Komlik formally charged, Fiadynich still a suspect

Ihar Komlik, chief accountant of the REP trade union, has bene officially charged under Part 2 of Article 243 of the Criminal Code, “large-scale tax evasion.”

The information has been confirmed by the Investigative Committee’s Spokesperson Yuliya Hancharova.

“The measure of restraint against Ihar Komlik was determined by the body of inquiry - the Department of Financial Investigations of the State Control Committee - the form is pre-trial detention. The criminal investigation is still underway,” said she.

REP chairman Henadz Fiadynich remains a suspect in the criminal case. He is not detained.

On August 2, employees of the Department of Financial Investigations raided and seized computer equipment and financial documents in the office of the REP trade union and the central office of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BNP). REP Chairman Henadz Fiadynich and accountant Ihar Komlik were arrested. Fiadynich was questioned and released, while Komlik remained in custody.

The country’s leading human rights organizations said on August 3 that Ihar Komlik was a political prisoner. According to the human rights activists, the trade union leaders faced criminal charges for political reasons, which are linked to their activities and the peaceful exercise of freedom of association.

The Belarusian trade union leaders were publicly supported by the IndustriALL Global Union and the International Confederation of Trade Unions, which called on the Belarusian authorities to stop the persecution of Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik.

On August 10, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint program of FIDH and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), said in a statement that all charges against Ihar Komlik should be immediately dropped and the prosecution of the trade union leaders stopped.