Human Rights Situation in Belarus: January 2022

Summary:

• during the month, the authorities continued to actively use criminal and administrative charges to prosecute people for political reasons;
• as of February 1, Belarusian penal facilities held 1,022 political prisoners; the number continues to increase steadily;
• members of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” continue to be held in pre-trial detention on arbitrary charges: Ales Bialiatski, chairman of the organization; Valiantsin Stefanovich, member of the Board and Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH); Uladzimir Labkovich, a lawyer and coordinator of “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”; Marfa Rabkova, coordinator of Viasna’s network of volunteers; and volunteer Andrei Chapiuk. Leanid Sudalenka, a member of the Viasna and head of the Strategic Litigation Center, and Tatsiana Lasitsa, a Viasna volunteer, were sentenced to three and two years and six months in prison, respectively; the verdict against the activists became final after they lost their appeals. Human rights activist Ales Kaputski continues to be kept in a detention center after a series of consecutive arbitrary court rulings;
• arrests of peaceful protesters continue, together with arbitrary detentions for displaying white-red-white symbols, including in private homes and territories; in December, Viasna documented 3 fines totaling over 4,200 rubles and 41 terms of administrative detention totaling 543 days;
• human rights defenders and journalists continue to report numerous cases of ill-treatment of political prisoners, detainees and those sentenced to terms of administrative detention for participating in peaceful assemblies. The inhumane conditions deliberately created for this category of detainees by the prison authorities are considered by experts of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" as torture;
• torture and ill-treatment continue to be used in the investigation of politically motivated criminal cases;
• on January 20, a decree was adopted to call a nationwide constitution referendum; “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” announced the launch of an expert mission to monitor the referendum, which will assess its compliance with international standards of a free and democratic election campaign;
• Human Rights Watch published its annual review of the human rights situation around the world. One of the sections is devoted to an overview of the repression in Belarus.

Political prisoners and politically motivated persecution

The past month has shown that the process of prosecuting protesters against the rigged presidential election of August 2020, dissidents and critics of the government is far from over. Criminal charges are the most severe form of repression, which remains massive and widespread. Forms of persecution of pro-democracy activists include the widespread practice of politically motivated dismissals.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, in 2021, more than 1,600 people were convicted in more than 1,200 criminal cases involving protesters, dissidents and activists.

The number of political prisoners increased by 52 people during the month and as of February 1 amounted to 1,022 people, continuing to grow steadily.

Ales Bialiatski, chairman of the Human Rights Center “Viasna”, Valiantsin Stefanovich, a member Viasna’s Board and vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Uladzimir Labkovich, a lawyer and coordinator of “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”, Maryia (Marfa) Rabkova, leader of Viasna’s volunteer service, and volunteer Andrei Chapiuk, continue to be held in pre-trial detention. The head of Viasna’s Homieĺ branch Leanid Sudalenka and volunteer Tatsiana Lasitsa were sentenced to imprisonment.

Human rights activist Ales Kaputski has been serving administrative detention for over a month; he was sentenced to four consecutive 15-day terms for distributing “extremist material.”

The Belarusian authorities must immediately release the head and volunteer of the Homieĺ branch of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" Leanid Sudalenka and Tatsiana Lasitsa, Amnesty International said after the Homieĺ Regional Court upheld their conviction on January 14. Sudalenka and Lasitsa have not committed any internationally recognized criminal act, they are sentenced for their legal human rights activities, which together with the criminal prosecution of their colleagues at the Human Rights Center "Viasna" is part of a campaign launched by the Belarusian authorities to destroy civil society and suppress major human rights in the country. Sudalenka and Lasitsa must be released immediately and unconditionally,” said Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director Marie Struthers.

Violations of the freedom of peaceful assembly. Suppression of freedom of expression

Criminal and administrative persecution of peaceful protesters and dissidents continues. The courts are still passing verdicts against the participants of the 2020 protests.

On December 14, the Zavodski District Court of Minsk handed down a verdict in the criminal case of political prisoner Yan Nikishyn. In September 2020, Nikishyn “took an active part in group actions that grossly violated public order”, for which Judge Anzhela Kastsiukevich sentenced him to one year in prison.

Anton Barouski, a conscript soldier, was sentenced in the same court. From August 10 to 11, 2020, he took part in a protest in Minsk. Judge Alena Kaptsevich sentenced him under Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code to three months of military detention.

The Saviecki District Court of Minsk handed down a verdict in the criminal case of Siarhei Lahutkin, who was accused of organizing and preparing actions that “grossly violated public order” (Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code). The case was considered by Judge Siarhei Shatsila, and the sentence was two years in a penal colony.

Ivan Haurylau and Aliaksei Dudko joined the mass protests that took place in Žlobin on August 9-10, 2020. On January 12, Judge Yauhen Yerafeyeu sentenced both under Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code to two and a half years in a penal colony each.

The Lieninski District Court of Mahilioŭ handed down the first verdict in the so-called “Zeltser case”, a series of criminal prosecutions triggered by the September 2021 shootout in Minsk, which claimed the lives of a KGB officer and Andrei Zeltser, the owner of the apartment stormed by the plainclothed agents. Over a hundred persons were arrested for commenting on the accident, as a result, with detentions continuing to this day. The detainees are accused of “insulting a government official” and “inciting social hatred.” On January 5, Tatsiana Rakhmanenka, a judge in Mahilioŭ, sentenced Aliaksandr Haurylenka to two years in prison and a fine of 3,200 rubles under Art. 369 of the Criminal Code.

Police officers continue to organize unwarranted raids across Belarus to storm houses and apartments in search of protest symbols, arresting people in their work places, conducting searches and interrogations. The authorities are stepping up various forms of pressure and repression for active citizenship and opposing government policies. The courts hear administrative cases against persons arrested for displaying flags and stickers on windows and storing them in their apartments, reposting and commenting on social media, as well as other forms of protest activities or expression of opinion.

Viasna has the following information on administrative prosecution for exercising the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, as well as on arbitrary charges of “distributing extremist material”: at least 3 fines totaling over 4,200 rubles and 41 terms of administrative detention totaling 543 days. This is by no means a complete record of politically motivated administrative cases, as in many instances judges hold secret hearings by videoconference without announcing the date and place of the trial, which grossly violates the procedural and constitutional rights of the persons concerned, while observers are prosecuted for their lawful activities.

Article 19.11 of the Administrative Code, which punishes the dissemination of extremist content, is increasingly used by the Belarusian authorities to repress dissidents. As a rule, the provision is applied against people reposting various publications from resources labelled as “extremist”.

One of the key types of repression is criminal persecution for slandering the president, insulting government officials, judges, prosecutors, police, and Lukashenka (Articles 367, 368, 369, 391 of the Criminal Code), together with insulting state symbols. Trials on such charges are held daily throughout Belarus.

In particular, on January 12, the Ivanava District Court passed a verdict against Siarhei Dubik on charges of “insulting Lukashenka”, “slandering Lukashenka”, “insulting a government official” and “slandering the head of the Hlybokaje police department.” The judge sentenced Dubik to 3 years of imprisonment in a penal colony, “taking into account” several mitigating circumstances, including confession of guilt, remorse, and the presence of three young children.

On January 19, Aliaksandr Ivulin, a well-known sports journalist, blogger and player of the Krumkachy football club, was convicted in the Saviecki District Court of Minsk. He was accused of “organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them” (Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code). The case was considered by Judge Siarhei Shatsila. The sentence is 2 years in prison.

On January 14, the Minsk City Court sentenced political prisoners Artsiom Fedasenka, director of a private printing house, and Pavel Yukhnevich, administrator of a local Telegram channel, on charges of making and distributing “protest leaflets, stickers, and newspapers” and participating in several protests in August 2020 and qualified these actions under two articles of the Criminal Code: Art. 342 (participation in actions that grossly violate public order) and Part 3 of Art. 361 (distribution of materials containing calls to take actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus). The trial was held behind closed doors. Judge Valiantsina Ziankevich found Fedasenka and Yukhnevich guilty and sentenced them to four years in a penal colony.

Human rights activists have summarized the cases of criminal punishment for defamation for political reasons during the month. The review mentions, in particular, the criminal case against Maryia Kisliak convicted of insulting Lukashenka and sentenced to one year of restricted freedom. During the investigation, Kisliak argued that she had addressed her comment (“psycho”) to a previous commentator, who offered to join Belarus to Russia, but the expert was adamant: Lukashenka was named the object of insult. Several sentences are also mentioned in the review in connection with insulting a traffic police officer from Hancavičy Ihar Volnich. The officer is known for appearing in a photo in which he is standing with his knee on the neck and the head of a detainee lying on the sidewalk.

A criminal case against Volha Kukushkina was heard in Babrujsk on January 28. She was accused of insulting Aliaksandr Lukashenka (Article 368 of the Criminal Code) and government officials (Article 369 of the Criminal Code). It is known that in the fall of 2021 the woman was searched and a picture of Lukashenka and Belarusian officials in Nazi uniforms was found in Volha’s phone, for which she faced criminal charges. According to the investigation, Kukushkina posted this image in a private chat more than a year ago. Judge Andrei Litvin found her guilty and sentenced her to 1 year and 6 months in a penal colony. The woman was taken into custody in the courtroom.

On January 31, the Stoŭbcy District Court ruled in a trial involving seven political prisoners detained on September 1 last year in the Dziaržynsk district for painting protest symbols on bales of hay. Judge Viktoryia Sudnik found them guilty under Part 2 of Art. 339 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism) and sentenced six of them to one year in a penal colony: Andrei Aryka, Maksim Dubeshka, Aliaksandr Babko, Volha Dubovik, Alena Dziadziula and Ihar Myslivets. Katsiaryna Aryka was sentenced to 1 1/2 years of restricted freedom and was released in the courtroom.

In December, the list of “extremist” Internet resources grew by more than 60 entries. In addition to various local Telegram channels and groups on social media, the list outlawed, in particular, an Internet resource called BYPOL and a number of accounts of this initiative on social media, as well as the human rights Telegram channel MAYDAY.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, during the suppression of protest activity in 2021, prosecutors sent to the courts 300 requests seeking the recognition of information products as extremist materials, of which 259 applications were considered and granted; access was restricted to 15 sites and online publications; the authorities enforced the dissolution of 60 “destructive” organizations by filing lawsuits and submitting requests; more than 8,000 official warnings were issued.

Violations of freedom of association

On January 22, amendments to the Criminal Code came into force to re-introduce Article 193-1 providing for criminal liability for organizing and participating in the activities of unregistered and liquidated organizations: political parties, public and religious associations, and foundations.

Meanwhile, according to Lawtrend, in January 2022, “the number of forcibly liquidated non-profit organizations reached 344, and the number of non-profit organizations that chose to self-liquidate – 208. Thus, during the mass repressions, Belarusian civil society lost more for 550 registered organizations”.

In the second half of the month, police searched the homes of several members of the Mahilioŭ Human Rights Center. On January 18, plainclothed officers of an unknown law enforcement agency searched the apartment of a member of the MHRC’s Board, Aliaksandr Paulovich. On January 19, security forces stormed the apartment of a member of the NGO’s control and conciliation commission, 82-year-old Yauheniya Tsiurkina, whose computer system unit was confiscated, as a result. On the same day, another member of the Center, Vasil Lipski, was taken away from work. He was brought to his apartment, which was eventually searched. A member of the organization, Viktar Hrekau, was also detained. He was taken to the local department of GUBAZIK for interrogation.

At the moment, Hrekau is free. Security officers also searched the home of chairman of the MHRC Uladzimir Krauchanka.

The Mahilioŭ Human Rights Center is the only regional association of human rights activists in Belarus registered by the authorities. However, the Center has not been active for the last 18 months.

On January 13, Darya Tsaryk, an activist and director of Genome, was detained in Minsk. Genome is an organization that helps people with rare genetic neuromuscular diseases. GUBAZIK officers searched Tsarik’s apartment and took her for interrogation. She then faced administrative charges and stood trial later the same day. The result was 8 days of administrative detention. It is known that the detainee is a member of the board of the Radzislava organization, which helps women and children who have been victims of domestic violence. Human rights activists also learned that apart from Darya Tsaryk, security forces also searched the homes of three other representatives of Radzislava.

On January 13, authorities blocked the website of the human rights organization Human Constanta. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the site posted “inaccurate information” aimed at “spreading destructive sentiments in society, undermining the authority of the current government and law enforcement officers.”

Pressure on journalists and the media

As of the end of January 2022, 28 media representatives were in prisons.

Journalists continue to be regularly arbitrarily detained and searched. Their homes are raided and media workers are imprisoned for performing their professional duties.

On January 14, police in Bialyničacy searched the apartments of journalist Barys Vyrvich and freelance videographer Yauhen Hlushkou. Both were detained as witnesses in criminal cases. During the search at Hlushkou’s apartment, officers confiscated photo and video equipment and threatened him with arrests if he did not give the password to his smartphone. After the search, Hlushkou was taken to the police station, where he was interrogated as a witness in a criminal case under Art. 188 of the Criminal Code ("defamation").

Security forces broke into the editorial office of the portal 6TV in Mahilioŭ. The office was earlier searched last summer, and its employees were detained several times.

On January 14, armed riot policemen stormed the apartment of a local freelance journalist Ales Sabaleuski. The journalist was detained.

Torture. Cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment

Former political prisoners continue to report deliberate deterioration of detention conditions for those arrested in politically motivated cases, which in turn border on torture, are cruel, degrading and inhumane. Human rights activists of Viasna continue to receive information about inhumane conditions of detention in Minsk detention facilities. Detainees and those arrested for political reasons are kept in overcrowded cells, receive no medical care, no outdoor time and no mail or parcels from their families. Prison staff do not respond to complaints about cockroaches and insects in the cells, and patients with covid-19 are often not treated or isolated from healthy people.

Prisoners in criminal cases are also held in harsh conditions. They are subjected to pressure and torture in the penal colonies.

More defendants report acts of torture and ill-treatment while testifying in court. The shocking cases of torture reported by political prisoners are still not investigated.

Despite legal guarantees, victims of torture and ill-treatment are not allowed to receive copies of the documents by which the authorities declined to prosecute the alleged perpetrators. The ban alleges that the documents contain classified information that constitutes state secrets. The true reason is the authorities’ desire to conceal evidence of torture and the absence of actual investigation into the acts of ill-treatment.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), of which the Human Rights Center "Viasna" is a member, prepared a briefing paper entitled “Supplying the Means for Repression in Belarus. Transfer of Crowd-Control Weapons (Mis)Used to Crack Down on Human Rights” on the illegal use of weapons to disperse demonstrations resulting in unprecedented human rights abuses. The paper analyzes less lethal foreign-made weapons and firearms used by the Belarusian security forces to suppress peaceful protests, provides an overview of their supply and usage, and explores possible ways to bring states and companies to justice.

Referendum

On January 20, Aliaksandr Lukashenka signed a decree calling for a nationwide referendum on amending the Constitution. “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” announced the launch of an expert mission to monitor the referendum process, which will assess its compliance with international standards for a genuine, free and democratic election campaign.