SARAJEVO, Sept 27 (Hina) - Representatives of the United Nations Mission to Bosnia and of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have found no evidence to back allegations about the violation of human rights in
the Zenica penitentiary and the forceful conversion of Croats to Islam, the two organisations reported in Sarajevo on Friday.
SARAJEVO, Sept 27 (Hina) - Representatives of the United Nations
Mission to Bosnia and of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have found no evidence to back
allegations about the violation of human rights in the Zenica
penitentiary and the forceful conversion of Croats to Islam, the
two organisations reported in Sarajevo on Friday. #L#
Their press release said that UN and OSCE experts had thoroughly
investigated allegations about the bad state of Zenica prison,
including those of Catholic inmates being forcefully converted to
Islam.
The organisations' observers spoke with an inmate for whom it was
said had been forced to convert. He denied this and said that the
conversion had been his personal decision.
UN and OSCE, however, called in investigators of the Bosnian
Federation's Justice Ministry to carry out a probe themselves and
based on the results of the investigation, report about the case,
since all such occurrences must be checked out thoroughly in line
with international standards.
The two organisations expressed regret that the decision of one
inmate to convert to another religion had become a subject of
politics, since his act was in accordance with the basic human
rights to religious freedom.
(hina) lml sb