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OSCE and UN find no evidence that prisoner was forced to convert to Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SARAJEVO 30 September 2002
SARAJEVO, 30 September 2002 - An investigation by the United Nations and the OSCE into allegations of human rights violations in the Zenica prison has found no evidence that Croat prisoners were forced to convert to Islam.
Specialists from the United Nations and OSCE Missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina thoroughly investigated the allegations, and in the course of their research interviewed a prisoner who had allegedly been forced to convert to Islam. This prisoner told the UN prison monitoring team and the OSCE officers that his conversion to Islam had been his personal decision and that he had not been pressured into the conversion.
The UN and the OSCE urged prison inspectors of the Federation Ministry of Justice to conduct their own investigation and issue their own report.
The United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OSCE Mission stress that any allegations of human rights violations in prisons must be investigated impartially and in accordance with international standards. It is deeply regrettable that certain political figures have attempted to politicize the situation of one inmate who voluntarily converted to another religion in accordance with the basic human right of freedom of religion.
Specialists from the United Nations and OSCE Missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina thoroughly investigated the allegations, and in the course of their research interviewed a prisoner who had allegedly been forced to convert to Islam. This prisoner told the UN prison monitoring team and the OSCE officers that his conversion to Islam had been his personal decision and that he had not been pressured into the conversion.
The UN and the OSCE urged prison inspectors of the Federation Ministry of Justice to conduct their own investigation and issue their own report.
The United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OSCE Mission stress that any allegations of human rights violations in prisons must be investigated impartially and in accordance with international standards. It is deeply regrettable that certain political figures have attempted to politicize the situation of one inmate who voluntarily converted to another religion in accordance with the basic human right of freedom of religion.