Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in June 2013
June
saw an apparent trend towards the worsening of the human rights
situation in Belarus. Political prisoners were still kept in jail,
and another name was added to their list after a 23-year-old resident
of Navapolatsk, Andrei Haidukou, was sentenced to 18 months in
prison. Thus: 12 political prisoners were kept in prison in June:
Ihar Alinevich, Mikalai Autukhovich, Ales Bialiatski, Dzmitry
Dashkevich, Mikalai Dziadok, Aliaksandr Frantskevich, Andrei
Haidukou, Eduard Lobau, Artsiom Prakapenka, Pavel Seviarynets,
Mikalai Statkevich and Yauhen Vaskovich.
During the month
there were also instigated 2 politically motivated criminal cases –
a case against Aliaksei Shchadrou under Article 193.1 of the Criminal
Code, “activities on behalf of an unregistered organization”, and
a case against a former political prisoner Vasil Parfiankou under
Article 421 of the Criminal Code, “violation of the regime of
preventive supervision”. If these persons are convicted within the
frames of these cases, they will be considered as new political
prisoners.
These facts didn't affect the withdrawal of the
European Union from its earlier position that the contacts with the
official Minsk could take place only after the release of all
political prisoners. Thus, during the sitting of the Council of the
Foreign Ministers of the European Union on 24 June in Luxembourg it
was decided to suspend the visa sanctions against the Belarusian
Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makei. Despite the fact that the
concluding document of the sitting indicated that this measure was
taken just to facilitate the diplomatic contacts between the EU and
Belarus, the move was perceived by the human rights community as a
fundamental change in the EU's position for the release of political
prisoners as a precondition for establishing contacts with the
Belarusian authorities. This is connected to the fact that Mr. Makei
was put on the “black list” of the EU in January 2011 as the head
of the Presidential Administration of Belarus, having relation to the
brutal dispersal of the protests of 19 December 2010 and the
subsequent persecution of opposition activists.
A serious
deterioration was registered in the use of the death penalty. Two
death verdicts were issued in June alone. In particular, on 12 June
the Hrodna Regional Court punished with death a 23-year-old citizen
of Vileika, and on 14 June the Homel Regional Court convicted
a 25-year-old resident of Homel, Aliaksandr Hrunou. These verdicts
were issued during the intensification of the contacts between the
official Minsk and the Council of Europe regarding the possibility of
a moratorium or abolition of the capital
punishment in Belarus. on 21 June in Minsk the Council of Europe in
cooperation with the Belarusian government, and on 27 June members of
the House of Representatives attended the meeting of the PACE
Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy in Strasbourg to discuss
the issue of the death penalty in Belarus. The issue of the death
verdicts during the discussions on this topic with international
organizations shows that the Belarusian authorities are not ready to
go further than discussion and are unprepared to deal with the
problem on its merits.
The human rights situation in Belarus
has been in the focus of attention of the Human Rights Council, where
a discussion of the report of the special rapporteur on Belarus
Miklos Haraszti took place on 4 June
in the framework of the 23rd session. The paper assessed the human
rights situation in Belarus in the period from 5 July 2012 to 31
March 2013 and reflects the systemic nature of abuses in the country.
The representative of Belarus in the UN in Geneva Mikhail Khvastou
exercised a harsh criticism over both the report and the very
existence of the institution of the Special Rapporteur of the UN on
Belarus. He stated that the report was used to exert political and
economic pressure on Belarus. "The Belarusian nation does not
need a special rapporteur. We know what problems we have and are
ready to tackle them. We have our own model, which is based on
national sovereignty, security and rule of law. We reject all
allegations contained in the report, and declare that the conclusions
of the report are unacceptable to us."
In turn, the human
rights community noted the objective nature of the report and again
urged the Belarusian authorities to cooperate with the UN human
rights instruments. Thus, during the interactive dialogue on the
report of the Special Rapporteur the deputy head of the Human Rights
Center "Viasna" Valiantsin Stefanovich called on the
Belarusian authorities to invite to the
country thematic rapporteurs, including the rapporteurs on torture,
human rights defenders, the independence of the judiciary and the
legal profession, freedom of association and the Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention. "We also call on the country to allow
entrance to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Belarus, as he repeatedly requested an opportunity to
receive information on the situation in the country both from
independent NGOs and government authorities," stated Mr.
Stefanovich.
On 13 June a vote on the resolution on the human
rights situation in Belarus, which contained a provision to extend
the mandate of the special rapporteur, was held within the framework
of the 23rd session of the UN Human Rights Council. Representatives
of 26 countries voted for the resolution, 3 – against, and 18
abstained. Thus, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human
rights situation in Belarus has been extended for another year. This
decision was very positively evaluated by the country's human rights
activists who see this tool as an opportunity to establish a dialogue
on human rights between the Belarusian authorities and the
international community, which can lead to systemic improvements in
this sphere.
Political
prisoners, criminal prosecution of social activists
On
1 June Maryna Adamovich, the wife of the former presidential
candidate and political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich, stated that he
was preparing the book “Path of Freedom", a collection of his
articles and essays written over the past decade. On 20 June, before
the start of Lithuania's Presidency of the European Union, Mikalai
Statkevich addressed the Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas
Butkevicius in connection with the discussion of the possibility of
inviting senior officials of Belarus to the Eastern Partnership
summit in Vilnius. Among other things, Mr. Statkevich stated: "Those
who fight for the freedom of our country, consider any direct
contacts between the leaders of democratic countries with the
Belarusian regime as a betrayal of the ideals of democracy and an
attempt to legitimize the dictatorship. I call you to refrain from
meetings with the leaders of the Belarusian regime
until the country will hold no political prisoners."
As
it became known on 6 June, political prisoner Dzmitry Dashkevich
received a response to his complaint to the Department of Corrections
the Ministry of Interior concerning the humiliations which the
prisoners have to
face every day – particularly, the use of spoons is not allowed
except for the meals which are served on schedule. This means that
prisoners can neither stir sugar in their tea nor eat the food passed
by their relatives with spoons, but have to use toothbrush cases for
it. Mr. Dashkevich asked to check the legality of this rule. The
officials answered that such a rule really existed, but didn't
specify the document which contains such provisions, thus putting in
question the very existence of such a document. On 25 June Anastasiya
Dashkevich, the wife of Dz. Dashkevich, said that she and her father
received telephone calls from the
Pershamaiski District Police Department of Minsk and were
asked whether they wouldn't mind if Dzmitry
lived with them after his release from jail. A. Dashkevich doesn't
rule out that the police are preparing the documents for the
establishment of preventive supervision over her husband, who is
expected to be released on 28 August.
On 7 June the deputy
head of the HRC "Viasna" Valiantsin Stefanovich received an
answer from the Belarusian Foreign Ministry to his appeal concerning
the non-implementation by Belarus of the decisions of the Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN in the case of the political
prisoner Ales Bialiatski, the head of the organization. In his appeal
to the minister Uladzimir Makei the human rights activist reminded
that one of the duties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was to
monitor the implementation of international agreements of the
Republic of Belarus by the state organs of the Republic of Belarus
and to assist in the implementation of the international treaties of
the Republic of Belarus. "Belarus is unable to consider the
views of the Working Group and the UN Council on Human Rights, and
the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention were informed about it",
ends the MFA answer, dated 31 May and signed by the deputy minister
Valiantsin Rybakou. The official explained this inability by saying
that “the implementation of the views of the Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention is not subject to the international obligations
of the Republic of Belarus in accordance with the international
treaties to which the Republic of Belarus is a state party". By
this paragraph the Foreign Ministry just confirmed the demonstrative
refusal of the Belarusian state to implement the decisions
of the Working Group and cooperate with it, as far as Valiantsin
Stefanovich again stressed in his address that "the special
procedures of the UN (including the Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention) are auxiliary bodies of the UN. They were created by the
Human Rights Council and report to it. Members of the WGAD are
elected by the Advisory Group, which is appointed by the UN Human
Rights Council on the basis of knowledge and experience with their
mandate, integrity, independence and impartiality. Their legal
conclusions, such as the aforementioned judgment concerning the case
of Ales Bialiatski, are decisions of the UN. The Republic of Belarus
as a UN member state has an obligation to cooperate with all UN
bodies and mechanisms (as provided for in Article 56 of the UN
Charter), and is bound by international agreements, including the
ICCPR, ratified by Belarus in 1973.” Obviously, the representatives
of the Foreign Ministry did not want to listen to the arguments of
the human rights defender.
On 7 June Tatsiana Frantskevich,
the mother of an imprisoned activist of the anarchist movement
Aliaksandr Frantskevich who is serving a sentence in the Ivatsevichy
penal colony, stated that her son was not allowed to receive a parcel
with books by Sergey Dovlatov and Franz Kafka. The parcel was sent
back without giving any reasons for it, although before that
Frantskevich's counsel had been told that
fiction could be sent to his client. The lawyer was warned that it
was prohibited to send any philosophical and political books to the
prisoner. However, in the end the latter was also prohibited to
receive fiction.
In the first half of June political prisoner
Mikalai Dziadok spent ten days in a penal cell in the Mahiliou prison
No. 4 where he is serving his sentence. The wife of the imprisoned
activist of the anarchist movement, Valeryia Khotsina, wasn't
informed about it.
On 12 June the hearings on the case of the
23-year-old Navapolatsk resident Andrei Haidukou, charged with
committing a crime under Article 356 of the Criminal Code (treason in
the form of intelligence activities) started at the Vitsebsk Regional
Court. The trial of A. Haidukou was closed, despite the pleas from
human rights activists to make the proceedings transparent. During
the trial, the charges were reclassified to part 1 of Article
14 and Article
356-1 of the Criminal Code (attempt to establish cooperation with the
special services, security agencies or intelligence agencies of
foreign countries). On 1 July Judge Halina Urbanovich sentenced Mr.
Haidukou to 1.5 years in prison. The same day, the Human Rights
Center "Viasna" and the national human rights association
"Belarusian Helsinki Committee" stated
that as far as the a preliminary investigation and the trial were
completely closed, "it can be assumed that the need for
consideration of the case in a closed trial was motivated by a desire
to conceal from the public the unlawful methods of the investigation
and the provocation of the accused in the commission of a crime. This
qualification of the offense by the court shows that the KGB misled
the public, while the KGB did not establish the fact of entering by a
national of the Republic of Belarus into illegal cooperation with the
security agencies of a foreign state. Having established the
circumstances, the KGB continued to induce Haidukou to commit a
graver crime, thus committing a provocation." Assessing together
the aforementioned circumstances, the nature of the charges presented
to the defendant in the course of the preliminary investigation and
the process violations committed during it and the closed mode of
trial, as well as the information about Haidukou's actions which
served as the formal reason for his detention, the Human Rights
Center "Viasna" and the "Belarusian Helsinki Committee
concluded that "sentencing
of Andrei Haidukou is groundless and politically motivated, as it is
largely aimed at increasing the role and significance of the KGB in
the State using methods that are unacceptable in a democratic
society".
On
14 June political prisoner Eduard Lobau told his mother Maryna Lobova
in a telephone conversation that the prosecutor's office would
reconsider his complaint on a number of violations in his case in
court in 2011, as well as the KGB interrogations without a lawyer. On
25 June he had a short-term meeting with his mother at the
Ivatsevichy penal colony. The prisoner said that in spite of the
summer season, the inmates weren't given any fruit, berries or fresh
vegetables. They are only given sauerkraut or pickles. Fruit are only
sent in the prison shop on rare occasions in autumn.
On 20
June it became known that a criminal case under Article 193.1 of the
Criminal Code, activities on behalf of an unregistered organization,
was brought against the resident of the village of Aliaksandrauka
(Shchuchyn district), Catholic believer Ales Shchadrou, who organized
a village shelter for homeless people. According to a ruling of the
head of the public order and crime prevention bureau of the Shchuchyn
District Police Department Siarhei Asovik, Aliaksei Shchadrou
“organized the activities of an unregistered religious organization
and provided the conditions for its operation without registration in
the manner prescribed by law". Aliaksei Shchadrou states that he
didn't create any organization, but just engaged in philanthropy and
set up a shelter for the homeless. He prayed with them, but didn't
create any sect. Antoni Hremza, vice-Chancellor of the Hrodna Roman
Catholic Curia, to which Aliaksei Shchadrou formally belongs, also
called the actions of the believer a private initiative, not the
creation of any sectarian movement. According to the accusation
article, A. Shchadrou faces up to two years in prison.
On 21
June an activist of the anarchist movement, political prisoner
Artsiom Prakapenka who is serving his term in the Mahiliou penal
colony, was deprived of a food parcel during the long-term meeting
with his mother, Viyaleta Prakapenka, reminding that he still had the
status of a malignant violator of the regime. Artsiom Prakapenka
works in the colony as an assistant welder.
On 28 June the
parents of political prisoner Ihar Alinevich reported that they had a
long-term meeting with their son in the colony No. 10 in Navapolatsk.
According to the prisoner's mother, Valiantsina Alinevich, the
meetings lasted one day in a room which was about 10-12 square
meters, without permission to leave it, which was an ordeal due to
the heat. According to Alinevich's observations, the people with whom
he interacts are then subjected to persecution. The same day it
became known that the Belarusian Economic University, where
Valiantsina Alinevich worked for 30 years, refused to extend the
labor contract with her. The administration stated that she was a
high-level experts, but the security services insisted on the
termination of the working relationship with her. According to the
mother of the political prisoner, she didn't show her political
convictions at work and never had any problems with the university
administration before.
On 28 June the Pershamaiski District
Police Department of Minsk informed the former political prisoner
Vasil Parfiankou that a criminal case under Article 421, “violation
of the regime of preventive supervision”, was instigated against
him. This is already the second criminal case under this article
brought against Mr. Parfiankou after his release in accordance with
the presidential decree on pardon in August 2011 after being
sentenced to four years' imprisonment under Part 2 of Art. 293 of the
Criminal Code for taking part in a protest against electoral fraud
during the last presidential election. What concerns the first case
under Article 421, the activist had been
found guilty and sentenced to six months of arrest. The preventive
supervision term, imposed on Vasil Parfiankou after his release, ends
on 30 June. At the moment when the new case was brought he had just
two violations of the regime of the preventive supervision.
Death
penalty
On 10 June
Liubou Kavaliova and Tatsiana Kaziar, the
mother and sister of Uladzislau Kavaliou, accused of the terrorist
attack in the Minsk metro and executed by shooting, filed an appeal
to the Ministry of Internal Affairs against the refusal of the
Department of Corrections to report his place of burial. The
relatives of Uladzislau Kavaliou addressed the Department of
Corrections with this request on 25 April and received a denial on 8
May. The first deputy head of the Department of Corrections S.
Pratsenka informed them that "the order of execution is strictly
regulated by Article 175 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of
Belarus in accordance with which the sentence of death, which came
into legal force, is executed after the receipt of official
information about the rejection of the appeals, filed as supervisory
complaints and petitions for clemency. The death penalty is executed
by shooting and is non-public. The body is not issued for burial, the
place of burial is not communicated." In their address to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs L. Kavaliova and T. Kaziar insist that
the rule "the place of burial is not communicated",
provided by part 55 of Article 175 of the Criminal Executive Code,
referred to the Department of Corrections, is void as contrary to
Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. They justify their position by the Views of the UN Human
Rights Committee in the case of Uladzislau Kavaliou, according to
which "the complete secrecy surrounding the date of execution
and burial sites as well as the denial of the body for burial in
accordance with the religious beliefs and practices of the family of
the executed prisoner created the effect of intimidating and
punishing families by intentionally leaving them in a state of
uncertainty and mental stress. Under these circumstances, the
Committee agreed that these elements in the aggregate, as well as the
subsequent persistent refusal of the State party to inform the
authors about the place of burial of Kavaliou constitute inhuman
treatment by the authors in violation of article 7 of the Covenant
"(paragraph 11.10 of the Views).
On 12 June the Hrodna
Regional Court issued the death verdict
to a 23-year-old resident of Vileika, finding him guilty under four
articles of the Criminal Code: part 2 of Article 139, paragraphs 1
and 6(the murder of two persons with particular cruelty), article
205, part 1(theft), Article 347, part 1 (desecration of corpses) and
Article 378 (theft of personal documents). The case was considered by
Judge Anatol Zayats. On 5 August 2012 the convict killed his wive, a
resident of Zhlobin, and her acquaintance, a resident of Hrodna, out
of jealousy, in
an apartment in small-family residences in Hrodna. The crime was
recognized as a domestic one and the defendant was found sane.
On
12-15 June in Madrid representatives of the campaign “Human Rights
Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus” took part in the V
World Congress against the Death Penalty. The Congress was organized
by the association "Together against the Death Penalty"
(Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (ECPM)) with the support of the
Governments of Spain, Norway and Switzerland.
On 14 June the
Homel Regional Court issued the
death verdict in
a criminal case against a 25-year-old resident of Homel, Aliaksandr
Hrunou, who was accused of murdering a student of the Homel State
University Natallia Yemialyanchykava with especial cruelty. The crime
was committed on 19 September 2012, the victim suffered 102 stab
wounds. The girl died before reaching a few meters to her house.
Aliaksandr Hrunou pleaded guilty during the trial. In 2005 he had
been sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment for inflicting grievous
bodily harm resulting in death – he had
beaten
to death his
mother's cohabitee. He killed the girl only after a year at
liberty.
On 18 June the deputy head of the Human Rights Center
“Viasna” Valiantsin Stefanovich addressed the head of the
Belarusian TV and Radio Company in connection with a report about a
murder in the Mahiliou prison, shown in the program “ "Secrets
of the investigation". The murder was committed by Ryhor
Yuzepchuk with the assistance of a cell-mate. In the report, the
nationality of the perpetrator of the crime is mentioned in a
negative context a couple of times. The report makes use of such
expressions as “everything was clear with the Roma Yuzepchuk”,
"with poorly educated Roma Yuzepchuk", "according to
the Roma", "the convicted Roma Yuzepchuk", etc. At the
same time, the nationalities of his accomplice, Pavel Petrakou, and
the victim, Ihar Khodanau, who also have quite negative personal
characteristics, aren't mentioned in the report. According to
Valiantsin Stefanovich, such indication on the national identity of
the perpetrator may contribute to xenophobia and discriminatory
behavior in the community, as well as the formation of an
extremely negative attitude to all
representatives of the Roma minority in Belarus. The human rights
activist applied
to Henadz Davydzka
with a request to check these facts and explain to
the authors of
the report the
inadmissibility of such references in the future.
On
19 June the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Aliaksandr
Kaniuk expressed dissatisfaction with the position of
the media and human rights activists on the
death penalties issued in Homel and Hrodna. “The howling in the
media started again. What are they shouting about? They cry about the
fate of a man who ruined many lives, but
no one talked to the mother of the 22-year-old dead girl, no one
asked how the relatives of the victims will continue their lives,"
said the Prosecutor General in his speech in the House of
Representatives. According to Kaniuk, "nowadays there is a
change in that we
tend to care more
about the criminals than about the victims." "The howling
has started, but how can you correct a criminal who chopped off one's
hand and traveled with it across the republic? What can you do to a
villain who inflicted 122 stab wounds to his victim?" stated the
Prosecutor General.
On 21 June the House of Charity in Minsk
hosted the round table "Religion and the death penalty",
organized by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Belarusian
government. The round table was attended by representatives of the
Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, legislative and judicial
authorities of the Republic of Belarus, the delegates of the Council
of Europe, diplomats and human rights activists. The Patriarchal
Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Filaret, sent a welcome speech to
the round table participants: "The Belarusian Orthodox Church
insistently drawn the public attention to the issue of the death
penalty back in the 1990-ies. In 1996, on the eve of the people's
referendum, at which, among other things, the issue of the death
penalty was discussed, we called upon the people of Belarus to refuse
from such a punishment. "We, Christians, can not justify the
death penalty, as murder is a sin ... The life of every human belongs
beings to the Creator, God. If we, sinful people, didn't give life to
a man – we must not deprive him of life. Lord Jesus Christ gave his
life for each of us, endured suffering, humiliation, abuse, and death
on the Cross ... The State re-crucifies Christ each time it executes
its citizens." This was our position in the year of the
referendum. To date it has remained unchanged."
On 27
June the issue of the death penalty in Belarus was discussed at a
sitting of the PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy in
Strasbourg. The official Belarusian side was represented by the
members of House of Representatives Mikalai Samaseika and Aliaksandr
Zazulia. Summing up the results of their participation, Mr. Samaseika
stated that the main question was the introduction of a moratorium on
the death penalty in Belarus. According to M. Samaseika, he explained
to the members of the Council of Europe that the issue of the death
penalty in Belarus wasn't solved by any officials, but its treatment
was grounded on the results of the national referendum, at which the
majority of Belarusians voted for the use of this measure of
punishment. At the same time, Mikalai Samaseika stated that there
were different views about the death penalty both in the society and
in the Chamber of Representatives, some of whose members were for it,
and some others stated that it should be abolished. “That's why”,
stated Mr. Samaseika, “we promised not to make any sudden movements
in the matter, and to solve it, as the English say, step by
step".
Pressurization
of social and political activists by security services
On
6 June, after the end of conscription into the armed forces of the
Republic of Belarus, there was an attempt to forcibly draft into the
army an activist of "Tell the Truth", Artsiom Svirshchyk.
The activist was taken to the city's military enlistment office,
where the staff refused to provide him with documents according to
which he was drafted into the army, referring to the fact that these
documents were for internal use only. Having spent several hours at
the military enlistment office, Artsiom Svirshchyk was issued with a
summons to appear in a few days and released. A week before this
incident the activist had refused
to cooperate with the KGB.
On 12 June Aleh Aksionau filed an
appeal against the illegal activities of the Mahiliou Regional KGB
Department to the Leninski District Court of Mahiliou. The activist
of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy
asked the court to cancel the warning issued to him by the KGB and to
recognize the “prophylactic talk”, carried with him by the
intelligence personnel, as groundless and illegal. Mr.
Aksionau also seeks to receive written apologies from the head of the
Mahiliou Regional KGB Department and oral apologies from the KGB
officer Makhunou for their unlawful actions. The case concerns the
events of 29 April, when the KGB officer Makhunou summonsed Aleh
Aksionau to the KGB department for a prophylactic talk. During the
"conversation" Mr. Makhunou
stated that the activist was allegedly warned for activities on
behalf of the unregistered organization “organizing committee of
the Belarusian Christian Democracy”, as well as for participation
in the activities of two unregistered organizations – the civil
campaign "For Fair Elections-2012" and the Mahiliou
regional coalition of democratic
forces. Aleh Aksionau has been under the preventive supervision of
the KGB for more than a year already. Apart from him, such
supervision is used towards two more Mahiliou activists – the BCD
activist Tatsiana Shambalava and the leader of the Mahiliou regional
organization of the Belarusian Popular Front “Adradzhenne”
Zmitser Salauyou.
Torture
and other kinds of cruel and inhuman treatment
As
it became known on 20 June, the Krychau
police severely beat a man, as a result of which a criminal case was
brought under part 3 of Article 426 of the Criminal Code (abuse of
power or authority). During the preliminary investigation, the
identities of the persons who, intentionally exceeding their
authority, had inflicted serious bodily injury, were established. One
of the policemen was charged and remanded in custody. The beaten
citizen was detained in December 2012 as a suspect in a theft at the
Krychau enterprise “Kamunalnik”. The policemen used physical
force towards the suspect, which resulted in the infliction of heavy
bodily injures. After his release the citizen applied to the Krychau
Inter-district KGB Department.
Administrative
prosecution of socio-political activists, arbitrary detention
As
it became known on 3 June, the UN Human Rights Committee recognized
violations of the right to freedom and personal inviolability in
respect of a Brest activist of the movement "For Freedom",
Zhanna Koush. The activist applied to the Human Rights Committee in
2008 with a complaint that she had been detained twice in Brest on
suspicion of having committed a crime (each of these cases was
subsequently discontinued) and placed in a detention center. In the
first case Zh. Koush was awaiting trial 61 hours and in the second –
72 hours. The activist believes that the detention for
more than 48 hours without being brought before a judge is a
violation of her right to liberty and security under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UN
Committee found violations of the Covenant in both cases. It is
important to note that so far no one has put in front of this
international body the question of violation of the Covenant
concerning the periods of detention without bringing before a judge
shorter than 72 hours. The conclusion of the Committee in the case of
Zhanna Koush sets a new standard for the United Nations. The
Committee's findings in this case should lead to a revision of the
law on arrest and detention in Belarus as well as in other state
parties to the Covenant, which have not yet entered the 48-hour
maximum time limit for bringing detainees before a judge.
Later
in the evening of 4 June a member of the organizing committee of the
Belarusian National-Bolshevik Party, Dzmitry Paliyenka, was detained
while distributing leaflets against conscription slavery. He was
guarded to the Maskouski District Police Department of Minsk, where
he was beaten by the police. On 5 June the Maskouski District Court
sentenced Dz. Paliyenka to five days of arrest under Article 17.1 of
the Code of Administrative Offenses (disorderly conduct).
On
10 June the Shchuchyn police drew up a violation report on pensioner
Veranika Sebastsyanovich, a member of the unregistered "Union of
Poles in Belarus." The 82-year-old woman was mailed a copy of
the report in which she was charged with holding an unsanctioned
rally. The matter is that in May V. Sebastsyanovich took part in the
establishment of a memorial cross in the hamlet of
Rachkavshchyna, located near the village of
Bakshty (Shchuchyn district), in the memory of a soldier of the
Polish resistance movement “Armija Krajova” Anatol Radzivonik,
murdered by the NKVD. The cross was placed on private property. On 13
June a similar report was drawn up on the head of the Union of Poles
in Belarus Mechyslau Yaskevich. On 19 June the Shchychyn District
Court considered the administrative case against Mechyslau Yaskevich
and Veranika Sebastsyanovich. The trial
lasted for five hours with breaks. As a result, the both activists
were found guilty. Mechyslau Yaskevich was sentenced to a fine of 4
million rubles, and Veranika Sebastsyanovich – to 2.5 million
rubles.
On 12 June social activist Viktar Syrutsa, the
organizer of the Milavidy festival in honor of the 150th anniversary
of the Battle of Milavidy, was summoned to the Baranavichy District
Police Department. On 13 June the local police inspector, lieutenant
Dzianis Maisenia in the presence of the head of the public safety and
crime prevention bureau, major Viktar Kuliashou, proposed Mr. Syrytsa
and his counsel Zoya Haudzei to read and sign a
violation report. The police officer stated that the social activist
was accused of committing an administrative offense under part 2 of
Article 23.34 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, for the
organization and holding of an unauthorized event in the memory of
the insurgents of 1863. On 19 June the head of the Baranavichy City
and District Court Mikalai Kmita sent the report against Viktar
Syrytsa back to the police to correct the deficiencies. The court
also sent Mr. Syrytsa a letter to inform him about it.
At
about 12 a.m. on 27 June in Minsk the police detained the leader of
the entrepreneurs' movement "Perspective" Anatol Shumchanka
and journalists Aliaksandr Sivy (“Narodnaya Volia”), Ihar Karnei
(Radio “Liberty”) and Natallia Kastsiukevich who were heading to
the mall "Parking" where a strike of entrepreneurs was
taking place. All of them were taken to the Tsentralny District
Police Department of Minsk. Anatol Shumchanka and the entrepreneurs
intended to pass to the Department of Business of the Ministry of
Economics the demands of small business. After 2 hours, the
journalists were released, whereas Anatol Shumchanka was charged with
organizing an unsanctioned mass event. The same day the activist was
sentenced to five days of arrest by the Tsentralny District Court of
Minsk.
Restrictions on
freedom of speech and the right to disseminate information,
harassment of journalists
In
June there occurred an event sought eight years by the independent
newspaper "Barysauskiya Naviny", since May 2005 when all
independent newspapers had been excluded from the subscription
catalogs of “Belposhta” and deprived of the opportunity to be
sent at the newsstands of “Belsayuzdruk” on an order of the
Minsk City Executive Committee. No arguments and economic
calculations helped “Barysauskiya Naviny” to convince these state
agencies to change their mind. However, from now on the readers are
able to receive the newspaper on subscription through “Belposhta”.
What is left to the newspaper is to gain its return to the newsstands
of “Belsayuzdruk”. At the end of June, during the subscription
campaign, the informational posters of "Barysauskiya Naviny”
were removed from the post offices. This was done on the initiative
of the ideological department of the Barysau City Executive
Committee.
On 3-5 June the OSCE Representative on Freedom of
the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, paid an official visit to Belarus. She
met with members of the House of Representatives of the National
Assembly, officials of the Presidential Administration, the Ministry
of Information, Information-Analytical Center, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, as well as the editors of major state-owned media,
members of the Belarusian Association of Journalists and the
Belarusian Union of Journalists. Dunja Mijatovic spoke about the most
important issues faced by the Belarusian media representatives:
short-term arbitrary detentions and administrative and criminal cases
against journalists. In her view, these problems should be solved in
the near future. "During a meeting with members of parliament
and senior officials, I heard the words of confidence that an end
would be put to arrests and criminal cases," she said. "I
am convinced that Belarus needs to reform legislation in the sphere
of media. Internet should be free. There
should be more balance between public and commercial media. I would
also like to see public radio and television in Belarus in the
future,” stated Ms. Mijatovic . The OSCE Representative on Freedom
of the Media believes that the time for a radical change on the
freedom of speech has come in Belarus. "The authorities should
allow criticism and differing opinions in the community. This is the
price that any country has to pay for democracy."
On 5
June in Minsk Natallia Liavonava was detained for the distribution of
the newspaper "Nash Dom”. She was taken to the Frunzenski
District Police Department of Minsk. Two hours later, after writing
an explanation, the girl was released from the police station.
On
7 June in Brest independent journalists were prevented from the
performance of their professional duties. The incident occurred on
the territory of the Brest market "Autazapchastki" during a
visit of the campaign "Popular Referendum" who intended to
talk with the entrepreneurs and other residents of the city. The
event was covered by the freelance journalists Ales Liauchuk and
Milana Kharytonava. They were approached by the head of the market
Aleh Dzenisiuk, who stated that they couldn't make any photo and
video shots at the market without a permit, as the territory of the
market was a private property. In addition, according to Mr. Liauchuk
the official asked how the captured images will be used. Soon there
arrived the police, who put down the passport data of Ales Liauchuk
and Milana Karytonava and warned that in the future they might be
summonsed to the police station for questioning.
On 7 June
journalist Ales Silich received a written warning from the
Smaliavichy District Prosecutor's Office for cooperation with the TV
channel "BelSat". A few weeks earlier, the correspondents
of "BelSat" Volha Chaichyts and Ales Silich received
summons with the requirement to appear in Smaliavichy District
Prosecutor's Office for giving explanations about their presence at
the public discussion of the project of the Belarusian-Chinese
industrial park near Smaliavichy, held in April. A policeman
who was present at the discussion had put down their passport data
and promised they would be punished. After this, Volcha Chaichyts and
Ales Silich received official warnings from the prosecutor's
office.
On 11 June the journalist of the "European Radio
for Belarus" Dzmitry Lukashuk was denied accreditation to the
press conference of the House of Representatives of the National
Assembly. This was announced by the head of the bureau of
information-analytical work of the National Assembly Mikalai Lis. He
explained that the journalist was not accredited because there was no
annual accreditation to the Parliament.
The journalist tried to get accredited to the press-conference
concerning the consideration of the draft law on confiscation of cars
from drunk drivers for a week. “European Radio for Belarus” tried
to receive a one-year accreditation at the Chamber of Representatives
during the previous two years to no avail.
On 16 June
independent journalist Mikhail Yanchuk was detained while making
shots in the Stoubtsy
district, where suspicious deaths of pigs were reported. The
journalist was taken to the Stoubtsy
District Police
Department, where a report was drawn up, and then – directly to the
railway station. Nothing was confiscated from him.
On 24 June
24 the Hrodna Regional Court considered an appeal on the case of the
photo album “Belarus Press Photo - 2011”. In April, the Ashmiany
District Court recognized the albums “Belarus Press Photo - 2011”
extremist. The cassation appeal of the organizers of the contest
“Belarus Press Photo – 2011” wasn't granted. 41 copies of the
album had been confiscated from Yuliya Darashkevich and Aliaksandr
Vasiukovich on 2 November 2012 at the border crossing point "Kamenny
Loh".
On 26 June Rahachou police took explanations from
the Rahachou activist Dzianis Dashkevich concerning an article about
the persecution of the Rahachou poet Yury Arestau, published at the
independent website vrogacheve.ru.
Restriction
of freedom of assembly
On 11
June Judge of the Tsentralny District Court of Homel Maryna Damnenka
considered an appeal of the Homel organization of the Belarusian
Leftist Party “Fair World” against the ban on the May Day rally,
issued by the Homel City Executive Committee. The housing utility
companies entered into a service agreement with the applicants before
the rally, whereas the police and the ambulance refused to do so. In
order to hold a rally or a picket, one needs a permit of the
executive committee, and one of the conditions for receiving the
permit is to enter into paid service agreements with the public
utilities, police and ambulance. Police and ambulance, in their turn,
refuse to enter in such agreements, referring to the absence of the
permit of the executive committee for the event. Despite this
"vicious circle", the court dismissed the appeal and
confirmed the legality of the ban.
On 14 June the Leninski
District Court of Mahiliou considered the appeal of an activist of
the United Civil Party Mikhail Sharamet against the ban on the picket
he intended to hold in the center of the city. Judge Yuliya Trapynina
stated that the decision of the executive committee was perfectly
legal and it was permitted to hold public events only in the places,
which had been specially designated for this by the executive
committee. The picket was scheduled for 7 May, the day of the
disappearance of general Yury Zakharanka.
On 18 June the
Slonim residents Ivan Bedka and Viktar
Marchyk received a denial from the Slonim District Executive
Committee to their request to authorize a picket in support of the
trauma surgeon Ivan Shena on 27 June. In the ban, signed by the
deputy head of the executive committee Viktar Kot, it is stated that
"according to the plan of the Department of Youth Affairs and
the public association “Belarusian Republican Youth Union",
there's no possibility to provide you with
space in the city park in Opernaya Street at the stated time, as far
as the beginning of the cross-quiz “Know Your Land” will take
place there at 11 a.m. on 27 June."
On 20 June an
activist of the civil campaign "Tell the Truth" Viachaslau
Bolbat filed an appeal to the Baranavichy City and District Court
against the actions of the Baranavichy District Executive Committee
which twice banned the educational and cultural event "Milavidy
Festival in the memory of the insurgents of 1863”. As it is stated
in the appeal, on 19 April the social activists Viachaslau Bolbat,
Teresa Silivonchyk and Viktar Syrytsa applied to the executive
committee with the request to authorize the mass event on 2 June
2013, attaching to their appeal the written undertakings to secure
the public order during it. In his appeal Mr. Bolbat notes that the
organizers of the cultural festival guaranteed the payment of
expenses related to the mass event and proved it by sending to the
head of the executive committee the copies of the service contracts
with the Baranavichy district public utilities, the police department
of the Baranavichy City Executive Committee and the Baranavichy
central polyclinic on 29 April 2013. Thus, the organizers of the
event fulfilled all requirements of the Law "On Mass Events in
the Republic of Belarus". However, in its decision of 3 May 2013
the Baranavichy District Executive Committee banned the festival as
the Department of Culture of the executive committee allegedly
intended to hold the same festival at that time and place. As a
result, the organizers of the event asked the authorities to transfer
the time of their event to 9 June 2013. Though no official events
were held near the Milavidy monuments that day, the Baranavichy City
Executive Committee banned the event by its ruling of 20 May 2013,
accusing the organizers of violating paragraph 5 of the Law "On
Mass Events in the Republic of Belarus". However, it wasn't
specified in the answer, what requirements they allegedly
violated.
As it became known on 26 June, Viktar Zharkou got
three denials to his applications for holding pickets in three
districts of Vitsebsk. During these events Mr. Zharkou wanted to
inform the public about the violation of his rights by the police.
Having received the bans, the activist filed lawsuits to three
district courts of Vitsebsk.
On 26 June the members of the
Slonim association of democratic forces who had celebrated the
Freedom Day on 25 March stated that they were still summonsed to the
police and the prosecutor's office in collection with allegedly
holding unauthorized mass event. The head of the Slonim organization
of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Ivan Bedka received summons
signed by the Slonim District Prosecutor, Senior Counselor of Justice
Anatol Yaulash, according to which he was to come to the prosecutor's
office in connection with an “unauthorized mass events dedicated to
the anniversary of the establishment of the Belarusian People's
Republic”.
Restriction of
freedom of association
On 2 June
an assembly of the organizing committee of the party "Belarusian
Christian Democracy" of Vitebsk was actually disrupted as some
of its regional representatives were summonsed to work on the day
off. In particular, BCD representatives from Lepel and Navapolatsk
were called to work without any explanations on that day. According
to the co-founder of the BCD Vital Rymasheuski, activists of the
organizing committee are pressurized by regional KGB officers who
threaten them with "problems" for the participation in such
assemblies of Christian Democrats.
On 10 June the General
Prosecutor's Office dismissed the appeal of the human rights activist
Tamara Siarhei against the actions of the Deputy Prosecutor General
Aliaksandr Lashyn, who on 23 April had issued her with a formal
warning about responsibility under Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code
for the organization of the activities of the unregistered public
association “Civil Initiative against lawlessness in the courts and
the prosecutor's office”. The acting Prosecutor General Mikalai
Kuklis upheld the warning.
On 17 June the Belarusian Ministry
of Justice refused to register the National research and educational
association "Tell the truth." The Constituent Assembly of
the association was held on 13 April and the registration documents
were submitted to
the Ministry of Justice on 8 May. Therefore, the ministry was to have
answered by 8 June, whereas it's answer is dated 12 June, which means
that the ministry violated the legal terms for answering applications
for the state registration of public associations and political
parties. By this answer “Tell the Truth” was denied registration
for two reasons. Firstly, the officials stated that the guarantee
letter for the supply of a legal address for the NGO, dated 31 May,
was no longer valid, and secondly – the number of the members of
the organization's council allegedly wasn't determined. This was
allegedly the third attempt to register the association with
the state.
On 18 June the Ministry
of Justice refused to register the youth public association "Young
Democrats". In the refusal the officials cited the poor
handwriting in the lists of the founders and also indicated that the
document was to be printed in a special font. The Ministry of Justice
also accused the "Young Democrats" of
providing "inaccurate and incomplete information about the
founders of the association."