Human rights defenders identify another 14 political prisoners

Statement by the human rights community of Belarus

July 31, 2023

We, representatives of the human rights community in Belarus, note that the authorities are abusing the possibilities of the criminal law and applying excessively harsh penalties to protesters, including long-term imprisonment for acts that did not entail serious consequences. In particular, the qualification of the actions as terrorism does not correspond to how international standards interpret this term.

In international law, ‘terrorism’ typically denotes acts of violence against civilians for political or ideological purposes.

In the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism (resolution 49/60), the General Assembly stated that terrorism is “acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes.”

According to Security Council resolution 1566 (2004) 2004, criminal acts that under no circumstances are justifiable by considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious, or other similar nature, have three distinctive features:

• are committed, including against civilians, with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages;
• are committed with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act;
• constitute offences within the scope of and as defined in the international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism.

Criminal acts that lack these characteristics are not terrorist in nature and must be qualified as crimes against public administration (threat of violence against officials) or crimes against property (for example, deliberate destruction or damage to property of others) and punished correspondingly to the gravity and public danger of the offense.

We are aware of the criminal convictions for preparing to damage and damaging property of individuals, conspiring to seize state power, and being a member of an extremist group of the following persons:

• Mr. Vital Vaitsiakhovich was convicted under Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 3 of Article 289; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 3 of Article 289; Part 3 of Article 289; Part 2 of Article 295-3; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 357; Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 1 of Article 359; Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code. 
• Ms. Anastasiya Vaitsiakhovich was convicted under Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 3 of Article 289; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 3 of Article 289; Part 3 of Article 289; Part 6 of Article 16 and Part 1 of Article 295-3; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 357; Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 1 of Article 359; Part 3 of Article 361-1; Part 1 of Article 13 and Article 364 of the Criminal Code.
• Mr. Uladzislau Vaitsiakhovich was convicted under Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 3 of Article 289; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 3 of Article 289; Part 3 of Article 289; Parts 1 and 2 of Article 295-3; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 357; Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 1 of Article 359; Part 3 of Article 361-1; Part 1 of Article 13 and Article 364 of the Criminal Code.
• Ms. Volha Vaitsiakhovich was convicted under Part 3 of Article 289; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 3 of Article 289; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 357; Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code.
• Ms. Volha Piatukh was convicted under Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 2 of Article 289; Part 6 of Article 16 and Part 1 of Article 295-3; Part 1 of Article 357; Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 1 of Article 359; Part 1 of Article 13 and Article 364 of the Criminal Code.
• Mr. Uladzimir Saviankou was convicted under Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 3 of Article 289; Part 2 of Article 295-3; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 357; Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code.
• Mr. Siarhei Sakalou was convicted under Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 3 of Article 289; Parts 3 and 4 of Article 295; Parts 2 and 3 of Article 333-1; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 357; Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code.
• Mr. Mikalai Roi was convicted under Part 2 of Article 295-3; Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 357; Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code.

The accused’s actions were not of a terrorist nature and were not aimed at seizing power by unconstitutional means. However, the actions of some of the defendants were unlawful in nature. Therefore, the circumstances of their deeds require a criminal legal assessment in accordance with the principles of a fair trial, with the imposition of punishment or other measures of criminal responsibility proportionate to the gravity of their actions. The verdict does not meet these requirements concerning the individuals mentioned due to political motives. As such, the verdict should be reviewed, ensuring strict adherence to all rights of the accused.

We note that criminal liability for incitement of “other social hatred or discord” (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 institutions of power. Moreover, it seems unreasonable to label representatives of the authorities, police officers, military personnel, and so on 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 apparent 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. It is also unacceptable to apply criminal law to suppress sometimes excessively strong statements against aggressors concerning the full-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine.

We are also aware of the criminal convictions of the following persons:

• Mr. Uladzimir Adzinak was convicted under Article 130 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment in a penal colony.
• Mr. Kiryla Kuzniatsou was convicted under Part 1 of Article 130, Part 1 of Article 342, and Part 1 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code for remarks on the Internet and donations to protest communities. He was sentenced to three years of imprisonment in a penal colony.
• Mr. Yauhen Chumila was convicted under Part 1 of Article 130, Part 1 of Article 368, Article 369, and Article 391 of the Criminal Code for online remarks and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
• Mr. Aliaksei Prokharau was convicted under Part 1 of Article 130, Part 1 of Article 293, Part 1 of Article 368, and Article 369 of the Criminal Code for remarks on the Internet and sentenced to three years of imprisonment in a penal colony.
• Mr. Kanstantsin Prytulenka was convicted under Article 130 and Article 203-1 of the Criminal Code for data transfer to protest media and sentenced to six years of imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.

One person was taken into custody:

• Mr. Siarhei Hun has been detained under Part 1 of Article 130, Part 3 of Article 203-1, Part 1 of Article 293, Part 1 of Article 342, Part 3 of Article 361, Part 1 of Article 368, Article 369, and Article 370 of the Criminal Code for remarks on the Internet and transfer of data to protest media.

In evaluating all of these criminal prosecution cases, we see a political motive in the prosecution of the defendants. We believe that the court decisions were made for political reasons in violation of the fundamental principles of fair justice.

We emphasize once again that the nature of the acts of the accused in these cases was the result 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.

We once again remind that the consideration of politically motivated criminal cases in closed or effectively closed court sessions, in the absence of the public, observers, and independent press, in an environment of intolerance towards the activities of human rights organizations, defenders, and independent journalists, grossly violates the procedural rights of the accused and critically undermines the assessment of the authenticity, sufficiency, and admissibility of any evidence of the accusation.

According to the Guidelines on the Definition of Political Prisoners, a person deprived of liberty is to be regarded as a political prisoner, if, along with the political motivation of their case, 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, declare that Mr. Vital Vaitsiakhovich, Ms. Anastasiya Vaitsiakhovich, Mr. Uladzislau Vaitsiakhovich, Ms. Volha Vaitsiakhovich, Ms. Volha Piatukh, Mr. Uladzimir Saviankou, Mr. Siarhei Sakalou, Mr. Mikalai Roi, Mr. Uladzimir Adzinak, Mr. Kiryla Kuzniatsou, Mr. Yauhen Chumila, Mr. Aliaksei Prokharau, Mr. Siarhei Hun, and Mr. Kanstantsin Prytulenka are recognized 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 amount of punishment;
• release the mentioned political prisoners;
• immediately release all political prisoners, review politically motivated sentences, and end political repression against citizens.

Human Rights Center Viasna

Legal Initiative

Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House

Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Belarusian Helsinki Committee

Human Constanta