11 March 1999 Edition
Seven Basque Citizens arrested in Paris and Basque Country
On Tuesday, 9 March 1999, Spanish and French police arrested seven Basque citizens in Paris. The Basque Nationalist parties have criticised the attitude of the Spanish government, which keeps using policing methods to solve the Basque conflict. Joseba Egibar, one of the leading figures of the conservative Basque Nationalist Party, criticised the approach of the Spanish government to the political process opened in the Basque Country after ETA's cease-fire declaration. ``The police actions are shaping the government approach to the peace process''.
However, for the Spanish Home minister, Mayor Oreja, the detention of the supposed members of ETA is a clear move towards peace. ``Some could wonder whether these detentions take us to peace. For us, the government, it is clear that the application of the State laws takes us always close to peace...''
The arrests took place just as the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar was meeting the French Minister in Paris and after Oreja visited the French capital.
Jabier Arizkuren Kantauri, Irantzun Gallastegi, Jose Luis Puy Lekumberri, Mikel Zubimendi, Jose Ignacio Herran Bilbao y Jon Mirena Sanpedro Blanco where arrested in Paris, while the HB councillor Nekane Txapartegi was arrested in the Basque village of Asteau.
The Spokesperson for Herri Batasuna, Arnaldo Otegi explained, ``the police operation against ETA is just another part- as was the imprisonment of the National Executive of HB, and the closure of the newspaper Egin and the radio station Egin Irratia- of the Spanish government strategy to destroy the political process open in the Basque Country''.
Also, in the Basque Country, the workers of the newspaper EGIN organised a picket at the doors of the Provincial Court in San Sebastian to protest against the arrest of two journalists, who were members of the research team of the paper. Pepe Rei was arrested on Sunday, 7 March, by members of the Spanish National Police and charged with ETA membership. BegoÒa Perez Capape was arrested on Monday, 8 March, but was released on bail on Tuesday. Egin's editor, Jabier Salustregi, denounced the situation of political prosecution suffered by Egin workers. He also said that the party in the Spanish government, the Popular Party, ``is doing things that any other democratic government wouldn't dare to do... Pepe Rei is in prison because they dare to do something that a democratic government wouldn't: kill the messenger''.
``Giving birth while incarcerated was one of the most horrifying experiences of my life. While enduring intense labour pains, I was handcuffed while taken to the hospital, even though I was in a secured vehicle with a metal grating between the driver's and passenger's compartments and with no interior door handles on the passenger's compartments and with no interior door handles on the passenger doors... At the hospital, I was shackled to a metal bedpost by my right ankle throughout seven hours of labour, although a correctional officer was in the room with me at all times. The shackles were not removed until 30 minutes prior to my delivery... Even animals would not be shackled during labour, a household dog or a cow on a farm. The birth of a child is supposed to be a joyous experience, and I was robbed of the joy of my daughter's birth''. This is the testimony of Warnice Robinson, a woman imprisoned in Illinois for shoplifting, one of the cases of human rights violations in US jails highlighted by Amnesty International in its report ``United States of America. Rights for All''.
There are around 138,000 female prisoners in the USA, most of them from an ethnic or racial minority background, with relative low levels of education and unemployed. AI's report outlines the contradiction of US policy on human rights. Because while the US government has always tried to play the role of international human rights defender, ``it declined to ratify key human rights treaties, has reserved the right not to implement important provisions of treaties that it has ratified and refused to permit people within the USA to bring complains about alleged violations of their human rights to international monitoring bodies.''
The law of the US also prohibits many of the violations included in the report -as rape and sexual abuse committed by prison guards. However, ``a female prisoner may find it extraordinarily difficult to stop unlawful conduct or to have the perpetrator brought to justice.'' But there is also the fear that if she complains she will be victimised again.
The overwhelming majority of complaints of sexual abuse by female inmates against staff, men are reported to be the perpetrators. Although international standards provide that only female guards should supervise female prisoners, prisons and jails in the US employ men to guard women and place few restrictions on the duties of male staff. ``Under laws of the USA, a male guard may watch over a woman, even when she is dressing or showering or using the toilet. He may touch every part of her body when he searches for contraband''. These are seen as some of the main causes for sexual abuse on women prisoners by the male prison guards.
The use of restraints as a matter of course not only humiliate women, but also endangers their lives and the lives of their unborn children as handcuffs and iron legs are used while women are in labour or seriously ill, ``even dying.''
Health care is minimal or non-existent in some women prison, and sometimes it is needed the approval of non-medical staff to allow a visit to a doctor. The report outlines serious concerns about the adequacy of health care and points out the lack of treatment for substance abuse, and of counselling services, and the abuse of psychotropic medication. These situations are caused by the lack of resources, ``the most commonly cited barrier to adequate health care''.
Amnesty International calls on its report ``on federal, state and local governments and authorities to take urgent action to ensure that the laws, regulations, policies and practices for which they are responsible rigorously conform to international standards and respect the human rights of women deprived of their liberty''.
However, for the Spanish Home minister, Mayor Oreja, the detention of the supposed members of ETA is a clear move towards peace. ``Some could wonder whether these detentions take us to peace. For us, the government, it is clear that the application of the State laws takes us always close to peace...''
The arrests took place just as the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar was meeting the French Minister in Paris and after Oreja visited the French capital.
Jabier Arizkuren Kantauri, Irantzun Gallastegi, Jose Luis Puy Lekumberri, Mikel Zubimendi, Jose Ignacio Herran Bilbao y Jon Mirena Sanpedro Blanco where arrested in Paris, while the HB councillor Nekane Txapartegi was arrested in the Basque village of Asteau.
The Spokesperson for Herri Batasuna, Arnaldo Otegi explained, ``the police operation against ETA is just another part- as was the imprisonment of the National Executive of HB, and the closure of the newspaper Egin and the radio station Egin Irratia- of the Spanish government strategy to destroy the political process open in the Basque Country''.
Also, in the Basque Country, the workers of the newspaper EGIN organised a picket at the doors of the Provincial Court in San Sebastian to protest against the arrest of two journalists, who were members of the research team of the paper. Pepe Rei was arrested on Sunday, 7 March, by members of the Spanish National Police and charged with ETA membership. BegoÒa Perez Capape was arrested on Monday, 8 March, but was released on bail on Tuesday. Egin's editor, Jabier Salustregi, denounced the situation of political prosecution suffered by Egin workers. He also said that the party in the Spanish government, the Popular Party, ``is doing things that any other democratic government wouldn't dare to do... Pepe Rei is in prison because they dare to do something that a democratic government wouldn't: kill the messenger''.
US government violates the human rights of women prisoners
``Giving birth while incarcerated was one of the most horrifying experiences of my life. While enduring intense labour pains, I was handcuffed while taken to the hospital, even though I was in a secured vehicle with a metal grating between the driver's and passenger's compartments and with no interior door handles on the passenger's compartments and with no interior door handles on the passenger doors... At the hospital, I was shackled to a metal bedpost by my right ankle throughout seven hours of labour, although a correctional officer was in the room with me at all times. The shackles were not removed until 30 minutes prior to my delivery... Even animals would not be shackled during labour, a household dog or a cow on a farm. The birth of a child is supposed to be a joyous experience, and I was robbed of the joy of my daughter's birth''. This is the testimony of Warnice Robinson, a woman imprisoned in Illinois for shoplifting, one of the cases of human rights violations in US jails highlighted by Amnesty International in its report ``United States of America. Rights for All''.
There are around 138,000 female prisoners in the USA, most of them from an ethnic or racial minority background, with relative low levels of education and unemployed. AI's report outlines the contradiction of US policy on human rights. Because while the US government has always tried to play the role of international human rights defender, ``it declined to ratify key human rights treaties, has reserved the right not to implement important provisions of treaties that it has ratified and refused to permit people within the USA to bring complains about alleged violations of their human rights to international monitoring bodies.''
The law of the US also prohibits many of the violations included in the report -as rape and sexual abuse committed by prison guards. However, ``a female prisoner may find it extraordinarily difficult to stop unlawful conduct or to have the perpetrator brought to justice.'' But there is also the fear that if she complains she will be victimised again.
The overwhelming majority of complaints of sexual abuse by female inmates against staff, men are reported to be the perpetrators. Although international standards provide that only female guards should supervise female prisoners, prisons and jails in the US employ men to guard women and place few restrictions on the duties of male staff. ``Under laws of the USA, a male guard may watch over a woman, even when she is dressing or showering or using the toilet. He may touch every part of her body when he searches for contraband''. These are seen as some of the main causes for sexual abuse on women prisoners by the male prison guards.
The use of restraints as a matter of course not only humiliate women, but also endangers their lives and the lives of their unborn children as handcuffs and iron legs are used while women are in labour or seriously ill, ``even dying.''
Health care is minimal or non-existent in some women prison, and sometimes it is needed the approval of non-medical staff to allow a visit to a doctor. The report outlines serious concerns about the adequacy of health care and points out the lack of treatment for substance abuse, and of counselling services, and the abuse of psychotropic medication. These situations are caused by the lack of resources, ``the most commonly cited barrier to adequate health care''.
Amnesty International calls on its report ``on federal, state and local governments and authorities to take urgent action to ensure that the laws, regulations, policies and practices for which they are responsible rigorously conform to international standards and respect the human rights of women deprived of their liberty''.