Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January-June 2007 him in relation to this investigation, but in May 2001 he was re-arrested and detained pending extradition to France, to face charges of conspiracy to supply forged documents and conspiracy to possess forged passports for a purpose connected with acts of terrorism. Eventually, having been detained in Belmarsh high-security prison for more than four years, he was extradited to France in 2006. Once in France he was tried and convicted on charges of forging documents but released shortly afterwards, in view of the length of his detention pending extradition in the UK. On release Mustapha Labsi travelled to the Slovak Republic, where his wife is from, to see his family. Once in the Slovak Republic he sought asylum, whereupon he was once again detained. According to his lawyer he was told that his claim for asylum was to be rejected and he was to be expelled from Slovak territory. Before the final appeal against this decision could be heard, he was handed over to the Austrian authorities, and again detained, pending determination of a claim for asylum in Austria. On 2 May, whilst a decision of the Austrian High Court on this matter was reportedly still awaited, he was once again expelled from Austrian territory into the custody of the Slovak Republic. AI fears that there is a serious risk that he will now be deported from the Slovak Republic to Algeria, particularly in the light of his former unsuccessful claim for asylum in the Slovak Republic, and in the light of a warrant for his arrest which is reportedly outstanding in Algeria. On 15 May and on 7 June AI wrote to the Interior Minister of the Slovak Republic, requesting urgent clarification of Mustapha Labsi's current whereabouts, and of the possibility of any proceedings being instigated against him with a view to returning him to Algeria. AI also requested information on the current legal status of Mustapha Labsi. AI expressed its concerns that if extradited to Algeria Mustapha Labsi would face the risk of secret detention, torture or other ill-treatment, and unfair trial proceedings. Additionally, Mustapha Labsi could face the death penalty, which is carried by certain charges related to Amnesty International 113 "terrorism" in the Algerian Penal Code. By the end of the period under review AI had received no substantive response from the Slovak authorities. SLOVENIA The “erased” (update to AI Index: EUR 001/001/2007) The Slovenian authorities failed to restore the status of a group of people known as the “erased” and to ensure that they have full access to economic and social rights, including their right to employment, pensions and health care. Moreover, those affected by the “erasure” continue to be denied access to full reparation, including compensation. The “erased” include at least 18,305 individuals unlawfully removed from the Slovenian registry of permanent residents in 1992. They were mainly people from other former Yugoslav republics, many of them Roma, who had been living in Slovenia and had not acquired Slovenian citizenship after Slovenia became independent. Of those “erased” in 1992, some 12,000 had their permanent residence status restored, but only with effect from 1999 or later. Others have remained without Slovenian citizenship or a permanent residence permit. The Slovenian government continued to claim it was seeking a solution to the problems of the “erased” through the adoption of a constitutional law allowing for the restoration of the status of permanent residents of the “erased”, on a case-bycase basis. Reportedly, opposition parties have insisted that the issue should be resolved in accordance with existing Slovenian Constitutional Court decisions, which have required that the status of permanent residents of those affected by the “erasure” be restored retroactively. The adoption of a constitutional law requires a wide consensus and a two-thirds majority in the Slovenian parliament. Moreover, the proposal to deal with the issue of the “erased” through a constitutional law has been criticized, including by organizations AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007