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Soviet of Republic doesn’t support proposal of Homel oppositionists

2012 2012-02-15T17:41:33+0300 1970-01-01T03:00:00+0300 en https://spring96.org./files/images/sources/savet_respubliki.jpg The Human Rights Center “Viasna” The Human Rights Center “Viasna”
The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

The Administration of the President and the Soviet of the Republic rejected the request of Homel opposition to initiate proceedings at the Constitutional Court for putting the administrative legislation in line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Administration of the President did not even consider the appeal filed by Uladzimir Katsora and Uladzimir Niapomniashchykh on its merrits and the Soviet of the Republic responded that the administrative legislation, namely the Procedural-Executive Code of Administrative Offences complies with the Constitution and the International Covenant.

The reason for the appeal to the President and Council of the Soviet of the Republic was the pre-trial detention of Homel oppositionists on the eve and during the National Assembly, held on 8 October. The activists spent the weekend in prison. On Monday, 10 October, the court punished them with fines for violating the order of the mass holding mass events. The question of the legality of the pre-trial detention of the oppositionists remained unasnwered.

By the way, according to the PECAO, a person suspected of committing an offense "may be detained." "It means that detention is a right, not an obligation of the police, which in this case was used only on the basis of the subjective opinion of police officers. The term “a person who committed a violation” used in Article 8.4 of PECAO contradicts the presumption of innocence, guaranteed by Article 2.7. We think that the aforementioned collisions of the administrative law, resulted in a violation of our right to liberty and security," – argued the oppositionists in their appeal. That's why they asked  the President and the Soviet of the Republic of Belarus to use their right according to Article 116 of the Constitution and initiate proceedings at the Constitutioinal Court with the aim to put Article 8.4 of the PECAO in line with Article 25 of the Constitution and Article 9 the ICCPR.

Deputy head of the Standing Committee for Legislation and State Construction Liliya Maroz  reviewed the provisions of the Procedural-Executive Code of Administrative Offences and concluded that they didn't contradict to the Constitution.

"As far as the sanctions of Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code contain administrative arrest as one of the penalties, preventive detention of a person with the aim of ensuring the administrative proceedings corresponds to Article 8,2 of the PECAO,” answered the official.

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