Viciebsk: Department of Justice rejects candidacy of human rights defender for Monitoring Commission

Human rights activist Pavel Levinau has been nominated to the Viciebsk Regional Public Monitoring Commission by Belarusian Helsinki Committee. The corresponding letter with the request to approve the candidacy of the representative of the BHC was sent to the justice department of the regional executive committee. However, the request was not satisfied.

The formal reason is that Mr. Levinau was nominated to the Commission as a representative of the republican public association, whereas according to the regulation on monitoring commissions, approved by the Council of Ministers, "the regional and Minsk city public monitoring commissions
for the main justice departments of the regional executive committees and Minsk City Executive Committee are formed of representatives of local public associations, organizational structures of
international and national public associations, operating on the territory of the corresponding administrative-territorial units of the Republic of Belarus".

Regional public monitoring commissions for the main justice departments of regional executive committees exist in all regions of Belarus. The aim of these commissions is to exercise public control over the activities of bodies and institutions carrying out sentences and other criminal sanctions.

According to the information published at the website of the Ministry of Justice, Viciebsk Regional Public Monitoring Commission consists of 11 people. There are no representatives of human rights organizations among them.

All members of the Commission represent various kinds public associations, such as the sports association "Enerhetyk-Orsha", Viciebsk regional organization of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union, etc. The head of the commission, Ihar Patapau, is a representative of the public association "Russian Cultural Center" Rus".

Viciebsk Viasna