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In many countries, either under the ordinary law or states of emergency, the authorities put people in prison without a trial. In some cases imprisonment lasts for decades. A fair and public hearing within a reasonable time is a basic human right as is the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. To imprison people for a long period without proving a case against them is a violation of these rights.
Amnesty International opposes the detention of any political prisoner without a trial within a reasonable time. It has called on various governments to end administrative internment and other procedures that allow for prolonged political detention without trial.
Amnesty International also opposes trial procedures in political cases that do not conform to internationally agreed standards. For example, secret trials take place. Sometimes they are nominally public, but only those selected by the authorities are allowed to attend. Prisoners are denied a defence lawyer of their choice- or the defence is not allowed to call witnesses or present evidence. Cases are heard by special tribunals and military courts whose composition is incompatible with an impartial hearing or whose procedures fall short of those in ordinary courts.
Amnesty International uses a broad interpretation of the term "political prisoner" so as to cover all cases with a significant political element. The offence itself may be of a clearly political nature, such as belonging to a banned political party. In other cases, however, a person may be charged with an ordinary crime, but the context in which it is said to have been committed is political, such as a political demonstration. Or it is possible that the accused person may have committed a criminal offence, but for political motives. In other cases, the authorities may be holding a prisoner for political reasons, even though the individual is said to be suspected of a criminal offence. False criminal charges may be brought against political activists (the charges could be currency offences. for example), when the real reason is to punish them for their political activities- or to deter others from opposing the government. In all cases there would be a political element to be considered.
It is important to bear in mind that Amnesty International applies this broad interpretation in assessing political trials and the cases of political prisoners. Apparent contradictions between Amnesty International and governments do arise because each uses such terms in its own way. Some governments say they hold no political prisoners, only criminals or criminal suspects, because all its prisoners are charged or convicted under the normal criminal law. Amnesty International, however, may still speak of "political imprisonment" or "political trials" in such a country if the cases have a political element of any of the sorts described above.
It is important to note that Amnesty International does not oppose political imprisonment as such or ask for the release of all political prisoners. Amnesty International needs to establish whether there is a political element in a particular case solely for the purpose of determining whether it falls within the scope of the organization's concern about fair and prompt trials for political prisoners.
The specific category "prisoner of conscience" is distinguished form the general one "political prisoner" in the following important respects. Prisoners of conscience are precisely defined by Amnesty International's Statute as those held "by reason of their political, religious or other conscientiously held beliefs or by reason of their ethnic origin, sex, colour or language". The category "prisoner of conscience" does not include those whose imprisonment may reasonably be attributed to their having used or advocated violence.
A crucial difference to bear in mind is that whereas in the case of all political prisoners Amnesty International seeks fair and prompt trials, it is only in the cases of prisoners of conscience that Amnesty International says that the individuals should not be in prison at all and asks for their release.
Amnesty International does not call for special status for particular groups of prisoners or call on governments to give political prisoners special conditions. Governments are obliged to treat all prisoners humanely. Where there are allegations of torture or ill-treatment or where the death sentence has been imposed, the case comes within thoses concerns of Amnesty International that apply to all prisoners: opposition to torture and executions. Where the existence of prisoners of conscience has been confirmed, Amnesty International works for their unqualified, immediate release.
Amnesty International investigates such cases to determine whether the individuals are prisoners of conscience. It may send observers to trials and examine laws and procedures that permit unfair trials in political cases or imprisonment without trial. If prisoners are not eligible for adoption as prisoners of conscience, their cases may be assigned to groups which are asked to urge that the prisoner's right to a fair trial within a reasonable time be respected.
Where Amnesty International has enough information to conclude that detainees are prisoners of conscience it demands their release. In other cases of political imprisonment Amnesty International may urge the prisoners be given a fair trial or else released, or may call for a review of the cases, either by established judicial procedures or by an independent review body. It recommends legislative improvements or urges that existing laws that do offer protection be respected.
However, if the person has been imprisoned solely for criminal acts (such as traffic offences, theft or murder) and if there are no grounds to believe that either the crime or the imprisonment were politically motivated, the case does not fall within Amnesty International's mandate. For this reason Amnesty International does not take action even if there are allegations that there may have been miscarriages of justice in such cases. Nor does it seek the release of people convicted of such crimes. Of course, if the prisoner has been tortured or sentenced to death, the case does come within those concerns of Amnesty International that apply to all prisoners: opposition to torture and executions.
Among the many factors to be taken into account in analysing the fairness of a trial are the following, based on internationally agreed upon human rights standards and Amnesty International's own experience. Even if these standards have been violated to an extent that justifies the assessment that a trial was unfair, that does not demonstrate the innocence any more than a conviction demonstrates guilt.
• All proceedings should conform to established national or international requirements for the protection of human rights, such as those stipulated, for example, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
• Those entrusted with applying and interpreting the law, making judgements and passing sentence must be manifestly independent of other governmental authorities, particularly those bringing charges. They must be protected from improper pressures in the fulfilment of their functions. The competence, incorruptibility and impartiality of judges must be ensured. Judges should have legal training. The bringing of civilians before military courts may constitute grounds for particular concern.
• Any deprivation of liberty must be on specified grounds, made known to the person at the time of arrest. He or she must be promptly informed of any charges against him or her and brought before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power.
• The accused should have speedy and sufficient access to independent legal advice and representation, normally in the form of counsel of choice- free, or appropriately subsidized, according to each defendant's means.
• The general rule should be that people awaiting trial are not detained in custody. Defendants, or their representatives, should be able to challenge the legality of any pre-trial detention before a judge or other appropriate, independent and impartial authority.
• People in custody should have access to family, legal counsel and independent medical attention. Correspondence and communication should not be restricted beyond what is necessary for the administration of justice and the security of the custodial institution.
• No one must be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
• Charges should not relate to acts or omissions that were lawful when they took place. Where procedures such as the creation of special tribunals or new rules of evidence are introduced retroactively, there can be a risk of injustice. Nor should penalties be more severe than those provided for at the time the offence was committed.
• Trials must take place within a reasonable time of the defendant's first being brought before a judge and should normally be in public.
• A defendant must be presumed innocent until proved guilty. There must be no compulsion to declare guilt or to testify against oneself. No statement so compelled should be admissible in court.
• A defendant must have the right to a proper defence, to summon and examine witnesses, and to conduct proceedings for the defence under the same conditions as apply to the procesution.
• Convictions and sentences must be open to review by a higher court.
(Amnesty International would expect such a review to include full rights of representation and not be a mere consideration of the trial dossier.) In cases involving the death penalty, there must be a right to petition for pardon, commutation or reprieve. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases, but stresses the importance of all procedures that enable the courts or other authorities to reconsider the sentence.
If the prisoner has been sent to prison under a law that Amnesty International considers to be in violation of international human rights standards, it may consider the person for adoption as a prisoner of conscience. In such cases Amnesty International must be able to determine that the person has been imprisoned by reason of his or her political, religious or other conscientiously-held beliefs or by reason of their ethnic origin, sex, colour or language, provided that he or she has not used or advocated violence.
Amnesty International may still need to take action about allegations of torture. If the prisoner faces execution, Amnesty International will oppose this - in line with its general stand against the death penalty.
