United Nations expert urges Government to release Ales Bialiatski and stop persecution of rights defenders
GENEVA (2 August 2013) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Belarus, Miklós Haraszti, has urged the
Belarusian Government to “immediately and unconditionally” release and
rehabilitate human rights defender Ales Bialiatski. “Mr Bialiatski’s
detention is a symbol of the repression against human rights defenders,”
he said.
Two years ago, on 4 August 2011, Mr Bialiatski, head of the Human Rights
Center Viasna, was detained in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on
charges of tax evasion. He was later sentenced to four and a half years
imprisonment with the confiscation of all his property, including assets
registered to other persons. This judgment was upheld on appeal in
2012.
“Mr. Bialiatski is an internationally respected human rights defender;
his engagement for human rights is well-known and broadly applauded,”
the United Nations independent expert noted. In addition to his work
with Viasna, he has been active is setting up the Belarusian Human
Rights House in Vilnius, Lithuania, and became the Vice-President of the
International Federation of Human Rights. Viasna continues to defend
the rights of ordinary citizens just as those of imprisoned public
critics of the Government.
“As many other human rights defenders in Belarus, Mr. Bialiatski could
not legally and without hindrance work, because of the refusal by
Belarusian authorities to register his NGO,” the Special Rapporteur
said, urging the Government to acknowledge human rights organizations in
the country, and start cooperating with them to establish an
independent national human rights institution as pledged in the nation’s
commitments to the United Nations.
The independent expert recalled the United Nations Human Rights
Committee’s view that the dissolution of Viasna was in violation of the
freedom of association, as guaranteed by the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights. Also, he noted that the United Nations Human
Rights Council unanimously stated that no law should criminalize or
delegitimize activities in defence of human rights on account of the
origin of funding thereto.
“The detention of Mr Bialiatski is clearly a consequence of him
continuing his not only legitimate but also legal work under
international human rights law,” Mr. Haraszti underlined. “The
fundraising undertaken by Mr. Bialiatski for the purposes of allowing
the very existence of Viasna, and continuation of its activities was in
conformity with international human rights law,” he stressed. The expert
echoed the position of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that
determined the detention of Mr. Bialiatiski as arbitrary.
“Two years after the arrest of Mr. Bialiatski, on a day that will be
marked by many throughout the world, I join others in offering my
heartfelt support to Belarusian civil society and its remarkable work
and I call upon the authorities to immediately and unconditionally
release and rehabilitate Mr. Bialiatski and those incarcerated in
violation of their human rights,” said Mr. Haraszti, as he already
recommended in his first report* to the UN Human Rights Council, in June
2013, following the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights'
similar call in her 2011 report on Belarus.
In his report, the Special Rapporteur expressed deep concern over the
fact that, in June 2012, the prison authorities labelled Mr. Bialiatski a
repeat violator of the regulations of his detention. On October that
year, a coalition of independent human rights NGOs warned about the
“significant deterioration” of his detention conditions.
“I call upon the government of Belarus to provide Mr. Bialiatski,
pending his release, access to all medical support he needs and secure
that the prison conditions do not impact his health and to ensure that
Ales Bialiatski has full rights to receive visits and private
correspondence,” the United Nations independent expert urged.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously
called upon all States to ensure that the promotion and the protection
of human rights are not criminalized, and that human rights defenders
are not prevented from enjoying universal human rights owing to their
work, whether they operate individually or in association with others,
while emphasizing that everyone shall respect the human rights of
others.
“I urge the Belarusian authorities to protect human rights defenders and
journalists from harassment, intimidation and violence as a result of
their activities, and conduct prompt, impartial and thorough
investigations, prosecution and punishment of any such acts,” said Mr.
Haraszti, reiterating the recommendation made in his report, in line
with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
(*) Check the full report: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session23/A-HRC-23-52_en.pdf
The United
Nations Human Rights Council established the mandate of Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Republic of Belarus
in March 2012 (resolution 20/13), for an initial period of one year. As a
Special Rapporteur, Miklós Haraszti (Hungary) is independent of any
government or organisation, and serves in his individual capacity. In
the 1970s, Mr. Haraszti was a founder of Hungary’s human rights and
free press movement, and in the 1990s he was a Member of the Hungarian
Parliament. From 2004 to 2010, he served as the OSCE Representative on
Freedom of the Media. Since 2010, he has been a professor at several
universities teaching media democratisation.
Source: ohchr.org