Individual communication on behalf of Eduard Lobau filed to UN Human Rights Committee

This was reported to Human Rights Center “Viasna” by the head of Belarusian DocumentationCenter Raisa Mikhailouskaya.

The individual communication, prepared by the lawyers of the belarusian Documentation Center was filed to the Human Rights Committee on July 14. The complaint contains evidence of violations by the law enforcement and judicial bodies of Belarus during the detention, arrest and the criminal proceedings against Eduard Lobau.

Thus, this is the third complaint of defendants in the so-called caseof "mass riot" on December 19, 2010, prepared by BDC lawyers. Before this, appeals were prepared for Fiodar Mirzayanau and ex-presidential candidate Nikolai Statkevich (in cooperation with the U.S. law firm Hogan Loves).

Bear in mind that individual appeals to the Human Rights Committee of the UN are submitted after the depletion of all domestic remedies.

The appeals filed by Edward and his lawyer to the judicial board on criminal cases of the Minsk City Court were dismissed, and the verdict of the Maskouski District Court of Minsk was left unchanged. The supervisory complaint, filed to the Supreme Court of Belarus, was dismissed as well. In 2013, Eduard Lobau filed a complaint with the prosecutor of Minsk S. Khmaruk. The complaint cites evidence of violation of Eduard's rights and reqiored the prosecutor to issue a protest against the judgment of the Maskouski District Court of Minsk and the judicial determination of the judicial board on criminal cases of the Minsk City Court for their cancellation and termination of the proceedings. The prosecutor's office of Minsk forwarded the appeal to the Investigative Committee, which found no violations in Lobau's case and dismissed it.

"Young Front" activist Eduard Lobau was arrested on December 18, 2010, on the eve of the presidential elections in Belarus. On the basis of false accusations of a fight with passers-by, on March 24, 2011 Judge of the Maskouski District Court of Minsk Alena Shylko sentenced him to 4 years in maximum security prison. After sentencing, Amnesty International recognized Eduard Lobau prisoner of conscience. Currently Eduard Lobau is serving a sentence in the penal colony No. 22 in the Brest region.