Thomas Hammarberg: “the Belarusian authorities seek to stop Viasna’s assistance to victims of human rights violations”

Thomas Hammarberg, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, published an article concerning the arrest of Ales Bialiatski. in the European newspaper New Europe.

The diplomat points that the Belarusian authorities are trying to prevent Viasna from giving aid to victims of repressions.

Here we present to your attention the full version of the article:

The clampdown on the human rights defenders in Belarus continues unabated. On 4 August, the chairman of the non-governmental Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, Ales Bialiatski, was arrested and is still being kept in pre-trial detention. Other human rights activists who have demonstrated for his release have been summoned by the police and one of them is awaiting trial.

Viasna has for years played a key role in the support and help to victims of human rights violations. The activities of the group have become particularly important after the mass arrests in December last year and the political trials thereafter. A number of victims and their families have depended on the assistance provided by Viasna.  
It is this relief that the authorities now seek to stop. Bialiatski was arrested by the financial police and has now been charged with “concealment of profits on an especially large scale”. The Belarusian authorities are using information provided by official institutions in Vilnius and Warsaw regarding bank accounts on Bialiatski’s name and to which international donors have given contributions.

As Viasna has been prevented from registering in Belarus after its dissolution in 2003, it could not open an account in the country. The Belarusian legislation outlaws operations of unregistered organisations and criminalises activities of their individual members. In 2007, the UN Human Rights Committee concluded that Viasna’s dissolution amounted to a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (article 22) and called for re-registration of the affected organisation. However, the Belarusian authorities did not comply with that recommendation.

For several human rights organisations, the opening of personal accounts in Lithuania and Poland was the only possible way of receiving donations in order to continue helping people in need. The Belarusian authorities are putting severe pressure on human rights defenders by bringing criminal charges against them. This situation is in direct violation of principles established by the United Nations and other relevant international human rights standards.

The 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders provides that everyone has the right, for the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, “to form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations, associations or groups”. The Declaration also states that everyone has the right “to solicit, receive and utilize resources for the express purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms through peaceful means”.

As a result of this situation, Ales Bialiatski is threatened with a prison sentence of up to seven years and confiscation of property. I know that the governments in Vilnius and Warsaw regret that some of their officials contributed to this sad development and are now seeking to limit the damage. However, this is a broader issue calling for solidarity from all parts of Europe.

Source: http://www.neurope.eu