The Latest News from Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch
The Latest News

Last updated
Friday, March 3, 2000

Current Events
Focus on Human Rights

The Pinochet Decision (March 3, 2000)

Colombia - The Violence Continues (February 25)

Chechnya: Renewed Catastrophe (February 23)

China: Human Rights Deteriorate (February 22, 2000)

Kosovo: Focus on Human Rights (February 7, 2000)

Civil War in Sierra Leone (February 2, 2000)

Cambodia: Focus on Human Rights (January 21)

Arrests in Malaysia (January 20, 2000)

Violence in East Timor (December 16)

Turkey: Focus on Human Rights (December 10)

Indonesia: Transition and Regional Conflict (December 7)

Central Asia Crossroads (December 3)

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Latest Reports from Human Rights Watch

More "Pinochet Style" Prosecutions Urged
(New York, March 3, 2000 ) - Human Rights Watch today called on abuse victims to use the "Pinochet precedent" to press criminal actions against exiled or traveling officials who have committed atrocities.

Rebel Abuses Near Sierra Leone Capital
(New York, March 3, 2000)—Sierra Leone rebels are regularly committing atrocities against civilians in areas less than 40 kilometers outside the capital of Freetown, Human Rights Watch said today.

Pinochet Case a Milestone
(New York, March 2, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch said today that the arrest of Augusto Pinochet represented a permanent advance in the cause of human rights, despite the decision by British Home Secretary Jack Straw to allow him to return to Chile. The group also called on the Chilean parliament to block a proposed constitutional reform that would give permanent immunity from prosecution to all former heads of state.

Stop Weapons Flows to Human Rights Abusers
(New York, February 28, 2000)—Human Rights Watch today called on the United Nations to take urgent action to address the spread and misuse of small arms.

Governor Bush Urged to Stay Execution
(Washington, February 23, 2000) -- In a letter today to Governor George W. Bush of Texas, Human Rights Watch called on the governor to grant a thirty-day reprieve to Betty Lou Beets, a 62 year old woman slated to be executed for the 1983 murder of her husband. In a separate letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, the group urged the board to reconsider its decision not to recommend clemency for Beets.

Colombia's Military Linked to Paramilitary Atrocities
(Washington, February 23, 2000) - In a new report released today, Human Rights Watch accused specific brigades and commanding officers in the Colombian military of collaborating with paramilitaries who are committing atrocities against civilians.

More Than Sixty Civilians Murdered in Chechen Capital
(Moscow, February 23, 2000) -- Russian soldiers went on a killing spree on February 5 in Aldi district in southern Grozny, murdering at least sixty-two civilians, Human Rights Watch charged today.

New Obstacle to Pinochet Prosecution
(New York, February 21, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch today condemned a proposed constitutional reform in Chile that would give permanent immunity from prosecution to all former heads of state. The Chilean parliament is expected to pass the new measure by the end of March.

Don't Use Fuel-Air Weapons in Chechnya
(New York, February 18, 2000)— Human Rights Watch is urging Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin to refrain from using fuel-air explosives in populated areas of Chechnya.

Hundreds of Chechens Detained in "Filtration Camps"
(Nazran, February 18, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch today charged that Russian camp guards are torturing, beating, and on occasion raping Chechen civilians at a "filtration camp" inside Chechnya.

Egyptian Human Rights Defender Faces Years of Imprisonment
(New York, February 15, 2000) -- In a statement made today, six international human rights organizations condemned the referral of prominent human rights defender Hafez Abu Sa'ada before an (Emergency) Supreme State Security Court (ESSSC) which denies defendants the most basic right -- the right to a fair trial.

U.K. Ruling on Pinochet Praised
(London, February 15, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch today welcomed a U.K. High Court ruling that Home Secretary Jack Straw should divulge details of the medical examination of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to the four states that are seeking his extradition. Human Rights Watch called on Straw to abide by the ruling and release the medical data.

Serbian Deputy Minister Threatens Independent Media With Violence
(New York, February 11, 1999)—Human Rights Watch today condemned senior Serbian officials who this week openly threatened violence against Serbia's non-state affiliated media.

Mutilated Body of Executed Chechen Found
(New York, February 11, 2000) -- At a hospital in Ingushetia today, Human Rights Watch researchers viewed the mutilated corpse of Magomet Goigov, a thirty-one-year-old Chechen man who was apparently executed by Russian soldiers in the Staropromyslovski district of Grozny.

Congo Conducting Mass Executions
(New York, February 10, 2000)—Human Rights Watch today accused the Democratic Republic of Congo of violating its promise to the United Nations not to carry out the death penalty on convicted criminals. Nineteen people have been executed since January 28, and another sixty-one people on death row face imminent execution.

Putin Urged to Act on Summary Executions
(Moscow, February 10, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch today called on Acting President Vladimir Putin to investigate the summary executions of civilians by Russian troops in Grozny. The organization also confirmed the deaths of sixteen more civilians in the Chechen capital.

Aceh: End Attacks on Civilians
(New York, February 8, 2000) Human Rights Watch today called on the Indonesian government to immediately launch a thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Indonesian activist Sukardi, whose body was found last week in South Aceh. The rights group urged Jakarta-based diplomats and donors pledging aid to the new government to condemn the recent spate of killings of civilians in Aceh, and to insist that those responsible be apprehended and brought to justice.

Pentagon Report Whitewashes Civilian Deaths in Yugoslavia
(Washington, February 8, 2000) -- The U.S. Defense Department review of the NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia shows that the alliance has failed to learn from its mistakes in killing civilians, Human Rights Watch charged today.

Russian Forces Execute Grozny Residents
(Nazran, February 7, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch today charged that Russian forces had summarily executed at least twenty-two civilians, mainly women and old men, in the Staroplomyslovoski district of Grozny during recent weeks. Human Rights Watch researchers have also received second-hand information about fourteen additional murders of civilians and are continuing to investigate these and other reports.

New Figures on Civilian Deaths in Kosovo War
(Washington, February 7, 2000)—About five hundred civilians died in ninety separate incidents as a result of NATO bombing in Yugoslavia last year, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

Russian Journalist's Fate Unknown
(Moscow, February 4, 2000)-- In a letter (attached below) to Acting President Vladimir Putin, Human Rights Watch today condemned the Russian government for exchanging journalist Andrei Babitsky for Russian soldiers held by Chechen rebels, which, according to a Russian government spokesperson, took place on February 3, 2000. Human Rights Watch expressed grave concern for Mr. Babitsky's well-being, as the journalist has not been seen or heard from since the exchange was said to have taken place.

Ex-Chad Dictator Indicted in Senegal
(Dakar, Senegal – February 3, 2000) -- A Senegalese court today indicted the exiled dictator of Chad, Hissein Habre, on torture charges, and placed him under house arrest.

Crackdown on Civil Society Activists in Eastern Congo
(New York, February 2, 2000)—Human Rights Watch today condemned the ongoing crackdown by authorities of the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy against civil society activists, and particularly human rights defenders in areas under rebel control in eastern Congo. Human Rights Watch called upon the RCD to immediately and unconditionally release all detained activists, and to allow the local human rights organizations and other non-governmental associations in eastern Congo to express their views openly and to operate freely.

East Timor Justice at a Crossroads
(New York, February 1, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch today called for stepped-up efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the killing, mass destruction, and forced expulsions that wracked East Timor last September.

Arrest of Journalist, Blanket Media Restrictions on Chechnya Condemned
(New York, February 1, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch today condemned the virtual ban on access to Chechnya which Russian authorities have placed on international and local journalists reporting on the conflict. It called the Russian restrictions arbitrary and obstructive.

U.K. Home Secretary Should Back Justice
(London, January 31, 2000) -- Human Rights Watch today expressed dismay at being denied the right to question the fairness of the procedure used to assess Augusto Pinochet's fitness to stand trial. It urged British Home Secretary Jack Straw to release to interested parties the medical evaluation of the former Chilean dictator.

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