ishments are especially forbidden through which prisoners of war lose their right to receive their mail and to send the allowed number of letters and postcards. In the case of individuals such a prohibition may be imposed as a punishment but shall not exceed two weeks. The prisoner of war has in this case the right to notify his family of this stoppage of correspondence before it goes into effect. Article 85 Punishments which are served in the prisoner of war camps and military prisons shall be carried out under the conditions provided in Annexes 4 and 5 of this agreement; otherwise, in the absence of specific provisions, prisoners of war undergoing punishment shall be treated as other prisoners of war. Prisoners of war undergoing confinement in places removed from the camps shall be permitted to receive four parcels a month and to use the food contents of these parcels, except upon the days when they are placed on bread and water diet. Adequate cooking facilities and fuel shall be provided for them. Article 86 At their request prisoners of war in close confinement shall be permitted to attend the daily sick call as provided for in Article 67, and they shall receive such medical attention and treatment as, in the opinion of the attending medical officer, they may require, including removal to hospital when necessary. Article 87 The provisions of this agreement shall not apply to prisoners of war who through acts of individual misconduct against the law of the land have passed from the control of the military to that of the civil authorities. 11. Deaths and Accidents Article 88 Officially stamped or otherwise authenticated certificates of deaths occurring among prisoners of war shall be executed without delay and transmitted to the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power. The representative of the Protecting Power shall be notified as quickly as possible of deaths by violence, and shall be informed as to the particulars. Article 89 The property of deceased prisoners of war, including identifieation tags, pay books and other personal papers, shall be despatched by the Government of the Captor State to the State of Origin. Article 90 The Contracting Parties shall provide and maintain proper burial places for prisoners of war of the other party who are killed or die while in captivity. Available information regarding the identity of the deceased shall be marked in a clear manner on the grave, and the location of graves shall be reported without delay to the State of Origin. Deceased prisoners of war shall be accorded the same honors at burial as are accorded to persons of the same rank or rating in the armed forces of the Captor State. Article 91 Each Government shall take measures that information regarding the death or whereabouts of missing nationals of the other party be gathered and forwarded as rapidly as possible to the State of Origin. Article 92 A statement shall be immediately prepared concerning all accidents to prisoners of war, to which a brief medical report must be appended. In such cases the prisoner of war shall be furnished a certificate by the Camp Commandant, stating the nature of the injury. The certificate shall be deposited with the papers of the prisoner of war and shall be handed him on his discharge or, in case of internment in a neutral country, shall be transmitted for safe-keeping to the government of this neutral country and be given him on his repatriation. 12. Exchange of Powers of Attorney and Wills Article 93 Prisoners of war shall be permitted to execute and have attested, in accordance with special regulations to be issued on the subject by the Captor State, powers of attorney and wills, which may be written in their own handwriting or sent them from their States of Origin, or drawn up for them in the camp by third parties. The camp authorities shall be responsible for forwarding such papers as quickly as possible to the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power. 13. Help Committees Article 94 A Camp Help Committee freely chosen by the prisoners of war shall be formed in each camp, including quarantine and distributing camps. This choice is subject to the approval of the Camp Commandant. Camp Help Committees shall consist of at least: 1 member in camps of from 1 to 50 men. 2 members in camps of from 51 to 100 men. 5 members in camps of from 501 to 1,000 men. In camps of more than 1,000 men there shall be one representative for every additional 500 men. In computing the membership of Camp Help Committees, the prisoners assigned or attached to a camp shall be counted even though they be absent from camp. Similarly in every working detachment representatives in the same ratio as provided above shall be chosen to be the correspondent or correspondents of the Camp Help Committee of the camp to which the working detachment is assigned. In each hospital having ten or more prisoners of war of the same State of Origin representatives may be chosen in the proportion prescribed above for working detachments. Their duties and privileges shall be the same as those prescribed in this agreement for the representatives of working detachments. Article 95 Camp Help Committees and representatives, besides exercising the functions enumerated elsewhere in this agreement, shall cooperate with the camp authorities in all matters relating to prisoners of war, such as foundation of libraries and provision of educational facilities; organization of amusements; registration of complaints lodged by prisoners of war; receipt, registration, and distribution of gifts and of relief to prisoners of war wherever located; cooperation with the authorized relief societies and with the Protecting Power; distribution of contents of parcels of deceased prisoners of war and management of postal operations. Article 96 Camp Help Committees shall be allowed each week to copy the current lists of prisoners of war undergoing medical treatment and to transmit the same to the designated relief societies. Article 97 Camp Help Committees may correspond in matters relating to their duties freely and directly with their representatives, with the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power, with the designated relief societies and with absent prisoners of war belonging to their Camp who have no representative. The correspondence of the Camp Help Committee referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be subject to censorship by the camp authorities. Communications which contain requests or complaints and which are addressed to the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power shall be handed over to the Camp Commandant, who shall immédiately transmit them through official channels. Such communications may be withheld only when they contain wilfully false statements or are written in improper language. The decision to withhold them rests exclusively with the Ministry of War; in the case of German prisoners of war in Europe, with the Headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces. In case a letter is withheld, the writer and the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power must be informed of the fact and the reasons. The competent military authorities in forwarding these communications will endorse thereon their remarks in order that the repre sentative of the Protecting Power can upon their receipt form an opinion as to the statements contained therein. Copies or abstracts of letters sent by the Camp Help Committees shall be kept by them and shown upon request to the representative of the Protecting Power and to the prisoners of war of their State of Origin. Article 98 Camp Help Committees shall draw up under the supervision of Camp Commandants lists of prisoners of war who have had no news of their families for at least three months. These lists shall contain the names of the prisoners of war, the addresses of the families and brief communications or inquiries limited to 20 words in telegraphic style. These lists shall be sent to the Red Cross Societies of the respective States of Origin mentioned in Article 36, which shall attend to forwarding the answers of the families as quickly as possible. Article 99 Camp Help Committees, composed of prisoners of war of either of the Contracting Parties, may render, from supplies at their disposal, assistance to prisoners of war of other States of Origin within the same camp. Reciprocally prisoners of war of the two Contracting Parties may receive similar assistance from the Committees composed of the prisoners of war of other States of Origin. Article 100 Members of Camp Help Committees and their representatives in working detachments shall not be required to perform any work which interferes with their duties as such. They shall not be transferred from one camp to another except for urgent reasons; and then only after they shall have been given opportunity to arrange their affairs in a businesslike manner and to transfer to their successors the property and accounts in their care. Article 101 Suitable offices and storerooms shall be provided for the use of Camp Help Committees. These storerooms shall be fitted with two locks, the keys of one to be kept by the Camp Help Committee, those of the other by the Camp Commandant. |