AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

1. Introduction

Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) became a member state of the Council of Europe on 3 April 2003. On joining SCG undertook to implement a number of commitments aimed at enhancing the protection of the human rights of all people within SCG without discrimination.(1) In March 2004 Amnesty International issued a report(2) assessing SCG’s record in the implementation of the commitments made when becoming a member of the Council of Europe. While welcoming steps towards fulfilling some of these commitments, Amnesty International remained concerned at the ongoing failure by the authorities of SCG to fulfil other key commitments, notably those relating to addressing the legacy of war crimes, and the continuing prevalence of torture and ill-treatment by police. The organization called on the authorities of SCG as a matter of urgency to fully address these issues and to fully implement these commitments.

One year after the publication of Amnesty International’s previous report, these concerns remain largely unaddressed. Furthermore, in many areas (detailed below), such as cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (the Tribunal) in the Hague and ensuring the thorough, independent and impartial investigation of allegations of police torture or ill-treatment, the limited progress made has been stalled or even reversed: this is especially evident in Serbia.(3) The organization continues to call on the authorities of SCG to fully address the concerns raised by Amnesty International in this and in its previous report, and to fully implement the commitments made to the Council of Europe.

Amnesty International is also calling on the Council of Europe, especially the Committee of Ministers,(4) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE),(5) in the context of their respective monitoring mechanisms, as well as the Secretary General - to take cognizance of the lack of progress, and to use their influence to help SCG fulfil fully the commitments aimed at ensuring respect for and protection of human rights of all persons.

The death of Petar Šutović

Petar Miloš Šutović, a UK citizen born 1 August 1979, was allegedly found dead on 27 January 2004 at his flat in Belgrade. The police report of 27 January 2004 stated that he had been found dead on a bed with a needle in his arm and that "the death was most probably caused by an overdose of narcotics". On 28 January 2004 a post-mortem examination of his body was carried out at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Belgrade. The report concluded that "[B]ased on the post-mortem examination, microscopic examination of the organs, chemical toxicological and biochemical analyses, it is concluded that it was a violent death, caused by intake of drugs [morphine]."

Petar Šutović’s body was returned to the UK on 30 January 2004 and a second post mortem examination was undertaken at the Brent and Harrow Joint Public Mortuary which noted that the heart was absent from the body, "no injuries were seen" and that "[d]eath was associated with a potentially fatal blood level of Morphine". A UK coroner concluded that Petar Šutović had died from a morphine overdose. However, his mother Susan Šutović was, on viewing the body, immediately suspicious of the official reasons for her son’s death. His body displayed severe facial injuries and there were other facts, including large blood stains on some of his clothing which indicated that he might have been stabbed in the back, as well as inconsistencies concerning the clothing he was allegedly wearing when found dead, all of which cast doubt on the official verdict. (22)

(22) It is noteworthy that the second post-mortem examination performed in the UK concurs with the Serbian authorities’ assessment of the case and ignore salient facts such as the obvious facial injuries as well as the above noted inconsistencies regarding his blood stained clothes. Amnesty International is informed that the UK coroner contacted the Belgrade Forensic Institute about the fact that the heart was missing from the body when returned to the UK and was told that the British post-mortem was mistaken and that the heart was with the body. It appears that the UK coroner took no further action on this, apparently presuming that the heart had been retained in Belgrade for educational or research reasons. Susan Šutovic informed Amnesty International that the UK coroner told her that there could be further police involvement in the case and, when asked what involvement there had been to date, the coroner called for an inquest to be held at seven days’ notice. The inquest was held and an open verdict recorded. Amnesty International is informed that at the inquest the coroner disregarded information produced by Susan Šutovic and refused a request for an adjournment which would have allowed forensic reports (which she had privately initiated) on the deceased’s blood-stained clothing to be taken into account. Susan Šutovic applied for judicial review proceedings against the coroner over his conduct in the case and on 4 March 2005, the UK High Court granted her request reportedly stating that the coroner had failed in his duties. Following this decision the case was referred to a substantive hearing, which in mid-March had not yet been held, to decide whether there should be a fresh inquest.

Susan Šutović is a lawyer working in the UK and was renowned for acting on behalf of opponents of the government of former President Slobodan Milošević. She believes that she still has many enemies in Serbia who have connections, official or unofficial, with the state apparatus. She believes that her son was murdered as a reprisal for her past actions. She enlisted the services of a number of independent forensic experts to study the available evidence, all of whose findings confirmed that the official results of the investigation were at best highly suspect.

Manolis Gavalas, for 10 years a Consultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine at the University College of London Hospitals with extensive experience of sudden deaths in adults induced by illicit drugs, stated that from the photographs of the deceased ostensibly taken at the scene of his death:

"there is unequivocal evidence of a significant facial trauma involving the nasal bridge and nasal skeleton which is clearly deformed. There is also some contusion and bruising over the left sided of the face. It appears that as if blood and possibly some vomitious from the face has been wiped clean. There is a small bubble in the mouth…The remainder of the pictures focus on the alleged scene of Mr Sutovic’s death. It is suffice to say that there is considerable blood spillage over clothing, bed covers and some spillage of what I assume is blood on the surrounding walls…It is striking in this case that facts do not add up at all. I fail to comprehend how these physical injuries were suffered by the deceased if one is to believe the theory that he died due to an acute overdose… I firmly believe that the injuries shown in the photographs made available to me were acute and preceded Mr Sutovic’s death."

"The scene appeared to have been crudely interfered with… The state and position of the body lead me to believe that the body had been dressed. The body also appeared to have been cleaned… Blood was found on a sock, but not inside the boot. This proves the victim was either not wearing the same footwear or had no shoes on his feet. The various droplets of blood were also suspicious, because of the [supposed] nature of the death (heroin overdose). The amount of blood on some of the garments suggested that the victim had been stabbed. There was also blood splatter on the wall, this did suggest the victim was hit …

This is a suspicious death. There is a good possibility that Mr Sutovic could have been moved from other premises. The Yugoslav [sic] and the British authorities should not take for granted that the victim administered any substances himself."

"Unfortunately, the evidence of the photographs is completely compromised because they do not represent the state of the person at the time of death. There is clear evidence that blood from the face has been wiped following, probably, bleeding from the nose on to the pillow and sheet. If the victim was obviously dead (as stated) then the actions of the scene attenders is questionable….I consider that the evidence supporting drug overdose as the case of death is insubstantial and in some instances questionable."

"Having looked at the limited photographs of the scene, none of which are entirety shots and due to the vast lack of blood in the photographs of the scene, which is in total opposition to the heavy blood staining on the items of clothing we have examined. It is my opinion that Petra was alive and unconscious at the time the photographs were taken and that in all probability he was in fact murdered. However the location where the photographs were taken is in my view not the murder scene."

"It is my opinion that Petar Sutovic has been seriously assaulted and in all probability unlawfully killed. It is also my view that he was not wearing the Champion T shirt seen in the photographs of him on the bed at the time of the assault to his nose and face and that he was cleaned up and dressed prior to the photographs of him on the bed were taken."

Amnesty International believes that, from the available evidence, Petar Šutović may have been murdered and that the Serbian police and forensic experts have attempted to cover this up by claiming that his death was caused by a self-administered drug overdose. This apparent cover-up gives rise to the concern that there was possible official complicity in his murder.

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO (INCLUDING KOSOVO)

Serbia and Montenegro

Background

Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) continued to aspire towards membership of the European Union (EU) and on 25 April, as former General Nebojša Pavković was transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Tribunal), SCG received confirmation of the opening of the first steps towards the negotiation of a Stability and Association Agreement from the EU. In May, SCG signed the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings.

In Serbia slow progress was made towards promised reforms: long-awaited legislation on the ombudsperson was finally approved by the government at the end of May; a national strategy on the reform of the judiciary was completed and submitted to the CoE at the end of June, but measures to assert democratic civilian control over the military – who were allegedly protecting suspects indicted by the Tribunal, including General Ratko Mladić – were not taken.

In Montenegro, laws on the Police and National Security, including provisions for witness protection, were adopted on 26 April.

....

Political killings and organized crime (Update to AI Index: EUR 01/02/2005)

The trial continued of Milorad ‘Legija’ Ulemik-Lukovic for the murder of Prime Minister Zoran Đjinđić in 2003; in June Milorad ‘Legija’ Ulemik-Lukovic was also convicted and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for his part in the murder of four party officials on the Ibar highway in 1999 in what was thought to be an attempt to murder Vuk Drašković, now SCG Minister of Foreign Affairs. Former head of the secret police, Radomir Marković, (also on trial for the "disappearance" in 2000 of former Premier Ivan Stambolić) was also sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment; eight others, including former members of the police Special Operations Unit, were sentenced to between one and 15 years’ imprisonment.

Torture and ill-treatment (Update to AI Index: EUR 01/02/2005)

Despite official admission of police torture during "Operation Sabre" in Serbia in 2003, no proceedings are known to have been initiated against those responsible who remain in the police force. In May, Inspector General Vladimir Božović of the Ministry of the Interior once again reported that only six cases had been confirmed following investigations, despite credible allegations of the widespread use of torture and ill-treatment. D.L. [name known to AI], who had reportedly suffered several days of repeated beatings, alleged that since his release he had been followed and intimidated by persons he believed to be police officers, and had been picked up on several occasions for "informative talks". The lawyer for three men who had been convicted and sentenced following "Operation Sabre" informed AI that an appeal had been lodged with the Supreme Court on 1 January 2005, on the grounds that confessions which led to their conviction had been extracted from them, and from witnesses, by torture.

No progress was reported in investigations lead by Vladimir Božović into the circumstances surrounding the death of Petar Šutović in January 2004. (See AI Index: EUR 70/005/2005).

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