Political prisoner count in Belarus hits 1,500 people
Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community
April 21, 2023
In response to the increasing number of convictions and imprisonment cases of citizens of the country under various defamation articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, and in connection with the “desecration of state symbols of the Republic of Belarus” and other actions aimed at the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression, we, representatives of the Belarusian human rights community, demand an end to the persecution of legitimate forms of expression, once again reaffirm our repeatedly stated demands for the decriminalization of defamation and the inadmissibility of imprisonment of citizens for “insulting” officials, the state, state bodies, and symbols (joint statement from December 22, 2020), and note the following:
At the moment, we know about the following persons imprisoned for having allegedly insulted Mr. Aliaksandr Lukashenka, police officers, judges, desecrated state and state symbols, and exercised their freedom of opinion in other forms:
Mr. Aliaksandr Tarasenka was detained under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for “insulting” Mr. Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
Mr. Aliaksandr Dziuba was convicted under Articles 369 and 368 of the Criminal Code for “insulting” a government official and Mr. Lukashenka and sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
Mr. Raman Artsiomenka and Mr. Aliaksandr Tuchkou were detained under Article 367 of the Criminal Code for “slander” against Mr. Lukashenka.
Mr. Aliaksandr Tuchkou was convicted under Articles 369 and 368 of the Criminal Code for “insulting” a government official and Mr. Lukashenka and sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
Ms. Volha Alianiuk was convicted under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for “insulting” Mr. Lukashenka and sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
Mr. Ihar Sviryda was convicted under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for “insulting” Mr. Lukashenka and sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
Mr. Andrei Pukanau was convicted under Article 367 of the Criminal Code for “slander” against Mr. Lukashenka and sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
Ms. Tamara Karavai was convicted under Article 367 of the Criminal Code for “slander” against Mr. Lukashenka and sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
Mr. Dzmitryi Zhydko was convicted of “hooliganism” under Article 339 of the Criminal Code for leaving a message addressed to Mr. Putin and Mr. Lukashenka on a ballot paper and showing it to election commission members during the referendum and sentenced to 12 months in a penal colony.
Mr. Ivan Miliukou was convicted under Articles 369 and 368 of the Criminal Code for “insulting” a government official and Mr. Lukashenka and sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment in a penal colony.
We consider the persecution and imprisonment of the named individuals to be politically motivated, related to the peaceful exercise of expressing thoughts, and consider them political prisoners following paragraph 3.1(a) of the Guidelines on the Definition of Political Prisoners. Therefore, we demand from the Belarusian authorities:
To immediately release political prisoners Mr. Aliaksandr Tarasenka, Mr. Viktar Lameka, Mr. Aliaksandr Dziuba, Mr. Raman Artsiomenka, Mr. Aliaksandr Tuchkou, Ms. Volha Alianiuk, Mr. Ihar Sviryda, Mr. Andrei Pukanau, Ms. Tamara Karavai, Mr. Dzmitryi Zhydko, and Mr. Ivan Miliukou and stop the criminal prosecution against them.
- To adopt measures aimed at the decriminalization of defamation offenses and repeal the articles of the Criminal Code that provide liability for insulting the state and state symbols, namely Articles 188, 189, 361, 367, 368, 369-369, 1, 370, and 391 of the Criminal Code, and drop all ongoing criminal cases under these articles.
- Immediately release all political prisoners and stop political repression.
Human Rights Center Viasna
Lawtrend
Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House
Belarusian Association of Journalists
Belarusian Helsinki Committee
Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
