Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Vilations in Belarus in August 2013
In August the situation
in the sphere of human rights remained difficult. The release of
political prisoner Dzmitry Dashkevich, though marked as a positive
event, did not change the general trend and is not considered as a
sign of improvement by Belarusian human rights activists. Dz.
Dashkevich not only served his initial sentence in prison, but was
also sentenced to another year in prison for "willful
disobedience to the administration" (Article 411 of the Criminal
Code). Thus, despite the insistence of the European Union not only
for the release, but also for the rehabilitation of political
prisoners, none of the charges against Dz. Dashkevich were dropped,
and he was not rehabilitated. Moreover, preventive supervision was
established over him for six months after release, which gives the
authorities the right to visit him at any time, to restrict and
control his movement and activities and subjected him to more severe
restrictions or criminal prosecution in the case of violations. This
fear comes from the existing practice established for former
political prisoners, which continued to expand in August. Thus, on 20
August the former political prisoner Uladzimir Yaromenak was
sentenced to 3 months of arrest for breaking the rules of preventive
surveillance (Article 421 of the Criminal Code) . In August, the
investigation into the criminal case against another political
prisoner, Vasil Parfiankou, on similar charges, continued as
well.
Thus, the release of Dzmitry Dashkevich did not affect
fundamentally the situation of political prisoners in the country, as
his release took place due to the end of the prison term and was not
a manifestation of the position of the Belarusian authorities to
terminate this phenomenon or the desire to satisfy the condition for
the release of political prisoners for the resumption of dialogue
with the European Union. By the end of August, Belarus continued
holding 11 political prisoners: Ihar Alinevich, Mikalai Autukhovich,
Ales Bialiatski, Mikalai Dziadok, Aliaksandr Frantskevich, Andrei
Haidukou, Eduard Lobau, Artsiom Prakapenka, Pavel Seviarynets,
Mikalai Statkevich and Yauhen Vaskovich. The Belarusian authorities
took no real steps for their release. The lack of positive
developments in this area was reflected in the statement of Peter
Stano, the representative of the European Commissioner Stefan Fule:
"We have taken note of the release of Dzmitry Dashkevich... We
insist that Belarus should immediately release all political
prisoners and rehabilitate them regardless of the length of their
imprisonment."
However, keeping to its position on
the issue of political prisoners, the European Union continued
seeking and developing contacts with the Belarusian authorities. On 9
August in Minsk, the Ambassador of Estonia to Belarus Jaak Lensment
met with the Deputy Foreign Minister Alena Kupchyna; on 28 August a
meeting of Alena Kupchyna with the head of the mission of the
European Union to Belarus, Maira Mora, as well as with the
ambassadors of Great Britain and Lithuania Bruce Bucknell and Evaldas
Ignatavicius took place. The press service of the Belarusian Foreign
Ministry said that the meeting with Maira Mora "was focused on
the development of relations between Belarus and the European Union,
including the prospects for the implementation of joint projects and
a number of planned activities." The sides didn't tell whether
the precondition of the release and rehabilitation of political
prisoners remained for such cooperation. This causes concern on the
part of the human rights community, as the foreign policy factor
today is virtually the only instrument of influence on the official
Minsk and publicly declared withdrawal from the EU's position on the
issue of political prisoners can contribute to freezing the issue and
its neglect it in favor of economic and political
expediency.
Political prisoners , criminal persecution
of activists
On 3 August the wife of the political
prisoner Mikalai Statkevich Maryna Adamovich said that on 25 July the
prison commission withdrew the status of “repeated offender” from
the political prisoner, leaving the status of "not stepping on
the way of improvement". The cancellation of this status gave
the political prisoner the right to increase the amount of purchases
in the prison shop from 1 to 2 basic units (from $11 to $22). On 12
August Statkevich celebrated his third birthday in Mahiliou prison.
He turned 57 years old. M. Statkevich also wrote that on 5 August he
was given another penalty and described a case when he was left
without medical assistance: at first he was almost forcibly taken to
the medical unit where he was “diagnosed” with a high blood
pressure, but after the " help" he got worse , and the next
day , when he fell, nobody hurried to held him, though his neighbor
constantly kept banging on the door. In the medical unit of the
colony the political prisoner was given unknown drugs, from which his
health deteriorated.
4 August marked the second anniversary of
the arrest of Ales Bialiatski, the head of the Human Rights Center
"Viasna", vice-President of the International Federation of
Human Rights. This date coincided with the International Day of
Solidarity with Belarusian civil society. Solidarity actions that day
were held in several cities in Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Germany and
also in Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic,
the UK, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the
United States. More than 245,000 people called to release Ales
Bialiatski through social networks. In Belarus, solidarity actions
were held in more than 20 cities despite the fact that all mass
events to mark this day had been banned by local authorities. On the
eve of the anniversary of the arrest Bialiatski, the UN Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus Miklos
Haraszti urged the Belarusian government to "immediately and
unconditionally" release and rehabilitate human rights activist
Ales Bialiatski." The conviction of Bialiatski is a symbol of
repression against human rights defenders," he said. On 7 August
the political prisoner received the first food parcel for 2013, as in
March he had been deprived of the right to receive food parcels for
six months. All in all, he was deprived of food parcels for almost
eight months. On 14 August the administration of Babruisk
penitentiary No. 2 where Mr. Bialiatski is serving his sentence,
responded to the appeal for the mitigation of the regime, filed by
the Belarusian Association of Journalists. The head of the
penitentiary Aliaksandr Kakunin wrote that Ales Bialiatski had
repeatedly violated the established regime of punishment, that he
hadn't appealed the imposed penalties and there were no reasons for
cancellation of the penalties or their replacement with milder ones.
On 17 August BAJ received a similar response from the Penal
Department of Mahiliou region, whose acting head Yury Talkachou wrote
that the penalties against Ales Bialiatski were imposed for violation
of the internal regulations of Babruisk penitentiary No. 2 and there
were no reasons to abolish them. On 21 August Ales Bialiatski had a
short meeting with his wife Natallia Pinchuk and his sister Volha.
This was the first two-hour meeting of the human rights activist with
his relatives in December 2012. Mr. Bialiatski said he was still
working on the clothing industry, read a lot of newspapers and knew
about the main events on the loose. In 2013, if nothing changes, Ales
Bialiatski will have two more meetings with his relatives: one
long-term meeting and one short-term meeting.
On 13 August a
trial was held in the Hrodna prison, which determined that six-month
preventive supervision would be established over the political
prisoner Dzmitry Dashkevich after his release: he will have to stay
at home since 8 p.m. till 6 a.m., register at the police thrice a
month and will be able to travel to other cities only on permission
of the police. On 28 August at 6:30 a.m. Dashkevich was released from
the Hrodna prison, after serving a full term sentence on charges of
"hooliganism" and "forceful resistance to demands of
the prison authorities". Dozens of people waited for him at the
prison gate, including his wife Nasta, journalists and activists. Dz.
Dashkevich said that the prison guards woke him up earlier than
usual, at 5.30 a.m. He had his last breakfast in jail, packed his
things and left the building. What concerns the attitude to him in
prison, he said that the authorities of the prisons he was kept in
tried to set prisoners against him, but in most cases he received
support everywhere. The leader of the "Young Front"
stressed that he didn't see his release as a favor. He thanked
everyone for their support and said he would continue to engage in
politics, but would leave the “Young Front” as he was 32 years
old. On 29 August, at a press-conference in Minsk, Dzmitry Dashkevich
said that he was officially offered to write a clemency petition for
the President only once, in penitentiary in Horki (Mahiliou region),
when there was a wave of releases of political prisoners and about
ten people were released. At that time he was invited to the office
of the head of the penitentiary and offered to write a petition for
being released, but refused to do it. As Dashkevich said, he also
received many unofficial proposals to write such a petition.
As
it became known on 13 August, the mother of political prisoner Andrei
Haidukou, Volha Haidukova, had a short meeting with her son who was
kept in the Vitsebsk remand prison before the entry into force of the
sentence. The meeting was held through the glass, the mother and the
son talked over the telephone for about two hours. This was the
second meeting for the time of the imprisonment: the first one took
place immediately after the eight months of investigation and the
trial. Volha Haidukova added that she regularly received letters for
her son, once a week. On 27 August the Supreme Court considered the
appeal by Andrei Haidukou and upheld the judgment, 1.5 years in
prison. On 29 August Volha Haidukova received a permission of the
Supreme Court to meet with her son, and such a meeting was held in
the Vitsebsk remand prison No. 2. On 31 August Andrei Haidukou was
transferred to the Mahiliou penitentiary No. 19 to serve his
term.
On 14 August Valiantsina Alinevich, the mother of
political prisoner Ihar Alinevich, said that her son received not all
letters, and the ones he received were coming with long delays. She
also spoke about the reaction of her son to her dismissal from work:
at first he was worried, but at some point felt a strange sense of
relief", adding there was no use to worry about it and keep
thinking about it too much, as the authorities only need people to
torture themselves by remorse.
On 20 August Judge of the
Pershamaiski District Court of Minsk Leanid Yarmolenka found former
political prisoner Uladzimir Yaromenak guilty of violating the rules
of preventive supervision (Article 421 of the Criminal Code of the
Republic of Belarus) and sentenced him to three months of arrest
(prosecutor Charapkovich offered to punish his with 6 months of
arrest). The lawyer said in court that during the investigation,
there were numerous violations. In particular, the ruling of the
investigative committee about bringing the criminal case was dated 24
May, while the case materials were received by this institution only
on 27 May, and the two reports, which served as evidence of violation
of the rules of preventive supervision, weren't registered anywhere
at all. The lawyer also pointed that the prosecution didn't try to
find the reasons why U. Yaromenak was absent from home during the
check-ups. The Human Rights Center "Viasna" stated that the
verdict to Uladzimir Yaromenak was politically motivated and aimed at
sanctioning his further political activity and exerting pressure in
connection with such activities. The verdict to U. Yaromenak is a
direct consequence of his conviction for 3 years for taking part in
protests after the presidential election of 19 December 2010.
On
22 August Anatol Prakapenka, the father of political prisoner Artsiom
Prakapenka, stated that the administration of the Mahiliou
penitentiary No. 15 lifted the ban on food parcels for his son. The
mother managed to pass to Artsiom Prakapenka 35 kilograms of
foodstuffs including 5 kilos of fruit. Anatol Prakapenka said that
the status of “malignant violator of the prison regime” still
wasn't removed from his son. Artsiom Prakapenka has applied for
education as a mason, but the decision hasn't been taken yet.
On
23 August political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok, serving his sentence in
the Mahiliou prison, turned 25 years old. This is already third
birthday he has to celebrate in prison.
On 30 August a trial
was held in the Ivatsevichy penitentiary, which ruled that six-month
preventive supervision would be established over political prisoner
Aliaksandr Frantskevich for six months after his release from jail.
This was stated by his mother Tatsiana Frantskevich who was present
at the trial together with his counsel.
Coercive
psychiatry
On 16 August Ihar Pastnou, who strongly
criticized shortcomings in Vitsebsk health care system while working
as a psychiatrist in the regional psychiatric hospital, was placed in
the closed department of this institution “with the consent of the
prosecutor" right during his working hours. This took place
after the statement of the deputy chief physician on ideology that
Pastnou's behavior was "unethical". Before this, Ihar
Pastnou had received threats of psychiatric treatment – following
his appearance on the TV channel "Belsat" with criticism of
the head of the executive committee Aliaksandr Kosinets (who also
used to be a medic before taking this position). However, at that
time it was just threats: Pastnou was a certified specialist in this
sphere and was sure that these threats would not be fulfilled. On 21
August 21 Tatsiana Dzehtsiarova, Judge of the Vitsebsk District
Court, authorized the forced psychiatric treatment of Ihar Pastnou at
a closed court session. Mr. Pastnou wasn't brought to the trial,
which is usually practiced only in complex clinical situations when a
sick person can harm others. His lawyer wasn't invited to the trial
either and wasn't allowed to visit his client at the psychiatric
hospital on 22 August. On 30 August the lawyer filed a cassation
appeal to the Vitsebsk District Court against the forced psychiatric
treatment of Ihar Pastnou. The Human Rights Center "Viasna"
and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee issued a joint statement in
which they called on the authorities to immediately release Ihar
Pastnou from the psychiatric hospital and to review the decision on
his forced hospitalization in an open trial with keeping to the
established procedures and principles of fair trial. The statement
said: "It is clear that the violation of the rights of Ihar
Pastnou to a fair trial resulted in a violation of his right to
personal security. Such actions are, among other things, a violation
of the guarantee of freedom of opinion and freedom of
expression".
"Amnesty International" declared
its readiness to recognize Ihar Pastnou a prisoner of conscience.
“The detention of Ihar Pastnou could be groundless because of the
lawful criticism of the health care system in the Vitsebsk region,
expressed by him. If this is the case, "Amnesty International"
will consider him a prisoner of conscience", says the statement
of the international human rights organization.
Death
penalty
On 26 August the Civil Division of the Minsk City
Court dismissed the private appeal of Liubou Kavaliova and Tatsiana
Kaziar, the relatives of the death convict Uladzislau Kavaliou, found
guilty of a terrorist attack in the Minsk metro. Judge Aksana
Budouskaya agreed with the conclusions of the Kastrychnitski District
Court of Minsk that the consideration of the appeal was beyond the
jurisdiction of the general courts of Belarus. Kavaliou's relatives
appealed the refusal to bring a civil case concerning the refusal of
the state to inform them about the place of burial of their son.
According to the lawyer of Kavaliova and Kaziar, Sergey Golubok, the
constitutional right to court defense was violated in this case. The
lawyer also stated that the Belarusian courts again confirmed their
reluctance to implement the decision of the UN Human Rights
Committee. The only positive moment at the trial was that the Russian
lawyer Sergey Golubok was allowed to represent the interests of
Kavaliou's relatives. As stated by the lawyer, a review appeal will
be filed against the court ruling and measures will be taken at the
international level in order to achieve the implementation of the
decision of the Human Rights Committee which found that the right of
life was violated in respect of Uladzislau, as well as the right of
Liubou Kavaliova and Tatsiana Kaziar to receive information about the
place of his burial.
The use of torture and other cruel
and inhuman treatment
On 6
August the human rights institution "Platform" spread
information about the death of the 21-year-old Minsk resident Ihar
Ptsichkin in the remand prison No. 1 in Minsk. On 15 May 2013 Mr.
Ptsichkin was sentenced to three months in jail for committing a
crime under Article 417 of the Criminal Code ("non-implementation
of the court decision on deprivation of the right to occupy certain
positions or engage in certain activities”). At 5 p.m. on 30 July
Ihar came to the Zavadski District Police Department of Minsk to
start serving his sentence. That was the last time they saw Ihar
alive. The employee of prison No. 1 who told the mother the terrible
truth also announced the cause of death – a heart attack. The head
of the prison Vikentsi Varykash accused the deceased of using drugs ,
alcohol and smoking mixtures, which, in his opinion, resulted in the
death of Ihar Ptsichkin. The head of the medical unit Pakhanovich
announced yet another version of the death of Ihar Ptsichkin: sudden
inappropriate behavior, as a result of which the prison guards had to
restrain his movements, but the death was due to unknown reasons.
Without the permission of the mother, the body of Ihar Ptsichkin was
sent to the morgue and autopsy was done. Later, during
identification, the relatives saw numerous bruises and wounds on the
body of I. Ptsichkin. Broken ribs were visible to the naked eye, as
well as traces of handcuffs and open wounds.
Harassment
of human rights defenders and human rights organizations
On
4 August a social activist Dyiana Burakova was detained during an
action of solidarity with the imprisoned human rights defender Ales
Bialiatski. She was kept at the police station for about an hour and
was released after a report of administrative detention was drawn
up.
On 5 August human rights activists Tatsiana Reviaka and
Uladzimir Labkovich were detained while handing out leaflets with
information about the imprisoned human rights defender Ales
Bialiatski. They were taken to the Savetski District Police
Department of Minsk and received charges under Article 23.34 of the
Administrative Code ("violation of the procedure for organizing
and holding mass events"). The same day, the human rights
activists were taken to the Savetski District Court of Minsk. The
case of Uladzimir Labkovich was considered by Judge Dzmitry
Pauliuchenka, and the case of Tatsiana Reviaka – by Judge Maryna
Fiodarava. The violation reports, drawn up on the human rights
defenders, were sent back to the Savetski DPD for completion. On 6
August the judges found U. Labkovich and T. Reviaka guilty and fined
each of them 3 million rubles. On 27 August the Minsk City Court
considered the cassation appeal of Tatsiana Reviaka. Judge Aliaksei
Bychko upheld the verdict of the Savetski District Court. On 30
August the judge of the Minsk City Court Valery Kamisarau reversed
the verdict of the Savetski District Court to fine Uladzimir
Labkovich and sent the case to the district court for reconsideration
by another judge, noting that there were many inaccuracies and there
was no "comprehensive, complete and objective examination and
evaluation of the circumstances of the case".
On 12
August unknown assailants broke into the mailbox of the Committee for
the Protection of the repressed "Solidarity",
plosca2006@yahoo.com, and sent mails on behalf of the chairperson
of the organization, Ina Kulei, in which it was stated that she had
allegedly lost her money and documents in Spain and asked to send her
2.900 Euros to a certain account. “Solidarity” disproved the
distributed information and asked the receivers to check verity
of the information received from the mail
address plosca2006@yahoo.com
from now on.
As
it became known on 16 August, in July the officer of the Dziarzhynsk
District Police Department Vital Klimasheuski filed an appeal for
bringing a criminal case under articles 179 (illegal gathering or
distribution of information about private life) and 188 (defamation)
of the Criminal Code against the author of the article about the
tortures at the Dziarzhynsk District Police Department, published at
the website of the human rights institution “Platform”.
Klimasheuski's appeal was rejected after the preliminary study of the
case on its merrits, after which he applied for bringing author
responsible under Art. 9.2 (defamation) of the Code of Administrative
Offences. On 19 August the Partyzanski District Court of Minsk was to
hold a trial over the deputy head of the “Platform” Alena
Krasouskaya-Kaspiarovich, but was postponed to an unknown time due to
the absence of the case materials. The case concerned the beating of
two youngsters, Viktar Hanchar and Siarhei Khachaturan, by the police
officers Dzmitry Kastsevich and Vital Klimasheuski.
On 16
August Deputy Chairman of the Human Rights Project "GayBelarus"
Maksim Dzmitryieu was summoned as a witness to the Office for Drug
Control and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the criminal
police of the MIA. The case was not indicated in the summons. A
representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Natallia
Mankouskaya came there with him. The “conversation" with the
LGBT activists was held by a senior security officer Pavel Hramuzau,
the deputy head of the Second Division of the Office for Drug Control
and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs of Belarus, police colonel Uladzimir Yemialyanau and a man in
civilian clothes, who flatly refused to introduce himself, but whom
P. Hramuzau called “Dzima”. As noted by the activists, it was a
talk, not a questioning of a witness. No reports were composed. The
talk concerned the project “GayBelarus”, its plans and current
activities. Maksim Dzmitryieu refused to answer all these questions,
referring to Article 27 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Belarus. The police officer reminded that activities on behalf of
unregistered organizations were punishable by the law. After this
they started asking questions about the head of the organization,
Siarhei Androsenka. “Siarhei has gone away, and we advise you to do
the same,” told the activists the man in civvies. They were also
advised not to cover LGBT events and not to draw attention to them.
The talk lasted for about an hour.
Pressurization
of politically active citizens by security services
On
26 August the Mahiliou Regional Court considered the appeal of an
activist of the party "Belarusian Christian Democracy" Aleh
Aksionau against the preventive supervision, imposed on him by the
KGB, as well as the anti-constitutional nature of Article 193.1 of
the Criminal Code, "Activity on behalf of an unregistered
organization”. The court turned down all his claims. Aleh Aksionau
has been subjected to preventive supervision for over a year. In
Mahiliou, preventive supervision has also been established over
another BCD activist, Tatsiana Shambalava, and the leader of the
Mahiliou regional organization of the Belarusian Popular Front
“Adradzhenne” Zmitser Salauyou.
Administrative
prosecution of political activists, arbitrary detention
On
1 August the judge of the Baranavichy City and District Court
Katsiaryna Hruda sentenced the head of the Baranavichy branch of the
Belarusian Language Society, activist of the movement "For
Freedom" Viktar Syrytsa to a fine of
2 million rubles. The activist was accused of violating Article 23.34
of the Code of Administrative Offenses by organizing and conducting
an unauthorized event on 2 June to mark the 150th anniversary of the
Milavidy Battle held by Kalinouski's rebels. Katsiaryna Hruda ignored
the words of the witness, Major Kuliashou, that the event was
canceled by the city authorities without notifying the press, which
means that the people who wanted to take part in it weren't informed
about it. When the people came to the upcoming festival and waited 30
minutes for the event, neither the police nor the head of the
ideology department of the Baranavichy City Executive Committee came
to warn them about the cancellation of the festival.
On 2
August the traffic police took explanations from the “Zmena”
activist Pavel Vinahradau regarding the placement of the photos of a
white-red-white flag, attached to a train, in the social networks. On
27 July Pavel Vinahradau posted the photos on Facebook and wrote:
"Today activists of “Zmena” have
decided to hold a rally in honor of the
proclamation of the independence of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist
Republic. At the station near the Minsk Sea they attached to a train
a 4-meter white-red-white flag. The train successfully arrived in
Minsk together with the attached flag." The silhouettes of the
activists were blurred with the use of Photoshop. The activist came
to the traffic department with a large bag with the necessary things,
being ready for arrest, but was only made to give explanations.
An
action of National-Bolsheviks against the conscription slavery was
held in the evening of 6 August. They attached a banner with the
inscription “Down with the Army of Slaves!” to the fence of the
Ministry of Defense
and scattered leaflets explaining the negative aspects of the
formation of the army on the basis of conscription and advantages of
a voluntary army for the defense and the economy. In the morning of 8
August the police detained the protesters, Ales Hulevich, Ales
Paliakou, Yauhen Kontush and Dzmitry Paliyenka, and took them to the
Tsentralny District Police Department of Minsk. Ales Paliakou was
released somewhat later, being under age. Other activists were
charged under Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code ("violation
of the procedure for organizing and holding mass events") . In
the afternoon, the detainees were taken to the Tsentralny District
Court of Minsk. Judge Aliaksandr Yakunchykhin sent the violation
report against Dzmitry Paliyenka for revising and released him. Judge
Viktoryia Shabunia sent the report against Yauhen Kontush back to the
Tsentralny DPD, and fined Aliaksandr Hulevich 1 million rubles. On 22
August Judge Yakunchykhin fined Dzmitry Paliyenka 1.2 million rubles,
and Judge Shabunia fined Yauhen Kontush the same sum of money.
On
8 August the Mahiliou member of the United Civil Party of Mikalai
Hladyshau, who held a one-man picket on 4 July against the intention
of the Russian Federation to place an airbase on the territory of
Belarus, received a summons to appear in the Leninski District Court
of Minsk as an offender on 15 August. According to the police report
, Hladyshau was charged with violating the law on mass events. On 15
August the Leninski District Court fined Mikalai Hladyshau 1million
rubles.
On 10 August National-Bolsheviks were detained while
holding a sportive
field training near the Voukavichy water reservoir in the Minsk
district. 12 youngsters were detained with the use of force and tear
gas. No sooner had the activists spread out the tents as their camp
was surrounded by six cars, from which sprang men in police uniform
and in civilian clothes. They did not introduce themselves and put
all those present on the ground face down using physical force. In
doing so, they used tear gas towards Dzianis Sakhar and minor
Aliaksandr Paliakou. After this the police searched the backpacks of
the detainees. The police and KGB officers used only foul language,
threats and intimidation. All detainees were taken to the Zhdanovichy
District Police Department and charged with “drinking alcohol in
public”, though the detention was conducted in the deep woods and
the participants of the hike didn't drink alcohol, as it was a sports
event. The deputy head of the police department Piatkevich
immediately issued rulings for fining the event participants
100,000-800,000 rubles. Dzianis Sakhar was accused of disobeying the
legal demands of a duty official (Article 23.4 of the Code of
Administrative Offenses) and taken to the remand prison of the Minsk
district to await the trial.
On 12 August Judge of the Minsk
District Court Andrei Bialila started the consideration of the
administrative case of Dzianis Sakhar. The activist filed a petition
for questioning witnesses in his favor, as well as the police. The
judge granted the motion and the trial was postponed to 26 August.
However, not all witnesses came to the court on that day, that's why
the proceedings were postponed to 4 September.
In the morning
on 24 August the police broke into the office of "Tell the
Truth" in Minsk, where classes were held for its
regional activists. The police initially
blocked the door of the office, preventing anyone from going out,
then about 30 people were put into paddy wagons and taken to the
Kastrychnitski District Police Department of Minsk. The detainees
were kept at the police station for more than three hours, and then
were released. In
the office, the police seized printed materials related to the
"People's referendum".
On 26 August the Baranavichy
City and District Court considered an administrative case against
social activist and entrepreneur Mikalai Charnavus, whom police major
Dzmitry Mizger charged under part 3 of Article 23.34 (organizing and
carrying out unauthorized mass events) during the rallies of
Baranavichy entrepreneurs on 27 June and 1 July 2013. The head of the
department of ideological work, culture and youth affairs of the
Baranavichy City Executive Committee Tatsiana Chylik told the court
that it was Mikalai Charnavus who had organized the unauthorized
events of the entrepreneurs. The same thought was expressed by the
head of the Baranavichy Cooperative Market Vital Rakhmedzhanau.
Mikalai Charnavus pleaded not guilty arguing that these assemblies
were spontaneous. The court did not recognize Mikalai Charnavus
guilty of organizing the unauthorized protests of entrepreneurs, but
found him an active participant and fined him 2.1 million rubles.
On 27 August the Mahiliou activist of the United Civil Party
Mikalai Hladyshau held a one-man picket against the placement of the
Russian military bases in Minsk. He unfolded the banner: "No to
foreign military bases! Russian military go home!" After 15
minutes he was detained by the police. The same day, the Tsentralny
District Court of Minsk sentenced M. Hladyshau to ten days of
administrative arrest on charges of violating the order of organizing
and holding mass events (Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code).
The verdict was delivered by Judge Viktoryia Shabunia.
On 28
August Judge of the Pershamaiski District Court of Minsk Siarhei
Bandarenka considered an administrative case against the former
political prisoner Uladzimir Yaromenak concerning the violation of
the rules of preventive supervision (part 2 of Article 24.12 of the
Administrative Code). The judge found the activist guilty and fined
him 1 million rubles.
On 29 August in Minsk a former activist
of the “Young Front” Mikalai Dzemidzenka was detained before the
press conference of political prisoner Dzmitry Dashkevich on his
release from prison. The Tsentralny District Court found him guilty
under Article 23.4 of the Administrative Code (disobedience to lawful
demands of the police) and sentenced him to 12 days in jail.
Restrictions on freedom of
speech and the right to disseminate information, harassment of
journalists
On 2 August Vitsebsk
journalists Siarhei Serabro and Alena Stsiapanava received the same
letter with the title "Know where your long tongue can bring”.
An anonymous author, who subsribed as Yauhen Mishakou, criticized the
informational policy of Radio “Liberty and “BelaPAN” and
insulted the independent journalists. According to Alena Stsiapanava,
the signature is most probably fictional and the e-mail address was
registered just for one-time use. When the journalist asked Yauhen
Mishakou whether he confused something, he didn't reply. The letter
contained obvious threats that the journalists could be imprisoned
for their "long tongues". In the last paragraph of the
letter the freelance journalists were also "reminded" of
the existence of the Law "On the fundamentals of activities for
crime prevention", as well as articles of the Criminal Code,
"Discrediting the Republic of Belarus" and "calls to
action to the detriment of the external security of the Republic of
Belarus, its sovereignty, territorial integrity, national security
and defense".
On 13 August Ruslan Mirzoyeu, the author of
the videos "Chronicles of the plant" about the Minsk
Automobile Plant, was sentenced to seven days in jail . Law
enforcement agencies inquired whether the information in these
videos, shot in the suburb of Kurasoushchyna, was real, to which he
responded that it was all staged. As a result, the court found him
guilty of using foul language, as it sounded in the videos. The
verdict was delivered by Judge Ala Bulash.
On 13 August the
police detained pensioner Andrei Andreyeu in a multi-stored building
while he was distributing leaflets about the “People's Referendum”.
He was charged with violating Article 22.9 of the Administrative
Code. The leaflets were confiscated while the violation report was
drawn up at the Kastrychnitski DPD, and the case materials were
passed to the Kastrychnitski District Court of Vitsebsk.
On
14 August the leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka and
his colleague Viktar Buzinayeu were detained near the entrance of the
"Belshyna" plant for distributing the newsletter "Holas
Rozumu". The detainees received summons to come to the police on
20 August. On that day, police major Siarhei Rudzko told the head of
the Babruisk UCP branch Viktar Buzinayeu that he would be charged
with a violation of the Law “On Mass Media”. However, the
violation report wasn't drawn up. Anatol Liabedzka refused to come to
the meeting with major Rudzko.
On 17 August the police came to
a Svetlahorsk blogger Henadz Zhuleha, searched his apartment and
confiscated his computer. The actions of the police were connected to
the publication of a video in the social networks about the house of
the head of the Svetlahorsk District Executive Committee. The video
was reposted by several news websites. H. Zhuleha repeatedly shot
videos about the life in the city and the social issues in it. “I
shot the house of the head of the executive committee on video, I
don't deny it. The authorities answer all questions about the
unsolved issues that there is no money. By this video I showed that
they have the money, but it is spent on the construction of houses
for the bosses, not the solution to the problems of citizens,"
said the blogger. The police officers explained the blogger that the
wife of the head of the executive committee applied to them as by
this defamatory video he insulted the honor and dignity of her
family, that's why she asked to bring him to the legal account. The
police told Henadz Zhuleha that his computer would be scanned, after
which the question of bringing him to justice would be decided.
On
19 August a press-conference of the administration of “Belaruskali”
was held, but not all journalists were allowed to attend it. On 16
August, when a correspondent of Radio "Liberty" tried to
get accredited for the press-conference, Deputy Director for
Personnel and ideological work of "Belkali" Anatol Makhlai
replied that he must consult with the Director General Valery
Kiryienka and asked to call in the morning of 19 August. However,
Director General refused to accredit the correspondent of Radio
“Liberty”, saying that the radio was not credible and therefore
the presence of a journalist was undesirable.
On 20 August the
correspondent of “BelaPAN” Ales Asiptsou was detained near the
entrance to the factory "Mahilioukhimvalakno" while holding
a survey about the size of salaries at the enterprise. The factory
guards disliked it and tried to detain him. The journalist was told
that the area was owned by the enterprise and he needed the agreement
of its administration to stay there. The security called the police,
who took a written explanation from the journalist, after which he
was released.
At about 4.30 p.m. the videographer of the
“BelaPAN” Vasil Siamashka was detained near the Kastrychnitski
District Police Department of Minsk while taking a video of the
activists of “Tell the Truth!” who were coming out of the
building. The journalist was kept at the police for about an hour.
His videoshots, including an interview with the deputy head of the
civil campaign “Tell the Truth!” Andrei Dzmitryieu, was erased.
According to V. Siamashka, the policemen explained the need to erase
the video by saying that it was shot against the background of the
Kastrychnitski DPD. No charges were given to the journalist.
On
28 August independent journalist Uladzimir Zhyhulou received a
summons to the prosecutor's office for 3 September. He phoned to the
telephone number indicated in the summons, but the officers of the
prosecutor's office refused to explain the exact reason why he was
summonsed there,
whereas in the summons it was written as
“for explanations on the issue of
violation of the Law “On Mass Media”. Uladzimir Zhyhulou must
come to the prosecutor of the department of supervision over the
implementation of the legislation and legality of legal acts P.
Zaitsau.
Restriction of
freedom of assembly
On 1 August
Mahiliou human rights defenders Barys Bukhel and Aliaksei Kolchyn
were denied a picket calling for the release of Ales Bialiatski,
which they intended to hold on 4 August in the city center. The
response was signed by the Chancellor of the Mahiliou Regional
Executive Committee Ihar Auseyenka. The letter says that the city has
a definite place for mass events, located on the outskirts, at the
stadium “Khimik” near the 64c in Chelyuskintsy
Street, and mass events must be held there, not in the center of the
city. On 19 August B. Bukhel and A. Kolchyn filed an appeal to the
Kastrychnitski District Court of Mahiliou against the decision to ban
the picket.
On 1 August Brest representatives of the Human
Rights Center "Viasna" were prohibited to hold a rally in
support of political prisoner Ales Bialiatski. The application for
the organization of the event was filed by Uladzimir Vialichkin. In
their refusal the officials refer to violations of the law "On
Mass Events", drawing attention to the lack of service contracts
with public services. Human rights activist Uladzimir Malei believes
that the picket ban is legally void as far as the constitutional
right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is violated by
it.
On 1 August
the applicants for a picket of solidarity with political prisoners in
Rechytsa, V. Putsitski and A. Shabetnik, received a denial signed by
the first deputy head of the executive committee V. Atamanchuk. The
picket of solidarity was ordered on 4 August near the House of
Culture. The letter from the executive committee says that there is a
definite place for mass events in the city, the asphalt ground in the
park of culture and rest “Peramoha”.
On 2 August Homel
representatives of the Belarusian Party "Fair World" were
prohibited to hold a picket scheduled for 6 August with the aim of
promoting and presenting to the public the party's ideas. They
intended to hold their event in the officially permitted place, the
ground near the Culture House of the Deaf “Vipro”. The head of
the regional branch of the party Uladzimir Siakerka entered into
service agreements with community services and ambulance. However,
the deputy head of the executive committee Aksana Rudzianok answered
the applicants that “according to the work plan for the
organization of the festival "Sozhski Karahod” (“Sozh
Roundelay”), a rehearsal of dance teams would take place at the
ground at the time of the picket, that's why it was impossible to
authorize the picket. The festival “Sozhski Karahod” will take
place in Homel on 14-15 September.
On 2 August the Babruisk
applicants for a picket of solidarity with Ales Bialiatski and all
political prisoners received an official response that the event was
not permitted. The letter signed by the deputy chairman of the
executive committee Viktar Dziasiatnik indicated several reasons for
the refusal. The officer wrote that the applicants did not specify
the kind of mass event they intended to hold. “The notions used in
Article 2 of the Law, don't include the notion of "picket",
which does not allow to clearly define the kind of public event you
applied for," says the letter. Mr. Dziasiatnik also noted that
the applicants were asked to indicate the measures they intended to
take to ensure their safety, health service and clean-up of the
territory in order to settle the order of payment for these services.
The letter states that information about a mass event cannot be
distributed before its authorization, whereas such information was
published at the website “Babruiski Kuryer". At the end of the
letter, the applicants are traditionally warned about the
responsibility in case of participation in an unsanctioned event.
On
3 August Hrodna human rights defenders weren't allowed to hold a
picket on 4 August in support of the imprisoned head of the Human
Rights Center “Viasna” Ales Bialiatski. An appropriate letter
from Hrodna City Executive Committee was mailed to human rights
defender Uladzimir Khilmanovich. Thus, the applicants learned about
the ban on their picket the day before its date. The decision of the
Hrodna City Executive Committee is signed by the deputy head, Z.
Kulesha, and is dated 1 August. Meanwhile, the law requires local
authorities to report their decision about permitting or prohibiting
mass events not later than 5 days prior to the planned date of the
event. The refusal of the executive committee to prohibit the
applicants holding the picket is explained by the fact that they did
not submit "service contracts for securing the public order,
health care and cleanup of the territory". In the evening of 2
August a police officer came to the apartment of Raman Yurhel and
warned him about the administrative responsibility for holding an
unauthorized event. It's quite interesting that the policeman didn't
have the picket ban at his disposal. Human rights activist Viktar
Sazonau received the picket ban by mail only on 6 August.
As
it became known on 8 August, Zhlobin District Executive Committee
didn't authorize two pickets which members of the “Fair World”
intended to hold on 9 and 10 August. The corresponding letters,
signed by the chairman of the district Executive Committee Henadz
Suzdaleu, were received by the head of Zhlobin district branch of
“Fair World” Valery Rybchanka. Both pickets were planned in the
park "Prydniaprouski". The first one was dedicated to the
problem faced by the Free Trade Union of Metalworkers: the Ministry
of Justice refused to return the union its seal and documents.
Rybchanka and his supporters were going to draw the attention of the
people of Zhlobin to this situation, but the chairman of the
executive committee stated that the applicants did not attach to
their applications the service contracts with the police, ambulance
and street cleaners, required by the legislation. Another picket,
scheduled for 10 August, was aimed at reporting the party's ideas and
vision on the challenges facing Zhlobin. It was prohibited under the
pretext that some festivities dedicated to the Day of the Builder
would be hold in the park at that time.
As it became known on
8 August, Svetlahorsk District Executive Committee refused to
authorize a picket of members of the party “Fair World” which
they intended to hold in the
recreation park on 10 August. The head of Svetlahorsk district branch
of “Fair World” Siarhei Daineka said that the picket was declared
in order to attract attention of residents of Svetlahorsk to the
party ideas and solve one of the major problems of the city – the
state of the recreation park. As it is said in a letter signed by the
deputy chairman of the executive committee Miarkulau, in this day and
this time, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., the cultural and sporting event "Youth.
Health. Way of life" would be held in the recreation park.
As
it became known on 8 August, the authorities banned a picket of the
Free Trade Union of Metalworkers (FTUMW), which was scheduled for 9
August, in the place determined by the executive committee. Trade
union activists intended to protest against the fact that the
Ministry of Justice delayed the issue of the seal and Charter of the
trade union to its leader, Aliaksandr Bukhvostau. The local
authorities explained their refusal
by saying that the police would be unable to protect law and order
during the mass event.
On 11 August Brest City Executive
Committee prohibited the local activists of the civil campaign "Tell
the truth!" to hold a picket aimed at drawing attention to the
lack of roads in the neighborhood Paudniovy. As stated by Ihar
Maslouski, the activists intended to protest against the disregard by
the authorities of the the requirements set out in a collective
appeal (signed by 1,100 people). They intended to hold their picket
on 12 August near the “Euraopt” shop close to the problem
territory. However, the authorities banned the event saying that
holding such events was not provided for in such a place. According
to Mr. Maslouski, "there is no sense in raizing the issues of
residents of the neighborhood Paudniovy in other places of the city,
where the holding of such actions is permitted”.
On 12
August the head of the Mahiliou regional organization of the United
Civil Party Uladzimir Shantsau received a response from the Mahiliou
Regional Executive Committee, in which the authorities prohibited him
to hold a rally and a procession on 18 August in the authorized place
– the stadium “Khimik”, to protest against the deployment on
the territory of Belarus of a Russian airbase.
On 16 August
social activist Uladzimir Shyla applied to the Constitutional Court.
He considers it necessary to change the law-enforcement practice of
the executive authorities and courts of general jurisdiction due to
the constant prohibitions of mass events. Just last year, the
activist received 37 bans. As is known, the citizens of Belarus do
not have the power to apply to the Constitutional Court directly, but
nothing prevents the court from expressing its opinion concerning the
appeals of citizens, said Uladzimir Shyla. The activist also wrote in
his appeal to the Constitutional Court that it could propose the
courts of general jurisdiction to be guided by the priority of
articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the constitutional right to peaceful assembly and to freedom of
expression while considering the disputes concerning the bans on
holding mass events. In order to address the issue more effectively,
Uladzimir Shyla considered as a necessary
step for the Constitutional Court to propose the National Assembly to
amend the law "On mass events".
On
17 August Khrystafor Zhaliapau, the coordinator of the
Movement "For Freedom" in the Vitsebsk
region, received a response to a joint letter from the Deputy
Chairman of the Executive Committee A. Dziulin.
More than 40 local residents asked the
Executive Committee to reverse the decision
about the procedure of organizing mass
events on how to conduct mass actions. The
officials of the executive committee
refused to do it. Vitsebsk
activists have been trying to
get permission to hold public events for
more than three years, but the district
executive committees didn't authorize them,
referring
to the ruling of
the Vitebsk Regional
Executive Committee, which is impossible to
implement in practice. Thus, according to a
decision of the city authorities, the organizers must submit copies
of contracts for serving their event
together with the application for its authorization. However, the
police, ambulance and street cleaners refuse to enter into such
contracts for various reasons. A couple of
times the applicants
were told directly
that the contracts wouldn't be signed until
the authorization of the events by the authorities. In A. Dziulin's
response it is written that the activists received all earlier
refusals for legal reasons and that the decision of the executive
committee was also completely legitimate.
On 19 August a
social activist from the Klimavichy district Aliaksandr Balobin
received a response from the local executive committee to his
application for holding a picket of solidarity with the Belarusian
political prisoners. As it is stated in the answer, signed by the
Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee A. Lamanau,
the Klimavichy District Executive Committee considered
the application for holding a
picket at the central market on 23
August 2013. "The Central Market is in private ownership, that's
why you need to receive a written permission from the head of the
private unitary “Klimavichy
central market" A. Davydau
to hold the mass
event there".
As
it became known on 26 August, the UN
Human Rights Committee recognized
a violation of the rights of the
inhabitants of Brest Iryna
Laurouskaya Dzianis Turchaniak, Valery
Faminski and Raman Kisliak to freedom of
expression and freedom of peaceful assembly. The reason for the
appeal to the Human
Rights Committee was that the local authorities had
banned pickets on various issues related to the installation of the
monument to the 1000th
anniversary of Brest. The events were
banned with the explanation that only one place was determined for
picketing in Brest, the stadium
"Locomotive”, whereas the activists
intended to hold their action on Gogol
Street, near the place where the monument
was to be erected. The attempts to appeal
the actions of the Belarusian authorities in Brest courts gave
no results, and at the end of 2009 an
appeal was filed to the UN Human Rights Committee.
Restriction
of freedom of association
On
7 August the Supreme Court rejects an
appeal of the campaign " Tell the
Truth!" against
the refusal of the Ministry of Justice to register the public
association. The corresponding decision was
voiced by Judge
Valiantsina Kulik. The
Ministry of Justice explained the
registration denial with two “irremediable” violations, one of
which was the outdated guarantee letter to provide a legal address to
the NGO. However, according to representatives of "Tell
the Truth", at the time of the
application to the Ministry (8
May), the letter was valid, as its validity
period ended on 31 May,
whereas the
Ministry of Justice delayed its answer
until this time, and then said that the
NGO had no legal address. The other “violation” quoted by the
Ministry was that the number of members of the organization council
wasn't specified in the registration documents, whereas in reality
this number was five persons, whose surnames were mentioned. The
constituent assembly of “Tell the Truth!” was held in Minsk on 13
April and was attended by about 60 delegates from Minsk and the
Belarusian regions. Uladzimir Niakliayeu was elected the chairman
of the organization, and Andrei Dzmitryieu
– his deputy. This was the third attempt
of the civil campaign "Tell the Truth!" to pass official
registration.
On 21 August the
Supreme Court turned down the appeal
against the refusal of the Ministry of Justice to register the youth
NGO "Young Democrats". This
decision was passed by Judge
Ihar Milto.
According to the Ministry of Justice, “numerous
violations” were discovered in the course
of verification of the submitted
documents for registration of the association. Thus,
the list of
founders does
not contain all information required by
the law. In
addition, after checking the information
about the persons in the list, the Ministry of Justice found that
information about a number of the organization founders was
inaccurate, as a result of which the list was declared invalid. It is
not the first attempt of the official
registration of the "Young Democrats". The
previous constituent assembly was held on
29 January 2011. That
time the Ministry of Justice also refused to register the
organization, arguing that "the main
provisions of the statute of the NGO
"Young Democrats" do not meet the requirements of the law,
and the very name of the organization is
contrary to its statute".
On
21 August the main department of justice of the Brest Regional
Executive Committee refused to register the public association “Brest
Christian Democrats”. As it follows from the reply signed
by the deputy head of the main department
of justice of the
Brest Regional Executive Committee
Larysa Balandzina,
the reason for the denial is
that the organization name in the Belarusian and the Russian
langugages is different: “Berastseiskiya Khrystsiyanskiya
Demakraty” vs. “Brestskiye Khristianskiye Demokraty”. She
also wrote that the founders of the organization were to ask the
consent of the registrating authority to the use of the abbreviation
PA “BCD”. Moreover, the official of the regional executive
committee points that "the name of the
association does not contain information
about the nature of the association
activities”, which allegedly
violates Article 12 of the Republic of Belarus "On Public
Associations". No other pretensions
were posed by the Department of Justice of
the Brest Regional Executive Committee, but
these ones were declared “irremediable”, as a result of which the
organization was denied registration.