Macedonian minority trial observation report

Date: Tue, 04 Nov 97 20:36:11 -0500
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: Macedonian minority trial observation report

From:  MINELRES moderator       \ Internet:    ([email protected])

Original sender: Panayote Elias Dimitras \ Internet:   ([email protected])

Macedonian minority trial observation report 

GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR
(Greek National Committee of the International Helsinki Federation)
& MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP - GREECE
(Greek Affiliate of Minority Rights Group International)
P.O. Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece
Tel. 30-1-620.01.20; Fax: 30-1-807.57.67; E-mail: [email protected]
__________________________________________________________________

PRESS RELEASE

27/10/1997

TOPIC: POSTPONEMENT OF TRIAL MEANS 11 MORE MONTHS OF LIMBO FOR ETHNIC
MACEDONIANS SEEKING RIGHTS IN GREECE. 

REPORT OF INTERNATIONAL HELSINKI FEDERATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS TRIAL
OBSERVATION MISSION

Vienna, 27 October 1997. The International Helsinki Federation for Human
Rights (IHF) expresses serious concern over a series of due process and fair
trial violations in the context of charges against the leadership of the
"Rainbow" Macedonian minority party in Greece, as well as in other cases
during the IHF's observation mission in Florina on 14 October 1997. These
and other of Greece's violations of the Helsinki principles will be brought
to the attention of the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting of the OSCE
in November.

The decision to postpone the trial in effect keeps the defendants hostages
for almost another year as they remain charged with the "crime" of speaking
in their mother tongue. Four members of "Rainbow", a legal political party,
are charged under Article 192 of the Greek Penal Code concerning incitement
to violence or peace disturbance, for hanging a sign in the party's office
displaying the words "Lerinski Komitet," in their native Macedonian language
..

The IHF, in a 9 October 1997 statement, expressed its concerns about the
charges brought against these individuals. Our organization stated that a
verdict of guilt of the accused on such grounds would put Greece in the
position of violating its international obligations under the recently
signed "Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities" of
the Council of Europe, and its commitments undertaken as a member of the
OSCE with regard to freedom of expression and minority rights.

The monitoring mission noticed that the Court seemed unwilling to try the
case. Namely, the defendants had, on 9 October 1997, applied for a low
number, which would have guaranteed the holding of the trial that day,
explaining that there were circumstances for such a priority to be given:
their lawyer as well as some of their witnesses were to come from Salonica
and Athens. Instead, the public prosecutor gave the trial number 64 out of
75.

In a similar motion of the defense on 14 October, the court stated that
indeed it was aware of the demand and was going to try the case after the
mid-day recess at 12:30, postponing the other pending trials. Instead, at 12
:30, the court announced that it was rejecting the request as the other
cases were also important and also it expected an "in flagrante" case (for
crimes caught in the act and need be tried within 48 hours) to be tried
around 13:00.

Finally, the Court recessed for the "in flagrante" case after having heard
61 cases, i.e. three short of the trial under consideration here. The Court
gave the impression that during its first recess it was instructed to assure
the postponement of the case. Moreover, though usually new dates are set
within three or four months at most, the public prosecutor gave a new date
eleven months away, on 15 September 1998.

The defendants are thus held "hostages" as they and their party's choice to
express itself in their mother tongue continue to be prosecuted for another
year. The IHF appeals to the Greek government to drop the charges against
the defendants and discontinue prosecution.

The IHF mission was also informed by the court clerk that the charges the
"Rainbow" leaders pressed, in December 1995, against those who attacked and
sacked their offices were still at the level of the inquest: though all
witnesses suggested by the plaintiffs had made statements, none of the dozen
defendants, though summoned, had made his apology; and the prosecutor had
not sent them new summons to do so or issued indictments as he could but
simply let the file rest for over a year, giving the impression that it does
not want to press charges. The IHF deplores that no charges have been
brought against these individuals and urges the Greek government to initiate
criminal proceedings against them, showing that it will not tolerate mob
justice.

Media Coverage of the Rainbow Case

During the court's short hearing for the postponement, a lawyer from Florina
harassed a journalist from the Macedonian television MTV without the
intervention of the police or security guards: the incident was in fact
reported the following day in a mass circulation Athens newspaper which
praised the lawyer's behavior and called the journalist, whose comportment
was impeccable, "impudent." In fact, the coverage of the trial by the major
newspapers in Greece is another point of concern. Already in the events of
September 1995 which led to the sacking of the "Rainbow" offices, the IHF  
(which at the time was monitoring hate speech in the media of all Balkan
countries) reported that inflammatory hate speech in some local and Athens
newspapers after that party put up the sign with its title in Greek and
Macedonian had contributed to the development of the events that led to the
sacking of the offices by a mob under the direction of the mayor.

References to this year's trial were scant and, on 13-15 October, full of
negative stereotypes and hate speech in the three large circulation Athens
papers that referred to the trial. One called the defendants
"Skopjanophiles" and added that "they tried to exploit the trial to further
their propaganda, were provocative in the court building ... frequently
engaged in broils and scuffles with other citizens" (Eleftherotypia, 15/10),
allegations totally inconsistent with the observations of the IHF mission.

Another - the same which praised the lawyer's harassment of the foreign
journalist - called the defendants "autonomists-Skopjanophiles" although
Rainbow has never demanded autonomy - and added equally inaccurately that
they were charged with "insult; instigating principals in a threat;
instigating principals in damaging property, threat; damaging property, for
having put up in their offices signs in Bulgarian, on 14-9-95" (Eleftheros
Typos, 15/10).

A third newspaper (Adesmeftos Typos), in two consecutive columns, called
"Rainbow" a "Trojan association of afflicted relatives and friends" which
"two years ago brutally provoked public feeling... by putting up the Slavic
sign 'Lerinski Komitet.' ... The attempt to incite and as a result the
indictment of citizens was obvious. Hence the charges against them and the
trial tomorrow of these provocators" (13/10). As for the Greek and
international observers and/or witnesses in the trial, they were called
among other things "a dazzling hodgepodge of... international or naive
advocates, observers who create and maintain such issues, refined diplomats
and rabid agents" (14/10).

Violations in Other Case Observed

Finally, the IHF mission, while waiting for the completion of the trial
procedure monitored the "in flagrante" trial of one Greek bar owner, and one
Russian and three Ukranians who were allegedly employed by him. They were
charged with illegal entry, illegal employment and, the owner and one
foreigner, debauch. The defendants were arrested in the early hours of 13/10
and, as the Greek defendant's lawyer told the IHF mission, the case should
have been tried the same day: it was held up for a day without any official
reason but, as he added "we all know why" meaning that the court kept the
case to use it to secure postponement of the "Rainbow" trial. On this matter
, it should be said that one court room was empty and could have been used
for this trial which would have allowed the "Rainbow" trial to take place. 

In the event the court tried the defendants using one of them, the Russian,
who had a working knowledge of Greek, as an interpreter for the other three
foreign defendants. A procedure which is violating the Greek Penal Procedure
Code (a defendant cannot also be an interpreter) and all principles of due
process as the defendants in fact had no adequate translation: during the 45
minute trial, there was hardly any translation for the three Ukranians. All
four stated in the end that even the deposition they made to the police
station before the trial and signed in Greek was done in the same way: the
Russian translated to them what the police read them. 

In February and September 1997, two other IHF missions in Greece, have
stated the problem to the Greek Ministry of Justice. We have been answered
that all courts are adequately equipped for that matter and asked for
specific cases to be reported to them. Greek Helsinki Monitor has written to
the Minister of Justice on 21 October 1997 on this case.

The IHF Trial Observation Mission included Meto Jovanovski, Helsinki
Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia, and Panayote
Dimitras, Vasilis Sakelariou and Nasos Theodoridis of the Greek Helsinki
Monitor.

____________________________________________________________
HELSINKI CITIZENS' ASSEMBLY

To: Greek Helsinki Monitor
21 October 1997
(sent by e-mail)

The Helsinki Citizens' Assembly is in agreement with the sentiments of your
message and the protest letters included. It is a very worrying situation if
Greece, an EU member state, can conduct actions against its minorities with
impunity. We understand that the date of the trial has been postponed until
next October. Please keep us informed of developments in this case and let
us know if we can be of any assistance, such as through sending letters of
protest to the appropriate authorities.

Best wishes,

Josh Kaldor-Robinson,
International Secretariat 
Helsinki Citizens' Assembly
tel.: 420 2 371 241, ext 262, or 259, or 251
fax: 420 2 381 585 (attn. HCA)
e-mail: [email protected]
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