WRITTEN QUESTION No. 373/99 by Olivier DUPUIS to the Council. Worrying state of health of Mr Ukshin Hoti and disappearances and arrests without charge in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Date: 1999-02-17
Institutions: DUPUIS, European Parliament
Subjects: Red Cross, UNHCR, Yugoslavia, forced disappearance, health service, opposition, political prisoner, political violence, prison system, teacher

C 297/156

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

15.10.1999

(1999/C 297/213)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0373/99

by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Council

(17 February 1999)

Subject: Worrying state of health of Mr Ukshin Hoti and disappearances and arrests without charge in the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

In an urgent resolution adopted on 14 May 1998 (1) Parliament called on the Council to do everything in its
power to persuade the Belgrade authorities to release Mr Ukshin Hoti, a Kosovan university professor
imprisoned by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for crimes of conscience in 1995. Since
then, the state of health of Mr Hoti, who is still in prison, has deteriorated very seriously as a result of the very
harsh conditions in which he is being held.

Can the Council Presidency, through its ambassador in Belgrade or by any other means, check on the spot the
conditions under which Mr Hoti is being held and the medical treatment available to him and take every
possible step to ensure that Mr Hoti is released not at the end of his sentence, in May 1999, but immediately?

More generally, can the Council Presidency give the number of prisoners of conscience and an estimate of the
number of persons who have been arrested without charge or have disappeared (desaparecidos) in the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia since the beginning of 1998?

(1) OJ C 167, 1.6.1998, p. 197.

Reply

(26 April 1999)

The Council fully shares the Honourable Member’s worries about the health state of Mr. Ukshin Hoti.

Consequently, the Presidency has instructed its Ambassador in Belgrade to enter into contact with the local
representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in order to verify the medical and
detention conditions of Mr. Hoti and to assess the possibilities for an early release. Representatives of the ICRC
have been able to meet with Mr. Hoti on 1st March 1999. The Presidency endeavours to keep Parliament
informed of any information that the representatives of the ICRC will make available to its Ambassador in
Belgrade.

The Council does however want to caution the Honourable Member against undue optimism as the relations
between Belgrade and the European Union are seriously strained notably due to the current crisis in Kosovo
and the demands the Council has addressed to the Belgrade authorities in that respect.

The Council is not in a position to give an accurate account of the number of persons currently incarcerated
for their beliefs, that have been arrested without inculpation or that have disappeared. According to figures
released by the ICRC in August 1998, the organisation was investigating the cases of 138 Serbs and
Montenegrins reportedly abducted by the Kosovo Liberation Army, and over 400 Albanians reportedly
detained by Serbian forces. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) gave a total of 400
gathered during its registration of those reported as unaccounted for. The UNHCR believes that around 200 of
these are currently in police detention.

(1999/C 297/214)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0384/99

by Ursula Stenzel (PPE) to the Commission

(19 February 1999)

Subject: Selection procedure

Further to its answer to my question E-3079/98 (1) concerning the competition held on 14 September 1998
and the cheating that occurred during it, can the Commission answer the following questions:

1. What security measures were taken or what checks were made in connection with the competition held

on 6 February 1999?

2. Can the possibility of cheating be ruled out in this case?