Canadian Ecologist Imprisoned by US INS on Return from Latin America for nytcamer@ursula; Fri, 4 Feb 2000 07:54:19 -0500 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - ACERCA Jan 26, 2000 URGENT ACTION ALERT ACERCA has been asked to pass this urgent action alert on behalf of Ira Zbarsky. Ira is a Canadian ecological development worker who has spent ten years working with Mayans in Guatemala and Southern Mexico. He was returning from work in Guatemala and Southern Mexico when he was detained by US Immigration on December 4, 1999, at Roma, Texas. He still remains detained by the INS. Your action is requested. Please fax the INS and Janet Reno (see sample letter that follows Press Release). Demand the unconditional release and return to Canada of Mr. Zbarsky, the truck he was driving, and its contents. In solidarity/for the Earth, Orin Langelle, Coordinator ACERCA Action for Community & Ecology in the Rainforests of Central America POB 57 Burlington, VT 05402 USA (802)863-0571 (802) 864-8203 Fax Email: acerca@sover.net http://www.acerca.org ACERCA is a project of the Alliance for Global Justice and a member of the Native Forest Network ----------------------------------------------------------- The following is from Suzanne Rose for Ira Zbarsky and his supporters (604) 931-1396 dvelay@aol.com: ALERT #8 IRA ZBARSKY January 18, 2000 - January 21, 2000 UPDATE ON IRA ZBARSKY Ira Zbarsky, the Canadian ecological development worker arrested on December 4, remains in the Port Isabel immigration detention center in Los Fresnos, Texas. We are hoping Ira Zbarsky will go to a hearing January 21 and be permitted to leave soon after. Ira Zbarsky is continuing his protests against conditions in the prison, and is reporting his observations to Nathan Selzer, an immigration abuse researcher for Proyecto Libertad. PLEASE PASS ON A PRESS RELEASE Ira Zbarsky's story entered the national Canadian newspaper January 12. I enclose a press release. Please forward it to any media you wish until January 21, 1999. PLEASE SEND A LETTER TO US AUTHORITIES I include a sample letter to the Attorney General [Janet Reno] and the chief of the INS [Doris Meissner]. Please use this to write your own letter in the next few days, while Ira Zbarsky is still in prison. THANK YOU Ira remains in good spirits. He thanks you for your support. His protests, coupled with your messages to authorities, have improved some conditions in the prison. This encourages the people detained to demand that their rights be respected. If you have forwarded these alerts before, please continue to forward. If you wish no more of these alerts, please let me know. Thank you Suzanne Rose for Ira Zbarsky and his supporters (604) 931-1396 dvelay@aol.com PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 17, 2000 -- Vancouver -- Ira Zbarsky, a Canadian citizen, is still held at the Port Isabel Service Processing Center, in Los Fresnos, Texas, a US Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS] facility. Mr. Zbarsky is a Canadian ecological development worker who has spent ten years working with Mayans in Guatemala and Southern Mexico. He was returning from work in Guatemala and Southern Mexico when he was detained by US Immigration on December 4, 1999, at Roma, Texas. Mr. Zbarsky requested deportation at his December 16 hearing and at his January 12 discovery trial. He will also ask for deportation at a merits hearing set for January 21, 2000. So far, Mr. Zbarsky has never been offered release or deportation. At the merits hearing on January 21, Mr. Zbarsky is expected have the chance to make statements in his own defense and the judge is expected to offer him release or deportation at that time. So far, Mr. Zbarsky has never been offered either release or deportation. Mr. Zbarsky has continued to protest conditions in the prison. He went on a hunger strike December 22-29, requesting a tribunal process to hear inmate grievances. After his hunger strike, around December 30, head supervisor Jesus Rosales agreed to set up a tribunal process for the detainees. In the last weeks, Mr. Zbarsky has sent a series of letters to Mr. Yza Guirre and Rosales, head supervisors of the Port Isabel Center, protesting the following: 1. his own treatment: being knocked against a metal pipe by guards prior to December 22, and in a separate incident, being knocked about by three guards January 14 after requesting that they deliver a letter to authorities; 2. the repeated beatings of Alex Seymour Kerr [another detainee] on or just after January 7; 3. the prison conditions: nutritionally poor diet, inadequacies in medical service, inadequate warm clothing, the lack of conjugal visits, searches of detainees after meals; restrictions on access to mail and telephone; and 4. the general disrespect and humiliation shown to detainees. Mr. Zbarsky is also reporting on these conditions to Nathan Selzer, an immigration abuse researcher at Proyecto Libertad, an immigration advocacy group in Harlingen, Texas. Mr. Zbarsky, in his letters, called for responses by the authorities and they have responded in a number of ways. On January 10, Mr. Rosales agreed to an inquiry for Mr. Kerr, increase fiber in the diet, and direct access for detainees to the medical chief, Dr. Freeth, to report their medical concerns. Mr. Zbarsky is not alone in his denunciations. Proyecto Libertad reports that, within in INS prisons, there are increasing levels of verbal abuse, physical assault, violations of due process and unwarranted strip searches. They also document unlawful temporary detention and unlawful deportation. Human Rights Watch, based in Washington, DC, reports that, within INS prisons, detainees are isolated from family or friends through restrictive telephone, correspondence and visitation policies. Amnesty International has documented, within the INS prisons, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including denial of medical attention, denial of food, water and warmth for long periods, beatings, sexual assault, and solitary confinement. We continue to ask for the unconditional release and return to Canada of Mr. Zbarsky, the truck he was driving, and its contents. We are thankful that the Canadian consular representative visited Mr. Zbarsky January 13, after his discovery hearing. We ask the Canadian government to continue to assist Ira Zbarsky, and, if necessary, assist him in an appeal once he is back in Canada. We ask the Canadian government to consider carefully its policies of sharing information with US police and immigration authorities, given that Canadian citizens can be detained in US prisons that violate United Nations principles on detainees and basic Canadian rights. We ask the Canadian government to ensure that it maintains policies independent of the US on criminal law, immigration law, surveillance of citizens, and the sharing of legal and criminal information with the US. We call on the US government to respect the United Nations Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (December 9, 1988). -30- For more information, please contact: Suzanne Rose, Phone/Fax: 604-931-1396 Email: dvelay@aol.com Kevan Hudson, Phone: 604-274-1191 Fax: 604-274-1198 Email: jbhudson@interchange.ubc.ca Steve Kisby, Phone: 604-323-0204 Fax: 604-323-0224 Email: skisby@web.net www.amnestyusa.org Amnesty International USA, Washington, DC www.hrw.org Human Rights Watch, Washington, DC www.irsa-uscr.org Immigration and Refugee Services of America, Washington, DC ================================================================ SAMPLE LETTER TO US AUTHORITIES January 18, 2000 Ms. Doris Meissner, Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service 435 1 Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20536 USA Fax (202) 305-4823 Ms. Janet Reno , Office of the Attorney General 950 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 - 0001 Phone: (202) 514-2000 Fax: (202) 514-5331 Dear Ms. Meissner and Ms. Reno BACKGROUND I have learned of conditions in the Port Isabel Service Processing Center [PISPC] in Los Fresnos, Texas. A Canadian citizen, Ira Zbarsky, has been detained since December 4, 1999. He has been reporting on his experience. The Port Isabel Center, in its treatment of detainees, appears to violate many international covenants and treaties on treatment of detained persons. ARREST On arrest, Mr. Zbarsky was told he would have a hearing within three days. Yet he was not given a hearing until December 16, 1999, after 12 days of imprisonment. He notes that many detainees have been waiting for hearings in the Port Isabel facility for many months. Lengthy delays violates UN Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (1990) Principle 11. UNJUST TREATMENT Mr. Zbarsky was transported from jail to jail in arm and leg shackles, during which time he fell and injured his shoulder and back. He was kept in solitary confinement for 5 days. He has been knocked and sworn at by guards. He has filed letters protesting the beatings of Alex Kerr [another detainee], the daily search of prisoners after meals, and the lack of conjugal visits for detainees. Such degrading treatment violates UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (1988) Principles 1 and 6. It also violates International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified by the US June 8, 1992) Articles 7 and 10. The arbitrary use of force also violates UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (1979) Article 3 and UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (1990) Article 4. ACCESS TO LEGAL COUNSEL AND TELEPHONES Mr. Zbarsky has noted that most of the detainees do not have lawyers or report that they have been exploited by their lawyers. This violates the UN Body of Principles Principle 17. Mr. Zbarsky has restricted access to toll-free numbers, and to collect call numbers in his home region. Access to telephone use is restricted in general for detainees. This restriction on communication violates UN Body of Principles Principle 19. FOOD AND WATER Mr. Zbarsky, while in solitary confinement, was deprived of regular food and drinking water. He also observed certain poor nutritional standards in the detainees diet. This violates UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ratified by the US October 1994) Rules 1 and 2 and UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners Rules 20 (1) and (2). SYSTEMATIC ABUSE Mr. Zbarsky has denounced the systematic humiliation and disrespect for the detainees in the Port Isabel detention center. He has spoken publicly, fasted, and sent a series of letters to Mr. Yza Guirre and Mr. Rosales, head supervisors of the Port Isabel Center, describing unjust prison conditions and requesting changes. Subsequent to Mr. Zbarsky' hunger strike December 22-29, the authorities reportedly set up a tribunal process to hear detainee grievances, including ones of abuse. Such a tribunal process is required by UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Rules 12 and 16, in order to ensure prompt and impartial investigation in the case of degrading treatment SUMMARY Mr. Zbarsky's observations and experiences are not unique. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented the same abuses for many detainees within the many detention centers of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service. I join with Mr. Zbarsky in calling for INS detainee treatment policies to conform to UN guidelines on treatment of detainees. Please ensure that INS guards and other INS authorities respect the people held in INS centers against their will. Yours sincerely, POSSIBLE CC's FOR YOUR LETTER American Civil Liberties Union. 1400 20th St., NW, Suite 119 Washington, DC 20036 USA Email: editor@newscenter.org American Civil Liberties Union of Texas PO Box 3629 Austin, Texas 78764-3629 USA Fax: (512) 441-3195 Email: aclutx@aol.com Amnesty International USA 600 Penn. Ave., SE 5th floor Washington, DC 20003 USA Fax: (202) 546-7142 Email: aiusama@aiusa.org Human Rights Watch 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20009 USA Fax: (202) 612-4333 Email: hrwdc@hrw.org The National Lawyers Guild 126 University Place , 5th floor New York, New York 10003 USA Fax: (212) 627-2404 Email: nlgno@nlg.org Hon. Lloyd Axworthy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada Fax: (613)-996-5358 Email: lloyd.axworthy@dfait-maeci.gc.ca PROYECTO LIBERTAD Nathan Selzer Fax: (956)425-8249 MEDIA ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcamer-02.04.00-07:54:18-27411