond capacity. International
organizations reported that conditions in the centers have worsened
significantly, and along with rights groups expressed concern that the
joint patrols return all interdicted migrants to the country without
screening for asylum seekers, sick or injured persons, pregnant women,
unaccompanied children, or victims of trafficking or other forms of
violence against women. In a September report, HRW criticized the
interdiction program for denying individuals access to asylum and
sending migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers back to detention in
inhuman and degrading conditions where they face abuse by authorities.
International organization access to returned migrants to screen for
the above classes varied according to the decision of each detention
center director.
The law prohibits the extradition of political refugees. In
practice the government provided some protection against the expulsion
or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would
be threatened. Although the government did not target UNHCR-recognized
refugees for forcible deportation, the government regularly and
forcibly deported foreigners without properly screening refugees and
asylum seekers from economic migrants.
Government sources claim in 2007 to have repatriated 30,940 illegal
migrants of the estimated 1.5 to two million illegal migrants in the
country, regardless of their status or claims to asylum. During the
year according to international organizations working in the country,
some government officials became more rigorous in differentiating
between legitimate refugees and asylum seekers and other economic
migrants.
During the year the UNHCR registered approximately 9,000 refugees
on its internal rolls, although it estimated there were 30,000 in the
country. Of the total refugee population, an estimated 3,500 were in
regular contact with the UNHCR mission in Tripoli. During the year the
UNHCR reported an increase in the number of refugee applications, which
contributed to an eight-month waiting period for asylum seekers to
receive an appointment with the organization. The majority of refugees
were Palestinians, Iraqis, and Somalis, followed by smaller but growing
numbers from Sudan, Eritrea, and sub-Saharan Africa.
The government stipulates that any foreigner who enters the country
illegally shall be arrested and deported. The government operated
detention camps to hold noncitizens pending deportation and did not
routinely inform diplomatic representatives when their nationals were
detained. Persons in detention camps reportedly were abused, including
reports of sexual abuse of women. On May 20, HRW interviewed an
Eritrean migrant in Rome who alleged that authorities held him in a
single room with more than 160 other individuals with limited access to
toilets, food, or water, and that guards had beaten him. Another
Eritrean migrant interviewed on May 13 claimed authorities transported
him with 200 other persons by truck to an inland deportation site at
Kufra. Rather than deporting migrants at the border, authorities
reportedly left migrants in the desert or released them to smugglers
who then demanded payment for transportation to the coast.
International organizations also reported mass deportations of
irregular migrants, including reports of 1,084 deported Nigerians in
September.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The country does not have a constitution, and citizens do not have
the right to change their government by peaceful means. The country's
governing principles stem from al-Qadhafi's Green Book, which combines
Islamic ideals with elements of socialism and pan-Arabism. The Green
Book states that direct popular rule is the basis of the political
system and that citizens play a role in popular congresses; in
practice, al-Qadhafi and his close associates monopolized every aspect
of decision-making in the government.
Elections and Political Participation.--The government prohibits
the creation of and membership in political parties. The 1977
Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People
dictates how citizens exercise their political rights. The government
is structured in a pyramid of directly elected residential people's
committees (roughly neighborhood voting districts), which in turn form
the 424 basic people's congresses, municipal people's committees
(sha'abiyas, formed of the basic people's congresses), the 760-member
General People's Congress, and the 20 cabinet-level secretaries of the
General People's Committee with a general secretary, each layer of
which is involved in the selection of the next-higher level. Citizens
participate through numerous organizations, including residential,
vocational, production, professional, and skilled labor congresses.
Voting for leaders of the local congresses is mandatory for all
citizens 18 or older. In practice the regime exercised significant
influence over legislation and enforcement of the General People's
Congress' decisions.
Elections to the General People's Committee occur at meetings of
the General People's Congress. Elections are generally held every three
years. The most recent elections were held during the second week of
March with the people's congresses, the local bodies comprising all
citizens, electing their leadership committees. The election process
continues through the hierarchy of committees and congresses. Finally,
the General People's Congress chooses the General People's Committee,
which manages the daily affairs of the government.
In theory, revolutionary committees guard against political dissent
and ensure that citizens adhere to sanctioned ideology. These
committees approve candidates for the General People's Congress. In
practice revolutionary committees played an unclear role in enforcing
official ideology, sometimes appearing increasingly marginalized and
sometimes appearing active in political life.
According to the February 6 report of the UN Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women, women held 32 percent of
the 760 seats in the General People's Congress. No reliable information
existed on the representation of minorities in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
Laws stipulating criminal penalties for official corruption are
unclear and inconsistently applied. The Administration Monitoring Board
is the government agency responsible for oversight of official
activities and prevention of corrupt practices. Officials regularly
engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Government corruption
coupled with favoritism based on family and tribal ties were perceived
to be severe problems. Both contributed to government inefficiency.
The law does not provide for financial disclosure by public
officials or public access to government information, and the
government did not provide access in practice to citizens, pressure
groups, or the media. The government did not publicly provide detailed
planning or budget documents.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government prohibited the establishment of independent
nongovernmental human rights organizations, although the
quasigovernmental QDF routinely criticized the government's human
rights practices. Restrictive laws that imposed imprisonment for
forming or joining international organizations without government
authorization forced individuals wishing to carry out human rights work
to operate abroad. In May QDF facilitated AI's first fact-finding visit
to the country since 2004. The QDF also facilitated HRW's visit in
April, just more than a year after the group's last visit, but
restricted their access to prisons. The QDF facilitated the December 12
launch of HRW's report from Tripoli, the first such event in Libya by
an international human rights organization.
Associations engaging in unauthorized political activity were
illegal. The Libyan Arab Human Rights Committee, a government body, did
not release any public reports. HRSL, operating under the sponsorship
of the semiofficial QDF, released a report on December 10 criticizing
government policies restricting civil society, calling for the
abolition of the state security court, drawing attention to human
rights abuses, and demanding resolution of claims stemming from the
1996 Abu Salim riot.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion,
disability, or social status. The government did not enforce these
prohibitions effectively, particularly with regard to women and
minorities.
Women.--The 1969 Constitutional Proclamation granted women equality
under the law. In practice traditional attitudes and practices
continued that discriminated against women. Shari'a governs
inheritance, divorce, and the right to own property. The law does not
distinguish between genders for crimes of domestic violence, rape, or
sexual harassment. Women have societal restrictions on their movement
even to local destinations.
The law prohibits domestic violence, but there was scant
information on the penalties or on the extent of violence against
women. There were 563 cases of rape reported in 2007; statistics were
not disaggregated by gender. In 2008 courts heard more than 900 cases
involving sex crimes. On January 29, members of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women criticized the government
for not presenting data on violence against women. Prison terms of
varying length were handed down to convicted rapists, according to a
July 24 government response to the UN Human Rights Committee. Domestic
abuse was rarely discussed publicly; HRW reported that students
conducting a study on sexual violence in April found that victims were
reticent to discuss their experiences due to fears of social
stigmatization.
The law criminalizes rape. A convicted rapist must marry the
victim, with her agreement, or serve a prison term of as long as 25
years.
The law does not distinguish between rape and spousal rape.
According to government officials responding to the UN Human Rights
Committee, ``if a wife is raped by force or in a way that she does not
accept, she may lodge a complaint and demand that her husband be
prosecuted and punished.'' There were 20 Women's Courts in Tripoli and
in Benghazi to deal with cases that, according to government officials,
could not be resolved privately and where women could avoid the social
stigma of appearing in court alongside violent criminals.
The law prohibits prostitution, but there were reports that it
existed in major cities.
The law does not prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM), which is
foreign to the culture and society. There were no reports of FGM during
the year.
Women and girls suspected of violating moral codes were detained
indefinitely without being convicted or after having served a sentence
and without the right to challenge their detention before a court (see
section 1.d.). They were held in ``social rehabilitation'' facilities,
in some cases because they had been raped and then ostracized by their
families. The government stated that a woman was free to leave a
rehabilitation home when she reached ``legal age'' (18 years),
consented to marriage, or was taken into the custody of a male
relative. According to HRW, authorities transferred most women to these
facilities against their will, and those who came of their own volition
did so because no genuine shelters for survivors of violence exist. HRW
maintained that the government routinely violated women's and girls'
human rights in ``social rehabilitation'' homes, including violations
of due process, freedom of movement, personal dignity, and privacy. One
example of these violations is the practice of ``virginity exams'' in
``social rehabilitation'' facilities. According to a 2006 HRW report,
medical providers conducted invasive examinations to determine whether
women detained in ``social rehabilitation'' facilities had engaged in
sexual intercourse. HRW notes that these exams have ``no medical
accuracy.''
On October 21, approximately 12 women living in a care center in
Benghazi demonstrated in that city, charging officials with sexual
harassment and calling for the reinstatement of the center's former
director. Several women were quoted in Libya al-Youm and Jeel Libya
saying officials allowed security officers into their rooms at night
and at least one woman claimed she had been physically threatened by an
official who had propositioned her. On October 31, the General
Prosecutor's Office charged the head of the care center with sexual
harassment.
The law criminalizes sexual harassment, but there were no reports
on how this law was enforced in practice. Expatriate women reported
occasional harassment, including men exposing themselves and following
women.
The Department of Social Affairs, under the supervision of a
cabinet-level member of the General People's Committee, is charged with
collecting data and oversees the integration of women into all spheres
of public life, although data are often out of date and incomplete.
Women did not hold any cabinet-level offices in the government,
although the General People's Congress has a representative for women's
affairs and two female high committee chairs.
The General Union of Women's Associations, which the government
established as a network of quasinongovernmental organizations,
addresses women's employment needs. According to 2008 data from the
International Labor Organization (ILO), 26 percent of women older than
15 were economically active, compared to 77 percent of men. Traditional
restrictions continued to discourage some women from playing an active
role in the workplace.
The government is the country's largest employer. Civil service
salaries are set according to education and experience. Women and men
with similar qualifications are paid at the same grade for positions
that are substantially similar. The emerging private sector does not
formally discriminate on the basis of gender for access to employment
or credit, although cultural conceptions of gender roles reduce women's
involvement in the economy.
Women constituted the majority of university students and graduates
and made up almost one-third of university faculty.
Virtually all births took place in hospitals and more than 90
percent of mothers received pre- and postnatal care. Maternal mortality
was low and female life expectancy was high and rising. All forms of
contraception were available free of charge and there were no reports
of government or societal pressure on couples limiting their freedom to
determine the number, spacing, or timing of their children. During the
year at least one child was born to an HIV-positive couple and
diplomatic observers indicated that both the mother and child received
adequate medical care.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from the father and registered in
a government-issued family book. There were no data on the number of
unregistered births.
The government subsidized primary, secondary, and university
education, and secondary education was compulsory through grade nine
for both boys and girls. The law imposes high fees on noncitizens
enrolled in primary and secondary schools. The UN Human Rights
Committee noted that schools discriminated against children born out of
wedlock.
According to a 2003 UNDP report, 96 percent of school-age children
attended primary school and most reached at least a sixth-grade level;
53 percent of girls and 71 percent of boys attended secondary school.
The law prohibits child abuse, and that prohibition was respected
in practice.
There is no law specifically prohibiting statutory rape. Sex
outside of marriage is defined as adultery in Law 70 of 1973 and is a
felony offense. Eighteen is the age of consent for marriage, although a
woman younger than 18 can marry with her father's consent.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law criminalizes all forms of
trafficking in women, but does not specifically prohibit trafficking in
persons. There were widespread reports that persons were trafficked to
the country for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor
purposes.
The country was both a transit point for trafficked persons en
route to Europe and a destination country for victims from sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia. International observers and countries with
significant undocumented migrant populations in the country estimated
that one-half to 1 percent of the country's approximately 1.5 million
to two million foreign residents may be victims of trafficking.
The law does not expressly criminalize trafficking for purposes of
sexual exploitation or involuntary servitude, and the government
provided no information on prosecutions related to trafficking
offenses, nor does the law expressly criminalize involuntary servitude.
On June 14, HRW published interviews with migrant workers in Italy
and Malta claiming government officials were complicit in trafficking
in persons. The migrants claimed smugglers arranging boat departures
were closely linked with the authorities responsible for interdicting
such vessels. Migrant workers also told HRW that authorities often
released detainees into the custody of smugglers rather than deporting
them, trapping migrants in a repeating cycle of rearrest.
As in previous years, the government did not provide adequate
protection to victims of trafficking. The government failed to screen
vulnerable populations adequately to identify trafficking victims.
Victims were susceptible to punishment for unlawful acts committed
because they were trafficked, including unlawful presence in the
country, working without a valid work permit, and engaging in
prostitution. There were limited reports that authorities deported
trafficking victims who had been intermingled with economic migrants
without receiving medical, psychological, or legal aid.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for the rights of
persons with disabilities and provides for monetary and other types of
social care. A number of government-approved organizations care for
persons with disabilities and protect access to employment, education,
health care, and other state services. Few public facilities have
adequate access for persons with physical disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Arabic-speaking Muslims of
mixed Arab-Amazigh (Berber) ancestry constituted 97 percent of
citizens. The principal minorities were Amazighs and Tuaregs. Both
minority groups are predominantly Sunni Muslims but identify with their
respective cultural and linguistic heritage rather than with Arab
traditions. Several nomadic groups live in areas along the country's
desert borders, including members of Tuareg and Toubou tribes. The
country is home to an estimated 1.5 million to two million foreign
workers. Of those, nearly one million are thought to be of Sahelian or
sub-Saharan African origin and in the country as irregular migrants.
During the year the government took steps to alleviate
discrimination against the Berber minority. In 2007 the government
abolished a law prohibiting the use of Amazigh and Tuareg names. Unlike
in previous years, limited exhibitions of Amazigh culture were
permitted, including a televised history program. The government
allowed the written Amazigh language on more signs, but reportedly
still prohibited it in official contexts.
The Berber Web site Tawalt.com reported Revolutionary Committee
members in December 2008 targeted Berber leaders near Yefren.
Demonstrators reportedly chanted anti-Berber slogans, vandalized
properties, and physically confronted counter protesters. Opposition
Web sites alleged the individuals acted in collusion with local police.
According to a December 2008 MEED Business Intelligence report, the
Toubou minority faced discrimination in the town of Kufra. Authorities
reportedly withdrew citizenship from members of the Tabou tribe in
Kufra during the year, and local authorities reportedly issued decrees
barring members of the Tabou tribe who did not have citizenship from
access to education and health care services. There were no updates on
the reported societal clashes that occurred in Kufra in November 2008
(see section 1.d.)
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Sexual Identity.
No public information was available on societal discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation or identity.
There were no reports of societal abuses, violence, or
discrimination based on sexual orientation and sexual identity,
although Libyans tended to hold negative views of homosexual activity.
Homosexual acts are a criminal offense punishable by three to five
years in prison. The law provides for punishment of both parties. There
were no reports of legal discrimination based on sexual orientation in
employment, housing, or access to education or health care.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence toward persons with HIV/AIDS. There were reports
of societal stigmatization of persons living with HIV/AIDS, due to an
association of the disease with drug use and sex outside marriage. This
stigma also resulted in underreporting of the disease. Treatment and
medicine were provided to HIV/AIDS patients free of charge at special
centers.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law prohibits independent
associations; workers are allowed to join the government-organized
General Trade Union Federation of Workers. The Federation played an
active role in the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions,
the Organization of African Trade Union Unity, and the World Federation
of Trade Unions. The government required candidates for trade union
office to be citizens. Active government employees are often enrolled
automatically.
The law does not give workers the right to strike, and there were
no reports of strikes or attempted strikes during the year. Although
trade unions have existed officially for more than 25 years, workers
historically have seen them as idle organizations under government
control. In 2007 an intervention to secure back pay for employees of
the National Oil Corporation reportedly took place. No information was
available on any additional mechanisms to protect workers' rights.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
circumscribes the conduct of union activities, and collective
bargaining is restricted in practice. For example, the government must
approve all collective agreements between unions and employers to
ensure that they are in line with the government's economic and social
objectives.
A free trade zone in Misrata officially opened in 2004, although
through year's end it was not operating due to bureaucratic delays.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
any form of forced or compulsory labor, including by children. There
were some reports of forced labor of migrant workers, particularly
Filipino, Indian, and sub-Saharan Africans working in the construction
sector, after they were smuggled into the country.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law forbids children younger than 18 from being employed, except when
it is a form of apprenticeship. There was no information available on
the prevalence of child labor, although there were no reports of child
slavery, prostitution, or recruitment into armed conflict during the
year.
No information was available concerning whether the law limits
working hours or sets occupational health and safety restrictions for
children. The General People's Committee for Manpower, Employment, and
Training is responsible for preventing child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor law defines the rights
and duties of workers, including matters of compensation, pension
rights, minimum rest periods, and working hours. The legal workweek is
40 hours. The law stipulates the minimum wage, standard working hours,
night shift regulations, dismissal procedures, and training
requirements. The law does not specifically prohibit excessive
compulsory overtime.
The Green Book forbids wages, so pay is in the form of
``entitlements.'' Although some public sector categories, such as
professors, have received increases in recent years, a freeze imposed
more than a decade ago continues to depress earnings. The minimum wage
was 250 dinars ($208) per month. The government paid an additional
pension of 90 dinars ($75) for a single person, 130 dinars ($108) for a
married couple, and 180 dinars ($150) for a family of more than two.
Although there was no information available regarding whether the
average wage was sufficient to provide a worker and family with a
decent standard of living, the government heavily subsidized rent and
utilities, and government workers received an additional 130 dinars
($108) per month for food staples during the year. Contracts exist for
migrant workers and are the legal basis for granting visas for
temporary workers.
Labor inspectors were assigned to inspect places of work for
compliance with government-defined health and safety standards, and the
law grants workers the right to court hearings regarding these
standards. Certain industries, such as the petroleum sector, attempted
to maintain standards that foreign companies set. There was no
information about whether workers could remove themselves from an
unhealthy or unsafe work situation without jeopardizing their
employment.
Foreign workers reportedly constituted 1.6 million of the 3.2
million-person work force in 2004, but the labor law applies only to
foreign workers who have work contracts, a fraction of the total. These
workers are covered under the laws on acceptable conditions of work,
while other migrants are considered to be illegally in the country.
While the 2006 census counted 349,040 foreigners resident in the
country, in 2009 observers and diplomatic missions with large migrant
populations in the country estimated the total number of undocumented
workers at between 1.5 and 2 million. Authorities permitted foreign
workers to reside in the country only for the duration of their work
contracts, and they could not send more than half of their earnings to
their home countries. They were subject to arbitrary pressures, such as
changes in work rules and contracts, and had little choice other than
to accept such changes or depart the country. Authorities deported many
foreign workers for not having newly required work permits for
unskilled jobs that they held at the time of arrest. In practice the
government had no practical means to track foreign workers or
remittance flows, relying instead on the threat of deportation and
random round-ups, including the deportation of several hundred
Nigerians in August and September, to exercise authority.
__________
MOROCCO
Morocco is a monarchy with a constitution, an elected parliament,
and a population of approximately 34 million. According to the
constitution, ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, who
presides over the Council of Ministers and appoints or approves members
of the government. The king may dismiss ministers, dissolve parliament,
call for new elections, and rule by decree. In the bicameral
legislature, the lower house may dissolve the government through a vote
of no confidence. The September 2007 parliamentary elections for the
lower house went smoothly and were marked by transparency and
professionalism. International observers judged that those elections
were relatively free from government-sponsored irregularities. The
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
Citizens did not have the right to change the constitutional
provisions establishing their monarchical form of government or the
establishment of Islam as the state religion. There were reports of
torture and other abuses by various branches of the security forces.
Prison conditions remained below international standards. Reports of
arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, and police and security
force impunity continued. Politics, as well as corruption and
inefficiency, influenced the judiciary, which was not fully
independent. The government restricted press freedoms. Corruption was a
serious problem in all branches of government. Child labor,
particularly in the unregulated informal sector, remained a problem,
and trafficking in persons continued.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. Abderrezzak Kadiri died after a December 2008 pro-
Palestine demonstration that turned violent at Cadi Ayyad University.
Nongovernmental organization (NGO) reports alleged that Kadiri's death
resulted from injuries sustained during violent confrontations with
police and indicated that authorities did not notify Kadiri's family of
his death until January 6. However, the authorities denied this account
and reported that an autopsy had determined his wounds were consistent
with a criminal assault. Police issued a criminal arrest warrant, and
the government reported that the case would not be investigated as a
human rights violation unless a subsequent arrest or other information
revealed that it should be. As of year's end, no suspects had been
arrested.
As in previous years, there were reports of deaths of sub-Saharan
migrants crossing the country's territory trying illegally to enter the
Spanish enclave of Melilla (see section 2.c.). The NGO Amnesty
International (AI) called on the government to open an investigation
into the death of a migrant whom police reportedly fired on at the
northern border of the country with Melilla on January 1. Arrests and
beatings continued on the borders, principally on the Spanish side.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
Since 2004 the Justice and Reconciliation Authority (IER) and its
successor organization, the Consultative Council on Human Rights
(CCDH), completed investigations of approximately 800 cases of forced,
long-term disappearances of opponents of the government between
independence in 1956 and 1999. During the year the CCDH published
newsletters updating progress in investigating cases but generally did
not mention individuals. According to the CCDH, six cases remained
outstanding at year's end. Human rights groups and families continued
to claim that the IER did not acknowledge all cases of disappearances,
many from the Western Sahara.
By year's end the CCDH reported it had paid reparations to 15,000
victims of disappearance or other abuses committed during the 1970s or
1980s or to their family members. The CCDH shifted its focus toward
conducting community reparation projects that were designed to rebuild
communities hit especially hard by the disappearances of male
breadwinners during the 1970s. The CCDH cooperated with NGO partners
such as the International Center for Transitional Justice, the Arab
Institute for Human Rights, and Entraide Nationale in this effort. Some
NGOs criticized the CCDH as flawed administratively and the CCDH
process as nontransparent, resulting in unequal payments and lack of
objective criteria for awarding payments. The CCDH acknowledged that
communal reparation programs were still in their initial phase and that
there was room for improvement.
According to the February 25 report of the UN Human Rights
Commission's Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances,
there were 58 outstanding cases at the end of 2008, a decrease of five
from 63 outstanding cases at the beginning of the review period in
December 2007.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the government
denied that it used torture. However, numerous NGO reports and media
articles alleged that members of security forces tortured and abused
individuals in their custody, particularly during transport and
pretrial detention.
The CCDH reported an overall decline in incidents of torture and
other abuses during the year, and independent news media and human
rights groups, including the Moroccan Association for Human Rights
(AMDH) and the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (OMDH), made
fewer reports denouncing such abuses in internationally recognized
Morocco than in past years. There was no such decline in reports from
Western Sahara (see separate report). The penal code stipulates
sentences of up to life imprisonment for public servants who use or
allow the use of violence against others in the exercise of their
official duties.
On August 24, authorities sentenced Sahrawi independence activists,
Ennaama Asfari and Ali El-Rubia, to four months in prison and a two-
month suspended sentence, respectively, for ``contempt of public
officials while in performance of their duty.'' According to NGO
reports, police officers assaulted Asfari and Rubiou. Authorities
charged the two after police reportedly saw Asfari in Tan Tan carrying
a key ring with the pro-independence flag of the Western Sahara.
Supporters of the defendants were not allowed access to the court, and
others were arrested on their way to the hearing. Most of the activists
were released without charge after six hours of detention. Four
reported mistreatment including claims that authorities beat them and
then threw them out of a moving police car on the road to Smara.
National police in Oujda, subsequent to the June 25 communal
elections, intimidated some supporters and members of the Islamist-
oriented Party of Justice and Development (PJD). In one case, PJD
lawyers filed a complaint alleging that police beat a local leader,
Noureddine Boubker, into a coma. The government reported that this was
not the case and that Boubker was injured in a violent confrontation
between several PJD activists and police. Boubker did not file charges,
subsequently recovered, and the government reported the case closed.
In February 2008 the government arrested 35 individuals, including
six political party officials, and charged them with being part of a
terrorist network. The six political party officials were Mostapha
Mouatassim, president of al-Badil al-Hadhari; Mohamed Amine Regala,
deputy chief of al-Badil al-Hadhari; Mohamed Merouani, president of al-
Oumma party, a moderate Islamist party that had applied for but not
received legal status; Al-Abadelah Maelainin, a member of the national
council of the PJD; Hamid Nejibi, a member of the national council of
the Unified Socialist Party (PSU); and Abdelhafidh Sriti, a journalist
with al-Manar television, which belongs to the Lebanese Hezbollah
movement. They claimed they made self-incriminating statements while in
custody as a result of torture. According to their lawyers, authorities
did not investigate their allegations. On July 28, all 35 were found
guilty of forming a terrorist group, plotting attacks, and committing
robberies and other crimes to finance their operations. The Sale court
sentenced them to prison terms ranging from suspended sentences to life
in prison. Many appealed the verdicts on the grounds that the court
failed to hear the case in a timely manner and failed to refer their
cases to a forensic expert as required by the country's 2006 law
against torture. At year's end the appeals remained pending.
At year's end, 11 of 18 students who were sentenced to prison in
relation to their involvement in demonstrations in May 2008 at Cadi
Ayyad University remained in prison awaiting appeal hearings. The
government continued to base its case on police reports stating that
students armed with Molotov cocktails and stones violently attacked and
injured several police officers, and that any injuries the students
sustained were the result of these confrontations. The students' appeal
included evidence alleging that security forces employed torture,
sexual harassment, and other abuse, especially during their arrest and
pretrial detention, and denied the students medical care. The appeal
case also alleged that the government did not investigate these
allegations. At year's end the 11 students' appeal was still pending.
The government provided no new information about the case of Qadimi El
Ouali, who was severely injured in connection with the demonstrations
in May 2008 at Cadi Ayyad.
The government continued to improve implementation of the 2006 law
against torture, which requires judges to refer a detainee to a
forensic medicine expert when the detainee or his or her lawyer
requests it or if judges notice suspicious physical marks on a
detainee. The government reported that as of September, the public
prosecutor had requested medical examinations for six persons, and
judges had requested 21 medical examinations. The total of 27 requests
represented a decrease from 2008's total of 49, which the government
suggested reflected an overall reduction in allegations of torture
throughout the country. Media and human rights NGOs documented cases in
which the antitorture law provision was not implemented.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
poor and generally did not meet international standards. Overcrowding,
malnutrition, and lack of hygiene characterized the conditions inside
prisons. A February report by the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons
(OMP), an umbrella grouping of lawyers promoting better conditions for
prisoners, stated that prisons were overcrowded, prone to violence, and
failed to meet local and international standards. It also stated that
current prison capacity was sufficient for only half the prison
population. The government acknowledged that its 59 prisons held about
76,000 inmates in early November, 40 percent more than they were
designed to hold. That capacity allowed 16 square feet per inmate, far
short of the international standard of 97 square feet. The pardon of
26,498 persons during the year reduced overcrowding.
The OMP reported that more than 100 inmates died in 2008 from
various causes, which it and other NGOs blamed in large part on poor
conditions and inadequate health care. The government acknowledged that
providing adequate care was difficult given the overcrowded conditions.
The Directorate General for Prison Administration (DGAP) employed 107
general practitioners and kept a number of medical specialists on
contract to provide inmates with care as needed.
In April 2008 in response to public criticism following a highly
publicized multi-prisoner escape from the Kenitra prison three weeks
earlier, the king transferred responsibility for prison governance from
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to the newly created DGAP. The DGAP,
which reports directly to the prime minister and informally to the
palace, has its own budget and central administrative apparatus. The
DGAP secured additional funds during the year to build new facilities,
reduce crowding and increase living space per inmate, improve health
care and other conditions, and improve security. The MOJ still directs
the development and reform of penal policy.
Pretrial detainees, who made up 21 percent of the 377,092 persons
charged with crimes in 2008, were not held separately from convicts due
to a lack of prison space. During the first six months of the year,
14,364 persons were held in pretrial detention. Although the law
dictates that juvenile prisoners be separated from adults in prisons,
this did not always occur in practice. There are only three juvenile
detention centers. Due to the lack of juvenile prison facilities,
authorities often held juveniles together with adults, particularly in
pretrial detention and in police stations. Human rights groups reported
the abuse of younger offenders by other minors, older inmates, and
prison guards. Local NGOs estimated there were at least 4,000 juveniles
in the prison system. Offenders convicted of minor crimes are often
placed in the same cell as those convicted of more serious offenses.
Government figures indicate that only 3 percent of prisoners were
women, and there was less overcrowding in the women's sections. Women
were held separately from men.
The government allowed programs such as training workshops for
juvenile court judges and a regional conference on restorative justice.
Some human rights activists asserted that the prison administration
reserved harsher treatment and conditions for certain prisoners, and
they blamed the June death of Mohammed Amine Akalai on inadequate
medical care. Akalai was known to have cardiovascular problems and was
apparently denied medical treatment. The government denied allegations
that it accorded different levels of treatment, maintaining that there
were no political prisoners in the country. Government officials
acknowledged that Akalai died in custody but claimed his death was due
to his cardiovascular problems. In August 40 Islamists imprisoned on
terrorism charges began a hunger strike to protest the conditions of
their detention. Hunger strikes were not uncommon in the country's
prisons and usually ended within several days in response to
concessions from prison authorities. Although prisons provided meals
three times a day, the quality of the meals was poor, and it was
standard practice for families and friends to supplement prisoners'
diets.
During the year, the government reported it had conducted autopsies
into 13 deaths that resulted from a 2007 hunger strike at the Sale
prison. The government reported that its investigation showed 12 cases
were due to natural causes, and one case was a result of electric
shock. The government claimed that only one case was referred to
investigation due to a complaint filed by the brother of a deceased
prisoner. No further information on that investigation was available at
year's end.
The government permitted visits during the year by independent
human rights observers, including local human rights groups, but not
international groups or the media. According to the DGAP, the
government permitted 20,100 visits to prisons during the year. Family
members accounted for the majority of visits, but 900 were judiciary
authorities and 600 were by NGOs. Some international donors had
occasionally visited in the past, but, according to NGOs, the DGAP
under its new director general discouraged such visits and they ceased.
During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did
not make any requests to visit prisoners; the last ICRC request for
access to a prisoner was in 2007, and the government honored the
request.
Government policy permits NGOs that provide social, educational, or
religious services to prisoners to enter prison facilities, but it does
not permit NGOs that only have a human rights mandate to do so except
with special authorization. Members of various NGOs, including OMDH,
AMDH, and the Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Abuses
(ASVDH), visited prisoners regularly to distribute food and personal
items and to check on their health and well-being as ``friends or
family,'' not as human rights NGO representatives.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law does not prohibit
arbitrary arrest or detention, and police used both practices. Police
did not always observe due process. According to local NGOs and
associations, police did not always identify themselves when arresting
suspects or consistently obtain warrants. Police reportedly held some
detainees without charging them. It was common practice for security
forces to arrest a group of persons, take them to a police station to
be questioned, and release them without charge hours or even days
later.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The security apparatus
includes several police and paramilitary organizations with overlapping
authorities. The National Police (DGSN) manages the border and
immigration services, as well as internal law enforcement, and reports
to the Ministry of Interior (MOI). The General Directorate of
Territorial Security (DGST) and the auxiliary forces are separate
entities that have security responsibilities and also report to the
MOI. The Royal Gendarmerie reports to the Ministry of Defense and is
responsible for law enforcement in rural regions and on national
highways. The judicial police--the main federal investigative body--is
a hybrid DGSN and MOJ entity. It investigates violations of criminal
law, terrorism, organized crime, and white-collar crime under MOJ
prosecutors. The Department of Royal Security reports to the palace.
Corruption and impunity remained problems and reduced police
effectiveness and respect for the rule of law. It was general knowledge
that petty corruption was widespread among the police and gendarmes,
and broader, systemic corruption undermined both law enforcement and
the effectiveness of the judicial system. The MOI increased
investigations of abuse, human rights violations, and corruption.
During the year the government reported that it prosecuted 282 security
officials for crimes ranging from ``assault and battery leading to
death'' to petty bribery throughout the country and the Western Sahara.
There were prosecutions against approximately 190 employees of the
judicial police, the royal gendarmerie, the auxiliary forces, the royal
navy, and prison guards for bribery and influence misuse; most other
cases were for physical abuse or mistreatment. The government
prosecuted 117 officials, including security service personnel, for
corruption in the first 11 months of the year. Despite these
investigations and prosecutions, other investigations did not result in
disciplinary action or judicial proceedings, and many more incidents of
corruption never were investigated. Cases often languished in the
investigatory or trial phases without resolution.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Police may arrest following a general prosecutor's issuance of an oral
or written warrant; in practice warrants were sometimes issued after
the arrest. Authorities denied defendants' access to counsel or family
members during the initial 96 hours of detention under terrorism-
related laws or 48 hours of detention for other charges, during which
police interrogated detainees and abuse or torture was most likely to
occur.
Under the antiterrorism law, after the first 96 hours, two
additional 96-hour extensions are allowed at the prosecutor's
discretion. Under the law a person may be detained without trial for as
long as one year while an investigating magistrate completes work.
According to NGOs, as many as 90 percent of incarcerated minors
were in pretrial detention. The law provides for a limited system of
bail, but bail was rarely granted. The law does not require written
authorization for a person to be released from detention. In some
instances judges released defendants on their own recognizance. The
antiterrorism law does not include a system of bail. Under a separate
military code, military authorities may detain members of the military
without a warrant or public trial.
According to the law, all defendants have the right to be
represented by attorneys and, if a defendant cannot afford private
counsel, a court-appointed attorney must be provided when the criminal
penalty exceeds five years in prison. In practice effective counsel was
not always provided. Police were required to notify a detainee's next
of kin of the arrest as soon as possible after the initial 48-hour,
incommunicado detention in nonterrorism cases, unless arresting
authorities applied for and received an extension from a magistrate;
this provision was not always respected. Because of delays in notifying
family, lawyers sometimes were not informed promptly of the date of
arrest and were not able to monitor compliance with administrative
detention limits, which authorities exceeded when individuals were
suspected of links to terrorism.
Amnesty.--The government used royal pardons rather than a parole
system as the principal judicial mechanism for early release. During
the year the king pardoned 26,498 prisoners.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but in practice the courts were not always
independent. According to observers, corruption remained prevalent.
Judges did not consistently base rulings on new laws and, at times,
referred to outdated laws in their decisions.
There are four levels in the common law court system: communal and
district courts, courts of first instance (regional courts), the
appeals court, and the Supreme Court. All decisions in criminal and
civil matters in which the penalty exceeds 330 dirhams ($40) may be
appealed to the courts of first instance. Regional courts are
subdivided into civil, commercial, administrative, penal, and
rabbinical sections. Cases may be appealed from the regional courts to
the appeals court. There were no restrictions on appeals at this level.
Serious state security charges against civilians, including those
relating to the monarchy, Islam, or territorial integrity, are
typically tried in civilian courts. Cases regarding treason must be
tried before a military court. Cases regarding territorial integrity
can also be referred to a military court. Judgments by military
tribunals may be appealed.
On October 8, authorities detained seven Sahrawi activists in
Casablanca who had visited Algiers and the refugee camps near Tindouf
from September 26 to October 8. The government accused the seven of
participating in military parades with Polisario soldiers, charged them
with ``intelligence cooperation with a foreign entity,'' and referred
the case to a military tribunal.
Trial Procedures.--According to the constitution, the judiciary is
independent; in practice the judiciary, often inefficient and believed
to be corruptible, was not fully independent and was subject to
influence, particularly in sensitive cases such as those dealing with
the monarchy, religion, and the Western Sahara. Although technically
not one of the four ministries under direct control of the king, the
palace supervises who hires and dismisses judges, controls promotions,
and decides who can be appointed and to which positions. The king heads
the Supreme Judicial Council with administrative authority over the
judiciary.
Defendants are presumed innocent. The law provides for the right to
a fair public trial for all citizens; this did not always occur in
practice, especially for those protesting the incorporation of the
Western Sahara into the country. Juries are not used, following
principles of the Napoleonic legal system.
Although the government claims that accused persons generally are
brought to trial within two months, prosecutors may request as many as
five additional two-month extensions of pretrial detention. Technically
an accused person may be kept in detention for as long as one year
prior to trial. Authorities routinely held detainees beyond the one-
year limit.
Defendants have the right to be present at their trial and to
timely consultation with an attorney, although these rights were not
always enforced in practice. Attorneys were not appointed in all cases,
or if provided, were poorly paid or provided in an untimely fashion,
often resulting in inadequate representation. According to law,
defendants in criminal and human rights cases have access to government
evidence against them. In practice judges sometimes prevented or
delayed access. Some judges denied defense requests to question
witnesses and to present mitigating witnesses or evidence.
Individuals are arraigned before a court of first instance. If the
judge determines that a confession was obtained under duress, the law
requires that it be excluded from evidence. Human rights NGOs charged
that judges often decided cases based on forced confessions, especially
in cases of Islamists accused of terrorism or some Sahrawis. Police
statements about detainees were used in place of defendants'
confessions.
The Supreme Court may overturn an appellate court's ruling only on
procedural grounds. Appeals to the Supreme Court were infrequent. An
investigation by an examining magistrate was mandatory only when life
imprisonment or the death penalty was a possible sentence.
Family courts generally adjudicated divorce and child custody cases
according to the family law. These courts addressed family issues for
Muslim citizens, and judges were trained in Shari'a as applied in the
country and in the requirements of the 2004 family law. Family matters
for Jewish citizens were handled by the parallel legal system available
to them.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Legislation does not define or
recognize the concept of a political prisoner. The government did not
consider any of its prisoners to be political prisoners, stating that
all individuals charged with crimes were charged under common criminal
law. Several NGOs, including AMDH, Sahrawi organizations, and Berber
activist groups, charged the government with detaining persons for
political activities or beliefs under cover of criminal charges, such
as AMDH members arrested on charges of failing to show ``due respect''
to the king.
In April 2008 police arrested Sahrawi activist Enaama Asfari in
Marrakesh after a traffic altercation. He stated plainclothes police
assaulted and injured him and then took him to a hospital for
treatment. According to Asfari, he was later forced to sign a statement
he had not written or read and was denied the opportunity to contact
his family. During the trial, the judge refused to allow a medical
examination and authorities expelled Asfari's wife and two other trial
observers from the courtroom for incitement. He was sentenced to two
months in prison, fined 3,000 dirhams ($420), and was freed on June 13.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The MOJ received 35
complaints against judges, and public prosecutors investigated these
complaints. Prosecutors closed 10 of the cases due to lack of evidence,
and the other complaints remained under investigation at year's end.
There are administrative as well as judicial remedies for alleged
wrongs.
A national ombudsman resolves civil matters when the judiciary is
unable to do so and has gradually expanded the scope of its activities.
The number of complaints it received rose from 4,500 in 2006 to 7,000
during 2008. The percentage of actionable complaints rose from 29
percent in 2004 to 91 percent in 2008. Despite the significant increase
in numbers of complaints the ombudsman received, most citizens looked
to the CCDH for redress of human rights complaints. The CCDH served as
a conduit through which citizens expressed complaints about government
malfeasance or human rights violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution states that an individual's home is
inviolable and that a search may take place only with a search warrant,
yet authorities sometimes ignored these provisions in practice. The law
stipulates that a prosecutor may issue a search warrant on good cause,
particularly in cases of suspected terrorism. Plainclothes security
officers who did not identify themselves or present search warrants
conducted home searches.
As in previous years, authorities reportedly searched and shut down
activities in the homes of members of the Justice and Good Works
Organization (known also as the Justice and Charity Organization or
``JCO''), an Islamist sociopolitical group the government tolerated but
did not officially recognize. Members allegedly used their homes for
``open houses'' where they held politically oriented meetings. During
Ramadan, in the first half of September, authorities arrested JCO
members in a series of operations across the country. These raids
forcibly dispersed meetings at private residences in Fes, Berkane, and
Casablanca. JCO members claimed the DGST was responsible for the
harassment. In Casablanca authorities arrested 18 persons on September
13 in Sbata, a low-income neighborhood. In Casablanca, Fes, and
Berkane, authorities arrested, questioned, detained, and later released
JCO members without charges.
Sahrawi activists reported that when NGOs held meetings at members'
houses, both plainclothes and uniformed police intervened on numerous
occasions. (See the Western Sahara report.)
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law generally provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the government compromised
this law in practice. Criticism of Islam, the monarchy, and territorial
integrity (the issue of Western Sahara) is prohibited by law. According
to Human Rights Watch (HRW), during the year, there was an increase in
punishing journalists who reported on these issues. The press, however,
reported on controversial subjects such as military, security, and
sexuality.
In the latter half of the year, a trend toward restricting freedom
of the press emerged, with a marked increase in media restrictions.
Figures provided by the government showed an increase in total cases
from 45 in 2008 to 56 during the year. These numbers included cases the
government initiated as well as private citizens' libel complaints.
Numerous human rights groups criticized the steady stream of criminal
prosecutions, newspaper closings, and libel suits.
The antiterror law and the press code impose financial penalties on
journalists and publishers who violate restrictions related to
defamation, libel, and insults including critical discussion of the
monarchy, state institutions, territorial integrity, and Islam. Prison
sentences may be imposed on those convicted of libel.
The press code lists threats to public order as one of the criteria
for censorship. The government also has the ability to revoke licenses
and to suspend and confiscate publications. Politically diverse
newspapers and weeklies published articles critical of high-ranking
officials and sensitive policies. Although authorities overlooked most
of these instances, a few publications paid a substantial price in
financial penalties. Often these excessive fines appeared to be
designed to bankrupt the publisher.
On July 22, the international NGO Reporters Without Borders
reported that since the beginning of King Mohammed VI's reign in 1999,
journalists have been sentenced to a total of 25 years in prison and
news media have been fined a total of two million Euros ($2.8 million).
On February 26, journalist and blogger Hassan Barhoum was sentenced
to six months in prison and a fine for circulating a petition accusing
a local prosecutor of corruption and raising questions about
authorities' complicity in the escape of a convicted drug baron in
Tetouan. He was charged with defaming a judicial official. On August 1,
Barhoum was released from prison after he received a royal pardon.
In June the Court of First Instance in Casablanca fined three
independent Arabic-language newspapers 3.3 million dirhams ($400,000)
for insulting a foreign head of state. The newspapers have begun an
appeal process. During the same month, the government banned an issue
of French weekly Courier International after it published an article on
the king's wealth. In rare instances during the year, the government
banned the importation of foreign media when they were considered to
undermine the sanctity of the nation or public order.
The appeal process for the case of a French-language monthly
accused of defamation resulted in a fine triple the original amount. On
December 29, the Casablanca Court of Appeal ordered Hassan Alaoui,
director of French weekly Economie et Enterprises, to pay a 600,000
dirham ($77,000) penalty to Mounir Majidi, the king's personal
secretary; the magazine had accused the royal family-owned company
Primarios of fraud.
In August the MOI seized editions of two independent weekly news
magazines, Tel Quel and its Arabic-language sister publication Nichane,
for publishing an opinion poll on the king's first decade in power
although the poll results were favorable to the king. The ministry also
banned the import of an edition of French daily Le Monde that also
published the poll results. To justify its action, the MOI cited the
country's 1958 press code, which allows seizure of publications that
show lack of respect for the royal family or of Islam. A court in
Casablanca rejected the appeal of Tel Quel and Nichane against the MOI
action. Ahmed Benchemsi, the publisher of both weeklies, was charged
with failing to show ``due respect'' to the king. Benchemsi's case
remained pending at year's end.
Idriss Chahtane, director of the Arabic-language weekly Al Michaal,
received a one-year sentence and 10,000 dirham ($1,28O) fine, and
journalists Mustafa Hirane and Rachine Mahamid received three-month
sentences and a fine of 5,000 dirhams ($640) each for reporting false
information on the king's health. On December 29, the correctional
chamber in the Appellate Court in Casablanca decided to postpone a
verdict against Chahtane. Chahtane remained in prison at year's end
under an outstanding suspended sentence against him from 2008 for
allegedly libeling Algerian President Abdelaziz Boutefilka; Hirane and
Mahamid remained free at year's end pending appeal.
In November Taoufik Bouachrine, director of the Arabic-language
daily Akhbar Al Youm, and cartoonist Khalid Keddar received suspended
prison sentences totaling eight years for a cartoon allegedly depicting
Prince Moulay Ismail with a deformed Moroccan star. The court fined
Bouachrine and Keddar a total of 200,000 dirhams ($25,641) and ordered
them to pay three million dirhams ($385,000) to the prince for
defamation. Authorities charged them with ``lack of respect due to the
prince'' and ``insulting the national flag.'' On December 30, Prince
Ismail pardoned them and decided to forgo the fine.
The Ministry of Communications (MOC) issued directives and
guidance, and it subsidized publications including those critical of
the government. The placement of government-directed advertising
influenced print media outlets' revenue and may have influenced their
coverage. Direct government subsidies varied according to the
percentage of the population reading the publication. There are
approximately 500 newspapers in the country.
The government temporarily suspended publications it judged
offensive. This happened in the aforementioned cases with Tel Quel and
Nichane. Arabic-language Akhbar Al Youmwas permanently closed and later
reopened under the name Akhbar Al Youm Al Maghrebiya. After some delay,
the government allowed suspended publications to continue operation.
Newspapers reported exercising self-censorship in response to the
threat of government closure.
The government registered and licensed domestic newspapers and
journals. The government owned la Societe Nationale de la
Radiodiffusion et de la Television, formerly Moroccan Radio-Television,
which owned and operated several local television and radio stations.
It also partially owned the 2M television and radio network. The
government purchased a majority stake in formerly private Medi-Sat
television this year in an effort to save it from bankruptcy. Since
2006 the government has licensed the operations of several independent
radio stations that offer news and information. A government-appointed
committee monitored broadcasts to ensure adherence to license
agreements. The government owned or partially owned the only television
stations whose broadcasts could be received in most parts of the
country without decoders or satellite dishes.
In March the MOC refused to renew the press credentials of Rafael
Marchante, a Spanish photographer employed by Reuters, following a
negative report he made on the Western Sahara. His credentials were
restored after a few weeks' delay.
In May 2008 the government suspended Al-Jazeera's broadcasting
license, forcing it to cease broadcasting its nightly Maghreb news
bulletin from Rabat. Al-Jazeera was permitted to retain its office in
Rabat. In July 2008 a court fined Al-Jazeera Rabat bureau chief Hassan
al-Rachidi 49,000 dirhams ($6,000) and suspended his press
accreditation for ``publishing false information'' after the channel
quoted human rights activist Brahim Sab Alail alleging that security
forces killed protesters in the town of Sidi Ifni. At one point
Rachidi's attorneys withdrew from his case in protest, claiming the
court refused to allow them to call defense witnesses. Al-Rachidi
appealed, claiming the court did not follow correct procedures for the
suspension of his press accreditation. In December 2008 the Rabat
appeals court postponed hearing the case until January 2010. Throughout
the year Al-Jazeera's license to broadcast directly from the country
remained suspended.
Authorities subjected journalists to harassment and intimidation
during the year.
In February security forces searched the offices of Arabic-language
weekly al-Ayyam for possessing an unpublished photograph of the king's
mother after the newspaper had submitted a formal request to the palace
to publish the photograph. The director and editor in chief of the
publication were detained but later released.
In early September the public prosecutor in Rabat ordered police to
question 10 journalists from three Arabic-language newspapers that in
late August published articles about the king's health. A statement
issued by the king's aide claimed an article in the privately owned
Arabic-language newspaper Al-Jarida al-Oula contained false information
and fabricated news about the king's health. Police released the
journalists after lengthy interrogations. The Rabat public prosecutor
brought defamation charges against Al-Jarida al-Oula. Ali Anouzla, the
director of Al-Jarida al-Oula, was sentenced in October to one year in
prison and a 10,000 dirham ($1,280) fine and Bouchra Eddou, a
journalist for the paper, was sentenced to three months in prison and a
5,000 dirham ($640) fine. On December 28, the appellate court in Rabat
confirmed the initial verdict against Anouzla and Eddou.
Internet Freedom.--There are neither specific laws nor a body of
judicial decisions concerning Internet content or access. The
government did not usually restrict access to the Internet. Individuals
and groups were able to engage in peaceful exchange of views via the
Internet, including by e-mail. The International Telecommunication
Union reported there were 33 Internet users per 100 inhabitants in
2008.
In January the government temporarily blocked four Islamist-
oriented Web sites after they were used to mobilize protests in support
of Palestinians during the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
On December 14 the Kenitra court of first instance handed down a
three-month suspended jail sentence against Jawad El Galii, a
journalist, blogger, and editor of a Web site. He was convicted of
aggression against a policeman and of impersonating a journalist, as he
had no credentials. The charges stemmed from an incident in which a
policeman smashed his camera during a protest rally and El Galii
quarreled with the policeman. Security forces detained him for eight
hours and dropped the case when he reconciled with the policeman. The
following day police again summoned El Galii and prosecuted him in the
court of first instance. Before the three-month suspended sentence was
announced, he was free on bail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--By law and in practice, the
government reserved the right to restrict presentations or discussions
questioning the legitimacy of the monarchy, Islam, or the status of
Western Sahara and did so on some occasions. There was political and
religious activism on university campuses during the year, which the
government generally tolerated. Islamist groups wielded considerable
influence on campuses. In some cases they controlled student unions and
acted to constrain academic freedom. The MOI approved the appointments
of university rectors.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association within the limits
provided by law. Although sit-ins, demonstrations, and protests
occurred, in practice the government used administrative delays and
other methods to suppress or discourage demonstrations. The government
also prohibited or failed to recognize associations it deemed
unqualified for NGO status.
Freedom of Assembly.--The MOI required permission for public
assemblies. During the year police forcibly prevented and disrupted
some demonstrations and mass gatherings. The media and NGOs made fewer
reports of police disrupting peaceful demonstrations in the country,
and violent police actions were fewer than in previous years. As in
years past, there were violent demonstrations at Caddi Ayyad University
in Marrakesh that prompted police to use force (see sections 1.a. and
1.b.).
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of association. The government reported that approximately
100,000 NGOs and associations were registered in the country. New
organizations are required to register with the MOI. A proposed
organization must submit its bylaws to the ministry. If the bylaws
support the monarchy, Islam, and territorial integrity, the ministry
issues a receipt to the organization that signifies formal approval.
The organization may apply for tax exemption and government funding. If
the organization does not receive a receipt within one week, it is not
formally registered. Many organizations the government chose not to
recognize functioned without the receipts, and the government tolerated
their activities.
Organizations supporting self-determination for Western Sahara were
not permitted to register, including ASVDH and the Sahrawi Collective
of Human Rights Defenders. Unregistered organizations cannot access
government funds or legally accept contributions. ASVDH remained
unregistered despite a 2005 Agadir administrative court decision
requiring authorities to register it.
During the year, authorities continued to monitor JCO activities
and, on occasion, disrupted its activities (see section 1.c.).
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion and stipulates that Islam is the official state religion.
According to the constitution, the king is the ``Commander of the
Faithful and the Supreme Representative of the Muslim community.'' Non-
Muslim communities openly practiced their faiths with varying degrees
of official restrictions. The law proscribes efforts to proselytize
Muslims. Civil law does not prohibit voluntary conversion.
In March the government seized Shi'ite tracts and literature from
libraries and bookstores throughout the country in a stated effort to
stop the spread of politicized Iranian Shi'ism. There were also reports
of police questioning hundreds of Shi'a Muslims about their faith and
political affiliations. The Ministry of National Education closed a
private Iraqi school that had operated in the country for more than 30
years, after allegations that the school was teaching Shi'a principles.
School officials denied the accusation. Local media reported continued
questioning of Shi'a Muslims in Casablanca throughout April.
Authorities claim these actions were in reaction to a politicized
Iranian Shi'ism that violates the country's laws against using religion
for political purposes.
The government also took action against a group that attempted a
public protest against a law prohibiting Muslims from eating publicly
during daylight in Ramadan. Through coordination on Facebook, the group
organized a protest picnic for September 13 near the Casablanca suburb
of Mohammedia. Police prevented the picnic from occurring and detained
the six main organizers for questioning. Police subsequently released
all six and did not file charges against them.
The government did not license or approve religions or religious
organizations. The government provided tax benefits, land, building
grants, subsidies, and customs exemptions for imports necessary for the
observance of major religions.
The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs continued to monitor
Friday mosque sermons and Koranic schools to ensure the teaching of
approved doctrine. During the year, the ministry broadcast approved
programs to some of the country's 47,000 mosques via government-
provided television sets and satellite dishes. It placed restrictions
on individual Muslims and Islamic organizations whose activities were
deemed to exceed the bounds of religious practice or to be political in
nature. For example, the government closed the Moroccan Society for the
Call to Koran and Sunnah, headed by Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al
Maghrawi of Marrakesh, and its affiliated Koranic schools. Magrawi has
been living in self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia since the government
tried to prosecute him for issuing a fatwa, or his own Islamic legal
interpretation, condoning the marriage of minor girls. In November the
Court of Appeals reaffirmed the closure of his schools and
organization.
In June the ministry announced a new program to train imams in the
family code (Moudawana) as well as to reinforce the teachings of the
Malikite school of Islamic jurisprudence, which the country follows.
The government strictly controlled the construction of new mosques
and required a permit for construction. Authorities instituted the
measures to avoid exploitation of mosques for political propaganda,
such as distributing pamphlets, raising funds, or disseminating
extremist ideas. The government generally limited mosque activities to
the propagation of Islam, education, and charity. The government did
not close any mosques during the year.
The small foreign Christian community operated churches,
orphanages, hospitals, and schools without restrictions or licensing
requirements. Missionaries who conducted themselves in accordance with
cultural norms worked largely unhindered, but those who proselytized
publicly faced expulsion. The number of local Christians, other than
foreign spouses of citizens, was estimated to be between 5,000 and
25,000 persons.
The government prohibited distribution of Christian religious
materials for the purpose of proselytism, although it allowed the sale
of Bibles and tolerated several small religious minorities.
In late March, authorities expelled five nonresident women and
interrogated 12 others, 11 of whom were citizens, about their
participation in a Bible study group in a private apartment in
Casablanca. Police entered the apartment without a warrant, claiming a
warrant was not necessary under emergency law. The authorities detained
the 12 women on March 28 but released them the following morning. The
authorities confiscated Bibles, books, cellular phones, and a computer;
they reportedly pressured the women to return to Islam, mocked their
Christian faith, and questioned why they left Islam. The authorities
reportedly accused the foreigners of proselytizing but did not press
charges. On May 14, the government reportedly denied entry to two of
the nonresident women when they attempted to reenter the country.
The government supported and facilitated religious activities of
the Jewish community.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts, publications, or incitements to violence.
Representatives of the Jewish minority, estimated by community
leaders to number 4,000 members, generally lived in safety throughout
the country, and the government provided appropriate security. The
Jewish community operated schools and hospitals whose services were
available to all citizens.
There are six Jewish schools in Casablanca, including primary,
middle, and high schools. One of the schools, the ``Itihad'' or
Alliance school, was primarily for Jewish children but was partially
government-funded and included a significant percentage of Muslim
students who competed for entrance. Children of prominent citizens and
government employees enrolled in the school. There is one Orthodox
religious school. The government provided funds for religious
instruction to the parallel system of Jewish public schools. Jews
continued to hold services in synagogues throughout the country.
There are two sets of laws and courts--one for Muslims and one for
Jews--pertaining to marriage, inheritance, and family matters. Under
the family code, which applies to Muslims, the government began
retraining judges and recruiting new civil judges. Rabbinical
authorities continued to administer family courts for Jews. There are
no separate family courts for other religious groups, which rely upon
the civil system. The government continued to encourage tolerance and
respect among religions.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation. These rights were generally respected in practice
although the government restricted movement in areas regarded as
militarily sensitive, including the demilitarized zone in Western
Sahara.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
The MOI restricted the freedom of civil servants to travel outside
the country, including teachers and military personnel. Civil servants
and soldiers must obtain written permission from their ministries to
leave the country.
The law provides for forced exile. On November 13, government
authorities in Western Sahara refused to allow Aminatou Haidar, a
Sahrawi independence activist, to enter the territory. She returned to
Western Sahara on December 18, after spending 34 days in the Canary
Islands. (See the Western Sahara report for further details.)
The government encouraged the return of Sahrawis if they
acknowledged the government's authority over the Western Sahara
territory. The government eliminated most previous informal
restrictions on the travel of Sahrawis and made travel documents
available. There were cases of Sahrawis who were prevented from
traveling (see the Western Sahara report). The government welcomed
voluntary repatriation of Jews who had emigrated. Jewish emigrants,
including those with Israeli citizenship, freely visited the country.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
The government has not yet established a national asylum procedure; it
defers to the UNHCR as the sole agency in the country entitled to grant
refugee status and verify asylum cases.
In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. Refugees recognized by the UNHCR are not returned under such
circumstances, although the government does not process or recognize
their asylum claims. In practice this procedure meant they were unable
to obtain residence permits that would allow them access to the
national health care system and the legal right to work. As of August,
the UNHCR reported 746 refugees and 310 asylum seekers.
In late July a group of recognized refugees staged a sit-in at the
UNHCR's Rabat office, protesting the lack of resettlements to Europe
and the United States. A violent confrontation resulted in injuries to
the refugees and the police, and five refugees were charged with
illegal entry into the country, disturbing the peace, unlawful
assembly, assault of security officials, and destruction of private
property. They were sentenced to one month in prison and a 500 dirham
($64) fine. During court proceedings they were found not guilty of
``illegal entry'' and were not expelled from the country.
There were credible reports of government authorities expelling
illegal migrants into the desert along the border with Algeria. NGOs
reported that some migrants were left without food and water and
consequently died (see section 1.a.). The International Organization
for Migration (IOM) reported 1,119 cases of migrants' voluntary return
to their country of origin during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides for regular, free elections based on universal
suffrage, including elections to a bicameral parliament. Citizens elect
municipal councils directly; citizens indirectly elect regional
councils through representatives. Citizens vote for the legislature
from which the government is drawn; therefore, they had an indirect say
in choosing parts of the executive branch. Citizens did not have the
right to change the monarchical form of government.
The king as head of state appoints the prime minister, who is the
titular head of government. The constitution authorizes the prime
minister to nominate all government ministers, although the king also
may nominate ministers and has the power to replace any minister. The
government consists of 34 cabinet-level posts, including the prime
minister and four sovereign ministerial posts that traditionally report
directly to the king (interior, foreign affairs, endowments and Islamic
affairs, and defense). The MOI nominates and the king appoints
provincial governors (walis) and local city-level administrative
governors (caids). The king also appoints the constitutional council
that determines whether laws are constitutional.
The constitution may not be changed without the king's approval.
The constitution provides that neither the monarchical system nor
measures related to the practice of Islam may be revised. Only the king
has the power to put constitutional amendment proposals to a national
referendum. The king or parliament may propose amendments, which must
pass both houses with a two-thirds majority. Once a royal decree has
been issued, the amendment may be sent to a national referendum; the
king has the authority to bypass any national referendum.
Elections and Political Participation.--Electoral law and
regulation give the MOI authority over elections, from drawing
electoral districts to counting votes. Redistricting, which occurs
before every nationwide election and addresses population changes, took
place before the June local government elections. Districts contained
significantly different numbers of voters.
In the 2007 legislative elections, the king mandated the royally
chartered and appointed CCDH to supervise and facilitate the work of
domestic and international observers. In the June communal elections,
the CCDH again organized a wide range of domestic observers, and all
political parties considered the elections valid.
International and domestic observers assessed the voting and noted
the government's effective administration of the process. According to
the MOI, voter turnout was 52 percent. Independent media made numerous
reports alleging preelection vote buying by political parties and some
instances of official misconduct at the district level. The CCDH, the
government, and observers acknowledged that all parties likely engaged
in such misconduct. Domestic observers and some political party leaders
recommended the creation of an independent electoral commission.
Political parties faced government-imposed restrictions. The MOI
must approve political parties, and legislation placed conditions on
the establishment and functioning of political parties. The law
requires parties to hold annual national congresses and to include
women and youth in the leadership structures. Public funding is based
on a party's total representation in parliament and the total number of
votes it received nationally. Only registered members of a particular
party may make private contributions. The MOI can disband a party if it
does not conform to the provisions stated in the law. To create a new
party, organizers must submit to the MOI a declaration signed by at
least 300 cofounding members from at least eight of the 16 regions of
the country.
In 2007 the government declared the Amazigh Democratic Party
illegal on the grounds that it violated a constitutional ban against
ethnic political parties. On January 2008 the ban was upheld on appeal.
Although there was significant participation by centrist parties such
as the Popular Movement that identify themselves as representing
Amazigh interests, segments of the Berber political movement felt that
their requests for greater cultural, political, and economic autonomy
were not given a fair hearing.
Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi's 33-member cabinet included three
female ministers and two female secretaries of state. There were 34
female members of the 325-member lower house of parliament. There were
no women on the Supreme Court.
Women's representation in local government and political parties'
decision making structures increased during the year. Before the June
elections, women held less than 1 percent of elected positions at the
local level, and only two women served as mayors. Following an
agreement in November 2008 between the government and political
parties, a minimum of 12 percent of the local council seats
(approximately 3,000 elected positions) were reserved for women. More
than 20,000 female candidates ran for office, with 3,421 winning seats
(13 percent of the total). Twelve women were selected in subsequent
indirect elections to head local councils as mayors or mayor
equivalents, including the mayor of Marrakesh.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials
often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. It was common
knowledge that corruption was a serious problem in the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of government.
The judiciary's lack of independence and susceptibility to
influence were widely acknowledged, including by the king. On August
21, the king called for reform of the judicial system including greater
independence of the judiciary and prevention of corruption. Since 2007
the law has required judges, ministers, and members of parliament to
submit financial disclosures.
In late 2008 the government formed the Central Commission for the
Prevention of Corruption (ICPC). In July the ICPC released its first
report, stating that it had received 21 valid corruption complaints. At
year's end, investigations were continuing. Officials attributed the
low number of complaints in part to the lack of legislation protecting
plaintiffs and witnesses in corruption cases. The commission worked
with the MOJ to develop procedures for processing corruption
complaints. At year's end, the MOJ had implemented some procedures, and
in his speech, the king called for an acceleration of the process. In
addition to the commission, the MOJ and the government accountability
court had jurisdiction over corruption issues.
During 2008 the accountability court conducted 245 audits of
national government offices and services and 198 of local authorities.
The court's report was generally critical of the level of
accountability and corruption in government services. The report levied
specific criticism against the health ministry, National Investment and
Development Fund, and several local mayors for rampant corruption. The
government investigated the mayor of Meknes on charges of mismanaging
funds, resulting in his removal from office on January 30.
In January authorities arrested 100 officials throughout the
country for corruption, malfeasance, or abuse of office. The arrests
capped a year-long audit by the MOI's inspector general and the
Government Accountability Court. At year's end a total of 117 were
charged with corruption.
In July the High Judiciary Council, which oversees the disciplining
of judges, sanctioned 70 judges on corruption-related charges,
according to NGOs. In August the Royal Gendarmerie launched an internal
anticorruption awareness campaign and established a unit to track down
corrupt agents (see section 1.d.).
There is no freedom of information law. In practice the government
did not grant access to official information to citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government's attitude toward international human rights
organizations varied, depending on the sensitivity of the issues.
Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated
without government restriction (apart from those that favored
independence for Western Sahara and some Berber organizations), and
they investigated and published findings on human rights cases.
Government officials were generally cooperative and responsive to their
views.
Domestic and independent human rights NGOs the government
recognized included the OMDH and the Moroccan League for the Defense of
Human Rights (LMDH). Since 2000 the government has subsidized these two
NGOs. However, LMDH, which is a part of the Istiqlal party, was no
longer active; OMDH and AMDH were considered the main human rights
NGOs. AMDH did not cooperate officially with the government but usually
shared information on an informal basis with both the government and
government affiliated organizations. The government sometimes met with
and responded to inquiries and recommendations of these groups. Other
groups that worked with the government to try to improve human rights
conditions or investigate alleged abuses included Friends of the Center
for Reform and the Protection of Youth, more commonly known as
Association Mama Assia, which focused on working with youth in the
prison system. The government also cooperated with the Forum for Truth
and Justice, OMP, and the local branch of AI.
International NGOs such as HRW, Reporters Without Borders, and AI
cooperated with the government on several human rights projects and
generally reported unrestricted operation.
The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances (UNWGEID) met for its 88th session from June 26 to 28 in
Rabat. During its session the working group reviewed 200 cases of
enforced disappearances around the world, as well as past cases from 35
countries. The UNWGEID also analyzed the IER, to collect lessons
learned for other countries.
The last visit by a UN Special Rapporteur took place in 2006 by the
Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education. A Special Rapporteur
visit on adequate housing was pending approval at year's end.
The CCDH advised the king on human rights issues. A nonjudicial
ombudsman considered allegations of governmental injustices, but in
practice the CCDH filled many of the roles of national social
ombudsman. Although there was some media criticism of the difficulties
the CCDH has faced in implementing the institutional changes
recommended by the IER, human rights NGOs and the public generally
viewed the organization as a credible and proactive government advocate
for institutional protection of human rights and seeking redress in
individual cases.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status. In practice societal
discrimination against women continued to be a problem, particularly in
rural areas.
Women.--The law punishes men convicted of rape with prison terms of
five to 10 years; when the conviction involves a minor, the prison
sentence ranges from 10 to 20 years. Sexual assault can result in a
prison sentence of up to one year and a fine of 15,000 dirhams
($1,905). Spousal rape is not a crime. Defendants in rape prosecutions
bear the burden of proving their innocence. Sexual assaults often were
unreported. Although the law does not provide for it, victims' families
may offer rapists marriage as an alternative to preserve family honor.
Reports by women's shelters were limited in scope regarding the
scale of violence against women and noted the government's failure to
implement existing legislation. According to women's rights
organizations, a government campaign to prevent violence against women
launched in 2006 had little follow-through, and major legal reforms
were still needed.
The law is lenient toward husbands who commit crimes against their
wives. Police rarely became involved in domestic disputes. Women's
rights organizations pointed to numerous articles of the law on rape
that they see as perpetuating unequal treatment for women and
insufficient protection despite family law revisions. A prosecution for
statutory rape may be cancelled if the defendant agrees to marry the
victim.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence against
women, but the general prohibitions of the criminal code address such
violence. Physical abuse was legal grounds for divorce, although few
women reported abuse to authorities. The government operated hotlines
for victims of domestic violence in 20 centers nationwide.
In 2007 the Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Social
Security recorded 14,617 cases of violence against women, including
rape. In addition to the government centers, two NGOs operated
counseling centers for legal and social services. The Anaruz Network
(31 call-in listening centers) reported 16,527 complaints of physical
and sexual violence in 2007. The Democratic League for the Rights of
Women (LDDF), with 12 centers, reported 3,569 cases of violence in the
same year. Counseling centers exist exclusively in urban areas.
Services for victims of violence in rural areas are limited to local
police.
In February the Union for Women's Action, an NGO working against
all forms of discrimination against women, and the Anaruz Network
launched a to raise awareness for victims of violence. It took place in
16 municipal districts of Casablanca.
Many recognized NGOs worked to advance women's rights and promote
women's issues. Among these were the Democratic Association of Moroccan
Women, the Union for Women's Action, the Democratic League for the
Rights of Women, and the Moroccan Association for Women's Rights. All
advocated enhanced political and civil rights. There were numerous NGOs
that provided shelters for battered women, promoted literacy, and
taught women basic hygiene, family planning, and child care.
Prostitution is illegal. Closely linked to tourism and urban
migration, it was a growing but not yet pervasive problem. Authorities
did not effectively enforce the law.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a criminal offense, but only
when committed by a superior, and it is defined as an abuse of
authority. Authorities did not effectively enforce the law. According
to the government, although the law allows victims to sue employers,
few did so out of fear of losing their job or difficulty in proving a
case.
Women's inheritances, which are determined by Shari'a for Muslims,
vary depending on circumstances, but are less than men's. For example,
under Shari'a daughters receive half of what their brothers receive,
and if a woman is the only child, she receives half and other relatives
receive the other half. A sole male heir would receive the entire
estate. Inheritance laws were not changed during the 2004 reform of the
family code. In 2007 Muslim women gained the right to pass nationality
to their children. Previously, nationality was passed only through the
father. The change allows children of citizen mothers and noncitizen
fathers who are both Muslims to attain Moroccan nationality and access
the educational and social benefits available to citizens. Citizenship
can only be transferred to a child if both parents are Muslim and if
their marriage is recognized by the law.
In July 900 women from tribes around the country protested the
transfer of and compensation to men only for collectively used tribal
lands. The Democratic Association of Moroccan Women reported that local
authorities, in agreement with tribal representatives, secretly
negotiated to provide compensation to men only, and failed to publish
the list of beneficiaries, actions that violated the MOI's 2004
circular regulating the transfer of lands. In November 2008 women of
the Saknia tribe in the province of Kenitra were excluded from
collectively used lands benefits. On September 25, the eve of the
celebration of the National Day of Moroccan Women, the courts and MOI
announced that the minister of interior had recognized that the tribal
women had the same rights as men to benefit from the cessions of
communal lands.
The 2004 Moudawana changed the marriage age for women from 15 to 18
years, placed the family under the joint responsibility of both
spouses, and rescinded the wife's duty of obedience to her husband. A
marital tutor is no longer a requirement for women as a condition of
marriage, divorce is available by mutual consent, and limitations are
imposed on the practice of polygamy.
Implementation of the family law remained a concern because it is
largely dependent on the judiciary's ability and willingness to put it
into practice. Due to its controversial nature, the law was written to
provide broad interpretive latitude to individual judges, not all of
whom agreed with its intent. Corruption among working-level clerks in
the courts and a lack of knowledge about its provisions among lawyers
also constituted obstacles.
According to law, contraception is legal, and in practice most
forms were widely and freely available. It is government policy that
couples be able to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing,
and timing of their children and that they have the information and
means to do so free from discrimination. The Ministry of Health ran two
programs: one with mobile clinics providing maternal and child health
and family planning services in remote rural areas and the other
involving systematic home visits to encourage the use of contraception
and to provide family planning and primary health care services.
Beginning in late 2008, emergency contraception (EC) became
available. In practice NGOs report that women often faced obstacles in
obtaining EC from pharmacies. Access to contraception and skilled
attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were available for women
with adequate financial resources. Women and men had equal access to
diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV/AIDS.
Legally there are few obstacles to women's participation in
business and other economic activities. Women are able to travel,
receive loans, and start businesses without their husband's or father's
permission. According to the Moroccan Association of Women
Entrepreneurs, more than 5,000 female entrepreneurs operated businesses
in the country's formal economic sectors; in addition, nearly 2.7
million women worked outside the home, although 75 percent of these
women worked in the informal sector. Studies showed that inadequate
higher education for women was an impediment for female entrepreneurs
in the country. Girls continued to lag behind their male counterparts
in literacy and school attendance beyond the primary level, and only
slightly more than 40 percent of urban women--and 25 percent of rural
women--were literate, further hindering their opportunities for
economic participation.
Children.--Since 2007 the law has permitted female citizens to pass
nationality to their children. Previously, nationality was passed only
through the father.
The constitution provides for compulsory, free, and universal
education for children between six and 15 years of age.
Although NGOs, human rights groups, media outlets, and the UN
Children's Fund (UNICEF) claimed that child abuse was widespread
throughout the country, there were no conclusive government statistics
on the extent of the problem. The most reliable recent information was
a joint MOJ UNICEF study in 2006 that found that child abuse occurred
not only in families, but was also committed by police, schools,
employers, and even charitable institutions. Anecdotal evidence also
showed that abuse of children serving as domestic servants was a
problem.
In September the press reported on violence against a minor
domestic servant in Oujda. A judge and his wife allegedly tortured and
beat Zineb Chetite, their 13-year-old maid, on several occasions.
Chetite escaped from her employers' home and went to the police; later
she was hospitalized. The attorney general ordered an investigation of
the case and arrest of the judge's wife. On October 12, the first
instance court in Oujda sentenced the wife to three years in prison and
a 100,000 dirham ($12,820) fine. In November media reported that the
prosecutor in Oujda ordered an investigation into the involvement of
the judge as well.
The Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity launched
a decade-long national plan in 2006 to address child abuse that
included programs to target the issue of child domestics and street
children. The plan called for establishing child protection units in
Casablanca, Tangier, Fes, Marrakesh, Agadir, and Laayoune (Western
Sahara). The units would coordinate their work and share statistics
with other local agencies, monitor child abuse, offer counseling and
legal guidance, and promote children's rights. By year's end only the
Casablanca unit was operational.
The legal age of marriage is 18 years, but parents may secure a
waiver from a judge for underage marriage. The LDDF issued a report
criticizing the government for the relative ease with which an underage
marriage waiver can be obtained. According to the LDDF, the number of
requests for minor marriages has increased on average 25 percent per
year over the last three years. The report also criticized the
judiciary for approving 90 percent of all petitions in 2008, blaming
the phenomenon on corruption and the conservative mindset of judges. An
NGO reported that in many cases, a couple was already effectively in a
marriage by consensus of their families when a request for underage
marriage came before a judge for approval.
Children were exploited through prostitution within the country and
were victims of sex tourism.
The government maintained accords with Spain and Italy to
repatriate unaccompanied minors, although this did not take place in
practice. Repatriation remained slow due to the lack of agreement by
local families to allow the minors to return home as well as the small
number of spaces in reception centers for minors with no place to
return.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
under statutes in the criminal and labor codes; it forbids activities
that are normally defined as trafficking crimes. The country does not
have a specific antitrafficking law. During the year there were reports
that persons were trafficked to, from, through, and within the country.
The country was a source for men, women, and children trafficked to
Europe and the Middle East for forced labor and sexual exploitation.
The two most commonly trafficked groups were girls sent
involuntarily to serve as domestic servants and women forced to perform
sexual services. According to UNICEF and national NGOs, recruiters
habitually visited isolated rural villages in the Atlas Mountains where
they persuaded parents that their daughters would be better off as
maids. Women were trafficked to Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab
Emirates, and other Persian Gulf countries and forced into prostitution
after being promised jobs as domestics.
The country was a transit point for trafficked persons. Men and
women from sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines were
trafficked to Europe or Near Eastern countries. Sub-Saharan Africans
transiting the country to Europe were also victims of traffickers.
Women were often pressured into commercial sexual exploitation and
involuntary servitude in exchange for food and shelter.
Most trafficking rings were small criminal groups. Unofficial
reports stated that hotel personnel arranged to transport girls and
young women from rural areas to cities for commercial sexual
exploitation.
The government made efforts to prosecute traffickers and
trafficking-complicit officials during the year. Penalties prescribed
by law for sex trafficking offenses are stringent and commensurate with
those for other serious crimes such as rape. During the year, 193
persons were prosecuted for facilitating the prostitution of a minor.
During the year, 10 foreigners were prosecuted for homosexual activity,
inciting a minor to prostitution, and violent rape of a minor less than
18 years of age. The sentences ranged from two years to one month's
imprisonment. From January to September, the government reported
dismantling 91 criminal networks involved in smuggling persons and
contraband. As the government continued to make no distinction between
migrant smuggling and trafficking, it is not clear how many, if any,
actually were trafficking rings.
Protection of trafficking victims was a problem. Foreign
trafficking victims were not properly identified and were often
arrested and subject to detention and automatic deportation along with
other illegal migrants. There were reliable reports that authorities
routinely rounded up illegal sub-Saharan migrants, including victims of
trafficking, and abandoned them at the Algerian border, often without
food or water. As the government has not provided data regarding these
expulsions, the extent of the problem was not known.
The government did not offer legal alternatives to the removal of
foreign victims of trafficking to countries where they might face
hardship or retribution. UNHCR protection was available to trafficked
individuals in theory, but the government had no procedures in place to
refer trafficked individuals to the UNHCR. The government continued to
repatriate illegal migrants. As the government does not differentiate
between illegal migrants and trafficking victims, specific trafficking
statistics were unavailable. IOM assisted in the voluntary repatriation
of 1,119 irregular migrant persons during the year. The government
reported that it expelled 8,735 illegal migrants during the year.
A working group known as the National Observatory of Migration,
consisting of representatives of the Ministries of Interior, Justice,
Foreign Affairs, and Social Development was responsible for migration
and antitrafficking policies implemented primarily by the MOI.
Clandestine migration was under the purview of immigration officials;
prostitution was a police issue; and child bride cases were reviewed by
local authorities, who ultimately report to MOI. Law enforcement
officers participated in training and seminars relating to trafficking.
The government has in place agreements with Catalonia (Spain) and
Italy to prevent illegal migration of children from the country who are
at extremely high risk of being trafficked. The government did not show
significant efforts to raise public awareness of the commercial sexual
exploitation of children and women in major cities, especially tourist
areas, and did not take any reported measures to reduce the demand for
commercial sex acts.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for regulations and
building codes that ensure access for persons with disabilities, but
the government did not effectively implement the laws and programs.
Although building codes require accessibility for all, the codes were
rarely enforced, and in many cases, builders and building inspectors
were unaware of laws requiring accessibility. The Ministry of Social
Development, Family, and Solidarity has responsibility for protecting
the rights of persons with disabilities and attempted to integrate
persons with disabilities into society by implementing a quota of 7
percent for persons with disabilities in vocational training in the
private and public sectors. In 2008 the government created 217
integrated classes for children with disabilities. In practice
integration was largely left to private charities. Typically, families
supported persons with disabilities. A limited number survived by
begging.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The official language is
Arabic. Both French and Arabic are used in the news media and
educational institutions. Educational reforms in the past decade
emphasized the use of Arabic in secondary schools.
Approximately 60 percent of the population claimed Amazigh
heritage, including the royal family. Amazigh cultural groups contended
that their traditions and language were being lost rapidly to
Arabization. The government provided television programs in the three
Berber dialects of Tarifit, Tashelhit, and Tamazight (the dialect
spoken by the Amazigh Berbers). The government also offered Berber
language classes in the curriculum of some 3,470 schools; the language
offered varied according to the main dialect spoken in each region.
Programs in one of the three Berber dialects were increasingly
available on both radio and television. The government also implemented
compulsory Berber instruction for students at the MOI's School for
Administrators in Kenitra.
Although the country is majority Amazigh, rural areas that are
predominantly Amazigh are the poorest in the country. Illiteracy in
some areas runs as high as 80 percent, and authorities often do not
provide basic governmental services.
The Amazigh political and cultural movement also demanded that
Berber be made an official language on par with Arabic and French. Some
members of the Amazigh community have described difficulty registering
traditional names of children with authorities, who declined to
recognize non-Arab names.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code criminalizes
homosexual activity, but these provisions were infrequently enforced.
Homosexual conduct was addressed in the media and in public with more
openness than in previous years. There were no reports of societal
violence based on sexual orientation.
Authorities near Meknes detained 17 men suspected of homosexual
activity and male prostitution during a Sufi festival on March 10.
Eight of the men were detained and charged under the penal code with
``attacks against the kingdom's moral foundations,'' which may carry a
penalty of as long as three years in prison and a fine of 1,200 dirhams
($150). All those charged have been released.
On March 15, a judge sentenced two men in Agadir to 10 months in
prison on sodomy and prostitution charges.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The number of AIDS
cases continued to increase. According to ministry of health
statistics, the number of HIV-positive persons in March was estimated
at 22,700.
Youth and young adults remained the most vulnerable segment; 68
percent of AIDS victims were 15 to 39 years old, and 74 percent of
transmission derived from heterosexual sexual activity. Of all AIDS
patients, 84 percent resided in urban areas and were lower-income. The
number of AIDS cases in the coastal city of Agadir tripled in recent
years due to sex tourism. The number of sexually transmitted infections
was also increasing; there were nearly 400,000 in 2004 compared with
100,000 in 1993. There was a stigma attached to being tested for HIV/
AIDS. Persons living with HIV/AIDS in the country faced discrimination
and had limited treatment options.
The government worked with the UN to set up reproduction and
sexual education programs in schools for children as young as 10 years
of age. The government sponsored television and radio messages that
warn about HIV. In the country's state-controlled mosques, imams
promoted contraception.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The constitution permits workers to
form and join trade unions. In practice the laws were not implemented
in some sectors as well as in some geographic areas. The law provides
workers with the right to strike except for certain categories of
government employees, including members of the armed forces, police,
and judiciary. Domestic and agricultural workers are not covered by the
labor code and do not have the right to form unions. Although most
union federations were allied with political parties, unions were free
from government interference. Approximately 5.5 percent of the
country's workers were organized into unions. Any group of eight
workers may organize a union, and a worker may change union affiliation
easily.
On January 27, workers at a packing station in Biougara near Agadir
owned by SOPROFEL, a private agricultural company, went on strike to
protest the company's alleged failures to pay the minimum wage, social
security benefits as mandated by law, and overtime wages. The union CDT
also demanded the rehiring of workers fired for union activity.
According to union sources, a gang of approximately 30 non-SOPROFEL
workers wielding clubs attacked the protesters, injuring numerous
workers, three of them severely. Security forces arrested 12 workers,
and a judge sentenced eight of them to prison sentences of one to two
months. There were no arrests or convictions of the strike breakers.
According to NGO reports, during a September 2 rally by Zitrap City
Transportation workers, Agadir police intervened, beat workers, and
confiscated cameras. Five workers were seriously injured.
The law provides for government intervention in strikes when
national security, domestic stability, or vital economic interests are
threatened. Employers cannot initiate criminal prosecutions against
workers for participating in strikes. Unlike in previous years, there
were no reports that union officers were subjects of government
pressure.
The law requires compulsory arbitration of disputes, prohibits sit-
ins, calls for a 10-day notice of a strike, and allows for hiring
replacement workers. The government can intervene in strikes, and a
strike cannot take place around issues covered in a collective contract
for one year after the contract comes into force. The government has
the authority to break up demonstrations in public areas where strikes
have not been authorized and to prevent the unauthorized occupancy of
private space.
Unions may not prevent nonstrikers from working and may not engage
in sabotage. Any striking employee who prevents a replacement worker
from working is subject to a seven-day suspension. A second offense
within one year is punishable by a 15-day suspension.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The right to
organize and bargain collectively is protected by law, and the
government generally upheld this right. Fewer than 6 percent, or
600,000, of the 11.3 million-strong workforce, belonged to a union. A
worksite may contain several independent locals or locals affiliated
with more than one labor federation. Only unions that have 35 percent
of the workforce as members may be recognized as negotiating partners.
Collective bargaining was prevalent in many sectors of the economy.
According to the labor code, the wages and employment conditions of
unionized workers should be agreed in discussions between employer and
worker representatives; however, frequently employers unilaterally set
wages for the majority of unionized and nonunionized workers. Labor
disputes arose in some cases as the result of employers failing to
implement collective bargaining agreements and withholding wages.
Employers wishing to dismiss workers are legally required to notify
the provincial governor through the labor inspector's office. When the
employer plans to replace dismissed workers, a government labor
inspector provides replacements and mediates the cases of workers who
protest their dismissal.
The law specifically prohibits antiunion discrimination and
prohibits companies from dismissing workers for participating in
legitimate union-organizing activities; the law was followed in
practice. Family courts have the authority to reinstate arbitrarily
dismissed workers and can enforce rulings that compel employers to pay
damages and back pay. Unions may sue to ensure that the government
enforces labor laws, and employers may sue unions when they believe
unions have overstepped their authority.
There are no special laws or exemptions from standard labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced, compulsory, and clandestine labor, but there were reports that
such practices occurred. Child and forced labor were especially common
in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. Young girls often worked
in urban areas as domestic servants. In practice the government did not
inspect the small workshops and private homes where the majority of
such employment occurred. Forced labor persisted in the practice of
adoptive servitude in households.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, the government did not effectively
implement these laws, except in organized labor markets.
According to government statistics, during the first half of the
year, 94 inspections led to citations being issued for 39 instances of
employment of children younger than 15. A total of 184 site visits and
616 investigations uncovered 19 cases of children between the ages of
15 and 18 being employed.
The inspection visits found that most child laborers worked in the
sectors of carpentry and forestry (23 percent), mechanical (19
percent), and construction (12 percent). Noncompliance with child labor
laws was common, particularly in agriculture. In 2006 domestic and
international NGOs reported that as many as 87 percent of the country's
underage workers worked on family farms.
According to the labor law, the minimum age for employment in all
sectors is 15 years. Children younger than six years of age are
prohibited from working more than 10 hours per day, with a break of at
least one hour. Children younger than 16 are not permitted to work
between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in nonagricultural work or
between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. in agriculture. The law prohibits employment
of children younger than 18 in stone quarries, mines, or any other
positions the government considers hazardous.
In practice children were apprenticed before age 12, particularly
in small family-run workshops in the handicraft industry. Children also
worked in the informal sector in textiles, carpets, and light
manufacturing. Children's safety and health conditions and wages were
often substandard. The labor code does not cover domestic labor and,
therefore, does not prohibit the employment of child maids. NGOs
estimated that, at year's end, 66,000 to 88,000 children worked
illegally as domestic servants, many of them young girls.
Credible reports of physical and psychological abuse of domestic
servants were common. Some orphanages were accused of complicity in the
practice. The public generally accepted the concept of adoptive
servitude, and parents of children involved were frequently complicit
and typically received compensation for their children's work. Most
child domestics received food, lodging, and clothing instead of
monetary payment. Children were also ``rented'' to street businessmen
by their parents or other relatives to beg. Parents received a fee for
the use of their children, and the person ``renting'' the child kept a
portion of the day's income from the child's begging. The government
put in place programs to combat and discourage these practices.
The Ministry of Employment is responsible for implementing and
enforcing child labor laws and regulations. The law provides for legal
sanctions against employers who recruit children under the age of 15,
with fines ranging from 27,000 to 32,000 dirhams ($3,250 to $3,900).
Legal remedies to enforce child labor laws include criminal penalties,
civil fines, and withdrawal or suspension of one or more civil,
national, or family rights, including denial of legal residence in the
country for five to 10 years.
The formal and informal sectors continued to flout the application
of the legal minimum employment age. According to MOJ officials, no one
has been convicted for employing a child domestic. Labor inspectors
responsible for enforcing the labor code do not have jurisdiction to
inspect private residences. The Ministry of Social Development, Family,
and Solidarity has proposed legislation that would substantially
increase the fines for employing a child domestic and provide an
enforcement mechanism. The informal sector, where the majority of
children work, was not monitored by the Ministry of Labor's small cadre
of labor inspectors. There were no labor inspectors dedicated solely to
child labor issues.
According to reports, police, prosecutors, and judges rarely
enforced legal provisions on child abuse or on ``forced labor in cases
involving child domestics,'' and few parents of children working as
domestics were willing or able to pursue legal avenues that were likely
to provide any direct benefit.
Under the 2006-15 National Plan of Action for Children, the
government expanded coordination with local, national, and
international NGOs on education and training programs during the year.
The Ministry of Employment and Professional Training, led by the Office
of the Director of Work, in conjunction with NGOs, oversaw programs to
deal with the issue of child labor. The programs sought to decrease
incidents of child labor through awareness raising, financial
assistance to needy families, and lowering obstacles to school
attendance.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 10 dirhams
($1.25) per hour in the industrialized sector and 52.50 dirhams ($6.50)
per day for agricultural workers. Informal businesses hired
approximately 60 percent of the labor force and often ignored the
minimum wage requirements. Neither minimum wage provided a decent
standard of living for a worker and family, even with government
subsidies. In many cases several family members combined their incomes
to support the family. Most workers in the industrial sector earned
more than the minimum wage. Including traditional holiday-related
bonuses, workers generally were paid the equivalent of 13 to 16 months'
salary each year.
The law provides for a 44- to 48-hour maximum workweek, with no
more than 10 hours in any single day, premium pay for overtime, paid
public and annual holidays, and minimum conditions for health and
safety, including a prohibition on night work for women and minors.
Employers did not observe these provisions universally, and the
government did not enforce them effectively in all sectors. The labor
code does not cover domestic workers.
Occupational health and safety standards were rudimentary, except
for a prohibition on the employment of women and children in certain
dangerous occupations. Labor inspectors attempted to monitor working
conditions and investigate accidents, but they were too few in number
and lacked sufficient resources. Although workers in principle had the
right to remove themselves from work situations that endangered health
and safety without jeopardizing their continued employment, there were
no reports of workers attempting to exercise this right.
__________
WESTERN SAHARA
Morocco claims the Western Sahara territory and administers
Moroccan law through Moroccan institutions in the estimated 85 percent
of the territory it controls. However, Morocco and the Popular Front
for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario),
an organization that has sought independence for the formerly Spanish
territory since 1973, disputes Morocco's sovereignty. The population of
the territory was approximately 405,000, an estimated 100,000 of whom
were attributable to Moroccan in-migration.
The Moroccan government sent troops and settlers into the northern
two provinces after Spain withdrew in 1975 and extended its
administration over the third province after Mauritania renounced its
claim in 1979. Moroccan and Polisario forces fought intermittently from
1975 until a 1991 ceasefire and the deployment of a UN peacekeeping
contingent, the UN Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara
(MINURSO), whose mandate does not include human rights monitoring.
Sahrawis, literally ``people of the desert'' in Arabic, live in the
south of internationally recognized Morocco, in the territory
controlled by Morocco (``Western Sahara''), in Algeria, and to a lesser
extent in Mauritania. In the late 1980s, Morocco constructed a 1,250-
mile stone and sand wall known as the ``berm'' that marks the effective
limit of Moroccan administrative control.
In 1988 Morocco and the Polisario agreed to settle the dispute over
sovereignty by referendum. The parties did not resolve disagreements
over voter eligibility and which options for self-determination
(integration, independence, or something in between) should be on the
ballot; consequently, a referendum never took place.
Over the years there have been several attempts to broker a
solution. In 2007 the first face-to-face negotiations between
representatives of the Moroccan government and the Polisario began
under UN auspices. Morocco proposed autonomy for the territory within
the kingdom; the Polisario proposed a referendum in which full
independence would be an option. On April 30, the UN Security Council
adopted Resolution 1871 extending MINURSO's mandate until April 2010.
The resolution also called on member states to consider voluntary
contributions to confidence building measures carried out under the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that allowed increased contact
between family members separated by the dispute. After four meetings in
2007 and 2008 produced little progress, both sides participated in an
informal August 10 and 11 meeting under the auspices of Personal Envoy
of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara Christopher Ross and
agreed to reinvigorate negotiations.
Morocco considers the part of the territory that it administers to
be an integral part of the kingdom with the same laws and structures
conditioning the exercise of civil liberties and political rights.
Accordingly, ultimate authority rests, de facto, with King Mohammed VI,
and human rights conditions in the territory tended to converge with
those in the kingdom.
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed
arbitrary or unlawful killings or politically motivated disappearances.
On December 1, the Moroccan authorities reported that an
investigation had shown that the killing of the two illegal Senegalese
migrants in 2007 had been the result of a confrontation with gendarmes
and the case had been referred to a military court. The military court
determined the officers' actions were in self-defense and closed the
case. The court ordered that gendarmes receive extra training on the
use of deadly force.
The government inquiry into an alleged mass gravesite discovered in
May 2008 at a former military barracks in Smara, undertaken by the
Laayoune Court of Appeal, found no human remains. Media reports and the
governmental Consultative Council for Human Rights (CCDH) confirmed
this finding and expressed satisfaction with closing the case.
At year's end the government, in cooperation with the CCDH,
continued to investigate an alleged mass gravesite discovered at the
Laayoune Prison in 2007.
As it has done since 2000, the CCDH paid reparations during the
year to Sahrawis or family members of those Sahrawis who had
disappeared or been detained during the 1970s and 1980s. By year's end
the government had settled most individual reparation claims, and the
CCDH shifted its focus to community reparation projects.
There were credible reports that security forces sometimes engaged
in torture, beatings, and other mistreatment of detainees. Although the
CCDH reported that security forces engaged in serious abuses such as
these less frequently than in previous years, Human Rights Watch (HRW),
Amnesty International (AI) and local NGOs continued to report abuse,
especially of Sahrawi independence advocates.
For example, on February 23, the unrecognized nongovernmental
organization (NGO) Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Violations
of Human Rights (ASVDH) reported that two police officers detained,
beat, and sodomized a female independence activist and interrogated her
about her political activities and those of her family members. The
activist filed a complaint. Although officials at the Ministry of
Interior (MOI) denied that the officers beat and raped the activist,
the Ministry of Justice opened an investigation that was ongoing at
year's end.
On August 27, human rights advocates reported that police officers
detained a well-known human rights activist in Laayoune. The victim
alleged that police stripped her while questioning her about her
political views and threatened to post a video of the proceedings on
the video-sharing Web site YouTube if she continued her political
activities. They also allegedly threatened her with death. After
interrogating her for five hours, police left her naked on the
outskirts of Laayoune. According to ASVDH, the victim filed a
complaint. Authorities had not begun an investigation at year's end.
On September 2, according to ASVDH, two police officers detained
human rights and proindependence activist Chamad Marzouk. The officers
allegedly blindfolded Marzouk, stripped him, handcuffed him, and beat
him before releasing him later that night. The officers reportedly
questioned Marzouk about his relationship with certain human rights
activists and about the details of his planned trip to the United
Kingdom. Marzouk filed a complaint on September 24; however,
authorities had not begun an investigation by year's end.
On May 15, the appeal court in Agadir upheld a 15-year prison
sentence given to Sahrawi activist Yahya Mohamed El Hafed, convicted of
killing a security officer in a 2008 trial. The court also sentenced
seven other activists to as long as eight years in prison. According to
AI, all of the defendants claimed security officials tortured them to
extract confessions that the court later used as evidence at trial. The
activists claimed that prison officials beat them, hung them by their
legs, and subjected them to sleep deprivation.
Police impunity remained a problem. According to local NGOs such as
ASVDH and the Sahwari Collective of Human Rights Defenders (CODESA),
the number of complaints against police filed by persons who claimed to
be victims of human rights abuses declined during the year compared to
2008. However, NGOs alleged that a number of complaints cited the same
police officers for abuses more than once. According to HRW and ASVDH,
authorities dismissed nearly all complaints without collecting evidence
beyond the police version of events.
There was no report at year's end that the government began an
investigation into the May 2008 case of Hamoud Iguilid, who had filed a
complaint with judicial authorities claiming that police detained and
verbally abused him.
According to NGO reports, there was no investigation into the June
2008 use of police force to disperse gatherings celebrating the release
of human rights activist Brahim Sabbar from prison.
The government took some steps during the year to reduce police
impunity. It provided training, including a human rights component, to
security personnel in the territory. The government also reported that
it prosecuted 282 security officials in Morocco and the territory for
various crimes ranging from petty bribery to ``assault and battery
leading to death.'' The government reported that some of these
prosecutions involved officers who committed crimes in the territory;
however, the exact number was uncertain because the government did not
disaggregate the data by region. Past practice has often left alleged
abusers in leadership positions or transferred them.
A delegation of EU parliamentarians visited Laayoune from January
27 to 28 and Tindouf from February 23 to 26. The government allowed the
delegation to meet with all the organizations and individuals they
requested, but maintained obvious police surveillance. Activists
reported that police harassed them in Laayoune on the way to and from
sessions with the delegation as well as days before and after the
meetings. The police arrested and detained one person, beat another,
and seized activists' electronic equipment.
During the year, allegations of abuse and substandard prison
conditions persisted. Government policy permits NGOs that provide
social or religious services to prisoners to enter prison facilities,
but does not permit NGOs that solely have a human rights mission to do
so except when authorized, and no authorization was given during the
year. The Moroccan Observatory of Prisons (OMP) and members of the CCDH
made at least 11 prison visits and filed complaints with government
authorities of substandard conditions or abuses of detainees.
The OMP stated that overcrowding in prisons remained a problem.
Some human rights activists and NGOs charged that the government had
reduced overcrowding by transferring politically active prisoners to
facilities in Morocco as a punishment for activism. The government
stated that while some transfers to Morocco took place, the transfers
were for administrative reasons and the purpose was to improve
conditions.
Human rights and proindependence activists claimed that authorities
arrested them for their political activities but charged them with drug
or other criminal offenses. They also claimed that in cases where
torture was alleged, courts often refused to order medical examinations
or to take into account the results of such examinations, despite laws
requiring investigation into such allegations of abuse for any
individual facing prosecution who requests it. The government reported
that the public prosecutor ordered six medical examinations and judges
ordered 21 medical examinations, in accordance with the law.
Students supporting independence were reportedly detained and
mistreated. Activists stated that authorities regularly took them into
custody, beat them, and released them within 24 hours without formal
arrest or charge.
In September, according to the unregistered NGOs ASVDH and CODESA,
police intervened with excessive force in a few unauthorized
demonstrations in Laayoune, Smara and Dakhla. During a demonstration in
Laayoune, the NGOs accused police of throwing demonstrator Mohamed
Berkan from a window. The government charged Berkan with throwing
Molotov cocktails at police and participating in an unauthorized
demonstration. A court sentenced him to one year in prison and a 200
dirham ($25) fine.
The government maintained the right, under the constitution, to
restrict freedom of speech and press in cases involving the monarchy,
Islam, or the territorial integrity of Morocco (see country report on
Morocco). During the year there were credible reports that government
authorities prevented some foreign journalists from meeting with
proindependence activists. There were no cases of government attempts
to repress journalists or bloggers. The media engaged in self-
censorship, and no views appeared in the media supporting either
independence or a referendum that included independence as an option.
Moroccan and international media, as well as satellite television,
were available in the territory. According to the OpenNet Initiative,
Internet access in the territory was generally open and unrestricted. A
small number of blogs and ``anonymizers'' were blocked.
ASVDH and CODESA stated that in recent years they have applied less
frequently for legal permits to engage in sit-ins and demonstrations
because police rarely granted the permits. In addition to these
limitations, the organizations reported that holding organized
demonstrations became more difficult because police increasingly
harassed them following the king's November 6 speech, in which he
announced a policy of decreased tolerance for individuals who held
proindependence views.
Numerous spontaneous demonstrations erupted on December 18, when
CODESA president and prominent proindependence and human rights
activist Aminatou Haidar returned from 34 days of exile in Spain. The
demonstrations took place peacefully and security forces did not
attempt to limit them. Authorities began to place limitations on
gatherings the following week, especially after some demonstrators
arrived at Haidar's home carrying Polisario flags.
The government enforced strict procedures governing the ability of
NGOs and activists to meet with journalists. Although foreign
journalists needed prior official approval before meeting with
proindependence NGOs, authorities did not always enforce the
requirement prior to the king's November 6 speech.
As in previous years, the government did not allow CODESA or ASVDH
to register as official NGOs, limiting their ability to raise funds
domestically and internationally and to secure space for public
meetings. At year's end, CODESA reported that local authorities had not
acknowledged its most recent application, which it submitted in 2008 by
registered mail. The leadership of ASVDH reported that in 2005 an
Agadir administrative court had found in its favor and ordered the
government to register it, but by year's end the government had not
done so.
The Moroccan government and the Polisario continued to accuse one
another of withholding information regarding approximately 150
Algerians and Polisario supporters (including 58 soldiers) and 213
Moroccans, who remained missing because of the war from 1975 to 1991.
Both sides denied that any former combatants remained in detention.
Corruption by security forces and judicial officials was a problem.
The laws and restrictions regarding religious organizations and
religious freedom in the territory are the same as those in Morocco.
The constitution provides that Islam is the state religion, and that
the state provides the freedom to practice one's religion.
HRW and ASVDH reported instances of authorities preventing foreign
persons from meeting with proindependence activists.
For example, on November 12, Luis Mangrane Cuevas, a lawyer
representing the General Council of the Spanish Bar Associations,
attempted to visit Sultana Khaya, vice president of the Forum for the
Future of Sahrawi Women, at her home in Boujdour. Mangrane had gone to
the region to observe the trial of Sahrawi activist Hassana Alouate.
Police intercepted him near Khaya's house and notified him that he
would not be permitted to enter.
The government restricted the freedom to travel abroad and return
of some Sahrawi activists and others opposed to the government's Sahara
policy.
On August 5, authorities prevented six Sahrawis from leaving the
country to attend a two-week workshop in the United Kingdom regarding
the future of Western Sahara. The police stopped the six from boarding
their flight in Agadir and took them to Laayoune, where authorities
questioned and released them without charge, according to NGO reports.
On October 8, authorities detained seven Sahrawi activists: Ahmed
Alansari, Brahim Dahane, Yahdih Ettarouzi, Saleh Labihi, Dakja Lashgar,
Rachid Sghir, and Ali Salem Tamek. The group, which included
representatives of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, ASVDH and
CODESA, visited Algiers and the refugee camps near Tindouf from
September 26 to October 8 to observe conditions, according to human
rights NGOs. Moroccan officials charged the seven with ``intelligence
cooperation with a foreign entity'' and sent the case to a military
tribunal in Sale in accordance with a Moroccan law that requires that a
military court hear cases involving intelligence charges. Human rights
NGOs claimed the charges were politically motivated. The detainees'
family members also reported to ASVDH that prison officials initially
limited the detainees' access to attorneys and family members and
placed Lashgar in solitary confinement. However, by late December,
families reported that the government allowed them increased access to
the detainees. The detainees awaited trial at year's end.
On November 13, Moroccan authorities refused to allow prominent
Sahrawi independence and human rights activist Aminatou Haidar entry at
the Laayoune International Airport, claiming she stated her nationality
as ``Sahrawi'' and her country of residence as ``Western Sahara.''
Authorities confiscated her passport after she initiated the process of
renouncing Moroccan citizenship and instructed the airline to return
her to the Canary Islands. For 34 days, the government refused to allow
Haidar to return to the territory, despite repeated requests from the
Spanish government and international pressure prompted in part by
Haidar's decision to engage in a hunger strike. Government officials
repeatedly stated in public that the government would return Haidar's
passport and allow her to enter the country only if she met certain
conditions, including a formal apology and a public declaration
acknowledging her Moroccan citizenship. After Haidar's health worsened,
the government allowed her to return on December 18 without meeting
these conditions.
Since 1977 the inhabitants of the Western Saharan provinces of
Laayoune, Smara, Awsard and Boujdour and, since 1983, Oued Ed-Dahab
have participated in Moroccan national and regional elections. In the
June 12 communal elections, only Sahrawis with pro-Moroccan political
views were candidates. Turnout exceeded 70 percent of registered
voters. Domestic observers leveled accusations of corruption,
principally vote buying, in some races.
Relatively little information was available on discrimination in
the territory. In traditional tribal Sahrawi society, women
participated more actively in political and economic activities than
was common among some other North African ethnic groups. Most Sahrawis
in the territory lived in urban or semi-urban environments, and
discrimination in those circumstances paralleled the situation in
Morocco proper. In the June 12 communal elections, women won 13 percent
of seats due partly to the implementation of the same new quota system
used in the internationally recognized part of Morocco, which required
all political parties to include at least 12 percent women on their
party slates.
The Moroccan penal code is in effect and provides for the
imposition of stiff fines and prison terms for individuals involved in
or failing to prevent trafficking in persons. The territory was a
transit region for traffickers of persons.
The labor code applied in the Moroccan-controlled areas of the
territory. Moroccan unions were present in those areas but were not
active. The largest trade confederations are nominally represented in
Laayoune and Dhakla. These include the Moroccan Union of Labor, the
Democratic Confederation of Labor, and the National Union of Moroccan
Workers.
There were no known strikes, other job actions, or collective
bargaining agreements during the year. Most union members were
employees of the Moroccan government or state-owned organizations.
Unions were also active in the phosphate and fishing industries. Wage-
sector workers in the territory typically earned as much as 85 percent
more than their counterparts in Morocco as an inducement to relocate to
the territory. The government exempted workers from income and value-
added taxes.
The labor code prohibited forced or bonded labor, and there were no
reports that such practices occurred.
Regulations on the minimum age of employment were the same as in
Morocco. There were no substantiated reports regarding child labor in
the formal wage sector. There were anecdotal reports of children
working in family-owned businesses or the agricultural sector.
The minimum wage and maximum hours of work in the territory were
identical to those in Morocco. In practice, during peak periods workers
in fish processing plants worked as many as 12 hours per day, six days
per week during peak periods. Occupational health and safety standards
were the same in Morocco and enforcement was rudimentary, except for a
prohibition on the employment of women in dangerous occupations.
__________
OMAN
The Sultanate of Oman is a hereditary monarchy with a population of
3.3 million, including approximately one million nonnationals. Sultan
Qaboos Al Bu Sa'id has ruled since 1970. The sultan has the sole
authority to amend the country's laws through royal decree, although
ministries draft laws and citizens provide input through the 84-member
Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council), an elected advisory
institution. In 2007 approximately 245,000 registered voters
participated in generally free and fair elections for all of the
council's seats. The sultan appoints the 71-member Majlis al Dawla
(State Council); it and the Majlis al Shura review legislation,
recommend policy, and conduct studies on public policy. The 32-member
cabinet of ministers advises the sultan on government decisions.
Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of security
forces.
Citizens did not have the right to change their government;
however, operating under a system of rule of law based on the Basic Law
of 1996, the government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens. The government placed some restrictions on privacy and
freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion.
Instances of discrimination and domestic violence toward women were
reported. There were also isolated reports some employers placed
expatriate laborers in situations indicative of forced labor or abuse.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful
killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Office, part
of the cabinet, controls internal and external security and coordinates
all intelligence and security policies. Under the Royal Office, the
Internal Security Service investigates all matters related to internal
security, and the Sultan's Special Force has limited border security
and antismuggling responsibility. The Royal Oman Police (ROP), also
part of the cabinet, performs regular police duties, provides security
at points of entry, serves as the country's immigration and customs
agency, and operates the coast guard. The Ministry of Defense, and in
particular the Royal Army of Oman, is responsible for securing the
borders and has limited domestic security responsibilities. The
security forces performed their duties effectively.
There were isolated reports of corruption during the year. The
ROP's Directorate General of Inquiries and Criminal Investigation is
charged with investigating allegations of police abuse and turns its
findings over to the Directorate General of Human Resources for
disciplinary action. There was no public information about ROP internal
disciplinary action. Officers received human rights training as part of
the police academy's standard training program.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law does
not require police to obtain a warrant before making an arrest. The law
provides that within 48 hours of arrest, police must either release the
accused or refer the matter to the public prosecutor. Within 24 hours,
the public prosecutor must formally arrest or release the person.
Authorities respected these rights in practice. Detainees were
generally informed promptly of the charges against them. The state
provided public attorneys to indigent detainees. Authorities must
obtain court orders to hold suspects in pretrial detention. Judges may
order detentions for 14 days to allow investigation and may grant
extensions. There was a functioning system of bail. Detainees generally
had prompt access to a lawyer of their choice. Police sometimes failed
to notify a detainee's family, or the detainee's sponsor in the case of
an expatriate laborer, of the detention. There were isolated reports
authorities detained without charge foreign workers suspected of being
in the country illegally, pending confirmation of their immigration
status.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the sultan may act as a court of final
appeal and exercise his power of pardon as chairman of the Supreme
Judicial Council, the country's highest legal body, which is empowered
to review all judicial decisions.
The Ministry of Justice administers all courts. The magistrate
court system is composed of courts of first instance, courts of appeal,
and the Supreme Court. There are 42 courts of first instance throughout
the sultanate to hear civil, criminal, commercial, labor, and personal
status cases. One judge presides over each court of first instance.
There are six courts of appeal, each with a panel of three appointed
judges. The Supreme Court, comprising five judges, standardizes legal
principles, reviews decisions of lower courts, and monitors judges in
their application and interpretation of the law. The sultan can pardon
or reduce sentences but cannot overturn a Supreme Court verdict. The
Supreme Judicial Council can hear appeals beyond the Supreme Court.
Members of the Supreme Judicial Council included the president of the
Supreme Court, the minister of justice, the public prosecutor, and the
ROP inspector general.
Principles of Shari'a inform the civil, commercial, and criminal
codes. Laws governing family and personal status are based on the
government's interpretation of Shari'a.
The Administrative Court, under the authority of the Diwan of the
Royal Court, reviews complaints about the misuse of governmental
authority. It has the power to reverse decisions by government bodies
and to award compensation. Appointments to this court are subject to
the approval of the Administrative Affairs Council. The court's
president and deputy president are appointed by royal decree based on
the council's nomination.
The State Security Court tries cases involving national security
and criminal matters requiring expeditious or especially sensitive
handling. The security court procedures mirror those applicable
elsewhere in the criminal system. The sultan may exercise his powers to
extend leniency, including cases involving state security.
Military and security personnel are subject to a military tribunal
system of justice with limited outside visibility or access.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and the judiciary generally enforced this right for all citizens. The
law also provides for the presumption of innocence. There is no jury
trial. Citizens and legally resident noncitizens have the right to a
public trial, except when the court decides to hold a session in
private in the interest of public order or morals.
Defendants have the right to be present, to consult with an
attorney in a timely manner, and to present evidence and confront
witnesses. The prosecution and defense counsel direct questions to
witnesses through the judge. Defendants and their lawyers generally had
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Courts
provide public attorneys to indigent detainees and offer legal defense
for defendants facing prison terms of three years or more. Those
convicted in any court may appeal a jail sentence longer than three
months and fines of more than 480 rials (approximately $1,250).
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Applicable civil procedure
codes govern civil cases. Citizens and nationals of other countries
were able to file cases in the courts. There were instances in which
courts ruled in favor of foreign domestic servants against their
sponsors, requiring sponsors to return the workers' passports and allow
them to break the employment contract. In some instances, the court
issued orders to apprehend the sponsor and force his or her appearance
before the court. Citizens and foreign workers can lodge complaints
regarding working conditions with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for
administrative redress. The MOM may refer cases to the courts if the
ministry is unable to negotiate a solution.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law provides for broad governmental discretion,
which the government exercised in practice.
The law does not require police to obtain search warrants before
entering homes, although police often obtained warrants from the public
prosecutor's office. The government monitored private communications,
including cell phones, e-mail, and Internet chat room exchanges. The
Ministry of Interior (MOI) required citizens to obtain permission to
marry foreigners, except nationals of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries; permission was not granted automatically. Citizen marriage
to a foreigner abroad without MOI approval may cause the foreign spouse
to be denied entry into the country and prevent a legitimate child from
claiming citizenship rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for limited
freedom of speech and of the press. The government generally abridged
these rights in practice. Journalists and writers exercised self-
censorship.
The law prohibits criticism of the sultan in any form or medium;
``material that leads to public discord, violates the security of the
state, or abuses a person's dignity or his rights''; ``messages of any
form that violate public order and morals or are harmful to a person's
safety''; and ``defamation of character.'' Courts have interpreted
these laws to mean it is illegal to insult any public official.
There are seven privately owned newspapers in the country, four in
Arabic and three in English. Editorials generally were consistent with
the government's views, although authorities tolerated limited
criticism regarding domestic and foreign affairs, including GCC
policies, which the country participated in determining. In addition,
there were two state-owned newspapers and more than 30 state-owned and
privately owned magazines in circulation. The government owned four
radio stations and two television stations and licensed one privately
owned satellite-based television station, none of which generally
broadcast politically controversial material. There were three private
radio stations broadcasting occasional news bulletins supplied by the
state-owned Oman News Agency. Access to foreign broadcasts via
satellite is permitted and was widespread. There was no permanent
international media presence in the country. Occasional international
reporting tended to focus on special events or human interest stories.
The MOI reviewed all media products produced in or imported into
the country and prohibited or censored material viewed as politically,
culturally, or sexually offensive from all domestic and imported
publications. All content in both public and private print outlets was
subject to an official, nontransparent review and approval process
before publication.
Unlike previous years, there were no reports of media companies
refusing to publish articles by journalists who had previously
criticized the government. Authorities tolerated a limited degree of
criticism of policies, government officials, and agencies, particularly
via the Internet. Such criticism rarely appeared in traditional mass
media.
The government used libel laws and concerns for national security
as grounds to suppress criticism of government figures and politically
objectionable views.
There were no major publishing houses in the country and limited
publication of books. The government restricted the importation,
distribution, and publication of books as it did other media products.
Internet Freedom.--The law restricted free speech via the Internet,
and the government enforced the restrictions. The government's national
telecommunications company made Internet access available for a fee to
citizens and foreign residents. Despite infrastructure increases, less
than 5 percent of the population had subscription Internet access at
year's end. Internet access was available via schools, workplaces, wide
area networks at coffee shops, and other venues, especially in urban
areas, and approximately 20 percent of the country's inhabitants used
the Internet, according to 2008 International Telecommunication Union
statistics.
The government's telecommunications company restricted access to
numerous Web sites considered pornographic, culturally or politically
sensitive, or competitive with local telecommunications services. The
criteria for blocking Internet sites were not transparent. The
government placed warnings on other Web sites that criticism of the
sultan or personal criticism of government officials would be censored
and could lead to police questioning, effectively increasing self-
censorship. The government also monitored Internet communications and
reportedly questioned some chat room contributors who were critical of
government officials or policies, or whose postings precipitated
criticism, after identifying the contributors through their Internet
service provider addresses. There were reports Web site administrators
removed chat room or blog postings, but it was unclear whether such
censorship was self-imposed or in response to government requests.
During the year several Web sites were rigorously cautious
concerning content, and moderators reportedly were quick to delete
potentially offensive material.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government limited
academic freedom, particularly publishing on or discussing
controversial matters such as domestic politics, through the threat of
dismissal. Academics largely practiced self-censorship. There were no
reported cases during the year in which the government dismissed an
academic on these grounds.
The appropriate government authority must approve all public
cultural events. There were indications organizations avoided
controversial issues due to the belief authorities might not approve
such events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for circumscribed freedom of assembly, and
the government restricted the exercise of this right in practice. Prior
government approval was necessary for all public gatherings.
Authorities enforced this requirement, with rare exceptions.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association ``for legitimate objectives and in a proper manner.'' The
Council of Ministers approves the establishment of nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs)--officially recognized as associations--to work on
a set of acceptable issues, including women, children, the elderly,
persons with disabilities, the environment, and others approved by the
council. The council limited freedom of association in practice by
prohibiting associations whose activities were deemed ``inimical to the
social order'' or otherwise not appropriate and did not license groups
regarded as a threat to the predominant social and political views or
the interests of the country. Associations must also register with the
Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), which approves association
bylaws. The average time required to receive approval and register an
association was approximately two years, although the process could be
as short as two months. Approval time varied based on the level of
preparedness of the applying organization and was often longer because
the group required significant help from the MoSD to formalize its
structure. Formal registration of nationality-based associations was
limited to one association for each nationality.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for the freedom to
practice religious rites as long as doing so does not disrupt public
order. The government generally respected this right, albeit within
defined parameters that placed limitations on the right in practice. By
law Islam is the state religion and Shari'a is the basis of
legislation. Most citizens were Ibadhi or Sunni Muslims, with some Shia
and a few non-Muslim citizens. The government permitted worship by non-
Muslim residents. All religious organizations must be registered with
the government.
Non-Muslims were free to worship at churches and temples built on
land the sultan donated. The government prohibits religious gatherings
in locations other than government-approved houses of worship; it
enforces this limitation only if there is a specific complaint, and
there were no reports of such complaints during the year.
Islam was taught from a cultural and historical perspective in
public and private schools, and Islamic studies were mandatory for
Muslim students. Non-Muslim students in both systems were exempt from
this requirement, and many private schools provided alternate religious
instruction.
The law does not prohibit proselytizing, but the Ministry of
Endowments and Religious Affairs (MERA) can stop individuals or groups
from engaging in proselytizing if the ministry receives complaints. The
government may use immigration regulations and laws against harassment
to enforce the ministry's policy.
The MERA monitored sermons at mosques to ensure imams did not
discuss political topics or instigate religious hatred or divisions.
The government expected all imams to preach sermons within the
parameters of standardized texts the ministry distributed monthly.
Imams may be suspended or dismissed for exceeding government
boundaries. There were no reported suspensions or dismissals during the
year. The government monitored, but did not attempt to control the
content of sermons in non-Muslim places of worship.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal violence or harassment against members of religious groups.
There was no Jewish population, and there were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts or public statements by community or national leaders
vilifying Jews. Anti-Semitism was present in the media. Anti-Semitic
editorial cartoons depicting stereotypical and negative images of Jews,
along with Jewish symbols, were published during the year, primarily in
the privately owned daily newspaper Al-Watan. A senior columnist at the
privately owned sister papers The Times of Oman/Al-Shabiba on several
occasions attacked Israeli actions and policies in anti-Semitic tones,
including the use of citations from the Protocols of the Elders of
Zion.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country and repatriation, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice. The law does not
specifically provide for foreign travel or emigration; however, the
government generally respected these rights in practice. The Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees did not visit the country during
the year, and it did not maintain an office or personnel in the
country. The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reported
cases during the year.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 protocol.
Nevertheless, the law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee
status, and the government has established a system for providing
protection to refugees. The ROP is responsible for determining refugee
status but did not grant asylum or accept refugees for resettlement
during the year. The ROP's system for granting refugee status was not
transparent, and the law does not specify a time frame in which the ROP
must adjudicate an asylum application.
In practice the government did not provide protection against the
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened. Tight control over the entry of foreigners effectively
limited access to protection for refugees and asylum seekers.
Authorities apprehended and deported hundreds of Somalis, Yemenis,
Ethiopians, and Eritreans who sought to enter the country illegally by
land and sea in the South, and Afghans and Pakistanis who generally
came to the country by boat via Iran in the North. Authorities
generally detained these persons in centers in Salalah or the northern
port city of Sohar, where they stayed an average of one month before
being deported to their countries of origin.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens with the right to change their
government. The sultan retains ultimate authority on all foreign and
domestic issues.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2007 more than 60
percent of almost 400,000 registered voters participated in elections
for the Consultative Council, which has no formal legislative powers
but provides a mechanism for citizen input into the establishment of
laws. Electoral commissions reviewed potential candidates against a set
of educational and character criteria before allowing candidates' names
on the ballot. There were no notable or widespread allegations of fraud
or improper government interference in the voting process. Although the
government did not permit independent monitoring of the elections, the
Ministry of Information invited foreign journalists to cover the voting
in several locations throughout the country.
The law does not provide for political parties.
There were 14 women in the 154-seat Council of Oman, which includes
the Consultative Council and the State Council, whose members are
appointed by the sultan. There were four appointed female ministers,
three of whom served in the 32-member cabinet.
The Council of Oman and the Cabinet of Ministers were composed of
representatives from a variety of linguistic, religious, racial, and
other backgrounds.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption and the
government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws.
The law does not provide public access to government information.
All royal decrees and ministerial decisions were published for public
access.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were no registered domestic human rights NGOs or fully
autonomous human rights groups in the country. There was a government-
funded human rights commission to report on human rights via the State
Council to the sultan.
No association may receive funding from an international group
without government approval. Individuals convicted of doing so may
receive up to six months in jail and a fine of 500 rials (approximately
$1,310). Heads of domestic NGOs reported the government periodically
asked to review their financial records to confirm sources of funding
and required NGOs to inform the government of any meetings with foreign
organizations or diplomatic missions.
The government allowed several international organizations to work
in the country without interference, including the UN Children's Fund,
the World Health Organization, and the International Labor
Organization.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination against citizens on the basis of
gender, ethnic origin, race, language, religion, place of residence,
and social class. The government generally enforced prohibitions on
discrimination effectively.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape with penalties up to 15 years in
prison, but it does not criminalize spousal rape. The government
generally enforced the law when cases were reported, but cultural and
societal influences may have prevented victims from reporting rape. As
a result, there was no reliable estimate of the extent of the problem.
Foreign nationals working as domestic employees occasionally reported
they had been raped by their sponsors or by employees of labor
recruitment agencies. According to officials in foreign missions,
police investigations resulted in few rape convictions; sponsors
repatriated most of the women who made the allegations.
The law does not specifically address domestic violence. Assault,
battery, and aggravated assault carry a maximum sentence of three years
in prison. Allegations of spousal abuse in civil courts handling family
law cases were reportedly common. Victims of domestic violence may file
a complaint with police; due to cultural and societal customs, women
often sought private family intervention to protect them from violent
domestic situations. Authorities generally enforced the law when they
were aware such crimes had occurred.
There is no law prohibiting female genital mutilation (FGM), but
the Ministry of Health prohibited doctors from performing the procedure
in hospitals. The issue remained sensitive and was not publicly
discussed. Planners at the Ministry of Health did not take action to
eliminate FGM during the year.
Prostitution was illegal. Observers reported, however, despite
strict cultural norms and immigration controls, women from Eastern
Europe, South Asia, North Africa, and China engaged in prostitution.
The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment. In a
recent study, 11 percent of women surveyed said they had been sexually
harassed.
The government recognized the basic right of couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and
timing of their children. Health clinics were permitted to operate
freely in disseminating information on family planning under the
guidance of the Ministry of Health. There are no legal restrictions on
the right to access contraceptives. The government guaranteed free
childbirth services to citizens within the framework of universal
health care. Prenatal and postnatal care was readily available. Men and
women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV.
Despite legal and some social progress, including the appointment
of women as ministers, ambassadors, and senior government officials,
women continued to face discrimination. Aspects of Islamic law and
tradition as interpreted in the country discriminated against women.
The law favors male heirs in adjudicating inheritance. Many women were
reluctant to take an inheritance dispute to court for fear of
alienating the family. Women married to noncitizens may not transmit
citizenship to their children and cannot sponsor their noncitizen
husband's presence in the country.
Women may own property. Government officials applied different
standards to female applicants for housing loans, resulting in fewer
approvals for women. The law equalizes the treatment of men and women
in receiving free government land for housing, and in April the
government began allocating land to women to address concerns about
inequality in access to land ownership. Illiteracy among women 45 and
older hampered their ability to own property, participate in the
workforce, or inform themselves about their rights.
Government policy provided women with equal opportunities for
education, and educated women have attained positions of authority in
government, business, and the media, but women still faced some job
discrimination based on cultural norms. In both the public and private
sectors, women were entitled to maternity leave and equal pay for equal
work. The government, the country's largest employer of women, observed
such regulations, as did many private sector employers.
The MoSD is the umbrella ministry for women's affairs. The ministry
provided support for women's economic development through the Oman
Women's Association and local community development centers.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents. Although
women married to noncitizens may not transmit citizenship to their
children, there were no reported cases of statelessness. All births
were registered promptly.
Primary school education for children, including noncitizen
children, was free and universal, but not compulsory.
There were reports of FGM performed on some girls ages one to nine.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes. Nonetheless, there were reports persons were
trafficked to and through the country. The sultanate was a destination
for men and women trafficked primarily from Pakistan, Bangladesh,
India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines, some of whom became
victims when they were subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude
as domestic workers and laborers. It was a transit point for such
victims from those countries en route primarily to the United Arab
Emirates, but also to other Gulf countries. It was also a destination
country for women from the People's Republic of China, the Philippines,
India, Morocco, and Eastern Europe for commercial sexual exploitation.
Labor recruiting agencies in sending countries sometimes used false
contracts for employment. Some employers of illegal immigrants
exploited their employees based on their illegal status. Some foreign
female household workers were lured into prostitution with the promises
of higher wages.
Persons convicted on trafficking charges face three to 15 years in
prison and fines of 5,000 to 100,000 rials (approximately $13,000 to
$260,000). The government arrested, prosecuted, and punished
individuals in two trafficking cases during the year.
On May 27, a court in Seeb sentenced 11 men to seven years'
imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 rials ($26,000) each for trafficking
Arab women through Oman for prostitution in another Gulf country.
On September 6, a court in Sohar sentenced two men to seven years'
imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 rials ($26,000) each for trafficking
in persons and forced prostitution.
The MOM, ROP, and public prosecutor's office are primarily
responsible for combating trafficking. The government worked with
foreign governments to prevent trafficking in persons. During the year
the government maintained its 2008 memorandum of understanding with
India regarding the treatment of its expatriate workers in the country
and also worked with sending countries to identify and prosecute
recruitment agencies involved in trafficking.
The government made significant efforts to combat trafficking
during the year, including training for the police on the
identification of trafficking victims and screening of immigrants who
are apprehended for entering the country illegally. The government
continued to provide shelter, financial assistance, and counseling to
trafficking victims at appropriate facilities. There were no reports
government officials were involved in trafficking.
In the two trafficking cases concluded during the year, the
government provided accommodation for the victims in a specially
arranged shelter with access to health care. The government paid for
the victims to be repatriated as they desired at the conclusion of the
cases.
The MOM conducted rigorous inspections of privately owned companies
to identify victims of trafficking during the year. The government
continued to operate a 24-hour hotline to register complaints from
potential victims and held training sessions for MOM, public
prosecutors, and ROP officials on trafficking and forced labor during
the year. In October the government launched an antitrafficking Web
site and published a national plan to combat trafficking in persons.
The plan outlines the roles and responsibilities of each government
entity involved in combating trafficking in persons and lists factors
to assist authorities in identifying trafficking victims. It also
established a secretariat to collect and publish data related to
trafficking in persons.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides persons with
disabilities the same rights prescribed for other citizens; however,
there was no protective legislation to ensure equal educational
opportunities for them. Persons with disabilities also faced societal
discrimination.
The law mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities,
but many older buildings (including government buildings and schools)
were not retrofitted to conform to the law. The law also requires
private enterprises employing more than 50 persons to reserve at least
2 percent of positions for persons with disabilities. In practice this
regulation was not widely enforced.
The MoSD is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code criminalizes
homosexuality with a jail term of six months to three years. There were
no reports of prosecutions for homosexual conduct during the year.
The discussion of sexual orientation in any context remained a
social taboo. There was no official or overt societal discrimination
based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, or access to
education or health care.
Other Societal Discrimination.--The government does not permit
foreigners with HIV/AIDS to work in the country.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The government recognizes workers'
rights to form unions and a general federation to represent unions in
regional and international fora. Members of the armed forces, public
security institutions, government employees, and domestic workers are
prohibited from forming or joining unions. At year's end according to
the MOM, there were 80 unions at the enterprise level.
Workers have the right to strike. They must give employers three
weeks' notice of intent to strike.
Some government control over union activities remained. The law
prohibits accepting grants or financial assistance from any source
without the MOM's prior approval. The government also requires unions
to register. The law prohibits unions among civil servants and most
essential services, thus preventing strikes as well. Any worker in the
country who feels his or her rights have been violated can lodge a
complaint with the MOM. The MOM investigated complaints and responded
appropriately.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows
for collective bargaining, and regulations require employers to engage
in collective bargaining on the terms and conditions of employment,
including wages and hours of work. The law prohibits employers from
firing or imposing penalties for union activity.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor. There were reports that adult forced labor
occurred. Some men and women from South and Southeast Asia, most of
whom migrated voluntarily to the country as domestic servants or low-
skilled workers in the construction, agriculture, and service sectors,
subsequently faced conditions indicative of involuntary servitude,
including withholding of passports and other restrictions on movement,
nonpayment of wages, long working hours without food or rest, threats,
and physical or sexual abuse. Some employers of domestic workers,
contrary to the law, continued to withhold documents releasing the
workers from employment contracts or demanded release fees totaling as
much as 600 rials (approximately $1,560) before allowing the workers to
change employers.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits all child labor; the minimum age for employment is 15, or
18 for certain hazardous occupations. Children 15 to 18 may only work
between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Minors are prohibited from
working for more than six hours per day, on weekends, or on holidays.
Child labor did not exist in any formal industry. As a cultural
practice, Bedouin children sometimes voluntarily participated in camel
racing for their families, despite the 18-year minimum age for camel
riders.
The MOM generally enforced the law effectively; in practice,
enforcement often did not extend to small family businesses that
employed underage children, particularly in the agricultural and
fishing sectors.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage for citizens of
140 rials (approximately $364) per month did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. Minimum wage regulations
did not apply to a variety of occupations and businesses, including
small businesses employing fewer than five persons, dependent family
members working for a family firm, and some categories of manual
laborers. There is no minimum wage for foreign workers. There were
reports migrant laborers in some firms and households worked more than
12-hour days for as little as 30 rials ($78) per month. The MOM
effectively enforced the minimum wage for citizens.
The private sector workweek was 40 to 45 hours and included a rest
period from Thursday afternoon through Friday. Government workers had a
35-hour workweek. Although the law does not designate the number of
days in a workweek, it requires at least one 24-hour rest period per
week and mandates overtime pay for hours in excess of 48 per week.
Government regulations regarding hours of employment were not always
enforced, especially for foreign workers. Employees who worked extra
hours without compensation could file a complaint with the MOM's
Directorate of Labor Care.
The law states an employee may remove himself or herself from
dangerous work without jeopardy to continued employment if the employer
knew about the danger and did not implement corrective measures.
Employees covered under the labor law may receive compensation for job-
related injury or illness through employer-provided medical insurance.
Domestic workers are not covered under the labor law, but separate
domestic employment regulations obligate the employer to provide
domestic workers with local medical treatment free of charge throughout
the contract period. Medical professionals reported some employers did
not provide low-skilled migrant workers with medical insurance or
provided them with coverage as low as five rials (approximately $13)
per month, with any excess costs deducted from their salaries.
Inspectors from the Department of Health and Safety of the Labor Care
Directorate generally enforced the health and safety standard codes and
made regular onsite inspections as required by law. Additional training
was conducted for these inspectors during the year.
__________
QATAR
Qatar is a constitutional monarchy headed by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin
Khalifa Al-Thani. The population is approximately 1.8 million, of whom
approximately 225,000 are citizens. The emir exercises full executive
power. The 2005 constitution provides for continued hereditary rule by
the emir's male branch of the Al-Thani family. Shari'a (Islamic law) is
the main source of legislation. The emir approves or rejects
legislation after consultation with the appointed 35-member Advisory
Council and cabinet. There are no elections for national leadership,
and the law forbids political parties. In 2007 citizens elected the 29
members of the Central Municipal Council. Reports based on monitoring
by the government-appointed National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and
informal observations by diplomatic missions noted no apparent
irregularities. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective
control of security forces.
Citizens lacked the right to change the leadership of their
government by election. There were prolonged detentions in overcrowded
and harsh facilities, often ending in deportation. The government
placed restrictions on civil liberties, including freedoms of speech,
press (including the Internet), assembly, association, and religion.
Foreign laborers faced restrictions on foreign travel. Trafficking in
persons, primarily in the labor and domestic worker sectors, was a
problem. Legal, institutional, and cultural discrimination against
women limited their participation in society. The unresolved legal
status of ``Bidoons'' (stateless persons with residency ties) resulted
in discrimination against these noncitizens. Authorities severely
restricted worker rights, especially for foreign laborers and domestic
servants.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed torture. The
2008 NHRC report cited receipt of information in two cases of ``ill-
treatment'' and indicated that authorities took ``due and necessary
action.'' Documentation of abuses was limited due partly to hesitancy
of alleged victims to make public claims of torture or abuse. The
government interprets Shari'a as allowing corporal punishment.
During the year the government conducted training for law
enforcement and military personnel focusing on the prohibition of
torture. A 2006 UN Committee Against Torture Report questioned the
country's implementation of its obligations under the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, citing the lack of a comprehensive definition of torture in
domestic law and the absence of training and education for law
enforcement personnel, medical personnel, and public officials about
the prohibition. Under the constitution, the terms of all international
agreements ratified by the government become domestic law, and the
government considers its definition of torture to be the one contained
in the UN convention.
At year's end a police officer's appeal was pending of his
conviction for mistreatment in 2006 of an Indian citizen who alleged
that police intentionally burned him with cigarettes during
interrogation.
Courts ordered corporal punishment (flogging) prescribed by
interpretation of Shari'a in cases of alcohol consumption. On appeal,
the court typically reduced this type of sentence to a fine.
Authorities did not carry out corporal punishment during the year.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--In some prisons and
detention centers, conditions did not meet international standards.
During the year there were no monitoring visits or requests to visit by
independent human rights observers. The government-appointed NHRC
conducted regular visits to prisons, jails, and detention centers, but
it did not visit the state security prison. Authorities informed the
NHRC of the citizenship of prisoners and detainees, and the NHRC
monitored the length of each person's detention. According to some
embassies, the government frequently delayed notification of arrest.
The NHRC reported that the Deportation Detention Center (DDC) held an
estimated 1,000 male and 300 female detainees during the year. The
government granted foreign embassy personnel regular access to the DDC
and the central prison. The government did not approve requests to
visit the state security prison and police detention centers.
The Capital Police Detention Center (CPDC) had better conditions
with beds and separation according to gender. In the state security
prison, conditions were generally better than at the central prison.
The DDC held some male and female detainees awaiting civil trial or
persons awaiting criminal trial together with persons awaiting
deportation. The central prison held some pretrial detainees with
convicted prisoners because of overcrowding at the CPDC. The Ministry
of Social Affairs had authority over juvenile detainees and held them
separately under the supervision of a social worker.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention. Authorities may detain individuals in
the state security prison for indefinite periods under the Protection
of Society and Combating Terrorism Law. There were no reports of
arbitrary arrest or detention, and the NHRC reported during the year
authorities released three persons previously held under the law.
Processing speed for deportations increased for most DDC detainees
during the year with the period of detention ranging from two days to
three months.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the military and internal police
forces. Police, under the authority of the Ministry of Interior (MOI),
were responsible for general security, combating crime, and protecting
public facilities, and the population generally regarded police as
effective. The government had mechanisms to investigate abuse and
corruption. During the year the government instituted training to
prevent corruption and torture by police, and reports of official
impunity decreased.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Criminal law
requires that persons be apprehended openly with warrants based on
sufficient evidence and issued by a duly authorized official, be
charged within 24 hours, and be brought before a court without undue
delay. Authorities respected this in practice. The Protection of
Society and Combating Terrorism Law provides an exception that permits
detention without charge for as long as two years (in six-month periods
that can be extended) and allows detention for as long as six months
without charge for investigation, extendable indefinitely by a special
court order. Decisions under the law were not subject to appeal. The
law empowers the minister of interior to detain a defendant for crimes
related to national security, honor, or impudence. Although generally
not used, a provision of the law permits the prime minister to
adjudicate complaints against these detentions.
In most cases a judge may order a suspect released, remanded to
custody to await trial, held in pretrial detention pending
investigation, or released on bail. Although suspects are entitled to
bail (except in cases of violent crimes), it is used infrequently in
practice. Authorities were more likely to grant citizens bail than
noncitizens. Noncitizens charged with minor crimes may be released to
their citizen sponsor, although they may not leave the country until
the case is resolved.
Judges may also extend pretrial detention for one month at a time
to provide authorities additional time to conduct investigations. The
accused is entitled to legal representation throughout the process and
prompt access to family members in nonsecurity cases. There are
provisions for state-funded legal counsel for indigents in criminal
cases, and this requirement is generally honored in practice.
Authorities generally afforded suspects detained under the Protection
of Society and Combating Terrorism Law access to counsel but delayed
access to family members. Once convicted of state security violations,
prisoners were held in the state security prison.
The Permanent Committee on Examining the Conditions of Inmates at
the DDC was charged with reviewing and acting on the cases of those in
custody for two months.
Amnesty.--A committee within the MOI reviews individual cases for
possible leniency and makes recommendations to the emir, who
customarily grants amnesties on holy days and other special occasions.
During Ramadan the emir granted amnesty to 205 prisoners, of whom 168
were noncitizens. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that
the emir pardoned prisoners on National Human Rights Day.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but the emir, based on the recommendation of the
Supreme Judicial Council, appoints all judges. They hold their
positions at his discretion. Approximately 75 percent of the judges
were foreign nationals dependent on residency permits granted by civil
authorities. During the year there were no reports of political or
governmental interference or corruption in the courts. Although the
emir has the ability to remove judges, he has never exercised the
power.
The law provides for a three-tiered court system: the courts of
first instance, appeals, and cassation. The courts of first instance
are the courts of justice (civil, criminal, and commercial). The court
of appeals hears appeals of decisions from the courts of first
instance. Legal reforms in 2003 eliminated separate Shari'a courts,
although Shari'a still governs family cases heard by the civil courts.
The Court of Cassation hears cases from the appeals court and has four
chambers, two for appeals of civil cases and two for appeals of
criminal cases. The Court of Cassation is the court of final appeal,
except on constitutional matters. A separate Supreme Constitutional
Court rules on disputes related to the constitutionality of laws and
rules and the jurisdiction of lower courts.
An administrative court of at least one circuit exists within each
of the three tiers (first instance, appeal, and cassation). Each
circuit consists of three judges and is the sole party concerned with
settling administrative disputes between government entities.
There are no provisions in the law for establishment of security
tribunals. The existing court system would handle such cases. The
constitution provides for establishment of military tribunals, but
their use is restricted to periods of martial law, and only military
crimes committed by members of the armed forces and other security
forces may come before such tribunals.
There are provisions for nonjudicial proceedings for administrative
discipline of military and security personnel, but during the year no
such proceedings were reported.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial
for all citizens, and the judiciary generally enforced this right.
The law provides defendants the presumption of innocence; in
practice, those charged with a crime carry the burden of disproving at
trial the charge against them.
All litigants, regardless of religion or citizenship, are tried in
the unified court system under the Supreme Judicial Council, which
regulates the judiciary. Trials are by jury and open to the public, but
the presiding judge can close the courtroom to the public if he deems
the case to be sensitive. Due to an October 2008 court of cassation
ruling, the media has limited access to courts since journalists must
obtain a judge's permission to attend. All sentences are publicly
announced.
Lawyers prepare litigants and speak for them during the hearing,
with interpreters provided for non-Arabic speakers. Defendants are
entitled to legal representation throughout the pretrial and trial
process. In matters involving religious issues, Shia and Sunni judges
may apply their interpretations for their respective groups. There was
an adequate number of both Shia and Sunni judges.
The courts reached verdicts in felony cases within four to six
months of detention, and in misdemeanor cases within one to two months
of citation.
Defendants have the right to be present for trial and to consult
with an attorney in a timely manner. Their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases, once the case has
been filed in the court. Defendants have the right to confront and
question witnesses against them and to present witnesses and evidence
on their own behalf. Defendants have the right of appeal.
Although there are no separate Shari'a courts, the application of
Shari'a denied women equal status in certain civil proceedings.
The high fee for appealing to the Court of Cassation restricts the
right to appeal. The appellant must deposit 20,000 riyals
(approximately $5,500) for the appeal in a case decided by the court of
appeals and 5,000 riyals ($1,375) in a case decided by the court of
first instance. An appeal to the court of appeals costs 1,000 riyals
($364). Litigants must deposit 10,000 riyals ($2,750) for an appeal to
the Constitutional Court. Deposits may be seized, in whole or in part,
should the court decide to reject the appeal.
On September 27, the Supreme Constitutional Court, established in
2008, started to function following the nomination of Mubarak al-
Assiri, head of the Supreme Judicial Council, as chief justice. The
jurisdiction of the court is specifically limited to cases that involve
constitutional questions.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reported
political prisoners or detainees during the year.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law and judiciary
permit persons with civil grievances to seek redress in the court
system, although the majority of administrative decisions by the
executive authority are immune from judicial jurisdiction, according to
the 2008 NHRC report. The judiciary is not impartial and independent in
practice, and judgments tend to favor citizens. The law specifies
circumstances that necessitate a judge's removal from a case for
conflict of interest, and these were observed in practice. There are
civil and criminal remedies available for those seeking damages for, or
cessation of, human rights violations, but there were no cases reported
during the year. There were no reports that a noncitizen won a judicial
decision in a case involving an alleged civil grievance.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the criminal procedures code
prohibit such actions, and the government generally respected these
prohibitions in practice. Traditional attitudes of respect for the
sanctity of the home and the privacy of women provided protection
against arbitrary intrusion for both citizens and noncitizens. Judicial
authorities must grant a warrant before police may search a residence
or business, except in cases involving national security or
emergencies, of which there were none reported during the year. Police
and security forces reportedly monitored telephone calls and e-mails.
Citizens must obtain government permission, which was generally
granted, to marry foreigners. Citizens may apply for residency permits
or citizenship for their spouses. The nationality law allows men and
women to apply for citizenship for their spouses.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press in accordance with the law, but the
government limited these rights in practice. Journalists and publishers
continued to self-censor due to political and economic pressures when
reporting on government policies or material deemed hostile to Islam,
the ruling family, and relations with neighboring states. There were no
reports that security authorities threatened individuals and
organizations to keep them from publishing certain articles. According
to journalists, editors would not permit printing the names of
companies involved in labor cases. The law provides the press the right
to attend the court proceedings, but the court may bar the media on a
case-by-case basis.
The 1979 Press and Publications Law provides for restrictive
procedures on the establishment of newspapers and criminal penalties
and prison sentences for libel and slander, including injury to
dignity, as well as for closure and confiscation of assets of the
publication. All cases involving the media fall under the jurisdiction
of the criminal courts.
In 2007 the emir established the Doha Center for Media Freedom to
protect threatened journalists and to promote the free flow of news and
information around the world. On June 19, Robert Menard, the former
head of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Reporters without
Borders (RSF), and three other officials of the center stepped down. In
Menard's view, authorities had ``suffocated'' the center, and he
protested the country's refusal to reform the ``obsolete'' and
``repressive'' laws governing the media that, he said, ``made it
impossible for the center to criticize any other country for imposing
restrictions on media freedom.'' The center was largely inactive since
June, and its Web site was unavailable at year's end.
Prior to Menard's departure, according to several media NGOs, the
center provided assistance to 250 journalists and media organizations
worldwide through direct funding and legal and medical assistance.
Local media criticized the center for alleged lack of support to
journalists and lack of regard for cultural values in the region.
After the Doha Center intervened during the year, authorities
dismissed the case against Gulf Times reporter Peter Townson. Towson
was arrested and charged in October 2008 with ``spreading racial
hatred'' and bringing the country into ``disrepute'' after he filed
stories on ``family day'' policies that prevent Asian laborers from
entering entertainment areas on certain days.
Citizens discussed sensitive political and religious issues.
Members of the much larger foreign population did not express
themselves on sensitive topics. The government did not prosecute anyone
for expression of views. During the year the government-supported Qatar
Foundation continued to fund the ``Doha Debates,'' a series of public
debates broadcast by the BBC featuring citizens and noncitizens
speaking about internationally controversial topics.
Although the seven daily newspapers are not state owned, owners are
members of the ruling family or have close ties to government
officials. The government reviewed and censored foreign newspapers and
magazines for objectionable sexual, religious, and political content.
The Qatar Radio and Television Corporation and customs officials
censored material. There were no specific reports of political
censorship of foreign broadcast news media or foreign programs during
the year.
State-owned television and radio reflected government views.
Callers to the state-owned radio station's popular morning show
frequently discussed topics such as government inefficiency and the
lack of responsiveness to citizens' needs.
The Doha-based, Arabic-language Al Jazeera satellite television
network focused coverage and commentary on international news. Al
Jazeera and the government claimed that the channel was independent and
free of government influence, but the government exercised editorial
and programmatic control of the channel through funding and selection
of the station's management. Al Jazeera covered local news when there
was an international component. In October Al Jazeera Arabic Channel
televised an investigative documentary titled Foreign Workers in the
Gulf. The documentary included interviews with foreign workers and
employers in the country about their opinion of the sponsorship law
implemented in March.
Internet Freedom.--The government restricted the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet and censored the Internet for
political, religious, and pornographic content through a proxy server,
which monitored and blocked Web sites, e-mail, and chat rooms through
the state-owned Internet service provider. For example, the government
blocked access to the Arab Times, an Arab-American online newspaper,
which at times published articles critical of the government.
Authorities also blocked other sites such as boingboing.net, a
technology and fashion site. A user who believed a site was mistakenly
censored could submit the Web address to have the site reviewed for
suitability; there were no reports that any Web sites were unblocked
based on this procedure. According to 2008 International
Telecommunication Union data, there were an estimated 116,000 Internet
subscribers, and 34 percent of the country's population used the
Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The constitution provides
for freedom of expression and scientific research according to the
conditions and circumstances stipulated by law. In practice,
instructors at Qatar University noted that they often exercised self-
censorship. Instructors at foreign-based universities operating in the
country reported enjoying academic freedom. There were no reported
government restrictions on cultural events, although some groups
organizing cultural events reported that they exercised self-
censorship.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for, but regulates, freedom of
assembly. Organizers must meet a number of restrictions and conditions
to acquire a permit for a public meeting. For example, the director
general of public security must give his permission. His decision is
not subject to appeal.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to
form societies, defined by the Advisory Council as professional
societies. A number of professional societies exist, but administrative
obstacles, including the slow pace of procedures required to form such
associations, limited this right in practice. The law imposes strict
conditions on the establishment, management, and function of
professional societies. They are prohibited from engaging in political
matters and must obtain approval from the Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs, which can deny their establishment if it deems them a threat
to the public interest. Professional societies must pay 50,000 riyals
(approximately $13,740) in licensing fees and 10,000 riyals ($2,750) in
annual fees. Registrations are valid for three years, after which an
association must register again and pay new fees. The law allows
noncitizens to participate in private societies only in cases in which
their participation is deemed necessary to the work of the society. The
prime minister must approve their participation, and the number of
noncitizens cannot exceed 20 percent of the total membership.
During the year the government did not approve new NGOs. Since 2004
the government has approved 15 societies. At year's end 29 others were
under consideration, including five that applied for registration
during the year. Applications first submitted in 2005 (applications
must be resubmitted yearly) to establish a journalists' association and
a teachers' association remained pending at year's end.
Informal organizations, such as community support groups and
activity clubs, operated without registration, but they may not engage
in activities that could be deemed ``political.'' The regulations
prohibit international affiliation of associations.
A 2006 law regarding the establishment of ``private establishments
having public interest'' allows for relaxed requirements for the
formation of independent local and international NGOs in the country.
Although untested, the law allows the registration of independent NGOs
without the administrative hurdles and monetary requirements of the
previously enacted law governing the formation of professional
societies.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
worship and forbids discrimination based on religion in accordance with
the law and the requirements of protecting public order and morality,
but the government continued to prohibit proselytizing by non-Muslims
and placed some restrictions on public worship. Among non-Muslims, only
Christians have requested and been allowed to rent space for public
worship. The Ministry of Justice maintains a registration procedure for
Christian marriages performed by registered churches in the country.
Adherents of other faiths may privately practice their religion without
harassment.
The state religion is Islam. Both Sunni and Shia Muslims practiced
Islam freely. Shia Muslims (approximately 10 percent of the citizen
population) organized traditional Shia ceremonies and performed rites
in their mosques because they chose not to perform them publicly. The
government allowed Shia to build and decorate Shia mosques without
restriction, and Shia were well represented in the lower and middle
levels of government and in the business community.
The government and the ruling family are linked inextricably to
Islamic institutions and practices. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs
administers the construction of mosques, clerical affairs, and Islamic
education for adults and new converts. The Ministry of Education
administers Islamic education in public schools. The emir participated
in public prayers during both Eid holiday periods and financed the Hajj
journeys of some pilgrims.
In October the authorities hosted the Seventh Doha Conference on
Interfaith Dialogue. More than 250 participants from 59 countries,
including Muslim clerics, Christian clergy, and Jewish rabbis,
participated in the conference. At the conclusion of the conference,
participants approved a declaration calling for interfaith cooperation
to advance human rights, protect holy sites, and combat hunger and
disease.
There was no prohibition of or action to discourage specific
religions or religious factions. The government provided legal status
to Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, and many Indian
Christian churches. The government allowed recognized congregations to
open bank accounts and to sponsor clergy for visas. Construction
continued on five Christian churches on land leased from the
government. Hindus, Buddhists, Baha'is, and members of other religious
groups do not operate as freely as Christian congregations do.
Religious services took place without prior government
authorization; authorities have asked congregations not to advertise
them in advance or use visible religious symbols such as outdoor
crosses.
Criminal law provides for prison terms of up to 10 years for
individuals proselytizing for any religion other than Islam on behalf
of an organization, society, or foundation. Proselytizing on behalf of
an individual for any religion other than Islam can result in a
sentence of up to five years' imprisonment. The law provides for
imprisonment of as long as two years for individuals who possess
written or recorded materials or items that support or promote
missionary activity.
In May the government issued a number of deportation orders, later
rescinded, to a multinational group of Christian expatriates allegedly
involved in unauthorized activities at labor camps in industrial areas.
Other deportation orders for two Indian Christians were still being
processed at year's end.
Converting to another religion from Islam is technically a capital
offense, but there were no executions or other punishments handed down
or carried out for such an act during the year.
Disclosure of religious affiliation is required when applying for a
passport or other identity documents, but affiliation is not listed in
the issued documents.
Islamic instruction was compulsory in public schools. Although
there were no restrictions on non-Muslims providing private religious
instruction for children, most foreign children attended secular
private schools. There were no religious private schools.
The government regulated the publication, importation, and
distribution of non-Islamic religious literature. Individuals could
import Bibles and other religious items for personal or congregational
use. Government officials only monitored Islamic religious literature
and copies of the Koran. Religious materials for use at Christmas and
Easter were readily available in local shops; however, Bibles were not
publicly available in local bookstores, either in Arabic or in English.
Christmas decorations were on display in many public places, including
shopping malls and in the common areas of housing compounds. Such
decorations were available for sale at stores throughout Doha.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was no indigenous Jewish
community; the few Jews in the country were foreigners with no
restrictions on traveling to or working in the country. On occasion, in
response to political events and developments in the region, some of
the country's privately owned Arabic-language newspapers carried
cartoons depicting offensive caricatures of Jews and Jewish symbols and
editorial comparisons of Israeli leaders and Israel to Hitler and the
Nazis. These occurred primarily in the daily newspapers Al-Watan, Al-
Sharq, Al-Arab, and Al-Raya, and drew no government response. In a
January 9 sermon on Al-Jazeera, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi called for
killing Jews ``down to the very last one.'' The government does not
officially collect or publish statistics on the religious affiliations
of the population.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for these
rights, but the government did not fully respect these rights. The
government severely restricted in-country movement and foreign travel
for noncitizens.
There were no reports that the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) asked the government to assist refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The only restrictions on in-country movement for citizens concerned
sensitive military, oil, and industrial installations. Unlike previous
years, local shopping malls did not prevent groups of foreign workers
from entering entertainment areas in Doha on weekends and during
certain periods designated as ``family times.''
The Protection of Society and Combating Terrorism Law allows the
government to prevent some citizens from traveling abroad. Men may
prevent adult female family members from leaving the country, but only
by seeking and securing a court order. During the year no cases of
women older than 18 being prevented from traveling abroad were
reported.
Official policy severely restricted foreign travel for expatriate
workers. A Sponsorship Law enacted in March outlawed the practice of
employers retaining workers' passports but retained the provision
requiring workers to obtain exit permits from their employers before
being allowed to exit the country. Although the law provided an
administrative procedure for obtaining an exit permit without an
employer's approval, the process was burdensome. Foreign embassies
reported that the process was ineffective and that they continued to be
called upon to mediate disputes concerning exit permits between foreign
workers and their sponsors.
The government did not allow noncitizen custodial parents to take
their children out of the country without the permission of the citizen
parent.
The constitution prohibits internal and external forced exile of
citizens, and the government respected this prohibition in practice.
The constitution provides citizens who have left the country the
right to return. Noncitizen women who were married to citizens received
residence permits and could apply for citizenship, but they were
required to relinquish their foreign citizenship. There were no
restrictions on emigration from the country.
The government occasionally revoked citizenship or passports for
political reasons, thereby restricting freedom of movement.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reported cases of
deprivation of citizenship.
Protection of Refugees.--The constitution prohibits the extradition
of political refugees. The country is not a party to the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol,
and the government has not established a system for providing
protection or status to refugees. Its laws provide for the granting of
asylum or refugee status. Individuals who were able to obtain local
sponsorship or employment were allowed to enter and could remain as
long as they were sponsored, but without asylum status.
The government generally provided protection against the expulsion
or forcible return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality,
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Stateless Persons.--The government provides a legal means for long-
term residents to apply for and acquire citizenship; in practice,
restrictions and uneven application of the law prevent stateless
persons from acquiring citizenship. The Nationality Law allows a
maximum of 50 noncitizen residents per year to apply for citizenship
after residing in the country 25 consecutive years, but only a small
number have been granted citizenship under this provision.
Citizenship derives solely from the father. Women do not transmit
citizenship to their children, even if the child is born in wedlock in
the country. A woman must obtain permission from authorities before
marrying a foreign national, but she does not lose nationality upon
marriage. According to the UNHCR, there were approximately 1,500
Bidoons (stateless Arabs with residency ties) in the country. They
suffered discrimination based upon their lack of nationality. They were
unable to register for such services as education and health care.
There were no reports of summary deportation orders issued against
long-term residents, including Bidoons. The Permanent Committee for
Naturalization Affairs commissioned a study in 2008 to determine the
extent of these practices, but the results of that study were not made
public during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution does not provide citizens the right to peacefully
change their government through elections. The constitution provides
for hereditary rule by the emir's branch of the Al-Thani family. The
Advisory Council, whose members the emir appointed, exercised
significant influence over ministries. The constitutional provision for
initiation of legislation by the Advisory Council has not been
implemented. The influence of family and tribal traditions was strong,
and the government did not permit political parties or opposition
groups.
Elections and Political Participation.--The emir exercises full
executive powers, including appointment of cabinet members. In 2007
citizens elected the 29 members of the third Central Municipal Council
to four-year terms. The council advises the minister of municipal
affairs and agriculture on local public services. Diplomatic missions
noted no apparent irregularities in the elections. Nearly 50 percent of
the fewer than 50,000 eligible voters participated.
Approximately 75 percent of citizens could not vote in the 2007
municipal elections, as this right was limited to families who were in
the country prior to 1930. All citizens older than 21 were eligible to
run for seats on the council. The law limits political participation by
persons whose citizenship was withdrawn but subsequently restored.
These persons are denied the right to candidacy or nomination in any
legislative body for 10 years from the date of restoration of their
citizenship.
The law forbids formation of and membership in political parties.
In July 2008 the emir postponed elections for an expanded 45-member
Advisory Council and extended the term of the current council until
2010. In February the Permanent Elections Commission conducted a
training program on campaign planning and communications with the
foreign NGO National Democratic Institute in anticipation of 2010
elections.
Although the influence of traditional attitudes and roles continued
to limit women's participation in politics, women served in public
office as president of the Permanent Election Committee, head of the
General Authority for Health, vice president of the Supreme Council for
Family Affairs (SCFA) with ministerial rank, head of the General
Authority for Museums, and president of Qatar University. One woman
served on the Central Municipal Council.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. During
the year local newspapers reported three prosecutions for embezzlement
of funds from public corporations. The cases were still pending at
year's end. Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure
laws.
The National Committee for Accountability and Transparency is
charged with implementing articles of the UN Convention for Combating
Corruption, developing a national strategy to support transparency,
implementing an awareness campaign, investigating complaints from the
public, managing state properties, suggesting legislation, and training
staff. The committee was considered effective in carrying out its
mandate.
In November 2008 the audit bureau reported it had referred 26 cases
involving private sector corruption in the administration of government
contracts to the public prosecutor. During the year prosecutions
resulted in five convictions, with judgments in favor of the government
totaling more than 23 million riyals (approximately $6.5 million).
During the year local newspapers reported that a number of senior
officials in various ministries had been dismissed for using their
offices for personal gain but offered no details.
The government publishes laws in the official gazette, and some
information was available on the Internet. Although there is a
mechanism for individuals and private institutions to request
information, information on the government budget, expenditures, or
draft laws was generally not available.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were few human rights organizations operating in the country.
Domestic associations or NGOs may not engage in political activity or
be critical of the government.
No international NGO or international organization focusing on
human rights or humanitarian issues was resident in the country, with
the exception of a major Western labor organization, which in March
placed a representative in Doha to work on labor rights issues. During
the year there were visits from representatives of the same
organization to meet with authorities and local contacts for short
periods.
The law provides the right to form private independent societies
and associations, including NGOs, but since the law's enactment in
2004, the government approved only one application (for establishment
of the Qatar Society for Rehabilitation and Special Needs, a
nongovernmental human rights organization supporting persons with
disabilities). One foreign NGO also successfully registered in 2007.
The government-funded and appointed NHRC investigates and works to
improve local human rights conditions. In December the secretary
general of the NHRC stated that the committee handled 1,009 petitions
for assistance during the preceding 12 months, 400 submitted by
citizens and 609 by expatriate workers. The government appointed five
NHRC members from government ministries and seven from civil society.
Members from the government ministries participate in the
deliberations, but their votes do not count when the NHRC board members
vote on resolutions.
During the year the NHRC did not issue a report on the status of
human rights in the country.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on nationality,
race, language, religion, and disability, but not gender or social
status. In practice, custom heavily influenced government enforcement
of nondiscrimination laws, and legal, cultural, and institutional
discrimination existed against women, noncitizens, and foreign workers.
Women.--The law criminalizes domestic violence and rape but does
not address spousal rape. There were publicized cases of rape involving
foreigners, but none were reported involving citizens. The penalty for
rape is 10 years' imprisonment, or 14 years if the victim is younger
than 16. If the perpetrator is the teacher, guardian, or caregiver of
the victim, the penalty is life imprisonment. The government's ability
to enforce the law against rape was limited due to underreporting by
victims who feared social stigma.
There is no specific law criminalizing domestic violence. According
to the NHRC, domestic violence may be prosecuted under the Criminal Law
that provides a general prohibition against violence. According to the
quasigovernmental Qatari Foundation for the Protection of Women and
Children (QFPWC), domestic violence against women was a problem. There
were no arrests or convictions for family domestic violence among
citizens publicized in the press, although there were reports of cases
involving noncitizens. During the year 259 cases of domestic abuse
against women were reported to the foundation.
A 2007 Qatar University study found that 63 percent of 2,778
surveyed citizen and noncitizen female students reported they had been
victims of physical abuse, with 52 reporting cases of ``strong
violence,'' such as rape, and 120 reporting sexual harassment.
Approximately 50 women reported they had considered suicide because
they were afraid of the repercussions if they notified authorities.
In 2007 the SCFA established a shelter under the supervision of the
QFPWC to accommodate abused women and children. Since its opening, the
shelter has accommodated 61 women and 73 children. The shelter provided
a variety of services, including financial assistance, legal aid, and
psychological counseling.
There were no reports of government interference in the right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. There is no direct government
support for access to means of contraception, but contraceptives are
freely available without a prescription. Licensed medical professionals
attended mothers at birth, and maternal care was readily available. Men
and women are treated equally for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
All STDs are reported to the Ministry of Health.
The legal system allows leniency for a man found guilty of
committing a so-called ``honor'' crime against a woman for perceived
immodesty or deviant behavior. There were no reports of honor crimes
during the year.
Prostitution is illegal, and the government considered it a
problem. Government officials reported an increasing number of cases
involving prostitution but provided no information about the scale of
the problem.
In some cases sponsors sexually harassed and mistreated foreign
domestic servants. Most domestic servants did not press charges for
fear of losing their jobs. Sexual harassment is illegal and carries
penalties of imprisonment and/or fines. A foreign embassy reported 700
cases of sexual harassment against domestic employees in 2008, the
majority by citizen employers. When the domestic employees brought
harassment to the attention of authorities, the employees were often
deported and no charges were filed against the employer. Another
foreign embassy reported four cases of alleged rape against domestic
employees during the year and an increase in the number of complaints
alleging physical abuse and sexual harassment.
The constitution asserts the principle of equality between citizens
in rights and responsibilities, and the Civil Service Law, the Housing
Law, and others consolidate this principle of equality. However,
traditions and interpretation of Shari'a disadvantaged women in certain
cases. For example, the government adhered to an interpretation of
Shari'a that recognizes Muslims have the automatic right to inherit
from their Muslim spouses. A non-Muslim spouse (invariably a wife,
since Muslim women cannot legally marry non-Muslims) does not inherit
unless her spouse wills her a portion (as much as one-third of the
total) of his estate. A Muslim husband does not automatically inherit
the property of a non-Muslim wife. The proportion that women inherit
depends upon their relationship to the deceased; in the cases of
siblings, sisters inherit only one-half as much as their brothers.
Citizen women faced legal discrimination in obtaining citizenship
for their noncitizen husbands and their children.
In cases of divorce, young children usually remain with the mother,
regardless of her religion, unless she is found to be unfit. Sons
remain in the custody of the mother until age 13 and daughters until
age 15. In certain conditions the court may extend the age of maternal
custody to 15 years for sons and to the time of marriage for daughters.
In exceptional cases, the mother retains custody of children with
disabilities with no age limit stipulated. In some cases, according to
the NHRC, women who are granted guardianship over their children by law
are denied their financial rights and associated right of residence.
The law allows a female citizen married to a noncitizen man
residing in the country for the previous five years to benefit from the
government housing system. Widows and divorced women may also benefit
if they have children and have not inherited a house from a deceased
husband. Unmarried men or women can benefit if they support parents,
brothers, and sisters or are older than 35 years. The law is generally
applied fairly in practice.
Women may attend court proceedings and may represent themselves,
but a male relative generally represented them. In cases involving
financial transactions, the testimony of two women equals that of one
man, but courts routinely evaluated evidence according to the overall
credibility of the witness and the testimony being offered, and not on
the basis of gender. In August 2008 the government equalized the law on
compensation that had previously set the level of compensation to be
paid for the loss of a woman's life at half that of a man.
A non-Muslim woman is not required to convert to Islam upon
marriage to a Muslim, but many make a personal decision to do so.
Children born to a Muslim father are considered Muslims. Female family
members can travel freely unless a male family member notifies customs
and immigration officials that his permission is required. There were
no reports that the travel of any woman had been restricted in this
fashion during the year.
According to the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, women
constituted approximately 13 percent of business owners, mainly
operating design companies, fashion establishments, training centers,
and beauty centers. Women served in the workforce as university
professors, public school teachers, and police. Women served as
professionals in government service, education, health, and private
business. Women received equal pay for equal work but often lacked
access to some positions and did not receive equal allowances for
transportation, housing, and subsistence.
The SCFA seeks to improve the status of women and the family under
both civil and Islamic law. The council contributed to a number of
national and international conferences, studies, and reports on the
status of women in the country, as well as the drafting of legislation
affecting women and children.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's father. The government
generally registered all births immediately except for Bidoons. Since
all persons must provide proof of nationality to access health care and
education, these services are not available to stateless children.
The government provides for the welfare of citizen children, but
not noncitizen children. The government funds free public education
(elementary through university) and health care for citizens. Education
was compulsory for all children through the age of 18. In practice this
requirement is not enforced for noncitizen children. Schooling is free
through primary school (the equivalent of ninth grade) for noncitizen
children whose parents work in the government sector. There was
generally no difference in attendance of girls and boys at the primary
and secondary levels. Girls were the majority in postsecondary
institutions.
There was no societal pattern of child labor or abuse, although
there were some cases of family violence and physical and sexual abuse.
The QFPWC reported during the year it received 106 cases involving
abuse of children. Under section 280 of the Criminal Law, the penalty
for having sexual relations with a person younger than 16 years is life
imprisonment. If the individual is the relative, guardian, caretaker,
or servant of the victim, the penalty is death.
The government-funded Qatar Orphan Foundation provided shelter,
medical care, and education to orphans from birth to age 18. The
children lived in a modern facility, segregated by age and sex, with
adult supervision and medical care. The foundation seeks to place the
orphans under the guardianship of citizen families.
The QFPWC conducted awareness campaigns on the rights of the child
and maintained a special hotline that allowed both citizen and
noncitizen children to call with questions and concerns ranging from
school, health, and psychological problems to concerns about sexual
harassment. This hotline operated in conjunction with the family abuse
hotline; statistics on use were not available.
Trafficking in Persons.--During the year the government adopted the
UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
but it had not passed a law criminalizing trafficking at year's end.
Provisions of the Sponsorship Law create conditions that can lead to
forced labor activities and slave-like conditions. Although the law
criminalizes many practices related to trafficking in persons,
including slavery, there were no forced labor or forced prostitution
prosecutions.
The country was a transit and destination country for men and women
trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and, to a lesser
extent, commercial sexual exploitation.
Men and women from Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East travel
to the country as laborers and domestic servants but often subsequently
face conditions of forced labor and physical and sexual exploitation.
Some women and girls who traveled to the country voluntarily to
work were forced into prostitution. Most often, victims were not
prosecuted for prostitution; the government issued a deportation order
and sent the women to the DDC. Women and girls also traveled to the
country to work as domestic servants, where they were vulnerable to
domestic servitude and physical and sexual exploitation and were
unprotected by labor legislation.
A new sponsorship law implemented during the year prohibits the
retention of workers' passports. The law retains the provision under
which foreign laborers are not allowed to leave the country without a
signed exit permit or to change employment without a written release
from their sponsor. Under the terms of the new sponsorship law, foreign
laborers may change employment or travel without the sponsor's
permission only after a long administrative process. Foreign embassies
reported that it was a burdensome process and implementation was not
effective. Workers remained vulnerable to abuse, arrest, and
deportation. Some sponsors intimidated and coerced foreign employees to
work for longer periods than called for in contracts, reduced or
withheld pay, and withheld passports and failed to obtain or renew
residency permits.
Authorities arrested workers who did not have valid residency
permits and detained them at the DDC. At the end of the year there were
approximately 1,300 detainees awaiting deportation at the DDC.
Principal traffickers included individual employers, contractors,
and employee recruitment agencies. Most victims traveled legally to the
country by means of recruiting agencies in their home countries but
faced conditions of forced labor and trafficking after they reached the
country. Some workers were recruited for jobs in the country but then
were abandoned by their recruiters upon arrival or by employers after
the work was completed, making them even more vulnerable to
trafficking.
Under the criminal law, traffickers can be prosecuted for slavery
or forced labor. The law bans forced or coerced labor with prison
sentences of up to seven years and a fine of up to 10,000 riyals
($2,748). The law also specifically bans and provides penalties for
child labor, including child camel riders (see section 7.d.).
The criminal law also addresses crimes that violate human liberty
and sanctity (kidnapping) with up to 10 years' imprisonment.
The law specifically criminalizes the handling of money related to
trafficking of women and children.
During the year no antitrafficking or related cases against
employers or labor recruitment agencies were prosecuted, and there was
no indication that the government assisted with international
investigations or that it extradited citizens who were accused of
trafficking in other countries.
Although there was no evidence of institutional involvement by
government bodies or officials, some officials may own or operate
companies that subject their employees to forced labor conditions.
Trafficking prevention efforts by the government included visits to
camel racing tracks, police antitrafficking training, and a media
campaign. In September the NHRC sponsored an antitrafficking awareness
campaign that focused on the energy sector and included classroom
training on workers' rights conducted at corporate facilities.
A human rights department in the MOI receives and processes cases
of alleged human rights abuses and trafficking in persons.
There was a government shelter for trafficking victims to serve the
needs of abused domestic workers, other laborers, and children.
According to government policy, any person facing criminal or
immigration violations cannot be considered a victim and will not
receive assistance. This policy continued to severely limit the
effectiveness of the shelter during the year.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law requires the allocation of
resources for persons with disabilities and prohibits discrimination
against such persons. The government is charged with acting on
complaints from individuals and the NHRC and enforcing compliance. The
law requires that 2 percent of jobs in government agencies and public
institutions be set aside for persons with disabilities. Private sector
businesses employing a minimum of 25 persons were required to hire
persons with disabilities. Employers who violated these employment
provisions were subject to fines. There were no reports of any employer
being fined for violating this law during the year. New public
buildings were required to be accessible to persons with disabilities.
In October the emir's sister, Sheikha Hassa bint Khalifa Al Thani,
delivered a speech at the close of her term as the UN special
rapporteur on disabilities in which she called on her country to
enforce more rigorously its own laws and international conventions on
the rights of persons with disabilities.
Private and independent schools in general provided most of the
required services for students with disabilities, but government
schools did not. Few public buildings met the required standards of
accessibility for persons with disabilities, and new buildings
generally did not comply with standards. The SCFA was charged with
ensuring compliance with the rights and provisions mandated under the
law, but compliance was not effectively enforced.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The government distinguished
between citizens and noncitizens in employment, education, housing, and
health services. Noncitizens were required to pay for health care,
electricity, water, and education (services provided without charge to
citizens). Noncitizens were eligible for medical coverage at a nominal
fee. Noncitizens generally could not own property, but the law provides
for property ownership in three designated areas.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits same-sex
relations between men but is silent concerning same-sex relations
between women. Under the criminal law, a man convicted of having sexual
relations with another man or boy younger than 16 is subject to a
sentence of life in prison. A man convicted of having sexual relations
with another man older than 16 is subject to a sentence of seven years
in prison under section 285 of the criminal law. There were an unknown
number of cases before the courts during the year. There were no
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) organizations in the
country. During the year no violence was reported against LGBT persons.
Other Societal Discrimination.--There was discrimination against
HIV patients. HIV-positive foreigners, whose condition was typically
diagnosed during their medical examinations upon arrival in the
country, were deported. HIV-positive citizens were quarantined and
received treatment.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The labor law and regulations provide
for worker organizations for citizens older than 18 in private
enterprises that have more than 100 citizen workers. In practice, the
law makes union formation difficult. Noncitizens were not eligible to
form worker committees, and foreign workers could only be members of
joint labor-management committees. Those working in the government
sector were prohibited from joining a union. The law and regulations
permit only the General Union for the Workers of Qatar (composed of
various general committees for the workers in a trade or industry,
which are in turn made up of worker committees at individual firms) and
forbid affiliation with groups outside the country. There were no
reported attempts to form unions during the year.
The law grants workers the right to strike, but restrictive
conditions made the likelihood of a legal strike extremely remote. The
labor law requires that a strike be approved by three-fourths of the
company's workers committee. Such committees are composed of an equal
number of representatives from management and labor, making it
practically impossible for labor to gain a strike authorization. During
the year there were no strikes reported. Foreign embassies reported
several cases in which they intervened to resolve labor disputes
reported by their nationals working in the country. In the past, the
government responded to labor unrest by dispatching large numbers of
police to the work sites or labor camps involved, and that the strikes
generally ended peacefully after these shows of force. In most cases,
the government summarily deported strike organizers. Government
employees, domestic servants, and those in the public utility, health,
and security services were prohibited from striking. These workers may
legally seek permission to hold a public gathering, but there were no
reports of such gatherings occurring during the year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The labor law
grants workers in private enterprises that have more than 100 citizen
workers the right to bargain collectively and to sign joint agreements
between employer and worker regarding a work-related issue. The
government circumscribed the right through control over the rules and
procedures of the bargaining and agreement processes. Collective
bargaining was not freely practiced, and there were no workers under
collective bargaining contracts.
Private employers and workers set wages without government
involvement. Local courts handled disputes between workers and
employers. Foreign workers avoided drawing attention to problems with
their employers for fear of retaliation and deportation. The Human
Rights Office at the MOI served as the point of contact for the
complaints of foreign workers. According to resident embassies of
countries with foreign workers present and some individual migrant
workers, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs' Labor Department was
widely perceived to be objective within its narrow mandate when dealing
with the nonpayment of wages. The department claimed that it resolved
80 percent of the 6,044 complaints filed by workers. The remaining
cases were referred to the labor courts for judgment.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. However, there were reports
that such practices occurred. Foreign workers in many cases worked
under circumstances that constituted forced labor. These conditions
were found primarily in the construction and domestic labor sectors.
The Sponsorship Law that took effect in March gives the MOI the
power to transfer temporarily a worker's sponsorship to another
employer if there is a legal dispute between the worker and the
original employer. According to government figures, more than 85
percent of the workforce was composed of foreign workers who, dependent
on their employer for residency rights, were vulnerable to abuse. For
example, employers must consent to and the MOI must approve the
granting of an exit permit to any foreign employee. Some employers
temporarily withheld this consent to force foreign employees to work
for longer periods than they wished. Workers could report such cases to
the MOI's Human Rights Office. Unskilled workers and domestic servants
were particularly vulnerable to nonpayment or late payment of wages.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits forced and compulsory labor by children, and the
government generally enforced this prohibition. The labor law
stipulates the minimum age for employment is 16 years. The labor law
provides that minors between the ages of 16 and 18 can work with
parental or guardian permission, and some children worked in small,
family-owned businesses such as small markets or as office clerks.
Minors may not work more than six hours a day or more than 36 hours a
week. Employers must provide the Labor Department with the names and
occupations of their minor employees and obtain permission from the
Ministry of Education to hire a minor. The Labor Department may
prohibit the employment of minors in jobs judged dangerous to the
health, safety, or morals of minors.
Violators of the law banning child camel jockeys may receive six
months' imprisonment or a fine of approximately 3,000 riyals
(approximately $825). In other cases involving the employment of
minors, the punishment is three years' imprisonment or a fine of
approximately 10,000 riyals ($2,748). During the year there were no
reported cases, and there have been no prosecutions under this law.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no minimum wage
stipulated by law. The average wage of noncitizen workers did not
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The law
prescribes a 48-hour workweek with a 24-hour rest period, but most
government offices followed a 36-hour workweek. Employees who worked
more than 48 hours per week or 36 hours per week during the holy month
of Ramadan were entitled to overtime pay of at least a 25 per cent wage
supplement. Government offices and major private sector companies
adhered to this law; it was often not observed with respect to
unskilled laborers and domestic and personal employees, the majority of
whom were foreigners. Many such workers frequently worked seven days a
week and more than 12 hours a day with few or no holidays, no overtime
pay, and no effective means to redress grievances.
The rights of noncitizen workers continued to be severely
restricted. Some employers mistreated foreign domestic servants,
predominantly those from South Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, by
withholding wages or paying wages late. Some cases involved rape and
physical abuse. Some foreign embassies provided temporary shelter to
their nationals who left their employers because of abuse or disputes
before transferring the cases to local government officials. According
to these embassies, the majority of cases were resolved within 48 hours
by their mediation efforts between employee and employer. Those not
resolved within 48 hours were transferred to the Criminal Evidence and
Investigation Department of the MOI for a maximum of seven days. Cases
not resolved within seven days were transferred to the labor court, a
special section of the first instance civil court.
One foreign embassy reported that it received approximately 6,000
complaints during the year; most related to nonpayment of salaries,
failure to pay overtime, and refusal to obtain residence permits.
Changes in the sponsorship law accounted for a steep drop in the number
of complaints against sponsors for retaining employees' passports. An
employer's withholding of a passport carries a fine of 10,000 riyals
(approximately $2,747). Another foreign embassy received between 50 and
60 complaints a day, including sexual harassment, delay and nonpayment
of salaries, forced labor, contract switching, withholding of
passports, poor accommodations, nonrepatriation, termination and
deportation without cause, physical torture or torment, overwork,
imprisonment, and mistreatment. Abused domestic servants usually did
not press charges for fear of losing their jobs. According to a foreign
embassy, 217 of its reported 280,000 citizens working in the country
died during the year, with heart attacks claiming 115; work-related
accidents, 23; and suicides, 9. Forty Nepalese citizens died in traffic
accidents and nine died from drowning. Police investigated work-related
deaths, but the results were not made public. Local support groups
believed authorities reported the cause of death as heart attacks to
hide workplace deaths. A foreign embassy reported an increase in the
overall number of complaints during the year.
There were government regulations regarding worker safety and
health, but enforcement, which is the combined responsibility of the
Ministry of Energy and Industry, the Ministry of Health, and the Labor
Department, was uneven due to insufficient training and lack of
personnel. Diplomatic representatives visited labor camps and found
most unskilled foreign laborers living in cramped, dirty, and hazardous
conditions, often without running water, electricity, or adequate food.
The labor inspection department conducted a limited number of random
inspections of labor camps, and when it found them below minimum
standards, the operators received a warning, and authorities ordered
them to remedy the violations within a specific period. If they did not
remedy the violations, the Labor Department referred the matter to the
public prosecutor for action. An unknown number of cases were filed
during the year. Statistics on the number of inspections were not
available, but foreign labor officials reported that most labor camps
in the country remained far below minimum standards. A foreign embassy
reported acceptable conditions at the three camps that house its
nationals, and embassy staff were permitted to visit on a regular
basis.
The Department of Public Safety oversaw safety training and
conditions, and the state-run petroleum company had its own safety
standards and procedures. The regulations listed partial and permanent
disabilities for which compensation may be awarded, some connected with
handling chemicals and petroleum products or construction injuries. The
law does not specifically set rates of payment and compensation. The
government provided free medical treatment to workers who suffered
work-related sickness or injuries.
Foreign workers may enter the country on a visitor's visa, but a
sponsor is needed to convert a visitor's visa to a work visa, and the
worker must have a sponsor's permission to depart the country. In
August the Labor Ministry conducted a labor protection drive that
included unannounced worksite inspections to check for proper payment
of wages in compliance with worker protection laws. In October the NHRC
conducted a labor protection drive in the energy sector that included
classroom instruction and the distribution of printed materials
explaining workers' rights and obligations under the labor and
sponsorship laws.
__________
SAUDI ARABIA
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the Al Saud
family. The population is approximately 28.5 million, including 5.8
million foreigners. Since 2005, King Abdullah bin Abd Al-Aziz Al-Saud
has ruled under the title Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a
reference to his responsibility for Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca
and Medina. The government bases its legitimacy on its interpretation
of Shari'a (Islamic law) and the 1992 Basic Law. The Basic Law sets out
the system of governance, rights of citizens, and powers and duties of
the government. The law also provides that the Koran and the Traditions
(Sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad serve as the country's constitution. In
2005 the country held male-only elections on a nonparty basis for half
the members of municipal councils, the first elections for any
government position since 1963. The civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces.
During the year the following significant human rights problems
were reported: no right to change the government peacefully;
disappearances; torture and physical abuse; poor prison and detention
center conditions; arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention; denial
of public trials and lack of due process in the judicial system;
political prisoners; restrictions on civil liberties such as freedoms
of speech (including the Internet), assembly, association, movement,
and severe restrictions on religious freedom; and corruption and lack
of government transparency. Violence against women, violations of the
rights of children, and discrimination on the basis of gender,
religion, sect, and ethnicity were common. The employment sponsorship
system limited the rights of foreign workers and remained a severe
problem.
Significant human rights achievements during the year included
implementation of the overhaul of the kingdom's judicial system
announced in 2007 that included the establishment of a new supreme
court, regional appeals courts, and specialized courts for general,
criminal, personal status, commercial, and labor cases; systematic
review of judicial decisions; and transferring responsibility for
hiring, training and supervision of judges from the Ministry of Justice
to the reorganized Supreme Judicial Council. Supporting these reforms,
the king reorganized the Senior Council of Religious Scholars to
include representatives of all four schools of Sunni jurisprudence to
broaden the sources for Shari'a (Islamic law) interpretations. The
passage of a new Law to Combat Trafficking in Persons has led to
training of law enforcement officials on the application of the law.
The first coeducational university, the King Abdullah University of
Science and Technology, opened its doors and the king appointed the
first female cabinet-level official, a deputy minister for women's
education.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents were not known to have committed politically motivated
killings during the year. However, there were media reports that Saudi
armed forces killed Yemeni civilians in cross-border clashes with
Houthi rebels from Yemen toward the end of the year. According to a
July 22 report of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Amnesty
International (AI), persons ``have been killed in uncertain
circumstances in the name of fighting terrorism.''
In the first week in June, Abdullah al-Rumian, a Saudi militant
extradited from Iraq, died in custody in Al-Ha'ir state security
detention center (security offenders are held in the detention center,
criminal offenders in the prison), according to the international
media. A Ministry of Interior (MOI) spokesperson reportedly denied the
press accounts, saying no one had died in state security detention
centers during that week.
Beginning on November 4 and continuing at year's end, armed groups
of Houthi rebels from Yemen and Saudi forces engaged in cross-border
conflict. The Saudi government claimed the attacks were within Saudi
territory and intended to eliminate armed groups of Houthi rebels who
had entered Saudi territory and had killed three border guards and
wounded 15 other members of the security forces in the border region of
Jebel al-Dukhan. According to press reporting, Saudi attacks killed 54
civilians in the town of Al-Nadheer and injured an unknown number.
After the March 2008 deaths of six persons in car chases, the head
of the religious police, the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and
Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), or Mutawwa'in, announced in July 2008 a new
policy prohibiting pursuit of fleeing suspects. The CPVPV abided by the
new policy and no subsequent deaths were reported.
In September 2008 the Court of Appeals confirmed the acquittal of
two members of the religious police in the 2007 beating death of
Suleiman al-Huraisi. At year's end there was no further information on
the appeal of the acquittal of the officers involved in the 2007 death
in Medina of a Bangladeshi man who was in the custody of the religious
police.
During the year the media reported that the government announced 64
executions by beheading. Closed court proceedings in capital cases made
it impossible to determine whether the accused were allowed to present
a defense or were granted basic due process. There were no executions
for sorcery during the year, although death sentences for two women and
two men convicted of witchcraft and sorcery remained in effect. The
government executed 102 persons in 2008 and 153 persons in 2007.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year, although according to AI's July 22
report, the government was holding more than 3,100 persons ``in virtual
secrecy,'' the majority of them suspected of being supporters of
extremist Islamist groups, and some having peacefully criticized
government policies (see sections 1.c. and 1.d.).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Article 2 of the Law of Criminal Procedure and other legal
provisions prohibit torture and hold criminal investigation officers
accountable for any abuse of authority. Shari'a, as interpreted in the
country, prohibits judges from accepting confessions obtained under
duress. Government officials claimed privately that measures such as
alleged MOI formal rules prohibiting torture served to ensure that such
practices did not occur in the penal system. According to the
governmental Human Rights Commission (HRC), torture did not occur in
prisons or detention centers. HRC president Dr. Bandar Al-Aiban, who
holds ministerial rank, recounted that he personally ascertained this
fact by speaking privately and individually to prisoners during visits
to the Eastern Province General Prison, the Security Prison in Al-
Damam, Tabuk Province General Prison, Abha General Prison, and Abha
Security Prison on June 15, July 4 and July 21.
Nevertheless, during the year there continued to be reports that
authorities systematically subjected prisoners and detainees to torture
and other physical abuse.
On October 12, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association
(ACPRA) wrote an open letter to King Abdullah highlighting that one of
its members, 73-year-old Judge Suliman Al-Reshoudi, was subjected to
``severe physical and psychological tortures,'' including the tying of
his feet to a bed frame by two separate chains and being forced into a
sitting position throughout the day and shackled at night. The prisoner
has been in solitary confinement for three years without indictment
because he is a reform advocate and activist, according to ACPRA.
According to AI's July 22 report, Saudi Arabia: Assaulting Human
Rights in the Name of Counter-Terrorism, security officials used
various methods to intimidate and to garner information from detainees,
including ``severe beating with sticks, punching, and suspension from
the ceiling, use of electric shocks and sleep deprivation.'' An AI
September 11 analysis, Saudi Arabia: Countering Terrorism with
Repression, claimed that many persons were tortured to extract
confessions or as punishment after conviction.
On June 5, the NGO Yemeni Network for Human Rights claimed that
Saudi investigator Issa Al Zahrani tortured a noncitizen, Saleh Salim,
allegedly interrogating him for 18 hours, after his leg had been
broken. The investigator reportedly deprived Salim of sleep and kicked
him in the testicles. The court in Asir convicted Salim of theft and
sentenced him to 18 years in prison and 300 lashes. Three other
defendants in the case reportedly received similar treatment and
sentences. According to the Yemeni Network for Human Rights, there were
hundreds of similar cases in the prisons.
During the year there were numerous reports of physical abuse by
the police and the CPVPV, as well as judicially sanctioned corporal
punishments including harassment of women for being alone in the
company of an unrelated male. On March 13, a court sentenced 75-year-
old noncitizen Khamisa Mohammad Sawadi to 40 lashes, four months'
imprisonment, and deportation for having unrelated men in her house.
On August 21, the daily Saudi Gazette reported that four Asian men
were sentenced to prison terms and lashes for alcohol production and
distribution. One was sentenced to five years in prison and 1,200
lashes, two others to four years and 1,000 lashes, and the fourth to
two and a half years in prison and 400 lashes.
One judicially sanctioned amputation was reported. The July 24 New
York Times published an account of the amputation of a thief's hand in
front of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
There were reports that rape cases and other sexual abuses were
widespread during confinement in both men's and women's detention
centers and prisons. Although there were some female guards in women's
prisons, their supervisors were men. During the year local human rights
watchers reported that young men in the Burida Prison in Qassim had
been sexually abused but did not alert prison authorities due to the
stigma and penalties associated with homosexual activities. Human
rights activists stated that the MOI has not been responsive to
requests from independent activists to investigate this allegation.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions varied; despite some improvements during the year,
they generally did not meet international standards. Authorities did
not permit monitoring by non-Saudi organizations, and no independent
human rights observers visited prisons or detention centers during the
year.
The government permitted some monitoring of prison conditions by
the royal family-funded but nongovernmental National Society for Human
Rights (NSHR). The NSHR registered 682 cases involving prisoners in its
annual report. The governmental HRC conducted prison visits to 50
percent of the country's prisons during the year. In addition to the
visits by HRC president Dr. Bandar Al-Aiban (see section 1.c.), on July
4 and 21, HRC delegates visited Al-Khafgi, Hafr Al-Batin, Al-Jubail,
Al-Ahsa, Al-Qatif Haql, and Taima prisons. They found conditions below
acceptable levels, citing overcrowding and prolonged holding of
prisoners who had served their sentence as well as pretrial detainees.
According to the UN 2007/2008 Human Development Report, in 2007 the
total number of prisoners and detainees, including juveniles and women
prisoners, was 28,612. The maximum number of prisoners and detainees
the facilities were meant to hold was not available. Men and women were
held in separate facilities, as were juvenile offenders. Human rights
observers stated that the women's prisons were in especially poor
condition. Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted
prisoners. Terror suspects were separate from the general population to
prevent the spread of extremist ideology. According to diplomatic
sources, facilities for terror suspects were similar to those of the
general prison population.
On July 1, prisoners at Al-Ha'ir Prison staged a strike protesting
abusive prison guards and the lack of drinking water, according to the
human rights organization Frontline Defenders' Web site, which quoted
human rights activist Waleed Sami Abu-Alkhair. When information about
the strike became public, conditions improved. MOI agents reportedly
threatened Abu-Alkhair with arrest and imprisonment for publishing the
information.
According to its 2008 report, the NSHR monitored health care in
prisons and brought deficiencies to the attention of the MOI, which
administers prisons and detention centers. The NSHR 2008 report stated
that prisons were so crowded that prisoners had to take turns sleeping.
Likewise, diplomats and human rights advocates reported that detention
centers remained overcrowded, and that many prisoners who had completed
their sentences remained for additional periods, sometimes for years.
To address the issue of overcrowding, the HRC advocated for amnesty,
reduction of sentences, and settlement of cases before they reach
trial. Since 2008 the General Investigation and Prosecution Authority
had unfettered access to the country's prisons and reviewed cases of
prisoners who served their sentence but remained imprisoned.
The NSHR noted that poor medical attention in deportation centers
resulted in deaths. On September 2, the daily newspaper Arab News
reported that 45-year-old noncitizen Mohammad Saquib died from
tuberculosis in the Shomaishi Deportation Center's clinic.
Subsequently, detainees staged a two-day hunger strike protesting poor
conditions. According to the Saudi Gazette, many of the inmates
suffered from preventable infectious diseases. Domestic human rights
organizations did not report specifically on health conditions in
prisons.
During the year, the government built five new prisons to relieve
overcrowding. The government established new training centers in Riyadh
and Dammam to provide vocational training to prisoners. On September 2,
in part to address the issue of overcrowding, the Council of Ministers
authorized waivers of 15 percent of jail time for inmates with good
behavior records who completed educational and vocational training
programs in prison.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The Basic Law provides that a
person's actions may not be restricted, and a person may not be or
imprisoned, except under provisions of the law. Nonetheless, because of
ambiguous implementation of the law and a lack of due process, the MOI
maintained broad powers to arrest and detain persons indefinitely
without judicial oversight or effective access to legal counsel or
family. In practice authorities held persons for weeks or months and
sometimes years. All forces with arrest power report to the MOI.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The king, the minister
of interior, the minister of defense, and the Saudi Arabian National
Guard (SANG) commander all have responsibility in law and in practice
for law enforcement and maintenance of order. King Abdullah remained in
command of the SANG. Crown Prince Sultan, the minister of defense and
aviation, had responsibility for all of the ministry's armed forces.
The minister of interior, Prince Naif, exercised control over all
internal security and police forces, except the General Intelligence
Presidency (GIP), the government's primary external intelligence agency
that reports directly to the king and maintains its own forces. The
civil police and the internal security police are authorized to arrest
and detain individuals. The semiautonomous CPVPV, which monitors public
behavior to enforce strict adherence to Saudi official interpretation
of Islamic norms, reports to the king via the Royal Diwan (royal
court). The MOI also oversees the CPVPV.
Security forces were generally effective at maintaining law and
order, but small-scale corruption occurred among security forces and
impunity was a problem. The Board of Grievances is the only formal
mechanism available to investigate claims of abuse, but its findings
were not public. Citizens may report abuses by security forces at any
police station, to the HRC, or to the NSHR. The HRC and the NSHR
maintain records of complaints and outcomes, but privacy laws protect
information about individual cases, and information is not publicly
available.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--According to
the Law of Criminal Procedure, ``no person shall be arrested, searched,
detained, or imprisoned except in cases provided by law, and any
accused person shall have the right to seek the assistance of a lawyer
or a representative to defend him during the investigation and trial
stages.'' Authorities may summon any person for investigation, and an
arrest warrant may be issued based on evidence, but warrants sometimes
were not used, and they are not required in cases of probable cause.
There was a functioning bail system for less serious criminal charges.
Although the law provides the accused the right to seek assistance of a
lawyer, it does not specify any timeframe. There were no established
procedures providing detainees the right to contact family members
following arrest. Legal protections for persons in detention included a
72-hour limit on the period of arrest without charges being filed and
trial of the detained within six months. Reportedly, authorities
frequently failed to observe these legal protections.
Incommunicado detention was a problem, and there were reports of
torture of persons in such detention
There were reports of arbitrary arrest and detention. Although the
law prohibits detention without charge, authorities detained without
charge security suspects, persons who publicly criticized the
government, Shia religious leaders, and others who violated religious
standards. According to the ACPRA, the following activists were among
those detained without official indictment or court ruling at year's
end: Professor Abdulrahman Al-Shomairi, Ali Khosifan Al-Qarni, attorney
Mousa Al-Qarni, Professor Saud Al-Hashemi, Fahd Alskaree Al-Qurashi,
Abdulrahman bin Sadiq, Saifaldeen Faisal Al-Sherif, Mansour Al-Otha,
Abdulrahman Khan, Abdulaziz Al-Khirayji, and Suleiman Al-Reshoudi.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), most of these activists have
been detained since 2007, when internal security police in Jeddah and
Medina arrested prominent reform advocate Isam Basrawi and nine others.
Authorities released Basrawi for health reasons later in 2007. The
media reported allegations that the activists financed terrorism
outside the country. The ACPRA alleged in an open letter to the king
that the government uses religion and the antiterror campaign to
criminalize, incarcerate, and discredit advocates of reform. On
November 2008 the group and outside supporters organized a two-day
hunger strike to protest their ongoing detention. At year's end, all of
the activists remained in detention without charge.
Arbitrarily lengthy detention before trial was a problem. According
to the NSHR's 2009 report, the MOI did not respect the Punitive
Procedures Law in arresting and detaining suspected terrorists.
Suspects remained in detention in regions far from their families and
for years without trial.
A September 2008 AI submission to the UN Human Rights Council cited
the minister of interior in 2007 confirming that 3,016 security
suspects were in detention at that time (see sections 1.b. and 1.c.).
In 2007 authorities released 1,500 suspected militants after a
reeducation program in prison. They had been held without charge or
trial. Reuters reported the ordered release of 17 political prisoners
of the Ismaili community on August 24. In the aftermath of the failed
August 28 assassination attempt on Prince Mohammed bin Naif, there were
no further publicly announced releases of security suspects.
During the year the NSHR called for a neutral party to evaluate
defendants' claims of torture to obtain confessions by force. In 2007
the NSHR reported that some police officers detained individuals
without justification and abused their authority by threatening to
detain individuals to pressure them to obtain confessions or
information relevant to an investigation.
The religious police are required to have a police officer
accompany them at the time of an arrest, although conformity to the
regulation was sporadic. Particularly in the more conservative Nejd
region, religious police accosted, abused, arrested, and detained
citizens and noncitizens, especially women, for allegedly violating
dress and behavior standards.
Amnesty.--During the year the king continued the tradition of
tempering judicial punishments. The details of the cases varied, but
the demonstration of royal mercy sometimes included reducing or
eliminating corporal punishment, for example, rather than wiping the
slate clean. There were pardons or grants of amnesty on special
occasions, including holy days and during Ramadan. For example, the
king reportedly pardoned 88 prisoners on September 12. On October 26,
the king pardoned high-profile journalist Rozanna Yami, who had been
sentenced to 60 lashes for her involvement in a Lebanese Broadcasting
Corporation (LBC) talk show about sexual pursuits. The king issued a
royal decree on December 11 to pardon certain categories of prisoners
on Crown Prince Sultan's return to the country. Nine workers from the
Philippines accused of minor crimes were released pursuant to that
pardon.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The 2007 Law of the Judiciary
provides that judges are independent and are subject to no authority
other than the provisions of Shari'a and laws in force. In practice,
the judiciary was not independent, as it was required to cooperate with
the executive and legislative authorities, with the king as arbiter.
Although allegations of interference with judicial independence were
uncommon, the judiciary was subject to influence. The courts did not
attempt to exercise jurisdiction over senior members of the royal
family. There were problems enforcing court orders.
Shari'a, as interpreted in the country, rather than a penal code is
the basis of the penal system.
According to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Shari'a law is not
based on precedent and can result in widely divergent rulings. Judges
are free to base their decisions on any of the four Sunni schools of
jurisprudence. In practice, judges usually follow the Hanbali School of
jurisprudence.
The 2007 judicial reforms align a structurally coherent court
system and adopt procedures streamlining the system.
Under the new system the minister of justice is absent from the
decision-making process of the High Court and the administrative
oversight of the courts' and judges' affairs. These responsibilities
and the prerogative to compose courts of first instance and their
specialization rest with the Supreme Judicial Council, which also
monitors the competence of judges and lawyers.
The law sets forth the structure of the judiciary, including the
three-level criminal court system, which consists of first-degree
Shari'a criminal courts with three-judge panels depending on the
punishments and judicial discretion possible; appeals courts; and the
High Court, which consists of a president and high-level judges
appointed by royal order.
Under the 2007 law, the jurisdiction of all courts extends to non-
Muslims for crimes committed in the country. Judgments from the first-
degree and appellate courts may be appealed to the next level. The
third and final level of appeal is the High Court, which reviews
rulings issued or upheld by the courts of appeals and those relating to
certain major crimes.
The High Court has a General Council consisting of top-level judges
with the authority to set policy and settle conflicting opinions from
High Courts that convened in different circuits. The General Council
renders decisions by a majority vote and reports to the king.
Shia citizens use their own Jaafari legal tradition to adjudicate
cases involving domestic problems, inheritance, and Islamic endowments.
The military justice system has jurisdiction over uniformed
personnel and civil servants charged with violations of military
regulations. The defense minister and the king review the decisions of
military tribunals. Information on the existence of military tribunals
separate from the military court system was not available.
In December 2008 Saudi Arabia established a Specialized Criminal
Court (SCC) within the existing court system to handle terrorist cases.
In a decision to promote judicial independence, the Supreme Judicial
Council supervises the court. The SCC follows the Law of Criminal
Procedure.
On July 8, without making public names or charges, the MOJ
announced that the SCC had tried 330 persons, almost all in closed
trials, in the first publicly reported trials since 2003 for terrorism
offenses. Seven of the individuals were acquitted; sentences for the
others ranged from fines to the death penalty.
On February 14, the king issued a royal decree appointing more
moderate and diverse members to the Council of Senior Religious
Scholars (Ulema), an autonomous advisory body with the authority to
determine how judges should interpret Shari'a law. The council consists
of 21 senior religious jurists, including the minister of justice. The
royal decree was part of overall judicial reforms.
Trial Procedures.--Laws and regulations state that defendants
should be treated equally in accordance with Shari'a. The Law of
Criminal Procedure states that court hearings shall be public; at the
judge's discretion courts may be closed, and many trials during the
year were closed. According to the MOJ, a trial may be closed depending
on the sensitivity of the case to national security, the reputation of
the defendant, or the safety of witnesses.
According to the Criminal Procedure Law, there is neither
presumption of innocence nor trial by jury. The law does provide
persons under investigation the right to be present at trial, and a
defendant may consult with a lawyer who may present arguments in
criminal courts. According to the HRC, an attorney is provided at
public expense. The law does not specifically provide for a defendant
to consult with an attorney upon arrest. Defendants also have the right
to confront or question witnesses against them. Witnesses are
questioned before the initiation of a trial and may attend and be
questioned during the trial. There is no right to access to government-
held evidence. Defendants may request to review evidence, and the court
decides whether to grant the request. The court must inform convicted
persons of their right to appeal rulings.
Shari'a as interpreted by the government extends these provisions
above to all citizens; however, the testimony of one man equals that of
two women; judges may discount the testimony of non-practicing Sunni
Muslims, Shia Muslims, or persons of other religions; and female
parties in court proceedings such as divorce and family law cases must
deputize male relatives to speak on their behalf unless they decide to
speak for themselves. Sources reported that judges ignored testimony by
Shia or deemed it to have less weight than testimony by Sunnis.
At year's end the appeal in Rizana Nafeek's death sentence case was
reportedly pending before the High Court. In 2007 a court convicted
Nafeek, a Sri Lankan domestic worker, for killing an infant in her
care; she had no legal representation, and an initial appeal hearing
revealed that her interpreter may not have been qualified.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--National security interests
made it impossible to ascertain the number of political prisoners or
detainees among the more than 3,000 persons who reportedly remained in
prolonged detention without charge during the year (see section 1.d.).
The government asserted that secret detentions were in conjunction with
its efforts to combat terrorism. International NGOs, AI in particular,
criticized the government for abusing its antiterrorism prerogatives to
arrest some members of the political opposition. Security detainees
were not given the same protections as other prisoners or detainees.
Security suspects arrested by the internal security police remained
incommunicado in special prisons during the initial phase of
investigations, which may last indefinitely under the MOI's broad legal
authority. Authorities restricted family and legal access to detainees;
no international humanitarian organizations had access to them, in
direct violation of international human rights protocol.
On January 15, authorities released political detainee and
professor Matrouk al-Faleh after eight months of detention without
charges. Security forces had arrested him at King Saud University after
he posted a three-page criticism of the justice system and a commentary
on conditions in Buraida Prison on a Web site, following his visit to
detained reformers Isa and Abdullah al-Hamid.
According to HRW, Mansur al-'Awdha, a reform activist from Jawf,
has been in al-Ha'ir Prison without charge since 2007.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Rather than Shari'a
courts, specialized tribunals in the executive branch decide civil
disputes relying on regulatory and legislative precepts and provide
administrative remedies. These tribunals hear claims against the
government and enforce foreign judgments.
Claims for damages or an end to human rights violations may also be
brought to the Higher Administrative Court. It specializes in cases
against government departments and responds directly to the king; there
were no reports of any such cases during the year or in the previous
year. Instead, complainants generally referred their cases to the HRC,
which either advocated on their behalf or provided courts with opinions
on their cases. Domestic violence cases were the most common. The HRC
was generally responsive to complaints.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The Basic Law provides that residences be inviolable
and that they may not be entered or searched without their owner's
permission except in cases set forth in the law. In practice the
government generally respected the inviolability of privacy, family,
and the home, with some exceptions in which the CPVPV raided private
residences and disrupted Shia prayer services. The Basic Law provides
for the privacy of correspondence. The Criminal Procedure Law requires
authorities to obtain a warrant before searching a residence or a court
order before perusing personal correspondence and documents.
Royal decrees include provisions for the government to defend the
home from unlawful intrusions, and laws and regulations prohibit
officials from intercepting mail and electronic communications except
when deemed necessary during internal security and criminal
investigations; in such cases police must demonstrate reasonable cause
and obtain permission from a provincial governor.
The government did not respect the privacy of correspondence or
communications. Customs officials routinely opened mail and shipments
to search for contraband. In some areas, informants reported
``seditious ideas,'' antigovernment activity, or ``behavior contrary to
Islam'' in their neighborhoods to the MOI.
The government strictly monitored all political activity and took
punitive actions, including arrest and detention, against persons in
seeming opposition to the government. There were reports from human
rights activists of government efforts to monitor or block mobile
telephone or Internet usage ahead of planned demonstrations.
The CPVPV enforced strict standards of behavior, but since there
are no clear standards for what constitutes improper attire or
prohibited gender mixing, enforcement of these rules was arbitrary.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The Basic Law and other laws
strictly limit freedom of speech and mass and publishing media. The
government believed it unacceptable to protect and defend freedom of
speech and freedom of expression at the expense of other violations of
human rights. Specifically, the government condemns defamation of
religions and beliefs and disparagement of the personalities and
symbols of all religions, according to the government's statement at
the Durban Review Conference in Geneva on April 21.
Mass and publishing media were limited, and media outlets can
legally be banned or publication temporarily halted if the government
assesses that they promote ``mischief and discord, compromise the
security of the state and its public image,'' or ``offend a man's
dignity and rights''; these formulations provide the government with
latitude in using the law to define public discourse. The government
continued to restrict freedom of speech and press by interrupting
publication and dissemination of news sources critical of the royal
family or of Islam. The legal structure permitted the government broad
leeway in controlling the media through lawful controls on newsprint,
printing presses, licensing, and media content.
The government actively impeded criticism and monitored citizens'
political activity. All public employees are enjoined from
``participating, directly or indirectly, in the preparation of any
document, speech, or petition; engaging in dialogue with local and
foreign media; or participating in any meetings intended to oppose the
state's policies.'' The government could ban writers critical of the
religious establishment, the government's activities, or the royal
family from publishing articles; it could shut down critical blogs; and
it could threaten and arrest university professors and lecturers for
exercising free speech.
On September 3, Hadi al-Mutif received a five-year sentence for
criticizing the government (see section 2.c.).
In 2007, according to AI, university professor Sa'id Bin Zu'air was
arrested on charges of financially aiding terrorists; other sources
have argued that he was arrested to prevent him from appearing on Al
Jazeera and criticizing the government. He remained in detention at
year's end.
The government owned most print and broadcast media and book
publication facilities in the country, and members of the royal family
owned or influenced those that were privately owned and nominally
independent, including various media outlets and widely circulated pan-
Arab newspapers. The government owned, operated, and censored most
domestic television and radio outlets. Privately owned satellite
television networks, headquartered outside the country, maintained
local offices and operated under a system of self-censorship. Many
other foreign satellite stations broadcast a wide range of programs
into the country. Foreign media are subject to licensing requirements
from the MOI and cannot operate freely. Authorities prevented or
delayed the distribution of foreign print media, effectively censoring
these publications.
Journalists occasionally faced harassment and intimidation through
phone calls or e-mails. On January 17, after the national soccer team
lost a game, a prince called sports channel Al-Riyadhiyya during a live
show, threatened the commentator, and told him to be silent. The
commentator had negatively remarked on the Saudi team and the
management of the soccer federation, which is affiliated with the royal
family according to media reports.
In March 2008, according to the international NGO Committee to
Protect Journalists, cleric Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak called for
the trial of two writers for ``heretical articles'' and their deaths if
they did not repent. In September 2008 Supreme Judicial Council head
Sheikh Saleh al-Lihedan stated during a radio program that it is
permissible under Shari'a to kill owners of satellite television
channels that broadcast immoral and anti-Islamic content. Following
strong domestic and international reaction, al-Lihedan clarified his
remarks to state that media owners could be subject to the judicial
process, including the death penalty. On February 14, a royal decree
replaced al-Lihedan with Dr. Saleh bin Humaid as head of the Supreme
Judicial Council.
The government directly or indirectly censored or restricted media
content through laws or other mechanisms. The Law of Printed Materials
and Publication governs printed materials; printing presses;
bookstores; import, rent, and sale of films; television and radio; and
foreign media offices and their correspondents. All media activities
are subject to the MOI's prior censorship and licensing requirements.
Censorship resulted in situations such as one in which an October 19
Time magazine article on Saudi women in the workplace was banned and
drew government ire for ``making unacceptable criticisms of the
leadership of the country'' and ``degrading Saudi women.''
A 1982 media policy statement still in effect urges journalists to
uphold Islam, oppose atheism, promote Arab interests, and preserve
cultural heritage. The Ministry of Culture and Information (MCI) must
approve the appointment of all senior editors and has the authority to
remove them. The government provides guidelines to newspapers regarding
controversial problems.
For example, on August 8 and 9, the MCI closed the Riyadh and
Jeddah offices of the LBC for allegedly violating media policy. The
closing came days after LBC aired a television program that focused on
a man's recounting of his sexual experiences, including depicting him
driving a car on the streets of Jeddah and picking up women. On July
31, Jeddah police arrested Mazen Abdul Jawad and three of his friends
who had appeared on the program, as well as the cameraman and a female
journalist. After conviction under Shari'a on criminal charges for
publicizing vice, a district court sentenced Jawad to five years in
prison, 1,000 lashes, and a ban on travel and talking to the media for
five years after his release. The three men who appeared on the program
were convicted of discussing sex publicly and sentenced to two years'
imprisonment and 300 lashes, and the LBC cameraman was sentenced to two
months in prison. On October 24, the court sentenced Rosanna al-Yami,
an LBC journalist involved in the program, to 60 lashes and a two-year
travel ban, but the king waived the lashing on October 27. It is
unknown whether the travel ban was revoked.
Occasionally, the Consultative Council allowed print and broadcast
media to observe its proceedings and meetings, but the council closed
certain high-profile or controversial sessions to the media.
Foreign and domestic journalists practiced self-censorship. In rare
cases, individuals were able to criticize specific government bodies or
actions publicly without repercussions, as they did in the aftermath of
the November Jeddah flood.
Unlike the previous year, there were no reported cases indicating
that officials used libel laws to suppress criticism.
Restrictions, including censorship, limited the operation of
publishing houses. Under the Law of Printed Materials and Publication,
every author must provide two copies of a prepublication manuscript to
the MOI for approval or rejection.
Although satellite dishes were technically illegal, the government
did not enforce restrictions on several million dishes that provided
foreign television programming. Access to outside sources of
information, such as Arabic and Western satellite television channels
and the Internet, was widespread.
During the year the government permitted some press criticism. For
example, after the Jeddah flood on November 25, the government allowed
articles openly critical of high-ranking municipal and other government
officials, alleging widespread corruption in city planning. The Saudi
Gazette, an English language newspaper, featured critical articles on
human rights and labor issues, including pieces on citizenship of
persons born and raised in the country, equal pay for female teachers,
guardianship, and family violence.
Internet Freedom.--The government restricted access to the
Internet. According to 2008 International Telecommunications Union
statistics, approximately 8 percent of the country's inhabitants used
the Internet.
The official Communications and Information Technology Commission
(CITC) monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms and blocked sites
deemed incompatible with Shari'a and national regulations. In addition
to designating unacceptable sites, the CITC accepted requests from
citizens to block or unblock sites. The government blocked access to
Web sites it deemed offensive (such as sites involving sex or
pornography); against the principles of Islam and social norms,
including radical religious sites or sites with controversial religious
content (including pages about Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and
radical Islam); politically sensitive (including human rights); or
offensive to the government or members of the royal family. The social
networking site Orkut remained blocked throughout the year.
Access to the Internet was legally available only through
government-run Internet service providers. In practice the law was not
enforceable, as Internet users could access the Internet via proxy
servers.
Individuals and groups were unable to engage in the peaceful
exchange of views via the Internet, including e-mail. For example, on
July 29, MOI security forces arrested and detained Raafat Al-Ghanem, a
popular blogger and founder of the proreform blog Defaf. Al-Ghanem's
articles criticized the CPVPV, and he signed an appeal for the release
of blogger Mohammed Al-Otaibi and writer Khaled al-Omair. Al-Ghanem's
whereabouts were unknown at year's end. On August 20, the CITC blocked
the Twitter pages of Waleed Abdulkhair, whose postings included
commentary on his own and other lawyers' human rights cases, and of
businessman Khaled Al-Nasser, whose postings included commentary on
human rights and governance. On November 1, the CITC blocked the
liberal Web site www.montdiatna.com for unknown reasons. On December
28, the CITC blocked the Web site of the ACPRA after it wrote an open
letter to King Abdullah charging the government with torturing
imprisoned human rights activist Suliman Al-Reshoudi.
The 2007 Law to Fight Cyber Crime imposes up to 10 years'
imprisonment and a 4.7 million riyal ($1.3 million) fine for anyone who
creates or disseminates a Web site for a terrorist organization to
facilitate communication with leaders of such organizations or promotes
the organization's radical views. Other laws criminalize defamation on
the Internet, hacking, unauthorized access to government Web sites, and
stealing information related to national security. By year's end, no
prosecutions had been reported under these laws despite at least two
widely reported breaches of the law when Al-Watan's Web site was hacked
on September 26 and on November 6.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government continued to
restrict academic freedom and cultural events. The government censored
course content. Informants reportedly monitored classroom discussions
and reported to government and religious authorities. Academics
practiced self-censorship.
Despite self-censorship by organizers, authorities monitored,
censored, and shut down some cultural events. The government censored
public artistic expression and prohibited cinemas and public musical or
theatrical performances, except those considered folkloric and part of
a special event.
On July 18, the government canceled the widely advertised fourth
annual Jeddah Film Festival, after temporarily lifting a restriction on
the public showing of films with the screening of a movie in Jeddah and
Taif in December 2008. Local authorities continued to force closings of
social forums in the majority Shia Al-Ahsa region of Hofuf.
During the year, cultural and recreational gatherings sponsored by
private citizens continued. For example, the Jeddah Literary Club
welcomed a visiting delegation of writers from the University of Iowa,
and the Riyadh Literary Club hosted the group for a discussion that was
open to the public. On August 18, the CPVPV attempted to stop a
performance of a children's singing group, objecting to the group
playing music and mixing genders, at a shopping mall in Medina but were
confronted by the organizers' security staff and parents who had paid
for their children to see the performance.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The Basic Law does not provide for freedom of assembly,
which the government strictly limited in practice. Public
demonstrations were prohibited.
Public meetings were usually segregated by gender. The Jeddah
Chamber of Commerce and Industry and some other commercial and medical
events included both men and women. Authorities monitored large
nonfamily gatherings, particularly if women were present. The religious
police dispersed any large nonfamily groups in public places, such as
restaurants. Men and women may mix in restaurants of Western luxury
hotels that cater primarily to noncitizens, and in the family sections
of some restaurants that do not check identification cards.
Security forces usually denied demonstration requests, and they
disrupted, dispersed, and arrested demonstrators or would-be
demonstrators during the year. There were no government-permitted
peaceful political demonstrations during the year. It was a crime to
participate in unauthorized public assemblies.
On January 1, Riyadh police arrested Khaled al-Omair, Mohammed Al-
Otaibi, and at least 21 others in Riyadh and detained them in unknown
locations after the men attempted to protest Israel's military action
in Gaza through a public sit-in. Their whereabouts were later revealed,
and in late June the government charged Al-Omair and Al-Otaibi with
participating in a protest but subsequently dropped the charges,
although 10 of the men (including Al-Omair and Al-Otaibi) remained
detained at year's end.
In late February and early March, security officers arrested more
than 50 Shia citizens, including children, in the Eastern Province for
engaging in a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with Shia arrested
in the Medina clashes. Authorities held more than 24 individuals until
July 1, when the king granted a pardon.
In December 2008 the MOI, citing security concerns, denied a
request by activists to hold a peaceful sit-in in Riyadh on behalf of
Palestinians in Gaza.
In December 2008 the unlicensed Association for the Protection and
Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia received a warning against
mounting any demonstrations, according to HRW. In 2007 the group had
transmitted to the king a petition with 1,100 signatures asking for a
repeal of the ban on women driving. The government did not reply.
Freedom of Association.--The Basic Law does not provide for freedom
of association, and the government strictly limited this right in
practice. The government prohibited the establishment of political
parties or any group it considered as opposing or challenging the
regime. All associations must be licensed by the MOI and comply with
its regulations. Groups that hoped to change some element of the social
or political order reported that their licensing requests went
unanswered. The MOI reportedly used arbitrary means, such as requiring
unreasonable types and quantities of information, to effectively deny
associations licenses.
At year's end, the government had not licensed the Human Rights
First Society (HRFS), whose founder, Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, applied for
a license in 2002. The government continued to permit its informal
operation, but as the group is formally ``unlicensed,'' it remained
unclear which activities were permitted and which could draw government
criticism or punishment. Without a license the group may not raise
operating funds, which severely limited its activities.
On October 12, the ACPRA wrote an open letter to the king declaring
the founding of a civic and human rights group to promote human rights
awareness in society and to educate citizens on basic freedoms as
elaborated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The group did
not apply for a license. The 11 founding members of the organization
are academics and human rights activists. The ACPRA has a Web site at
www.ksarights.org, which was blocked at year's end.
Government-chartered associations observe citizen-only limitations.
The Saudi Journalists Association operates under a government charter.
Membership is voluntary and open to both men and women. Although
theoretically noncitizen journalists working in the country were
eligible to join, they have no voting rights and may not attend the
association's general assembly.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The Basic Law recognizes Islam as
interpreted by the government as the state religion, and Islam
constitutes the basis of the Shari'a legal system. The law does not
recognize or protect religious freedom as a matter of policy, and the
government prohibited the public practice of non-Muslim religions. The
government limited the public practice of forms of Islam other than
Sunni Islam.
Legal restrictions on religious expression and speech exist. The
government prohibited the public practice or profession of other
religions, and it outlawed possession of non-Muslim literature or
symbols. Public religious training for all but Sunni religious groups
was prohibited. Proselytizing by non-Muslims was illegal, including
distribution of non-Islamic religious materials such as Bibles. Anyone
publicly wearing non-Islamic religious symbols risked confrontation
with the CPVPV. The law criminalizes blasphemy. A Muslim's conversion
to another religion is considered apostasy, punishable with physical
abuse, imprisonment, and threats of execution unless the converted
person recants. There have been no confirmed reports of sanctioned
executions for apostasy since 1992. The government stated that as a
matter of public policy it protects the right to private worship in
homes for all religious services and the right to possess and use
personal religious materials in private. The policy was not defined in
law nor always respected in practice.
There were incidents of government violence and intimidation of
individuals based on religious beliefs.
On January 13, authorities arrested and imprisoned Hamoud Bin Saleh
for describing his conversion to Christianity on his ChristforSaudis
blog. He remained under a travel ban after release at the end of March
and was prohibited from blogging at year's end.
On September 3, Hadi al-Mutif, a Sulaimani Ismaili Shia who has
been on death row for 16 years for ``insulting the Prophet Mohammad,''
received an additional five-year sentence for criticizing the
government's justice system and human rights record on a tape smuggled
out of prison and broadcast on Al-Hurra television in 2007.
On January 29, the king pardoned Turkish barber Sabri Bogday, who
had been sentenced to death for blasphemy in March 2008.
On February 20, a group of Shia pilgrims visiting Medina's Baqui'a
cemetery to observe the anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad's death
clashed with government security forces after a man believed to be a
member of the CPVPV filmed some of the women in the group. The clashes
continued for five days and resulted in the arrest of 10 pilgrims. The
security forces opposed what they consider idolatrous Shia rituals
venerating gravesites. Subsequently, a Shia delegation from Qatif, Al-
Ahsa, and Medina met with the king, who then announced the immediate
release of all detainees.
On December 29, the Saudi Gazette reported that the Medina
Governorate mayor and the CPVPV officially banned the use of
gravestones, a Shia practice to commemorate individuals. Sunni Muslim
practice is not to mark graves. According to the mayor's office, all
gravestones were removed in Medina.
On November 9, authorities in the Eastern Province (Ras Tanura and
Abqaia) closed two Shia mosques that had operated for years, justifying
the closures on the grounds of improper zoning and lack of mandated
permits. Other Shia mosques reportedly were closed in the Eastern
Province in the past year, including two in Al Khobar in August.
There were fewer reports of government officials confiscating
religious materials from travelers, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.
Individuals were able to bring personal Bibles, crosses, DVDs of
sermons, and other religious materials into the country without
difficulty.
There were fewer reports of the CPVPV conducting raids of private
religious gatherings during the year. The government allowed large
public and private celebrations of Shia holidays in the Eastern
Province, although restrictions on Shia celebrations differed by
region. In Qatif during the year, the Ashura and Imam Mahdi
celebrations were marked by more commemorations and participants and by
a smaller security presence than in the recent past. Local news
reported a wider practice of ritual self-flagellation, which the
government previously discouraged.
In contrast, the government imposed restrictions on the public
observance of these holidays in other areas with large Shia populations
such as Al-Ahsa, Dammam, and Najran. Authorities banned public marches,
loudspeaker broadcasts of clerics' lectures from Shia community
centers, and in some instances gatherings within the centers. Security
forces patrolled the streets of Al-Ahsa to ensure there were no banners
or flags associated with the religious holidays.
Members of other religious groups faced significant restrictions of
religious freedom in law and in practice. The government restricted the
practice of their faith and the building of places of worship and
community centers. There were no public places of worship for non-
Muslims. Although the government did not officially permit non-Muslim
clergy to enter the country to conduct religious services, some did
enter under other auspices, and the government generally did not
disrupt discreet religious functions. Restrictions made it difficult
for most non-Muslims to maintain contact with clergymen and to attend
services. Religious education conforming to the conservative Hanbali
tradition of Sunni Islam was mandatory in public schools at all levels,
regardless of the Islamic tradition to which students' families
adhered. Expatriate non-Muslim students in private schools were not
required to study Islam.
According to a November 24 HRW report, a lower court in Medina on
November 9 sentenced Lebanese citizen Ali Sabat to death for practicing
witchcraft. Religious police arrested him in May 2008 while he was on
pilgrimage. Apparently, the charge was based on advice on general life
questions, forecasts, and predictions he made on a Lebanese satellite
television program that was seen in the country. AI reported that Sabat
was to be executed on December 19, but the execution had not occurred
at year's end.
In February 2008 HRW appealed to the king to stop the execution of
Fawza Falih Muhammad Ali, arrested in 2005 and accused of witchcraft.
HRW cited reportedly weak evidence and highly irregular court
procedures. Her appeal was transferred to the High Court in January,
and she remained imprisoned at year's end.
To reduce extremist rhetoric, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs
(MOIA) employed 1,500 monitors across the country, who followed sermons
in mosques and the activities of imams, according to a February 2008
Okaz newspaper report. Provincial committees summon clerics accused of
preaching intolerance based on the monitors' reports. If the committees
are unable to dissuade the clerics from their radical thinking, the
clerics are referred to a central committee in Riyadh. Since the
program's inception in 2003, a reported 3,200 clerics have been
dismissed, according to a March 25 Okaz Online interview with minister
of Islamic affairs Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The government continued to
enforce its official interpretation of Islam. Accordingly, it condoned
societal abuses and discrimination against adherents of Shia Islam,
including limited employment and educational opportunities and
underrepresentation in official institutions, as well as societal
abuses and discrimination against Christians, Jews, and others. The
Shia minority, between 10 and 15 percent of the citizen population,
live mostly in the Eastern and Western provinces and in Najran in the
southwest. The local government in the Najran area subjected members of
the Sulaiman Ismaili minority (a branch of Shia Islam) to officially
sanctioned discrimination in employment and in the justice system.
The government required noncitizens to carry legal resident
identity cards identifying them as ``Muslim'' or ``non-Muslim.'' Unlike
previous years, there were no reports that sponsors withheld pay and
residency card renewal based on religious factors.
In 2008 the UN endorsed the king's Interfaith Dialogue Initiative,
which brought together prominent officials and religious and academic
scholars to discuss interfaith issues and promote tolerance and
understanding. The King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue
conducted 2,677 training programs with 1,200 certified trainers
training more than 150,000 people on ``the culture and importance of
open dialogue and communication skills,'' initiatives to increase
tolerance and encourage moderation and understanding. During the year
high-level government and religious officials openly supported this
campaign, advocating against religious extremism and intolerant
language, especially in mosques and schools.
Since the government's multi-year project to revise textbooks,
curricula, and teaching methods to promote tolerance and remove content
disparaging religions other than Islam began in 2007, more than 83
school districts in 27 different regions and provinces have
participated in the project. The program's goal is to supplement
religious instruction with knowledge-based subjects such as science and
computer literacy. In 2007 the Ministry of Education signed a five-year
collaboration agreement with King Abdulaziz Center for National
Dialogue to promote religious and cultural tolerance in the classroom
through teacher training and seminars. The government continued to
address and remove intolerant and extreme language while promoting
tolerance and intercultural understanding in textbooks. For example,
the government mandated the removal of controversial terms from school
textbooks and the substitution of such terms with the phrase ``there is
no compulsion in religion.'' Although intolerant and extreme language
was reportedly being removed from textbooks, prejudiced concepts and
expressions remained. A 2007-2008 high school text contained
stereotypical language, such as saying, ``Jews' lives are ruled by
materialism, and usury consumes them.'' Textbook reviews and revisions
continued at year's end.
The MOIA has issued periodic circulars to clerics and imams in
mosques directing them to include messages on the principles of
justice, equality, and tolerance, and encouraging rejection of bigotry
and all forms of racial discrimination in their sermons.
On infrequent occasions, editorial cartoons exhibited anti-Semitism
characterized by stereotypical images of Jews along with Jewish symbols
and comparisons of Israeli government actions to those of Nazis. Anti-
Semitic editorial comments sometimes appeared in government and private
print and electronic media in response to regional political events,
particularly the Israeli military operations in Gaza. In a January 11
address broadcast on Al Jazeera TV Saudi cleric Khaled Al-Khlewi
referred to Jews as ``treacherous, disloyal, deceitful, and belligerent
by nature.''
There continued to be instances in which Sunni imams, who receive
government stipends, used anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, and anti-Shia
language in their sermons and some instances in which mosque speakers
prayed for the death of Jews and Christians. There were reports the
MOIA dismissed some imams for espousing intolerant ideas. There were
reports of imams in the Eastern Province who included calls for divine
punishment of Jews as part of special prayers.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The Basic Law does not contain
provisions for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel,
or emigration and repatriation. The government cooperated with the
Office of the UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) and other
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Generally, the government did not restrict the free movement of
male citizens within the country or the right of citizens to change
residence or workplace, provided they held a national identification
card (NIC). The law requires all male citizens 15 years of age or older
to hold an NIC. For women the NIC was optional, reflecting the special
status of female citizens, and could be issued only if a woman's male
guardian consented in writing to its issuance, or if she already held a
valid passport, also issued only with a guardian's consent. Any
transaction with a government agency or public institution required
presentation of the NIC. The government imposed restrictions on women's
freedom of movement by prohibiting them from driving motor vehicles.
The guardianship system requires a woman to have the permission of her
male guardian (father, brother, husband, or son) to work or move freely
in the country. During the year the government continued to issue NICs
to women, despite opposition from religious conservatives. Unlike the
previous year, there were no reports that women had difficulty
obtaining identity cards, and the application for the NIC was available
via the Internet.
There are restrictions on foreign travel, including for women and
members of minority groups. No one may leave the country without an
exit visa and a passport. Women and minors (younger than 21) require a
male guardian's consent to have a passport and to travel abroad. A
noncitizen wife needs permission from her husband to travel unless both
partners sign a prenuptial agreement permitting the noncitizen wife to
travel without the husband's permission. Government entities and male
family members can ``blacklist'' women and minor children, prohibiting
their travel. In cases involving custody disputes, the male guardian is
legally able to prevent even adult children from leaving the country.
The government continued to impose travel bans on some social or
political reform advocates. During the year the government revoked the
rights of some citizens to travel outside the country for political
reasons but did not provide them with notification or opportunity to
contest the restriction. HRW reported the imposition of 22 travel bans
on activists since 2007.
On July 23, passport authorities in Braid informed Mohammad Saleh
El-Beady of an ongoing travel ban. El-Beady is the administrator of the
Web site Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia-Al Braid, and
previously hosted an online forum on that topic. In January 2008 police
arrested him for contacting human rights activists Abdullah al-Hamed
and Matrouk Al-Faleh and for talking to the press about his 2007 four-
month detention without charge in solitary confinement, according to
the international NGO Front Line.
On December 6, police stopped blogger and human rights activist
Ra'if Badawi at the Jeddah airport and prevented him from traveling to
Beirut; they gave no explanation or expiration date for the travel ban.
On his Web site, Badawi had criticized the religious police for human
rights violations.
In December 2008 authorities stopped previously detained blogger
Fouad al-Farhan in the Jeddah airport and prevented him from leaving
the country to speak at the third annual Arab Free Press Forum.
In 2008 the government prevented Abdurrahman al-Lahem from
traveling abroad to receive two human rights awards. Al-Lahem had
defended the female victim in the 2006 Qatif rape. His travel ban has
been in effect since 2004. The travel ban was scheduled to expire in
March, but its lifting was not confirmed by year's end.
Movement and travel of foreign workers remained under the complete
control of their employers or sponsors, who held their passports and
were responsible for processing residence permits on their behalf.
The government did not use forced exile, but it has previously
revoked the citizenship of opponents of the government who resided
outside the country.
There are no prohibitions on the return of citizens who have left
the country. The government sometimes confiscated passports of
suspected opposition members and their families, thereby restricting
their freedom to travel.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. The Basic Law provides that the
``state will grant political asylum if public interest so dictates.''
The country has no legislation implementing this provision, and the
government allows only those with residence permits to apply for
asylum. The government generally does not grant asylum or accept
refugees for settlement from third countries. Government policy is not
to grant refugee status to persons who are in the country illegally or
who have overstayed a pilgrimage visa. The government strongly
encourages persons who do not have residency to leave, or it threatens
or imposes deportation. Access to naturalization is difficult for
refugees. During the year the government provided temporary protection
to an unknown number of individuals who may not qualify as refugees.
During the year the government facilitated the movement of 28 Eritrean
refugees to Sweden.
In a 1993 memorandum of understanding with the UNHCR, the
government agreed to provide protection for refugees present in the
country while the UNHCR carries out refugee status determinations on
the country's behalf. In law and practice, the government provided some
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened because of race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
Access to basic services, including health care and social
services, is reserved for citizens. Refugees' only access to basic
services is through the UNHCR. The government did not allow the
enrollment of refugee children in public elementary schools. Refugees
did not have access to courts. There were no reports of mistreatment of
refugees and asylum seekers.
The UNHCR Representative Office to the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) countries reported that as of September, no Iraqi refugees
remained in the country. According to a UNHCR representative, since
1991 the UNHCR has facilitated the safe, voluntary resettlement of more
than 25,000 Iraqi refugees to third countries.
Stateless Persons.--The country has a significant number of
habitual residents who are legally stateless; data on the stateless
population are scarce, and the government is not open to discussing the
issue. The UNHCR unofficially estimated that there were 70,000 to
100,000 stateless persons in the country, almost all of whom were
native-born Arab residents known as Bidoon, with some Baloch and West
Africans.
Bidoon are persons whose ancestors failed to obtain nationality,
such as descendants of nomadic tribes not counted among the native
tribes during the reign of the country's founder, King Abdul Aziz;
descendants of foreign-born fathers who arrived before there were laws
regulating citizenship; and rural migrants whose parents failed to
register their births. As noncitizens, Bidoon were unable to obtain
passports and had no ability to travel abroad. Their lack of
citizenship denied them employment and educational opportunities, and
their marginalized status made them among the poorest residents of the
country. In recent years, the Ministry of Education took steps to admit
Bidoon children to school. The government has issued Bidoon five-year
residency permits to facilitate their social integration in government-
provided health care and other services, putting them on similar
footing with sponsored foreign workers.
The government enforces an Arab League directive against
naturalizing the estimated 500,000 Palestinian residents, so they will
not ``lose their Palestinian identity'' and will ``preserve their right
of return.''
Several scenarios lead to statelessness of children under the
Nationality Law: (1) A child born before his parents are married is not
affiliated with his father legally, even if the father has recognized
the child and therefore is stateless. (2) When identification documents
are withdrawn from a parent, the child also loses his or her
identification and accompanying rights (this could happen when a
naturalized parent denaturalizes voluntarily or loses citizenship
through other acts). (3) Children of a citizen mother and a foreign
father are without nationality, unless the father transfers his foreign
nationality to the child. (4) Children of a citizen father and a
foreign mother are stateless, unless the government has authorized the
marriage of the parents in advance. In addition, when government
authorities seize a citizen's NIC, his or her children also lose their
legal status and become stateless.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens did not have the right to change their government
peacefully. The Basic Law states that the government is established on
the principle of consultation (shura) and requires the king and crown
prince to hold majlis meetings, open-door events where in theory any
male citizen or foreigner may express an opinion or a grievance. A
prince or other important national or local official can also hold a
majlis.
The Basic Law states that all individuals have the right to
communicate with public authorities on any issue. The government
interpreted this provision as a right to be exercised within
traditional nonpublic means, not by the use of mass media.
On May 13, a group of 77 human rights civil society activists sent
a petition to the king condemning secret tribunals, seeking permission
for human rights activists to monitor prisons, and demanding political
and judicial reforms, including a constitutional monarchy and the
limiting of the terms of appointed royal family members in government
posts. The petition was copied to the Royal Diwan and 20 senior
officials. The activists retained a Web site at www.humriht-
civsocsa.org, where the petition and other documents relating to human
rights and civil society issues were posted.
Elections and Political Participation.--The Basic Law establishes
monarchy as the political system. According to the family monarchy
system enshrined in the Basic Law, only a few members of the ruling
family have a voice in the choice of leaders, the composition of the
government, or changes to the political system. The 2006 succession law
created the Allegiance Commission, comprising 34 senior princes
appointed by the king and responsible for selecting a king and crown
prince upon the death or incapacitation of either. The king serves as
prime minister and his crown prince serves as deputy prime minister.
The king appoints all other ministers, who appoint subordinate
officials with cabinet concurrence. The Consultative Council (Majlis
as-Shura), a royally appointed 150-member body, advises the king.
On May 18, the state news agency reported after a cabinet meeting
that elections for half of the seats on the municipal advisory councils
(the only elected government office) scheduled during the year would be
postponed until October 2011 to provide more time to study ``expanding
the participation of citizens in running local affairs.'' In the 2005
elections (the first since 1963), only male, nonmilitary citizens at
least 21 years of age were eligible to vote for 592 seats on 178
municipal advisory councils, or half the total seats. There were no
independent election observers. Unofficial estimates were that between
10 and 15 percent of eligible voters actually voted. The king completed
the formation of the councils in 2005 by appointing 592 men to fill the
other half of the council seats.
Political parties were illegal. The Green Party continued to
operate illegally during the year. There was no media coverage of the
party's activities.
Laws and traditional/cultural practices requiring strict
segregation of genders encompassing every aspect of life prevented
women from participating in political life on the same basis as men.
Beginning in 2005, the government allowed women to run for positions on
the boards of chambers of commerce and industry, but none has won a
place. In 2008 two women were elected to the board of the Jeddah
Chamber of Commerce and Industry for four-year terms and three woman
were appointed. During the year the number of female consultants on the
Consultative Council increased from six to 10. There were no women on
the High Court (women may not practice law) or on the Supreme Judicial
Council. There was one woman in a cabinet-level position, as deputy
minister for women's education.
There are no laws that prevent minorities from participating in
political life on the same basis as other citizens, but the dominant
societal norms marginalize the Shia population. The Consultative
Council included only five Shia members. There were no religious
minorities in the cabinet. There were some Shia judges.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption by
employees. The government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There
were reports of government corruption during the year, and the World
Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a
problem. There was widespread public perception of corruption on the
part of some members of the royal family and the executive branch of
the government.
On December 31, the Saudi Gazette reported interim results of the
king's order for an investigation into the Jeddah flood, which was
reportedly more destructive because bribe-taking and corruption in
construction contracting and land deals led to improper building and
engineering. Authorities detained government and nongovernment
officials pending the outcome of the investigative committee's inquiry,
but the prince in charge of the investigation said there was no need to
publicize the detentions and investigations.
As of August 29, the Jeddah Administrative Court had postponed the
issuance of a verdict three times in a Taif municipality corruption and
bribe-taking scandal totaling 1.4 million riyals ($373,333). In July
2008 the court had convicted 16 Taif municipality employees. Sentences
included prison, dismissal from employment, and fines. Seven others
accused were absolved of all charges, and two private businessmen were
fined 150,000 riyals ($40,000) each.
In October 2008 Arab News requested an investigation into
corruption involving contracts for major roadwork, highlighting a
project for which the government paid 698 million riyals (approximately
$186.1 million) that was subcontracted multiple times and ultimately
performed for only 18.2 million riyals ($4.9 million). There was no
investigation.
Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Prosecution and Investigation Commission, an independent body reporting
to the Council of Ministers, investigated cases of corruption against
public service officials. During the first half of 2008 the commission
considered 12,466 cases involving public service officials and
agencies. The commission identified instances of forgery, bribery, and
public mistreatment, among other forms of misconduct. There were no new
data from the Commission concerning additional cases of corruption at
year's end.
Government employees who accept bribes face 10 years in prison or
fines of as much as one million riyals (approximately $267,000).
The law does not provide for public access to government
information, including precision in sources of state revenue and
expenditures such as ministerial budgets or allocations to members of
the royal family. During the year the government did not make publicly
available information concerning specific instances of corruption,
allegations regarding corruption, or government actions against
corruption. In 2008 the Consultative Council called in ministers for
questioning in exercise of its oversight responsibility, although some,
notably the minister of finance, did not appear. There was no similar
exercise during the year. In 2008 the Court of Grievances delivered
2,695 verdicts on 1,368 criminal cases and 1,327 disciplinary cases
against public officials and agencies.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were government restrictions on, and the government sometimes
did not cooperate with, domestic and international human rights
organizations in investigations of alleged violations of human rights.
The Basic Law provides that ``the State shall protect human rights in
accordance with the Islamic Shari'a.''
The MOI licensed one domestic human rights organization, the NSHR,
funded through a trust fund from a member of the royal family. There
were at least two nonlicensed, active human rights groups, the HRFS and
the ACPRA, previously the Human Rights Civic Society Saudi Arabia. The
government viewed these groups with suspicion and as illegitimately
meddling in government affairs. A third, less active group, the
National Saudi Committee of Human Rights, has tried unsuccessfully to
register since 2003, according to HRW.
On October 12, 11 prominent human rights activists wrote an open
letter to King Abdullah announcing the establishment of the ACPRA. The
group had previously been operating as the Human Rights Civic Society
Saudi Arabia organization, which was also unlicensed. There was no
public reaction to the letter, which was widely circulated through e-
mails and through the Internet, nor did the group's establishment
receive press coverage in the country.
The NSHR continued to receive requests for assistance and
complaints about government actions affecting human rights. Most of its
members were academics, and two of its former members were ministers.
Ten of its 41 members were women. The NSHR maintained offices in
Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh, and Jizan. The NSHR attempted to resolve cases
by working with government agencies. The government accepted the
group's advice and opinion and sometimes accepted its recommendations.
The government generally viewed international NGOs with suspicion.
The HRC stated that the government welcomed the visits of legitimate,
unbiased human rights groups and had invited HRW, special rapporteur on
violence against women Yakin Ertuerk, and others to visit but also said
the government had hundreds of requests and could not act on all of
them, in part because it was cumbersome to decide which domestic agency
would be their interlocutor.
HRW's October 2008 formal request to visit the country to observe
trials of terrorism suspects remained pending at year's end; HRW's
February 2008 visit, facilitated by the HRC, resulted in a report
highlighting the poor conditions of expatriate laborers. HRW and AI
criticized the government and called on it to halt scheduled
executions. The groups also made statements to draw attention to
arbitrary arrests, poor conditions of detention, and mistreatment of
activists and suspected terrorists.
In February 2008 the government permitted the visit of UN special
rapporteur Yakin Ertuerk. On February 6, the UN Human Rights Commission
(UNHRC) conducted the country's Universal Periodic Review and
considered the National Report to the UNHRC outlining the human rights
situation in the country. Requests from five UN human rights special
rapporteurs or working groups remained unanswered since 2005.
A 2005 Council of Ministers decision established the government-
funded HRC, which acts as the government's voice on human rights and
whose president has ministerial status and reports to the prime
minister. According to the NSHR's Second Report on the Status of Human
Rights, the HRC ``met with weak collaboration on the part of some
governmental bodies in spite of the issuance of royal directives.'' The
adequately resourced HRC was considered effective in highlighting
problems but had limited capacity to effect change. The HRC worked
directly with the prime minister, with a quasi-parliamentary committee,
and with the Consultative Council's Committee for the Judiciary,
Islamic Affairs, and Human Rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, and Islamic Shari'a
traditions emphasize equality and human dignity regardless of gender,
color, or race. The government did not effectively enforce laws
prohibiting discrimination based on race.
Women.--Human rights activists reported more progress in women's
rights than in other areas. The government made efforts to integrate
women into mainstream society.
Under Shari'a, rape is a punishable criminal offense with a wide
range of penalties from flogging to execution. Generally, the
government enforced the law within the context of Shari'a, and courts
punished both the victim and the abuser. The government views marital
relations between spouses as contractual and did not recognize spousal
rape. According to the law, if a man rapes a woman, she is viewed as
being at fault for illegal mixing of genders and is punished along with
her attacker. Statistics on incidents of rape were not available, but
press reports and observers indicated rape against women and boys was a
serious problem. On February 21, ABC News reported that two policemen
were executed for raping an expatriate woman. On May 30, the Huffington
Post reported the beheading of a man who had sodomized and killed an
11-year-old boy. Other executions for rape took place throughout the
year. The government did not maintain public records on prosecutions,
convictions, or punishments. Most rape cases were unreported because
victims faced societal reprisal, diminished marriage opportunities, and
possible imprisonment or accusations of adultery.
On February 8, the Saudi Gazette reported that the district court
in Jeddah sentenced a 23-year-old unmarried woman to one year in prison
and 100 lashes for adultery; the woman was gang-raped, became pregnant,
and tried unsuccessfully to abort the fetus. The verdict against her
attackers was not reported.
There were no laws specifically prohibiting domestic violence.
Government officials stated that the government did not clearly define
domestic violence and that procedures for dealing with cases varied
from one government body to another. According to the NSHR's latest
annual report, in which it investigated 257 cases of domestic violence
and women's rights, violence was reported against both men and women in
six metropolitan areas and included a broad spectrum of abuse. The
government made efforts to combat domestic violence and supported
government-run family protection shelters. Societal criticism for
helping women ``flee'' without properly investigating cases reduced the
shelters' effectiveness, according to a July 8 Arab News report. During
the year the HRC fielded complaints of domestic abuse and referred them
to other government offices. The HRC's women and children's branch in
Riyadh received 275 complaints during the year, 24 percent of which
were domestic violence cases. The branch opened in September 2008 and
handled 52 cases in its first month of operation.
Foreign domestic workers reportedly were frequent victims of abuse
(see section 7.c.).
Prostitution is illegal and its prevalence is not known. Some women
and men, primarily noncitizens, reportedly engaged in prostitution.
There were reports of trafficking of women and children for commercial
sexual exploitation.
The Arabic-language media carried infrequent reports of sexual
harassment as a social phenomenon. The extent of sexual harassment was
difficult to measure. The government's interpretation of Shari'a guides
courts on cases of sexual harassment. Workplaces maintained separate
male and female workspaces where feasible.
On January 15, the Web site IslamNet reported that police in Al-
Ahsa arrested a man who was blackmailing a 24-year-old woman into
giving him 250,000 riyals ($66,666) by threatening to publish a photo
he had obtained of her. The site reported several similar cases in
different locales, one in Riyadh where a woman paid a man 800,000
riyals ($213,333) over 14 years before she turned to the CPVPV for
assistance. Because the exchange of photographs or letters prior to
marriage can cause enormous problems for women, cases in which men
abuse contact with a woman to blackmail her into having sex or giving
cash have occurred.
There were no reports of government interference in the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of
children, matters that are subject to agreement between husband and
wife. Decisions regarding access to contraceptives, family size, and
procedures involving reproductive and fertility treatments require the
consent of both husband and wife. The information and means to make
those decisions, as well as skilled attendance during childbirth are
freely available. Information was not available regarding diagnosis and
treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination against women was a significant problem. After her
February 2008 visit, the UN special rapporteur on violence against
women, while acknowledging progress in the status of women and
particularly women's access to education, noted the lack of women's
autonomy, freedom of movement, and economic independence;
discriminatory practices surrounding divorce and child custody; the
absence of a law criminalizing violence against women; and difficulties
preventing women from escaping abusive environments.
Women continued to face discrimination under the law and remained
uninformed about their rights. Although they may legally own property
and are entitled to financial support from their guardian, women have
few political or social rights and society does not treat them as equal
members. The law prohibits women from marrying non-Muslims, but men may
marry Christians and Jews. Women may not marry noncitizens without
government permission; men must obtain government permission only if
they intend to marry noncitizens from outside the six GCC States.
Custom restricted women in their use of public facilities. When men
are present, women must sit in separate, specially designated sections.
Women risked arrest by religious police for riding in a vehicle driven
by a male who was not an employee or a close male relative. On March
19, the newspaper Ar-Riyadh reported the CPVPV, mistakenly thinking the
couple was not married, attacked and arrested a Saudi resident who had
driven his wife to a Riyadh shopping mall. The religious police
forcibly removed her from the shopping center and detained her for
investigation. After discovering the mistake, the CVPV warned the
couple not to publicize the incident.
The law requires women to wear an abaya (a loose-fitting, full-
length black cloak covering the entire body) in public and to conceal
their hair. The religious police generally expected Muslim women to
cover their faces and non-Muslim women from other Asian and African
countries to comply more fully with local customs of dress than non-
Muslim Western women. In rural areas and smaller cities, women adhered
to the traditional dress code of covering the entire body, hands, feet,
hair, and face.
Women also faced discrimination in courts, where the testimony of
one man equals that of two women. In divorce proceedings, women had to
demonstrate legally specified grounds for divorce, but men could
divorce without giving cause. In doing so men were required to pay
immediately an amount of money agreed upon at the time of the marriage
that serves as a one-time alimony payment. Women who demonstrate legal
grounds for divorce also were entitled to alimony. A husband who
``verbally'' divorces his wife, or refuses to sign final divorce
papers, continues to be her legal guardian with the authority to
approve her travel, business license, studies at a university or
college, or hospital care.
Women faced discrimination under the family law and under Shari'a
inheritance law. Courts awarded custody of children when they attained
a specified age (seven years for boys and nine years for girls) to the
divorced husband or the deceased husband's family. In numerous cases,
former husbands prevented divorced foreign women from visiting their
children. Under Shari'a inheritance laws, daughters receive half the
inheritance awarded to their brothers.
Women had access to free, but generally segregated education
through university level and constituted more than 58 percent of all
university students. The exception to segregation in higher education
was the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, a
coeducational research university that opened September 23, with women
permitted to work jointly with men, to forgo the veil in coeducational
classes, and to drive cars on campus.
Employment opportunities for women were limited, confined mainly to
the education and health care sectors, although increases were
occurring in business and finance, social services, and government
ministries. The cultural requirement to separate the genders led to
discrimination in employment. A woman cannot accept a job in a rural
area unless she lodges with an adult male relative who agrees to act as
her guardian. Despite gender segregation, the law grants women the
right to obtain business licenses for work in fields that might require
them to supervise foreign workers, interact with male clients, or deal
frequently with government officials. A male guardian must give
permission before a woman can own or operate a business unless the
business is in a field deemed appropriate for women and managed
entirely by women. In medical settings and in the energy industry,
women and men worked together, and in some instances women supervised
male employees. Women who work in establishments with 50 or more female
employees have the right to maternity leave and childcare.
A May 5 Council of Ministers resolution removed the requirement for
women to obtain the permission of a male guardian to work, as long as
the type of business was ``deemed appropriate for a woman.''
On June 7, the Saudi Gazette cited a report by the Riyadh Chamber
of Commerce and Industry stating that nearly 250,000 women worked in
government departments and 45,000 others in private firms. By mid-year,
the government had established 120 special computer-training centers
accredited by the Ministry of Civil Service to help women integrate
into the work force.
Children.--Citizenship derives from the father and only the father
can register a birth. There were cases of citizen children denied
public services, including education and health care, because the
government failed to register the birth entirely or immediately. The
number of births that go unregistered is unknown.
The government provided all citizen children with free education
and medical care, but these benefits did not extend to noncitizen
children. Gender segregation usually began in public and government-
sponsored schools at the age of seven.
Abuse of children occurred, although it was difficult to gauge its
prevalence because the government kept no national statistics on child
abuse. During the year the NSHR registered 72 instances of violence
against children, according to its annual report. The NGO Committee for
Social Protection initiated a campaign to train health workers to
identify signs of abuse. At least three NGOs--one in Riyadh, one in
Qasim, and one in Jeddah--ran shelters for women and children.
On October 7, Princess Adela bint Abdullah launched a national
child abuse and child neglect registry at King Faisal Hospital in
Riyadh. The program was set up in conjunction with the National Safety
Program to counter child abuse.
Shari'a does not specify a minimum age for marriage but suggests
girls are ready for marriage when they reach puberty. According to the
Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, girls as young as
10 may be married. The press reported marriages between children and of
girls as young as nine being married to men older than 60. Families
arranged such marriages without the consent of the girl, often to
settle family debts. For example, on August 11, Al-Yaum reported the
marriage of a nine-year-old girl to a 69-year-old man. The girl's
father approved the marriage in exchange for 30,000 riyals ($8,000). On
August 25, Okaz reported a 12-year-old girl who had been married
against her will to an 80-year-old man fled to her aunt's house but was
returned to her husband. Reform-minded activists, media, and local
human rights organizations continued to call for an end to child
marriage.
The HRC and the NSHR stated child marriages took place on rare
occasions, principally in rural areas or to settle family debts. All
marriages are required to be registered prior to the consummation of
the marriage. According to the NSHR president, the government has
instructed marriage registrars not to register marriages involving
children.
In contrast to previous years, there were no reports of sexual
exploitation of foreign children brought to the country during the
Hajj. There is no specific law providing penalties relating to child
prostitution, no statutory rape law, and no minimum age for consensual
sex.
Children may not receive social services or attend schools or
universities unless they hold NICs or valid residency permits and are
properly registered in the family register, requirements that displaced
children cannot meet.
Trafficking in Persons.--A comprehensive law to combat trafficking
in persons, signed July 13, prohibits trafficking for purposes of
holding a person for sexual abuse, forced labor, involuntary begging,
slavery or slavery-like practices, or enforced organ removal or medical
experimentation. There were continued reports that trafficking in
persons was a prevalent and serious problem to, from, through, and
within the country for involuntary servitude, low-skilled labor, and
commercial sexual exploitation.
At particularly high risk for trafficking are men and women who
voluntarily travel to the country to work as domestic employees or
other low-skilled laborers. They run the risk of facing conditions
indicative of involuntary servitude, including restrictions on
movement, forced 18-hour workdays, withholding of passports, threats,
physical abuse, sexual abuse, and nonpayment of wages. Countries from
which victims are trafficked include Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka,
Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sudan, Ethiopia,
Nigeria, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Chad, and Sudan. There were
reports of Asian and African women trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation; some were reportedly kidnapped and forced into
prostitution after running from abusive employers. Nigerian, Yemeni,
Pakistani, Afghan, Chadian, and Sudanese children are at high risk for
being trafficked into the country for involuntary servitude as forced
beggars and street vendors.
Domestic workers were especially vulnerable to trafficking into
forced labor, in part due to deceptive hiring practices, the widespread
convention of the employer withholding passports, and the requirement
for employer consent to obtain an exit visa. Labor recruitment agencies
and their subcontractors, as well as companies, hire labor from low-
income countries, often under false pretexts. The sponsorship system
ties a foreign worker's residency permit to the sponsor for the
duration of the worker's stay in the country. When the employment
relationship breaks down and the worker escapes or leaves the job, he
or she is unable to leave the country.
The Saudi Gazette reported in August 2008 that the number of
illegal domestic employees in the country increased by 40 percent
during that year, reportedly due to the poor working conditions
domestic workers faced and their subsequent flight to other employers
without changing their sponsorship status. Foreign employees working
for anyone other than the original sponsor are vulnerable to
exploitation.
On May 7, a group of 15 foreign workers remained stranded in Riyadh
more than a year after their sponsor died and their residency permits
had expired, according to the Saudi Gazette. In such cases, authorities
may arrest and detain workers until negotiations between the pertinent
embassies or the workers' families in their home country facilitate
return of the workers.
Since October 13, the government has had the ability to prosecute
cases under the new trafficking law and to impose sentences of as long
as 15 years in prison and fines as much as one million riyals
($266,667) or both. The law provides for more severe penalties in
special circumstances, including for organized crime. The law punishes
those who commit as well as those who aid and abet the crime. By year's
end, there were no reports on investigations or prosecutions under the
law.
In November the government provided trafficking awareness and
technical training for officials in the justice community, including
prosecutors, investigators, and judges, at Nayef Arab University for
Security Studies.
Due to a lack of victim identification procedures in deportation
centers and police stations, authorities reportedly arrested and
deported many victims of trafficking. Some victims feared arrest or
deportation due to their status as runaways (it is illegal for a
foreign employee to run away from a legal sponsor in the country) or as
prostitutes, and most victims fled directly to their embassies to await
repatriation rather than approaching the government. The government
assisted some domestic worker trafficking victims with access to legal
services and temporary residency status, including temporary relief
from deportation. Public hospitals treated trafficking victims who
needed medical care. The embassies of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the
Philippines maintained unofficial (unlicensed) safe houses in Riyadh
for citizens of those countries who were victims of trafficking.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The Basic Law does not prohibit
discrimination against persons with disabilities. There is no
legislation mandating public accessibility. Newer commercial buildings
often included such access, as did some newer government buildings. The
MSA is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities.
A 2000 royal decree authorizes the provision of prevention and
treatment of disease, welfare, and housing services to persons with
disabilities and their families and encourages institutions and
individuals to contribute to charitable activities to assist persons
with disabilities. According to the MSA, there were numerous
government-sponsored centers for persons with disabilities, such as the
Noor Institute for the Blind, which operated 10 facilities for blind
children; the Amal Institute for the Deaf, which had 23 branches; the
Institute for the Mentally Retarded, which had 233 units annexed to
schools; and social rehabilitation and welfare centers for the elderly.
Vocational rehabilitation projects and social care programs provide
opportunities for persons with disabilities. The government sponsored
institutions for the care of paralyzed children in Riyadh and Taif.
There were also five houses for vocational rehabilitation, two of which
were for girls; three centers for social rehabilitation for those who
have severe disabilities; and nine centers for total rehabilitation.
The MSA assisted families who care for relatives with disabilities.
The provision of government social services increasingly brought
persons with disabilities into the public mainstream. The Labor Law
provides that employers of 25 or more employees allocate 4 percent of
positions to persons with disabilities.
There were critical reports regarding care, particularly housing,
for mental health patients, but there was no evidence of patterns of
abuse or arbitrary commitments.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although racial discrimination
is illegal, societal discrimination against members of national,
racial/ethnic, or tribal minorities was a problem. Foreign workers from
Africa and Asia were subject to formal and informal discrimination.
There have been some cases of assault against foreign workers and
reports of widespread worker abuse. There were reports of racial
discrimination against persons of non-Arab descent, especially persons
of African descent. The Shia minority continued to suffer social,
legal, economic, and political discrimination. In an effort to address
the problem, the ministries of defense and interior and the National
Guard held training courses in recent years for police and law
enforcement officers to combat discrimination. There were no reports of
training during the year or of the success rate of these programs.
Unlike in previous years, there were no new media reports of
married couples forced to divorce because one spouse was from
``inappropriate lineage,'' i.e., a nontribal family or an ``inferior''
tribe. In 2007 an appeals court in Riyadh upheld the forced divorce of
Fatima al-Timani and her husband. Al-Timani's half-brothers
successfully filed for her divorce because her husband had lied about
his tribal lineage. At the end of the year, a royal order asked the
court to reconsider the case.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Under Shari'a as interpreted
in the country, sexual activity between two persons of the same gender
is punishable by death or flogging. It is illegal for men ``to behave
like women'' or to wear women's clothes and vice versa. There were few
reports of societal discrimination, physical violence, or harassment
based on sexual orientation. There were no organizations of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. There was no official
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing,
statelessness, or access to education or health care. Sexual
orientation could constitute the basis for harassment, blackmail, or
other actions. No such cases were reported.
On June 13, Riyadh police arrested 67 men from the Philippines for
drinking and dressing in women's clothing at a private party. According
to their embassy, police released the men to their employers while
charges were being processed.
In 2007 the newspaper Okaz reported the public flogging of two men
in the city of Al-Bahah after being found guilty of sodomy. The
sentence was 7,000 lashes.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was societal
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, which press reports
associated with foreigners. By law the government deported foreign
workers who tested positive for HIV/AIDS upon arrival or when
hospitalized for other reasons. There was no indication that HIV-
positive foreigners failed to receive antiretroviral treatment or that
authorities isolated them during the year.
The Society to Aid AIDS Patients, established in March, was the
first NGO of its kind. It worked in collaboration with the national
AIDS program in Mecca, providing HIV education, voluntary counseling,
testing through mobile testing teams, and psychological help; fighting
stigma and discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; and helping
families with HIV-positive relatives to acquire medicine; but it faced
resource limitations.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The Labor Law does not address the
right of workers to form and join independent unions, and there are no
labor unions in the country. The government allowed citizen-only labor
committees with limitations on the right of association in workplaces
with more than 100 employees. Workers chose and the Ministry of Labor
(MOL) approved committee members. MOL representatives could attend
committee meetings. The committee could make recommendations to company
management to improve work conditions, increase productivity, improve
health and safety, and recommend training programs. The labor code
makes no provision for workers to strike legally and does not prohibit
retaliation against strikers. Authorities quickly arrested and in some
cases deported strikers.
On January 15, the Chinese online People's Daily reported
authorities deported 23 of a group of 200 Chinese workers for striking
to protest low pay; there were no similar reports from Saudi media. The
strike reportedly occurred at a construction site 620 miles north of
Riyadh.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does
not protect collective bargaining, and it did not take place. No
government plans to address collective bargaining rights or attempts by
nationals or foreign workers to organize and bargain were reported.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Labor Law sets
forth voluntary working conditions and pay, including conditions and
pay for children, and thus implicitly prohibits forced labor;
nonetheless, there were reports that forced or compulsory labor
occurred.
The government continued to study the sponsorship system, which has
been cited in connection with problematic labor conditions, but at
year's end had not implemented changes to decrease incidents of abuse.
Plans to establish a government commission to oversee foreign workers
or specialized companies to organize the foreign work force and to
supervise the signing of contracts between employers and workers did
not materialize.
Many employers subjected foreign workers to abusive conditions that
constituted involuntary servitude, including nonpayment of wages for
months and years, debt bondage, confinement, confiscation of travel and
identity documents, 18-hour days without days off, contract switching,
intimidation, and physical abuse. According to HRW, there were
approximately 1.5 million foreign domestic workers in the country
during the year, most of them women. Reported cases of abuse were
numerous. For example, on May 2, Kenyan citizen Esha Noor entered the
country to work as a domestic employee. She was abused, required to
work 18-hour days, and denied proper nutrition. After five months in
the position, her employer threw her out of a third-floor window. She
landed in a swimming pool, surviving the fall with broken limbs. She
had worked for the employer for five months but received wages for only
one month. She remained at a Jeddah deportation center until the Kenyan
Embassy repatriated her, according to The Citizen Correspondent of
Nairobi. In another case, on December 19, Riyadh authorities discovered
the body of a Sri Lankan domestic worker who was working in Hofuf in
the Eastern Province, according to the Arab News. The worker had
written to her parents that her sponsor had been mistreating and
beating her. The sponsor was in custody and awaiting trial at year's
end.
In terms of movement and travel, foreign workers were under the
complete control of their employers or sponsors, who held their
passports and were responsible for processing residence permits on
their behalf. Sponsors involved in a commercial or labor dispute with
foreign employees may ask authorities to prohibit the employees from
departing the country until the dispute is resolved. In rare instances,
the labor officer of the embassy of the sending country represented the
rights of the laborers. In some contract disputes, a sponsor held the
employee in country until the dispute was resolved to force the
employee to accept a disadvantageous settlement or risk deportation
without any settlement.
Foreigners may reside or work in the country only under the
sponsorship of a citizen or business. The law does not permit
foreigners to change their workplace without their sponsor's
permission, thus forcing the worker to remain with the sponsor or to
seek the assistance of the embassy to return home.
The Labor Law penalizes some types of forced labor by fines and
bans on future hiring of the laborer, but the law does not apply to
domestic employees, the largest group of forced laborers. Domestic
employees can contact the labor offices of their embassies for
assistance as well as the NSHR and the MOL's Civil Rights Centers, part
of a new department responsible for the welfare of expatriate workers.
According to the HRC, the MOL has a Migrant Workers' Welfare Department
to provide services to safeguard migrant workers' rights and protect
them from abuse. Workers may apply to the Civil Rights Centers and to
the offices of regional governors and lodge an appeal with the judges
at Board of Grievances against decisions from those authorities.
Information about the cases the Board of Grievances heard was not
available. The government reported no criminal investigations,
prosecutions, convictions, or sentences for forced labor offenses under
the Labor Law. Cultural norms, including the ban on women driving, make
it difficult for domestic workers to file a complaint. Embassies
reported receiving complaints via phone, and some domestic servants
escaped and fled to embassies. The government does not enforce fines or
bans on hiring workers imposed upon abusive employers or recruitment
agencies, and foreign workers continued to criticize police for being
unresponsive to requests for help. On rare occasions, the government
imposed small fines or bans on importing foreign labor on those guilty
of nonpayment of employees.
On December 17, the Web site MediaBangladesh.net reported that
40,000 Bangladeshis were deported during the previous nine months
because they had overstayed their pilgrimage visas. According to
sources in Bangladesh's Overseas Employment Ministry, the deportations
were for provoking labor unrest, strikes, and protesting low wages and
poor labor conditions.
Embassy representatives from originating countries stated that
cases of foreign domestic worker abuse were increasing. During the year
hundreds of domestic workers sought shelter at their embassies fleeing
sexual abuse or other violence, and embassies received many reports of
abuse. Some embassies from countries with large domestic employee
populations maintained safe houses for citizens fleeing situations that
amounted to bondage. According to embassy representatives, victims
usually sought legal help from police and from embassies to obtain end-
of-service benefits and exit visas. Criminal charges against abusive
employers were rarely filed.
Reports of domestic worker abuse declined in the press. According
to the Arab News, the Indonesian Embassy reported 102 complaints lodged
with its labor office alleging sexual assault and 156 cases of physical
abuse involving its citizens in the first half of the year. In 2008 the
Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, a labor organization, had
reportedly decided to curb the number of Sri Lankan domestic workers
coming to the region, citing increased cases of abuse. The bureau
conducted a campaign against fraudulent recruiting companies, which it
regarded as partly to blame for the increased cases of abuse.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor occurred in the country, most commonly in the form of
begging. Saudi children from poor families and foreign children
trafficked into the country specifically for this purpose worked as
beggars. Children from other countries, primarily Yemen, were forced
into child begging rings, street vending, and possibly family
businesses. There were reports of foreign domestic workers younger than
18, some of whom traveled to the country with forged documents. The MSA
provides services aimed to provide every citizen a decent standard of
living. Such services are not available for foreigners.
The Labor Law states no person younger than 15 may legally work
unless he is the only family worker. There is no minimum age for
workers employed in family-owned businesses or in other areas
considered extensions of the household, such as farming, herding, and
domestic service. Children younger than 18 may not work in hazardous or
harmful industries such as mining or industries employing power-
operated machinery, and there is no evidence that this occurred.
A September 2008 study commissioned by the King Abd Al-Aziz City
for Science and Technology found that child labor was a growing
phenomenon. According to the study, 1.54 percent of children work,
including 2.3 percent in Eastern Province. In 2008 more than 83,000
children were working on the streets, according to a study by the King
Abdullah Institute for Research and Studies, reported in Okaz. On
September 2, Arab News reported that nine-year-old children were
working long hours at the Al-Atiqa fruit market south of Riyadh and
sometimes moving goods three times their weight.
The MOJ has jurisdiction and has acted as plaintiff in the few
cases that have arisen against alleged child labor violators. The MSA
maintained special offices in Mecca and Medina to combat the growing
problem of child beggars.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage. The unofficial private sector minimum wage for citizens was 1,500
riyals (approximately $400) per month, which appeared to provide a
decent standard of living for a citizen worker and family (who also
receive various government allowances). Foreign workers comprised
approximately 88 percent of the private sector workforce. Their work,
wages, living quarters, and working conditions were generally
negotiated and agreed upon prior to their departure from the sending
country.
Labor regulations provided for a 48-hour standard workweek at
regular pay; a weekly 24-hour rest period, normally on Fridays,
although the employer may grant it on another day; a limit on hours
worked; premium pay for overtime at time-and-a-half pay with a maximum
of 12 additional hours of overtime; and the minister's determination on
the maximum number of hours of compulsory overtime. There were no
reports reflecting whether these standards were enforced. There were
credible reports that female domestic employees were sometimes forced
to work 16 to 20 hours per day, seven days per week, with little or no
pay.
The Labor Law provides for safety inspections and enables MOL-
appointed inspectors to conduct inspections of materials used or
handled in industrial and other operations and to submit samples of
suspected hazardous materials or substances to government laboratories.
The Ministry of Health's Occupational Health Service Directorate works
with the MOL on health and safety matters. Regulations require
employers to protect some workers from job-related hazards and disease,
although violations occurred. These regulations did not cover farmers,
herdsmen, domestic servants, or workers in family-operated businesses.
Foreign nationals reported frequent failures to enforce health and
safety standards.
Many foreign workers, particularly domestic workers, were not able
to exercise their right to remove themselves from dangerous situations,
and employers occasionally left them locked inside the home or
threatened with nonpayment if they left. Employers also subjected
foreign workers to abusive conditions, including debt bondage,
confinement, confiscation of travel and identity documents, long hours
without days off, contract switching, intimidation, and physical abuse.
The MOL's Department for Protection of Foreign Workers addressed
some cases of abuse and exploitation. Foreign workers were able to
submit complaints and to seek help from the 37 MOL offices throughout
the country, although the government was not generally responsive. The
ministry occasionally banned individuals and companies who mistreated
foreign workers from sponsoring such workers for five years, although
there were no publicly available statistics. The MOL may ban
indefinitely employers who have repeated violations. Bilateral labor
agreements stipulate conditions for workers from some countries,
although enforcement was sometimes a problem.
On February 2, Arab News reported the problems of four Pakistani
mechanics who were owed six years' wages, end-of-service benefits,
return tickets to Pakistan, and medical treatment costs. Although the
Preliminary Commission for Settlement of Labor Disputes in Mecca issued
a decision in favor of the employees in 2006, the workers had not
received their compensation at year's end.
__________
SYRIA
Syria, with a population of approximately 20 million, is a republic
under the authoritarian presidential regime of Bashar al-Asad. The
president makes key decisions with counsel from a small circle of
security advisors, ministers, and senior members of the ruling Ba'ath
(Arab Socialist Renaissance) Party. The constitution mandates the
primacy of Ba'ath party leaders in state institutions and society.
President al-Asad and party leaders, supported by security services,
dominated all three branches of government. In 2007 President al-Asad
was confirmed for another seven-year term in a ``yes or no'' referendum
that local and international human rights advocates considered neither
free nor fair. Civilian authorities maintained effective control of the
security forces.
During the year the government and members of the security forces
committed numerous serious human rights abuses, and the human rights
situation worsened. The government systematically repressed citizens'
abilities to change their government. In a climate of impunity, there
were instances of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life. Members of
the security forces tortured and physically abused prisoners and
detainees. Security forces arrested and detained individuals--including
activists, organizers, and other regime critics--without due process.
Lengthy pretrial and incommunicado detention remained a serious
problem. During the year the government sentenced to prison several
high-profile members of the human rights and civil society communities.
The government violated citizens' privacy rights and imposed
significant restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, assembly,
association, and travel. An atmosphere of corruption pervaded the
government. Violence and societal discrimination against women
continued, as did sexual exploitation, increasingly aimed at Iraqi
refugees, including minors. The government discriminated against
minorities, particularly Kurds and Ahvazis, and severely restricted
workers' rights.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year
there were reports of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life.
In early January Yusuf Jabouli died in custody. On January 1, state
security officers arrested him at his home in al-Baab, Aleppo province,
and on January 7, officers delivered his body to his family, according
to human rights observers. His family reportedly was not allowed to
open his coffin or to invite friends and extended family to attend his
funeral. Intelligence services monitored the burial. Jabouli reportedly
taught Islamic studies at public schools in Aleppo and was the founder
of an e-mail group called ``al-Mishkaat'' (The Lamp). The reasons for
his arrest and cause of death remained unknown at year's end.
Also in January Muhammad al-Shawa died in custody. In August 2008
authorities arrested al-Shawa along with a number of other individuals
in Deir az-Zawr, Aleppo, and Hama, reportedly because authorities
suspected they were members of unauthorized Islamic groups. On January
10, according to human rights observers, military intelligence agents
returned his body to his family but allowed his family to see only his
face. Human rights groups alleged that state intelligence agents
tortured him to death.
On June 2, according to the Day Press news Web site, police killed
three persons and injured 30 in a violent clash in the town of
Ruhaybeh. According to Day Press, the conflict erupted when municipal
officials, accompanied by police, attempted to destroy 71 houses
allegedly constructed without appropriate government approval.
Residents were reportedly unarmed. According to local daily newspaper
Al-Ba'ath, the People's Assembly formed a committee to ``discuss'' the
causes behind the incident; at year's end there had been no further
developments in the case.
During the year at least 18 Kurdish soldiers died under mysterious
circumstances while performing their required service in the military,
bringing the total number of Kurdish conscript deaths over the last
five years to at least 36. Authorities frequently attributed the deaths
to suicide or accidents, but Kurdish human rights activists and
victims' families asserted the deaths were deliberate government
killings and demanded the government investigate them. In many cases
security agents reportedly monitored preburial proceedings and
prevented autopsies. In at least one case, according to a Kurdish human
rights organization, authorities warned the family not to ask questions
about the soldier's death or to discuss it publicly. Authorities failed
to provide documentary evidence to families of the men who reportedly
committed suicide.
Suspicious Kurdish conscript deaths during the year included the
January 19 death of Barkhadan Khaled Hamo; the February 5 death of
Mahmud Hanan Khalil, who reportedly accidentally shot himself while on
watch; and the May deaths of Ahmad Saadun, Ahmad Abdulrahim Moustafa--
who military authorities claimed died in a traffic accident--and Khabat
Hassan Sheikhei, who military authorities reported drowned in sewage
water as he tried to rescue a friend during a training exercise.
Authorities warned Sheikhei's family not to discuss the death publicly
or attempt to investigate the cause of death. There was also the June 5
death of Malek Shabo, whose autopsy reportedly revealed he was tortured
to death; the June 26 and 29 deaths of Arif Abdul Aziz Said Osman and
Mahmud Muhammad Halli; the death of Ahmad Arif Omar, whose body, which
reportedly bore signs of torture, military authorities delivered to his
family in July citing the cause of death as electric shock; the July 8
death of Mohamed Omer Khider from a gunshot wound; the August 9 death
of Hogir Rasol Haso, reportedly from electric shock; the August 12
alleged suicide by gunshot of Ahmad Mustafa Ibrahim; the September 30
death of Suleiman Faruq Diko from a heart attack during training; the
October deaths of Firas Badri Ibrahim, Rezan Abdulkareem Mirana, and
Sadiq Hussein Musa, all of which military authorities claimed occurred
due to traffic accidents; and the death of Khalil Bosan, whose body
Syrian authorities returned to the family in December, claiming Bosan
committed suicide with a gunshot to the head. After examining the body,
Kurdish activists reported, Bosan's family claimed there were two
gunshot wounds to the head.
According to a Syrian Committee for Human Rights-MAD report
published on the Kurdish Web site en.soparo.com, the Kurd Ez al-Din
Morrow died during his mandatory military service while serving with
110th Brigade near Damascus. Military authorities informed Morrow's
family on December 19 and advised them to collect his body. No official
explanation for the death was provided. Authorities failed to conduct
independent investigations into any of the preceding deaths by year's
end.
On January 14, Syrian authorities returned the body of Muhammad
Bakir Dada, a Kurd from Afrin in Aleppo province, to his family,
according to Kurdish activists. Authorities alleged he committed
suicide on January 13.
According to human rights observers, the defense minister, in
cooperation with the military attorney general, reportedly resolved to
suspend further action against the military and customs officers named
in a military investigation report for allegedly shooting Sami Matuk
and Joni Suleiman in the course of pursuing smugglers. Matuk's uncle,
lawyer and human rights defender Khalil Matuk, filed a formal complaint
in civil court about government inaction on the case in 2008. During
the year the Homs Military Court initiated a countersuit against him
for provoking sectarian discord, insulting the president, and insulting
government officials. The court's action was widely presumed to be
retribution for Matuk's formal complaint, activists reported. Khalil
Matuk refused to attend any of the hearings in Homs. On October 14, the
court sentenced him on the aforementioned charges, in absentia, to 13
months in prison. Matuk remained free pending appeal at year's end. At
year's end military authorities reportedly continued to detain
incommunicado Qaher Deeb, an eyewitness to the killings, without charge
or trial. Authorities detained Deeb in April allegedly because he
refused to comply with military security officers' demands that he
testify that there was an exchange of fire during the incident.
There were no investigations or developments in the deaths of
Muhammad Yahya Khalil, Muhammad Zaki, and Muhammad Mahmoud Hussein,
shot while celebrating the Kurdish New Year holiday in March 2008;
Zakariyya Affash, Muhammad Mahareesh, Mahmoud Abu Rashid, Abdul-Baqi
Khattab, Ahmed Shalaq, Khaled Bilal, Mo'ayad al-Ali, Muhanad al-Omar,
and Khidr Alloush, or any of 75 to 100 other inmates allegedly killed
in the July and December 2008 Sednaya prison riots; Ahmed Musa al-
Shukaifi, whom authorities allegedly tortured to death in September
2008; or Fahed Mohammed Omar, Abdul Moez Salem, Ghafoor Abdul-Baqi, and
Issa Khalil in 2007.
In September, according to human rights observers, the family of
Khoshnaaf Suleiman received a death certificate from the military
attorney general giving Suleiman's date of death as March 3, 2003.
Suleiman, a Kurd whom security forces detained in 1998 for alleged
membership in the Kurdish Workers Party, had been an inmate at Sednaya
prison. Neither prison officials nor the government provided the family
with information about how Suleiman died or where his body was located.
On February 28, the UN International Independent Investigation
Commission's mandate ended; the UN Security Council had formed the
commission in 2005 to investigate the 2005 assassination of former
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and 22 other individuals. On
March 1, the UN-appointed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) began
formal operations, and on April 29, the STL ordered the Lebanese
government to release due to lack of evidence four Lebanese generals
detained since late 2005 without charge for their suspected role in the
assassination. The Syrian government continued to detain incommunicado
and without charge Ziad Ramadan, a former work colleague of a man who
confessed to participating in the killings. Responding to a UN request,
authorities said they would likely try Ramadan on terrorism-related
charges after he appeared before the STL.
b. Disappearance.--There were reports of enforced disappearances
during the year, some of which were politically motivated.
On or around January 1, according to human rights sources, the
Aleppo branch of the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) detained
pharmacist Mahmud al-Shihabi Ibn Walid, engineer Mahmud al-Shihabi Ibn
Imad, and university student Nizar al-Shihabi Ibn Ghalib in the city of
al-Baab. The whereabouts of the three men and the reasons for their
detention remained unknown at year's end.
On February 23, according to human rights observers, Syrian
Military Intelligence (SMI) took Taher Muhammed Abdulkader from his
home in Aleppo and held him incommunicado in an unknown location for
approximately two months. He was released in early May, but the reason
for his detention remained unknown at year's end.
On April 2, according to human rights sources, university student
Reem Mohammed Nakhla disappeared in Damascus. When her family
reportedly learned that one of the security branches was holding Nakhla
for ``swearing'' and ``degrading speech,'' they informed authorities
that she had a condition that sometimes prevented her from controlling
her speech. Despite her family's efforts, security forces did not
release her until June 27.
On April 9, 26-year-old Muhammad Yasir Aswad disappeared from
Aleppo, according to human rights observers. Aswad had been living in
Jordan since the 1980s when his father, Muhammad Aswad, moved to escape
political persecution in Syria. SMI reportedly summoned Aswad for
questioning several times before the April 9 interview. On August 5,
Aswad was released; authorities reportedly forced him to begin
mandatory military service immediately upon his release.
On May 5, according to Kurdish human rights activists, GID forces
arrested Hozan Nawaf Rashed, a 24-year-old Kurd. His whereabouts and
the reason for his arrest remained unknown at year's end.
On June 26, intelligence agents arrested 26-year-old Abdullah
Ismail Al-Zain from the village of Maratah as he entered the country
from Jordan, according to the Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC). Al-
Zain originally left the country as an infant with his family after
intelligence services detained and harassed his father in the early
1980s. At year's end Al-Zain's whereabouts and the reason for his
alleged detention were unknown.
On September 13, Khaled Kenjo, a Kurd, disappeared for three weeks
after security agents in Qamishli summoned him for questioning,
according to international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Amnesty
International (AI). On September 1, German authorities forcibly
returned Kenjo to the country after rejecting his 2002 application for
asylum. During the year authorities charged Kenjo with spreading false
information abroad that could undermine the prestige of the state and
imprisoned him in Qamishli, a city in northeastern Syria. Kenjo was
able to meet with a lawyer on October 6. The reason for the charges
against him and the supporting evidence were unknown. According to AI,
one of Kenjo's brothers, Ahmad Ma'mu Kenjo, died of a brain hemorrhage
in 2004, a few months after security forces allegedly beat him while he
was in incommunicado detention.
On October 14, state security agents ``disappeared'' civil society
activist and human rights lawyer Haitham Maleh from his Damascus
office. Maleh reappeared on October 20 when his case was transferred to
the Military Court in Damascus. On October 21, the court charged Maleh
with publishing false information to weaken the nation's will and
insulting the president and the judicial system. At the time of his
detention, Maleh was representing imprisoned human rights lawyer
Muhanad al-Hasani. He had also recently given an interview on Barada TV
in which he spoke critically of the regime. Activists suspected that
this interview, his work defending Hasani, and his public writings
critical of the regime were all factors leading to his arrest.
On November 15, according to AI, security forces arrested Yousef
Dheeb al-Hmoud, an activist with the Islamic Democratic Current, a
prodemocracy political group. Although Hmoud's family member was unable
to identify which security branch had detained him, he or she reported
the Political Security Directorate (PSD) had questioned Hmoud earlier
in November. The group is opposed to violence and is part of the
Damascus Declaration, according to AI. Hmoud, who suffers from chronic
kidney failure, high blood pressure, and gout, requires constant
medical attention. At year's end the government was holding Hmoud
incommunicado at an unknown location; there was no new information on
his health status.
On November 23, an armed GID patrol raided the home of Noori
Ibrahim Shekho, a Kurd living in Aleppo. No official explanation was
given for the arrest. At year's end Noori's wife and five sons were not
aware of his whereabouts.
On April 22, according to human rights observers, Mustafa Sheikh
was released from detention. Unidentified authorities reportedly
arrested Sheikh in March 2008 at the hospital where he worked.
According to a human rights organization, the arrest may have been
connected to his religious beliefs, which authorities presumably viewed
as overly Islamist.
At year's end there was no information relating to persons who
disappeared from Deir al-Zour in August 2008 according to Human Rights
Watch (HRW), including Husam Muhammad, Thabet al-Hassan, Mahmud Dameem,
Abdel Hadi al-Salameh, Muhammad Taha, Bilal Hashem Sufian, Abdel Razzak
al-Kubaysi, and Iyad al-Hussein. Muhammad Ameen died in custody (see
section 1.a.).
There were no new developments in the July 2008 disappearances of
detainee Sameer al-Bahar or police officer Mu'awiyah Ali al-Dablan and
his friend Bashar Aziz, nor were there developments in the 2007
disappearances of Khalid Muhammad Ahmed or Abdul Rahman Wazzan.
The government continued to withhold information on the welfare and
whereabouts of persons who disappeared in previous years; little was
known other than the approximate date of their disappearance. The
government had a long record of allegedly ``disappearing'' individuals,
some of whom were believed to have died while others were likely in
long-term detention, and it did not investigate or punish any security
force members for their role in disappearances.
The government continued to deny reports that security forces
``disappeared'' an estimated 17,000 persons in the late 1970s and early
1980s. According to HRW, the disappeared persons were mostly detained
Muslim Brotherhood (MB) members and other Syrian activists, as well as
hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians who were detained in Syria or
abducted from Lebanon by Syrian forces or Lebanese and Palestinian
militias. The Lebanese NGO Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile
(SOLIDE) estimated that more than 600 Lebanese prisoners remained in
Syria. In August 2008 Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar stated
in a televised interview that 745 Lebanese citizens remained missing in
Syria, divided into two categories: convicted criminals and victims of
``enforced disappearances.''
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the penal code
provides punishment for abusers. Under article 28 of the constitution,
``no one may be tortured physically or mentally or treated in a
humiliating manner.'' Nevertheless, security forces reportedly
continued to use torture frequently. Local human rights organizations
continued to cite numerous credible cases of security forces allegedly
abusing and torturing prisoners and detainees and claimed that many
instances of abuse went unreported. Individuals who suffered torture or
beatings while detained refused to allow their names or details of
their cases to be reported for fear of government reprisal.
Former prisoners, detainees, and reputable local human rights
groups reported that methods of torture and abuse included electrical
shocks; pulling out fingernails; burning genitalia; forcing objects
into the rectum; beating, sometimes while the victim was suspended from
the ceiling, other times on the soles of the feet; alternately dousing
victims with freezing water and beating them in extremely cold rooms;
hyperextending the spine; bending the detainees into the frame of a
wheel and whipping exposed body parts; using a backward-bending chair
to asphyxiate the victim or fracture the victim's spine; and stripping
prisoners naked for public view. In previous years AI documented 38
types of torture and mistreatment used against detainees in the
country. AI reported that torture was most likely to occur while
detainees were held at one of the many detention centers operated by
the various security services in the country, particularly while
authorities attempted to extract a confession or information. Courts
systematically used ``confessions'' extracted under duress as evidence,
and defendants' claims of torture were almost never investigated.
Kurdish citizens were especially likely to face torture in custody,
according to an HRW report released November 26. One Kurdish political
activist detained in October 2008 in the Palestine Branch of Military
Intelligence said that guards ``. would make me stand on my feet for
long days with my hands tied behind my back and my eyes covered with a
black cloth. I was made to stand for 11 days with only brief periods of
rest for 10 minutes to eat. If I would fall due to lack of sleep . they
would throw cold water on me and beat me with cables.'' After his
release the activist suffered from inflamed joints and stomach, kidney,
and chest infections.
Torture and mistreatment reported during the year included several
cases of deaths in custody in which the victims' bodies showed signs of
torture or authorities prevented victims' families from seeing the
bodies (see section 1.a.). In another case security forces reportedly
tortured several Kurdish youths arrested January 22--including
Abdulazez Jamal, Shayar Masud, Serdar Abdulrahem, Ali Fawaz, Shahen
Ibrahim, Dal Muhammad, and Khalid Jomaa--all of whom had participated
in a demonstration organized by the Democratic Youth Movement in
Hasaka. According to Kurdish civil society activists, security services
pulled out at least one youth's toenails during questioning. The
whereabouts of the youths and the status of their cases were unknown at
year's end.
On June 27, PSD agents from the al-Fayha branch in Damascus
arrested Berzani Karro, a 20-year-old Kurd, at Damascus International
Airport upon his forced return to the country from Cyprus. The PSD held
Karro incommunicado for three months before transferring him to Adra
prison, where officials allowed his family to visit him. Human rights
observers reported Karro was ``reportedly subjected to prolonged
beatings'' and, according to a Kurdish rights Web site, torture with
electricity shocks while in PSD custody. On November 10, the military
court in Damascus charged Karro with ``attempting to sever part of the
Syrian territory and annex it to a foreign state'' and involvement in
an unauthorized organization. There was no verdict in Karro's case at
year's end, and he remained incarcerated at Adra prison.
The government failed to investigate any torture cases reported in
2008.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
generally poor and did not meet international standards for health and
sanitation. At some prisons security officials demanded bribes from
family members (see section 4). During the July-December 2008 Sednaya
prison riots and for the first six months of the year, prison
authorities denied all visits to inmates at Sednaya prison. Severe
overcrowding at several prisons forced inmates to sleep on the floor.
In past years activists and former inmates reported that prison
officials would withhold food to punish inmates. The government did not
permit visits by international human rights observers.
According to local and international human rights organizations,
the government held prisoners and detainees without adequate medical
care and denied medical treatment to some prisoners who had significant
health problems. Throughout the year local and international human
rights organizations highlighted the case of political prisoner and
Damascus Declaration National Council (DDNC) Secretary General Riad
Seif, who the court sentenced in October 2008 to two and a half years
in prison and who suffered from prostate cancer. Despite local and
international human rights observers' repeated calls for Seif's
humanitarian release as permitted by law, he remained in detention at
year's end. Seif reportedly received limited medical attention for his
illness, but his health remained poor. According to the Arab Network of
Human Rights Information (ANHRI), other prisoners with untreated
medical problems included lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, who has arthritis and
whom prison officials restricted to an upper bunk; and writer Ali Al-
Abdullah, whose hearing was failing due to perforation of the eardrum,
allegedly from government agents beating him while in custody.
There was no information during the year regarding the government's
efforts to provide adequate security for prisoners or detainees; in
previous years there were reports of prisoners beating prisoners while
guards stood by and watched.
There were separate detention facilities for men, women, and
children. The government reportedly sometimes held minors in adult
facilities. Pretrial detainees, particularly those held for political
or security reasons, were usually held separately from convicted
prisoners. According to local human rights organizations, political
prisoners were sometimes deliberately placed in crowded cells with
convicted and alleged felons and subjected to verbal and physical
threats. Political prisoners also reported that they often slept on the
ground due to lack of beds, were subject to frequent searches, and
faced solitary confinement if authorities found impermissible items.
Guards regularly eavesdropped on prisoners' conversations with their
lawyers and visiting family members. Some former detainees and human
rights observers reported that the government denied political
prisoners access to reading materials, including the Koran. Facilities
for political or national security prisoners, especially accused
Islamists, were generally much worse than those for common criminals.
Each branch of the four security services operated its own detention
centers. Most reported torture or mistreatment cases occurred in these
facilities, according to local human rights organizations.
The government prohibited independent monitoring of prison or
detention center conditions and publishing of any materials on prison
or detention center conditions, but diplomatic and consular officials
were granted limited access in some cases during the year. Nuns from
the Good Shepherd convent in Damascus were granted access to the
women's prison in Duma to conduct vocational training and provide
preschool services for inmates' children who resided in the prison when
no other family was available to care for them.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; in practice these activities persisted
and remained significant problems.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The role of the
security services extends far beyond strictly security matters due to a
continuing state of emergency the government declared in 1963. The
government justified the Emergency Law on the basis of its conflict
with Israel and threats from terrorist groups. The four major branches
of security forces include the SMI and Syrian Air Force Intelligence
(SAFI), both part of the military; the Political Security Directorate;
and the General Intelligence Directorate. The four branches operate
independently and generally outside the control of the legal system,
and all four devote some of their overlapping resources to monitoring
internal dissent and individual citizens. The Ministry of Interior
(MOI) controls the police forces, which consist of four separate
divisions: emergency police, traffic police, neighborhood police, and
riot police.
Corruption continued to be a serious problem in the police forces
and security services (see section 4). No mechanisms for investigations
of security force abuse existed. In September 2008 President al-Asad
issued a law that mandates that only the General Command of the Army
and Armed Forces may issue an arrest warrant in the case of a crime
committed by a military officer, member of the internal security
forces, or customs police officer in the pursuit of his normal duties,
and that such cases may be tried only in military courts.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Upon arrest an
individual is brought to a police station for processing and detained
until a trial date is set. At the initial court hearing, which is
sometimes months or years after the arrest, the accused may retain an
attorney at personal expense or be assigned a court-appointed attorney,
although lawyers are not ensured access to their clients before trial.
The individual is then tried in court, where a judge renders a verdict.
Although the prison code provides for prompt access to family members,
human rights organizations and families reported inconsistent
application of the code, with some families waiting as long as a year
to see relatives. Civil and criminal defendants had the right to bail
hearings and possible release from detention on their own recognizance.
This right was not applied consistently throughout the legal system and
was rarely available to detainees under the 1963 Emergency Law.
The Emergency Law authorizes the government to conduct preventive
arrests and overrides constitutional and penal code provisions against
arbitrary arrest and detention, including the need to obtain warrants.
In cases involving political or national security offenses, arrests
were often carried out in secret with cases assigned in a seemingly
arbitrary manner to military, security, or criminal courts. Suspects
were detained incommunicado for prolonged periods without charge or
trial and were denied the right to a judicial determination regarding
pretrial detention. Unlike defendants in regular criminal and civil
cases, security detainees did not have access to lawyers before or
during questioning, or throughout the preparation and presentation of
their defense. In most cases detainees were not informed of charges
against them until their arraignment, which was often months after
their arrest. Those suspected of political or national security
offenses were arrested and prosecuted under ambiguous and broad
articles of the penal code and were subsequently tried in either
criminal or security courts.
The government often failed to notify foreign governments when
their citizens were arrested or detained, as required under article 36
of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, or did so only after
the person was released or deported, especially when the person was
detained on politically related charges. In 10 reported arrests of
foreign citizens during the year, the government accused at least five
of the individuals of political or security-related charges and
provided no notification. In at least one case, a foreign government
received a diplomatic note regarding one of its citizens accused of
drug-related charges one month after the individual's arrest and
subsequent release.
Arbitrary and false arrests were problems, and detainees had no
legal redress. The authorities detained persons critical of the
government under the Emergency Law and charged them with a wide range
of political crimes, including treason. Incommunicado detention was a
severe problem. Many persons who disappeared in past years were
believed to be in long-term detention without charge or possibly to
have died in detention. Many detainees brought to trial were held
incommunicado for years, and their trials often were marked by
irregularities and lack of due process. Lengthy pretrial detention was
caused by a shortage of available courts and the absence of legal
provisions for a speedy trial or plea bargaining. According to the most
recent UN survey, the country's prison population was approximately
10,600 in 2004. The prison population rate per 100,000 people was 58,
more than 50 percent of whom remained in pretrial status. The accuracy
of these figures was difficult to determine because there was no
independent corroboration of the UN's information, which it obtained
from the government.
During the year the government continued to make arbitrary arrests,
especially of alleged Islamists and MB members, and maintained pressure
on civil society and human rights activists. Under the authority of
laws that criminalize membership and activity in organizations the
government deems illegal, security forces arrested a number of persons
linked to local human rights groups and prodemocracy student groups, as
well as scores of minorities, particularly Kurds (see section 1.e.).
In April, according to the Committee for Observing Civil Society in
Syria, security agents arrested Mohammad Anas al-Azem, a 32-year-old
preacher, at a Damascus mosque. On April 20, the SMI reportedly
arrested Muafaq Noh, a graduate of Shari'a University in Damascus and a
publisher. Both men, according to the reporting NGO, were moderate
Islamists. No other details about their arrest or whereabouts were
known at year's end.
On April 28, authorities detained Mahmud Kuftaro for 13 days and
questioned him about his relationships with foreign embassies and about
allegedly falsely representing himself as a cleric in connection with
his tenure as president of the now-closed Center for Islamic Studies,
according to civil society contacts. The government released him
without charge on May 11. The center published books and held seminars
on moderate Islam, activists claimed. The center was administered by
Mahmud's son-in-law, Muhammad Habash, a member of parliament (MP) and a
moderate cleric.
On June 10, according to the Uyghur American Association (UAA),
security agents detained Mahmut Damollam, a well-known and influential
imam from Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, China, along with
his family. Damollam was reportedly in the country for Islamic studies.
The UAA believed the Chinese government pressured the Syrian government
to return Damollam to China, where he faced possible political
reprisal. In late June security forces released the family, and they
reportedly traveled to Turkey.
On June 20, according to human rights observers, SMI agents
arrested Jakarkhon Sheikho Ali, a senior member of the Kurdish
Democratic al-Wifaq Party's political bureau, in Aleppo. On June 21,
authorities reportedly transferred him to the SMI branch in Damascus
for interrogation. On August 12, Ali was transferred to the al-Fayha'
Branch of the PSD. Ali was held incommunicado and without charges until
his October 3 release. According to human rights observers, authorities
tortured Ali in detention.
On June 29, according to civil society contacts, security forces
arrested Sheikh Salah Kuftaro (Mahmud Kuftaro's brother) for allegedly
operating a charitable Islamic organization, the Abu al-Nour Center,
without a license, embezzling public monies, and meeting with foreign
entities without prior government approval. On August 1, according to
the SHRC, authorities transferred Kuftaro's file to the Damascus
criminal court, although his trial had not begun by year's end. Kuftaro
reportedly remained in Adra prison at year's end.
There were no new reports on reasons behind the January 2008
arrests of 13 Islamists in the al-Sfeerah area of Aleppo, including
students Hamza Haaj Hamza, Hossam Qana'a, and Muhammad Moaz Qana'a,
primary school teacher Muhammad Raheem, and pharmacist Barakaat al-
Aswad, or the July 2008 arrest of religious scholar Sheikh Yusuf Omar
Mobayyedh. There had been no reports on the release of these
individuals at year's end.
In January, according to human rights observers, security forces
released Osama Hamdan Makarem, a businessman from Suweida detained
since November 2008. Makarem, according to local human rights
activists, had been a staunch Ba'athist who won a law suit against a
more prominent Ba'athist party member over a business deal. Activists
alleged his arrest was retribution for his legal victory.
In February human rights observers reported the release of Bassam
Zakia, whom SMI agents arrested in November 2008 in Hama. According to
human rights observers, Zakia had come to the country from Jordan to
obtain a work visa for Saudi Arabia. He had contacted the Syrian
Embassy in Jordan and obtained a permit to enter the country. After he
arrived in Hama, SMI officials called him to their office several times
and subsequently arrested him. The reason for his arrest, detention,
and release remained unknown at year's end.
There were no developments in the 2007 case of Nader Sanoufi, a
follower of the Islamic Studies Center who remained in detention at
year's end.
There were numerous reports from human rights organizations that
security services arrested citizens who were not apparently involved in
political activities. Security services provided no information on the
reasons for the arrests, and in many cases family and friends were
unable to obtain information on the whereabouts of the detained at
year's end.
On March 15, according to local human rights observers, security
services detained two British nationals, Maryam Kallis and Zahour
Ahmed, and held them incommunicado for two weeks before notifying the
British Embassy. In May, according to British press reports, a
spokesperson for the Syrian Embassy in London alleged Kallis had been
involved with an al-Qa'ida cell in Syria. Authorities released Kallis
and Ahmed on June 7.
On April 11, authorities arrested Jordanian national Usama Ali Meri
al-Shaidoon on the Jordanian border, according to human rights
observers. Usama's father, a Syrian, died before his birth, and Usama
grew up in Jordan. According to reports, Usama had unsuccessfully
attempted to register with the Civil Status Register but was unable to
do so because his birth was not listed in the registry. On October 26,
authorities reportedly released him.
On May 28, according to local human rights observers, security
services arrested educator Akram Mustafa Alwani in the Education
Directorate Building in al-Raqqah. His whereabouts remained unknown at
year's end.
There were no new developments in the April 2008 arrest of art
student Waleed Muhammad Ali Hussein or in the 2007 arrests of Muhammad
Naama and Omar Muhammad Khalalo.
Amnesty.--The president issued amnesties to seven Lebanese
prisoners being held in the country, according to human rights
observers and regional media outlets. Newspaper accounts reported the
seven individuals were being held as common criminals, rather than as
political prisoners. The rationale for granting amnesty was not
explained. According to human rights activists, the government rarely
includes political prisoners in periodic presidential amnesties.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but courts were regularly subject to political
influence. According to observers, approximately 95 percent of judges
were Ba'athists or closely aligned to the Ba'ath Party and therefore
not independent.
The judicial system is composed of civil and criminal courts, under
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), and religious courts, which adjudicate
matters of personal status such as divorce and inheritance. The Court
of Cassation is the highest court of appeal. The Supreme Constitutional
Court (SCC) rules on the constitutionality of laws and decrees, hears
special appeals regarding the validity of parliamentary elections, and
tries the president if he is accused of criminal offenses, but it does
not hear appeals from the civil and criminal justice system. The SCC is
composed of five members who are appointed by the president for
renewable four-year terms.
Military courts have authority over cases involving soldiers or
members of other military or police branches. If the charge against a
soldier or member of the military or police branch is a misdemeanor,
the sentence against the defendant is final. If the charge is a felony,
the defendant has the right to appeal to the Military Chamber at the
Court of Cassation. Military courts also have authority to try
civilians in cases based on military law. Civilians have the right to
appeal all sentences in military court. A military prosecutor decides
the venue for a civilian defendant. In contrast to previous years,
there were no reports during the year that the government operated
military field courts, which reportedly observed fewer formal
procedures than regular military courts, in locations outside
established courtrooms.
The Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) tries political and
national security cases and operates under the provisions of the 1963
Emergency Law, which authorizes the prosecution of anyone ``opposing
the goals of the revolution'' and creating ``sectarian strife.''
Trial Procedures.--Defendants before civil and criminal courts are
entitled to legal representation of their choice; the courts appoint
lawyers for indigents. Defendants are presumed innocent, and they are
allowed to present evidence and to confront their accusers. Trials are
public, except for those involving juveniles or sex offenses.
Defendants can appeal verdicts to a provincial appeals court and
ultimately to the Court of Cassation. Appeals are often difficult to
win because the lower courts do not provide verbatim transcripts of
cases, only summaries prepared by the presiding judges. There are no
juries. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held
evidence relevant to their cases. Human rights lawyers noted that, in
some politically charged cases, the prosecution case files that defense
lawyers were allowed to see did not include any evidence.
The law extends the above rights to all citizens in criminal cases.
In some cases, such as the May 11 case of Kurdish Future Movement
leader Meshaal Tammo, defendants were denied the right to speak at
their trial. A number of sections of family and criminal law are based
on Shari'a and do not treat men and women equally. Some personal status
laws use Shari'a regardless of the religion of those involved in the
case.
The SSSC does not observe constitutional provisions safeguarding
defendants' rights. Its verdicts are not subject to judicial appeal,
but the minister of interior may ratify, nullify, or alter an SSSC
ruling, and the president must approve the verdict or may ask for a
retrial. Charges against defendants before the SSSC were usually vague,
and authorities sometimes prevented defendants' access to their lawyers
before trial. Under SSSC procedures, defendants and their lawyers are
not present during the preliminary or investigative phase of the trial
during which the prosecutor presents evidence. Lawyers submitted
written defense pleas rather than making oral presentations. Trials
took place before one to three judges and usually remained closed to
the public as well as to the defendants' families. Authorities did not
permit human rights NGOs to visit the SSSC, but local lawyers
affiliated with local NGOs acted as defense counsel in some cases.
Authorities granted diplomatic observers limited access to the SSSC
during the year. Human rights organizations estimated that the SSSC
tried hundreds of cases annually. Most cases during the year involved
charges relating to membership in banned political groups, including
religious parties such as the MB, the Islamic Liberation Party, and
Syrian Kurdish parties. During the year the SSSC sentenced more than
100 citizens to sentences ranging from three years' imprisonment to
execution (in all cases commuted to 12-15 years' imprisonment during
the year). The SSSC is not required to keep a regular schedule.
Following the July 2008 Sednaya prison riots, the SSSC suspended
operations for approximately eight months. Even when the SSSC scheduled
a case on a given day, the court sometimes failed to convene, offering
no reason.
On March 15, the SSSC sentenced Fadi Issa to death under Law 49/
1980, which prohibits membership in the MB. The sentence was commuted
to 12 years in prison. Issa, born in 1978 in Hama, had been detained
since 2006, according to human rights activists. The SSSC, however,
dropped the same charges against Issa's codefendant, Anas al-Jammas.
On April 5, the SSSC convicted Khalid Ahmad Ibn Muhammad from the
province of al-Raqqa, who had been detained since 2007, of being a
member of the MB. He was sentenced to death, but the court reduced the
sentence to 12 years in prison.
Also on April 5, according to human rights activists, the SSSC
sentenced Jamal Hafez, Rasmi Muhammad Baker, Ahmad Masom Hamdi, and
Muawia Qatrangi to eight years in prison for undermining the social
system. Also sentenced were Mervat al-Midani, Ali al-Atrash, and Ali
Arsalan to five years each on the same charge.
On April 14, the SSSC sentenced seven individuals to prison terms
ranging from five to 12 years. Safwan Asad al-Bakri Ibn Shadhan from
the province of Deir al-Zur, who had been detained since 2007, had been
sentenced to death by the SSSC under Law 49/1980. His sentence was
reduced to 12 years of hard labor. Rashad Ibrahim, Saleh Misto,
Muhammad Habash Resho, and Nouri al Hussein, all Kurds, were sentenced
to six years under article 267 of the penal code for belonging to a
secret organization threatening the territorial integrity of the
country. Latifa Murad and Zeinab Horo, both Kurds, received five years
for the same reason. The SSSC sentenced Ibrahim Sheikho to seven years
in prison for having contact with groups outside the country who were
planning hostile actions against Syria.
On June 14, the court sentenced Elias Ekkhe to four years of hard
labor for ``actions against the revolution'' under article three. Ekkhe
was detained in 2007, and the court decided time already served would
count toward the completion of his sentence.
On September 27, according to civil society activists, the SSSC
convicted three Kurds for affiliation with a banned political party and
for seeking to partition Syrian land and annex it to a foreign country.
Cameron Khalil Mohammed and Inayat Abdul Aziz Khana were sentenced to
eight years in prison, and Mustafa Rasheed Zalfu was sentenced to six
years in prison.
Dissident poet Mahmud Husein Sarem, detained in February 2007 and
reportedly released in March 2007, still faced trial in the Military
Court. There was no further information on Sarem or the status of his
case at year's end.
On December 13, according to human rights observers, the SSSC
sentenced Omar Hayyan al-Razzouk, detained since 2005, to death for
membership in the MB. The judge reduced the sentence to 12 years in
prison.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The number of political
prisoners and detainees--both citizens and foreigners--remained
difficult to determine due to the lack of official government
information and because different branches of the security services,
each of which maintained its own incarceration facilities, held
significant numbers of such detainees. Authorities refused to divulge
information regarding numbers or names of persons in detention on
political or security-related charges. Local human rights observers
continued to estimate that 1,500 to 3,000 political prisoners,
including accused Islamists, were in detention. The government
frequently held detainees for extended periods without trial and
without information provided to their families.
In 2006 the government began to try some political detainees in
criminal court; once convicted on political or security-related
charges, they were treated like common prisoners. For example, on March
15, Damascus Second Criminal Court sentenced cyberdissident Habib Saleh
to three years in prison for inciting sectarian strife, spreading false
information, and weakening national sentiment, based on his critical
writings.
The government did not permit regular access to political prisoners
or detainees by local or international humanitarian organizations.
Human rights groups reported that many political prisoners serving
long-term sentences remained in prison after the expiration of their
sentences. For example, April 18 marked the end of prisoner of
conscience Nizar Rastanawi's jail term, but authorities did not release
Rastanawi, allow his family to visit him, or provide information about
his whereabouts. In 2006 the SSSC sentenced Rastanawi to four years in
prison for his political activism and sent him to Sednaya prison, where
periodic riots broke out in one wing from July through December 2008.
Beginning in July 2008 and continuing for a year, authorities did not
permit families to visit inmates. Rastanawi's family told local human
rights activists that a Sednaya prisoner reported Rastanawi had been
killed during the riots; at year's end there was no confirmation of
Rastanawi's status or whereabouts.
On July 25, Hamad Ahmad al-Khuder completed a five-year prison
sentence, according to the Arabic Organization for Human Rights in
Syria (AOHR); authorities reportedly failed to release Khuder and
instead transferred him to Sednaya prison. His exact whereabouts and
the status of his prison sentence remained unknown at year's end.
During the year police and security agents arrested individuals
based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership
in a particular group. The government was especially harsh toward
individuals allegedly involved in Kurdish political or civil society
activism.
On January 3, according to a Kurdish human rights group, PSD agents
arrested Nassriddin Barhec, a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party in
Syria (``al-Party''). His whereabouts at year's end remained unknown.
For example, on January 10, SMI agents arrested 62-year-old Mustafa
Jum'ah, according to human rights observers. According to AI, the
incarceration of Jum'ah, a senior member of the Kurdish Azadi Party,
may have been politically motivated. Jum'ah, who reportedly suffers
from high blood pressure and asthma, remained in detention at Adra
prison at year's end.
On April 14, according to human rights observers, the SSSC
sentenced Kurdish activists Salih Mastu, Nouri Mustafa, Hussein and
Rashid Binyaaf, Mohammed Habash Rasho, and Ibrahim Sheikh Alloush to
sentences of six to seven years in prison. The government accused the
seven activists, members of the PKK, of attempting to split a section
of Syrian land and annex it to a foreign state, according to the SHRC.
On May 4, Walid al-Buni, a physician and dissident serving a two-
and-a-half year sentence handed down in October 2008 for political
crimes including DDNC membership, faced a military trial on charges of
making statements that ``weaken national morale.'' DDNC members Riad
Seif, Akram al-Bunni, and Ali Abdullah suffered health problems in Adra
prison (see section 1.c.), and there was no change in status of the
other incarcerated DDNC members, including Fayez Sarah, Muhammed Haji
Darwish, Marwan al-Esh, Talal Abu Dan, Ahmad Toumah, Jaber al-Shoufi,
and Muhammad Yasser al-Eitti. According to activists, by December all
12 DDNC members had completed two-thirds of their sentences, thereby
making them eligible for early release on good behavior. Activists
reported that many of the members had written the requisite appeal
letters to the court. These letters, however, required the prison
warden's signature of attestation, which state security reportedly
instructed him to refuse. Lawyers for the 12 members drafted letters on
behalf of their clients and submitted them to the court. Authorities
denied the appeals for early release.
On May 11, according to the SHRC, the Damascus criminal court
sentenced engineer and political activist Mashaal Al Tammo to three and
one-half years in prison for allegedly spreading false news to lower
the morale of the nation, weaken the national sentiment, and provoke
sectarian and racial rifts. According to local human rights observers,
the charges resulted from papers found in his car after security agents
abducted him in August 2008. In a previous court session, authorities
denied Al Tamo the right to defend himself in court, according to the
SHRC. At year's end Tammo was serving his sentence in Adra prison,
where prison officials denied him access to reading and writing
materials provided to other prisoners.
On May 12, security services arrested five political activists--
Hasan Zahra, Abbas Abbas, Tawfiq Omran, Ahmad Nihawi, and Ghassan
Hasan--gathered in a house in al-Salamya, Hasaka province, reportedly
for illegal political activities associated with their membership in
the Communist Labor Party, according to human rights activists. All of
the men except Omran had served prison sentences for their political
activities in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their whereabouts and
reasons for their arrest remained unknown at year's end.
On June 7, according to civil society activists, a military judge
in Qamishli convicted Salah Mohammad Said Younis and Mohammad Bashar
al-Mahmud for having engaged in a political or social organization of
an international character and for inciting religious and ethnic
sectarian strife. Both men received a sentence of one year's
imprisonment.
On July 28, GID agents arrested human rights lawyer Muhanad al-
Hasani. Human rights observers reported that Hasani was forced to sleep
on the floor of an overcrowded cell and that prison guards beat him for
using another inmate's cellular phone. Prison guards also reportedly
searched Hasani's possessions daily for evidence of reading and writing
materials; guards allowed other prisoners to possess such materials.
Prison guards also reportedly prohibited other inmates from speaking to
Hasani for any reason. At year's end Hasani remained in detention.
On October 29, according to the Damascus Declaration, police
arrested DDNC member Khalaf al-Jarbou at the Lebanese border and
transferred him to PSD custody. Although the reason for his arrest was
unknown, activists speculated that authorities may have believed Jarbou
was attempting to violate the conditions of his government-mandated
travel ban and exit the country. His exact whereabouts remained unknown
at year's end.
On November 15, according to diplomatic observers, the Second
Criminal Court in Damascus sentenced three leaders of the banned
Kurdish Azadi Party--Mustafa Jumaa Bakar (arrested January 10),
Muhammad Said Hussein al-Omar, and Saadoun Sheiku (both arrested by SMI
in 2008)--to three years' imprisonment each for issuing calls that
weakened national sentiment or incited racial/sectarian strife,
establishing an organization aimed at changing the financial or social
status of the state, and undertaking acts in writings or speech that
weakened national sentiment or incited religious/sectarian strife.
Human rights observers reported al-Omar suffered a stroke in Adra
prison in April and was taken to Ibn al-Nafis hospital.
On December 12, security agents arrested Kurdish human rights
activist and lawyer Mustafa Ismail in Ain al-Arab, a city on the
Turkish border, according to several international human rights
organizations. Authorities gave no specific reason for his arrest, but
activists suspected authorities detained him for alleged public
statements about the Kurds' situation in the country about which
security agents had interrogated him on March 13 and October 3.
On December 26, authorities in Qamishli arrested Kurdish Yeketi
Party leaders Hassan Saleh, Maaruf Mala Ahmed, and Muhammad Mustafa and
Kurdish activist Anwar Nasso for their participation in the Yeketi
Party meeting. Authorities summoned the four men to security offices in
Qamishli for questioning and arrested them. According to several
activists and NGOs, the arrests were linked to a resolution passed at
the meeting calling for autonomy of Syria's Kurdistan. The four men
were reportedly being held at Adra prison at year's end.
There were no new reports on the welfare or whereabouts of the
following individuals arrested in 2008: Kurdish university student
Hozan Muhammad Amin Ibrahim; Kurdish citizens Jawan Abdo, Ra'id Fawaz
al-Ali, Markeen Mustafa, and Salahidin Baro; human rights lawyer and
DDNC member Ghazi Qadoor; dentist and son of a prominent nuclear
scientist Khaldoun al-Jaza'iri; and Kurdish Freedom Party members
Muhammad Sa'id Husayn and Sa'dun Mahmud Shekho.
On May 4, according to human rights observers, authorities released
Sufian Muhammad Bakor from prison. The PSD in Hama arrested Bakor in
2007 and reportedly held him as leverage against his father, Muhammed
Ahmed Bakor, exiled dissident and president of the Syrian Committee for
Democratic Action.
There were also Jordanian, Lebanese, Iraqi, Palestinian, and other
foreign political prisoners and detainees.
During the year various Lebanese media outlets reported the release
of 20 to 300 Lebanese prisoners from Syrian prisons. Lebanese sources
estimated that by year's end authorities had released a total of 130
Lebanese prisoners, all of whom were convicted criminals.
In November 2008 the Jordan Times reported that Arab Organization
for Human Rights representative Abdul Karim Shraideh said approximately
256 Jordanians were missing in Syria.
There was no additional information on the March 2008 statement by
a former prisoner that two Lebanese Christian priests, Suleiman Abu
Khalil and Albert Sherfan, arrested at the Beit al-Qala' monastery in
Beit Meri, Lebanon, in 1990 during a Syrian military raid against
Lebanese forces, were still being detained in al-Hasaka, Syria, as of
2005.
Authorities imposed a so-called rights ban on former prisoners,
which lasted from the day of sentencing until seven years after the
expiration of the sentence in the case of a felony and three years in
the case of a misdemeanor conviction. In practice restrictions
sometimes continued beyond those periods. Persons subjected to this ban
were not allowed to vote, run for office, or work in the public sector;
they also were often denied passports or the right to international
travel.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; in practice the
courts were neither independent nor impartial. According to observers,
approximately 95 percent of judges were either Ba'athists or closely
aligned to the Ba'ath Party.
Property Restitution.--According to the law, a municipality may
expropriate property for the public good. The municipality usually
compensated individuals, but many reported that the restitution was
insufficient. Although individuals have the legal right to sue the
municipality for more compensation, in practice only a few individuals
won such cases.
Security forces routinely seized detainees' property and personal
items, such as computers and cellular telephones. According to local
human rights contacts, the phenomenon was too common to track or record
specific cases. Security forces did not appropriate, confiscate, or
catalogue these materials in accordance with the law, and although
detained individuals theoretically had the right to retrieve the items
after release, authorities did not return many former detainees'
property.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but the Emergency Law
authorizes security services to enter homes and conduct searches
without warrants if broadly defined security matters are involved.
Police bypassed the normal search warrant requirement in many instances
by citing security reasons or emergency grounds for entry. Security
services selectively monitored telephone conversations and fax
transmissions. The government opened mail addressed to both citizens
and foreign residents. The government routinely monitored Internet
communications, including e-mail, and blocked or monitored access to
some Web sites.
The government and the Ba'ath Party monitored and attempted to
restrict some citizens' visits to foreign embassies and participation
in cultural activities. There were reports during the year that
invitees to diplomatic functions received telephone calls from the
security services instructing them not to attend.
The government did not permit the formation of new political
parties or license politically based NGOs. In practice the government
tolerated some illegal political parties, such as the Communist Union
Movement. In some cases authorities harassed illegal parties, such as
the Communist Action Party, the People's Party, and the Arab Social
Union, but did not arrest individuals for membership. The government
forbids membership in Islamist parties, and authorities immediately
arrested and executed these members.
The government detained relatives of detainees and fugitives to
obtain a confession or surrender, respectively, and harassed and
intimidated the families of activists and political prisoners. There
were unconfirmed reports that security personnel forced prisoners to
watch relatives being tortured to extract confessions.
In September 2008, according to a June 4 report by the SHRC,
security agents arrested Sheikh Jihad Mahmud Shaheen, imam of the al-
Unnabi mosque in Damascus, after he had returned from a visit to his
daughter, who had undergone surgery in Jordan. According to the report,
security agents were suspicious of the visit because the daughter's
husband was a member of the National Salvation Front, an exiled
oppositionist party founded by former Syrian vice president Abdul Halim
Khaddam and the MB. Following Shaheen's arrest, security agents raided
his home and arrested his son, Muntasir Jihad Shaheen, an 18-year-old
student. When family members asked authorities what had happened to
their relatives, how long they would be detained, and their
whereabouts, security officials reportedly replied that they would
provide no information until Shaheen's daughter and son-in-law returned
to the country and surrendered. At year's end Shaheen and his son's
whereabouts remained unknown.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and the press. The government significantly
restricted these rights in practice, relying when necessary on
Emergency Law provisions that suspend such rights and supersede
constitutional practices. The government strictly controlled the
dissemination of information and prohibited criticism of the government
and discussion of sectarian issues, including religious and ethnic
minority rights. Authorities detained and abused journalists, writers,
and other individuals for expressions of opinion that violated these
restrictions, leading them to practice self-censorship. The government
also attempted to impede criticism through monitoring of political
meetings and informer networks.
Emergency Law and penal code articles dealing with crimes against
state security allow the government broad discretion to determine what
constitutes illegal expression. The Emergency Law prohibits publication
of ``false information'' that opposes ``the goals of the revolution.''
Penal code articles prohibit acts or speech inciting sectarianism.
On October 22, according to several human rights groups, security
agents arrested religious cleric Abdul Rahman al-Kouki upon his return
from Qatar, where he had been been a guest on the October 20 episode of
``Opposite Direction,'' a news talk show broadcast by Al-Jazeera.
During the broadcast Kouki criticized Egyptian Grand Sheikh Tantawi for
banning the ``niqab'' at al-Azhar University in Cairo. Human rights
observers believed his public criticism prompted the arrest. According
to All4Syria.com, Minister of Religious Affairs Muhammad Abdulsattar
al-Sayed had recently ordered clerics not to give interviews without
the ministry's permission and said he was ``dissatisfied'' with Kouki's
repeated appearances on Al-Jazeera. Authorities charged Kouki in the
First Criminal Court with weakening national sentiment, undermining the
prestige of the state, and inciting sectarian strife.
The government heavily influenced the media, and the government or
the Ba'ath Party owned most newspaper publishing houses. A number of
quasi-independent periodicals, usually owned and produced by figures
with government connections, were published during the year, including
the National Progressive Front's (NPF) Communist party newspaper The
People's Voice; the NPF's Socialist Union party's newspaper The
Unionist; and privately owned newspapers The Nation (Al-Watan), The
Economy (Al-Iqtissad), and Al-Khabar, the latter two of which were
sometimes critical of the government's economic policies and
performance. The government prohibited all Kurdish-language
publications, although there were credible reports that such
publications were available in the country. The Ministry of Information
continued to deny permission to publish Al-Ousboua Al-Iqtissadi, a
business weekly, and Al-Riyada wa Al-Shabab, a new magazine for young
sports fans. In May Prime Minister Mohamad Naji al-Utri decreed that
public-sector entities (e.g., businesses and education facilities)
could not work with any media outlet except the state-run Syrian Arab
News Agency. Civil society activists claimed this was an effort to
marginalize the private media's access to social and economic
information. At year's end it remained unclear whether the public
sector was complying with the decree or how the government would
enforce it.
The print and electronic media were critical at times of the Ba'ath
Party and government performance. They reported openly on a range of
social and economic issues, such as corruption in the energy and
communications sectors. The media covered some Israeli-Palestinian
developments factually but in many cases inflamed local sentiments by
using biased language and images.
Whereas the government or the Ba'ath Party owned and operated some
radio and most television companies, examples of privately owned
stations included Al-Medina radio station and Ad-Dounia and Al-Rai
television stations. The Ministry of Information closely monitored
radio and television news and entertainment programs to ensure
adherence to government policies. The government did not interfere with
broadcasts from abroad. Satellite dishes were widely used and
available.
In February authorities shut down religious television station Al-
Daawa and confiscated all of its equipment three months after the
station's official opening, according to an Institute for War and Peace
Reporting (IWPR) report. The report quoted a local media source as
saying ``security officials had forced the channel to announce that it
had decided to stop broadcasting of its own will.'' At year's end the
reasons behind the closure remained unknown.
As in previous years, government forces detained, arrested, and
harassed journalists and other writers for works deemed critical of the
state. Harassment included banning from the country, firing for
association with international organizations, and failing to respond to
requests for journalists' accreditation. The government also arrested
journalists and others who wrote in Kurdish or in favor of greater
Kurdish rights.
On January 27, SMI agents again arrested Humam Haddad, according to
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Haddad wrote about
human rights violations in the country for several newspapers and
magazines and had participated in an Internet training session in
Jordan with Front Line, an international human rights organization,
according to HRW. No official reason was given for Haddad's arrest, but
human rights activists attributed it to his writings. He was previously
detained from May to July 2008 and again in September 2008. Security
agents reportedly released Haddad after several days.
On April 5, according to the Samir Kassir Foundation, PSD agents
arrested Syrian Kurdish journalist Faruq Haji Mustafa in Aleppo,
providing no specific reason for his arrest. Mustafa had written for
regional media outlets such as Al-Watan, the London-based, pan-Arab Al-
Hayat, and the Lebanon-based Al-Safir. He was reportedly released on
June 17.
On July 5, authorities arrested Helmi Musa, a Palestinian
journalist who covers Israeli affairs for the Lebanese newspaper Al-
Safeer, as he was participating in a political seminar in Damascus.
According to human rights activists and press reports, Musa was aligned
with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. On July 7,
authorities released Musa; no reason for his detention was given.
On August 2, the Ministry of Information forced the dismissal of
Al-Uruba al-Homsiya editor and journalist Ahmad Takrouni, according to
NGO Reporters Without Borders. Takrouni reportedly claimed he was fired
for publishing a July 14 column by Hassan al-Safidi arguing that
regional identity for people in the Homs area was more important than
national identity.
At year's end there were no reported developments in the case of
writer Khaled Jamil Muhammad, detained since June 2008.
The Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Culture and
National Guidance (MCNG) continued to censor domestic and foreign
publications prior to circulation or importation and stopped
circulation when content was judged to be critical or sensitive.
Publication or distribution of any material security officials deemed
threatening or embarrassing to the government was prohibited.
Censorship usually was greater for materials in Arabic. Journalists
also practiced self-censorship.
In May the MOI ordered the General Institution for Distributing
Publications, the only authorized distribution agency in the country,
to halt circulation of the May issue of Shabablek, a monthly periodical
for young people. Media watchdogs reported the ministry's decision was
based on an article in which the author wrote, ``I cannot come back to
my country because I don't want to be conscripted.''
On August 13, the Ministry of Information stopped production of the
television talk show Alama Farika and fired its host, Ibrahim al-Jabin.
Before shutting down the program, the ministry had banned three Alama
Farika shows from being shown, including one featuring an interview
with MP Suleiman Haddad. At year's end the show was still not in
production.
On August 16, according to local media watchers, the Ministry of
Information banned distribution of an issue of the weekly Al-Khabar
without providing a reason. The ministry targeted Al-Khabar in the past
and by year's end had banned distribution of at least 25 issues.
According to an October 12 report by local media watchers, the
Syrian Circulation Agency claimed the government banned distribution of
an issue of the pro-Syrian Lebanese daily al-Akhbar because of an op-ed
on Saudi-Syrian rapprochement and the Saudi king's visit.
On November 22, state security agents arrested journalist Ma'an
Akal from his workplace at al-Thawra newspaper, according to human
rights observers. Although the specific reasons for his arrest were
unknown at year's end, human rights observers suspected Akal's
forthright reporting on corruption inside the regime may have been a
contributing factor. Akal is a former political prisoner who spent nine
years in prison for being a member of the ``Labor League.''
The law prohibits the publication of ``inaccurate'' information,
particularly if it ``causes public unrest, disturbs international
relations, violates the dignity of the state or national unity, affects
the morale of the armed forces, or inflicts harm on the national
economy and the safety of the monetary system.'' Persons found guilty
of publishing such information are subject to prison terms ranging from
one to three years and fines ranging from 500,000 to 1 million pounds
($10,000 to $20,000). The government used these laws during the year to
suppress criticism. The law also imposes strict punishments for
reporters who do not reveal their government sources in response to
government requests.
Internet Freedom.--The Internet was widely available in both dial-
up and high-speed wireless connections, and Web cafes continued to
proliferate throughout major cities. According to 2008 International
Telecommunication Union statistics, approximately 17 percent of the
country's inhabitants used the Internet. The government relied on its
press and publications laws, the penal code, and the Emergency Law to
censor access to the Internet. The government also monitored Internet
usage and in some instances blocked access to Internet sites or Web-
based e-mail that contained or transmitted information deemed
politically sensitive.
According to an international human rights group, all three of the
country's Internet service providers regularly blocked access to a
variety of Web sites. The government restricted access to Web sites
associated with Kurdish opposition groups, the MB, and the Syrian
Muslim Brotherhood. Other electronic media the government restricted
during the year included Amazon.com, social networking Web site
Facebook, video sharing Web site YouTube, online pan-Arabic newspapers
such as Asharq al-Awsat, online telephone service Skype, and online
news services such as LevantNews.com. The proreform Web site
All4syria.org has remained blocked in Syria since 2004. According to a
May Syria Media Center report, the government blocked 225 Internet
sites in 2008, up from 159 in 2007; 21 percent of the banned sites were
Kurdish, and 15 percent were run by Syrian opposition groups.
Cyberdissidents.com reported that eight cyberdissidents were imprisoned
in the country and that the earliest arrests dated back to 2005.
On January 19, according to Global Voices, the government blocked
access to human rights activist Muhammad al-Abdallah's blog. Abdallah
was previously arrested for his human rights activism, in particular
for campaigning to free his father, Ali-al-Abdallah, who was jailed for
his work with the Damascus Declaration. His effort to free his father
led Muhammad to organize the Committee for Families of Political
Prisoners in Syria. In 2006 SAFI agents arrested Abdallah's brother
Omar, who was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison for his
online reporting on his blog, Syrian Domari, which intelligence
services allegedly have since deleted.
In late February, according to human rights contacts, the
government blocked the Syrian Organization for Human Rights (SWASIAH)
Web site. Authorities also demanded that SWASIAH chairperson and human
rights lawyer Muhanad al-Hasani, arrested later in the year (see
section 1.e.), turn over all archived material to them.
Also in February authorities blocked SKeyes, a Web site dedicated
to the defense of media and cultural freedoms in the region. Activists
claimed the reason for blocking the site was its perceived antiregime
stance.
On March 15, the Second Criminal Court sentenced journalist and
cyberdissident Habib Saleh to three years in prison for his allegedly
antiregime writings in online venues. He was convicted on three
charges: inciting sectarian strife, spreading false information that
could affect the morale of the country, and weakening national
sentiment. Saleh was arrested in Tartous in May 2008.
On September 13, the SSSC sentenced blogger Kareem Arbaji to three
years in prison for publishing information aimed at weakening national
morale, according to human rights activists. According to local
observers and international press reports, Arbaji's conviction likely
stemmed from opinions published on Akhawiya.com, a Web site the
government blocked. Authorities originally arrested Arbaji in 2007 and
reportedly tortured him.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted
academic freedom and cultural events. Teachers generally were not
permitted to express ideas contrary to government policy. Authorities
permitted slightly more freedom of expression at the university level,
but the government imposed restrictions on the ability of public
universities to associate with foreign cultural centers. Universities
gave Ba'ath Party members preferential admissions treatment.
On January 13, according to the Kurdish PEN Centre, security forces
detained Derwesh Xalib. Xalib, a linguist, longtime member of the
Kurdish PEN Center, and computer engineer from Qamishli, allegedly
taught Kurdish language courses, which was against the law. Xalib's
whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
There were no developments in the cases of Saleh al-Ali, Tayseer
Omar, nor Ammar Rashed, all of whom were professors at the Shari'a
College at the University of Damascus and detained in March 2008,
reportedly for public criticisms of corruption and for advocating
freedom of expression.
The MCNG censored films and exercised the right of approval over
films shown at cultural centers operated by foreign embassies.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of assembly, but
Emergency Law provisions superseded this right, and the government did
not respect it in practice. MOI permission is required for
demonstrations or any gathering of more than three persons, and the
government required political forums and discussion groups to obtain
prior approval to hold lectures and seminars and to submit lists of all
attendees. Several domestic human rights and civil society groups held
meetings without registering with the government or obtaining prior
approval because they assumed permission would be denied, as has
regularly been the case in the past. In many instances the government
took steps to disrupt such gatherings or prevent them from occurring.
Either the government or the Ba'ath Party authorized and organized most
public demonstrations.
On February 28, Kurdish activists held a public 10-minute period of
silence to protest Decree 49, a 2008 law that obstructs Kurds from
buying, selling, and renting property or improving upon current
property holdings. Security forces believed to be affiliated with the
intelligence services arrested 26 individuals participating in the
demonstration, including Human Rights Association in Syria (MAF)
president Adnan Suleiman; MAF members Mahmud Omar and Akram Suleman;
Kurdish Human Rights Committee (KHRC) members Suleman Muhammad Ismail
and Masud Kaso; Democratic Kurdish Party Syria political leader
Abdulmajid Mahmud Sabri; and Kurdish Yeketi Party member Suleman Majid
Auso.
On March 8, security forces raided several International Women's
Day celebration sites in Qamishli, forcibly breaking up at least one
group of approximately 100 women, according to human rights observers.
Security authorities had reportedly informed local social clubs that
had announced Women's Day events that they would be closed down if they
did not cancel scheduled celebrations. On March 9 and in connection
with the raids, according to Kurdish human rights observers, security
forces arrested Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) Central Committee member
Faisal Sabri Naso, KDP Political Bureau member Nasrelden Burhuk, and
Fanar Jamil in Qamishli and held them in custody until April 20. On
August 9, the Military Court in Qamishli sentenced the three men to
three months in prison for being involved in a political or social
organization with an ``international character'' without government
approval (penal code article 288). The three men appealed the decision
and at year's end were reportedly free and awaiting the outcome of the
appeals process.
On March 12, according to Kurdish human rights observers,
university students throughout the country, especially in Aleppo and
Hasaka provinces, gathered on university grounds to observe five
minutes of silence in commemoration of the anniversary of the 2004
``Kurdish Uprising.'' According to reports, authorities arrested
several hundred protesters; most were quickly released. Those arrested
included Ahmad Ali Baker, Abdullah Daqori, Kawi Deko, Muhammad Shekhmos
Fattah, Alan Huseini, Ali Khalil Mahmud, Behzad Musallem, and Abdi
Rammi. Sources also reported that universities at times denied housing
to students known to have participated in the events.
On March 16, authorities arrested Fuad Hasan al-Husein, a member of
a Kurdish folk band, and Maher Sattam al-Hasan, a student at Damascus
University, in Hasaka for observing five minutes of silence to
commemorate the Iraqi military's 1988 chemical attack in Halabja, Iraq,
which reportedly killed 3,000 to 5,000 Kurds. On the same day,
authorities arrested Abdulsalam Mahmud in Amuda for playing a Kurdish
song in his music shop to commemorate the Halabja attack. According to
Kurdish rights activists, the whereabouts of the three men were unknown
at year's end.
On April 14, a Damascus military court judge sentenced Kurdish
Yeketi Party Secretary General Fuad Aliko, Yeketi Political Committee
member Hassan Saleh, and 22 other individuals to more than a year in
prison for participating in a 2007 demonstration against Turkish
attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan. The court commuted the sentence of Aliko
and Saleh after they admitted to belonging to the Yeketi Party and
instead imposed an eight-month sentence on each man for participating
in a ``political or social association with an international
character,'' a judgment the two men subsequently appealed. At year's
end both men were free and awaiting the outcome of their appeals. Their
codefendants in the case were Moussa Sabri Ageed, Abdul Karim Hussein
Ahmed, Badrakhan Ibrahim Ahmed, Mazen Fendiar Hammo, Walid Hussein
Hassan, Issa Ibrahim Hassou, Mohiuddin Sheikhmus Hussein, Sheikhmus
Abdi Hussein, Muhammad Abdel-Halim Ibrahim, Muslim Salim Hadi Ibrahim,
Shaalan Mohsen Ibrahim, Shiar Ali Khalil, Jamil Ibrahim Omar, Marwan
Hamid Osman, Ghassan Muhammad Salih Osman, Abdulrahman Suleiman Ramo,
Bilal Hussein Hassan Saleh, Abbas Khalil al-Sayed, Mahmud Sheikhmus
Sheikho and Rami al-Hasan Sheikhmus (both released on May 2 but with
trial pending), and Firas Fares Youssef.
At year's end the government had not filed charges against the
perpetrators of 2006 demonstrations that destroyed the Norwegian
embassy and heavily damaged the buildings housing the Danish, Chilean,
and Swedish embassies. The embassies received financial compensation
from the government, but not enough to cover the actual cost of
damages, according to diplomatic sources.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution permits private
associations but also grants the government the right to limit their
activities. In practice the government restricted freedom of
association, requiring prior registration and approval for private
associations. The government often denied requests for registration or
failed to act on them, presumably on political grounds. None of the
approximately 14 local human rights organizations operated with a
license during the year. By year's end no license had been issued to an
independent association of journalists reporting for regional Arab
media, according to press reports. The government continued to block
the seven-year effort by journalists to form the association.
The government did not permit the establishment of independent
political parties (see sections 1.e. and 3).
The government granted registration to some groups not engaged in
political or other activities deemed sensitive. The government
restricted the activities of associations and their members, and the
executive boards of professional associations were not independent.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the government generally respected this right in
practice, but it imposed some restrictions. The government discouraged
public proselytism and monitored groups it viewed as practicing
militant Islam. Human rights organizations reported that alleged
Islamist prisoners and detainees were subject to torture and
mistreatment in custody. The government continued its 1964 ban of
Jehovah's Witnesses, but they continued to practice their religion
privately.
There is no official state religion. The constitution requires that
the president be Muslim and stipulates that Islamic jurisprudence is a
principal source of legislation. Sunni Muslims constituted
approximately 74 percent of the population. Other Muslim groups,
including Alawi, Ismailis, and Shia, constituted an estimated 13
percent of the population. The Druze accounted for an estimated 3
percent of the population, and Christian denominations accounted for
the remaining 10 percent.
All religions and religious orders were required to register with
the government, which monitored fund-raising and required permits for
all meetings by religious groups, except for worship. The constitution
stipulates the separation of religious institutions and the state, but
the government routinely intervened in and controlled religious groups
up to and including the grand mufti, whom the government appoints.
Religious groups tended to avoid involvement in internal political
affairs.
The government generally refrained from involvement in strictly
religious issues. However, the government detained religious figures on
allegedly criminal grounds, as in the cases of Mahmud and Saleh Kuftaro
(see section 1.d.), and on various dates in January, according to local
human rights organizations, intelligence services arrested several
people in Ar-Raqqah due to their adherence to the Salafi school of
Islam. Among those arrested were Muhammad al-Matar, Abdullah Abboud,
Ahmad al-Adhan, and Saif al-Deen al-Hamoud. According to domestic human
rights observers, authorities tortured religious teacher al-Matar, who
suffered from heart disease, and he was detained in the military
hospital. At year's end there were no developments in their cases.
There were no developments in the February 2008 arrest of Tareq al-
Hasan, Ahmad To'mah, and Ahmad al-Rumh for their alleged opposition to
Shia proselytism in the province of Deir al-Zur.
The government cited national security as the reason for barring
Jewish citizens from government employment, serving in the armed
forces, and maintaining contact with Israel. Jews were the only
religious minority group whose passports and identity cards noted their
religion. Jewish citizens had to obtain permission from the security
services before traveling abroad and faced excessive government
scrutiny when applying for licenses, deeds, or other official
documents. The government enforced a law against exporting historical
and cultural treasures, to prohibit the Jewish community from sending
historical Torahs abroad.
The government oversaw all public schools, which were nonsectarian;
Christian and Druze minorities operated a number of private schools
that followed the state curriculum. There was mandatory religious
instruction in schools, with government-approved teachers and
curricula. Religion courses were divided into separate classes for
Muslim and Christian students. Although Arabic is the official language
in public schools, the government permitted the teaching of Armenian,
Hebrew, Syriac (Aramaic), and Chaldean as ``liturgical languages.''
Muslims and Christians are subject to their respective religious
laws on marriage and divorce. Catholics used their own personal status
law for adoption, inheritance, and guardianship. Orthodox and other
Christians remained subject to Shari'a in matters pertaining to
adoption, inheritance, and guardianship. Regardless of religion, child
custody laws for all children were based on Shari'a.
Although the law does not prohibit proselytizing, in practice the
government discouraged such activity, deeming it a threat to relations
among religious groups. Foreign missionaries were present but operated
discreetly.
The government considered militant Islam a threat and monitored its
adherents. The government also monitored and controlled sermons and has
required since 1980 that mosques (except those that are major tourist
sites and a few that have received special permission) remain closed
outside prayer time.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was little evidence of
societal discrimination or violence against religious minorities. Some
Islamic education textbooks stated that Christians and Jews resident in
Islamist states should pay a special tax called jiziah.
Societal conventions as well as religious and theological
proscriptions made conversions relatively rare, especially from Islam
to Christianity. In many cases societal pressure forced those who
undertook such conversions to relocate within the country or to leave
the country altogether to practice their religion openly.
There were no reported acts of physical violence against, or
harassment of, Jewish persons, an estimated 100 to 200 of whom lived in
the country, according to anecdotal accounts from local Jewish leaders
and a 2008 article on the Israeli news Web site Haaretz.com. Leaders in
the Damascus-based Jewish community reported that their ``situation''
was good and cited no specific cases of anti-Semitism. Anti-Israel
material, however, was widespread in the media, and some of it carried
anti-Semitic overtones, although it was less virulent than in previous
years.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement ``within the territories of the state unless restricted by
a judicial decision or by the implementation of laws.'' Although
citizens are ostensibly free to travel internationally, the government
limited freedom of movement in practice by requiring citizens to apply
for exit visas.
The government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in
military and other restricted areas. There were few police checkpoints
on main roads or in populated areas. Security services used checkpoints
to conduct searches without warrants for smuggled goods, weapons,
narcotics, and subversive literature.
The government restricted travel near the Golan Heights, and it
often objected to foreign diplomats traveling to areas along the
Turkish and Iraqi borders. In June the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA) declared that foreign diplomats traveling outside Damascus must
notify the MFA in advance.
During the year the government increased the use of travel bans to
prevent more than 400 critics of the regime, human rights activists,
political reformers, and civil society leaders from leaving the
country, according to a 2009 study by the Syrian Center for Media and
Freedom of Expression. The study named 400 individuals whose travel has
been restricted; human rights observers believed the actual number of
activists affected by a travel ban was in the tens of thousands, partly
because many citizens learned of the ban against their travel only
after they were prevented from departing the country. The government
also prohibits specific types of individuals from foreign travel based
exclusively on the kind of work they do. For example, in January 2008
the prime minister issued a foreign travel ban on all petroleum
engineers, geologists, and geophysicists working in public oil
companies, according to SyriaSteps.com. These experts were reportedly
eligible to travel for training only with prior written permission from
the prime minister or the minister of petroleum. The government usually
applied travel bans without explanation for their basis or duration,
including cases when individuals needed to travel for health reasons.
Individuals the government banned from traveling internationally
during the year included lawyer Nagem Dudum, who was prevented from
leaving the country on April 14 to attend an ``Arabic National
Conference'' in Sudan, and Bassam Zakia, released from approximately
four months of SMI custody in February but since forbidden to leave the
country (see section 1.d.). There were no reports on any individual
having a travel ban from previous years lifted.
Travel to Israel is illegal.
Women older than 18 have the legal right to travel without the
permission of male relatives, but a husband or a father may file a
request with the MOI to prohibit the departure of his wife or minor
dependents from the country.
Syrian emigrants who did not complete mandatory military service
could pay a fee to avoid conscription while visiting the country.
Persons of Syrian origin who were born in a foreign country but were
able to demonstrate service in the army of the country of birth were
exempt from military service without payment.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports
of forced exile during the year.
The law provides for the prosecution of any person who attempts to
seek refuge in another country to escape a penalty in Syria. Persons
who have unsuccessfully sought asylum in other countries and who have
past connections with the MB have been prosecuted upon their return to
Syria. The government routinely arrested dissidents and former citizens
with no known political affiliation who tried to return to the country
after years or even decades in exile.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--During the year there were
numerous reports in local, regional, and international media outlets on
the sudden surge of internally displaced persons. An IWPR article
estimated that extreme drought and unemployment since 2003 had forced
200,000 persons from northeastern Syria to abandon their homes. Other
press reports put the number closer to 300,000. Outmigration from the
al-Jazeera region to urban areas strained already limited resources in
cities, increased urban unemployment, and led to the erection of tent
communities on cities' fringes. The government provided limited food
relief through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC). In cooperation with
the SARC, international NGOs like the World Food Program and Danish Red
Cross provided additional food and medical assistance. There were no
government resettlement efforts for internally displaced persons.
Protection of Refugees.--The government is not a party to either
the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967
Protocol. Several laws regulate the legal status of Palestinian
refugees in Syria, including the 1957 law that stipulates Palestinian
refugees have the same rights as Syrians, except for those rights
dependent on nationality. The law allows for the issuance of identity
cards and the same government protections due to Syrian citizens. A
1963 law regulates the issuance of travel documents to Palestinian
refugees residing in the country, on condition that they registered
with the General Administration for Palestine Arab Refugees and hold
Syrian provisional identity cards. It generally cooperated with the
office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA) in assisting internally displaced persons, refugees, stateless
persons, and asylum seekers, and it respected the UNHCR's eligibility
determinations regarding asylum seekers.
In practice the government provided some protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. During the year the government returned some Iraqi female
refugees whom authorities had arrested on charges of prostitution,
depositing them across the border in Iraq, where traffickers often
subsequently brought them back into the country. There were also
reports that the government deported Iraqi refugees operating illegal
Internet cafes. UN agencies reported security services continued the
practice of detaining Iraqi refugees for working without a permit.
There were no reports of Ahvazis forcibly repatriated to Iran at
year's end. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the situation of Ahvazi
refugees in the country remained precarious. The government reportedly
continued to deny departures for resettlement in other countries. As a
result of these denials, Ahvazi refugees sometimes attempted illegal
border crossings, usually to Turkey, Lebanon, or Jordan. Authorities
apprehended and detained some of the refugees for illegal border
crossing or use of forged documents. International NGOs knew of at
least two Ahvazi refugees the government accepted for resettlement, but
both remained in detention at year's end.
The UNRWA reported there were approximately 460,000 registered
Palestinian refugees in the country during the year, approximately
153,000 of whom resided in UNRWA-administered camps. The General
Authority of Palestinian Arab Refugees in Syria, the government agency
established to coordinate assistance and protection to refugees,
continued to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees during the
year. Palestinian refugees with Syrian travel documents generally
reported little difficulty traveling in and out of the country. The
government refused to permit the full integration of these Palestinians
into Syrian society.
At year's end there were approximately 320 Iraqi Palestinian
refugees registered at al-Hol. Another group of 550 Iraqi Palestinians
remained stranded between the Iraq-Syria borders at the al-Tanf
crossing. Unlike in previous years, the government attempted to prevent
security services from deporting some Palestinian refugees in Damascus,
where they sometimes tried to blend into the larger Palestinian
community or to pass themselves off as Iraqis, to the camp at al-Tanf.
As of December approximately 23,000 new Iraqi refugees had
registered for assistance with the UNHCR, bringing the total number of
registered refugees to 218,363. Most received legal and material
assistance from the UNHCR and other international and nongovernmental
humanitarian organizations. The UNHCR estimated in September that
approximately 1,105,000 displaced Iraqis lived in the country. It was
unknown how many Iraqis were in the country without visas. The
government generally continued to honor the UNHCR's request that states
maintain temporary protection for all Iraqi asylum seekers and persons
whose applications were rejected, and it recognized refugees whose
cases resettlement countries had suspended during the year. Since 2007
the government required all Iraqis to obtain a visa before entry;
citizens of other Arab League countries were able to enter the country
without a visa for a renewable period of as long as three months. The
extent to which authorities enforced the policy at the border remained
unclear.
There are no direct provisions in the law giving refugees the right
to work. According to the UNRWA, the rules for employment of citizens
were applicable to Palestinian refugees provided that they have been
living in the country for at least 10 years. Obtaining a work permit
was a lengthy and complicated process; the government rarely granted
refugees a permit. Many refugees found daily labor in the informal
sector mainly as guards, construction workers, street vendors, and
other manual labor jobs.
Most public schools were unable to accommodate the large number of
children of Iraqi refugees. The government allowed Iraqi children to
attend schools, and according to a UNHCR estimate, approximately 33,000
Iraqi children were enrolled in public schools during the 2008-09
academic year. Many Iraqi children did not attend school for various
reasons, including overcrowding, difficulties with the curriculum, and
previous psychological trauma of parents and children.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived solely from the father.
Following the 1962 census, approximately 120,000 Syrian Kurds lost
their citizenship. As a result, those individuals and their descendants
remain severely disadvantaged in terms of social and economic
opportunities and in receiving government services including health and
education, as well as employment open only to citizens. Stateless Kurds
had limited access to university education, and lack of citizenship or
identity documents restricted their travel to and from the country. The
UNHCR and Refugees International estimated there were approximately
300,000 stateless Kurds.
Despite the president's repeated promises to resolve the matter of
stateless Kurds, most recently in his 2007 inauguration speech, there
was no progress during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution requires that the president be elected by
referendum, and the parliament selects a presidential candidate at the
discretion of the regional Ba'ath Party leadership. A presidential
candidate is then approved by a majority of votes in a popular
referendum. Although citizens vote for the president and MPs, in
practice they did not have the right to change their government because
elections were neither free nor fair. The president appoints the vice
presidents, prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and Council of
Ministers and has the discretion to change these appointments. The
president and his senior aides, particularly those in the military and
security services, made most political and economic decisions with a
limited degree of public accountability. MPs may criticize policies and
modify draft laws; however, the executive branch retains ultimate
control over the legislative process.
Elections and Political Participation.--The most recent
presidential, parliamentary, and local elections took place in 2007.
The government barred international election monitors from entering the
country to observe any of the elections. Local and international human
rights advocates judged all three elections as neither free nor fair
and stated that they served to reassert the primacy and political
monopoly of power al-Asad and the Ba'ath Party apparatus wielded.
Although some opposition groups estimated voter turnout in the
presidential election at significantly less than 50 percent, the
government's official statistics reported voter turnout to be 96
percent, and President al-Asad reportedly won 98 percent of the vote.
Outside observers uniformly dismissed the voter statistics as
fraudulent and not representative of observed participation.
The president and the Ba'ath Party suppressed political opposition.
The constitution provides that the Ba'ath Party is the ruling party and
ensures it has a majority in all government and popular associations,
such as workers' and women's groups. The Ba'ath Party and nine other
smaller satellite political parties comprise the NPF, originally
established in 1971. The NPF represented the only framework for legal
political party participation for citizens; the Ba'ath Party dominated
it, and the one-party character of the political system remained. The
Ba'ath Party dominated the 250-member parliament, or People's Council.
During the 2007 parliamentary and local elections, NPF candidates won
an overwhelming majority of offices. Some independents the government
had vetted were permitted to run and win seats at both levels.
The government did not permit the establishment of independent
political parties. In recent years citizens have sought to establish
political parties but have not received licenses from the government.
In practice the government tolerated some political parties, such as
the Communist Union Movement, and it subjected members of other
parties, such as the Communist Action Party, the People's Party, and
the Arab Social Union, to harassment but not automatic arrest for
membership. Members of Islamist parties were subject to immediate
arrest and execution. Including the MB and 12 Syrian Kurdish parties,
there were an estimated 30 illegal opposition political parties of
varying sizes and influence operating in the country.
Women and minorities generally participated in the political system
without formal restriction. During the year a female vice president and
two female cabinet ministers were in office. Thirty of the 250 MPs were
women.
There was one Druze and one Kurdish minister in the parliament.
Alawites, the ruling religious minority, held a large percentage of
cabinet and parliamentary seats. According to human rights observers,
ethnic and religious minorities outside the Alawite and Christian
communities claimed they had no genuine representation in the
government and that minority representatives were often more responsive
to the ruling party than to their minority constituencies.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. During
the year the government led a major national anticorruption campaign
that produced scores of arrests; nonetheless, officials continued to
engage in corrupt practices with impunity. During the year there were
reports of prison guards demanding bribes from prisoners and their
visitors. On August 9, White and Black magazine reported that
corruption was rampant. Visiting family members who paid higher bribes
enjoyed visits to detainees without police surveillance. Bribes
reportedly ranged from 200 to 3,300 pounds ($4 to $75). Human rights
lawyers and family members of detainees also cited solicitation of
bribes for favorable decisions and provision of basic services by
government officials throughout the legal process in both courts and
prisons. Traffic police officers regularly solicited bribes from
drivers, and child laborers reported bribing police to avoid arrest.
There are no public financial disclosure laws for public officials.
The prime minister's Central Commission for Control and Inspection is
the main administrative body responsible for coordinating and
monitoring public sector corruption. Each government body, including
the ministries, has a Control and Inspection Department that reports
directly to the Central Commission. There is no government body charged
with monitoring private sector corruption.
On February 8, according to local contacts and media sources, the
government ordered the arrest of the director of customs, Brigadier
General Hasan Makhlouf, along with approximately 20 other customs
officials, on charges of corruption, including Bassem Jedid, Safwan
Jedid, Raeef Othman, Bassam al-Kanj, Ali Yahya, Abdul Rahman Mansour,
Ahed Abdul Rahman, Maher Issa, Firas Rustom, Ammar Hajal, and Firas
As'ad. On February 12 and 13, the Ministry of Finance reportedly seized
the assets of the officials, along with those of Makhlouf's immediate
and extended family. At year's end no trial date had been set for
Makhlouf, who remained in detention. There was no additional
information on the status of the other 20 officials.
On April 7, the prime minister fired Major General Hazem Khadra
from his position as head of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation,
reportedly for corruption in connection with a 40 million euro contract
with the Malaysian Muhiba Company to modernize Damascus International
Airport.
On April 14, the Syria News Wire reported that authorities arrested
15 police officers in the Souq Al-Hamidiyeh area on corruption charges.
They were accused of thefts from shops in the area and had allegedly
been stealing for approximately a year.
On May 5, the attorney general filed a lawsuit against senior
officials in the Damascus governorate, including deputy governor Sahar
al-Hafar, executive office member Khaled al-O'labi, and contractors
Ayman Zohaili and Muhammad al-Halabi, on corruption and related
charges.
On July 15, the minister of agriculture and agrarian reform
dismissed Tarek Askar from his position as the director of the Aleppo
Real Estate Office due to allegations of Askar's illegal actions and
abuse of power.
On July 29, according to local media observers, the government
closed the offices of Orient TV, an independent station owned by
businessman Ghassan Aboud, and security agents interrogated staff
members. On July 28, security agents had reportedly raided the
channel's offices and ordered staff to vacate the premises. They gave
no official reason for shutting down the offices. Some media observers
speculated that a prominent businessman and cousin of President Asad,
Rami Makhlouf, lobbied for the closure after the channel's owner,
Ghassan Aboud, refused to make Makhlouf a partner in the business.
Orient TV continued to broadcast from the United Arab Emirates at
year's end.
On September 23, the president issued a decree to dismiss city
council head Nadia Kseibi for illegal actions and abuse of power while
in office.
There are no laws providing for public access to government
information, and the government granted no access in practice.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were no legal domestic human rights groups, but approximately
14 human rights groups operated illegally in the country. During the
year there were reports that the government harassed domestic human
rights activists by subjecting them to regular surveillance and
imposing travel bans as activists sought to attend workshops and
conferences outside the country.
The government stated that it responded in writing to all inquiries
from NGOs regarding human rights matters, including cases of individual
detainees and prisoners, through an interagency governmental committee
attached to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL). NGOs
reported that they rarely received responses from the MSAL. The
government normally responded to queries from human rights
organizations and foreign embassies regarding specific cases by
claiming that the case was still under investigation; that the prisoner
in question had violated national security laws; or, if the case was in
criminal court, that the country had an independent judiciary and the
executive could not interfere.
In general the government remained highly suspicious of
international human rights NGOs and typically did not allow them into
the country. As a matter of policy, the government has denied in the
past to international human rights groups that it commits human rights
abuses. The government did not permit HRW or AI to visit the country
during the year. At year's end the government had signed memoranda of
understanding with at least 14 international humanitarian NGOs--
including Premiere Urgence, the Danish Refugee Council, the Danish Red
Cross, International Medical Corps, the Qatari Red Crescent, the
Institut Europeen de Cooperation et de Developpement, the Turkish Blue
Crescent, Enfants du Monde-Droits de l'Homme, HELP, International
Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, and the Islamic Relief France--primarily
for projects related to assisting Iraqi refugees. The government
monitored this work closely and restricted outreach efforts.
On February 19-20, UNRWA Deputy Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi
visited, meeting with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal Miqdad to
discuss the situation in Gaza and cooperation in the country. On April
25-29 and again on September 28-30, UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen
AbuZayd visited a number of UNRWA-sponsored project sites, including a
water supply and sanitation project in Khan Dannoun Camp in the
outskirts of Damascus. On October 2, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina
Jolie visited Damascus and met with the president and first lady as
well as Iraqi refugee families.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equal rights and equal opportunity
for all citizens, and discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status is prohibited. The government did not
enforce the law effectively. For example, membership in the Ba'ath
Party or close familial relations with a prominent party member or
powerful government official assisted in economic, social, or
educational advancement. Party or government connections made it easier
to gain admission into better elementary and secondary schools, to
access lucrative employment, and to achieve greater power within the
government, the military, and the security services. The government
reserved certain prominent positions, such as provincial governors,
solely for Ba'ath Party members.
There was governmental and societal discrimination against
stateless Kurds and Jews.
Women.--Rape is a felony. There are no laws against spousal rape.
According to article 439 of the penal code, ``rape is considered to
occur when a man forces a woman who is not his wife to have
intercourse.'' The punishment for this is at least 15 years in prison.
Marital rape is not a crime. Article 508 of the penal code stipulates
that ``If there is a contracted marriage between the man who commits
rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping, sexual harassment and the victim, then
there is no charge or the punishment is stopped.'' If the individual
who commits the crime agrees to marry the victim, he faces no
punishment. The victim's family sometimes agrees to this arrangement to
avoid the social stigma attached to rape. If the victim is too young
for marriage, the rapist receives a longer prison sentence.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and
violence against women occurred during the year. A 2006 study reported
that as many as one in four women surveyed had been victims of domestic
violence. The majority of domestic violence and sexual assault cases
went unreported; victims have traditionally been reluctant to seek
assistance outside the family for fear of social stigmatization.
Observers reported that when some abused women tried to file a police
report, the police did not respond to their claims aggressively, if at
all. Women reported incidents at police stations of sexual harassment,
verbal abuse, hair pulling, and slapping by police officers when
attempting to file police reports, particularly at the criminal
security branch at Bab Musallah in Damascus. Victims of domestic
violence have the legal right to seek redress in court, but few did so
because of the social stigma attached to such action.
In the beginning of August, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd opened
a 24-hour emergency shelter and launched a telephone hotline for female
victims of domestic violence. The shelter estimated that it received
more than 300 telephone calls during the year and provided direct legal
or psychological counseling to approximately 50 women. Shelter workers
said police had been increasingly helpful in referring women to the
shelter. The Association for Women's Role Development and the Syrian
Family Planning Association also provided counseling. There were at
least two private shelters open to battered women in Damascus.
Gender-based violence was a continuing concern among the Iraqi
refugee population. The UNHCR reported that during 2008 there were 700
known cases of sexual and gender-based violence. The UNHCR reportedly
supported several ``safe houses'' in Damascus that provided
accommodation, food, social counseling, vocational training, and legal
and medical services for women and children who suffered any form of
violence in Iraq or Syria.
On July 1, President al-Asad amended article 548 of the penal code,
which had permitted courts to waive or reduce punishment for
perpetrators of honor killings. The article's new language stipulates a
mandatory two-year minimum sentence for anyone convicted in an honor
killing; the minimum sentence is less severe than sentences prescribed
for other forms of homicide. The government kept no official statistics
on honor crimes, and when cases were reported, full names were rarely
given. Advocacy groups did not release full names to protect victims.
There were numerous press and anecdotal reports of honor crimes
throughout the year. The MOI estimated that 38 honor crimes took place
from June 2008 to June 2009, while the Syrian Women Observatory (SWO)
estimated there were 200 to 300 such killings annually. Other women's
rights activists agreed that the actual numbers were high but that
reporting was low. As in previous years, human rights observers
reported the exact dates of honor killings were often difficult to
obtain. Further, families or friends willing to discuss the cases
refused to divulge names for reasons of privacy or fear of retribution.
On February 2, according to the SWO, two men killed their sister (a
married woman) in Aleppo for wearing a hijab, in accordance with her
husband's family tradition, instead of a burka, which she had formerly
worn in accordance with her family's wishes.
According to a July 20 IWPR article, the SWO reported that a man
killed his sister, Soad, a mother of two children who lived in
Damascus, after he suspected that she was working as a prostitute with
her husband's permission. There was no further information on whether
the alleged killer was in custody or if police were investigating the
case.
A December 12 report by human rights observers stated two brothers
from Aleppo killed their sister, Khadija, for marrying a man from Homs
to work in a cabaret. There was no further information on whether the
case was under investigation or if the two brothers were in police
custody.
There were no new developments in any of the honor killing cases
reported in 2008. In the 2007 case of Zahra al-Ezzo, the SWO reported
that on October 29, the Second Criminal Court in Damascus sentenced al-
Ezzo's brother, Fayez al-Ezzo, to three years in prison, but the judge
reduced the sentence to two and one-half years because the killing was
``motivated by honor.'' The court counted Fayez's time already served
in custody toward the sentence, which resulted in his immediate
release. The SWO also reported Fayez's detailed and graphic confession
to the court.
The law prohibits prostitution, but it was not strictly enforced.
During the year there was evidence that Iraqi women residing in the
country, including minors, were increasingly resorting to prostitution.
Police assigned criminal liability in nearly all the cases to the
person in prostitution, not others involved. Anecdotal evidence also
suggested that the country was a destination for sex tourism for men
from other countries in the region.
The UNHCR observed that there was a growing practice of muta'a, a
temporary ``pleasure marriage'' conducted by some Shiite clerics. These
marriages are of predetermined duration and become null and void once
the agreed-upon term has passed. They can last as little as one day and
primarily serve individuals seeking to legitimize patronizing
prostitutes. Most Shiite clerics viewed the practice as suspect and did
not conduct such marriages.
The law prohibits sexual harassment and specifies different
punishments depending on whether the victim is a minor or an adult.
Sexual harassment was rarely reported.
The constitution provides for equality between men and women and
guarantees that ``every citizen has the right to earn his wage
according to the nature and yield of the work.'' The government sought
to overcome traditional discriminatory attitudes toward women and
encouraged women's education by ensuring equal access to educational
institutions, including universities. The Commission for Family
Affairs, the MOJ, and the MSAL all shared responsibility in ensuring
the legal rights of women.
The government has not changed personal status, retirement, or
social security laws that discriminate against women. Under criminal
law, if a man and woman separately commit the same criminal act of
adultery, the woman's punishment is double that of the man's. For
Muslims, personal status law is based on the government's
interpretation and application of Shari'a, which treats men and women
differently.
Husbands and wives can claim adultery as grounds for divorce;
criminal law discriminates against women in this regard. A man can be
charged with adultery only if his actions occur in the home he shares
with his wife, but a woman can be accused of adultery regardless of
venue. The court accepts any evidence a man presents when claiming
adultery; if a woman attempts to file for divorce based on adultery,
her husband must admit to the crime or there must be a witness to the
act. During the year there were no reported cases in which a woman
successfully filed for divorce based on adultery.
A divorced woman is not entitled to alimony in some cases, such as
if she gave up her right to alimony to persuade her husband to agree to
the divorce. In addition, under the law a divorced mother loses the
right to physical custody of her sons when they reach the age of 13 and
of her daughters at age 15. Guardianship or control over exercise of
the legal rights of the children always goes to the paternal side of
the family after the age of 13 and 15, respectively.
Inheritance for all citizens except Catholics is based on the
government's interpretation of Shari'a. Accordingly, Muslim women
usually were granted half of the inheritance share of male heirs. In
all communities, male heirs must provide financial support to the
female relatives who inherit less. If they do not, females have the
right to sue. During the year there were reports that in some regions
custom prevailed over the law, and women were denied any inheritance.
Couples and individuals generally have the right to decide freely
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and
the means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
Although the supply of modern contraceptives was available to less than
half of the public, most of the demand for family planning was
satisfied in the country, according to the Population Reference Bureau
(PRB). In Damascus, grocery stores openly sold condoms. Skilled
personnel attended approximately 98 percent of all births, and more
than 80 percent of women who gave birth had access to postnatal care,
according to the PRB. According to the latest data, the rate of
prevalence of HIV/AIDS was 0.01 percent in 2001.
A woman's husband or any other male relative may request that his
wife's and his minor dependents' travel abroad be prohibited. Although
official statistics were not available, foreign embassies reported a
number of such incidents during the year.
Women participated actively in public life and were represented in
most professions, including the armed forces. Women were not impeded
from owning or managing land or other real property. Various sources
observed that women constituted 16 percent of lawyers, 65 percent of
teachers below the university level, 27 percent of university
professors, and 49 percent of university graduates. In addition, women
accounted for 170 judges, 30 MPs, two cabinet ministers, and one vice
president.
Children.--The government provided free public education to citizen
children from primary school through university. Education is
compulsory for all children between the ages of six and 12. Noncitizen
children could also attend public schools free but required prior
permission from the Ministry of Education. According to a 2005 joint
study by the UN Development Program and the State Planning Commission,
49.6 percent of students through the secondary level were female.
Nevertheless, societal pressure for early marriage and childbearing
interfered with girls' educational progress, particularly in rural
areas, where the dropout rates for female students remained high.
In general, Palestinians and other noncitizens, including stateless
Kurds, can send their children to school and universities. Stateless
Kurds are ineligible to receive a degree documenting their academic
achievement.
The legal age for marriage is 18 for males and 17 for females.
However, a male 15 years or older and a female 13 years or older may be
married if a judge deems both to be willing parties to the marriage,
both are ``physically mature,'' and the father or grandfather consent.
Although underage marriage has declined considerably in the past
decades, it was still common. Underage marriage occurred in all
communities, but was more prevalent in rural and less developed
regions.
The country lacked a formal law protecting children from abuse.
However, the penal code stipulates penalties for those found guilty of
certain forms of child abuse associated with trafficking crimes--namely
kidnapping and forced prostitution, which both carry a penalty of up to
three years in prison. Rape of a child under the age of 15 is
punishable by up to 21 years in prison. According to a 2005 Damascus
University study supported by the UN Children'd Fund (UNICEF),
secondary school students reported that ``violent teacher behavior''
was common.
Human rights organizations reported multiple cases in which
security services detained minors and placed them in adult prisons.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law treats trafficking in persons as a
form of incarcerating or holding persons against their will, which the
law prohibits. The government did not fully comply with the
internationally agreed minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking during the year, despite efforts to do so. The country was
a destination and transit point for women trafficked from South and
Southeast Asia and Africa for the purpose of domestic servitude and
from Eastern Europe and Iraq for sexual exploitation. There were few
statistics available on the scope and type of trafficking that exists.
During the year traffickers, sometimes Iraqi criminal networks,
subjected Iraqi women and girls to forced commercial sexual
exploitation, and some Iraqi parents sold their children into short-
term pleasure marriages. No reliable statistics were available
regarding the number of Iraqi refugees working as prostitutes or minors
forced into sexual servitude.
In a March 31 report, the International Organization for Migration
(IOM) indicated that approximately 53,200 foreign domestic workers
lived in the country. On the same day, government officials reported
that in the past few years the government had closed more than 50
illegal domestic labor recruitment agencies. According to a February
IWPR report, lawyers said efforts by the government to monitor
unscrupulous recruitment agencies and employers was ineffective. Some
individuals brought illegally into the country to work as domestic
employees suffered conditions that constituted involuntary servitude,
including physical and sexual abuse, threats of deportation or other
legal consequences, denial or delayed payment of wages, withholding of
passports, and restriction of movement. The IOM documented cases in
which manpower agencies in the country that hired foreign domestic
workers lured some victims through fraudulent or deceptive offers of
employment, despite the fact that the government banned such manpower
agencies.
The penal code stipulates that whoever incarcerates another person
is subjected to a prison sentence of six months to two years, including
hard labor if the incarceration lasts for more than one month or
includes torture. The law also states that any foreigner who tries to
enter the country with false documentation and anyone who aids that
foreigner is subject to imprisonment of three months to one year and a
fine of 500 to 2,000 pounds ($10 to $40). The government did not
consistently enforce these laws for antitrafficking purposes during the
year.
The government increased regulations on licensed employment
agencies in an effort to ensure protection to foreign nationals working
legally in the country and to provide statutory grounds for the
prosecution of illegal employment agencies trafficking in persons for
labor exploitation (see section 7.e.). Despite the government's
efforts, diplomatic sources reported that over the past few years
approximately 15,000 women from the Philippines came to the country as
domestic workers, suggesting that the majority were trafficked.
According to NGO contacts, the government housed some minors who
were victims of trafficking in juvenile detention facilities and held
many adult victims in the Duma women's prison on the northern outskirts
of Damascus. Credible sources also reported that police detained and
sometimes deported approximately six to 10 Iraqi girls and 50 to 70
women each month on charges of prostitution. Many women or girls
returned to Iraq were retrafficked into the country. Police assigned
criminal liability in nearly all the cases to the woman, not the
trafficker.
In August 2008 Oasis of Hope, a shelter for victims of domestic
violence in Damascus, opened its doors under the supervision of the
Association for Women's Role Development. The UNHCR also operated two
safe houses in Damascus for women deemed ``at risk.'' At any given
time, the shelters provided accommodation and services to between 54
and 60 women and their dependents. During the year they provided
financial assistance through monthly cash grants to more than 23,000
women, 8,400 of whom were heads of household and 6,200 of whom the
UNHCR considered ``at risk.'' In December 2008 the first shelter
specifically for victims of trafficking in the country opened in
cooperation between the IOM, the MSAL, and local NGOs. The shelter
provided victims temporary safe haven, psychosocial support, life
skills development, and return and reintegration assistance. It also
provided direct livelihood assistance to potential vulnerable groups of
Iraqi women and children and other nationalities. At year's end the
facility sheltered approximately 25 women and dependents of different
nationalities, most of whom were brought illegally into the country to
serve as domestic workers. In addition, the Sisters of the Good
Shepherd operated a women's shelter and a hotline and offered free
legal counsel to women and minors who had been trafficked, were at risk
of being trafficked, or who had suffered domestic violence.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities and seeks to integrate them into the
public sector workforce; implementation remained inconsistent. The law
protects persons with disabilities from discrimination in education,
access to health, or provision of other state services. Government
regulations reserve 4 percent of government and public sector jobs for
persons with disabilities. There are no laws that mandate access to
public buildings for persons with disabilities. The MSAL is responsible
for assisting persons with disabilities and worked through dedicated
charities and organizations to provide assistance, often to promote
self-sufficiency through vocational training.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The government generally
permitted national and ethnic minorities to conduct traditional,
religious, and cultural activities; the government's actions toward the
Kurdish minority remained a significant exception. Security services
arrested hundreds of Kurdish citizens during the year, and the SSSC
prosecuted them, in some cases on charges of seeking to annex part of
Syria to another country.
On January 3, according to a Kurdish news Web site, political
security agents arrested Sedo Rashed Ali, a Kurd. The reason for his
arrest and his whereabouts remained unknown at the end of the year.
On January 4, according to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party,
political security agents in Qamishli arrested Ahmad Abdullah Tajelden,
a Kurd, for unknown reasons. Authorities released him on May 31.
On January 11, PSD agents arrested Kurdish political activist Naser
Daqori in Amoda and transferred him to the political security offices
in Hasaka, according to the Kurdish Committee for Human Rights. His
whereabouts remained unknown at year's end.
On January 12, according to Kurdish human rights observers, state
security agents arrested Hatem Ahmad al-Omari, a Kurd, in Qamishli. The
reasons for the arrest and his whereabouts remained unknown at year's
end.
On January 26 and 27, according to local Kurdish activists,
security patrols from the Qamishli Ministry of Supply raided the
Qamishli city market and city clothing stores suspected of operating
illegally. The local government allegedly levied fines ranging from
10,000 to 15,000 pounds ($200 to $300) on shop owners for not keeping
business records. Several shops were forced to close. Kurdish activists
cited this narrowly targeted law enforcement campaign as an example of
government harassment.
On February 4, according to local Kurdish activists, security
services in Hasaka arrested Burhan Tami and Idris Tamosh, both Kurds
and members of the Syrian Communist Party. The two men were allegedly
collecting signatures for a petition to protest the discriminatory
nature of Decree 49, issued in 2008, which Kurdish activists said was
intended to obstruct Kurds' right to buy, sell, or inherit property.
Their whereabouts remained unknown at year's end.
On March 20, security services raided multiple Nowruz (Kurdish New
Year) celebration sites throughout the country, especially in Aleppo
and Hasaka provinces. At one candlelight vigil commemorating three
Kurds killed by security forces during 2008 Nowruz celebrations in
Aleppo province, security forces detained at least 100 Kurds, according
to Kurdish human rights observers. Activists reported that police
officers attacked the crowds with batons and tear gas and arrested
celebrants in the street as well as in their homes. Individuals the
government arrested in Aleppo included Adel Ahmad, Mustafa Ali, Farzand
Ahmad, Mustafa Ahmad, Farhad Ahmad, Khaled Abdulhanan, Esmat Ali, Jan
Muhammad, and Husein Muhammad. Those the government arrested in Hasaka
included Kurdish Yeketi Party leader Suleiman Majid Osso (released June
22), Delkhwas Darwish, Shebal Darwish, Saud Farhan Shekhi, Bendwar
Bahri Shekhi, and Sewar Bahri Shekhi (released May 31). Those arrested
in Amoda included Hafand Husein (released May 31) and Jawan Jalal Saed.
The status of the other individuals was unknown at year's end.
On March 23, police arrested Rashed Ramadan Haso, Mazlom Kafi, and
Riad Ahmad, according to Kurdish activists, for holding up photos of
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during Kurdish
New Year (Nowruz) celebrations in Hasaka province. Police transferred
custody of the men to PSD security services. The government reportedly
released Kafi on May 24. The status of the other individuals remained
unknown at year's end.
On May 5, between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., a joint
patrol of GID and criminal security agents in Aleppo and Idleb
provinces executed a series of simultaneous raids on homes, resulting
in the detention of at least eight Kurdish individuals, including Akram
Mohammad Hamdosh, Walid Mohammad Hamdosh, Akeed Abdul Rahman Hamdosh,
Ali Ali (aka Abu Zuhair), Ahmed Hamdush, Badr Ibn Mohammad Bakr,
Mohammad Chichek, and Hassan Ebo. According to activists, the arrests
occurred without a warrant. The whereabouts and reasons for detention
of those arrested remained unknown at year's end.
On July 26, security agents arrested Al Hasan Husain, a Kurd, as he
was on his way to work in the city of Afrin, according to Kurdish human
rights observers. The reasons for his arrest and whereabouts remained
unknown at year's end.
On August 17, according to Kurdish activists, PSD agents arrested
the following Kurds: Hashem Basher Muhammad, Joli Ibrahim Joli, Osama
Ibrahim, Hozan Ossi, Zuhair Khania, and Idres Shaker, all from Hasaka.
The reasons for their arrest and their whereabouts remained unknown at
year's end.
On October 3, according to a Kurdish Web site, security agents
arrested four Kurdish musicians in Deyrik, allegedly for playing
Kurdish songs. The four men were Nihad Hussein, Djawar Munir Abdullah,
Juan Munir Abdullah, and Jamal Sadoun. The four men remained in prison
at year's end.
There were no known developments in the 2008 cases of Jehan
Muhammad Ali, Hanifa Habo, Nalin Jamal Sarik, Muhammad Rasho, Bakara
Muslim, Saema Ismae, Hussein Biro Darwish, or Saadun Mahmoud Sheykho,
or the 2007 case of Muhammad Khalil Abo Zaid.
Although the government contended there was no discrimination
against the Kurdish population, it placed limits on the use and
teaching of the Kurdish language. It also restricted the publication of
books and other materials in Kurdish, Kurdish cultural expression, and
at times the celebration of Kurdish festivals. During the year,
according to the IWPR, authorities began enforcing a years-old ruling
that requires at least 60 percent of the words on signs in shops and
restaurants to be in Arabic. Officials enforcing the ruling reportedly
sent patrols into commercial districts to threaten shop owners with
closure if they refused to change the names of their stores into
Arabic. Minority groups--especially Kurds, who the government appeared
to target specifically--regarded the step as a further attempt to
undermine their cultural identity.
On January 17, political security agents arrested Fawaz Kano and
Zaki Ismael Khalil in al-Hasaka for printing and distributing
graduation certificates for Kurdish language courses, according to
local human rights observers. Authorities released Khalil on January
25. There were no further reports on Kano's whereabouts at year's end.
On April 24, security agents detained Fawaz Ahmed Hassan at the
Damascus train station as he prepared to return to his home in Hasaka
City. Agents stopped Hassan, inspected his luggage, and discovered
Kurdish language instruction materials. At year's end Hassan remained
in detention.
There were no further reports on the 2008 arrests of Ali Tajo or
the four Hamdo brothers, Joma'a, Ahmad, Muhammad, and Bahaman.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes
homosexual conduct under penal code article 520, which states that each
sexual act ``contrary to nature'' is punishable by as long as three
years in prison. Because homosexual conduct was both unlawful and
considered shameful, the law made homosexuals and transgendered
individuals vulnerable to honor crime retaliation. Penal code article
192 permits judges to reduce legal penalties in cases when an
individual's motive for murder is a sense of honor. There were no
reports of prosecutions under these laws during the year nor evidence
of honor crimes against gays and lesbians; however, reports indicated
that dozens of gay men and lesbians have been imprisoned over the past
several years after being arrested on vague charges such as abusing
social values. There were no reports of punishment for female
homosexual behavior.
In a November 22 article from Middle-East-Online.com, Muhammad
Habash, the head of the now-closed Center for Islamic Studies in
Damascus, stated that some Muslim clerics overtly incited the killing
of homosexuals and that others recommended providing gay men and
lesbians with social support to help them ``overcome their illness.''
The size of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
community was unclear, as many individuals feared identifying
themselves as such due to societal discrimination. There were no NGOs
focused on LGBT matters. There were several online networking
communities, including Facebook.com sites (blocked in the country but
easily accessed through proxy servers) that served the local LGBT
community. According to an October article in Syria Today, 200
individuals formed a Facebook community called ``I'm Just Like You,''
which ``published an appeal for tolerance'' during the year.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. Human
rights activists believed that the extent of the problem was widely
underreported.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--Although the constitution provides
for the right of association and to form unions, in practice workers
were not free to establish unions independent of the government.
Foreign workers, according to a 2008 International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC) survey, may join the union representing their
profession but may not stand for election to union office. The survey
also observed that although the law does not prohibit labor strikes,
they are severely restricted by threat of punishment and fines. All
unions belonged to the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), which
was dominated by Ba'ath Party members and was part of the government's
bureaucratic structure. The GFTU advised the government on legislation,
organized workers, and formulated rules for member unions, effectively
controlling nearly all aspects of union activity. Union elections were
generally free of direct, overt GFTU interference, but successful
campaigns usually required membership in the Ba'ath Party. The GFTU
president was a senior member of the Ba'ath Party, and he and his
deputy could attend cabinet meetings on economic affairs. According to
the government-published 2007 Statistical Abstract, the most recent to
include information on union membership, there were 204 trade unions
filling the ranks of the GFTU with a collective membership of 808,419
workers, representing less than one-third of the total labor force. The
abstract also listed 5,622 agricultural cooperatives with 994,820
members; 101 passenger transport cooperatives with 38,269 members; and
24 transport services cooperatives with 9,561 members.
By the end of the year, there were no reports that any individual
union, the GFTU, or any cooperatives had exercised their right to
collective bargaining. There were no reports of strikes at the end of
the year.
The law does not prohibit strikes. Previous government crackdowns,
including fines and prison sentences, deterred workers from striking.
Forced labor was imposed on individuals who caused ``prejudice to the
general production plan.''
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
provides for the right to bargain collectively; this right did not
exist in practice, as the unions were effectively led by Ba'ath Party
officials closely tied to the government. Government representatives
were part of the bargaining process in the public sector. Public sector
unions did not normally bargain collectively on wage issues, but union
representatives participated with representatives of employers from the
government-affiliated Chambers of Industry and Commerce and the
supervising ministry in establishing minimum wages, hours, and
conditions of employment in the private sector. Workers served on the
boards of directors of public enterprises, and union representatives
were included on the boards.
The law provides for collective bargaining in the private sector,
although past government repression dissuaded most workers from
exercising this right.
Unions have the right to litigate disputes over work contracts and
other workers' interests with employers and may ask for binding
arbitration. In practice labor and management representatives settled
most disputes without resort to legal remedies or arbitration.
Management has the right to request arbitration, but that right seldom
was exercised. Arbitration authority is vested in the MOJ's
Administrative Petition Court. In practice this court did little more
than certify agreements and had almost no role in arbitrating disputes,
since such disputes did not occur often.
There were no reports of antiunion discrimination. As the unions
are part of the government's bureaucratic structure, the law protects
union members from such discrimination.
There were no unions in the seven free trade zones (FTZs). Firms in
the zones were exempt from the laws and regulations governing hiring
and firing, although they were required to observe some provisions on
health, safety, hours, and sick and annual leave. Ninety percent of the
workers in the FTZs were citizens.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not
prohibit all forms of forced or compulsory labor, and the problem
existed. The governments of Sri Lanka and the Philippines banned their
citizens from taking employment as domestic workers in the country
because of abuses and the lack of a mechanism to protect the rights of
their citizens.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
labor law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in
the workplace. Independent information and audits regarding government
enforcement were not available.
The private sector minimum age for employment is 15 years for most
types of nonagricultural labor and 17 years for heavy work. Youths of
legal age may work only six hours a day and may not work during night
shifts, weekends, or on official holidays. In all cases parental
permission is required for children younger than 16 to work. Most
children younger than 16 who worked did so for their parents in the
agricultural sector without remuneration. Although the law prohibits
children from working at night, it applies only to children who work
for a salary. Those who work in family businesses and who are
technically not paid a salary--a common occurrence--do not fall under
the law. The law prohibits children younger than 15 from working in
mines, at petroleum sites, or in other dangerous areas. Children are
not allowed to lift, carry, or drag heavy objects.
During the year increasing numbers of children were compelled to
work, according to human rights advocates. According to a 2007 study
conducted by UNICEF in collaboration with the Bureau of Statistics,
there were 620,000 working children between the ages of 10 and 17,
representing 18 percent of all children in the country. Sixty-five
percent of these children worked seasonally in the agricultural sector,
many of them on the land of family and friends. A 2006 UNICEF-funded
study estimated that at least 4 percent of children five to 14 years of
age were involved in child labor, the majority of them younger than 11.
According to a June article in the magazine Syria Today, children
working in Damascus reported they regularly bribed the police with
approximately 200 pounds ($4) each to avoid arrest.
There was evidence that children engaged in some of the worst forms
of child labor during the year, including forced labor and
prostitution. The government did little to address the problem.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs monitored employment
conditions for persons younger than 18, but there were too few
inspectors to ensure compliance with the laws. The Labor Inspection
Department performed unannounced spot checks of employers daily to
enforce the law, but the scope of these checks was unknown.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The public sector minimum wage
is divided into five categories based on job type and/or level of
education. The minimum monthly wage for an individual with four to five
years of university education was 9,645 to 9,965 pounds ($211 to $218),
plus benefits; with a high school diploma up to two years of university
education, 7,750 to 8,465 pounds ($169 to $185); with a junior high
school diploma, 6,765 pounds ($148); for drivers, 6,200 pounds ($136);
and laborers or janitors, 6,010 pounds ($131). Benefits included
compensation for meals, uniforms, and transportation. The minimum wage
did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
Private sector companies usually paid much higher wages than the
minimum. Also, many workers in both the public and private sectors took
additional jobs or were supported by their extended families. The labor
and social affairs minister was responsible for enforcing the minimum
wage.
The public sector workweek was 35 hours; the private sector's was
48 hours. Workers were guaranteed one 30-minute lunch break per day at
minimum, although anecdotal evidence suggested that many workers
enjoyed longer lunch breaks and short, informal breaks during the day.
Premium pay exists for overtime worked, and a prohibition on excessive
compulsory overtime exists in several sectors.
Officials from the Ministries of Health and Labor were designated
to inspect work sites for compliance with health and safety standards;
such inspections were sporadic, apart from those conducted in hotels
and other facilities that catered to foreigners. The enforcement of
labor laws in rural areas was more lax than in urban areas, where there
were more inspectors. Workers may lodge complaints about health and
safety conditions with special committees established to adjudicate
such cases. Workers have the right to remove themselves from hazardous
conditions without risking loss of employment.
On March 24, the Ministry of Labor issued a regulation stipulating
that all domestic workers should be hired through a licensed office,
outlining necessary fees and limits on workers' residency and
describing workers' rights, including timely payment of salary,
transfer upon request, and working in a safe and abuse-free
environment. It provides domestic workers the right to sue their
employers in case of a dispute. Offices recruiting domestic workers
must display a copy of the regulation in Arabic and English to enable
workers to understand their rights. On December 20, the prime minister
issued Decision No. 108, which granted the minister specific
authorities to revoke and/or suspend the licenses of agencies importing
foreign labor. The new decision raised from 5 million pounds to 15
million pounds ($110,000 to $330,000) the mandatory ``guarantee''
deposit required of anyone applying to start a labor agency. The
grounds for license revocation include but are not limited to importing
domestic employees younger than 18; physical abuse, torture, or
exploitation by either the agency or the employer; and discrimination
based on race, sex, religion, social class, nationality, or any other
form of discrimination prohibited by the international conventions in
force. Although these laws and regulations provided protection for
foreign workers who reside legally in the country, they did not cover
the unknown number of illegal workers in the country.
__________
TUNISIA
Tunisia is a constitutional republic with a population of
approximately 10 million, dominated by a single political party, the
Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD). Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been
the president since 1987. On October 25, President Ben Ali ran against
three opposition candidates and was declared the winner with 89.6
percent of the popular vote to win a fifth five-year term. In
concurrent elections for the Chamber of Deputies, the RCD won 161 of
214 seats. Restrictions imposed upon candidates and various procedural
aspects of the elections raised doubts about whether either the
presidential or legislative elections were free and fair. In 2008
indirect elections for some members of the Chamber of Advisors, the
upper house of parliament, resulted in a heavily pro-RCD body. Civilian
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security
forces.
There were significant limitations on citizens' right to change
their government. Local and international nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) reported that security forces tortured and physically abused
prisoners and detainees and arbitrarily arrested and detained
individuals. Security forces acted with impunity, sanctioned by high-
ranking officials. There were also reports of lengthy pretrial and
incommunicado detention. Government imposition of severe restrictions
on freedoms of speech, press, and association worsened in the lead-up
to the October elections. The government remained intolerant of public
criticism, and there were widespread reports that it used intimidation,
criminal investigations, the judicial system, arbitrary arrests,
residential restrictions, and travel controls to discourage criticism.
Corruption was a problem.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings during the year.
There were no developments in the case of the May 2008 death by
electrocution of protestor Hichem Alaimi at a power station in Redeyef
or the investigation into the June 2008 shootings of Hafnaoui Al-
Maghzaoui and Abdelkhalak Amaidi by security forces during an
unemployment protest in Redeyef.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, according to
human rights organizations, security forces tortured detainees to
elicit confessions and discourage resistance, and engaged in beatings
and other cruel treatments and punishments.
Reported methods of torture included sexual abuse; sleep
deprivation; electric shock; death threats; submersion of the head in
water; beatings with hands, sticks, and police batons; suspension,
sometimes manacled, from cell doors and rods, resulting in loss of
consciousness; and cigarette burns. According to international human
rights groups, on occasion police and prison officials used threats of
sexual assault against prisoners' wives and daughters to extract
information, intimidate, and punish.
Charges of torture in specific cases were difficult to prove, and
authorities generally did not take steps to investigate allegations or
punish perpetrators. There were several allegations that authorities
denied victims of torture access to medical care until evidence of
abuse disappeared. The government maintained that it investigated all
complaints of torture and mistreatment filed with the prosecutor's
office and noted that alleged victims sometimes accused police of
torture without filing the complaint that is a prerequisite for an
investigation. According to defense attorneys and local and
international human rights groups, police routinely refused to register
complaints. Judges sometimes dismissed complaints without investigation
and accepted as evidence confessions allegedly extracted through
torture. The government can open an administrative investigation of
allegations of torture or mistreatment of prisoners without a formal
complaint; however, in those cases the results were not made public or
available to the lawyers representing affected prisoners.
Reports of torture were most frequently associated with the initial
phases of interrogation/investigation and more often in pretrial
detention centers than prisons. Human rights activists, citing prisoner
accounts, identified facilities at the Ministry of Interior and Local
Development (MOI) as the most common location for torture. Political
prisoners, Islamists, and persons detained on terrorism-related charges
allegedly received harsher treatment than other prisoners and
detainees.
On March 12, state security forces reportedly suspended
Abdelmottaleb Ben Marzoug from his ankles in a ``roasted chicken''
position to extract a confession of his alleged participation in a
physical altercation that took place in a bar. Marzoug had been in MOI
detention since February 19, when state security officials arrested him
in Gabes. According to local human rights monitors, Marzoug reported
the torture to the investigating judge, and Marzoug's lawyer stated
that there were visible bruises on Marzoug's ankles. Authorities did
not offer Marzoug any medical treatment for his injuries, and they
subsequently charged him under the antiterrorism law for allegedly
belonging to a terrorist cell. At year's end Marzoug remained in
prison, and the investigating judge had not ordered an investigation
into Marzoug's allegations.
On April 30, according to local human rights monitors, prison
guards tortured Ramzi Romdhani, who was serving a 29-year sentence on
terrorism-related charges at Al Mornaguia Prison in Tunis. The guards
reportedly kicked him, causing him to lose several teeth, burned him
with cigarettes, and submerged his head until he fainted. He was
subsequently taken to the prison infirmary, put on a respirator for two
days, and given medical treatment for his injuries. The actions were
reportedly precipitated by Romdhani's protest of prison officials'
decision to deny him visitation privileges with his two-year-old
daughter. Following an intervention by Amnesty International (AI),
authorities permitted Romdhani to see his family and daughter in May.
On June 27, authorities released from prison Wahid Brahmi, who had
been sentenced to two years and four months for spreading false
information on criminal actions taken by state authorities against
several individuals and for publicly posting false information in his
university. On September 11, Brahmi published a letter in the
Progressive Democratic Party's (PDP) Arabic-language weekly, Al-Mowqif,
detailing his torture in Gafsa Prison. He confirmed previous reports
that prison guards repeatedly raped him beginning in February 2008 and
further alleged that they administered electric shocks to his body,
stripped him of all his clothing, hung him from his feet, beat him
repeatedly on his genitals while his mouth was taped shut, poured
freezing water on his naked body, submerged his head into contaminated
water until he vomited blood and lost consciousness, forced him to
drink his own urine, and deprived him of food and sleep. On September
14, the Tunis public prosecutor issued a subpoena for Brahmi to appear
before him and gave him 10 days to retract his ``false'' statements.
Brahmi refused and stated he was ready to submit to a medical exam to
prove his allegations. The case was pending at year's end.
On November 5, authorities conditionally released the remaining 68
protestors they arrested and allegedly tortured during the January to
June 2008 unemployment protests. There was no investigation into their
allegations of torture. There were no developments in the cases of the
July 2008 alleged rape in prison of teacher, journalist, and opposition
party member Zakia Dhifaoui; the 2007 mistreatment in Mornaguia Prison
of Oualid Layouni; the 2007 allegations that prison officials tortured
and raped Ramzi el Aifi, Ousama Abbadi, and Mahdi Ben Elhaj Ali; or the
2007 case of 30 citizens who claimed that security forces tortured
them. The 30 citizens, allegedly part of the Salafi terror group, were
convicted of planning a terrorist attack against targeted foreigners in
early 2007.
During the year government forces also abused individuals outside
custody, most commonly human rights or opposition activists, allegedly
for purposes of intimidation or retaliation for unauthorized
activities.
On October 28, several assailants, allegedly plainclothes police,
abducted prominent independent journalist Slim Boukdhir. Boukdhir
reported the assailants blindfolded and bound him, taking him to a park
where they beat and verbally assaulted him. The assailants also
threatened to kill him. Earlier that day, before his abduction,
Boukdhir gave an interview to BBC Arabic radio in which he accused the
first lady of corruption. His assailants took his shoes, clothes,
wallet, and cell phone and warned him to ``leave the woman alone.''
On May 15, according to international NGOs, six police officers,
including police chief Sami Yahyaoui, assaulted Ammar Amroussia, a
human rights defender and journalist for the banned newspaper El Badil
(Alternative) in the city of Gafsa. Amroussia was on his way to
Kasserine to meet with the wife of Adnan Hajji, one of the leaders of
the January-June 2008 protests. On May 16, a group of police officers,
including Gafsa deputy police chief Mohammed Yousfi, publicly insulted
Amroussia and warned him he might be killed if he continued his
reporting. On May 21, authorities forcibly prevented him from meeting
with his lawyer, Radia Nasraoui.
On June 23, civil society sources reported that state security
forces assaulted human rights attorneys Abdel-Raouf Ayadi, Radia
Nasraoui, and Abdelwahed Maatar at the Tunis and Sfax airports. All
three were returning from Geneva, where they had denounced the
government's human rights record to a conference of exiles. The
officers pushed, beat, and kicked Ayadi while he lay prostrate on the
floor, then searched him and his belongings. A state security officer
twisted Nasraoui's arm to knock away her cell phone as she attempted to
call her husband for assistance. Officers hit Maatar in the face,
breaking his glasses, and detained him for two hours after he refused a
full body search. On September 29, plainclothes police officers again
assaulted Nasraoui, along with her husband, Hamma Hamami, official
spokesperson of the banned Communist Party of State Workers, at the
airport upon their return from Paris. While in Paris, Hamami gave an
interview with Al Jazeera television accusing the government of
repression.
On June 6, a group armed with sticks, stones, and knives attacked
PDP secretary general Maya Jribi and other party members in Sidi
Bouzid. The group was holding a small-scale, private celebration of the
release of a PDP member from prison. The local police chief and three
deputies were present when the group attacked the delegation, but they
offered no assistance. The delegation reported that inaction by police
incited the group to further violence. Jribi contacted the MOI during
the attack but did not receive any assistance.
There were no developments in the following cases from earlier
years: the alleged February 2008 assault by security forces on Fatma
Ksila, secretary general of the Committee for the Respect of Freedom
and Human Rights in Tunisia and Samia Abbou, a member of the Tunisian
Association for Combating Terrorism. The assault prevented the two from
meeting with torture victims' families; the April 2008 assault on a PDP
member who was selling copies of the party's weekly newspaper, Al-
Mowqif; the June 2008 assault on Hamma Hammami, a member of an
unregistered political party; or the 2007 cases of assault on regional
union leader Khaled Barhoumi and journalist Aymen Rezgui.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally did not meet international standards. Overcrowding and
limited medical care posed significant threats to prisoners' health.
During the year there were credible reports that authorities sometimes
denied injured or sick prisoners prompt access to medical care. The
government permitted the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) access to prisons, but did not grant access to other independent
human rights observers.
According to human rights organizations, prison conditions in the
country continued to fall short of minimum adequate standards. Hygiene
was extremely poor, and prisoners rarely had access to showers and
washing facilities. Sources reported that 40 to 50 prisoners were
typically confined to a single 194-square-foot cell, and as many as 140
prisoners shared a 323-square-foot cell. Most prisoners were forced to
share beds or sleep on the floor. Current and former prisoners reported
that the lack of basic facilities forced inmates to share a single
water and toilet facility with more than 100 cellmates, creating
serious sanitation problems. Contagious diseases, particularly scabies,
were widespread, and prisoners did not have access to adequate medical
care. According to prisoners' families, the government imposed
arbitrary restrictions, such as limiting family visits, when prisoners
sought redress for grievances about treatment and conditions.
On April 10, several families of prisoners arrested on terror
charges published a letter on the Internet (tunisnews.net) to protest
the cruel detention conditions in which their family members were being
held throughout the country. The families alleged that the prisons were
overcrowded, detainees were denied needed medical attention, denied
access to family visits, and arbitrarily placed in solitary
confinement.
On January 11, according to the International Association for the
Support of Political Prisoners (AISPP), Anouar Ferjani died in custody
in Mornaguia Prison as a result of deliberate neglect and denial of
medical care. Ferjani had been sentenced to two years in prison in 2008
on terrorism-related charges.
In September Kasserine Prison officials refused to allow Adnan
Hajji, who suffers from kidney disease, to receive medication furnished
by his wife. In December 2008 a Gafsa court sentenced Hajji to 10 years
in prison on charges of forming a criminal group with the intent of
destroying public and private property, leading an armed rebellion, and
assaulting officials during the exercise of their duties. Hajji was
conditionally released on November 5.
Political prisoners were separated from the general prison
population and were under the authority of security forces working for
the Department of State Security in the MOI instead of Ministry of
Justice and Human Rights (MOJ) officials. Prison administrators and
guards allegedly instructed other inmates to stay away from political
prisoners and punished them severely for making contact with them.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in early 2008 that the government was
keeping some political prisoners, most of whom were outlawed Islamist
party An-Nahdha leaders, in small-group isolation (see section 1.e.).
According to prisoner and detainee testimony, prison conditions for
women were generally better than those for men. In July 2008 the
government passed a law mandating that prisons have separate areas for
pregnant women and nursing mothers. The law also reduced the period of
time infants and toddlers were allowed to reside with their mothers
from three years to one. The law requires that pretrial detainees be
held separately from convicted prisoners, but in practice they were not
always separated.
The ICRC continued to visit detainees in prisons and detention
facilities. According to the ICRC's 2009 Annual Report, the ICRC
conducted 56 visits to 37 detention centers. These centers held a total
of 26,319 detainees, and the ICRC held individual interviews with 546
detainees during the year. However, the government did not permit media
or independent local or international human rights groups to inspect or
monitor prison conditions. Per ICRC standard modalities, it shared its
observations and recommendations only on a confidential and bilateral
basis with the authorities. Although the government pledged to the UN
Human Rights Committee in March 2008 that it would allow HRW to visit
prisons, at year's end negotiations between the government and HRW had
stagnated due to the government's refusal to permit HRW to meet with
specific prisoners by request.
The governmental Higher Commission on Human Rights and Civil
Liberties (HCHR) continued to make unannounced prison visits and
inspections of MOJ facilities during the year; however, the HCHR's
reports were not made public.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but the government did not observe these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MOI controls
several law enforcement organizations including the police, who have
primary responsibility for law enforcement in the major cities; the
National Guard, which has responsibility for border security and
policing smaller cities and the countryside; and state security forces,
which monitor groups and individuals that the government viewed as
posing a threat, such as opposition parties and leaders, the media,
Islamists, and human rights activists.
In general, law enforcement groups were disciplined, organized, and
effective; however, incidents of petty corruption and police brutality
took place. Law enforcement organizations sometimes operated with
impunity, sanctioned by high-ranking officials. Police attacked
dissidents and oppositionists.
The MOI's Higher Institute of Internal Security Forces and Customs
has oversight of law enforcement officers in the ministries of interior
and customs. The organization's stated mission was to reinforce human
rights and improve law enforcement; however, no information was
available about its operations, and no information was available about
any punishment of police or prison guards.
Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that police must have a
warrant to arrest a suspect, unless the crime committed is a felony or
is in progress; however, arbitrary arrests and detentions occurred. The
penal code permits detention for as long as six days before
arraignment, during which time the government may hold suspects
incommunicado. This time limit was not always observed. For example, a
2007 National Council for Freedom and Labor (CNLT) report documented 24
cases in 2007 in which the prearraignment detention exceeded six days.
Arresting officers must inform detainees of their rights,
immediately inform detainees' families of the arrest, and make a
complete record of the times and dates of such notifications, but
police sometimes ignored those rules. Detainees not being held
incommunicado were allowed access to family members, although the
government did not always facilitate the efforts of family members to
identify the whereabouts of their detained relatives. Detainees have
the right to know the grounds of their arrest before questioning and
may request a medical examination. They do not have a right to legal
representation during prearraignment detention. Attorneys, human rights
monitors, and former detainees maintained that authorities illegally
extended detention by falsifying arrest dates. Police reportedly
extorted money from families of detainees in exchange for dropping
charges against them.
The law permits the release of accused persons on bail, and
detainees have the right to representation by counsel during
arraignment. The government provides legal representation for
indigents. At arraignment the examining magistrate may decide to
release the accused or remand him or her to pretrial detention.
In cases involving crimes for which the sentence may exceed five
years or that involve national security, pretrial detention may last an
initial period of six months and may be extended by court order for two
additional four-month periods. For crimes in which the sentence may not
exceed five years, the court may extend the initial six-month pretrial
detention only by an additional three months. During this pretrial
stage, the court conducts an investigation, hears arguments, and
accepts evidence and motions from both parties. Complaints of prolonged
pretrial detention were common.
On February 19, state security officers arrested Abdelmottaleb Ben
Marzoug in Gabes and transferred him to the MOI in Tunis the same day
but failed to notify his family. On February 26, the public prosecutor
informed Marzoug's lawyer that he had no information on Marzoug's
arrest or whereabouts. Marzoug's attorney also reported that Marzoug
told the presiding judge that officials tortured him during his
detention (see section 1.c.).
On April 10, lawyer Najet Labidi conducted a sit-in at the Tunis
Bar Association president's office to protest the Mornaguia Prison
director's decision to deny her access to her client, Mehdi Batout,
despite Labidi's receipt of MOJ authorization to visit him. Authorities
subsequently allowed her to visit him after a three-month wait.
Throughout the year, Labidi volunteered to defend political prisoners
and authorities reportedly often denied her access to clients.
On October 22, authorities arrested Mohamed Soudani, student leader
of the General Union of Tunisian Students (UGET), after he met with two
French journalists covering the national and legislative elections. On
the evening of his arrest, Soudani called his lawyers and family and
informed them of a heavy police presence where he met the journalists
and of the likelihood that he would be detained. Soudani's lawyer filed
a complaint with the Tunis public prosecutor on October 23, when
Soudani failed to return home. Authorities did not inform Soudani's
family of his arrest as required by law nor did they provide
information on his whereabouts. On October 24, Soudani was brought
before the court in the town of Mahdia and given a four-month jail
sentence on charges of drunkenness and disorderly and immoral conduct.
There were no developments in the June 2008 arrest of Zied
Fakraoui. Police failed to notify Zied's family of his whereabouts
until July 2008, when local government officials told Fakraoui's
lawyers he had been brought before an investigating magistrate without
the presence of counsel. At year's end Fakraoui was believed to be
still in custody.
On March 30, a Bizerte court issued a three-year suspended sentence
to AISPP member Tarek Soussi. In August 2008 police arrested Soussi
shortly after his interview with Al Jazeera regarding several arrests.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RWB), security forces did not
present a warrant at the time of Soussi's arrest and posed as electric
company employees to gain entrance to his home.
There were no developments in the 2007 case of founding AISPP
member Lassaad Jouhri, whom police reportedly detained for
approximately 12 hours and questioned on his plans to accompany
international NGO Human Rights First and a crew from the US public
television program Frontline to El Kef Prison.
According to international and domestic human rights organizations,
police arrested individuals (more than 1,000 since late 2006) following
security operations to disrupt an armed cell that was reportedly
plotting terrorist attacks. Families made inquiries about the
individuals, but authorities provided no information. Local and
international groups have expressed concern that authorities held the
arrested in incommunicado detention at the MOI State Security
Department, where they would be at risk of torture and other
mistreatment. Courts convicted 30 suspects charged with plotting
against state security; the total number remaining in pretrial
detention was unknown at year's end.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the executive branch and the president
strongly influenced judicial procedures, particularly in cases
involving political dissidents and oppositionists. The executive branch
exercised indirect authority over the judiciary through the
appointment, assignment, tenure, and transfer of judges, rendering the
system susceptible to pressure. Defendants may request a different
judge if they believe the one assigned is not impartial; however,
judges are not required to recuse themselves. The Tunisian Bar
Association initially opposed a judicial training institute inaugurated
in October 2008, arguing that the institute gave the government control
of those admitted to the bar, but the bar association accepted the
institute once the government granted the bar association a management
role. The president headed the Supreme Council of Judges, composed
primarily of presidential appointees.
The civil court system is a three-tiered hierarchy. At the first
level, there are 51 district courts, in which a single judge hears each
case. At the second level there are 24 courts of first instance, which
serve as appellate courts for the district courts but also have
original jurisdiction for more serious cases. The Court of Cassation
(or Supreme Court) serves as the final court of appeals. The Supreme
Court considers only arguments pertaining to points of law. The
organization of the criminal court system is similar to that of the
civil court system. In most cases the presiding judge or a panel of
judges dominates a trial, and attorneys have little opportunity to
participate substantively.
Military courts fall under the Ministry of Defense. Military
tribunals have the authority to try cases involving military personnel
and civilians accused of national security crimes. A defendant may
appeal a military tribunal's verdict to the civilian Supreme Court. In
2007, according to AI, military courts sentenced at least 15 civilians
to as long as 10 years' imprisonment for alleged national security
crimes.
There is also an administrative tribunal, which hears
administrative cases between citizens and the government.
Trial Procedures.--The law employs the same trial procedures for
all citizens, and it provides for the right to a fair trial; however,
according to international and domestic NGOs, this did not often occur
in practice.
The law provides that defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty; however, that presumption was sometimes ignored in practice,
especially in politically sensitive cases. Trials in the regular courts
of first instance and in the courts of appeal are open to the public.
The government permitted observers from diplomatic missions and foreign
journalists to monitor trials. Observers may be allowed to attend
sessions of military tribunals at the court's discretion. There are no
jury trials. By law accused persons have the right to be present at
trial, to be represented by counsel (provided at public expense for the
indigent), to question witnesses against them, and to present witnesses
or evidence on their behalf; however, judges did not always observe
these rights in practice. The law permits the trial in absentia of
fugitives from the law. Both the accused and the prosecutor may appeal
decisions of the lower courts.
Lengthy trial delays remained a problem. Defendants do not have the
right to a speedy trial, nor is there any time limit on cases. Defense
lawyers claimed that judges sometimes refused to let them call
witnesses on their clients' behalf or to question key government
witnesses. Defense lawyers contended that the courts often failed to
grant adequate notice of trial dates or allow time to prepare their
cases. There were reports that judges restricted access to court
records and evidence, especially to records and evidence the government
held, and in some cases required all the lawyers working on a case to
examine documents together on a single date in judges' chambers,
without allowing them to copy relevant documents.
Lawyers and human rights organizations reported that courts
routinely failed to investigate allegations of torture and mistreatment
and accepted as evidence confessions extracted through torture. These
groups also reported that the summary nature of court sessions
sometimes prevented reasoned deliberation and that erratic court
schedules and procedures deterred would-be observers from attending
political trials.
Although family and inheritance law is codified, civil law judges
were known to apply Shari'a (Islamic law) in family cases if the two
systems conflicted. Some families avoided the application of Shari'a
inheritance rules by executing sales contracts between parents and
children to ensure that daughters received shares of property equal to
that of sons.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The number of political
prisoners remained unknown. Human rights organizations alleged that the
government had arrested and imprisoned more than 2,000 persons under
the terrorism law since 2005 without sufficient evidence that they had
committed or planned to commit terrorist acts. Human rights activists
and lawyers alleged that many of these detainees were tortured in MOI
facilities and forced to sign confessions under duress. On May 27,
Becchir Tekkari, the minister of justice and human rights, reportedly
said the government had sentenced only 300 individuals under the
antiterrorism law.
In November 2008 the government conditionally released the An-
Nahdha leaders remaining in prison; however, in December 2008 the
government rearrested former An-Nahda president Sadok Chorou shortly
after he gave an interview to the London-based satellite television
station Al-Hiwar, and sentenced him to one year in prison for
membership in an unauthorized organization. On August 18, according to
local NGO Freedom and Equity, Chorou's wife visited him in prison. She
subsequently alleged that Chorou had been restricted to a diet of bread
and olive oil for the previous 40 days and was subject to harassment by
inmates under the guidance of prison officials.
Family members of political prisoners claim that prisoners are
poorly treated, their visitation rights limited, their religious
beliefs insulted, and that they are subjected to arbitrary solitary
confinement. Former political prisoners stated that upon their release,
officials failed to return their identification cards, marked their
identification cards in a specific way, or denied them certificates
attesting that they had served their sentences and were permitted to
work. They also reported that both uniformed and plainclothes police
closely monitored them.
The ICRC had access to political prisoners in MOJ-controlled
prisons and detention facilities, but generally not to those in MOI
facilities. The government did not permit any other international
humanitarian organizations access to such prisoners.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although a court system
existed through which citizens could make human rights complaints, the
judiciary was not independent and impartial in cases involving human
rights violations when the government was involved. Administrative
remedies were available through the Office of the Ombudsman or the
Administrative Court. These institutions' decisions were not binding,
and other government departments and agencies often ignored them.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions ``except in exceptional
cases defined by law''; however, the government generally did not
respect these prohibitions in practice. Police sometimes ignored the
requirement to have a warrant before conducting searches if authorities
cited state security considerations. Domestic NGOs and civil society
activists reported that members of the security forces entered their
offices when they were not present and searched without a warrant.
Authorities may invoke state security considerations to justify
telephone surveillance. According to numerous reports by NGOs and the
news media, the government intercepted faxes and e-mails. The law does
not explicitly authorize these activities, but the government stated
that the code of criminal procedure implicitly gives investigating
magistrates such authority. Opposition political activists experienced
frequent and sometimes extended interruptions of service to home and
business telephones, faxes, and the Internet. Human rights activists
accused the government of using the postal code, with its broad and
undefined prohibition against mail that threatens the public order, to
interfere with their correspondence and interrupt the delivery of
foreign publications. Authorities reportedly opened and read letters,
many of which never reached their recipients. Security forces routinely
monitored the activities, telephones, and Internet exchanges of
opposition, Islamist, and human rights activists, as well as
journalists, and placed some individuals under surveillance. According
to HRW, from October 10 through the October 25 elections, plainclothes
police surrounded the home of Hamma Hamami, spokesperson of a banned
political party. Hamami, reportedly fearing for the safety of his
daughter, left his home for a private location. At year's end
plainclothes police maintained a limited but visible presence around
the home of Hamami and his wife, Nadia Nasraoui.
Human rights activists claimed the government punished family
members of Islamist activists by denying them jobs, educational
opportunities, business licenses, and travel, due to their relatives'
activism. Police also subjected relatives to surveillance and
questioning. On June 5, with no explanation, police surrounded the home
of former prisoner Hamadi Jebali. Jebali was the publication director
for the Islamist newspaper Al-Fajr, which the government closed in the
early 1990s. The government arrested Jebali in 1990 and released him in
2006. Jebali reported to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
that, as of year's end, both he and his wife remained under constant
police surveillance.
Human rights activists reported that the government made it
difficult for released prisoners suspected of An-Nahdha membership to
find employment. Other released political prisoners who had been
detained but not convicted found it hard to obtain MOI statements that
they had no criminal records, and even when not imprisoned, political
activists and Islamists had their identification cards confiscated,
which created problems with receiving health care, signing a lease,
buying or driving a car, and accessing bank accounts and pensions.
Police may demand identification cards at any time and may detain those
unable to produce their cards until police establish their identity.
AISPP member Lasaad Johri has not had an identification card since
1999.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
limited freedom of speech and of the press; however, the government
generally did not respect these rights in practice. The government
restricted media freedom and severely intimidated journalists, editors,
and publishers into practicing self-censorship. Security forces closely
monitored both foreign and domestic media activity.
Individuals were not free to criticize the government without fear
of reprisal, and the government restricted some types of speech. The
law prohibits individuals from discussing national politics on foreign
radio or television channels during the two weeks prior to national
elections, with a fine of up to 25,000 dinar ($20,833) per offense.
Security forces often questioned citizens seen talking with foreign
visitors or residents, particularly with visiting international human
rights monitors and journalists. The government also attempted to
prevent private meetings of citizens with foreign diplomats and to
influence public meetings by surrounding meeting places with scores of
plainclothes police.
The government does not require licensing of print media; however,
it rigidly controls print media through a publishing permit process.
Print media must request a copyright registration from the MOI, which
issues a receipt that constitutes an official permit to publish for one
year. The press code requires that the receipt be issued before
printing, effectively prohibiting any unlicensed publications. The code
also requires the publisher to inform the MOI of any change of printer.
Printers and publishers violating these rules are subject to
substantial, per copy, personal fines under the press code.
CNLT produced the online newsmagazine Kalima without a license, but
it was accessible only from outside the country. In April 2008 CNLT
made its fifth attempt to register Kalima, but government officials
refused to acknowledge they had received their application.
International human rights NGOs alleged that the government refused
registration of Kalima due to its criticism of the government. In
October 2008 the Kalima Web site was hacked and its archives destroyed.
The government stated that there were 950 foreign publications and
newspapers distributed in the country and that 90 percent of domestic
newspapers were ``privately owned and editorially independent.''
However, two of the eight mainstream dailies were government-owned, the
ruling party owned two, and two, although nominally private, reportedly
took editorial direction from senior government officials. All media
were subject to significant governmental pressure over subject matter.
There were seven opposition party newspapers with small circulations.
Five of them received government subsidies under a law that provides
government financing to papers representing opposition parties that
have seats in parliament.
Broadcast media must receive a grant or denial of a frequency from
the Tunisian Frequencies Agency, a part of the Ministry of
Communications Technologies. These licenses, or acceptance of the
application, are tightly restricted.
On January 30, according to the CPJ, police confiscated the
equipment and shut down the offices of Radio Kalima, an independent
Internet radio station that was critical of the government. The MOI
launched a legal case against Radio Kalima's managing director Sihem
Bensedrine for ``broadcasting on frequencies without a legal permit.''
Radio Kalima applied on five separate occasions for a permit during its
eight years of existence. The station last applied in 2007 and
subsequently filed a case with the administrative court to protest the
MOI's refusal to grant a receipt proving that the Ministry received
Radio Kalima's permit application. The administrative court refused to
hear the case. At year's end, the government continued to block access
to the Radio Kalima office.
On October 22, police entered the offices of independent Internet
radio station Radio 6 with a search warrant and seized all computers
and related equipment. Police sealed the doors to the station with
heavy-duty padlocks and informed the station manager that his operation
was illegal. The station manager had last applied for a radio license
in 2008, but the government failed to respond to the application or
issue a license. Prior to the police seizure, the station manager,
along with other colleagues, organized an on-air sit-in to protest the
government's refusal to allow independent radio and other media outlets
to operate legally in the country.
Government regulations required foreign correspondents to obtain
written approval before recording video in public. The government
controlled the satellite transmissions of local correspondents
reporting for foreign television stations by refusing to license
correspondents and insisting that all correspondents use government-
owned facilities for satellite uplink.
On May 4, progovernment journalists initiated an open campaign
against the executive board of the National Syndicate of Tunisian
Journalists (SNJT), following the union's announcement of its second
annual press freedom report. Progovernment members of the board
resigned and began circulating a petition to the union membership
calling for an extraordinary congress to conduct new elections. Some
journalists were reportedly threatened with dismissal if they did not
sign. After holding the congress on August 15, the progovernment
faction sued for control of the SNJT. On September 8, plainclothes
police surrounded the SNJT offices, and approximately 20 police
officers beat SNJT president Neji B'ghouri as he attempted to access
the offices. The same day, a Tunis court ruled in favor of the
progovernment faction. Police enforced the court order immediately and
evicted the independent SNJT board from the offices. On August 12,
B'ghouri's independent group filed a legal challenge to the
progovernment takeover. On October 26, the court examined the legal
challenge and postponed the case to December 7. At year's end the case
remained pending.
There were widespread reports during the year that the government
blocked most criticism of the authorities in the mainstream press and
also that it harassed, arrested, and abused journalists, especially
those active in opposition activities. The government cited the need to
preserve public order as grounds to suppress criticism and used
defamation laws to prosecute journalists. Journalists most often faced
charges of unrelated offenses (such as counterfeiting), often by
private parties. The law authorizes sentences as long as five years in
prison for offensive statements against the president and as long as
three years for defamation of constitutional bodies, including the
Chamber of Deputies, Chamber of Advisors, constitutional councils, the
administration, government members, or deputies.
On July 13, according to the CPJ, seven plainclothes police
officers followed Radio Kalima reporter Mouldi Zwabi while he covered a
union event in the town of Beja. Police observed and listened to all
his interviews and attempted to intimidate unionists into stopping the
interviews. Police subsequently interrogated all those Zwabi had
interviewed.
On September 15, police temporarily detained journalist Abdullah
Zouari, who once worked for Al-Fajr, the An-Nahdha party's weekly
newspaper, and asked him to stop writing and publishing articles that
were ``detrimental'' to the country's world image. The officers
reportedly threatened to circulate alleged photo-shopped pornographic
material of Zouari if he did not stop. Zouari was under
``administrative control'' (a form of internal exile) for seven years,
ending on August 2; he remained under constant police surveillance at
year's end.
On December 1, independent journalist Zouhaier Makhlouf was
sentenced to three months in prison and fined 6,000 dinars ($4,700) on
charges of ``harming others on the Internet.'' Makhlouf posted footage
he filmed documenting environmental damage and dangerous working
conditions in an industrial district of Nabeul, a town 50 miles
southeast of Tunis. The government has targeted Makhlouf for
contributing to an independent news Web site (assabilonline.com) filled
with anti-government material and for posting material critical of the
government on Facebook and YouTube. On July 27, prior to the arrest
that led to his December 1 conviction, plainclothes police officers
forcibly prevented Makhlouf and his wife from entering the Carthage
amphitheatre for a concert by Lebanese musician Marcel Khalifa. Police
ripped up their tickets and assaulted Makhlouf in the presence of his
wife. A journalist for Tunis Radio 6, Mohamed Mzem, was the victim of
similar harassment on July 28 when he attempted to attend the same
concert. The CPJ reported that the government regularly targeted both
Mzem and Makhlouf for their numerous articles critical of the
government. According to the CPJ, both journalists intended to cover
Khalifa's performance for their independent Internet stations. Khalifa
has been closely monitored following a 2005 media interview in which he
stated that his songs were limited, and in some cases banned, by the
government-controlled radio and television stations.
On November 26, prominent independent journalist Taoufik Ben Brik
was convicted of assault and given a six-month prison sentence.
Arrested October 29 on charges of public indecency, assault,
defamation, destruction of private property, and blasphemy, Ben Brik
claimed he was sitting in his parked vehicle when another vehicle
driven by an unidentified woman collided with his. When he exited his
vehicle to check the damage, the woman driver began screaming, tore at
her clothes, and ran away. The woman later reported to the police that
Ben Brik attempted to rape her. Civil society, independent journalists,
and Ben Brik's lawyer described the arrest as a government attempt to
silence legitimate and free journalism. The incident followed Ben
Brik's publication in the French press of opinion articles critical of
the government.
On February 4, an appeals court in Gafsa upheld the December 2008
six-year prison sentence in absentia against Fahem Boukadous for
``belonging to a criminal association'' and spreading materials
``likely to harm public order.'' Boukados covered the January-June 2008
unemployment protests in the southwestern Tunisia for the satellite
television station, Al-Hiwar Al-Tunisia. Boukadous emerged from hiding,
after six and a half months, on November 24. RWB reported that
Boukadous went before the court in Gafsa on November 24 to plead his
case and benefit from the conditional pardon granted by President Ben
Ali on November 5 that allowed for the release of the remaining
prisoners arrested following the January-June Gafsa protests. Upon
presenting himself to the court on November 24, police reportedly held
and interrogated Bakadous for several hours, before they brought him
before the judge. The Gafsa court conditionally released Bakadous and
scheduled a hearing for December 2 to revisit Bakodous' original
conviction in absentia. At year's end Bakadous remained free, and the
court had yet to vacate the conviction in absentia.
There were no developments in the following cases from earlier
years: the March and August 2008 assaults on human rights journalist
Sihem Bensedrine and her husband, Omar Mestiri; the July 2008
questioning of former PDP secretary general Nejib Chebbi on charges
relating to defamation of the judicial system; the November 2008 police
arrest of and assault on Radio Kalima reporter Fatine Al-Hamdi; the
2007 conviction in absentia of journalist and press freedom advocate
Mohamed Fourati to 14 months in prison for membership in the
unauthorized An-Nahdha party; or the reported police assault on
journalists Lotfi Hajji and Aymen Rezki.
The law prohibits censorship of domestic newspapers, magazines, and
books; however, the government continued to censor international as
well as domestic media. For example, it banned distribution of the
March 6 issue of As-Sada, a weekly magazine published in the United
Arab Emirates. The edition carried an article claiming that Tunisia's
ban on polygamy led to wealthy citizens having extramarital affairs.
On October 21, the government reportedly barred French journalist
Florence Beauge from entering Tunisia four days before the national and
legislative elections. Government authorities blocked Beauge, a
reporter specializing in North African issues for French daily Le
Monde, at the Tunis Carthage airport on the grounds that she landed
without proper authorization. Tunisian officials also stated in press
reports that Beauge conducted ``dubious activities'' and showed
``blatant malevolence'' towards Tunisia in the past. Earlier in the
same month, Beauge issued reports from Tunisia that the government
viewed as unfavorable.
The government also reportedly banned distribution of the October
29 issue of the The Economist for an article that covered the results
of the national elections titled: ``One-man show: Another meaningless
election.''
The government routinely seized and prevented distribution of
domestic newspapers when it found articles or photos contrary to
government policies. For example, authorities reportedly suppressed
February and March issues of the opposition weekly al-Mowqif, which
carried articles on judicial independence, the PDP candidate for
president, unemployment, and democracy.
According to journalists and nonjournalist sources, senior
government officials routinely called news directors and editors to
inform them which issues they were forbidden to cover or publish and to
direct editorial content and news coverage. The government also often
pressured newspapers to carry the government wire service's version of
an event, even when the newspapers' own journalists were present. The
Tunisian Agency for External Communications enforced these informal
censorship mechanisms by favoring certain publications for placement of
government advertising. Private companies that wanted to avoid
association with publications the government viewed unfavorably pulled
their advertisements from those publications.
Directors and owners of existing private media, as well as
journalists working for government- and ruling-party-owned media,
practiced a high degree of self-censorship. Journalists in the
mainstream media regularly refrained from investigative reporting on
national issues. Only the small opposition media reported regularly on
controversial national issues.
The law stipulates that the government may restrict the
publication, introduction, and circulation of foreign works. The
Ministry of Culture required book fair publishing representatives to
deposit publication titles in advance; it reportedly rejected several
thousand religious books 25 publishing houses proposed to present for
an April 24-May 3 book fair. Authorities also prevented the sale by
restricting entry into Tunisia of foreign publications that included
articles deemed critical of the country or that the government
determined could prompt a security threat.
On October 1, authorities banned the sale and distribution of The
Regent of Carthage, a book by French journalists Nicolas Beau and
Catherine Graciet. The book detailed allegations of corruption by
President Ben Ali, first lady Leila Ben Ali, and their respective
families.
Internet Freedom.--Widespread use and interest in the Internet
remained the driving force behind Tunisia's rapidly and continuously
developing telecommunications infrastructure. According to 2008
International Telecommunication Union statistics, approximately 28
percent of the country's inhabitants used the Internet. The law allows
the government to block or censor Internet content deemed obscene or
content threatening public order, defined as ``incitement to hate,
violence, terrorism, and all forms of discrimination and bigoted
behavior that violate the integrity and dignity of the human person, or
are prejudicial to children and adolescents.'' During the year the
government also blocked access to a wide variety of Internet sites that
did not fit this definition.
There were reports that the government monitored Internet usage and
communications. In early May judiciary police summoned university
professor Khedija Arfaoui to their headquarters in Tunis and questioned
her for approximately eight hours after she posted a message on her
Facebook page about the incidence of child kidnappings in the country.
The message Arfaoui posted was related to rumors that had already
circulated within the country and had been discussed in the local
media. On July 4, Arfaoui was sentenced to eight months in prison for
``disturbing public order.'' On December 2, the Tunis Court of Appeals
heard Arfaoui's case. Arfaoui stated that she received the posted e-
mail from a young woman living in France, and claimed she had posted
the message in good faith. The court scheduled another hearing for
December 20, and at year's end Arfaoui remained free.
The government blocked nearly all sites belonging to domestic human
rights, opposition, and Islamist groups, including discussion sites.
The government periodically blocked opposition news sites and Internet
discussion sites throughout the year. Some foreign Web sites remained
blocked at year's end, including RWB's site and YouTube, which has been
blocked since 2007. According to RWB, the Journaliste Tunisien blog was
blocked in October 2008, one day after it posted RWB's 2008 Press
Freedom Index.
The 2009 OpenNet Initiative (ONI) report indicated that the
government continued to block Web sites of political opposition groups,
opposition news pages, human rights groups, and sites allegedly
critical of the Koran and Islam. According to ONI, the government used
a commercial software program loaded onto government-controlled servers
to consistently block sites on the servers of the country's 11 Internet
service providers (ISPs). In addition to filtering software, the
government reportedly used regulatory means and surveillance to monitor
and control Internet usage.
The AISPP reported that authorities continued to arrest individuals
for visiting Web sites the government associated with terrorism and
detained them without proper legal procedures or sufficient evidence of
commission of a crime.
The law requires all ISPs to obtain a license from the Ministry of
Communications Technologies. Each ISP must submit a monthly list of its
subscribers to the quasi-governmental Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI).
Internet users and those who maintain Web sites and servers are also
responsible for infractions of the law.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government limited
academic freedom and fostered a culture of self-censorship in
universities. The government closely monitored administrators,
teachers, and students to identify political activity. Both uniformed
and plainclothes police maintained a significant presence on university
campuses and discouraged students from openly expressing dissent.
Authorities subjected academic publications for the Ministry of
Culture's approval before publication, and university libraries did not
purchase foreign books or subscribe to foreign magazines deemed
critical of the government by the Ministry of Culture. Close government
control over academic research funds prevented university
administrators from authorizing or applying for grants on research
topics they believed the government would find objectionable.
Professors avoided teaching classes on subjects considered sensitive,
such as legal courses on political systems, comparative politics, and
classes on civil liberties. University professors often avoided
discussion of subjects deemed sensitive enough to interest the
government, and faculty members reported that they were hesitant to
gather outside the classroom. Faculty members had to request Ministry
of Higher Education approval to hold conferences and were required to
submit conference topics and invitee lists.
On July 20, the government adopted a law requiring all foreign
theatrical and artistic productions not sponsored by the government to
undergo Ministry of Culture clearance prior to public performance or
release.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, but the government severely
restricted this right in practice.
Freedom of Assembly.--The law requires groups wishing to hold a
public meeting, rally, or march to obtain a permit from the MOI at
least three days prior to the proposed event and to submit a list of
participants. Authorities routinely approved permits for groups
supporting the government and generally refused permission for
dissenting groups. As in previous years, NGO leaders reported
difficulty in renting space to hold large meetings, maintaining that
police pressured venue managers not to rent to certain groups. Hotel
managers and businesses denied any specific ban on renting space to
opposition groups; however, they acknowledged cooperating with the MOI
and accommodating its requests when possible.
The government consistently blocked meetings of the Tunisian Human
Rights League (LTDH) in its headquarters in Tunis and in regional
offices. On January 24, prior to a public civil society event to
introduce a newly created organization to facilitate coordination among
human rights leagues in the Maghreb, a large number of plainclothes
police officers reportedly surrounded the LTDH headquarters and blocked
the entrance, denying access to all guests except the LTDH steering
committee. The guest of honor, Mohamed Ismail from the Algerian Human
Rights League, was also denied entry, as were several journalists,
civil society leaders, and foreign diplomats. The event was originally
scheduled to be held at the headquarters of the Tunisian Women's
Association for Research and Development, but according to the LTDH, a
high-level MOI official contacted the association's president and
informed her that the association could not hold the meeting at its
headquarters. On May 8, plainclothes police prevented the LTDH from
celebrating its 32nd anniversary. Only LTDH steering committee members
were allowed into the organization's headquarters, and all other
guests, including foreign diplomats, were turned away.
On April 9, according to local NGO Freedom & Equity, plainclothes
police surrounded approximately 80 members of the UGET at their
organization's headquarters in Tunis and prevented them from traveling
to Bizerte to attend the 25th congress of the organization. Police
reportedly assaulted some student leaders, and the congress was
cancelled. At year's end there were no further developments.
The government used police and other state security forces to
monitor, control, and sometimes break up demonstrations. In general,
demonstrators and security forces did not resort to violence; however,
there were some exceptions, such as scuffles ensuing from protestors'
attempts to cross police lines barring access to a demonstration site
or from protestors not dispersing when police ordered them to do so.
There was no further unrest in the aftermath of the January-June
2008 protests in southwestern town of Redeyef. The protest began in
January 2008 after the region's biggest employer, the Phosphates
Company, announced the results of a recruitment competition. The local
branch of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) and many of the
unsuccessful candidates protested that there had been fraud. The
protest climaxed in April 2008 following the arrest of dozens of
demonstrators. One demonstrator was fatally shot and 18 others wounded
in June 2008. There have been no developments in the investigation into
this fatal shooting. The government maintained that the protests were
violent while domestic NGOS claimed they were peaceful. The remaining
68 prisoners incarcerated following the protest were conditionally
freed on November 5. The specific terms of their conditional release
were not made public but are understood to imply no further political
activity. The government previously released 23 prisoners in October
2008.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association; however, the government generally did not respect this
right in practice. The law requires that new NGOs apply for
registration with the government. If the government does not reject the
application within 90 days, the NGO is automatically registered. The
government routinely blocked registration of new independent NGOs by
refusing to provide receipts for their applications. Without such a
receipt, NGOs were unable to counter the government's assertions that
they had not applied to register and therefore were not allowed to
operate. In such cases the government could shut down these NGOs, seize
their property, and prosecute their members for ``membership in an
illegal organization.'' Authorities arrested and prosecuted several
individuals on this charge after they participated in the January-June
2008 Gafsa protests.
There were reports that significant numbers of RCD members
attempted to join independent NGOs or labor unions with the apparent
intent of limiting the organizations' independence by gaining control
through elections or disrupting operations. For example, on September
8, a progovernment faction took over leadership of the journalists'
union.
On June 11, the Court of Cassation affirmed a 2001 ruling annulling
all decisions and organs resulting from the LTDH's fifth congress,
including its newly elected steering committee, and it tasked the LTDH
with holding a new congress. According to LTDH leadership, the only way
for the LTDH to continue its human rights work was to ensure that
progovernment members were elected to the NGO's steering committee. At
year's end the LTDH had not planned a sixth congress or scheduled
elections for its steering committee.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion
on the condition that religious practice does not disturb public order;
however, the government restricted and abused this right in practice.
Islam is the state religion, and the law stipulates that the
president must be a Muslim.
The government recognized all Christian and Jewish religious
organizations established in the country before independence in 1956.
Although it permitted other Christian denominations to operate, the
government formally recognized only the Roman Catholic Church. The
Provisional Committee of the Jewish community met weekly and performed
religious activities and charity work, although the government had not
granted it permanent registration. The government regarded the Baha'i
faith as a heretical sect of Islam and permitted its adherents to
practice their faith only in private.
The law provides that only persons appointed by the government may
lead activities in mosques, and the government pays the salaries of
imams. The government required that mosques remain closed except during
prayers and other authorized religious ceremonies, such as marriages or
funerals. Authorities instructed imams to espouse the government's
social and economic programs during prayer times in mosques.
The government required Islamic religious education in public
schools, and religious curriculum for secondary school students also
included histories of Judaism and Christianity. The government allowed
Jewish communities to operate private religious schools. Jewish
children on the island of Djerba were permitted to divide their
academic day between public secular schools and private religious
schools.
Although it was not illegal to change religions, government
officials occasionally discriminated against converts from Islam to
another religion using legal and social pressure to discourage
conversion. Customary law based on Shari'a forbids Muslim women from
marrying outside their religion. The government required a non-Muslim
man to convert to Islam before marrying a Muslim woman. The government
did not allow married Muslim couples to register their children with
non-Muslim names.
The government prohibits efforts to proselytize Muslims. While
authorities did not deport foreigners suspected of proselytizing, they
did not renew the visas of suspected missionaries.
The government did not permit the establishment of political
parties based on religion, and it used this prohibition to continue to
refuse to register the Islamist An-Nahdha party and to prosecute
suspected An-Nahdha members for ``membership in an illegal
organization.'' The government continued to maintain tight surveillance
over Islamists and monitored activity in mosques. According to human
rights lawyers, the government also continued to question individuals
observed praying frequently in mosques.
The government subjected religious publications to the same
restrictions on freedom of expression as secular publications.
Christian groups could distribute religious documents only in European
languages. Only sanctioned Muslim religious groups could distribute
religious documents. In the government's view, distribution by other
groups constituted an illegal ``threat to public order.''
The government sought to suppress certain outward signs of
citizens' religious practices, such as the wearing of head scarves
(hijabs) by women and the growing of conspicuous facial hair by men.
Authorities characterized the hijab as a ``garment of foreign origin
having a sectarian connotation'' and sought to restrict its use in
public institutions. Police continued efforts to eradicate sectarian
dress (including the hijab) in official buildings, schools, and
universities. During the year authorities detained some women in public
places and told them to remove their hijabs.
On September 7, according to domestic NGOs, the head of the
National School for Rural Development at Medjez El Bab refused to allow
female students wearing hijabs to register for classes unless they
removed their hijabs and stated in writing that they would cease
wearing hijabs to school.
Police also reportedly detained and harassed men with ``Islamic''
beards, forcing them to shave at a police station or threatening them
with arrest unless they returned home immediately to shave.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal discrimination based
on religion continued during the year. Muslims who converted to other
religions were often ostracized. The government cooperated closely with
and protected the 1,500-person Jewish population, 900 in Djerba and the
remainder in and around Tunis, although Jews faced some defamation in
the media.
Cartoons in some mainstream newspapers used derogatory images of
historically stereotypical Jews to portray the state of Israel and
Israeli interests. Most of these cartoons were drawn outside of the
country and reprinted locally.
The government promoted anti-bias and tolerance education through a
series of lectures regarding religious tolerance. Jewish community
leaders reported that the government actively protected synagogues,
particularly during Jewish holidays, paid the salary of the grand
rabbi, and partially subsidized restoration and maintenance costs for
some synagogues.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, the government did not always respect these
rights in practice. The government restricted the in-country and
foreign travel of some dissidents, Islamists, and their relatives. The
government also may impose five years of ``administrative control'' at
sentencing on certain former prisoners that constitutes a type of
internal exile, limiting their ability to travel within and outside of
the country.
The government generally cooperated with the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in assisting refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons
of concern; however, the government did not provide protection for such
persons, nor did it permit the UNHCR access to detention centers. In
the absence of specific legislation on refugee matters, refugees were
treated like foreigners, and there was no official government
restriction on their movement.
The law authorizes the courts to cancel passports and contains
broad provisions that permit courts and the Ministry of the Interior to
seize passports on national security grounds and deny citizens the
right to present their cases against seizure or to appeal the judges'
decision. The MOI is required to submit to the courts, through the
public prosecutor, requests to seize or withhold a citizen's passport;
however, the ministry routinely bypassed the public prosecutor with
impunity. Many citizens, particularly journalists, reported difficulty
applying for or renewing their passports and accused the government of
blocking their applications solely on the basis of political
opposition.
During the year the government reportedly severely restricted the
in-country movement of Islamist Hamadi Jebali and his wife from their
city of residence, Sousse. The government had continued to ignore the
passport requests by both Hamadi and his wife made in November 2008.
On March 3, according to RWB, authorities temporarily detained
human rights lawyer Mohamed Abbou at the Tunis airport and prevented
him from traveling to an AI-organized conference in London on
terrorism, security, and human rights in Tunisia. On March 14, national
security agents again prevented Abbou from leaving Tunis to participate
in a roundtable discussion on press freedom and human rights in Acabba,
96 miles away. Authorities also prevented Al Jazeera correspondent
Lotfi Haji from leaving his hometown of Bizerte to attend the same
conference.
At year's end journalist and former prisoner Slim Boukdhir reported
that the government had failed to grant him a passport. Boukdhir, who
filed his original request for a passport in 2003, was arrested in
November 2007 and spent nine months in prison on charges of insulting a
public official, public indecency, and refusal to present his identity
card to a security official.
Former An-Nahdha leader Mohamed Sedki Labidi has been deprived of
his passport for the last 13 years without a court decision.
According to the constitution, no citizen can be exiled from the
country nor prevented from returning; however, the government used
administrative control as a type of punitive internal exile.
Administrative control measures, which take effect upon a convict's
release from prison, are similar to parole restrictions, except that
they may be applied to prisoners even after they have completed their
sentences. The government requires these individuals to stay ``in the
area of their residence,'' which the government determines and may be
anywhere in the country. They also may be required to report to a
police station frequently, at times determined only the previous
evening. At the police station, they may be forced to wait hours before
they are allowed to sign in, making normal employment impossible.
Numerous Islamists released from prison in recent years have been
subjected to such requirements.
By law administrative control measures may only be imposed at
sentencing; however, a former high school teacher and An-Nahdha member,
Nouri Chniti, claimed he has been subject to extrajudicial
administrative control measures since 1991, when he received a
suspended sentence that did not include such measures.
The government prevented some political opponents in self-imposed
exile abroad from obtaining or renewing their passports to return to
the country. On August 21, Sihem Bensedrine, the CNLT spokeswoman and
Kalima editor in chief, staged a sit-in with her son at the Tunisian
consulate in Toulouse, France, to protest the consulate's alleged
arbitrary refusal to renew her son's passport due to her political
activism. Her son was subsequently granted the passport.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is party to the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees, and the 1969 African Union
Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem in
Africa. The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status;
however the government has not established a system for providing
protection to refugees or other persons of concern. In practice the
government did not protect against the expulsion or return of persons
to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on
account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group, or political opinion.
In the absence of official and specific refugee laws and
administrative measures to govern refugee and asylum matters, the UNHCR
conducted all refugee status-determination procedures. The UNHCR
maintained a liaison with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in
particular the consular service, in connection with all refugee
determinations. Refugees were subject to the foreign labor policies
within the national labor code prior to qualifying for work permits. A
large majority of refugees worked in the informal sector with risk of
exploitation. Refugees had access to all available public national
health care facilities, subject to the same standard fees as applied to
Tunisian nationals, and also access to law enforcement services. The
government's recognition of the rights of all children also extended to
refugees. Children born to refugees and asylum seekers were registered
and received birth certificates but were not granted citizenship.
Refugees requested residence permits from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs upon their proper determination as refugees by the UNHCR.
Issuance and renewal of a residence permit was subject to the approval
of the government and was not automatic. In several cases, the
government arbitrarily denied residence permits to certain refugees
despite their classification as refugees by the UNHCR. Although the
UNHCR under its mandate sought resettlement for refugees under specific
protection needs, the government did not approve any resettlement
requests and at year's end, there were numerous cases pending of third
country nationals seeking naturalization.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully; however, there were significant limitations on
citizens' right to do so. The law provides that citizens shall directly
elect the president and members of the Chamber of Deputies for five-
year terms, but irregularities routinely called into question the
legitimacy of elections. The president appoints the prime minister, the
cabinet, and the 24 governors. The ruling party has maintained power
continuously since the country's independence in 1956, dominating the
cabinet, the legislature, and regional and local governments.
Elections and Political Participation.--In the October 25 national
elections, President Ben Ali faced three candidates and was reelected
for a fifth five-year term. Ben Ali has ruled since 1987. The
government reported electoral participation was at 89 percent of the
4.9 million eligible voters. Anecdotal observation suggested this may
have been inflated. The government rejected 15 of the 26 legislative
candidate slates the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) proposed and 12
of the 26 proposed by the Ettajdid Movement. In some cases, the
government rejected candidate slates without explanation. By contrast,
five ``opposition'' parties viewed as friendly to the government had no
more than five of their 26 candidate slates rejected. In March 2008 the
Chamber of Deputies amended the electoral code. This changed the legal
voting age from 20 to 18 and allowed for an increase in the total
number of Deputies from 189 to 214. The number of seats reserved for
the seven officially recognized opposition parties increased from 20
percent to 25 percent.
Irregularities and imbalances characterized the period prior to the
elections. A coalition of three local independent NGOs--the LTDH, the
CNLT, and the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD)--cited as
serious problems the opposition's lack of media access during the
campaign and media bias in favor of the ruling party. Opposition
candidates and other observers also cited voter intimidation as well as
restrictions on disseminating campaign materials and organizing
campaign events.
In July 2008 the president approved a law requiring any
presidential candidate to be an elected head of a political party and
to have had held that position for at least two years. At least two
opposition parties did not have candidates who met those criteria.
Political parties other than the ruling RCD faced restrictions. By
law the establishment of political parties based on religion, language,
race, or gender is prohibited.
The government and the RCD are closely integrated; current and
former senior government officials constitute the top ranks of the
party. The president of the country is also the president of the RCD,
and the party's vice president and secretary general hold the rank of
minister. All members of the RCD Politburo hold ministerial rank based
on their current or former government service. RCD membership conferred
tangible advantages. For example, there were widespread reports that
RCD members and their families were more likely to receive educational
and housing benefits, small business permits, and waivers on zoning
restrictions.
To reduce the advantages wielded by the ruling party, the electoral
code reserves 25 percent of seats in the Chamber of Deputies for the
seven officially recognized opposition parties and distributes them on
a proportional basis to parties that won at least one directly elected
district seat. In the October 25 elections, five of the opposition
parties gained seats under that provision. The RCD holds the remaining
161 seats.
The government continued to refuse to recognize an environmental
political party, the Green Tunisia Party, although it first applied for
recognition in 2004.
There were 77 women in the 326-seat legislature, one woman in the
29-seat cabinet, and five women among the 15 secretaries of state
(regarded as junior cabinet members). Three women served as presidents
of chambers on the Supreme Court, and two women served on the 15-member
Higher Council of the Magistracy.
The constitution provides for the same rights, duties, and
protection for all citizens. Generally, the government did not classify
or interact with any group as a racial, ethnic, religious or indigenous
minority. There was one member of the Jewish community in the
legislature. There was no set allocation of political party positions
or parliamentary seats for members of a minority group.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption.
Anecdotal evidence suggested that the incidence of corruption was on
the rise; however, corruption allegations were difficult to prove.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws.
On April 9, a government employee was sentenced to 10 years in
prison for involvement in a corruption scheme and for false use of an
official stamp.
On May 20, a Tunis court sentenced a municipal employee to two
years in prison on corruption charges.
There were no developments in the 2007 case of a National
Pedagogical Center employee charged with corruption and
misappropriation of foreign currency. At year's end the court had not
handed down a verdict.
The Higher Institute of Security Forces and Customs is tasked with
reinforcing human rights, improving law enforcement, and reducing
corruption. There were no public reports of the organization's
activities during the year. There is no law that requires public access
to government documents upon request.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government actively hindered investigations of human rights
abuses by domestic and international NGOs, who had difficulty
investigating and publishing their findings, and the government sought
to monitor and control the activities of some foreign NGOs within the
country.
There were approximately 12 domestic human rights NGOs, although
only half were authorized. Some NGOs loyal to the government received
government funding. The government met with registered domestic human
rights NGOs and on occasion responded to their inquiries; however, it
also harassed, targeted, and prosecuted some individuals.
The LTDH traditionally was one of the most active independent
advocacy organizations, with 41 branches throughout the country,
although the blockage of LTDH activities by the government limited its
operational effectiveness (see section 2.b.). The organization received
and investigated complaints and protested abuses, yet the government
rarely responded to LTDH communiques. The government continued to block
an EU grant to the LTDH, citing a law on NGO financing that includes
broad prohibitions on the funding of NGOs without government approval.
Since 1998 the government has refused to authorize the CNLT's
registration as an NGO. The CNLT issued statements sharply criticizing
the government's human rights practices. Government officials have
accused CNLT members of violating the pro forma submission requirements
by publishing communiques without prior government approval.
On July 29, domestic NGO Freedom and Equity, an organization that
tracks human rights abuses and political prisoners, announced that
authorities had mobilized 66 police officers to follow 11 of its
members and surveil their homes and offices.
The government sought to monitor and control the activities of some
foreign NGOs within the country. The government arbitrarily denied
entry to some international NGO human rights observers and reportedly
monitored the activities of those who were allowed into the country.
On January 23, authorities prevented Abdelhamid Amine, secretary
general of the Human Rights Coordinating Group for the Maghreb (CMODH),
from entering the country. Amine was forced to return to Morocco. Three
of the CMODH's member organizations were Tunisian. Amine was planning
to introduce the CMODH representatives in the country to the government
and the public.
Although the government generally maintained good working
relationships with UN agencies and other international bodies, it
monitored and controlled their activities.
On November 13, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network
(EMHRN), led by Mark Boulsin, made a trip to Tunisia. The delegation
met with prominent members of civil society such as members of the
ATFD, Sihem Bensedrinne, and independent writer Jalloul Ben Azzouna,
who hosted the delegation at his home. The following day, plainclothes
police took Ben Azzouna to a police station and interrogated him about
the meeting. The MOI also reportedly called the head of the EMHRN
delegation to instruct him that the objective of his visit was tourism
and not to meet with Tunisian human rights observers and political
dissidents.
There were credible reports that police prevented some family
members of prisoners from visiting ICRC offices and that they
monitored, occasionally harassing, families that visited ICRC offices.
The ICRC regularly visited detainees in all facilities under the
jurisdiction of the MOJ, as well as pretrial detainees under the
jurisdiction of the MOI.
The MOJ has the lead on government policy regarding human rights,
although other ministries also had human rights offices. The ministry
did not release any public reports of cases or investigations. The
HCHR, a government-appointed and -funded body, received, addressed, and
occasionally resolved human rights complaints about prison conditions,
amnesty requests by families of prisoners, and other issues. The
commission published two reports annually; one confidential, submitted
directly to the president and not available to the public, and a
second, for public distribution. The public report detailed the HCHR's
efforts in facilitating prison visits for families and improvements in
some detention conditions.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuse, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides that all citizens are equal before the
law, and the government generally respected this provision in practice;
however, inheritance and family law, as well as biased gender-based
provisions in the civil code, adversely affected women.
Women.--The penal code specifically prohibits rape, including
spousal rape, and the government enforced the laws vigorously, giving
significant press coverage to rape cases. There were no reports of
prosecution for spousal rape. The penalty for rape with the use of
violence or threat with a weapon is death. For all other rape cases,
the penalty is life imprisonment. Cultural factors likely contributed
to underreporting of rape, including spousal rape.
Laws against domestic violence provide penalties for assault
committed by a spouse or family member that are double those for the
same crimes committed by an unrelated individual, but enforcement was
rare. Domestic violence was considered a serious problem. According to
the government-sponsored National Union of Tunisian Women (UNFT), which
ran a center to assist women and children in difficulty and sponsored
national educational campaigns for women, the women's shelter in Tunis
received 489 new cases of domestic violence during the year, 218 of
which involved physical violence. In addition the shelter had more than
500 ongoing cases from earlier years. The ATFD has provided services
for more than 2,000 victims of domestic violence since opening its
women's center in 1993. During the year the ATFD received 65 new cases
of domestic violence and had 42 cases from 2008.
The penal code prohibits prostitution with penalties of up to two
years' imprisonment. Few persons were convicted of violating this law.
However, there were government-sanctioned brothels in which the workers
reportedly had regular medical exams. There were no penalties for
visiting these brothels.
Sexual harassment was a problem, although there were no
comprehensive data to measure its extent. Civil society groups
criticized the law on harassment as too vague and susceptible to abuse.
Victims of sexual harassment are required to file a complaint in
criminal court where the allegations are then legally investigated.
According to the Criminal Code, the penalty for sexual harassment is
one year in prison and a 3,000 dinar ($2,307) fine.
There were no reports of government interference in the right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. Women had free access to
contraception. In collaboration with NGOs, the government maintained
its national policy of keeping the national birth rate low through
public awareness campaigns. The government also provided essential
healthcare for women, including skilled attendance during childbirth
and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Women faced discrimination under the law. Codified civil law is
based on the Napoleonic code, although judges often used Shari'a as a
basis for customary law in family and inheritance. Most property
acquired during marriage, including property acquired solely by the
wife, was held in the name of the husband. Married couples may choose
between joint or separate property systems when they sign marriage
contracts. Customary law based on Shari'a prohibits women from marrying
outside their religion. Application of Shari'a inheritance law
continued to discriminate against women, and there was a double
standard based on gender and religion: non-Muslim women and Muslim men
who are married may not inherit from each other. The government
considers all children from those marriages to be Muslim and forbids
those children from inheriting from their mothers. Female citizens can
transmit citizenship to children regardless of the father's
citizenship.
The law explicitly requires equal pay for equal work; however, it
also allows some female employees in the public sector to work part-
time and receive two-thirds of their original full-time salary. The
government defended the law as allowing women to balance family and
professional life, but some women's rights advocates, including the
ATFD, believed treating women and men differently under the law was a
major setback to women's rights.
The government continued support and funding of the UNFT; the
Center for Research, Documentation, and Information on Women; and
women's professional associations.
Children.--Citizenship is derived from a Tunisian father, a
Tunisian mother and an unknown father, a Tunisian mother and a father
who has no nationality, or from birth in Tunisia to a Tunisian mother
and a foreign father.
The government provided free education up to the university level,
with mandatory attendance for children up to the age of 16.
Convictions for abandoning or assaulting minors carried severe
penalties; however, there were no reported specific incidents of child
abuse during the year.
Public media generally did not report on violence and abuse of
children. Government social workers provided direct assistance to
abused women and children in two shelters operated by a local NGO. The
Ministry of Women's Affairs, Family, Children, and Elderly Persons
employed a child protection delegate in each of the country's 24
districts to intervene in cases of sexual, economic, or criminal
exploitation of children.
There were no public reports of cases of children involved in
prostitution for survival without third party involvement. The law
mandates a three to five year prison sentence for any party who forces
a minor into prostitution and a three year prison sentence for
incitement of a minor to vice. The law sets the minimum age for
consensual sex at 20 for both sexes. Consent must be given without
material remuneration, otherwise it is considered ``clandestine
prostitution.'' Parties under the age of 13 are not considered to have
the legal capacity to consent. Sex with a party between 13 and 15 is
punishable by six years in prison. If the party is older than 15 but
less than 20, it is punishable by five years in prison. The law also
provides that the marriage of the perpetrator and the victim suspends
all criminal proceedings against the perpetrator. The perpetrator may
still be criminally liable in the event of a divorce and an official
request is made to the authorities to pursue criminal proceedings no
later than two years following the divorce.
Trafficking in Persons.--Tunisia is a source, destination, and
possible transit country for small numbers of men, women, and children
trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual
exploitation. Some Tunisian girls are trafficked within the country for
domestic servitude. In April a Tunis court convicted and sentenced a
Tunisian woman to three years' imprisonment for subjecting a seven-
year-old girl to domestic servitude and physical abuse.
The law does not prohibit all forms of trafficking, but traffickers
may be prosecuted under laws prohibiting forced labor, forced
prostitution, participation in armed conflict, or servitude. The MOI
and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad
were the agencies responsible for enforcing these efforts. There were
no specific government campaigns to prevent trafficking. The government
did not have measures to identify trafficking victims from those
persons smuggled voluntarily.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical or mental disabilities and mandates that
at least 1 percent of public and private sector jobs be reserved for
persons who have disabilities; however, NGOs reported that this law was
not widely enforced, and many employers were unaware of its existence.
There was some discrimination against persons with disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of
other state services. The government increased vocational training
programs in handicrafts geared toward persons who have disabilities,
with the goal of future employment. As of 1991, all new public
buildings must be accessible to persons who have physical disabilities,
and this was enforced, but persons with disabilities did not have
access to most older buildings. The government issued cards to persons
with disabilities for benefits such as unrestricted parking, priority
medical services, preferential seating on public transportation, and
consumer discounts. The government provided tax incentives to companies
to encourage the hiring of persons with physical disabilities, and it
strongly supported NGOs working on behalf of persons with disabilities.
Although there is still a social stigma associated with mental
illness, at a societal level several active NGOs provided educational,
vocational, and recreational assistance to children and young adults
with mental disabilities. The government and international
organizations funded several programs. The Ministry of Social Affairs,
Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad were charged with protecting the
rights of persons with disabilities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality is illegal and
the penal code (article 230) criminalizes homosexuality with sentences
up to three years in prison. There was anecdotal evidence that gay
persons faced discrimination, including allegations that police
officers sometimes brutalized openly gay persons and accused them of
being the source of AIDS.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was anecdotal
evidence that people with HIV/AIDS faced some forms of discrimination.
While there were NGOs to assist persons living with HIV, they faced
discrimination in the quality of, and access to, medical care.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to
organize and form unions, but this right was not always respected in
practice. The UGTT was the country's only labor federation and claimed
approximately 14 percent of the workforce as members, including civil
servants and employees of state-owned enterprises. Union contracts
covered a considerably larger proportion of the workforce than union
membership. A court order is the only means to dissolve a union.
The UGTT and its member unions were legally independent of the
government and the ruling party and had the right to decide union
leadership; however, they operated under regulations that limited their
freedom of action, and union leaders who worked in government-owned
companies were often harassed, threatened, and punished. The UGTT
included persons associated with all political tendencies. UGTT funding
came from modest union dues, revenue from an insurance company, and a
percentage of annual contributions to the National Social Security
Fund. The government provided the UGTT with land and construction
support for its new headquarters. Central UGTT leadership generally
cooperated with the government's economic reform program. During the
year the UGTT again refused to submit a list of candidates for 14 UGTT-
designated seats for elections to the newly created Chamber of
Advisors, citing a lack of independence and democracy in the selection
process and an unfair distribution of seats. The UGTT supported the
LTDH and agreed to let LTDH regional chapters use UGTT facilities for
conferences and meetings.
Unions, including those representing civil servants, have the right
to strike, provided they give 10 days' advance notice to the UGTT and
it grants approval. The decision to approve or deny is on a case-by-
case basis. The International Trade Union Conference characterized the
requirement for prior UGTT approval of strikes as a violation of worker
rights, but unions rarely sought advance approval in practice. The law
prohibited retribution against strikers, and the government generally
respected this provision. Conciliation panels, in which labor and
management were represented equally, settled labor disputes. Tripartite
regional arbitration commissions settle industrial disputes when
conciliation fails. Members from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the
UGTT, and the Tunisian Association for Industry, Commerce and
Handicraft composed the commissions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law
protects the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the
government protected this right in practice. The government reported
that during the year collective bargaining agreements covered over 45
percent, or 1.5 million, of the 3.3 million-person workforce. UGTT
member unions, the government, and employers set wages and working
conditions in triennial negotiations, while the government and
employers represent the interests of workers not affiliated with the
UGTT. Numerous collective bargaining agreements set standards for
industries in the private sector and covered 80 percent of the private
sector.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers, although
the UGTT claimed that there was antiunion activity among private sector
employers, such as firing union activists and using temporary workers
to avoid unionization. In certain industries, such as textiles, hotels,
and construction, temporary workers accounted for a strong majority of
the workforce. The labor code protects temporary workers, but
enforcement was more difficult than for permanent workers. A committee
chaired by an officer from the Labor Division of the Office of the
Inspector General approved all worker dismissals. The committee was
composed of representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs,
Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad, the UGTT, and the company dismissing
the worker. Legally, workers have the right to reinstatement, but in
practice this was not enforced.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in
export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced and compulsory labor. Some girls were trafficked within the
country for domestic servitude, although the government did not report
that such practices occurred. A 2008 survey of 130 domestic workers in
the greater Tunis region, conducted by a professor at the University of
Tunis, found that 52 percent were younger than 16; 23 percent claimed
to be victims of physical violence, and 11 percent claimed to be
victims of sexual violence. The majority received salaries below the
minimum wage, and 99 percent indicated they had no work contracts.
These conditions are indicators of possible forced labor.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the employment of children younger than 18 in jobs that
present serious threats to their health, security, and morality, and
the UGTT and the National Social Security Fund conducted inspection
tours of factories and industrial sites to ensure compliance.
The law generally prohibits the employment of children younger than
16, the age for completing educational requirements, and inspectors of
the Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad
examined the records of employees to verify that employers complied
with the minimum-age law. There were no reports of sanctions against
offending employers.
The minimum age for light work in the nonindustrial and
agricultural sectors during nonschool hours was 13 years. Workers
between the ages of 14 and 18 must have 12 hours of rest per day, which
must include the hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In nonagricultural
sectors, children between the ages of 14 and 16 years may work no more
than two hours per day. The total time that children spend at school
and work may not exceed seven hours per day. Nonetheless, young
children sometimes performed agricultural work in rural areas and
worked as vendors in towns, primarily during the summer school
vacation. Child labor also existed in the informal sector as
apprenticeship, particularly in the handicraft industry. Older girls
worked as domestic servants. The penal code prescribes 10 years'
imprisonment for capturing, detaining, or sequestering a person for
forced labor and one-to-two years' imprisonment for forced child
begging.
The Department of Labor's 2008 findings on the Worst Forms of Child
Labor reported children working as mechanics in small shops and selling
products to tourists. The law mandates a three- to five-year prison
sentence for any party who forces a minor into prostitution and a
three-year prison sentence for incitement of a minor to vice.
On June 2, a Tunis court convicted and sentenced a woman to three
years' imprisonment under Article 218 of the penal code (violence with
premeditation) for subjecting to domestic servitude and physically
abusing a seven-year-old girl.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor code provides for a
range of administratively determined minimum wages. On August 3, the
government raised the industrial minimum wage to 261 dinars ($201) per
month for a 48-hour workweek and to 225 dinars ($173) per month for a
40-hour workweek. The agricultural daily minimum wage was eight dinars
($6) per day. With the addition of transportation and family
allowances, the minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a
worker and family, although that income was only enough to cover
essential costs. More than 500,000 workers were employed in the
informal sector, which labor laws did not cover.
Regional labor inspectors enforced standards related to hourly wage
regulations. The country's cadre of 380 inspectors inspected most firms
approximately once every two years. The government often had difficulty
enforcing the minimum wage law, particularly in nonunionized sectors of
the economy. The labor code sets a standard 48-hour workweek for most
sectors; requires one 24-hour rest period per week and 125 percent
premium pay for overtime; and prohibits excessive compulsory overtime,
although this prohibition is not always enforced.
Special government regulations regulated employment in hazardous
occupations such as mining, petroleum engineering, and construction.
The Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad had
responsibility for enforcing health and safety standards in the
workplace. Working conditions and standards generally were better in
export-oriented firms, which were mostly foreign owned, than in those
firms producing exclusively for the domestic market. Workers were free
to remove themselves from dangerous situations without jeopardizing
their employment, and they could take legal action against employers
who retaliated against them for exercising this right.
__________
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven
semiautonomous emirates with a resident population of approximately six
million, of whom fewer than 20 percent (one million) are citizens. The
seven emirate rulers constitute the Federal Supreme Council, the
highest legislative and executive body. The council selects a president
and a vice president from its membership, and the president appoints
the prime minister and cabinet. In 2004 the council selected Sheikh
Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi Emirate, as head of
state for a five-year term. On November 3, the council reelected Sheikh
Khalifa to a second term as president. Traditionally, the emirates are
under patriarchal rule with political allegiance defined by loyalty to
tribal leaders, to leaders of the individual emirates, and to leaders
of the federation. There are no democratically elected legislative
institutions or political parties. There are no general elections.
Citizens express their concerns directly to their leaders through
traditional, consultative mechanisms such as the open ``majlis''
(council). The Federal National Council (FNC), a consultative body,
consists of 40 advisors, 20 of whom were elected by an appointed
electoral college in 2006. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.
Citizens did not have the right to change their government. There
were unverified reports of torture during the year, and security forces
sometimes employed flogging as judicially sanctioned punishment.
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention remained a problem. The judiciary
lacked full independence. The government interfered with privacy and
restricted civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press
(including the Internet), assembly, association, and religion. There
were limited reports of corruption, and the government lacked
transparency. Domestic abuse of women remained a problem, and there
were allegations that police sometimes enabled domestic abuse. Legal
and societal discrimination against women and noncitizens was
pervasive. Trafficking in persons continued, the government severely
restricted the rights of foreign workers, and abuse of foreign domestic
servants was common.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits torture; however, there were
unverifiable allegations of tortured prisoners during the year,
including a U.S. citizen on trial for terrorism charges, whose attorney
stated that he confessed under duress. A ruling family member of Abu
Dhabi, implicated by videotape for the 2004 torture of a foreign
national allegedly over a grain sale, remained under detention pending
trial at year's end.
In addition, Shari'a courts sometimes imposed flogging sentences as
punishment for adultery, prostitution, consensual premarital sex,
pregnancy outside marriage, defamation of character, and drug or
alcohol abuse. Authorities used canes to administer floggings,
resulting in substantial bruising, welts, and open wounds on those
flogged.
There were also reports of prison guard brutality during the year.
In July 2008 a Dubai court sentenced 25 jail wardens and a former
prison director of the Dubai central detention facility to three- to
six-month prison terms for abusing their authority and beating inmates.
The defendants appealed the ruling and the Dubai Court of Appeals
suspended the sentences of the 25 jail wardens in November 2008. At
year's end, the prison director's appeal was pending, and the court
released the group on bail.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied
widely from emirate to emirate. Some prisons were overcrowded,
particularly in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Conditions for female prisoners
were equal to or slightly better than those for men. Prisoners
convicted on national security grounds were held separately from the
general population. Conditions in these special sections were not
significantly different from other parts of the prisons. There were
credible reports that government officials discriminated against
prisoners with HIV by separating them from the general prison
population and by not granting commuted sentences or parole that other
prisoners with similar records received.
On October 22, a Dubai central jail inmate committed suicide in
solitary confinement. The inmate reportedly was receiving treatment and
medication for drug addiction while he was serving a one-year sentence
for illegal drug use. He had threatened to kill himself if he was not
released from solitary confinement, where he was moved for refusing to
wear his prison uniform.
Police in Dubai and Abu Dhabi stated that nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) and the International Committee of the Red Cross
had access to observe prison conditions if requested. However, in
September 2008, when members of the NGO Emirates Human Rights
Association (EHRA) went to visit female inmates at Dubai's Al-Aweer
Detention Facility, prison authorities denied the monitors access ``to
protect the prisoners' social and psychological rights.'' Although
charitable NGOs visited prisons during the year, they were permitted to
provide only material support. They were unable to determine the
welfare of the prisoners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were reports that the
government held persons in official custody without charge or a
preliminary judicial hearing. The law permits indefinite, routine,
incommunicado detention without appeal. Under this procedure, the
detainee may contact only an attorney.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal Ministry of
Interior (MOI) oversees police general directorates in each of the
seven emirates; each emirate, under its corresponding police general
directorate, maintains its own police force and supervises the police
stations. Although all emirate police forces theoretically are branches
of the ministry, in practice they operated with considerable autonomy
and varying degrees of efficiency. The police forces, under the
umbrella of the MOI, are responsible for internal security, and the
federal armed forces are responsible for external security.
Although reported incidents of police corruption were uncommon, the
MOI intervened several times in criminal cases to ensure that local
police were compliant with federal law and policy. Although the local
police are semi-autonomous in each emirate, the MOI has broad authority
to investigate abuses and ensure compliance with federal law.
On September 18, Dubai prosecutors charged a Sharjah police officer
with kidnap and rape after he entered a female acquaintance's apartment
and found her roommate, whom he allegedly slapped, dragged by her hair
to his vehicle, and raped. The verdict was pending at year's end.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the local
police forces, and the government had effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of
impunity involving security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
prohibits arrest or search without probable cause; however, incidents
occurred in practice. There were credible reports that security forces
failed to obtain warrants in some cases.
Police stations received complaints from the public, made arrests,
and forwarded cases to the public prosecutor. The public prosecutor
then transferred cases to the courts. In cases involving foreign
defendants, especially for crimes of moral turpitude, authorities often
summarily deported the defendants upon completion of their jail terms.
Police must report an arrest within 48 hours to the public prosecutor,
who then must determine within 24 hours whether to charge, release, or
further detain the suspect. In practice the public prosecutor did not
always meet the 24-hour time limit, although police usually adhered to
their 48-hour deadline. Public prosecutors may order detainees to be
held as long as 21 days without charge or longer, in some cases, with a
court order. Courts may not grant an extension of more than 30 days of
detention without charge; however, judges may renew 30-day extensions
indefinitely. Public prosecutors may hold suspects in terrorism-related
cases without charge for six months. Once a suspect is charged, the
Supreme Court handles terrorism cases, which may extend the detention
period indefinitely.
There is no formal system of bail; however, authorities temporarily
can release detainees who deposit money, a passport, or an unsecured
personal guarantee statement signed by a third party. Defendants in
cases involving loss of life, including involuntary manslaughter, may
be denied release in accordance with the law. Release usually is
permitted after payment to the victim's family of compensation,
commonly called ``diya'' or ``blood money,'' a form of financial
penalty imposed on defendants in criminal cases involving a death.
A defendant is entitled to an attorney only after police have
completed their investigation. Police sometimes questioned accused
persons for days or weeks without allowing them access to counsel.
Family members generally were granted prompt access to persons arrested
on charges unrelated to security. The government may provide counsel,
at its discretion, to indigent defendants charged with felonies that
are punishable by imprisonment of three to 15 years.
Amnesty.--On religious and national holidays, the rulers of the
individual emirates regularly pardon and pay the debts of many
prisoners. According to press reports, rulers pardoned at least 900
prisoners and paid their debts during the year. The government deported
most of the foreign nationals who were pardoned.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice, court decisions remained
subject to review by the political leadership. There were reports that
the Directorate of State Security, the federal intelligence service,
intervened in judicial affairs. The judiciary was composed largely of
contracted foreign nationals potentially subject to deportation.
By tradition the local rulers' offices, or ``diwans,'' maintained
the practice of reviewing some criminal and civil offenses before they
referred cases to prosecutors. They also reviewed sentences judges
passed, returned cases to the court on appeal if they did not approve
of the verdict, and approved the release of every prisoner who had
completed a sentence. The diwans' involvement--usually in cases between
two citizens or between a citizen and noncitizen--led to lengthy delays
prior to and following the judicial process and lengthened the time
defendants served in prison. The diwan's decision in any court case is
considered final, and when a judge and diwan disagree, the diwan's
decision prevails. Because diwans report to the MOI, there was often no
functional separation between the executive and judicial branches.
There is a dual court system. Shari'a courts adjudicate criminal
and family law matters based on each emirate's interpretation of
Shari'a. Civil courts adjudicate civil law matters and, except in the
emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras al-Khaimah, are accountable to
the Federal Supreme Court, which has the power of judicial review, as
well as original jurisdiction in disputes between emirates or between
the federal government and individual emirates. The emirates of Dubai,
Abu Dhabi, and Ras al-Khaimah have their own local and appellate
courts, which have jurisdiction over matters within their territories
that federal legislation and the constitution do not specifically
reserve for the federal system. These emirates did not refer cases in
their courts to the Federal Supreme Court for judicial review, although
they maintained a liaison with the federal Ministry of Justice.
In some emirates, Shari'a courts considered all types of civil and
commercial cases as well as criminal cases and family matters. The
courts acted in accordance with their interpretation of Shari'a but
were required to answer to the Federal Supreme Court, with the
exception of courts in the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras al-
Khaimah. In criminal cases, Shari'a was applied first and, if evidence
Shari'a required was found insufficient, the penal code was applied.
Dubai had a special Shia council to act on matters pertaining to Shia
family law.
The military has its own court system and military tribunals try
only military personnel. Only the Federal Supreme Court hears national
security cases.
Trial Procedures.--According to the law, defendants are presumed
innocent until proven guilty. The constitution provides the right to a
public trial, except in national security cases or cases the judge
deems harmful to public morality. There are no jury trials. Defendants
have the right to be present at their trial and a limited right to
legal counsel in court. While awaiting a decision on official charges
at the police station or the prosecutor's office, a defendant is not
entitled to legal counsel. In all cases involving a capital crime or
possible life imprisonment, the defendant has a right to government-
provided counsel. The government may also provide counsel, at its
discretion, to indigent defendants charged with felonies punishable by
imprisonment of three to 15 years. The law provides prosecutors
discretion to bar defense counsel from any investigation. Defendants
and their attorneys can present witnesses and question witnesses
against them. Defense counsel has access to relevant government-held
evidence. By law, all prosecutions are conducted in Arabic. Despite the
defendant's procedural right to a translator, in some cases involving
deportation of illegal residents, the court provided translation only
at sentencing.
Each court system has an appeals process. Death sentences may be
appealed to the ruler of the emirate in which the offense is committed
or to the president of the federation. In the case of murder, only the
victim's family may commute a death sentence. The government normally
negotiates with victims' families for the defendant to offer diya in
exchange for forgiveness and a commuted death sentence.
In a case in which a defendant is acquitted, the prosecutor may
appeal and provide new or additional evidence to a higher court. An
appellate court must reach unanimous agreement to overturn an
acquittal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees; however, there were persons
reportedly held incommunicado and without charge for unknown reasons.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens and noncitizens
had access to the courts to seek damages for, or cessation of, human
rights violations. The civil courts, like all courts in the country,
lacked full independence. Administrative remedies were available for
labor complaints and were particularly common in cases regarding
physical abuse of domestic workers.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits entry into a home without
the owner's permission, except when police present a warrant in
accordance with the law; however, there were credible reports that
security forces sometimes failed to obtain warrants. Officers' actions
in searching premises were subject to review by the MOI, and officers
were liable to disciplinary action if their actions were judged
irresponsible. There were reports of censorship of incoming
international mail during the year.
The constitution provides for freedom and confidentiality of
correspondence by mail, telegram, and all other means of communication.
However, on July 8, Etisalat, the country's primary telecommunications
provider, issued an update to its BlackBerry subscribers that it
described as a performance enhancing patch but was actually
surveillance and interception software. On July 20, Etisalat, which did
not acknowledge using spyware or explain its purpose, called the matter
a ``slight technical fault'' and provided its customers with
instructions on how to remove the program.
Local interpretation of Shari'a law prohibits Muslim women from
marrying non-Muslims and Muslim men from marrying women not ``of the
book,'' that is, adherents of religions other than Islam, Christianity,
and Judaism.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the government restricted
these rights in practice. The law prohibits criticism of rulers and
speech that may create or encourage social unrest. Journalists and
editors practiced extensive self-censorship for fear of government
retribution, particularly since most journalists were of foreign origin
and feared deportation.
Public criticism of the government and ministers was permissible in
a limited context, but criticism of ruling families, particularly
sheikhs, was not permitted. Nevertheless, criticism of sheikhs
occurred, albeit with extreme caution and in private.
On April 20, the government denied the FNC the right to discuss
publicly the global financial crisis and the economic downturn's
ramifications in the country.
The government owned three of the country's newspapers and heavily
influenced the privately owned media, particularly through government
subsidies. The government-owned Emirates News Agency regularly provided
material in English and Arabic that some newspapers printed verbatim.
Except for media located in Dubai's ``Media Free Zone'' and foreign
language media targeted to foreign residents, most television and radio
stations were government-owned and conformed to unpublished government
reporting guidelines. Foreign journalists and news organizations
operating from the Dubai Media Free Zone reported no restrictions on
the content of print and broadcast material produced for use outside
the country. Satellite receiving dishes were widespread and provided
access to international broadcasts without apparent censorship.
In June 2008 the Pakistani television channel GEO News permanently
relocated its office and staff to an undisclosed country. Station
managers claimed they were given 48 hours to leave the Dubai Media Free
Zone or halt the broadcasting of two shows. The shows allegedly covered
efforts to reinstate judges dismissed by Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's
former president.
By law the National Media Council (NMC), appointed by the
president, licenses and censors all publications, including private
association publications. Media outlets must inform the NMC of the
appointment of editors, and the NMC is responsible for issuing press
credentials. The law authorizes censorship of domestic and foreign
publications to remove criticism of the government, ruling families, or
friendly governments, as well as other statements that ``threaten
social stability.'' According to the council and Dubai police
officials, journalists were not given specific publishing instructions;
however, government officials reportedly warned journalists when they
published material deemed politically or culturally sensitive.
Journalists practiced extensive self-censorship regarding the issues
they chose to cover.
On July 6, Abu Dhabi's federal court of appeal enforced a previous
ruling to prohibit the Emarat Al Youm daily newspaper from publishing
for 20 days in a defamation case raised by the Emirati Warsan Stables
owners, who were members of the ruling family. The case revolved around
a 2006 article alleging that the stable was doping its horses. The
court enforced fines of 20,000 dirhams ($5,500) each against the
newspaper's chief executive officer and editor in chief. The newspaper
resumed publishing after the 20-day prohibition.
The government used libel laws to suppress criticism of its
leaders. No journalists have received prison sentences for defamation
since 2007, when the leader of Dubai and vice president and prime
minister of the country, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, ordered
that journalists no longer be imprisoned for such violations. However,
other punishments for violations of libel laws remained in force,
including suspension of publishing for a specified period of time and
penalties of five million dirhams ($1.4 million) for disparaging senior
officials or royal family members and 500,000 dirhams ($140,000) for
misleading the public and harming the country's reputation, foreign
relations, or economy.
The NMC censors reviewed all imported media and prohibited or
censored before distribution any material considered pornographic,
excessively violent, derogatory to Islam, supportive of certain Israeli
government positions, unduly critical of friendly countries, or
critical of the government or ruling families. The authorities treated
the publication of books in the same manner.
During the year the Ministry of State for FNC Affairs organized a
series of workshops for local media focused on political communication,
including media coverage of FNC activities and elections, in an effort
to foster government transparency and strengthen the independent media.
Internet Freedom.--The government restricted access to some Web
sites and monitored chat rooms, instant messaging services, and blogs.
Individuals and groups generally engaged in peaceful expression of
views via the Internet, including by e-mail. There were few reports of
government prosecution or punishment, although self-censorship was
apparent in many chat rooms and blogs. The UN Human Development Report
estimated there were more than 300 Internet users per 1,000 persons.
Etisalat, the country's only Internet service provider, used a
proxy server to block material deemed inconsistent with the country's
values. Blocked material included dating and matrimonial sites; gay and
lesbian sites; sites concerning the Baha'i faith; sites originating in
Israel; and sites explaining how to circumvent the proxy server. The
proxy server occasionally blocked broad categories of sites. Etisalat
populated its proxy server list of blocked sites primarily from lists
purchased from private companies, although individuals could also
report offensive sites. The social Web site Orkut and the politically
oriented Web sites ArabTimes.com and UAEPrison.com remained blocked
during the year. Etisalat denied having the authority to block any site
and referred all complaints and suggestions to the NMC.
The law explicitly criminalizes the use of the Internet to commit a
wide variety of offenses and provides fines and prison terms for
Internet users who violate political, social, and religious norms. In
addition to criminalizing acts commonly associated with ``cyber
crimes,'' such as hacking, phishing, scams, and other forms of
financial fraud. The law also provides penalties for using the Internet
to oppose Islam, proselytize Muslims to join other religions, ``abuse''
a holy shrine or ritual of any religion, insult any religion, incite
someone to commit sin, or transcend ``family values'' by publishing
news or photos pertaining to a person's private life or family.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted
academic freedom and censored academic materials for schools. The
government prohibited students from reading texts featuring sexuality
or pictures of the human body. The government also restricted
participation in certain cultural events, primarily events it deemed
un-Islamic.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association; however, in practice
the government did not respect these rights.
Freedom of Assembly.--The law requires a government-issued permit
for organized public gatherings. On June 19, Dubai authorities
prohibited demonstrations by Iranian immigrants protesting the June 12
reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. An estimated 200 persons
demonstrated outside the Iranian Consulate in Dubai for five
consecutive days before the government took action to end the protests
peacefully. There were reports of smaller demonstrations outside the
Iranian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In practice the government did not
interfere regularly with informal nonpolitical gatherings held without
a government permit in public places unless there were complaints.
During the year there continued to be periodic gatherings without
government permission, including at least two cases of laborers
protesting wages. The government dispersed the gatherings peacefully.
Citizens normally confined political discussions to informal
gatherings (majlises) held in private homes.
Freedom of Association.--Political organizations, political
parties, and trade unions are illegal. All NGOs were required to
register with the Ministry of Social Affairs, and many received
government subsidies. Approximately 100 domestic NGOs were registered
with the ministry, mostly citizens' associations for economic,
religious, social, cultural, athletic, and other purposes. More than 20
unregistered local NGOs that focused on nonpolitical topics operated
with little to no government interference.
Associations must follow the government's censorship guidelines and
receive prior government approval before publishing any material. The
government directed and subsidized participation by NGO members in
events outside the country. Participants must obtain government
permission before attending such events, even if they are not speakers.
In June 2008, 83 former teachers lodged protests with the Ministry
of Education over their transfers to nonteaching positions, alleging
that the government was suspicious of their membership in the Reform
and Social Guidance Association.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of
religion in accordance with established customs; however, the law
denies Muslims the freedom to change religion, and the government
restricted religious freedom in practice. The federal constitution
declares that Islam is the official religion of the country. The
government viewed conversion to Islam favorably, and the government
funded or subsidized approximately 95 percent of Sunni Muslim mosques.
Individual emirates exercised considerable autonomy in religious
matters. According to the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and
Endowments (GAIAE), there was no formal method of granting official
status to religious groups other than granting them the use of land for
the construction of a building. Land grant applications were filed at
the local level but could include a letter from the GAIAE. Several non-
Muslim groups operated houses of worship where they practiced their
religion freely. Groups that did not have their own buildings were
limited in their ability to assemble for worship; they were required to
use the facilities of other religious organizations or to worship in
private homes. Police or other security forces did not interfere with
these gatherings during the year. Members of the country's large Hindu
community had to obtain official permission to use one of the two
cremation facilities and associated cemeteries.
Islamic studies were mandatory for all students in public schools
and for all Muslim students in private schools.
The government prohibited Muslims from converting to other
religions. Under Shari'a the ultimate penalty for converting from Islam
to another religion is death; however, there were no reports that the
penalty has been applied to any case of conversion in recent years.
Non-Muslims were subject to criminal prosecution, imprisonment, and
deportation if they proselytized or distributed religious literature to
Muslims. In August a foreign Christian organization distributed audio
Bibles and held discussion sessions in Dubai labor camps, but no
arrests were reported. Missionaries continued to perform humanitarian
work in the country but reported no restrictions on proselytizing non-
Muslims. In the past, the government allegedly threatened to revoke the
residence permits of persons suspected of proselytizing for religions
other than Islam.
The government monitored religious groups, including those
professing adherence to Islam. A GAIAE committee drafted and
distributed all Friday sermons to Sunni and Shia imams, and the
government monitored the sermons for adherence to the scripted content.
The Emirate of Dubai had approval authority over preachers in private
mosques.
The government prohibited or censored certain religious
publications and sometimes blocked Web sites containing religious
information. These sites included information on the Baha'i faith,
Judaism, negative critiques of Islam, and testimonies of former Muslims
who had converted to Christianity.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of
societal abuses based on religion; however, some discrimination
existed, and anti-Semitism was present in the media.
There were no synagogues for the small foreign Jewish population in
residence. Anti-Semitism was apparent in news articles and editorial
cartoons depicting negative images of Jews. These expressions occurred
primarily in daily newspapers without government response.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, emigration, and repatriation, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice; however, the
government imposed legal restrictions on foreign travel. The government
cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations on a humanitarian basis,
but it did not grant refugee status or asylum.
Male citizens involved in legal disputes under adjudication were
not permitted to travel overseas. Custom dictates that a husband can
prevent his wife, minor children, and adult unmarried daughters from
leaving the country by taking custody of their passports. The
government may revoke naturalized citizens' passports and citizenship
status for criminal or politically provocative actions. However, such
revocations are rare, and there were no such reports during the year.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reported
cases during the year.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws do not provide for the
granting of asylum or refugee status; there is no system for providing
protection to refugees; and the government did not provide protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
The government continued to detain some persons seeking refugee
status, particularly Palestinians and non-Arabs, while they awaited
resettlement in third countries. Access to employment, education, and
other public services is based on an individual's status as a legal
resident, which a refugee is not.
Stateless Persons.--Estimates suggested that 20,000 to 100,000
persons without any citizenship or proof of citizenship lived in the
country; however, the government continued to improve naturalization
procedures for these stateless residents (known as Bidoon) during the
year. On May 24, the government granted nationality to 70 previously
stateless persons, compared with 51 persons in 2008.
Citizenship generally is derived from one's parents. Children of
female citizens married to noncitizens do not acquire citizenship at
birth; however, female citizens under these circumstances could apply
for citizenship for their children, and the government generally
granted it. A foreign woman may receive citizenship through marriage to
a citizen after 10 years of marriage, and anyone may receive a passport
by presidential fiat. On July 27, a MOI committee went to Cairo to meet
22 children of Emirati fathers and Egyptian mothers. The committee,
carrying out a ministerial directive to verify paternity that would
give the children the option of residency in the country, also traveled
to Syria and India to review a number of nationality cases.
The government registered Bidoon births but did not grant
citizenship to the children. Most Bidoon lacked citizenship because
they did not have the preferred tribal affiliation used to determine
citizenship when the country was established. Others had entered the
country, legally or illegally, in search of employment. The Bidoon
faced discrimination in employment and had limited access to medical
care and education. Without passports or other identity documents,
their movement was restricted, both within the country and
internationally.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully. There were no democratic general elections or
institutions, and citizens did not have the right to form political
parties.
Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 a 6,689-member-
appointed electorate elected half of the 40-seat FNC. In December 2008
the Federal Supreme Council announced a constitutional amendment that
extended the term of FNC members from two to four years.
Federal executive and legislative power is in the hands of the
Federal Supreme Council, a body composed of the hereditary rulers of
the seven emirates. It elects from its members the country's president
and vice president. Decisions at the federal level generally
represented consensus among the rulers, their families, and other
leading families. The ruling families, in consultation with other
prominent tribal figures, also choose new emirate rulers.
Although the FNC has no legislative authority, it generally
reviewed all federal draft laws and decrees before the federal supreme
council officially adopted them, and it could send legislation back for
amendment. The FNC also has the authority to question any government
minister. Former and present FNC members called during the year for
greater legislative powers.
Despite laws discouraging women's political activities, some women
were active in political life, mostly at the federal level. Four women
were appointed ministers in the cabinet; nine women, one of whom was
elected, served in the FNC; and several women served as public
prosecutors or judges. In Sharjah, seven women served on the 40-seat
Consultative Council and two women served as directors of local
departments. No women held nonfederal senior government positions in
the other emirates and women were only 17 percent of the fewer than
7,000-person electorate hand-picked by Emirati rulers to vote in FNC
elections.
Except in the judiciary, minorities, including Shia, did not serve
in senior federal positions. A number of judges were contracted foreign
nationals.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented the law effectively. Government
corruption reportedly occurred at the administrative level. There were
no financial disclosure laws for public officials.
On November 23, a former government minister being retried on
charges of fraud and breach of public trust was acquitted of allegedly
cheating a Lebanese woman of her late brother's inheritance. Earlier in
the year, the minister had been cleared of a breach of public trust
charge but sentenced to two years' imprisonment for fraud.
In October 2008 the Department of Accountability returned to the
treasury approximately 300 million dirhams ($82 million) employees had
embezzled. At year's end, there was no information regarding what had
happened to the employees.
The law provides for public access to government information, but
the government followed this provision selectively. Requests for access
usually went unanswered.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government generally did not permit organizations to focus on
political issues. Two recognized local human rights organizations
existed: the quasi-independent Emirates Human Rights Association
(EHRA), which focused on human rights issues and complaints such as
labor rights, stateless persons' rights, and prisoners' well-being and
humane treatment; and the government-subsidized Jurists' Association
Human Rights Committee, which focused on human rights education and
conducted seminars and symposia subject to government approval.
Although a government prosecutor headed the EHRA, it generally operated
without government interference, apart from the requirements that apply
to all associations in the country. EHRA members met with MOI officials
and prisoners during visits to several detention facilities.
During the year the Ministry of Social Affairs rejected
applications by the Jurists' Association to join the Arab Coalition for
Development, Democracy, and Human Rights and the International Bar
Association, and the government prevented Jurists' Association Human
Rights Committee members from traveling to meetings outside the
country, including meetings of the Arab Jurists Union and the Gulf
Jurists Union.
The government did not allow international human rights NGOs to be
based in the country but allowed representatives to visit on a limited
basis. There were no transparent standards governing visits from
international NGO representatives.
The government generally cooperated with other international
organizations, including the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UNHCR.
On January 12, the government accepted a recommendation of the UN Human
Rights Council Universal Periodic Review Working Group to invite the UN
special rapporteur on trafficking in persons to visit the country. At
year's end, the visit had not taken place. The UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs maintained an office in the
country, and in October the government hosted the UN special rapporteur
on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equality before the law without
regard to race, nationality, or social status, and the law prohibits
discrimination based on disability; however, legal and cultural
discrimination existed and went unpunished.
Women.--Rape is punishable by death under the penal code, but in
Shari'a courts the extremely high burden of proof often meant that
there were few convictions. The penal code does not specifically
address spousal rape.
Domestic abuse against women, including spousal abuse, was a
pervasive problem. The penal code allows men to use physical means,
including violence, at their discretion against female and minor family
members. Nevertheless, some domestic abuse cases may be filed as
assault without intent to kill, punishable by 10 years in prison if
death results, seven years for permanent disability, and one year for
temporary injury. Victims of domestic abuse may file complaints with
police units stationed in major public hospitals. Social workers and
counselors, usually female, also maintained offices in public hospitals
and police stations. Women often were reluctant to file formal charges
of abuse for social, cultural, and economic reasons. There were several
reports that police refused to protect women and instead encouraged
them to return home. In some cases, authorities contacted the allegedly
abusive husbands to transport their wives home. Early in the year, Abu
Dhabi opened a new shelter to serve victims of human trafficking and
domestic violence.
There were no specific reports of honor crimes or killings,
although such incidents were rumored to occur within the Muslim foreign
resident population.
Prostitution is illegal; however, it has become an increasing
problem in recent years, particularly in Dubai. Although prostitution
was widely acknowledged to exist, the government did not publicly
address the issue. During the year the media reported several arrests
for prostitution, trafficking, and operating a brothel.
During the year the press reported that men were arrested and
prosecuted for harassing women in public. The penal code prohibits
``disgracing or dishonoring'' a person in public, punishable by a
minimum of one year in prison and as long as 15 years if the victim is
younger than 14. An ``infamous'' act against the rules of decency
carries a penalty of six months in prison, and ``dishonoring a woman by
word or deed on a public roadway'' may result in up to one year in
prison and a 10,000 dirham ($2,700) fine.
Couples and individuals had the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and the
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
According to the Population Reference Bureau, skilled personnel
attended 99 percent of births. There was no information on whether
women received postnatal care visits. Statistics on the use of modern
contraceptive methods available to both married and single women were
unavailable; however, it reports indicate that various contraceptives
were available widely. There was no information on the rate of HIV/AIDS
and treatment for sexually transmitted infections for women.
Women faced legal and economic discrimination. The government's
interpretation of Shari'a applied in personal status cases and family
law. Muslim women were forbidden to marry non-Muslims. Unlike men,
female citizens married to noncitizens did not automatically pass
citizenship to their children. The law permits a man to have as many as
four wives. Women normally inherited less than men under the
government's interpretation of Shari'a. For example, a son may inherit
double what a daughter inherits when their parent dies.
It was difficult for a woman to obtain a divorce, as she must prove
that her husband has inflicted physical or moral harm upon her, has
abandoned her for at least three months, or has not maintained her
upkeep or that of their children. Alternatively, women may divorce by
paying compensation or surrendering their dowry to their husbands. The
law gives divorced men custody of female children after the age of 13
and male children after the age of 10.
Fornication is a crime, and the government may imprison and deport
noncitizen women if they bear children out of wedlock. Paternity denial
was an emerging problem in the courts. Despite DNA tests proving
paternity, the courts could not force a man to accept paternal
responsibility. In the absence of an acknowledged father, the mothers
of these children faced potential legal charges of adultery.
No law prohibits women from working or owning businesses, and a man
has no right under the government's interpretation of Shari'a to ban
his wife from working if she was employed at the time of their
marriage; however, some husbands reportedly did so. Women who worked
outside the home sometimes did not receive equal benefits, and women
also reportedly faced discrimination in promotion.
Women constituted approximately 75 percent of university students.
Coeducation is prohibited in public schools and universities except at
the United Arab Emirate University executive Master of Business
Administration program. Several private schools, private universities,
and institutions were coeducational.
The government continued to make efforts to integrate women more
fully into society. On May 17, one new female judge was sworn in; on
June 30, 24 female Department of Labor (DOL) inspectors began work,
bringing the number of female inspectors to 75. Women constituted 10
percent of the country's diplomatic corps.
Children.--The government registered Bidoon births, but it did not
grant citizenship to the children.
Education is compulsory through the ninth grade; however,
compulsory education was not enforced, and some children did not attend
school. Noncitizen children could enroll in public schools only if they
scored at least 90 percent on entrance examinations. The government
provided primary education free to citizens, but not to noncitizens.
Public schools were not coeducational after kindergarten.
Statistically, girls and women in every age group were more
academically successful and continued to higher levels of education
than their male peers.
Child abuse was not prevalent, although there was some evidence
that societal influences prevented cases from being reported. The law
protects children from abuse and trafficking, and the government
provides some shelter and help for victims. The law does not address
female genital mutilation (FGM), which some Somali, Omani, and Sudanese
foreign residents practiced. The Ministry of Health prohibits hospitals
and clinics from performing FGM, but some private clinics in the
northern emirates and rural areas continued to carry out the procedure.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons
for all purposes; however, trafficking in persons continued to be a
serious problem. The country was a destination for men, women, and
children from South, Southeast, and East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa,
and the Middle East for involuntary servitude and sexual exploitation;
the country also was a transit point for women trafficked into Oman and
men into Iraq.
Some women from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Philippines migrated willingly to the
country to work as domestic servants, but some faced debt bondage to
recruiters; conditions of involuntary servitude, such as excessive work
hours without pay; verbal, mental, physical, or sexual abuse; and
restrictions on movement. Men from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and
Pakistan who came to the country to work in the construction industry
occasionally were subject to involuntary servitude and debt bondage to
pay recruitment costs. It was illegal but customary for employers to
take custody of workers' passports. Observers believed that resident
citizen employment sponsors and foreign-based traffickers partnered to
traffic women and girls into the country, especially to Dubai, for
commercial sexual exploitation. A trafficker may promise a legal
employment opportunity and supply a victim with a fraudulent passport
after the victim enters the country on a visitor's or worker's visa. A
fraudulent employment sponsor might force the victim into commercial
sexual exploitation.
On December 22, a court sentenced an Iraqi husband and wife to
three years in prison for human trafficking. The couple allegedly
bought a 13-year-old girl from her Iraqi parents in Syria and brought
her to the country to engage in prostitution.
The law prescribes punishments for those convicted of trafficking
in persons, whether for commercial sexual exploitation or involuntary
servitude. Although the country prosecuted more than 30 cases of
trafficking for sexual exploitation, at year's end, there had not been
any labor trafficking prosecutions. Prison terms for convicted
traffickers ranged from three to 10 years, with two recent convictions
resulting in a life sentence. In coordination with law enforcement and
government ministries, the National Committee to Combat Human
Trafficking was the government entity responsible for combating
trafficking in persons. The government coordinated antitrafficking
efforts with labor ministries in source countries and, at year's end,
had agreements in place with India, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Nepal, China, and Thailand. The agreements require the
involvement of government labor ministries or other appropriate offices
in the contracting of foreign laborers as a means of undermining
illegitimate private recruiting agencies.
Trafficking victims who did not identify themselves to authorities
were believed to have been deported on criminal charges without access
to protective services or without being able to testify against their
traffickers. There were reports from foreign embassies that some police
authorities pressured victims not to pursue complaints against their
employers and assisted employers in repatriating victims before a
criminal complaint could be filed. Victims who were unable to provide
evidence of trafficking occasionally were provided food and shelter
until they acquired travel documents to return home. At least two
official shelters, one in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi, assisted victims
of abuse and trafficking. City of Hope, the country's only NGO women's
shelter, closed on June 2.
The National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking increased
its efforts to eliminate trafficking through awareness campaigns in
labor ministries and embassies abroad, training of law enforcement
personnel, and coordination of government efforts. In January the
government appointed additional public prosecutors to the committee to
assist in the identification and prosecution of traffickers. On
February 25, antitrafficking experts from the International
Organization for Migration trained law enforcement officials and NGO
representatives in identifying trafficked persons and traffickers and
in methods for interviewing victims.
The government continued a program with UNICEF and other countries
to repatriate and rehabilitate former camel jockeys. On September 14,
the government provided funding for the educational and occupational
rehabilitation of 1,000 underage former camel jockeys who had
previously been repatriated to Pakistan. In May officials traveled to
Bangladesh to present $1.43 million in compensation to be divided among
879 former camel jockeys.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at http://www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons who have physical and mental disabilities. Most public
buildings provided some form of access for persons with disabilities in
accordance with the law. There were no reported incidents of
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment or
education; however, health care provided in the Ministry of Labor's
five federal rehabilitation centers, as well as that in private
centers, reportedly was inadequate. Moreover, the public centers were
not available to noncitizens.
Various departments within the ministries of labor and education
were responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities, and the government effectively enforced these rights. One
percent of all federal government jobs and 2 percent of government jobs
in Abu Dhabi were reserved for persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Approximately 80 percent of the
resident population were noncitizens originating primarily from the
Indian subcontinent. Societal discrimination against noncitizens was
prevalent and occurred in most areas of daily life, including
employment, education, housing, social interaction, and health care.
Although the government had pledged to improve standards of living for
all residents, there were few programs to improve conditions for
noncitizens.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Both civil law and Shari'a
criminalize homosexual activity, and Islamic religious law sets the
death penalty as punishment for individuals who engage in consensual
homosexual activity. During the year, there were reports that the
government deported and sentenced individuals to prison for openly
homosexual activity.
Under the law, cross-dressing is a punishable offense. The
government deported cross-dressing foreign residents and referred
citizens to public prosecutors. On August 3, the Ministry of Social
Affairs launched a social awareness campaign and offered psychological
treatment and social counseling to combat a trend of girls dressing as
men.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS
and other diseases faced discrimination. There were credible reports
that government officials discriminated against prisoners with HIV by
not granting commuted sentences or parole that other prisoners with
similar records had received. Noncitizen residents infected with HIV,
hepatitis types B and C, and tuberculosis were denied all health
benefits, quarantined, and deported.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law does not permit workers to
form or join unions, and no unions existed. Professional organizations,
such as lawyers' associations, existed; however, they had to receive
government approval for international affiliation.
The law explicitly does not prohibit strikes by private sector
workers, but it allows an employer to suspend an employee for striking.
In addition, the government may cancel the work permit of and deport
for up to one year any foreign worker who is absent from work for more
than seven days without a valid reason. The government forbids strikes
by public sector employees, citing national security. A public sector
employee may file an administrative grievance or a case in the civil
courts to address a labor-related dispute or complaint; however, there
was no evidence of any such grievances or cases.
The government generally did not punish workers for nonviolent
protests in response to nonpayment of wages by employers. During the
year the government dispersed nonviolent protests. Only two major labor
demonstrations took place during the year involving 1,500 persons,
compared to at least seven strikes involving an estimated 10,000
participants in 2008. Most grievances related to unpaid wages and
hazardous or abusive working conditions. The Ministry of Labor
generally contacted the business owner, which usually prompted a
settlement privately.
On October 25, an estimated 300 foreign workers went on strike in
Dubai, claiming nonpayment of wages for the previous three months. On
August 31, approximately 1,200 foreign laborers in Dubai protested low
wages and reduced overtime. Dubai police and Ministry of Labor
officials responded to both demonstrations immediately and peacefully
dispersed the protesters.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Employees
covered by the labor law--which excludes domestic, agricultural, and
government workers--may file collective employment dispute complaints
with the Ministry of Labor, which serves as mediator between the
parties. Employees may file unresolved disputes with the labor court
system, which in turn are forwarded to the conciliation council. In
practice most cases were resolved through direct mediation. The
government granted some professional associations with a majority
citizen membership a limited ability to raise work-related issues, to
petition the government for redress, and to file grievances with the
government. Foreign workers may belong to these professional
associations as well; however, they do not have voting rights and
cannot serve on the organizations' boards.
Businesses in free trade zones (FTZs) are not subject to labor
statutes. The Ministry of Labor does not regulate the FTZs; instead,
each FTZ maintained its own labor department. Unions and strikes are
not allowed in any FTZs.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
instances when such practices occurred, predominantly involving
noncitizens.
Some employment agents continued to bring numerous foreign workers
to the country to work under forced or compulsory conditions, and there
continued to be reports of worker suicides. Some women were brought to
the country under false promises of legitimate employment and forced
into prostitution. Low-paid unskilled and semiskilled workers were also
victims of contract switching, which occurred when a worker was offered
a certain position but received a visa labor card for a different
position.
Foreign workers frequently did not receive their wages, sometimes
for extended periods. In June 2008, to reduce the problem of unpaid
wages, the Ministry of Labor and the Central Bank signed a memorandum
of understanding that facilitated direct deposits of laborers'
salaries. On August 26, the government announced that 500,000 laborers
were receiving their wages in this manner and set a May 31, 2010,
deadline for all employers to adopt the system, which would cover more
than four million workers.
Some domestic and agricultural workers were subject to what was in
fact compulsory, unpaid labor to repay their employers for hiring
expenses. Employers routinely held employees' passports, severely
restricting their freedom of movement. There were increasing incidents
of employees prevented from changing jobs because their contracts
stipulated that they were prohibited from working for a ``competitor''
for six months after their original employment ended. The only way to
overcome the six-month restriction was to seek a letter of ``no
objection'' from the original employer; some employers, as retribution
for losing the employee to another employer, refused to sign such
letters. The Ministry of Labor made exceptions during the year by not
requiring ``no objection'' letters if the employee had completed three
years in the original position or if the employer had withheld salary.
In July Emirati and Indian media reported that more than 100 workers in
a labor camp outside Abu Dhabi were stranded without work, wages, or
legal residency documentation after their employment sponsor went
bankrupt. Local charities provided food for the workers, who were
seeking assistance from the courts.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits employment of persons younger than age 15 and has special
provisions for employing persons 15 to 18 years of age, including
foreign resident children 16 or older. The Ministry of Labor is
responsible for enforcing these regulations and generally enforced them
effectively. However, there were rare reports of foreign children who
came to the country under their parents' work permits and subsequently
were pressured to work.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no established minimum
wage, leaving much of the workforce without sufficient compensation for
more than minimal subsistence. Salaries, which depend on the occupation
and employer, were estimated to be at least 400 dirhams ($110) per
month for domestic or agricultural workers and 600 dirhams ($164) per
month for construction workers. Highly skilled and white-collar
employees generally received higher salaries.
According to the labor law, the workday is eight hours and the
workweek six days; however, these standards were not enforced. There
were laws regulating minimum rest periods and hours worked, which
varied depending on the nature of the work. There was no legal
provision requiring overtime pay, nor was there a prohibition on
excessive compulsory overtime. Domestic workers are under the
jurisdiction of the MOI, which has a special office for assisting
domestic laborers, although current labor laws do not regulate domestic
workers. The unregulated conditions of domestic workers left them
vulnerable to long work days and underpayment.
The Ministry of Labor requires a break from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
for most outdoor laborers during July and August, the hottest months of
the year; however, oil sector and asphalt and cement companies, among
others, were not required to give their employees this break, putting
workers at risk for heat exhaustion. The government routinely fined
employers for violating the midday break rule and published compliance
statistics. For the first offense, an employer is fined 10,000 dirhams
($2,725) and is prohibited from issuing new labor permits for three
months. A second offense results in a 20,000 dirham fine ($5,450) and a
six-month prohibition. A third offense carries a 30,000 dirham fine
($8,175) and a one-year prohibition on new permits. In June the
Ministry of Labor set up a toll-free hot line for laborers to report
companies that violated break rules or delayed wage payments.
The law requires employers to provide employees with a safe work
and living environment; however, despite recent increases in the number
of Ministry of Labor inspectors, the government did not uniformly
enforce health and safety standards. On June 30, the ministry hired 134
more safety and health inspectors, bringing the total to more than 400.
Inspections of primarily construction sites took place throughout the
year, resulting in fines for employers who violated workplace safety or
midday break rules. The ministry also employed language interpreters to
assist foreign workers in understanding employment guidelines.
Despite efforts to improve housing facilities, some low-skilled and
foreign employees continued to face substandard living conditions,
including overcrowded apartments or lodging in unsafe and unhygienic
``labor camps,'' which sometimes lacked electricity, potable water, and
adequate cooking and bathing facilities. Construction of newer worker
accommodations was ongoing.
During the year the press reported a number of cases of workers who
were injured or killed on job sites due to inadequate safety measures.
Although the law requires the government to track job-related injuries
and deaths, in practice the government registered the cases but did not
always follow up on them.
Domestic workers routinely were subject to physical, sexual, and
emotional abuse. In August police in Ajman arrested a woman accused of
beating her maid with an electrical cord, breaking her ribs, and
burning her feet with an iron. The court case was pending at year's
end.
Workers' jobs were not protected if they removed themselves from
what they considered to be unsafe working conditions; however, all
workers have the right to lodge labor-related grievances to the
Ministry of Labor. If ministry arbitration could not resolve the issue,
it was referred to the judiciary.
__________
YEMEN
Yemen, with a population of approximately 23 million, is a republic
whose law provides for presidential election by popular vote from among
at least two candidates endorsed by parliament. In 2006 citizens
reelected President Ali Abdullah Saleh to another seven-year term in a
generally open and competitive election, characterized by multiple
problems with the voting process and the use of state resources on
behalf of the ruling party. Saleh has led the country since 1978. The
president appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government.
The prime minister, in consultation with the president, selects the
council of ministers. Although there are a number of parties, President
Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party dominated the government.
Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces, although there were instances in which security forces
acted independently of government authority.
Serious human rights problems increased significantly during the
year. Severe limitations on citizens' ability to change their
government included corruption, fraudulent voter registration,
administrative weakness, and close political-military relationships at
high levels. The ruling and opposition parties denied opportunities for
change when they agreed to postpone for two years April's parliamentary
elections after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on electoral
reform. There were reports of arbitrary and unlawful killings by
government forces, politically motivated disappearances, and torture in
prisons. Prison conditions were poor. Arbitrary arrest, prolonged
detention, and other abuses increased, particularly with the ongoing
protest movement in the southern governorates, where authorities
reportedly temporarily jailed thousands of southerners during the year.
The judiciary was weak, corrupt, and lacked independence. The
government significantly increased restrictions on freedom of speech,
press, and assembly, and there were reports of government use of
excessive force against demonstrators. Journalists and opposition
members were harassed and intimidated. Academic freedom was restricted,
and official corruption was a problem. International humanitarian
groups estimated that more than 175,400 persons were internally
displaced as a result of the Saada conflict. Pervasive and significant
discrimination against women continued, as did early marriage, child
labor, and child trafficking. The right of workers to associate was
also restricted.
During an ongoing internal conflict that began in 2004, the
government used heavy force in an attempt to suppress the Houthi rebels
in Saada. After 13 months of relative quiet, the sixth round of the
conflict began in August with fighting and internally displaced persons
(IDPs) spreading across four governorates in the North. The government
waged an extensive campaign of aerial bombardment in the Saada and
Amran governorates, destroying many villages and killing hundreds of
civilians, according to press reports. Saudi Arabia joined the fighting
in November and continued to participate at year's end. Although the
toll of the conflict during the year was unknown, journalists estimated
at year's end that hundreds of government troops had been killed and
thousands wounded. The number of rebel deaths reportedly was in the
hundreds.
respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful
killings during the year, including politically motivated killings.
Security forces reportedly killed or injured suspects during
apprehensions and public demonstrations in actions that appeared to be
politically motivated.
During protests in the southern governorates throughout the year,
security forces killed dozens of persons and arrested and injured
hundreds of others. Members of the southern protest movement alleged
that there were 86 extrajudicial deaths in the southern governorates
during the year. The domestic nongovernmental organization (NGO) Yemen
Observatory for Human Rights (YOHR) identified 49 unlawful killings of
demonstrators. The domestic NGO Yemeni Organization for the Defense of
Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) put the number at 42 (see section 1.g.).
On January 13, security forces opened fire on demonstrators in
Aden, injuring five persons; 17-year-old Omer Abdul-Aziz Salim al-Haj
died from his injuries on January 19. Security forces also arrested 500
individuals participating in the demonstration, according to YOHR.
Between April 27 and May 3, eight persons were killed and 21
injured in clashes between security forces and demonstrators across the
southern governorates.
On May 21, four persons were killed and scores injured and arrested
after a violent protest in the southern city of Aden. The government
said it detained 248 persons, but southern movement leaders said the
number was closer to 500. Among those arrested were medical
professionals attempting to treat the wounded in local hospitals,
according to media reports.
On July 23, during clashes in the southern town of Zinjibar, 20
persons were killed and 40 injured, including an unknown number from
the security forces, who dispersed a crowd of approximately 5,000
protestors by using live ammunition.
Some detainees died in custody. On October 5, according to HOOD,
Basam Tawfiq Abu Taleb died without having been charged after two and
one-half years in the Sana'a Political Security Organization (PSO)
prison in connection with the war in Saada.
There was no investigation into the 2008 reported security force
killings of Saleh Abubakr al-Sayed, Muhammad Ali Muhammad, Saleh Taleb
Saeed, Abdelfatah Saif Abdullah, and Hisham Ahmed Muhsen, nor was there
any investigation into the 2007 deaths in custody of Muhammad Muhammad
Ahmad al-Qadi, Muhammad al-Shoaibi, or Hashem Abdullah Yahya Hajar.
Tribal violence resulted in a number of killings and other abuses,
and the government's ability to control tribal elements remained
limited.
Other incidents of fatal shootings and violence continued
throughout the year. In most cases it was impossible to determine the
perpetrator or motive, and there were rarely claims of responsibility.
Some killings may have had criminal, religious, or political motives,
and others appeared to involve land disputes or cases of tribal
revenge.
Terrorist activity continued during the year, including training
camps for actions in other countries, although there were fewer
incidents than in the previous year.
On March 15, a suicide bomber attacked a group of tourists in the
city of Shibam, Hadramout governorate, killing four South Koreans and
their local tour guide. The attack also injured four South Koreans.
On June 12, unknown actors--likely Al Qa'ida in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP) affiliates--kidnapped seven Germans, one South Korean,
and one British citizen in Saada. The bodies of three women from the
group were found on June 16. At year's end the other six hostages
remained missing.
The country was contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance
from several conflicts, including the 1962-70 war in the north between
republicans and royalists, the 1963-67 war of independence in the
south, the 1970-83 war against left-wing guerrillas, and the 1994
separatist war. The majority of mines were in border areas between the
former North Yemen and South Yemen and in the southern governorates.
Mines in the southern governorates were unmapped along beach areas and
valleys that lead to the coast.
According to the governmental Yemen Executive Mine Action Center
(YEMAC), during the year antipersonnel mines injured eight persons but
caused no deaths. YEMAC tallied eight deaths from mines and explosive
remnants of war in 2008 and 18 casualties in 2007, including 12 killed
and six injured. YEMAC reported that approximately 58.6 square miles of
land remained to be demined at the end of the year.
From November 4 to year's end, armed groups of Houthi rebels from
Yemen and Saudi forces engaged in cross-border conflict. The Saudi
government claimed the attacks were within Saudi territory and intended
to eliminate armed groups of Houthi rebels who had entered Saudi
territory and had killed three border guards and wounded 15 other
members of the security forces in the border region of Jebel al-Dukhan.
According to press reporting, Saudi attacks killed 54 civilians in the
town of Al-Nadheer and injured an unknown number.
b. Disappearance.--During the year there were reports of
politically motivated disappearances of individuals associated with
southern protests and the conflict in Saada. Although many
disappearances were short-term detentions followed by releases, the
whereabouts of other individuals remained unconfirmed by authorities
for months or longer. Civil society groups accused the government of
using sporadic disappearances to intimidate the populace. Tribal
kidnappings, traditionally carried out to attract government attention
to specific grievances, also occurred.
On September 17, in Sana'a, a group of plainclothes security
personnel abducted Mohammed al-Maqaleh, a journalist and member of the
opposition Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), according to human rights
activists; al-Maqaleh had criticized government actions in Saada. In
late December, after months of denying any knowledge of al-Maqaleh's
whereabouts, officials admitted that he was in PSO custody.
On October 13, armed men kidnapped lawyer, human rights activist,
and local council member Mohammed Mus'id Naji al-Uqlah in Dhale'
governorate. His whereabouts remained unknown at year's end.
In July 2008 authorities arrested Ali Yahya al-Imad, allegedly in
connection with the Saada conflict. His whereabouts were unknown until
his release from the PSO prison in Sana'a in December 2008. Imad was
allegedly tortured in prison, according to HOOD.
Tribal kidnappings continued throughout the year. On March 31,
tribesmen near Sana'a released unharmed two Dutch citizens after two
weeks in captivity. On June 11, tribesmen in Saada kidnapped 23 Yemeni
and foreign medical workers whom they released unharmed on June 12,
reportedly after receiving government assurances that two prisoners
would be released in return. On July 13, tribesmen from Bani Dabyan,
outside Sana'a, kidnapped businessman Abdul-Malik al-Khamery, whom they
released unharmed on November 24, following undisclosed negotiations
between his family and his captors. On September 15, Marib tribesmen in
Sana'a kidnapped businessman Jamal Abdulwase Hael Saeed, whom they
released unharmed two weeks later. On November 15, tribesmen in Arhab,
north of Sana'a, kidnapped a Japanese engineer and released him
unharmed after nine days in captivity
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but, according to human
rights NGOs and former detainees, authorities tortured and abused
persons in detention. The PSO, a security apparatus reporting directly
to the president, has previously stated torture does not occur at its
facilities. It noted that new PSO officers must sign a document
certifying that they recognize torture is illegal according to the laws
and constitution of the country and that those who torture prisoners
would be punished according to the law. Amnesty International's (AI)
2009 annual report claimed police brutality and torture of detainees
was widespread in connection with politically motivated acts or
protests as well as ordinary criminal suspects, and officials committed
these acts with impunity. Reported techniques included beatings with
fists, sticks, and rifle butts; kicking; scalding with hot water;
excessively tight handcuffs; prolonged blindfolding and suspension by
the wrists or ankles; denial of water or access to toilets; burning
with cigarettes; stripping naked; denial of food and prompt access to
medical help; threats of sexual abuse; and death threats. Sleep
deprivation and solitary confinement were other forms of abuse reported
in PSO prisons.
Ministry of Interior (MOI) officers reportedly used force during
interrogations, especially against those arrested for violent crimes,
although according to the Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR), torture was
not part of MOI policy. Penal law, based on the government's
interpretation of Shari'a (Islamic law), permits amputations and
physical abuse such as flogging as punishment for some crimes.
In January the specialized criminal court (SCC) sentenced Tawfiq
al-Masouri to death for committing a murder. Police in Sana'a
reportedly tortured him while holding him incommunicado for three
months. According to AI, he said he confessed because of torture, and a
medical examination carried out at his lawyer's request found marks
consistent with his allegations. There was no further known
investigation.
During the year the MOHR reported it received no complaints
concerning alleged torture at the hands of the military, police, or
security services but acknowledged that isolated incidents might have
occurred during the year. HOOD claimed it received dozens of complaints
of torture during the year, but because the complainants often brought
their cases weeks or months after the alleged torture occurred, their
claims were difficult to verify.
Security forces reportedly physically abused detainees and
prisoners. On August 13, the families of political prisoners Ali
Miqdad, Saeed Bafaraj, and Nasser Bamithgal, held at the Mukullah
central prison, said personnel from the MOI's Central Security Forces
(CSF) assaulted the prisoners with sticks, batons, and tear gas,
according to an open letter from local advocacy group Popular Human
Rights Committee of Hadramout. The CSF said the prisoners were
participating in riots, a claim the families denied.
In May 2008 Adel al-Azani died because of torture in a Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) prison, according to HOOD. Security
elements reported that the cause of al-Azani's death was suicide. His
family affirmed that al-Azani died of torture, reporting that wounds
were still visible on his body when they retrieved him from the prison.
At year's end there had been no investigation in the 2007 torture
case of Shaif al-Haimi, who continued to await trial for impersonating
a National Security Bureau (NSB) officer.
At year's end the MOHR was unable to provide any updated
information on the torture case of Muhammad Saleh al-Amari, which it
first reported in 2007.
At year's end the court case of PSO officer Jamal Abdul Naser al-
Maghreb continued, although he attended no court sessions during the
year. Al-Maghreb was charged with the 2007 beating of Azim Hasan
Abdullah al-Wosabi.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Local and international
observers reported prison conditions remained poor and did not meet
internationally recognized standards. Prison conditions deteriorated
during the year due to the marked increase in the number of prisoners,
according to HOOD.
Many prisons, particularly in rural areas, were overcrowded, with
poor sanitary conditions, inadequate food, and inadequate medical care.
In some cases, prison authorities extracted bribes from prisoners to
obtain privileges or refused to release prisoners who had completed
their sentences until the prisoners' family members paid authorities.
In some rural and women's prisons, children were held with adults.
By custom young children and babies born in prison remained in custody
with their mothers. For the first time, local NGOs asserted that
children were held with adults in Sana'a jails. Pretrial detainees were
held with convicted criminals.
Local tradition requires male relatives of female prisoners to
arrange for their release. Authorities regularly held female prisoners
in jail after the end of their sentences if male relatives refused to
authorize their release, usually because of the shame associated with
the return of an imprisoned female family member.
Unauthorized ``private'' prisons in rural areas, often controlled
by tribes, continued to operate. Tribal leaders misused the prison
system by placing ``problem'' tribesmen in private jails, sometimes
simply rooms in a tribal sheikh's house, either to punish them for
noncriminal actions or to protect them from retaliation. Persons often
were detained in such prisons for strictly personal or tribal reasons
without trial or judicial sentencing.
Authorities granted limited access to family members of PSO
prisoners and detainees but routinely denied parliamentarians' and
NGOs' requests for access to investigate human rights violation claims.
The PSO argued that prospective visitors failed to comply with proper
notification procedures.
Prison authorities granted the MOHR and some local NGOs, including
HOOD, access to MOI prisons. NGO representatives met with MOI prisoners
as private visitors. The MOHR said it met with NGOs frequently
throughout the year and served as a mediator between NGOs and the
government. The government did not allow independent human rights
observers access to PSO prisons during the year, according to MOHR.
Most NGOs had no access to CID prisons, but, after years of effort,
HOOD visited the CID prison in Sana'a during the year.
The MOHR stated it conducted 10 prison visits in five governorates
during the year, including surprise visits and visits conducted by the
minister and that its recommendations led to replacement of some prison
directors. Despite contradictory reports from leading human rights
NGOs, the MOHR reported the successful implementation of most
recommendations from its 2007 report on prisons, such as the separation
of incarcerated adults and minors and provision of educational
instruction to prisoners. In March 2008 the MOHR recommended to the
president's cabinet additional improvements in prison and detention
facility conditions; some recommendations had been partially
implemented at year's end.
In 2004 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
suspended visits to PSO prisons, citing the PSO's failure to agree to
ICRC's universally applied procedures, which include regular access to
and private interviews with all detainees. Consequently, the ICRC did
not visit any PSO prisons during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but the government generally did not observe
these prohibitions. Enforcement of the law was inconsistent,
particularly in cases involving suspected security offenses.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The primary state
security and intelligence-gathering entities, the PSO and the NSB,
report directly to the president. There was no clear definition of many
of the NSB's duties, which appeared to overlap with those of the PSO.
The police CID reports to the MOI and conducted most criminal
investigations and arrests. The CSO, also a part of the MOI, maintains
a paramilitary force, the CSF. The CSF is active in maintaining order
in restive regions in the country, including Saada and the southern
governorates, and was often accused of using excessive force during
crowd control.
Corruption and impunity were serious problems throughout these
security and intelligence organizations. There were no public
governmental investigations of police corruption during the year. Some
police stations reportedly maintained an internal affairs section to
investigate security force abuses, and citizens had the right to file
complaints with the prosecutor's office. Enforcement of this right was
inconsistent, and there were no effective investigations reported. The
MOI had a fax line for citizens to file claims of abuse for
investigation. It was unknown how many fax complaints the MOI received
and how many it investigated.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
provides that an individual cannot be arrested unless apprehended in a
criminal act or served with a summons and that a detainee must be
arraigned within 24 hours or be released. The judge or prosecuting
attorney must inform the accused of the basis for the arrest and decide
whether detention is required. The law stipulates that a detainee may
not be held longer than seven days without a court order. Despite the
law, arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention without charge--or, if
charged, without a public preliminary judicial hearing within a
reasonable time--were common practices. For example, authorities
arbitrarily arrested numerous southern demonstration leaders and
persons with alleged associations to the Houthi movement throughout the
year and detained them for prolonged periods.
There are legal provisions for bail, but some authorities abided by
these provisions only if they received a bribe. The law prohibits
incommunicado detention and provides detainees the right to inform
their families of their arrests and to decline to answer questions
without an attorney present, but these rights were not always
respected. The law states that the government must provide attorneys
for indigent detainees, but in practice it often did not do so. Tribal
mediators reportedly settled almost all rural cases out of court.
Citizens regularly claimed security officials did not observe due
process when arresting and detaining suspects and demonstrators.
Members of the security forces continued to arrest or detain persons
for varying periods without charge, family notification, or hearings.
Detainees were often unclear about which investigating agency had
arrested them, and the agencies frequently complicated the situation by
unofficially transferring custodial authority of individuals among
agencies. Security forces routinely detained relatives of fugitives as
hostages until the suspect was located. Authorities stated they
detained relatives only when the relatives obstructed justice. Human
rights organizations rejected this claim.
Local NGOs estimated the number of individuals arrested in
connection with the southern protest movement to be between 1,000 and
1,500. Determining exact figures was difficult, as many detainees'
names were not recorded, some detainees were never transferred to
official detention centers, and many were arrested and released
multiple times during the year. According to the domestic NGO Yemeni
Organization for the Defense of Public Rights and Liberties (YODPRL),
the government arrested 1,560 persons with alleged connections to the
Saada conflict during the year (see section 1.g.).
On June 8, security forces arrested University of Aden geography
professor Hussein al-Agil and detained him in the Sabr Prison in
southern Lahj governorate. On June 22, authorities transferred him to
the CID prison and then allegedly moved him to the PSO prison on an
unknown date. He was allegedly held without charge at year's end in
connection with an article he wrote about the oil resources of the
southern part of the country.
On February 3, military police arrested 92-year-old Ali Ali Ahmed
Shubaih as a hostage to pressure his son, wanted in connection with a
land dispute case, to surrender to authorities. The authorities did not
reveal Shubaih's whereabouts to his family for weeks and released him
in late June.
YODPRL reported that, as of year's end, Taha Suhaili had been
detained at the PSO prison in Sana'a for five years without charge or
trial. The PSO arrested Suhaili in Sana'a in 2004 for alleged
connections to the Houthi rebels.
Although both denied it, the MOI and the PSO both operated
extrajudicial detention facilities. Unauthorized private prisons also
existed.
Members of the security forces continued to detain journalists for
publishing articles the government deemed controversial (see section
2.a.).
During the year the government also continued to detain suspects
accused of links to terrorism, at times without due process. HOOD
reported that the government held 150 persons in Sana'a and Hudeidah on
suspicion of terrorist affiliations or activities.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but corruption and executive branch interference
severely hampered a weak judiciary. Litigants maintained, and the
government acknowledged, that a judge's social ties and occasional
bribery influenced verdicts. Many judges were poorly trained, and some
were closely associated with the ruling party. The government's
frequent reluctance to enforce judgments further undermined the
integrity of the judiciary. Tribal members at times threatened and
harassed members of the judiciary.
The judicial system is organized in a three-tier court structure.
Courts of first instance are broadly empowered to hear all civil,
criminal, commercial, and family matters. A single judge may hear a
case in these courts. Decisions in the courts of first instance may be
appealed to the courts of appeal. Each court of appeal includes
separate divisions for criminal, military, civil, and family issues.
Each division is composed of three judges. Above the courts of appeal
is the Supreme Court, which is empowered to settle jurisdictional
disputes between different courts, hear cases brought against high
government officials, and serve as the final court of appeal for all
lower court decisions. The Supreme Court has eight separate divisions:
constitutional (composed of seven judges including the chief justice),
appeals scrutiny, criminal, military, civil, family, commercial, and
administrative. The Supreme Court has special panels to determine the
constitutionality of laws and regulations.
In addition to the regular hierarchy of courts, there are courts
for military, juvenile, tax, customs, and labor matters whose decisions
may be appealed to the courts of appeal.
In 1999 the government first established a specialized criminal
court under the Ministry of Justice to try persons charged with
kidnapping, carjacking, attacking oil pipelines, and other acts
considered a ``public danger,'' such as banditry and sabotage; however,
during the year the court heard cases that were not security-related.
According to a leading local NGO, the specialized criminal court does
not provide defendants with the same rights provided in the regular
courts. AI and local NGOs characterized specialized criminal courts as
unconstitutional. Defense lawyers reportedly did not have full access
to the charges against their clients or relevant government evidence
and court files.
In May the government for the first time established a special
court to try media and publication cases. Trials of a number of
journalists and newspapers took place during the year. The court found
most defendants guilty and suspended them from journalism for a number
of months or assessed fines that might typically amount to 50,000
riyals (approximately $233). The court imposed the most severe
sentences on Al-Masdar editor Samir Jubran and journalist Munir al-
Mawri, who received prison sentences and bans from journalism (see
section 2.a.).
Trial Procedures.--Laws are a mixture of Egyptian law, Napoleonic
tradition, and Shari'a. The codified law, social custom, and Shari'a,
as interpreted in the country, discriminated against women,
particularly in domestic matters. By law prosecutors are a part of the
judiciary and independent of the government. Prosecutors also
investigate criminal cases. The police were generally weak and played a
limited role in developing cases.
The security services continued to arrest, charge, and submit cases
to the prosecutor's office of persons with alleged links to shootings,
explosions, and other acts of violence. Citizens and human rights
groups alleged that the security forces and the judiciary did not
normally observe due process. Foreign litigants in commercial disputes
complained of biased rulings.
The accused are considered innocent until proven guilty. Trials
were generally public, but all courts may conduct closed sessions ``for
reasons of public security or morals.'' There are no jury trials.
Judges, who play an active role in questioning witnesses and the
accused, adjudicate criminal cases. Defense attorneys are allowed to
counsel their clients, address the court, and examine witnesses and any
relevant evidence. The law provides for the government to furnish
attorneys for indigent defendants in serious criminal (felony) cases;
in practice counsel was not always provided. All defendants, including
women and minorities, have the right to appeal their sentences.
In addition to regular courts, there is a system of tribal
adjudication for noncriminal issues; in practice tribal judges often
adjudicated criminal cases. The results carried the same, if not
greater, weight as court judgments. Persons tried under the tribal
system usually had not been formally charged with a crime but had been
publicly accused.
The law grants the parliament exclusive jurisdiction over executive
branch officials for crimes including bribery, interference, and
embezzlement. No government official was investigated or tried under
this law during the year.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year there was a
significant increase in the number of political prisoners and detainees
related to the southern protest movement and the renewed conflict in
Saada (see section 1.g.). Human rights organizations reported there
were thousands of political prisoners and detainees held during the
year; thousands were arrested and released on the same day, and
hundreds were held for weeks or months. Confirmation of the number of
detainees was difficult because the government severely restricted or
completely barred access to such detainees by local or international
humanitarian organizations.
Local human rights organization Women Journalists Without Chains
(WJWC) reported the following numbers of political prisoners held in
connection to the southern protest movement at year's end: 14 in
Sana'a, 83 in Aden, seven in Lahj governorate, and hundreds in
Hadramout governorate.
At year's end the government held more than 300 prisoners in
connection to the Saada conflict, according to HOOD, which also
reported that approximately 150 detainees with suspected links to AQAP
remained in PSO prisons without charge.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, but there were
limitations in practice. In 2006 HOOD filed the first-ever civil suit
against the president, on behalf of Ahmad Ali bin Maeili, who claimed
that the PSO detained him without charge for seven years. After the
court rejected the case, HOOD appealed to the Supreme Court. In January
the prosecution dropped the case and released Maeili because the legal
deadline to charge him had passed.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such action, but PSO and MOI
personnel routinely searched homes and private offices, monitored
telephone calls, read personal mail and e-mail, and otherwise intruded
into personal matters claiming security reasons. Human rights
organizations claimed that security forces undertook such activities
without legally issued warrants or judicial supervision. The PSO and
MOI rejected these claims. The PSO said its policies require the
attorney general personally to authorize monitoring telephone calls and
reading personal mail and e-mail. The PSO reported that to do a house
search, it first obtains a warrant and a signed certification by the
head of the neighborhood, and two neighbors who serve as witnesses
accompany officers on the search.
HOOD reported that security services illegally raided 20 houses in
Sana'a in connection to the terrorist attack on South Korean tourists
in March. The MOI did not comment on this allegation.
Throughout the year human rights activists and journalists reported
receiving repeated threatening phone calls day and night. Activists and
journalists considered these calls to be attempts by authorities to
intimidate them about the Saada conflict and southern political
discontent.
On March 31, a PSO officer threatened human rights activist Ali al-
Dailami at a rally in Sana'a. Al-Dailami subsequently received
thousands of threatening telephone calls and text messages from
unidentified persons warning him to cease his human rights activities.
The law prohibits arrests or the serving of a subpoena between
sundown and dawn, but persons suspected of crimes were reportedly taken
from their homes without warrants in the middle of the night.
No citizen may marry a foreigner without permission from the MOI,
but this regulation does not carry the force of law and appeared
inconsistently enforced.
Security forces routinely detained relatives of fugitives as
hostages until the suspect was located (see section 1.d.). In other
cases, detention of family members continued while the families
negotiated compensation for the alleged wrongdoing. Families,
tribesmen, and other nongovernmental interlocutors commonly used
arbitration and mediation to settle such cases.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
During the year the government responded to domestic political problems
with excessive force. The sixth round of intense fighting since 2004 in
northern Saada governorate started in August. Responding to a series of
attacks on police officers by Houthi fighters, the government began
aerial bombardment in Saada and Amran governorates. Both government and
Houthi forces recruited tribal members. Ongoing tribal conflicts were
subsumed into the larger conflict between the government and the
Houthis. Fighting continued unabated at year's end. The Houthis, a
group of Zaydi Shia rebels, have called for greater resources and
religious autonomy in Saada, along with a reduced security presence.
According to the government, the Houthis received support from Iran and
sought to reestablish the imamate.
Although there were no reliable estimates, hundreds of civilians
were killed, thousands injured, and tens of thousands displaced as a
result of the fighting. The bombing also destroyed villages, homes,
farms, schools, and mosques.
On September 16, government aircraft bombed a school in Amran
governorate's Harf Sufyan, where IDPs had gathered, killing 87
civilians, mostly women and children, according to local media reports
and eyewitness accounts. The Ministry of Defense said Houthi rebels
were hiding in the school.
There were reports during the year of the use of antipersonnel
mines, including antitank and improvised mines, during the conflict in
northern Saada governorate between government troops and rebel forces
led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. In 2008 at least 60 persons, including
military personnel, were reportedly admitted to hospitals with injuries
from mine explosions in Saada. There was no information available
regarding the number of such deaths or injuries in Saada during the
year.
The government and local and international human rights
organizations claimed that Houthis also committed human rights
violations during the year. According to an August government report,
Houthi abuses included unlawful killing, rape and sexual assault,
looting and destruction of civilian property, and plunder and
destruction of public buildings. Some human rights activists said
Houthis used human shields and killed and threatened civilians who did
not support them. Independent verification of these allegations was
difficult because the government blocked nearly all access to Saada
during the year.
In response to a growing southern protest movement that began with
a group of forcibly retired army officers from the former People's
Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), the government launched mass
preemptive arrest campaigns across the southern governorates and used
excessive force to disperse demonstrations that sometimes involved tens
of thousands of protestors. The government arrested thousands of
southerners during the year, including members of opposition political
parties, academics, members of parliament, journalists, and human
rights activists. Some were released after a few hours of detention,
and others remained in jail at year's end. Security services killed
dozens of demonstrators and injured scores in a series of increasingly
violent demonstrations in Dhale', Lahj, Aden, Abyan, and Hadramout
governorates. YOHR estimated the security services injured 110
civilians during demonstrations.
For example, on January 17, one person was killed and 12 injured
when police in the southern city of Dhale' fired on a crowd of
civilians after a grenade was thrown at a security vehicle. On April
19, security forces fired live ammunition and used tear gas on
protestors in southern Shebwa governorate, injuring five demonstrators
who required hospitalization. On May 4, security forces shelled the
southern towns of Radfan and Habilayn in Lahj governorate, killing one
person and injuring five. On May 14, a battle between guards at
independent Al-Ayyam newspaper in Aden and security forces resulted in
the deaths of three of the newspaper's guards. On June 8, police opened
fire at a checkpoint in southern Lahj governorate, killing two
protestors and wounding four.
According to an October 2008 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, the
extent of arbitrary arrests and ``disappearances'' expanded since 2007,
mainly in the context of the Houthi rebellion but also relating to the
government's domestic counterterrorism efforts and its repression of
social unrest in the southern part of the country. In nearly all of the
62 cases HRW investigated, arresting officials did not identify
themselves or inform the detainee or his family of the reason for the
arrest or the place of detention. The families of persons who
disappeared typically did not receive any information for weeks or
months after the arrest.
YODPRL recorded 56 forcible disappearances during the year in
connection with the fighting in Saada.
During the year, in fighting between government forces and the
Houthi rebels beginning in August, international NGOs providing
humanitarian assistance in Saada estimated that more than 175,400
persons were displaced from their homes, spreading across four northern
governorates in search of aid.
According to YOHR, arbitrary arrests of individuals with alleged
links to the Saada conflict increased following the resumption of
hostilities in August. Authorities arrested, released, and rearrested
persons associated with the Saada conflict and the southern protest
movement in what local human rights NGOs referred to as a ``revolving
door'' policy. This practice made it difficult to determine how many
prisoners were released during the year or the reasons for their
release.
Hundreds of individuals were arbitrarily arrested in 2008. In 2007
there were approximately 100 individuals from Saada reportedly
arbitrarily arrested and detained. Authorities forcibly removed an
estimated 45 individuals, including some minors, from Saada and
imprisoned them in the neighboring governorate of Hajja. Many of these
detainees were later released, but others were rearrested. Local NGOs
accused the government of illegal and inhumane treatment of these
detainees.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for
freedom of speech and of the press ``within the limits of the law'';
however, the government did not respect these rights in practice. The
1990 Press and Publication Law criminalizes ``criticism of the person
of the head of state,'' although not necessarily ``constructive
criticism''; the publication of ``false information'' that may spread
``chaos and confusion in the country''; and ``false stories intended to
damage Arab and friendly countries or their relations'' with the
country. The country's security apparatus, including the NSB and
elements of the military, threatened and harassed journalists to
influence coverage. Journalists regularly practiced self-censorship
during the year. The international NGO Reporters Without Borders
characterized the state of press freedom in the country as very poor.
The Ministry of Information influenced the media through control of
printing presses, subsidies to newspapers, and ownership of the
country's sole television and radio outlets. Three independent
newspapers owned their own presses; no opposition papers did. According
to the domestic NGO WJWC, there were approximately 30 government-
controlled, 162 independent, 59 party-affiliated, and 50 civil society
association-affiliated newspapers in the country. There were
approximately 123 magazines, including 22 government-controlled, 64
independent, four party-affiliated and 33 civil society association-
affiliated magazines. The government selected items for news broadcasts
and rarely permitted broadcasts critical of the government. The
government televised parliamentary debates and occasionally permitted
broadcasts including aggressive criticism of ministries.
Press law specifies that newspapers and magazines must apply
annually to the government for licensing renewal and must show
continuing evidence of 700,000 riyals ($3,398) in operating capital.
There were reports that authorities made the registration process
bureaucratically impossible for opposition figures or organizations,
whereas progovernment or tribal newspapers reportedly received licenses
immediately. In 2008 sources indicated that very few licenses were
granted and others were denied outright. Local NGOs reported no denials
of licenses during the year.
During the year the government closed or pressured more than 20
newspapers, including government-affiliated papers as well as
opposition and independent publications, according to YOHR. The most
significant curtailment of press freedom was the repeated confiscation
of issues of the independent weekly Al-Ayyam newspaper, harassment of
the newspaper's editors and correspondents, politically motivated
judicial cases brought against the paper's owners, and heavy military
presence surrounding the newspaper's Aden offices. On May 1, four armed
men stopped an Al-Ayyam distribution vehicle traveling from Aden to
Sana'a and destroyed all issues of the paper. Security forces stopped
the printing of Al-Ayyam starting on May 3 and surrounded the newspaper
offices. On May 23, vehicles carrying 50,000 issues of Al-Ayyam were
stopped and all copies of the paper destroyed. Government pressure was
so significant on the editors of Al-Ayyam that the paper stopped
publication in May; publication had not resumed by year's end. The
Ministry of Information stated that it had not recommended the closure
of Al-Ayyam but had simply confiscated particular issues that were in
violation of the law, and that the paper chose not to continue
publishing.
On January 13, two plainclothes security officials kidnapped Al-
Ayyam correspondent Khaled Omar al-Aabd in Aden, handcuffed and
blindfolded him, and brought him to the Aden CID for questioning. Aabd
was later released. On the same day, the CID arrested Al-Watani editor
Wajdi al-Shaabi in Aden while he was covering protests affiliated with
the southern movement. Also arrested on January 13 in Aden were Al-
Ayyam reporter Anis Mansoor, who was held for two days at the al-
Mansoora Prison in Aden, and Saba News journalist Isam Zaid, who was
held for six days as punishment for covering the protests.
On April 12, the Ministry of Information banned independent weekly
Al-Dayari newspaper from publication because it had published a
political cartoon that ``offended the sensibilities of the persons.''
The ministry said the press law gave it the right to remove from
circulation newspapers that violated the law.
On May 4, authorities arrested Fuad Rashid, editor in chief of the
Mukullahpress Web site, and detained him in Mukulla Central Prison,
allegedly for his sensitive reporting on the southern secessionist
movement. Authorities announced Rashid's detention one week after his
arrest and subsequently transferred him to the PSO prison in Sana'a,
where he remained at year's end.
On May 4, the Ministry of Information ordered the suspension of six
independent weekly newspapers--Al-Nida, Al-Shari', Al-Masdar, Al-
Watani, Al-Diyar, and Al-Mustaqilla--that the ministry declared were
using ``the rhetoric of secessionism and targeting national unity.''
On May 5, authorities confiscated 15,000 copies of independent
weekly Al-Masdar from the al-Thawra printing press and stored them at
the Ministry of Information. In May and June, the Ministry of
Information confiscated four consecutive issues of Al-Ahali newspaper.
The ministry stated it had confiscated the two newspapers because they
illegally published secret military information.
On October 16, the al-Thawra printing press refused to print an
edition of Aden-based Al-Watani newspaper. The Ministry of Information
said the paper would not be printed until a number of articles on the
southern protest movement were changed.
Physical attacks against journalists continued during the year,
along with government harassment, including threats against journalists
and their families, brief imprisonment, and personal surveillance. On
June 18, PSO officers beat Gulf of Aden news network editor Saleh al-
Saqladi in his home, confiscated his phone and computer, and detained
him.
Harassment of journalists who reported on the southern protest
movement and the Saada conflict continued during the year. The
government continued attempts to prevent news about the details of the
Saada conflict from becoming public. Measures included preventing
journalists and humanitarian workers from going to the conflict zone,
disconnecting all but a select number of cell phone numbers in the
governorate, warning journalists not to report on the conflict, and
arresting persons who transmitted information about what they had seen
or who could have such information because they had recently left the
area.
On June 4, the Sana'a appeals court upheld a judgment suspending Al
Shari'e editor Nayef Hassan from journalism for one year and subjected
him to fines of 1,010,000 riyals ($4,903). In 2007 the MOD filed a
complaint against Al Shari'e for publishing military secrets in
reference to the Saada investigation. According to the law, the press
and publication prosecution office arbitrates cases related to the
media; however, the case of Al Shari'e was tried by the specialized
courts for terrorist-related activity. Al Shari'e was the first
newspaper tried in a specialized criminal court.
On October 31, the special court for press and publications
sentenced independent weekly Al-Masdar editor Samir Jubran to one year
in prison and a one-year suspension from journalism and a journalist to
two years in prison and a lifetime ban from journalism on charges of
slandering the president. The ruling party filed a case against Al-
Masdar for publishing the journalist's editorial, ``Yemen's Weapon of
Mass Destruction,'' a reference to President Saleh.
Many similar incidents of harassment and intimidation against
journalists occurred in 2007 and 2008.
There were no new government-cloned newspapers during the year. In
a 2005 attempt to counter dissent, elements close to the government or
security apparatus cloned two newspapers, Al-Shura and Al-Thawri. The
government published newspapers with similar names, fonts, and colors
that carried more progovernment editorials and stories. The Al-Thawri
clone ceased publication in 2005 after several weeks, but the Al-Shura
clone continued publishing at year's end.
At times customs officials confiscated foreign publications they
regarded as pornographic or objectionable due to religious or political
content. During the year there were some reports that authorities
monitored foreign publications and banned those deemed harmful to
national interests.
Book authors were required to obtain certification from the
Ministry of Culture (MOC) for publication and to submit copies to the
ministry. Publishers sometimes refused to deal with an author who had
not yet obtained certification. The MOC approved most books, but long
delays were frequent. There were reports that both the MOC and the PSO
monitored and sometimes removed books from stores after publication. A
ban continued on publishers distributing books that espoused Zaydi-Shia
Islamic doctrine or were deemed pornographic. The government denied
that the media were subject to censorship by any security apparatus.
Internet Freedom.--The government restricted Internet use by
intermittently blocking access to some political and religious Web
sites and sites it deemed immoral. During the year the government
reportedly blocked a number of independent and opposition news Web
sites, such as al-Shura.net and Ishtiraki.net and the Web sites of
independent newspapers Al-Ayyam, Al-Masdar, Al-Tagheer, and Al-Wasat.
It also blocked Adenpress.com, a Web site that covered the southern
demonstrations, and it allegedly blocked and changed content on
Yemenhurra.net, a Web site that covered the Saada conflict.
On February 8, the al-Baidhapress Web site was pirated and its
database destroyed because of its critical coverage of political events
in the country, according to WJWC.
On May 30, the al-Haq party's Newomma.net was hacked, links
deleted, and an article against the party posted.
The International Telecommunication Union estimated in September
that the country in 2008 had 370,000 Internet users (1.6 percent
penetration). Many could not afford the Internet or were unfamiliar
with the equipment and services needed to access it. Internet access
was available from homes or Internet cafes in major urban areas.
The government limited the Internet content its citizens could
access through commercially available filtering technology and control
of its two Internet service providers, TeleYemen (operators of the
service YNET) and YemenNet via the Ministry of Telecommunications and
Information Technology. Human rights organizations and other NGOs
complained that the government restricted what journalists wrote and
how citizens used the Internet through a variety of intimidation
tactics.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted
academic freedom, purportedly to prevent the politicization of
university campuses. Political parties frequently attempted to
influence academic appointments, as well as university faculty and
student elections. During the year security officials were present on
university campuses and at intellectual forums. PSO representatives had
permanent offices on the campuses. Government informers monitored the
activities of professors and students, especially those who were
alleged affiliates of opposition parties. Authorities reviewed
prospective university professors and administrators for political
acceptability before hiring them and commonly showed favoritism toward
affiliates or supporters of the ruling GPC party.
In December authorities suspended political science professor
Abdullah Faqih, one of the country's leading academics, from teaching
at Sana'a University because his lectures were deemed offensive to the
president. Earlier in the year, the PSO temporarily banned a book
written by Faqih on political citizenship in the country because it was
deemed too controversial.
Authorities intermittently enforced a ban on new student
associations at Sana'a University. Opposition sources contended that
authorities did not enforce this regulation against GPC-affiliated
organizations.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, but the government
limited this right in practice. The government requires a permit for
demonstrations and issued permits routinely. Government informers
monitored many meetings and assemblies.
The government banned and disrupted some demonstrations, allegedly
to prevent them from degenerating into riots and violence.
On May 26, security forces in Mukullah prevented a demonstration
called to support detained journalist Foud Rashed; they detained and
questioned dozens of protestors.
On October 6, military personnel attempting to break up a sit-in
for press freedom in Sana'a physically abused journalist and human
rights advocate Tawakul Karman and other activists. The military took
demonstrators' banners and broke cameras.
On October 22, police arrested 20 persons in Taiz when they
attempted to hold a demonstration calling for increased development for
the region. The government said the protestors did not have the
appropriate permit.
On November 30, police banned demonstrations by the southern
protest movement marking the United Kingdom's 1967 withdrawal from the
southern part of the country. The government said it imposed the ban
after two northerners were killed while traveling through the south in
the days before the scheduled protests. Police arrested hundreds of
persons planning to participate in the demonstrations.
The southern protest movement that began in 2007 with a group of
forcibly retired military and civilian officials from the PDRY grew
during the year into a widespread political coalition across the
southern governorates. The expanded movement has grown increasingly
vocal in its calls for secession from the central government in Sana'a
and has organized dozens of peaceful demonstrations in support of its
cause. In response, the government conducted mass arrest campaigns
before and during demonstrations organized by the southern protest
movement and fired on demonstrators frequently throughout the year.
In 2008 security forces attempted to break up peaceful political
demonstrations across the southern governorates using tear gas and live
ammunition. Such actions occurred at a protest in Aden in January,
leading to three deaths and 10 injuries; a March sit-in in Dhale'; and
at massive rallies in Aden and Dhale' in July.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government nominally respected this right in
practice, but the ruling party retained control of professional
associations by influencing internal elections and subsidies. According
to local observers, there were approximately 20 legally recognized NGOs
independent of the ruling party operating in the country.
All associations, including NGOs, are required to register annually
with one of four ministries: social affairs and labor (MSAL), culture,
education, or vocational training and technical education. The
government cooperated to varying degrees depending on the issues with
the country's more than 6,000 civil society organizations, including
human rights NGOs, according to the MOHR. All registered associations
were by law provided with an annual stipend, although in past years
some organizations such as the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate said they
did not receive their government stipends. Some ministries reportedly
harassed NGOs critical of the government by denying their annual
registration and subsidy. Unlike in previous years, the MSAL registered
HOOD for a five-month trial period in July. After many months of
denials, authorities finally renewed WJWC's license in March. Both HOOD
and WJWC are frequently critical of the government.
In 2007 the government dissolved the opposition al-Haq party for
reportedly violating the political parties law. Civil society observers
claimed the government abolished the party because of its affiliation
with the Houthi rebels and for its Zaydi appeal (see section 3). There
were no political parties dissolved during the year.
c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution does not protect or
inhibit freedom of religion. The government generally respected
religious freedom in practice, but there were numerous violations and
restrictions. The constitution declares that Islam is the state
religion and that Shari'a is the source of all legislation.
The government's respect for religious freedom decreased during the
year. For the second year in a row, the government allowed the
population of Saada to commemorate Ghadeer Day, a holiday celebrated by
some Shia. However, government actions to counter the increase in
political violence restricted some religious practice, especially
concerning uprisings by Zaydi Shia Houthi rebels in northern Saada
governorate.
During the year community activists said the government engaged in
a number of discriminatory practices against Zaydis, including forced
closure of mosques and schools; replacement of Zaydi imams with Sunni
clerics; and widespread arrests of scholars, imams, and persons with
Zaydi-affiliated surnames. They also reported that NSB and PSO
officials commonly monitored sermons in Zaydi mosques in Sana'a.
An October 2008 HRW report detailed similar practices, including
government repression of Hashemite preachers and scholars in Zaydi
religious institutions and mosques. In 2008 HRW documented 14 cases of
arrests in which Hashemite identity or profession as a Hashemite
scholar or preacher appeared to be the paramount reason for the arrest.
The government also reportedly limited the hours mosques were open
to the public and reassigned some imams who were thought to espouse
Shia ideology or Zaydi doctrine, replacing them with Shafi'i or Salafi
preachers.
Non-Muslims were free to worship according to their beliefs and to
wear religiously distinctive ornaments or dress; however, Shari'a, as
interpreted by the government, forbids conversion from Islam and
prohibits non-Muslims from proselytizing. The government enforced this
prohibition. The government required permission for the construction of
all places of worship. The constitution prohibited non-Muslims from
holding elected office, although they may vote.
Under the government's interpretation of Islam, the conversion of a
Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy, which the government
considers a crime punishable by death. There were a few reports of
arrests in cases related to proselytizing or apostasy during the year.
No new information was available at year's end in the June 2008
case of a convert to Christianity and two associates who were
reportedly arrested in Hudeidah for ``promoting Christianity and
distributing the Bible'' and transferred to a Sana'a jail.
There were no updates in the June 2008 case of seven Baha'is (two
Yemenis, four Iranians, and one Iraqi) who were arrested and ordered to
leave the country or face deportation.
Official policy does not prohibit or prescribe punishment for the
possession of non-Islamic religious literature. In previous years,
there were reports of persons being harassed and temporarily detained
for possession of religious materials with the intent to proselytize.
Catholics, Protestants, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, Jews, and
Baha'is held services without government interference.
Public schools provided instruction in Islam but not in other
religions. Most non-Muslims were foreigners who attended private
schools. Jewish private schools taught Hebrew and Judaism.
In 2007 the government shuttered 1,500 schools, bringing to 4,500
the total number of schools closed for allegedly deviating from
educational requirements or promoted militant ideology, and it
reportedly continued to close an unknown number of schools during the
year. The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Guidance reportedly
opened government-approved schools in the areas where schools had been
closed. The government prohibits private and national schools from
teaching courses outside the officially approved curriculum.
The government deported foreign students found studying in
unlicensed religious schools. There were credible reports that
authorities banned publishing of some materials that promoted Zaydi-
Shia Islam.
The ministry reported that it conducted several training sessions
and workshops targeted at imams and other religious clerics with the
goal of promoting moderation and tolerance.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Social pressure excluded
Jewish citizens, who numbered fewer than 250 in the country, from
certain occupations, and they are not eligible to serve in the military
or federal government.
Isolated incidents of anti-Semitism continued during the year. Due
to a marked increase in violence and harassment from their Muslim
neighbors, approximately 100 of the 250 Jews living in Amran
governorate left the country during the year.
Jewish residents of Rayda and Bait Harrash in Amran governorate
experienced continued acts of violence, threats, and harassment by
their Muslim neighbors. In 2008 a bullet was fired into a water tank on
the roof of one of the community's homes while a member of the family
was on the roof. Government authorities investigated the case and
arrested the perpetrator, who was incarcerated for several months.
In December 2008 a religious extremist allegedly killed Moshe Yaish
Nahari, a prominent community member and teacher in Reyda. Authorities
immediately arrested the man accused of the killing and tried him in a
local court. In April the court found him guilty, ordered him to pay a
fine, and sent him to a mental health facility for treatment. An
appeals court sentenced him to death in June, but the case was ongoing
at year's end. In the weeks following the murder, the Reyda Jews
reportedly could not leave their homes, Jewish children stopped going
to school for fear of further violence, and many community members
began making plans to leave the country.
In December 2008 an explosive device was thrown at a Jewish home.
The government appeared unwilling or unable to increase security for
the remaining Jewish population; perpetrators of violence against the
community generally went unpunished.
In 2007 the historic Saada community of 45 Jews was relocated to
Sana'a after a follower of the Houthis threatened it. Since fleeing
their homes, the community has been under government protection in
Sana'a. In April 2008 a group of men entered, ransacked, and destroyed
two homes in Saada governorate that belonged to a member of the Jewish
community living in Sana'a. The attack was believed to have been the
work of Houthi rebels.
During the year Zaydis--especially in the northern governorates of
Sana'a, Amran, and Saada--continued to report harassment and
discrimination by the government. There were reports that the
government removed Zaydi imams from their positions in mosques,
monitored their speech, and ignored defamatory literature published by
Salafi institutions against Zaydis. Authorities reportedly targeted and
harassed Sayyid Zaydi families, who are believed to be descendants of
the Prophet Muhammad.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government respected these rights with some
restrictions. The government limited the movement of women, foreigners,
and tourists. The two latter groups were required to obtain government
permission before leaving the country. The government also obstructed
domestic travel by refusing to issue travel permits to areas deemed
``dangerous,'' and the army and security forces maintained checkpoints
on major roads. IDPs were a significant problem across the northern
governorates.
In certain areas, armed tribesmen frequently operated their own
checkpoints or operated them alongside military or security officials;
they subjected travelers to physical harassment, extortion, or theft.
According to the law, government officials required women to have
the permission of a male relative before applying for a passport or
leaving the country. One women's rights NGO asserted that a husband or
male relative could bar a woman from leaving the country and that
authorities strictly enforced this requirement when women traveled with
children. During the year authorities reportedly turned back several
women at the airport because they did not have the permission of, or
were not accompanied by, a male relative.
Security officials at government checkpoints often required
immigrants and refugees traveling within the country to show that they
possessed resident status or refugee identification cards. There were
reports that at times local officials did not honor official documents.
The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of forced
exile during the year.
During the year the government continued to deport an unknown
number of foreigners who were studying at Muslim religious schools and
believed to be illegally in the country. The government claimed these
persons were suspected of inciting violence or engaging in criminal
acts by promoting religious extremism. The government used existing
laws to require foreigners to register with police or immigration
authorities within one month of arrival.
Internally Displaced Persons.--The sixth round of fighting in the
five-year conflict in Saada between the government and the group of
rebels led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi broke out in August, and fighting
continued at year's end. Although there were no reliable
approximations, it is estimated that tens of thousands were displaced
as a result of the fighting (see section 1.g.). The Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated there were more than
175,400 IDPs in the four northern governorates of Saada, Hajja, Amran,
and Jawf. Most IDPs lived outside official refugee camps wherever they
could find shelter, including under trees and bridges and in school
buildings. For the first time, fighting took place in the capital of
Saada, traditionally a gathering point for IDPs from the governorate's
rural areas. At times both the government and the Houthi rebels, who
according to journalists controlled the majority of territory in Saada,
limited access to the region, preventing food and medical supplies from
reaching IDPs. The IDPs were unable to return home by year's end.
Journalists reported that many of the IDPs were starving and lacked
basic requirements such as clean water, food, and medicine. The UNHCR
reported that IDP children showed signs of chronic malnutrition and did
not attend school.
Protection of Refugees.--The country is a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
The government does not have a national law addressing the granting of
refugee status or asylum in accordance with the convention and
protocol, and the government has not established a system for providing
protection to refugees. In practice the government sometimes provided
protection against the return of persons to a country where there is
reason to believe they fear persecution. The government continued to
grant refugee status to Somalis who arrived in the country after 1991.
Non-Somali asylum seekers must undergo an individual refugee status
determination conducted by the UNHCR, as the government has no ability
to conduct refugee status determinations on its own. Since 2007 the
government has challenged the ability of the UNHCR to perform refugee
status determinations for non-Somalis. Immigration authorities have
deported some non-Somalis without giving the UNHCR access to conduct
screenings. The government does not issue documentation to any non-
Somali asylum seekers, according to an HRW report issued during the
year.
The government continued to provide temporary protection for
thousands of individuals from Iraq and the Darfur region of Sudan who
may not qualify as refugees, although there were some reports of
deportations. There were reports that authorities denied some Iraqis
readmission into the country, blocking them from reuniting with their
families.
Generally, authorities allowed refugees to work and travel freely
within the country, although refugees faced some difficulties. There
were reports of refugees refused employment or passage at checkpoints
because they lacked legal documentation. Refugee children attended
local schools, although facilities were limited and could not meet the
demand in full.
In 2005 the government and UNHCR signed a memorandum of
understanding to establish six registration centers to register and
provide greater legal protection to refugees. To date, only one of
these centers, located in Sana'a, has been opened. The UNHCR operated
three reception centers in the south of the country, the newest of
which opened in March 2008. The replacement of the head of the security
force has reduced harassment and abuse by security forces at a Somali
refugee camp. Some potential asylum seekers have been imprisoned while
their status determinations were pending with the UNHCR, which had
uneven access to these refugees; authorities generally released
refugees from prison upon the completion of UNHCR processing.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully through periodic elections based on universal suffrage, but
there were limitations in practice. The president, who has been in
office since 1978, held almost total decision-making authority. The
president appoints the prime minister, who presides over a 35-member
cabinet chosen by the president. The latest cabinet reshuffle occurred
in May 2008. In practice the president, in association with the ruling
GPC party, dominated the government. The president can dissolve
parliament, in which three parties were represented, and the parliament
was not an effective counterweight to the executive branch.
Elections and Political Participation.--Parliamentary elections
scheduled for April were postponed for two years in an agreement the
ruling GPC party and the six opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP)
signed in February after the two sides failed to agree on electoral
reform. As a result of this agreement, the parliament officially voted
in April to extend its current six-year term by two years in order to
avoid violating the constitution.
In December the government held hastily prepared by-elections for
12 vacant parliamentary seats, boycotted by the opposition JMP. The
ruling GPC party won 10 seats, with two going to independent
candidates.
In May 2008 the local councils of each of the 21 governorates
elected governors. The election of governors, whom the president
previously appointed, was proposed as an important step toward the
decentralization of power. The influence of the ruling party in the
majority of the local councils and a boycott by the opposition,
however, resulted in continuing ruling party dominance.
According to a report by an international NGO, the 2007 by-
elections in Aden and Ibb took place in a generally peaceful and
orderly manner with only a few violations involving voting places for
women.
According to local and international observers, the 2006
presidential and local council elections were considered open and
competitive and a marked improvement over previous elections. For the
first time, opposition candidates contested the presidential elections
and had equal coverage in government-owned broadcast and print media.
There were problems with voter registration, redistricting, and ballot
counting, isolated incidents of election-related violence, and use of
state resources on behalf of the ruling party.
Ali Abdullah Saleh won a seven-year term in the 2006 election, the
country's second nationwide direct presidential race, securing 77
percent of the votes. JMP candidate Faisal bin Shamlan scored 22
percent. The remaining three opposition and independent candidates had
less than 1 percent each. According to the Supreme Council for
Elections and Referenda (SCER), approximately 65 percent of eligible
voters participated in the elections, and approximately 42 percent of
the voters were female.
International NGOs and the EU observer mission characterized the
polling as an important and unprecedented step in the country's
democratic development. In its final postelection report, the EU
mission noted that the GPC had an unfair electoral advantage because
the state put significant resources at the disposal of GPC candidates
for use during their campaigns. Opposition parties, while noting
irregularities, also hailed the elections as the first genuinely
competitive contest in the country's history. Unlike previous years,
international and local observers did not report significant
difficulties in accessing voting centers or filing their reports.
As reported by NGOs, poorly trained administrative staff,
registration of a large number of underage and dead voters, and
interference by security officials marred the 2006 voter registration
process. The JMP refused to participate in the voter registration
process due to allegations of SCER bias. The SCER therefore recruited
voter registration staff on short notice and without meaningful
training.
Opposition parties or local constituencies never received a
searchable electronic copy of the registration list to enable them to
verify voter lists before the election. There were reports that the
SCER mistakenly removed eligible voters from lists in several
constituencies. Many constituencies were redistricted a month before
the election with new boundaries widely viewed as favoring the ruling
party. Ballots for the local council elections went uncounted in some
constituencies or were not secured after the count.
The law mandates that political parties be viable national
organizations that cannot restrict their membership to a particular
region. The constitution prohibits the establishment of parties that
are contrary to Islam, ``oppose the goals of the country's
revolution,'' or violate the country's international commitments. The
law further stipulates that each party have at least 75 founders and
2,500 members. Parties based on regional, tribal, sectarian, class,
professional, gender, or racial identities are not permitted.
Candidates from any party may declare their candidacy for elections.
The government provided financial support to most of the 23 political
parties, including a small stipend to publish party newspapers.
The ruling GPC has been the dominant party since unification of the
country. It controls 238 of the 301 seats in parliament. Islah, the
largest opposition party, controls 46 seats. At times tribalism
distorted political participation and influenced the central
government's composition. Observers noted that individuals often were
selected to run for office or given jobs in particular ministries based
on their tribal affiliations. Because patriarchal systems dominated
tribal areas, some tribal leaders reportedly influenced tribal members'
votes.
Although there were no formal restrictions limiting opposition
participation, the government made it difficult for some parties to
organize. At year's end the government continued to hold substantial
assets of the opposition YSP, including land and buildings seized after
the 1994 civil war. In 2005 the president publicly accused two minor
parties of attempting to overthrow the government by fomenting the
Houthi uprising. Armed men seized the headquarters of the Union for
Popular Forces, and the party was reconstituted under duress.
In 2007 the government dissolved the al-Haq Party for reportedly
violating the political parties law. Civil society observers claim the
government abolished the party because of its affiliation with the
Houthi rebels and for its Zaydi appeal.
Women voted and held office, but increasingly conservative cultural
norms rooted in tribal traditions and patriarchal religious
interpretation often limited their exercise of these rights. There was
one woman in the 301-seat parliament. There were three women in the
cabinet, including the minister of human rights, the minister of social
affairs and labor, and a supreme court justice. The SCER women's
department, responsible for addressing gender equality in the electoral
process, conducted informational campaigns prior to the 2006 elections
on the importance and mechanism of voting. In the elections, 164 women
competed in local and provincial councils, and 38 won seats. Women's
rights activists and female parliamentary candidates accused the ruling
party and authorities of rigging the elections against women.
Many members of the Akhdam community, a small ethnic minority
descended from East Africans, did not participate in the political
process due to socioeconomic factors and discrimination. There were no
members of minority groups in parliament or the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The
World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that there is a
serious corruption problem, and a perception of corruption in every
branch and level of government was widespread. Government officials and
parliamentarians were presumed to benefit from insider arrangements and
embezzlement.
Procurement was a regular source of corruption in the executive
branch. The high tender board was established in 2007 to review
government tenders up to 213 million riyals ($1,000,000) and assess
them for legality. The board conducted training sessions for government
officials during the year.
The Central Organization for Control and Audit (COCA) is the
country's national auditing agency for public expenditures and
investigative body for corruption. COCA presented its reports to
parliament but did not make them publicly available. The president
appointed its top officials. In cases involving high-level officials,
COCA submitted reports directly to the president, who had the power to
veto them. Only low-ranking officials have been prosecuted for
corruption since COCA's inception in 1999. The actual number of
corruption cases was generally considered significantly higher than
reported.
Petty corruption was widely reported in nearly every government
office. Job candidates often were expected to purchase their positions.
Tax inspectors were believed to undervalue assessments and pocket the
difference. Many government officials received salaries for jobs they
did not perform or multiple salaries for the same job.
The independent Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption
(SNACC) includes a council of government, civil society, and private
sector representatives. In 2007 parliament elected 11 members to the
SNACC, whose chair and deputy chair serve a two-and-a-half-year term
and can serve another two-and-a-half-year term, subject to SNACC
consent, whereas regular SNACC members can serve only one five-year
term. The SNACC did not investigate any high-profile corruption cases
during the year. Of the 100 cases pending in the SNACC, only one person
had been officially charged with corruption. The public prosecutor's
office, which conducts investigations into cases referred to it by the
SNACC, reported that it investigated 2,400 cases in 2008.
Yemen Parliamentarians Against Corruption (Yemen PAC), the local
branch of Arab PAC, was founded in 2006 to fight corruption by
legislative branch action. Yemen PAC monitors the activities of
anticorruption institutions like the SNACC and provides limited
oversight for their activities. It also attempted to push
anticorruption laws through parliament. During the year the group
formed and worked with anticorruption networks across the country,
including in Marib, Taiz, and Aden governorates, and established local
monitoring and awareness committees.
The law requires a degree of transparency and public access to
information, and the press and publications law provides for
journalists to have some access to government reports and information;
in practice the government offered few procedures to ensure
transparency. The law requires public disclosure of government
officials' assets, and the SNACC worked to implement this requirement
during the year. The government provided limited information via the
Internet; however, few citizens had access to the Internet.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups operated with
varying degrees of government restriction, generally investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases with little constraint.
NGOs reported that government officials were not always cooperative and
responsive to their views. The law for associations and foundations
regulates the formation and activities of NGOs. The law exempts NGOs
from taxes and tariffs and requires the government to provide a reason
for denying an NGO registration, such as if it perceives an NGO's
activities as detrimental to the state. It also requires that any
organization have at least 41 members to continue operations and
forbids them from involvement in political activities.
The law permits some foreign funding of NGOs and requires
government observation of NGOs' internal elections. In 2008 the MOHR
sponsored several initiatives to advance cooperation with local NGOs
such as the Yemeni Women's Union and Violence Against Women.
Domestic human rights NGOs operated throughout the year. Although
progovernment NGOs received support from the government or ruling
party, others received support from opposition parties or were fully
independent. Some of the most active included the Human Rights
Information and Training Center, HOOD, YOHR, the Democracy School,
Media Women Forum, the Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights, YODPRL,
Seyaj, Shawthab Foundation, National Organization for Developing
Society, Society for the Development of Women and Children, and the
WJWC.
Some NGOs limited their activities to avoid negative government
attention. Some ministries reportedly harassed NGOs critical of the
government by delaying the procedures required for annual registration
and licensing and through bureaucratic funding criteria. In 2007 the
MSAL refused to reissue the license for the Arab Sisters Forum for
Human Rights due to its criticism of the government for limiting media
freedom. The group received a temporary two-year license from the
government during the year. The government requires NGOs to register
annually or be declared illegal, but NGOs that were not granted
licenses continued to operate during the year. In some instances, the
government reportedly registered a progovernment clone version of an
NGO, recognizing the clone as the legitimate NGO, thereby preventing
the original NGO from renewing its registration under its original
name. In such cases, registration applications must be resubmitted
under a new name. The government reportedly did not process some
registration applications and placed unofficial freezes on new licenses
ahead of the 2007 by-elections.
The government monitored NGO finances. The government reportedly
used financial reviews as a pretext to harass or close NGOs, and some
NGOs allegedly kept less than transparent records.
The government provided AI, HRW, the EU parliament, and the
Committee to Protect Journalists limited access to records, detention
centers, and prisons. The ICRC maintained a resident office to inspect
prisons during the year, although access to PSO prisons was suspended.
The ICRC also carried out humanitarian missions in Saada to support
displaced populations during the war. The ICRC, Islamic Relief Yemen,
the UNHCR, the UN Children's Fund, the UN World Food Program, and the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization provided humanitarian assistance
to Saada's displaced population. The ICRC did not face governmental
restrictions in providing humanitarian assistance, but because of the
dangerous security situation in Saada, it was unable to respond to
emergencies in an adequate manner. Other organizations reported
significantly restricted access to conflict areas of Saada that
hindered their ability to support the displaced population.
The MOHR attempted to raise awareness of human rights via public
information campaigns, training of civil society organizations, and
participation in numerous conferences in cooperation with NGOs. During
the year the MOHR launched what it described as a major campaign to
educate citizens about their rights under the law. The MOHR donated
computers to orphanages and juvenile centers in 2008. The MOHR also
presented regular reports regarding its international commitments, such
as a report on economic, social, and cultural rights and an
antiviolence report.
During the year the parliamentary committee on human rights was
largely inactive, as was the consultative council's committee on human
rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for equal rights and equal opportunity for all
citizens. The government did not effectively enforce the law.
Discrimination based on race, gender, and disability remained a serious
problem. There was no specific discrimination based on social status
with the exception of the Akhdam. Entrenched patriarchal cultural
attitudes limited women's access to equal rights.
Women.--The law criminalizes rape, although spousal rape is not
criminalized because a woman may not refuse sexual relations with her
husband. The government did not effectively enforce the law. The
punishment for rape is imprisonment up to 15 years; however, the
maximum sentence had never been imposed. There were no reliable
statistics on the number of rapes. Most rape victims did not report the
crime for fear of shaming the family and incurring violent retaliation.
Rape victims were often prosecuted on charges of fornication after the
perpetrator was freed. According to the law, if the accused does not
confess, the defense must provide four female or two male witnesses to
the crime. The government had yet to introduce DNA technology in
criminal rape cases, and without witnesses cases were difficult to
prosecute. Flagrant corruption often hindered investigation of rape
cases. A leading local women's rights organization asserted that the
judicial system failed to bring justice to victims of rape.
The appeals process for the 2003 rape case of Anisa al-Shuaibi was
ongoing at year's end. In April 2008 a judge convicted one of her three
assailants, whose prison sentence was postponed, and awarded Al-Shuaibi
one million riyals ($4,854) as compensation. In 2003 Al-Shuaibi was
detained and charged with the murder of her husband, who was later
found alive. During her illegal detention, two high-level CID officers
allegedly raped and tortured her.
The law provides women with protection against violence, but the
law was rarely enforced. Although spousal abuse occurred, it generally
was undocumented. In June 2008 a government report disclosed 2,964
cases in 2007 of violence against women. Of those cases, 130 resulted
in death, and 970 in injuries. Violence against women and children was
considered a family affair and usually went unreported to police. Due
to social norms and customs, an abused woman was expected to take her
complaint to a male relative (rather than to authorities) to intercede
on her behalf or provide sanctuary to avoid publicizing the abuse and
shaming the family.
A small shelter for battered women in Aden assisted victims, and
telephone hotlines operated with moderate success in Aden and Sana'a.
The MOHR announced in 2007 it was launching a nationwide hotline to
receive complaints about abuses of human rights, but it did not receive
any calls during the year due to cultural sensitivities, according to
the MOHR.
The media and women's rights activists continued to investigate and
report on violations of women's rights. During the year NGOs sponsored
several women's rights conferences dealing with issues such as violence
against women, increasing the political representation of women, and
economic empowerment. The Ministry of Information broadcast programs on
official television and radio stations promoting women's rights during
the year.
The penal code allows leniency for persons guilty of committing an
honor crime, a violent assault or killing committed against women for
perceived immodest or defiant behavior. The law does not address other
types of honor crimes, including beatings, forced isolation,
imprisonment, and forced early marriage. The law regarding violence
against women states that a convicted man should be executed for
killing a woman. A husband who kills his wife and her lover may receive
a maximum sentence of a fine or imprisonment for up to one year.
Prostitution is illegal, but it was a problem, particularly in Aden
and Sana'a. Many prostitutes were third-country nationals who had
traveled to the country looking for employment as domestic workers.
There were reports that underage citizen girls worked as prostitutes in
major cities. The punishment for prostitution is imprisonment for as
long as three years or a fine. The MOI and PSO tolerated and
unofficially facilitated prostitution and sex tourism through
corruption for financial and operational gain. Although no laws
addressed sex tourism, it was a problem, particularly in Aden and
Sana'a.
There are no laws prohibiting sexual harassment, which occurred
both in the workplace and in the streets.
There were no reports of government interference in the right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. However, societal pressure, a
lack of women's education, and the young age of marriage for many women
and girls meant that many women in reality had little control over
reproduction. Contraception was available in cities, although it was
cost prohibitive for much of the population. Most women gave birth at
home without skilled attendance and did not see a doctor during their
pregnancies or after delivery. Information was not available regarding
diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
Social custom and local interpretation of Shari'a discriminated
against women. Men were permitted to take as many as four wives. There
was no minimum age of marriage, and some girls married as young as age
eight.
A husband may divorce a wife without justifying the action in
court. A woman has the legal right to divorce, but she must provide a
justification, and there are practical, social, and financial
considerations that impede women from obtaining a divorce.
Women who seek to travel abroad must obtain permission from their
husbands or fathers to receive a passport and to travel, according to
the law. Male relatives were expected to accompany women when traveling
internationally, but enforcement of this requirement was inconsistent.
Some women reported they traveled freely without male escorts.
Some interpretations of Shari'a prohibit a Muslim woman from
marrying a non-Muslim man. A Muslim man is allowed to marry a non-
Muslim woman. Women do not have the right to confer citizenship on
their foreign-born spouses, but they may confer citizenship on children
born of a foreign-born father if the father dies or abandons the child.
The foreign wife of a male citizen must remain in the country for two
years to obtain a residency permit.
According to a MOI regulation, any citizen who wishes to marry a
foreigner must obtain the permission of the ministry. A woman wishing
to marry a foreigner must present to the MOI proof of her parents'
approval. A foreign woman who wishes to marry a male citizen must prove
to the ministry that she is ``of good conduct and behavior'' and ``free
from contagious disease.''
According to the Ministry of Public Health and Population,
approximately 67 percent of married women and 33 percent of men were
illiterate. The high illiteracy rate had a significant effect on
women's participation in the 2006 elections, limiting access to
information on campaigns and political rights. Election observers also
noted that illiteracy helped to perpetuate the belief that women were
incapable of holding public office. The fertility rate was 6.2 children
per woman, according to the Ministry of Public Health and Population.
Most women had little access to basic health care.
Women in the south, particularly in Aden, were generally better
educated and had somewhat greater employment opportunities than their
northern counterparts. However, since the 1994 war of secession, the
number of women in government in the south has declined, due to
conservative cultural pressure from the north and economic stagnation.
The law stipulates that women are equal to men in employment
rights, but women's rights activists and NGOs reported that
discrimination was a common practice in the public and private sectors.
Mechanisms to enforce equal protection were weak or nonexistent.
According to the MSAL there were more than 170 NGOs working for
women's advancement. The Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights worked
with other NGOs, the government, and donor countries to strengthen
women's political participation. The Yemeni Women's Union and Women's
National Committee (WNC) conducted workshops on women's rights. The
Arab Sisters Forum, with funding from the Netherlands, established a
four-year project aimed at providing protection against violence for
women and children.
Children.--Children born to at least one citizen parent are
eligible to receive citizenship. Children born in the country who do
not have at least one citizen parent are eligible to file for
citizenship, but the government rarely granted it. Children of foreign
parents who did not receive citizenship were sometimes excluded from
receiving government services, including education.
There was no universal birth registration, and many children,
especially in rural areas, were never registered or were registered
several years after birth. Hospitals maintained official birth
registries, but not all hospitals insisted on registration, and most
children were not born in hospitals. Theoretically, children must have
birth certificates to register for school, but this requirement was not
universally enforced. There were no reports of services being denied to
children based on lack of registration.
The law provides for universal, compulsory, and free education from
age six to 15; however, compulsory attendance was not enforced, and
books and school uniforms raised the cost of attendance to
approximately 2,000 riyals ($9.70) per student per year, which some
parents could not afford. Public schooling was available to children
through the secondary school level. Attendance was mandatory through
the ninth grade, but many children, especially girls, did not attend
primary school.
The law provides for free medical care for children who hold
citizenship; however, this was not always enforced. Male children
received preferential treatment and had better health and survival
rates.
The law does not define or prohibit child abuse, and there was no
reliable data on its extent.
The law prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM), but it was a
pervasive practice in the coastal areas on infants less than 40 days
old. Although government health workers and officials discouraged the
practice, women's groups reported FGM rates as high as 90 percent in
some coastal areas, such as Mahara and Hudeidah. The WNC and the
Ministry of Endowments and Religious Guidance provided a manual for
religious leaders on women's health issues, including the negative
health consequences of FGM.
Child marriage was a significant problem in the country. There was
no minimum age of marriage, and many girls were married as young as age
eight. A law setting the minimum age for marriage at age 15 was revoked
in 1998. The law has a provision that forbids sex with underage brides
until they are ``suitable for sexual intercourse,'' an age that is
undefined. An Oxfam International study calculated that among 1,495
couples, 52 percent of women and 7 percent of men were married at an
early age. The report also highlighted that 15-16 years was generally
considered the appropriate age of marriage for girls, depending on
region and socioeconomic status. According to the MSAL, the government
did not promote public awareness campaigns on the negative effects of
child marriage due to the cultural sensitivity of the issue.
Media reports during the year highlighted the problem of child
marriage in the country. In December the media reported the case of 12-
year-old bride Sally Sabahi, who sought a divorce after two years of
being raped by her 21-year-old husband. On September 14, Fawzia
Abdullah Youssef, a 12-year-old bride, died after three days in labor;
her baby was stillborn. In 2008 Nujoud Ali and Arwa, nine and eight
years old, respectively, were forced to marry men in their 30s and
subsequently obtained divorces after months of severe sexual and
physical abuse. Reem, a 12-year-old girl who was forced into marriage
by her father, obtained a divorce during the year after months of legal
battles.
There was no law against statutory rape and no legal limits placed
on the age for consensual sex.
Reports of child soldiers increased in a number of armed conflicts
across the country. According to the NGO Small Arms Survey, direct
involvement in combat killed or injured hundreds of children annually.
The intermittent conflict in Saada, which began again in August,
reportedly drew underage soldiers fighting for the government and the
rebel Houthis (see section 1.g.). The Houthis reportedly used children
as runners in between groups of fighters as well as to carry supplies
and explosives, according to local children's rights NGO Seyaj. Tribes
the government armed and financed to fight alongside the regular army
used children younger than 18 in combat, according to reports by
international NGOs such as Save the Children.
Married boys, ages 12 to 15 years, were reportedly involved in
armed conflict beginning in November 2008 in Amran governorate between
the Harf Sufian and al-Osaimat tribes. According to tribal custom, boys
who married were considered adults who owed allegiance to the tribe. As
a result, half of the tribal fighters in such conflicts were children
who had volunteered to demonstrate their tribal allegiance.
Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not explicitly address or
prohibit trafficking in persons, but other sections of the country's
criminal code can be applied to prosecute trafficking offenses. The
country is a point of origin for children, mostly boys, who are
trafficked for forced begging, unskilled labor, and street vending.
There were reports of underage internal sex trafficking during the
year. According to a local human rights NGO, an unknown number of women
were trafficked from their homes to other regions within the country
for the purposes of prostitution.
There were no official statistics available on the number of
children trafficked out of the country. Press and NGO reports claimed
that approximately 200 children--mostly from northern governorates--
were trafficked out of the country to Saudi Arabia each week. The
MSAL's child labor unit (CLU) acknowledged that high numbers of
children were trafficked into Saudi Arabia for work. The CLU estimated
that at least 10 children per day were trafficked into Saudi Arabia.
Experts at international and intergovernmental organizations reported
that girls younger than 15 years old were trafficked into the
commercial sex trade in the three governorates of Mahweet, Aden, and
Taiz.
Children were trafficked by adults, older children, and loosely
organized syndicates that helped them cross the border by donkey,
automobile, or foot. They worked predominantly in hotels, casinos, and
nightclubs. Government investigations revealed that extreme poverty was
the primary motivation behind child trafficking, and that victims'
families were usually complicit. The traffickers were often well known
by, if not related to, the family; parents were either paid or promised
money in exchange for allowing their children to be trafficked.
The law, which does not differentiate between children and adult
victims, allows for a prison sentence as long as 10 years for anyone
convicted of crimes that constitute trafficking in persons. Other laws
forbid and punish kidnapping and sexual assault. The child rights law
mandates the protection of children from economic and sexual
exploitation. The country reported 14 arrests and six convictions for
child labor trafficking, but the government did not provide information
regarding the sentences. The government reportedly detained and
prosecuted victims of trafficking under antiprostitution laws.
The government continued discussions with Saudi Arabian officials
to combat child trafficking. The MOHR hotline for child trafficking
received four calls during the year.
In an attempt to prevent child trafficking, the MSAL conducted a
campaign in regions known as points of origin of trafficked children
and educated taxi drivers across the country of the signs and dangers
of child trafficking. The MSAL warned potential victims' parents
against the dangers of allowing their children to work in Saudi Arabia.
The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can
be found at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Several laws mandate the rights and
care of persons with disabilities, but there was discrimination against
such persons. By law 5 percent of government jobs should be reserved
for persons with disabilities, and the law mandates the acceptance of
persons with disabilities in universities, exempts them from paying
tuition, and requires that schools be made more accessible to persons
with disabilities. It was unclear to what extent these laws have been
implemented. No national law mandates accessibility of buildings for
persons with disabilities.
Authorities imprisoned persons with mental disabilities who
committed crimes without adequate medical care. According to the MOHR,
nurses and doctors watched the inmates. In some instances, authorities
detained without charge persons with mental disabilities and placed
them in prisons with criminals. The MOI reported that at times, family
members brought relatives with mental disabilities to MOI-run prisons,
asking officers to imprison the individuals. At year's end MOI-run
prisons in Sana'a, Aden, and Taiz operated in conjunction with the Red
Crescent semiautonomous units for prisoners with mental disabilities;
conditions in these units were reportedly deficient. At year's end
neither the MOI nor Ministry of Health had acted on a 2005 MOI
initiative to establish centers for persons with mental illness.
The government's Social Fund for Development and the Fund for the
Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled, administered by the MSAL,
provided limited basic services and supported more than 60 NGOs to
assist persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Akhdam (an estimated 2-5
percent of the population) were considered the lowest social class.
They lived in poverty and endured persistent social discrimination.
According to a March study by the NGO Save the Children, the Akhdam
were the social group most vulnerable to discrimination. The
government's social fund for development provided basic services to
assist the group.
During the year human rights groups reported that some immigrants
of African origin had difficulty in securing MOI permission to marry
citizens.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexual activity is a crime
punishable by death under the country's interpretation of Islamic law.
There were no lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) persons'
organizations. There were no reports of official or societal
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, or
access to education or health care, largely because of social pressure
not to discuss LGBT issues. Few, if any, LGBT residents were open about
their orientation or identity because of heavy societal pressure.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no societal
violence or public reports of discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS; however, the topic was socially sensitive and not discussed
publicly.
Incitement to Acts of Discrimination.--Two inflammatory government
newspapers, Al Dostor and Akhbar Al Youm, continuously published
propaganda for the purpose of slander and incitement to discrimination
or violence. In 2007 Al Dostor published an article with the names of
the country's top 40 female activists, branding them as apostates. The
newspaper also printed photos of four of the activists.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that citizens have
the right to form and join unions; however, this right was restricted
in practice with unions facing many impediments in implementation,
administration, and networking. It was also difficult for unions to
call strikes during the year because of bureaucratic hurdles.
Although not required by law, all current unions are federated
within the General Federation of Trade Unions of Yemen (GFTUY), a
national umbrella organization. The GFTUY claimed approximately 42,000
members in 21 unions during its 2007 elections. Each union had its own
bylaws that organize its internal affairs, including elections.
However, bylaws issued by the MSAL require that union elections take
place at least every three years with MSAL officials present as
witnesses. The GFTUY denied any association with the government;
however, it worked closely with the government to resolve labor
disputes through negotiation.
The politicization of unions and professional associations
continued to hamper the right of association. In some instances, the
ruling GPC party attempted to control professional associations by
influencing internal elections or placing its own personnel, usually
tied to the government, in positions of influence in unions and
professional associations. For example, there were two distinct
teachers' unions during the year; one was tied to the ruling GPC party
and the other was linked to the opposition JMP coalition. The parties
worked separately and sometimes at odds in issues affecting teachers.
The law dictates that only a court order or a union's own members
can dissolve a labor union; however, the government did not respect
this right in practice. For example, in 2007 the MSAL threatened to
dissolve the teachers' union, the technical education syndicate, and
the physicians and pharmacists' syndicate, claiming they had not
obtained an MSAL-issued license and thus were operating illegally. This
announcement from MSAL came after months of sit-ins and demonstrations
staged around the country by the teachers' union to demand a pay
increase. Union supporters said that the government was worried that
the union was collaborating too closely with opposition parties.
The labor law provides unions the right to strike only if prior
attempts at negotiation and arbitration fail, and workers exercised
this right by conducting legal strikes. The proposal to strike must be
submitted to at least 60 percent of all concerned workers, of whom 25
percent must vote in favor. Strikes for explicit ``political purposes''
were prohibited. In reality, a union's ability to strike depends on its
political strength and closeness to the ruling party. For example, the
physicians and pharmacists' syndicate has never conducted a general
strike, while the teachers' union successfully struck for a salary
increase.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The labor law
provides workers, except public servants, foreign workers, day
laborers, and domestic servants, the right to organize and bargain
collectively without government interference. For example, the drivers'
union conducts annual negotiations with the government regarding rights
and benefits. The government permitted these activities; however, at
times it sought to influence them by placing its own personnel inside
groups and organizations. Unions may negotiate wage settlements for
their members and may resort to strikes or other actions to achieve
their demands. Public sector employees must take their grievances to
court. The MSAL has veto power over collective bargaining agreements,
although it has not exercised this power in recent years. Several such
agreements existed. Agreements may be invalidated if they are ``likely
to cause a breach of security or to damage the economic interests of
the country.''
The law generally protects employees from antiunion discrimination.
An employer does not have the right to dismiss an employee for union
activities; however, there were reports that private sector employers
discriminated against union members through transfers, demotions, and
dismissals. The majority of employers in the private sector only
register five to 10 employees, which allows them to avoid many social
security and labor union regulations. Fewer than 100,000 employees work
for companies with more than 100 employees, making it difficult for the
vast majority of workers to enjoy union protection and benefits.
Discrimination in the private sector against union members was
generally handled privately outside of court.
Employees may appeal any dispute, including cases of antiunion
discrimination, to the MSAL. Employees also may take a case to the
labor arbitration committee, which the MSAL chairs, composed of an
employer representative and a GFTUY representative. Generally, all
parties want to resolve cases via the committee system since court
proceedings are costly and the system is often corrupt. Although
national statistics on how many unionized employees used this system
during the year were unavailable, the Hudeidah governorate committee
solved 400 disputes in 2008.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports of such practices during the year. Citizen girls were
trafficked within the country for commercial sexual exploitation in
hotels, casinos, and bars. Their impoverished families forced most of
these girls into sex work. A 2005 central statistics organization
report indicated that there were more than 400,000 working children
under the age of 18 in the country. A local NGO reported that more than
30,000 children worked on the streets of Sana'a. Children were also
reportedly trafficked from the country to work as child laborers in
other countries, especially from the governorates of Hajja, Hudeidah,
and Saada. The NGO blog Human Trafficking Project reported in April
2008 that 3,000 Bangladeshis were trafficked to work in the country in
conditions close to indentured servitude.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
child rights law prohibits child labor; however, the government has not
effectively implemented the law.
The established minimum age for employment is 15 years in the
private sector and 18 years in the public sector. By special permit,
children between the ages of 12 and 15 could work. The government
rarely enforced these provisions, especially in rural and remote areas.
The government also did not enforce laws requiring nine years of
compulsory education for children.
Child labor was common, especially in rural areas. A 2007 report
from the NGO Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF) International stated
that children in the country were predominantly employed in agriculture
and fishing. Many children were required to work in subsistence farming
due to family poverty. Even in urban areas, children worked in stores
and workshops, sold goods, and begged on the streets. Many children of
school age worked instead of attending school, particularly in areas
where schools were not easily accessible. Local observers reported that
half or more of the fighters involved in armed conflict between the al-
Osaimat and Harf Sufian tribes in Amran governorate, which broke out in
November, were boys ranging from 12 to 15 years of age.
The child labor unit at the MSAL was responsible for implementing
and enforcing child labor laws and regulations; however, the unit's
lack of resources hampered enforcement. Due to extensive budget cuts,
MSAL employees were unable to travel to conduct their work during the
year.
In 2006 the MSAL estimated that there were more than 500,000
working children, ages six to 14 years, and that working children
equaled 10 to 15 percent of the total work force. In 2007 CHF
International estimated that approximately 52 percent of male children
between the ages of 10 and 14 were in the workforce, compared to 48
percent of female children in the same age group. CHF International
estimated that 83 percent of working children worked for their families
(including street beggars), and 17 percent worked outside the family.
According to the MSAL, small factories and shops employed children
working outside the family. The government partnered with the
International Labor Organization to offer remedial education,
vocational training, counseling, and reintegration of child laborers
into schools.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no established minimum
wage. The labor law provides equal wages for public-sector workers and
civil servants. Private sector workers, especially skilled technicians,
earned a far higher wage. The average daily wage did not provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family. During the year the
minimum civil service wage did not meet the country's poverty level.
The law specifies a maximum 48-hour workweek with a maximum eight-
hour workday; however, many workshops and stores operated 10- to 12-
hour shifts without penalty. The 35-hour workweek for government
employees was seven hours per day from Saturday through Wednesday.
The MSAL is responsible for regulating workplace health and safety
conditions. The requisite legislation for regulating occupational
health is contained in the labor law. However, enforcement was weak to
nonexistent due to lack of MSAL capacity. The MSAL has a vocational
safety department that relies on committees to conduct primary and
periodic investigations of safety and health conditions in workplaces.
Many workers were exposed to toxic industrial products regularly and
developed respiratory illnesses. Some foreign owned companies and major
manufacturers implemented higher health, safety, and environmental
standards than the government required. Workers have the right to
remove themselves from dangerous work situations and may challenge
dismissals in court.
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