Concerns in Europe January June 2001
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- General political background
Concerns in Europe: January - June 2001
Amnesty International September 2001 During the period under review numerous new cases were reported of police shootings in circumstances which were at variance with internationally recognized principles. At least two people were killed in such incidents. The shooting of 16-year-old Eleonora Dimitrova on 30 January, in the centre of Sofia, is a tragic illustration of a pernicious human rights problem which the Bulgarian authorities, over many years, have failed adequately to address. An officer who was reportedly not on duty fired his gun outside a restaurant while allegedly aiming at men with whom he had quarrelled earlier that evening. The bullet hit Eleonora Dimitrova who was standing on the opposite side of the street, killing her. The following day the police officer was arrested and subsequently charged with murder. On 1 February it was reported that Emanuil Yordanov, then Minister of the Interior, stated that he would re-examine all provisions concerning the use of firearms by both police officers and civilians. However, the public debate which was sparked off by this incident appeared to be focussed mostly on the police inability to deal with rising criminality rather than on the inadequate legal provisions regulating the police use of firearms and the insufficient police training in human rights standards. On 6 February it was reported that Minister Yordanov had ordered all police officers to undergo psychological examinations within a three month period, as well as stricter internal inspections within the Ministry of the Interior. There were no indications that these measures were taking effect. Similar public outcry followed the shooting of another 16-year-old girl, Staniela Bugova, in October 1998. She was killed with an assault rifle after the car she had been travelling in was stopped for a routine traffic check near Sliven (see AI Index: EUR 15/19/98). The officer responsible for the killing was subsequently convicted to two and a half years’ imprisonment. Bolomil Bonev, then Minister of the Interior, promised to improve the functioning and the organization of the police force. However, the government failed to amend the 1997 Law on the National Police which allows law enforcement officials to use firearms in circumstances far wider than those allowed by the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. These permits the use of firearms only in self-defence or the defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury.
In May the European Court of Human Rights announced that the Bulgarian government had concluded a friendly settlement with Ivailo Stefanov, who had been convicted, as a conscientious objector, for failing to perform military service. This agreement, inter alia, states:
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that all criminal proceedings and judicial sentences for refusing military service (on grounds of conscience) since 1991 shall be dismissed and all penalties imposed eliminated as if there was never a conviction for a violation of the law; the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria shall introduce draft legislation before the National Assembly for a total amnesty for these cases; ·
performed under a purely civilian administration and the military authority is not involved in civilian service and such service shall be similar in duration to that required for military service; ·
as all Bulgarian citizens to manifest their beliefs whether alone or in union with others, after hours and on days off, during the term of performing said civilian service, without prejudice, sanction or another disability or impediment.
AI has repeatedly urged the Bulgarian authorities to adopt legislation concerning alternative service which would comply with international standards on conscientious objection, to stop prosecutions of objectors for evading military service, and to release all those who were imprisoned as a result. Certain provisions of the Law on Alternative Service, which came into force on 1 January 1999, are at variance with internationally recognized principles in this field. These include the grounds for seeking alternative service, the length of the alternative service - which is twice the length of armed military service - and time limits imposed on the submission of applications for alternative service. In view of the friendly settlement before the European Court of Human Rights, which requires amending the legislation in force, AI reiterated its appeal to the Bulgarian government to ensure that the new regulations are not at variance with the internationally recognized principles on conscientious objection.
C R O A T I A
opposition HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union- Hrvatska demokratska zajednica) gaining
considerable popular support, although the six-party governing coalition received the majority of votes in two thirds of country’s counties. In March, the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Croatian Sabor (parliament) adopted constitutional amendments which abolished its upper house, the Chamber of Counties. The changes also extended constitutional rights, previously guaranteed to Croatian citizens only, to all individuals within the jurisdiction of Croatia. Croatia before the Human Rights Committee
On 28 and 29 March the United Nations Human Rights Committee examined Croatia’s initial report on compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). AI had previously briefed the Committee on its concerns on various articles of the ICCPR which the organization believed Yüklə 1,36 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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