Presentation of Results of Administrative Trials’ Monitoring

On 7 July activists of Human Rights Center “Viasna” presented the results of the Program on monitoring of execution of the right to fair trial at administrative trials. A brochure with the analysis of the monitoring results was issued.

During the presentation the program coordinator Yury Chavusaw said that the monitoring was conducted in 12 courts of Minsk, Brest, Vitsebsk, Navapolatsk and Polatsk. 533 administrative cases were monitored. At considerable part of the trials were conducted with gross law violations. The coordinator of the monitoring program in Minsk Uladzimir Labkovich said that judges had begun to visit offenders and try them in their premises. According to him, it deprives defendants of the rights to apply for advocate and summon witnesses. Often administrative cases are considered in absence of the tried persons.

-- At present administrative responsibility is a means to intimidate political opponents of the authorities and satisfy economic interests of the state by filling the budget by administrative fines”, -- said Chavusaw.

The brochure that was issued on the results of the monitoring contains recommendations on improvement of the existing court practice. The editors hope that the results of the monitoring will help courts to consider administrative cases more competently and will favor observance of human rights during administrative trials.

Aliona Andreyeva