🚀 go-pugleaf

DIGITAL FREEDOM NETWORK DAILY REPORT
March 8, 2000
Stories related to freedom of expression, human rights, and the Internet
from the Digital Freedom Network (http://dfn.org)

Visit the DFN news index at http://dfn.org/news/news.htm.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTENTS

1.  Prosecutor asks to drop Pinochet's immunity
2.  More convictions in New York police torture case
3.  Turkish police beat and detain dozens at memorial service
4.  Four Cuban dissidents jailed for advocating freedom
5.  Nepali journalist released
6.  Greek clerics attempting to ban novel
7.  Israeli landmark ruling about Arab relocation
8.  Update:  Whistleblower Nikitin's harrassment continues



1.  Prosecutor asks to drop Pinochet's immunity

(Santiago, Chile, March 8)  Judge Juan Guzman asked the Santiago Appeals
Court to drop Augusto Pinochet's lifetime legislative immunity so that he
can be prosecuted for crimes against humanity
committed during the 1973.  The number of lawsuits against Pinochet is now
up to 66.  Guzman's petition must be approved by 12 of the 23 members of the
Court to proceed, and there is no appeal.  "Now is the moment of truth for
Chile", said Carmen Hertz, whose husband was a victim of Pinochet's regime.
(Derechos Chile)


2.  More convictions in New York police torture case

(New York City, USA, March 8)  Three police officers--Charles Schwartz,
Thomas Wiese and Thomas Bruder--were found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct
justice for lying about the circumstances
under which another officer sodomized a suspect with a nightstick in a
Brooklyn police station bathroom. A fourth, Justin Volpe, had performed the
act, plead guilty and received a 30 year sentence.  Volpe had testified
Schwartz was not present during the attack, but a federal jury had
previously convicted Schwartz of holding Louima down.  Schwartz faces a
possible life sentence and two others, Rolando Aleman and Francisco Rosario,
allegedly involved in the cover-up go to trial at the end of the month.
(New York Times)


3.  Turkish police beat and detain dozens at memorial service

(Istanbul, Turkey, March 8)  The police attacks occurred at a service to
remember a trade unionist who allegedly died after being tortured by police.
While the official police account is
that the unionist, Yeter, had died of cardiac arrest, televized pictures
showed burn marks and scars on his body.  A court has ordered six officers
to testify but they have "not yet been
found".  Ankara spokesmen acknowledge that the police do occasionally
torture suspects but denies it is systematic, and many who speak out against
the practices are harrassed. (Reuters)


4.  Four Cuban dissidents jailed for advocating freedom

(Cuba, March 8) Felix Bonne, Rene Gomez, Vladimiro Roca and Marta Beatriz
Roque were convicted of sedition and handed sentences from 3 1/2 to 5 years
for publishing a document urging Cuba to hold
democratic elections and improve human rights.  The document, The Homeland
Belongs to Us All, states that all people have a "need for that openness
that we all know as freedom." (Internal Dissidence Working Group)


5.  Nepali journalist released

(Pokhara, Nepal, March 8)  Suresh Ale Magar of the daily paper "Janadesh"
has been released.  He had been missing for two months and is now known to
have been detained by Nepalese armed forces
in the  Kaski district.  The forces held him under suspicion of having ties
to Maoists guerrillas. (International Freedom of Expression Exchange)


6.  Greek clerics attempting to ban novel

(Thessaloniki, Greece, March 8)  The Greek Church is seeking a temporary ban
on "M to the Nth Degree", a novel by Mimis Androulakis which was published
in January.  The book focuses on women's role in society and has been called
"blasphemous, obscene and vulgar" because of a sexual encounter in the novel
between Mary Magdelene and Jesus. (Reuters)


7.  Israeli landmark ruling about Arab relocation

(Jerusalem, Israel, March 8)  The Israeli High Court ruled today that the
Israeli government no longer should have the authority to tell its Arab
citizens where they can live.  The ruling
clears the way for Arab relocation to previously restricted areas of Israel.
(Reuters)


8.  Update:  Whistleblower Nikitin's harrassment continues

(Moscow, Russia, March 8) Environmental whistleblower Alexander Nikitin was
cleared in December of espionage charges lodged against him by the Federal
Security Service (FSB), but the FSB has
appealed.  But after Nikitin applied for a foreign travel passport in
January, the Department of Visas and Registration this month refused his
application despite the fact that under Russian
law, a person acquitted of a crime is allowed to leave the country.  Nikitin
had planned to visit his wife in Toronto and go to California to collect the
stipend for an environmental award, the
Goldman Prize, which must be accepted in person.  (St. Petersburg Times)


Subscription Information
-------------------------
Digital Freedom Network Daily Report is an e-mail publication of:
Digital Freedom Network
520 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102 USA
Phone: +1 (201)928-4378
Fax: +1 (201) 928-2984
E-mail: info@dfn.org.

The Digital Freedom Network (DFN) uses the Internet to seek justice and
compassion for people enduring human rights violations. DFN uses this
technology to promote international awareness for their relief and to
publish their stories in their own words. For more information, see DFN's
Web site (http://dfn.org).

To receive this DFN publication, send a message to news@dfn.org with your
name, e-mail address, and country of residence (only e-mail address is
required) or fill out our online subscription form at
http://dfn.org/Contact/contact.html .

To unsubscribe to DFN Daily Report, send a message to news@dfn.org with your
email address and the word "unsubscribe" in the message body.

DFN does not sell, lease, or provide information (including e-mail
addresses) about individual subscribers. For more information, see DFN's
privacy policy at http://dfn.org/About/privacy.htm or contact DFN.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
All DFN publications are copyrighted. You may repost this message onto other
sources provided the main text is not altered in any way and both the header
crediting the Digital Freedom Network and
this footer remain intact.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------