92 Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January – June 2007 were reportedly assisting in an investigation by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Department of Justice into the deaths of two men -- Mon Balaj and Arbën Xheladini -- and the serious injury of another -- Zenel Zeneli -- during a demonstration on 10 February in Priština/Prishtinë, Kosovo. This investigation had established that the men had been killed by members of the Romanian Formed Police Unit, who had been deployed to the largely non-violent demonstration, and had discharged apparently out-of-date rubber bullets which killed and injured the men (see also AI Index: EUR 70/002/2007). Despite requests by UNMIK and by AI, the Romanian authorities withdrew from Kosovo the 11 police officers who had been assisting the investigation and who were reportedly in possession of crucial information. AI urged the Romanian Ministry of Interior to return the 11 police officers be returned to Kosovo, noting that any continuing evasion in a case involving such serious human rights violations seriously undermined the international community's credibility in Kosovo and elsewhere. AI also reminded the Romanian authorities of the provisions of international standards relating to the use of force and firearms. International scrutiny On 15 March the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment issued an Addendum following up on recommendations made after visits to several countries including Romania. With regard to Romania the Special Rapporteur expressed his concerns that the number of inmates exceeded the officially designated capacity of existing detention centres. He also called on the General Police Inspectorate to establish effective procedures for internal monitoring of the behaviour and disciplining of their agents, in particular with a view to eliminating practices of torture and ill-treatment. Amnesty International Failure to protect people with mental disabilities Concerns remained on the situation of people, children in particular, in institutions for people with mental disabilities. In April, the non-governmental Centre of Legal Resources (Centrul de Resurse Juridice, CRJ) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a report entitled Monitoring the rights of mentally disabled children and young people in public institutions. The report cited cases of alleged violations of the human rights of children and young people with mental disabilities, which included lack of food, adequate clothing and footwear, of sheets, pillows or beds; lack of activity and stimulation; lack of adequate medication and treatment; lack of training and motivation of staff; abusive application of patient restraint measures and isolation from the rest of the community. In more than two thirds of the institutions visited, the conditions of accommodation reportedly did not meet the minimum compulsory standards set out for residential care services addressing children with mental disabilities which stipulate a space of six square metres per child and a maximum of four children in a dormitory. In some institutions, the living conditions were reported as extremely precarious with “very low temperatures… broken windows and no hot water.” The report also highlighted cases of children who were allegedly arbitrarily admitted to psychiatric hospitals without a specific treatment or diagnosis and in some cases of parentless children, the local authorities alleged as a reason the temporary lack of alternative care. On 19 June, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Inclusion Romania denounced “the still alarming situation of people with intellectual disabilities” and called for the creation of an independent body which would regularly monitor the human rights situation of persons with intellectual disabilities in institutions, with clear accountability for violators. It also AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007