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Int'l Conferences & Academic Symposia

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Mar 6, 1998, 3:00:00 AM3/6/98
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EcoComputer CONFCALL-Abstracts-Proposals-Moderators & HR Issue

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F R A N C E : Pls HELP with the urgent appeal from a young Am. tourist
"forgotten" in PARIS; wrongly condemnded to 18 yrs, no right to appeal
Story told AT END - Civil Rights World Watch -
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C O N F E R E N C E S
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All Deadlines Are Now Pending / Please Hasten to Make Contact
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CALL FOR ...

Papers Proposals Abstracts Moderators Exhibitors Sponsors
Volunteers

In the interest of time, please E-mail or FAX Abstracts
& Proposals, then follow up by mailing a HARD COPY

2 CONFERENCES & Website with Goals, Sub-themes, Registration Form

Robust participation is anticipated by scholars, students, researchers,
educators, community and business leaders / activists, and
the international community.

Students are encouraged to arrange to receive ACADEMIC CREDIT for
their participation in these Conferences

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>> 1- African Distance Learning,Computer Literacy & Info Tech CONF
MAY 20-22 '98 in Ghana
* for discount travel, go to Website & join CONF List

http://www.ulbobo.com/gdep/
http://www.ulbobo.com/gdep/register.html
http://www.freeyellow.com/members2/african-diaspora/travels.html

[++] To join list for Dist Lrng/Info Tech CONF participants &
organizers, send the request:
"SUBSCRIBE ghaclad-scope" TO: majo...@igc.org


>> 2- Women'Health & Human Rights / Africa & the Diaspora CONF
OCTOBER 22-27, 1998 in Indianapolis, IN (USA)
* for discount travel, go to Website & join CONF List

http://www.iupui.edu/~aaws
http://www.freeyellow.com/members2/african-diaspora/women-conf.html

[++] To join list for Women's Conference participants &
organizers, send the request:
"SUBSCRIBE AFWOSCHO" TO: LIST...@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU

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Contact persons:


[1]

DR. Osei DARKWA (E-mail/FAX, OK for abstracts, proposals, etc.)

Conference Coordinator
African Distance Learning, Computer Literacy & Info Tech CONF/Ghana
Faculty, University of Illinois - Chicago
PH: 312-996-8508
E-mail: dar...@uic.edu, a...@starmail.com

Contact Osei ASAP re: presenters, papers, proposals, abstracts,
moderators, exhibitors, sponsors; deadlines pending


[2]

PROF. Obioma NNAEMEKA, Convenor

Women's Human Rights & Health CONF / Indianapolis, IN (USA)
2nd Int'l Conf. on WOMEN IN AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA (WAAD)
OCTOBER 22-27, 1998

Pres., Assoc of African Women Scholars (AAWS)
French & Women's Studies Program
Indiana University
425 University Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46202
U. S. A.
Phone: (317)278-2038; (317)274-0062 (messages)
Fax: (317)274-2347
E-mail: nnae...@iupui.edu, a...@starmail.com

Contact Obioma if you would like to help with this Conference
or to receive the Registration Form & details by E-mail
CALL for Papers, proposals, abstracts, moderators, exhibitors, etc
Deadlines pending

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PARIS: Kafka's Paradise, Black Man's Hell

"...We should ALL of us be OUTRAGED by what has
happened to this young human being, caught in a
Kafkaesque nightmare...to the point, not merely of
our giving lip service, but of our moving to ACTION,
...that is, if we care one iota about our own
freedom...."

B. Wilson, 'Netter


A M N E S T Y & J U S T I C E
______________________________________

"...Letters with Wings" ///\_[_/\\\


RE: BARRY BRAIMAH

Young Human Rights Victim / Prisoner

Unjustly Imprisoned & Inhumanely Sentenced

* 18 years
* No right to appeal

Help is needed ...


New information has surfaced in this case now
providing a "window" of oppty for concerned
persons in the int'l community to carry
out a "rescue mission" on this person's behalf


>> To help, pls E-Mail us at:


"Amnesty & Justice" <Huma...@iname.com>


Find below the OPEN LETTER to French President Chirac
itemizing how and where French police erred, and
urging Chirac to do the right thing and release Barry;
also find Amnesty's Report on Human Rights in France

Rob Owens, PhD
Coordinator
Letters with Wings


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PLEASE (!!) write to Barry at his prison address:

Barry BRAIMAH
Ecrou 875158 -Div. 3/241
Allee des Thuyas
94261 Fresnes - CEDEX
FRANCE

Send Barry a msg of encouragement and support for his
Human Rights; and by so doing put authorities on notice
that they are being "observed"

Please ... take the time.

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Case Notes:

We are now focusing on a "forgotten" young
African-American tourist wrongfully arrested
soon after arriving in Paris, held 20 months without
trial or bail, then condemned to 18 yrs in prison with
no right to appeal.

Barry is a VERY warm, VERY caring person who has
been dealt a rotten hand. What happened to him
could have happened to almost anyone.

In July, he will pass his 5th consecutive birthday
behind French prison bars.

Pls help by sending a letter of support to him,
and a letter of protest to authorities.

Or help us organize a robust letter-writing
campaign appealling to French Pres. Jacques Chirac
to give this matter his attention.

We'll send you sample letters, addresses,
copious case notes, and new findings that remove
any doubt about his innocence.

Also, we're seeking a pen friend for him; being able
to write to someone will surely help bolster
his spirits.

At 6'4" (1m95), he has seen his wt. drop to
139 lbs (63 Kilos) due to malnutrition. Illness
is ever stalking. Cause for concern.

Depression & suicide often go virtually
unchecked in French prisons. They say of
the prison where Barry is: "You check in
but you might not check out."

It is only Barry's strong focus, and sense of humor, that
have sustained him thus far -- he still believes,
even after 4 years, that somehow this nightmare must
come to an end.

We are seeking concerned persons to write/send
letters of appeal, or willing to correspond with this
person (e.g., send letters, postcards, photos &/or old
magazines--in a goodwill gesture).

Pls HELP save a life.

Rob


"Amnesty & Justice" <Huma...@iname.com>
10171...@compuserve.com
Civil_Rights...@juno.com


cc: Cecil Washington, Family Liaison
<Cecil.Wa...@Juno.com>


______________________________________________


PROFILE: BARRY BRAIMAH

Barry BRAIMAH - Am. tourist who will pass his 5th consecutive
birthday behind French bars on July 2; arrested on arriving
in Paris, no explanation of the charges was ever given; held
20 months without bail or trial or oppty to speak with a
magistrate; the American Embassy was not notified of his
arrest; during the several-day interrogation, he was not
allowed to contact legal help, or anyone; he was not allowed
to see his "DOSSIER" until 1.5 years AFTER his conviction;
personal belongings and money taken by police were never
recovered or located; a victim of NUMEROUS Human Rights
abuses

NEW FINDINGS of an impartial several-month investigation
by concernd members of an int'l HR organization, just
released, show unequivocally that Barry was arrested
as a result of MISTAKEN identity and FAILURE of French
police to follow established procedures

Conclusion of investigation: Barry was wrongfully arrested,
wrongfully tried and convicted, and is NOW wrongfully
imprisoned - condemned to 18 years, no right to appeal

Enigma: His cell mates -- one convicted of murder, the
other of rape -- received YEARS less than Barry

Barry would be nearly 50 years old if he survived to be released
in the year 2012

PLEASE help with sending appeal letters to the French President

We will send you a fact sheet and copious details, as well
as sample letters written in English and in French. And,
of course, Jacques Chirac's address in France

Needed is a brief, simple letter in support of Barry's "demande
de grace" or Presidential Pardon or Grace (a request to
shorten his sentence, and hopefully RELEASE him)

Every letter will count. This is a situation where we CAN
make a difference for someone


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SUMMARY

This "unknown" young African American is rotting in a
6' X 12' cell in France, condemned to 18 years,
no right to appeal

This despite new findings confirming that it is
HE who is the victim: arrested by mistaken
identity (shortly after arriving in Paris his first
time, bags still in hand); police failed to
follow established procedures; no intelligible
explanation for his arrest was ever given

The error occurred because police presumed him guilty of
"something" even without cause, probably due to his race,
and due to a still-fervent belief in "guilt by association"
- i.e., if you "know" someone who is thought by police
to be guilty of something, then you are an automatic
suspect, too

**********************************************************

Lavany Radhakrishnan, coordinator of Amnesty
International-USA in Urbana Champaign,
Illinois, wrote:


..I hope that Barry will get a chance to
defend himself. I spent a year in France
about 3 years ago, and my boyfriend, a
Parisian of Senegalese descent,was also
wrongly convicted of drug trafficking. He
was innocent, that I was sure of, but the
police brutalized him, and threw him in jail
with no sight of a trial.

He also experienced bad conditions in his
prison environment, and he was denied
visitation from anyone, even his own mother,
for 5 months.

However, for reasons unknown to his friends
and family, he was released after 365 days of
confinement - no trail, no explanation
from the judicial system. Maybe there is a
chance that Barry will be released earlier
than 18 years, but we must all fight for him
now.

Sincerely,

Lavanya Radhakrishnan

Amnesty International-USA
Urbana Champaign.

_________________________________________


Barry's "Trial" & Conviction


Barry was convicted by a Kangaroo court where there
was no presumption of innocence; he was denigrated
on the basis of his RACE and ETHNICITY (in remarks
that were never challenged, corrected or excised
from court records). French officials stood before
the court and urged it to to give Africans longer
sentences because, translated, "Africans are not
bothered as much by prison where conditions are
better than what they are used to in normal
life..."

On cue, the jury gave Barry 18 years, no right to
appeal.


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Barry is bitter, and rightfully so, since a part of
his life is being stolen from him and he is
helpless to defend himself against the State.

Playing a significant role in Barry's arrest and
conviction were race and an antiquated judicial
process based on an inquisition system (virtually
synonymous with "legalized witch hunt") known for
dispensing with "normal" civil and Human Rights
safeguards that should apply re: evidence and
cross examination, and that are intended to protect
against the excesses of the State.

The inquisitorial process centers on the
"dossier" -- a loose collection of
notes, supposition and pure conjecture often about
presumed "conspiracies in the making." The
"secrecy" of the dossier -- which makes it
inaccessible and therefore incontestable -- is
key to the nearly 100% conviction rate enjoyed
by French prosecutors.

This is a shadowy world for Justice, one which spawns
many with the likes of the USA's Special
Prosecutor Kenneth Starr, who are given licence to pursue
someone "like a fly on "sh*t," as it were. The
little man who does not have the power or clout of
a Clinton, stands little chance to fight back in any
meaningful way, whether guilty or innocent. The
Juggernaut ultimately just rolls over him.

In France, defendants often do not know what information
was used to convict them. They often do not know what
hit them.

Barry's dossier contains numerous errors of fact,
from beginning to end. For instance, it states
that he was tried with a large group of drug
traffickers.

This is false.

They were actually tried and convicted some
period of time BEFORE Barry's trial. Fictitious
connections of this sort made in the dossier work
against the defendent.

These types of falsehoods often go uncontested
because the convicted are not allowed access
to their dossiers in a timely manner, if at
all. It took Barry, with the help of his attorney,
1.5 years of constantly requesting his dossier --
after his conviction! -- before merely an abbreviated
version was finally delivered to him.

Since French courts for the most part do not have
transcripts or verbatim accounts of what was said in
court, there are no precise records to refer to. When
Barry protested the blatant errors in his dossier, he
was told by French authorities that he would
have to hire a French attorney who specializes
in "dossier repair" to straighten out the mess
the State made.

However, once the procureur (prosecutor) seals
the dossier, it is very rare that any changes are
later permitted, no matter what. There will be no
rectification.

One cannot be optimistic that French Justice will
critique itself, admit to error, and make
corrections, anytime soon.


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Please write to the French President
and ask that he give this matter
just a little personal attention
...just enough to set Barry free
after 4 years!


Monsieur Jacques CHIRAC
President de la Republique
Palais de l'Elysee
55 rue du Fbg St Honore
Paris, FRANCE


Feel free to write us for sample letters;
find below the OPEN LETTER to Chirac, and
the Amnesty Report on Human Rights in
France


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PERSONAL PROFILE: BARRY BRAIMAH


We will say a little more about "Barry."

His great interest is cultures and social geography
-- and now, not surprisingly, human rights issues.
Some time ago, we met with varying degrees of
success in getting to him an almanac or two and
copies of National Geographic.

Passing things thru the prison sieve is not always
easy. Each Center where Barry has been housed has
had its own rules, since many services in the
French prison system are farmed out to private
management companies.

All who know Barry consider him a friendly,
appreciative sort of person, so, whether it's a
short note or long letter that you send, it'll
likely be well received.

Recently, he took a computer graphics class, which
he enjoyed a lot. This is not surprising, since he
is a chronic doodler and does excellent sketches and
drawings. He's also a soccer buff -- he was captain
of an intramural team. And he has a
knack for winning 5K running contests.

He is looked to for leadership among his peers, and
being 6'4" doesn't hurt. But when his weight
dropped to 139 lbs, that was cause for alarm.

His big hope as long as he is imprisoned has been
to be able to work and earn money. Prisoners in
France are expected to pay for many, many things
that their American counterparts do not have to pay
for. He has hoped also to be able to take solid
classes to further his education (he's done some
college).

Though work and education programs DO exist in
France for prisoners, both have been denied Barry,
inexplicably, even after 4 years of imprisonment.

Perhaps another example of inhumane arbitrariness
in the French criminal justice system.

Sending a Goodwill Msg - In need of a Pen Friend

We are seeking concerned persons to
write/send letters of appeal, or willing to
correspond with this person (e.g., send letters,
postcards, photos &/or old magazines--in a goodwill
gesture).

It's good that Barry has a GREAT sense of humor and
is able, despite everything, to laugh at himself and
at life's vicissitudes. So, you don't have to
mince your words with him -- say pretty much
anything, ask anything. Nothing is taboo.

With your first communication, please send a photo
or two of yourself or of you with friends or with
family -- it will personalize the experience and
will help Barry in responding. Photos are always
appreciated.

Below, we will attach more info taken from the
appeal letter-writing campaign that we hope to
crank up, soon.

At some of the Web sites given below you will find
samples of Barry's sketches and artwork. This past
time has been a good one for him, helping him to
"maintain" under extraordinary, unimaginable
circumstances.

Letters with Wings


==============================================

Barry wrote the following letter to the HR Monitors
in Paris who recently visited him at Fresnes Prison
and experimented with leaving newspapers in English
(which hitherto were not allowed) at the Window
near the prison entrance to test if prison personnel
would deliver them to him.

Barry received them, informs the monitors, and talks
about a few other day-to-day matters

........................


Wednesday


I received the papers you brought with you and left
at the parloir. It's a good sign because I got it
right away. In the CNO [evaluation facility] I had
to wait 2 days [for the newspapers you left to be
cleared by the censors].

I'm also in the French class, but I was disappointed
to find myself in a class full of unmotivated,
unattentive inmates.

It's an alphabetization class which's way below my
level. The French lessons are only on Tuesdays
and Fridays (mornings) ... the rest of days is for
English and Maths lessons. All subjects are for
beginners. That's the only classes they have so
either I take it as it's or leave it. But guess I'd
rather stay with this alphabetization class than go
back to Div. 2.

It took me two hours to write this letter. My
talkative roommate (up for murder) just wouldn't shut
up. He talks even when I'm not listening. He has been
in prison at least a few months every year since the age of
12. He's now 28. He feels at home in prison. He
has done so much crime he can't remember how many
times he's been arrested. He said his preference
is to rob apts. owned by Americans in Nice. I hope
you all don't have friends in Nice who have been
robbed.

[We've worked it out where] ... we'll take turns
paying for the T.V. [at around $60 a month] ...
that'll leave me extra money to buy the
"combustible" for heating water and food.

The combustible is a thick product that looks like
mash potatos and one can light it to create a low
flame fire for heating coffee and stuff. It costs
22F (about $5 US). It lasts a week. I believe
they cost less outside.

On the legal front I think I can't do much from
Fresnes since all doors are closed here. Maybe I
can do more when I reach the C.D. [a regular prison
for long-termers].

God knows when.


Barry

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Barry's story is told at these sites:

http://members.aol.com/FreeBarry1/index.html
http://home4.inet.tele.dk/lepan/lene/index.htm
http://www.bruderhof.org/issues/deathpen/inmates/braimah.htm
http://www.bruderhof.org/issues/deathpen/inmates/
http://www.freeyellow.com/members2/african-diaspora/justice.html

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O P E N L E T T E R


Here's exactly "where" the French police & prosecutors GOOFED

New facts, new revelations, as reported in an OPEN LETTER
to the French President


TO:
Monsieur Jacques Chirac
President de la Republique
Palais de l'Elysee
55 rue du Fbg St Honore
Paris - FRANCE


Barry Braimah arrived in France May 22, 1994, coming from Madrid.
The same day, he was arrested by the police on the rue de Clichy,
in Paris. The investigation of his case lasted a little over a
year and he was sentenced by the Assize Court of Pontoise on
January 26 1996 to 18 years in prison "for having illegally
imported heroin into France... as part of an organized gang."
His appeal was rejected.

An apparently very ordinary story. It is less so if one examines
its details.

The arrest report of May 22 states that "at 1:15 PM an African
individual, already seen with Wayne, arrived at the hotel. He
was a black man, about twenty years old, about 1 meter 80 tall,
average weight, stocky build, hair cut very short, wearing jeans
and a green jacket..."

Inspector Turco arrived at the hotel "in order to arrest the
African man seen with Wayne." On page 3 of the report it is
stated "at 6:40 PM we noted that a man corresponding to the
description of Wayne's friend left the hotel. We decided to
arrest him and did so immediately. We identified the arrested
man as Barry Omar Braimah."

Barry was 32 years old, not about twenty, and stood 1 meter 93,
not 1 meter 80, like the man seen with Wayne. He was wearing
light brown pants and a black and white jacket, not jeans and a
green jacket, like the man seen at l:15 PM at the Hotel Aurore by
Inspector Turco. Barry Braimah had never been in France before
May 22, 1994. How could he have "already been seen with Wayne?"

The stamp the Spanish authorities put on Barry Braimah's passport
indicates that he left Spain on May 22, 1994. He took the plane
from Madrid at noon and arrived at Roissy airport around 2 PM.
How could he have been seen arriving at the Hotel Aurore on the
rue de Clichy at 1:15 PM? From these observations, one can
affirm that Barry Braimah was not the man the police were waiting
for at the hotel. Barry Braimah was in the wrong place at the
wrong time. Through a friend, he had gotten Wayne's address in
Paris.

Wayne had offered to get him a place to stay for his short visit
to France. That was why he was at the Hotel Aurore the evening of
May 22.

Additionally, the following points must be noted:

Barry Braimah is an American citizen. His arrest should have
been reported immediately to the United States Embassy by virtue
of a Convention between the two countries. It was only through a
small article appearing in the newspaper Liberation that the
United States Embassy learned of Barry Braimah's arrest.

At the time of his arrest, Barry Braimah had on him $1000, 8000
pesetas, and a camera borrowed from a friend at work. In spite
of his requests and those of his lawyer, none of these items were
found later.

Barry Braimah asked for the presence of a lawyer at the first
moment after his arrest. It was only seven months later that he
was really assisted by Mr. Z. Adjas and could talk about his
case, which, he said, he understood nothing about right from the
beginning for lack of explanations.

Procedures are totally different in France and in the United
States, both before and during the trial. A prisoner from Zaire
whom he was in a cell with, who spoke a little English, gave him
a few explanations. The interpreter's translations were
approximate and contained errors, as some in Paris who attended
Barry Braimah's trial could observe.

The hearing before the Chambre d'Accusation was scheduled for 9
AM August 1, 1995. Barry Braimah's lawyer, Mr. Zino Adjas, was
supposed to be present. He did not arrive until 11 AM, the
hearing was over. The various irregularities which had occurred
during the investigation of the case could not be brought up...
and no longer can be now.

Barry Braimah complained about certain racist remarks at various
times.

The most significant took place during the trial. At the trial
the two white defendants were in front, with easy access to the
microphone and their lawyers. The blacks, Barry Braimah and
Wayne, were in back, and could not use the microphone or speak
with their lawyers.

It must be re-emphasized that Barry has no prior arrest record,
nor any history of drug involvement, of any kind.

During Barry's trial, a French official urged that the court give
the defendants of African descent more severe sentences, since
(translated) "Africans are bothered less by prison conditions
which are better than what they are used to in normal life."
This remark was allowed to stand without any correction or
objection, and it no doubt influenced the preposterous outcome --
with Barry, an American tourist, receiving 18 years without the
possibility of appeal.

Although no tangible proof was given of Barry Braimah's guilt (no
drugs were found on him), he was the one who was most heavily
punished.

Barry Braimah worked for a courrier company in the United States,
"Guild Mailing Services," and also as a taxi driver.

Since the beginning, Barry Braimah has proclaimed his innocence.
The facts prove he is not the man being sought. That is why we
sollicit this action, so he can quickly return to his country,
the United States.


Sincerely

============================================================


COUNTRY REPORT - FRANCE


A m n e s t y I n t e r n a t i o n a l R e p o r t

O n H u m a n R i g h t s i n F r a n c e

************************************************************

The following is a post by the International Secretariat
of Amnesty International, 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ

(Tel +44-71-413-5500, Fax +44-71-956-1157)

************************************************************

FRANCE: SHOCKING PATTERN OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS CONTINUES


The report highlights 11 cases of shootings and killings
by law enforcement officers in the 18 months up to June
1994, and concludes that they used force recklessly and
without due respect for the law. The victims are often
juveniles and many are of non-European ethnic origin.

"Time and time again, French law enforcement officers
ignore their own guidelines on the use of arms, and we are
seeing the consequences," said Amnesty International. "It is
high time the French Government took concrete steps to
rectify shortcomings in police training and practice, and
the practice of prosecutors and courts."

A national outcry followed the shooting at point blank
range by police of three unarmed young men in separate
incidents in the pace of four days in April 1993. All three
youths -- Eric Simonte, Makome M'Bowole, and Rachid Ardjouni
-- died from their injuries. Two of them were minors. Makome
M'Bowole, aged 17, was shot through the head during
interrogation in a police station. After apologizing
to their families, Minister of the Interior, Charles Pasqua,
reminded the police that they were given arms to defend
citizens, not to attack them.

But as recently as June this year, another two young men
-- Joel Nebor and Frederic Adom, both aged 25 -- were
repeatedly shot at and killed by an off-duty police officer
during an attempted robbery in Paris. The men, who were not
carrying firearms, threw a chair at the officer before
assaulting the proprietor of the shop. Amnesty International
is concerned that the officer apparently made no attempt
first to neutralize the assailants, but simply opened fire
at close range and killed them even though his life was
not in danger.

In Rouen in January 1994, gendarmes shot dead an 18-year-
old youth -- a passenger in a car which the police were
trying to stop after a report of car heft. The youths in the
car were unarmed. Investigations into both these incidents
are under way.

Today's report also cites numerous instances of alleged
physical ill-treatment by the French police. "Cases of
police ill- treatment, some of them containing specific
elements of racism are all too frequent," said Amnesty
International.

At the Gare du Nord railway station in Paris in February
this year, a 41-year-old gynaecologist from the Central
African Republic was stopped by two railway officers. Pierre
Kongo had gone to the railway station to meet a friend. He
said that police officers who then arrived pushed him down
stairs, handcuffed him and punched him. He suffered a
fracture to his right eye-socket and was treated in
hospital. Pierre Kongo has served a summons on one of the
officers and the case is due to be heard in court this
month.

In July last year, a French police officer at the Menton-
Ventimiglia border post sexually assaulted a 24-year-old
French citizen of Tunisian origin who was returning from
Italy. She had already been raped by Italian police officers
before they handed her over to the French border post, where
she said the police made racist remarks during the assault.
The two Italian officers were detained and were given prison
sentences in July this year. The investigation in France is
still unfinished.


[Americans and non-French also TARGETED for abuse...]

Verbal abuse, particularly of foreigners, is also
widespread. Max Blechman, a 22-year-old American from New
York was arrested filming a demonstration on 25 March.
Numerous allegations of ill-treatment were received after
this demonstration. He managed to record remarks made
to him by the police: "This isn't the United States...You
can't throw stones at the police with impunity...Instead of
making your film you should learn French...Stupid
Bastard...Generation of degenerates...Shit country...it's
only good for eating hamburgers..."

Amnesty International has made detailed recommendations
to the French Government in order to prevent further
unlawful shootings, killings and ill-treatment. These
recommendations are directed at specific Ministers
responsible for the relevant areas of government,
namely the Ministers of Justice, the Interior and Defence.

Amnesty International

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