The World's
Concerns

ACT NOW AND SAVE THE LIFE OF VLASTIMIR PUSARA AT STAKE DUE TO HAGUE FABRICATIONS!

Please circulate widely.
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Public call for help by Lili (Ljiljana) Petrovic, professor of philosophy from Montreal, niece of Zenica prison inmate Vlastimir Pusara, who is on a hunger strike:
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"My uncle, Vlastimir Pusara, and others have been on a hunger strike for 24 days. They began this strike as a desperate last attempt to bring attention to their situation and to have granted one simple request: to be moved to another prison. My uncle was in the process of appealing false allegations made about him, when the harassment at Zenica turned to extreme violence. After being shown a doctored film about six executions in in Trnovo, Pusara and some others were severely beaten. A razor was taken to Pusara's neck, and he narrowly escaped death.

He began this hunger strike in serious condition. I have been informed that his health is in grave danger. There is not much time.

An appeal to the Human Rights Court in Strausbourg was just brought forth by his lawyer Zoran Malesevic, but it will take at least another week for them to confirm that indeed there have been human rights abuses in that prison.

I spoke to the Office of the High Representative (who have been, to say the least, terribly unhelpful, without an ounce of compassion, and rather insincere). This morning and they told me that this was a problem for local authorities, but the problem is that the local authorities are contributing to the imminent death of these inmates.

The stalement right now is that the Minister of Justice for the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slobodan Kovac is in conflict with the Minister of Justice of the Muslim-Croat Federation, Borijana Kristo. Kovac has demanded that the prisoners be transferred. Kristo is blocking it. When the local officials in Republika Srpska act or refrain to act in a way Ashdown dislikes, he fires them, like last year, almost to the day, when he sacked the whole government.

I call upon for an urgent action. Please write to the OHR, to the Ministry of Justice of the Federation and to the most responsible UN bodies and members.

Please save the life of Vlastimir Pusara and other Serb inmates.

Lili Petrovic
Professor of Philosophy,
Montreal, Canada
Niece of Vlastimir Pusara
E-mail: petrovil@vaniercollege.qc.ca

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Addresses for your letters:

OHR - Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (Paddy Ashdown): Telephone number at the OHR is 033-283-500 (in Sarajevo) and 32-22-85-76-49 (in Brussels).
Email addresses: amela.zahiragic@ohr.int (Amela Zehiragic), ian.patrick@ohr.int (Ian Patrick)

Ministry of Justice of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Address:
Ministry of Justice
71000-SARAJEVO
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Tel. (387) 33 213 155   (387) 33 656 743
Fax (387) 33 213 155    (387) 33 666 971
e-mail: mirelas@pris.gov.ba, mirjanab@pris.gov.ba
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