Reprisal against human rights activist (Photo)

On November 2 the proceedings in the case of the chairman of “Vyasna” human rights centre Ales Byalyatski start.

Judge Syarhei Bandarenka from the court of Pershamajski district of Minsk is to sit in judgement upon the criminal case, however the trial is to take place in the building of the court of Maskouski district of Minsk (Gazety Pravda Avenue, 27). The court started at 10 a.m.

The building of the court of Maskouski district had been chosen a place for the trial because Pershamajski court is situated in an old building with very small court rooms

We remind that the head of “Vyansna” and Vice Chairman of the International Federation for Human Rights (IFHR) is kept in the remand prison number 1 of Minsk since August 4.

Ales Byalyatski was charged under article 243 Part 2 of the Criminal Code (concealment of income on an especially large scale). Under this article he can face up to 5 years of supervised release or deprivation of liberty to a term from 3 to 7 years with confiscation of property or without confiscation with a ban to occupy certain positions or to be engaged in certain activities, or without such a ban.

The grounds for criminal prosecution of the human rights activist was information about accounts of the human rights centre in foreign banks, offered to the Belarusian authorities by the Justice Ministry of Lithuania and the Office of Prosecutor General of Poland. Money for support of the repressed on political grounds in Belarus were kept with banks on those accounts.

Authorities of Lithuania and Poland publicly presented apologies to the arrested and his family, and also suspended contacts with Belarus in the framework of the agreements on legal help. The head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry Audronius Ažubalis stated: Lithuania will do its best for the case of Ales Byalyatski to remain in focus of the world community, and “members of the current regime of Belarus, involved in persecution of Byalyatski, were banned entry to the zone of Schengen agreement.”

International human rights organisations, the leadership of the EU and the US and a number of other democratic countries demand from the official Minsk release of Byalyatski. “The criminal case against Byalyatski is an attempt to shut off the air supply to the human rights activities in Belarus finally,” the statement of the Human Rights Watch reads.

It has been also announced that Belarusian embassies in different countries have denied visas to international human rights activist who planned to come to Minsk to attend the court trial over Byalyatski. The Belarusian Embassy in Paris has not issued a visa to the Chairman of the International Federation for Human Rights Souhayir Belhassen, referring to inadvisability of her presence in Minsk. Human rights activists from Belgium, Norway, Sweden have been denied visas as well.