ERRC Press Release: Germany Threatens to Imprison Romani Activist

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Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 13:18:48 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: ERRC Press Release: Germany Threatens to Imprison Romani Activist

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <[email protected]>

ERRC Press Release: Germany Threatens to Imprison Romani
Activist


On November 12, 2001, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) sent a
letter to German Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder, copied to the
President of the German Parliament and the President of the German
Constitutional Court, to express concern that Romani activist Rudolf
Kawczynski is presently threatened with a jail sentence, in connection
with a minor offence he allegedly committed during a non-violent
protest in 1990 against German anti-foreigner policies and practices.
In its letter, the ERRC noted that the prosecution of Mr Kawczynski
for such activities by German authorities constitutes an impermissible
infringement on his right to the freedoms of expression and peaceful
assembly, protected by Articles 19 and 21 respectively of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The ERRC is
concerned that Mr Kawczynski may soon become a prisoner of conscience
in Europe's largest democracy. The text of the ERRC letter to Prime
Minister Schröder follows:

Honourable Prime Minister Schröder,

The ERRC is deeply concerned at reports it has received in recent
weeks that German authorities intend to imprison Mr Rudolf Kawczynski
for non-violent political activity in which he engaged in 1990.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mr Kawczynski organised a
grassroots movement of several thousand Roma, primarily in western
Germany, to resist their threatened expulsion to, first Yugoslavia and
then, after that state collapsed, its successor states. During one
period of the broad grassroots action, Mr Kawczynski, Roma threatened
with expulsion, and various sympathizers marched for one month from
regional capital to regional capital in western Germany, appealing for
what they formulated as "the right of stay": the right to remain in
Germany and not be forcibly removed. At no point did protesters breach
the boundaries of civil disobedience and engage in violent activity.
The protest was one of the high points of the Romani movement to date,
in that Mr Kawczynski successfully rallied Roma to fight for their
rights, in the face of intense pressure by German authorities to
comply with expulsion orders. In addition, the movement constitutes
one of the most visible and coherent civic actions against the
extremely restrictive anti-foreigner rules and practices prevailing
then as now in Western Europe, and presently being adopted in Central
and Eastern Europe.

In the case at issue, according to information received by the ERRC
from Mr Kawczynski's Hamburg-based organisation Roma National
Congress, in November 1990, Mr Kawczynski, a number of his Hamburg
colleagues, and several hundred Roma from the former Yugoslavia
attempted to cross the Swiss-German frontier into Switzerland in the
German state of Baden-Würtemmberg in several coaches. The Roma in the
coaches were in most cases citizens of the former Yugoslavia who had
had requests for asylum in Germany rejected by German authorities. The
group intended to go directly to the offices of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva and request asylum
there. Since most of the persons concerned had been refused asylum
status in Germany, however, they were refused entry into Switzerland.
Mr Kawczynski and several colleagues were, however, admitted to
Switzerland and they proceeded alone to the UNHCR office, leaving the
coaches and the approximately three hundred Roma at the Swiss-German
frontier, blocking one lane of the border crossing. Police in the town
of Lörrach charged Mr Kawczynski (and no one else from the group) with
"coercion" (Nötigung) - roughly the equivalent of "disturbing the
peace" in English - for partially obstructing the border crossing (or
for being responsible for a group which partially obstructed the
border crossing). After Mr Kawczynski was found guilty as charged, the
case was appealed several times and was finally brought before the
German Constitutional Court in 1994, where it has remained until
today. On October 20, 2001, however, Mr Kawczynski reportedly received
a letter from a prosecutor in the town of Lörrach, the town in which
he had originally committed the offence, instructing him that he would
have to begin serving a fifty-day sentence. Mr Kawczynski is
reportedly to begin serving the fifty-day jail sentence on November
19, 2001, although no final decision has been reached in connection
with Mr Kawczynski's complaint to the Constitutional Court.

Honourable Prime Minister Schröder, Mr Kawczynski has been involved in
organising non-violent political activity opposing German policies
hostile to individual establishment, policies of deep concern in the
Romani community, as well as to proponents of open, tolerant and
democratic societies. His prosecution for such activities by German
authorities constitutes an impermissible infringement on his right to
the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, protected by
Articles 19 and 21 respectively of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights. Should he actually be imprisoned in relation to
the 1990 incident, it is to be expected that the international
community will view Mr Kawczynski as a prisoner of conscience in
Europe's largest democracy. If, on the other hand, the prosecutor's
office of Lörrach has issued Mr Kawczynski erroneously with an order
to serve a prison sentence, he should be entitled to due compensation
for the duress and harassment to which he has been subjected by German
authorities. We respectfully urge you to undertake all measures
possible within the powers available to your office to ensure that Mr
Kawczynski's civil liberties are not infringed, and that he receives
any compensation he may be due for the harms he has to date suffered.
We welcome any further communication with your office on the issue.

Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director

Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact:

Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder
Bundeskanzleramt
Willy-Brandt Str. 1
10557 Berlin
Germany

Fax: (49 30) 4000 2357

Cc: Dr Jutta Limbach
President of the Federal Constitutional Court
Schlossbezirk 3
76131 Karlsruhe
Germany

Fax: (49 721) 9101 382

Cc: Mr Wolfgang Thierse
President of the German Parliament
Deutscher Bundestag
Platz der Republik 1
11011 Berlin
Germany

Fax: (49 30) 227 36 878

_____________________________________________

The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest
law organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://www.errc.org

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary

Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax:   +36 1 4132201

_____________________________________________

SUPPORT THE ERRC!

The European Roma Rights Center is dependent upon the generosity of
individual donors for its continued existence. If you believe the ERRC
performs a service valuable to the public, please join in enabling its
future with a contribution. Gifts of all sizes are welcome; bank
transfers are preferred. Please send your contribution to:

European Roma Rights Center
Budapest Bank Rt.
99P00402686
1054 Budapest
Bathory utca 1
Hungary

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