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London Protest Demands Kosovo Release Tortured Mother Ikballe Huduti, Caged For Facebook Post

inminds
3 February 2020

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

On Friday 31st January Inminds Human Rights Group along with the Islamic Human Rights Group held a vigil outside the Embassy of Kosovo in London to demand the immediate, unconditional release of Ikballe Huduti, a mother of three, who has been tortured and imprisoned in Kosovo simply for writing a facebook post.

BACKGROUND

A US targetted drone strike killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and 9 others on 3rd Jan 2020. This was a war crime, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Agnes Callamard, said killing Soleimani "most likely violated international law including human rights law" and that killing of other individuals alongside Soleimani was "absolutely unlawful". Ikballe Huduti in a facebook post condemned the killing and warned of the consequences of the killing.

She wrote

“Iraqi people took to the streets of Iraq shortly after the US crime to convict severely the injustice done to the two eminent figures of Iraq and Iran to their two generals, Genereal Soleimani and General Abu Mahdi al Muhandis. May God grant patience because by killing the master of the house you have killed all members of the family, then revenge is obligatory but there won’t be limits.�

The media misrepresented her post, interpreting meanings from it which she did not intend, so she deleted the post. But this did not stop the police arresting her on 7th January, they charged her with incitement to commit a terrorist offence. It has to be stressed that the only basis for the charge is her her facebook post, the authorities acknowledge that she has done nothing else. If found guilty she could face 5 years imprisonment for a facebook post! Her trial starts next week on Friday 7th February. She has been denied bailed and has already been caged for nearly a month.

TORTURE

For the first week Ikballe Huduti was kept in total darkness in solitary confinement. She stopped eating, according to her husband in protest, and lost 10kg in weight.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan E. Mendez has said:
“Solitary confinement, [as a punishment] cannot be justified for any reason, precisely because it imposes severe mental pain and suffering beyond any reasonable retribution for criminal behaviour and thus constitutes an act defined [as] … torture.�

Ikballe Huduti was also sensory deprived, kept in darkness for a week - that is also torture. Experiments have shown that after just 48 hours in dark isolation people's brain function falls with some subjects memory capacity reduced by over 30% and many subjects started hallucinating.

After the week of torture Ikballe Huduti received medical treatment and was transferred. She is now allowed to leave her cell for just 90 minutes a day, and her family visits her once a week.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Kosova is on the EU enacted Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism programme, aiming to gradually integrate its national policies on legal, economic and social matters with the EU, so that in the future Kosovo could qualify for EU membership. Part of this is the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 10 protects the right to freedom of expression - its states "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers". Ikballe Huduti is an academic by profession, Kosova has violated her right to freedom of expression.

The protest asked Kosovo to abide by its EU programme commitments and respect Ikballe Huduti's right to freedom of expression, and release her.

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

Protest outside Kosovo Embassy in London demands freedom for tortured mother Ikballe Huduti

RESOURCES

Placard #FreeIkballeHuditu

Placard Kosova poodle of Trump #FreeIkballeHuditu

Leaflet #FreeIkballeHuditu front

Leaflet #FreeIkballeHuditu back

Source: www.inminds.com

Related Articles

Ikballe Huduti Released Ikballe Huduti, a mother of three, who had been tortured and imprisoned in Kosovo simply for writing a facebook post, was released from custody earlier today, following protests outside the Kosovo Embassy in London.

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