The statement on the recognition of 16 people as political prisoners

Statement by the human rights community of Belarus

December 20, 2023

We, representatives of the human rights community of 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 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.

According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in the determination of any criminal charge against them, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law. All or part of the public may be excluded from a trial for reasons of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, or when the interest of the private lives of the parties so requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice. In the absence of such exceptional circumstances, the proceedings should be open to the general public, including representatives of the media, and should not, for example, be limited to a certain category of persons. Even in cases where the public is denied access to the hearing, the court decision, including the main conclusions, evidence, and legal arguments, should be made public. The court did not fulfill these requirements in the case of the persons mentioned, which could determine the attitude of human rights defenders to the hearing results.

We are aware of the conviction of:

Andrei Tsaliuk in a closed court hearing under Articles 130, 188, 203-1, 367, 368, 369, 370 of the Criminal Code on charges of insulting a representative of the government, A. Lukashenka, slander, slander against A. Lukashenka, inciting other social hatred, illegal actions in relation to information about private life and personal data; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Siarhei Hrytsenia in a closed court hearing under Article 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a correctional colony;

Aliaksandr Zhandorau under Article 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred in the comments; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Ivan Puzdrou under Articles 369, 368, 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of insulting a representative of the government and A. Lukashenka, inciting other social hatred in the comments; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Vadzim Saskavets under Article 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred in the comments; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Siarhei Navumchyk under Article 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a correctional colony;

Andrei Sinitski under Articles 364, 369, 368, 391, 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of threatening employees of internal affairs bodies, insulting a representative of the authorities, A. Lukashenka and the judges, inciting other social hatred in the comments; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Dzmitryi Udaleyeu in a closed court session under Articles 369, 368, 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of insulting a representative of the authorities and A. Lukashenka, inciting other social hatred; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Mikalai Amelchanka under Articles 130, 367, 203-1, 361-4 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred, defamation of A. Lukashenka, illegal actions in relation to information about private life and personal data, assistance to extremist activities;

Maksim Fralou on Articles 342, 368, 369, 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of organizing and preparing actions grossly violating public order, insulting a representative of the authorities and A. Lukashenka, inciting other social hatred in the comments; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Tatsiana Trafimchyk in Articles 130, 366, 367, 368 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred, threatening an official, slandering A. Lukashenka, insulting A. Lukashenka in the comments; she was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Ivan Kashko under Articles 130, 366, 367, 368, 370 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred, threats to an official, defamation of A. Lukashenka and insulting him, mockery of state symbols in the comments; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Aliaksei Mayeuski under Articles 364, 369, 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of threatening officials and insulting a representative of the government, inciting other social hatred for comments; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Aliaksei Kavaliou under Articles 130, 342, 361, 361-1, 366, 368, 369 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred, organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, calling for sanctions against the authorities, participating in extremist activities, threatening an official, insulting a representative of the government and A. Lukashenka in the comments; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony;

Andrei Laurynovich in a closed court session under Article 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred; he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

The authorities unreasonably use detention in the absence of sufficient grounds for the use of the preventive measure, which restricts personal freedom: as the UN Human Rights Committee notes, "remand in custody on criminal charges must be reasonable and necessary in all the circumstances." "Detention in custody of persons awaiting trial shall be the exception rather than the rule. […] release from such custody may be subject to guarantees of appearance, including appearance for trial, appearance at any other stage of the judicial proceedings and (should occasion arise) appearance for execution of the judgment. This suggestion concerns persons awaiting trial on criminal charges, that is, after the indictment, but a similar requirement, covering the period before the indictment, follows from the prohibition of arbitrary arrest... It should not be the general practice to subject defendants to pretrial detention. Detention should be based on a case-by-case decision that it is justified and necessary, taking into account all the circumstances, for purposes such as preventing escape, interfering with the process of collecting evidence or recidivism of the crime... The relevant factors should be spelled out in the law and should not contain vague and broad standards such as "public danger"... Pre-trial detention should be applied not on the basis of a possible sentence, but on the basis of determining the need for this measure of restraint."

Thus, we are aware of the prolonged detention of Kiryl Kroshkin under Article 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting social hatred.

Having studied these criminal prosecution cases, we concluded that all of them are politically motivated.

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:

• 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;

• d) the person has been detained in a discriminatory manner as compared to other persons.

We, representatives of the Belarusian human rights community, declare that the further imprisonment of Andrei Tsaluk, Siarhei Hrytsenia, Aliaksandr Zhandorau, Ivan Puzdrou, Vadzim Saskavets, Siarhei Navumchyk, Andrei Sinitski, Dzmitryi Udaleyeu, Mikalai Amelchanka, Maksim Fralou, Tatsiana Trafimchyk, Ivan Kashko, Aliaksei Mayeuski, Aliaksei Kavaliou, Andrei Laurynovich, Kiryl Kroshkin is politically motivated, and they themselves are political prisoners. We demand from 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;

• immediately release all political prisoners, review politically motivated sentences and end political repression against citizens.

Human Rights Center Viasna;

Legal initiative;

Human Constanta;

Belarusian Helsinki Committee;

Lawtrend;

Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House;

PEN Belarus;

Belarusian Association of Journalists;