Eight people recognized political prisoners over convictions of hatred incitement

Statement by the human rights community of Belarus

Minsk, October 21, 2022

We, representatives of the human rights community in Belarus, note that criminal liability for ‘incitement of hatred’ under Article 130 of the Criminal Code has been selectively and discriminatorily applied by both the investigators and courts in an apparent attempt to protect the state bodies. Moreover, it seems unreasonable to label government officials, police officers, military personnel, etc. as separate social groups falling under protection in this context.

We insist that it is unacceptable to apply a law aimed to protect government officials, law enforcement officers, and judges from threats in connection with the lawful performance of their duties to punish those citizens who have spoken out in connection with the clear violation of the Constitution and law by state institutions, the involvement of government officials, prosecutors and judges in torture and in creating a climate of impunity for torture and other human rights violations, often showing signs of crimes against humanity.

Eight people were convicted:

Mr. Yury Staneuski was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment in a penal colony for his comments regarding Mr. Lukashenka, government officials, and Russian militaries in a ‘destructive’ Telegram chat. He was found guilty of ‘insulting the president’ (p. 1 of art. 368 CC), ‘desecrating state symbols’ (art. 370 CC),‘threating violence against an official performing official duties’ (p.2 of art. 366 CC), ‘insulting a government official’ (art. 369 CC), ‘inciting hatred’ (art. 130 CC), ‘threating an official performing official duties’ (p.1 of art. 366 CC).

Mr. Valeryi Ziza was sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment in a penal colony. The court found him guilty of ‘inciting hatred’ with comments posted on the internet (art. 130 CC) and ‘fraud’ (p. 1 of art. 209 CC). The conviction of fraud under part 1 of article 209 does not impede recognition as a political prisoner, because in the absence of political motivation the punishment for such acts normally does not involve imprisonment. The man has a severe disability.

Mr. Aliaksandr Kolpak was sentenced to four years of imprisonment in a penal colony for making negative comments about law enforcement officers and government officials, calling for protests by slowing traffic, blocking roads, not going to work, and resisting the dispersal of protests. He was found guilty of ‘inciting hatred’ (p. 1 of art. 130 CC) and ‘organizing mass actions that grossly violate the public order’ (p. 1 of art. 342 CC).

Mr. Valeryi Barzenka was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment in a penal colony for sending information about his former manager to the ‘destructive’ Telegram channels bots and keeping bullets for firearms. He was found guilty of ‘inciting hatred in group’ (p. 3 of art. 130 CC) and ‘unlawful possession of ammunition’ (p. 2 art. 295 CC). The latter charge does not impede recognition as a political prisoner, because in the absence of political motivation the punishment for such acts normally does not involve imprisonment.

Mr. Mikhail Korzun was sentenced to four years of imprisonment in a penal colony for expressing an opinion about current events in comments on the Internet. He was found guilty of ‘inciting hatred’ (p. 1 of art. 130 CC).

Mr. Dzmitryi Shabetnik was sentenced to three years of imprisonment for posting links on the internet to news about Russian military aggression against Ukraine, which contained comments about Russian troops, military, and police officers of an insulting nature. He was found guilty of ‘inciting hatred’ (art. 130 CC).

Mr. Andrei Sacheuka was sentenced to six years of imprisonment in a penal colony for posting comments on the internet calling for participation in protests. He was found guilty of ‘inciting hatred’ (p. 1 of art. 130 CC) and ‘organizing mass riots’ (p. 1 of art. 293 CC). The man suffers from a mental disorder.

Mr. Edvard Vilcheuski was sentenced to nine years of imprisonment in a penal colony for posting comments on the internet calling for resistance to the dispersal of protests, insulting government officials, organizing riots, and preparing for riots. He was found guilty of ‘inciting hatred’ (p. 1 of art. 130 CC), ‘insulting government official’ (art. 369 CC), ‘organizing mass riots’ (p. 1 of art. 293 CC), ‘preparing for mass riots’ (p. 1 of art. 13 and p. 2 of art. 293 CC), and ‘violence or threat of violence against an employee of the internal affairs bodies’ (art. 364 CC).

Having studied these criminal prosecution cases, we concluded that all of them are politically motivated. The court decisions were made for political reasons in violation of the fundamental principles of fair justice.

We emphasize once again that in a number of the abovementioned cases the nature of the acts of the accused was the outcome of numerous and widespread human rights violations by the authorities, the lack of freedom of expression, and caused by the lack of investigation of crimes against peaceful protesters and other victims of cruel treatment and torture, disappointment with the authorities’ reluctance to use the force of law to protect citizens’ violated rights in the absence of conditions for a democratic and constitutional change of government in fair elections.

According to the Guidelines on the Definition of Political Prisoners, a person deprived of liberty is to be regarded as a political prisoner, if at least one of the following criteria is observed:

1. a) the detention has been imposed in violation of the right to a fair trial, other rights and freedoms guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
2. d) the person has been detained in a discriminatory manner as compared to other persons.

We, the representatives of the Belarusian human rights community, recognize Mr. Yury Staneuski, Mr. Valeryi Ziza, Mr. Aliaksandr Kolpak, Mr. Valeryi Barzenka, Mr. Mikhail Korzun, Mr. Dzmitryi Shabetnik, Mr. Andrei Sacheuka, and Mr. Edvard Vilcheuski as political prisoners.

We demand that the Belarusian authorities:

• review the sentences passed against the mentioned political prisoners while exercising the right to a fair trial and eliminating the factors that affected the qualification of actions, the type, and severity of punishment;
• release the mentioned political prisoners by taking other measures to ensure their appearance in court; and
• immediately release all political prisoners, review politically motivated sentences, and end political repression against citizens.

Human Rights Center Viasna

Belarusian Helsinki Committee

Legal Initiative

Lawtrend

Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House

PEN Belarus